Gus Van Sant

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foggy eyes
Joined: Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:58 am
Location: UK

Gus Van Sant

#1 Post by foggy eyes » Fri Aug 31, 2007 8:20 pm

Gus Van Sant (1952 - )


No make-up is better than make-up.
No light is better than light.
No cutting is better than cutting.
A fabricated story isn't as good as
something that's more organic.



Filmography

Milk (2008)

Paranoid Park (2007)

First Kiss - segment of Chacun son cinéma... / To Each His Cinema (2007)

Le Marais - segment of Paris, je t'aime (2006)

Last Days (2005) (DVD Beaver)

Elephant (2003)

Gerry (2002)

Finding Forrester (2000)

Psycho (1998)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

To Die For (1995)

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993)

My Own Private Idaho (1991) (DVD Beaver)

Drugstore Cowboy (1989) (DVD Beaver)

Mala Noche (1985) (Criterion / Mk2)


Forum Discussion

Gus Van Sant's Death Trilogy: Gerry, Elephant and Last Days.


Web Resources

The Wrong Stuff (Finding Forrester) by John Patterson at The Guardian.

Sands of Time (interview about Gerry) by Scott Macaulay at Filmmaker Magazine.

Review of Gerry by Ryan Gilbey at Sight & Sound.

The Searchers - The Influence of Anxiety (review of Gerry) by J. Hoberman at The Village Voice.

Interview about Elephant by Steve Head at IGN.

Beauty and the Banal (William Eggleston and Elephant) by Steve Rose at The Guardian.

Too Cool for School: Social Problems in Elephant by Tony McKibbin at Senses of Cinema.

Sublime Anarchy in Gus Van Sant's Elephant by Neera Scott at Senses of Cinema.

Interview about Last Days by Sean Axmaker at Greencine.

Observable Death: Gus Van Sant's Last Days by John Lars Ericson at Senses of Cinema.

Déjà Vu by Joshua Clover at the Village Voice.

Sound Garden by Joshua Land at The Village Voice.

All This Useless Beauty (interview about Last Days) by Robert Christgau at The Village Voice.

His Own Private Biopic by Rob Nelson at The Village Voice.

Interview about Le Marais by Jason Guerrasio at Filmmaker Magazine.

Cannes 2007: Hell Is Not Other People (spotlight on Paranoid Park) by Mark Peranson at Cinema Scope.

Roll Forever (interview about Andy Warhol) by Amy Taubin at Sight & Sound.

Down With the Kids (interview about Paranoid Park) by Matthew Hays at the Guardian.


Print Material

Portland's Butterfly by Shawn Lewy (Sight & Sound, March 2001, p.32-34).

Sundance 2002: New Directions by Rachael K. Bosley (American Cinematographer, April 2002, Gerry: p.92-98).

Part of the Problem by Amy Taubin and Kent Jones (Film Comment, September/October 2003, p.26-33).

Walking the Halls of Fate by Patricia Thomson (American Cinematographer, October 2003, p.60-71).

Shock Corridors by S.F. Said (Sight & Sound, February 2004, p.16-18).

Requiem for a Rock Star by Chris Pizzello (American Cinematographer, August 2005, p.24-27).

Blurred Exit by Amy Taubin (Sight & Sound, September 2005, p.16-19).


Books

Pink by Gus Van Sant (Faber & Faber, 1998).

American Independent Cinema by Geoff King (I.B. Tauris, 2005).

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copen
Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:43 pm

Re: Gus Van Sant

#3 Post by copen » Mon Feb 23, 2015 12:05 am

for me, gvs begins and ends with 'drugstore cowboy'. nothing else he did comes even close to this great film. and he really captured the look of the 1970's, at least in the first half of movie. i used to kind of like 'my own private idaho', but it didn't hold up on repeated viewings.

i haven't seen
Restless (2011)
Paranoid Park (2007)
Last Days (2005)
Elephant (2003)
Gerry (2002)
Finding Forrester (2000) (?)

i just gave up on him after a while. he doesn't tell stories that are of interest to me.
Last edited by copen on Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Gus Van Sant

#4 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:48 am

Wildly erratic, but for my money, he's made five, maybe six really good films, with at least one being a genuine masterpiece. In order of preference:

1. Elephant
2. My Own Private Idaho
3. Drugstore Cowboy
4. Mala Noche
5. Paranoid Park
6. To Die For

nolanoe
Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:25 am

Re: Gus Van Sant

#5 Post by nolanoe » Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:20 pm

Are we in the rating-stages now?

Van Sant is one of my favorite directors - the only true misfire of his I have seen is Promised Land.

The top 3 hearthesilence posted could as well be mine. Paranoid Park and the (in film-experts-circles quite underrated) Good Will Hunting follow. How'd you like THEM apples?

I also am very fond of Last Days and Restless. While Restless is a bit flawed, Wasikowska turns in a fantastic performance. In-between all the twee, there's a very heartfelt story. It might take repeated watches, but I still think it's quite an achievement. Last Days is abrasive, but I do happen to count "In Utero" as one of my favorite records - anybody even mildly interested in Cobain should find this one engrossing.

Finding Forrester feels like a sequel to Good Will Hunting in aesthetics and overall thematics, and also happens to be underrated.


flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
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Re: Gus Van Sant

#7 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:07 pm

It's barely anecdotal but I found this interesting tidbit on reddit lately, concerning someone who delivered room service to Scott Weiland who was in the middle of watching Last Days.

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swo17
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Re: Gus Van Sant

#8 Post by swo17 » Wed Mar 29, 2017 11:42 am


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cdnchris
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Re: Gus Van Sant

#9 Post by cdnchris » Wed Mar 29, 2017 11:57 am

Not Safe For Lunch?

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swo17
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Re: Gus Van Sant

#10 Post by swo17 » Wed Mar 29, 2017 11:58 am

It will probably ruin your appetite.

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The Fanciful Norwegian
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 2:24 pm
Location: Teegeeack

Re: Gus Van Sant

#11 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Fri Apr 01, 2022 9:02 pm

Van Sant to direct the entire second season of Feud, which will adapt Laurence Leamer's Capote's Women and star Naomi Watts

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