As anyone who reads my blog regularly knows, I’m a big champion of women. Especially when it comes to movies; I really like bringing to attention movies directed by ladies. There are so many fine movies directed by women to speak of that I decided to glean the thoughts of everyone else. So which movies directed by women are your favourites? I’m very much looking forward to your responses.
What Are Your Favourite Movies Directed by Women?
08 Monday Jan 2018
Posted in Blogging Questions, Movie opinions and thoughts
vinnieh 
I love Penny Marshall as a director.
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I too enjoy many of her movies, especially Big.
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Off the top of my head: Bend It Like Beckham. I saw that film several times 🙂 Wonder Woman is pretty awesome, too.
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I really like BILB, plus it introduced the world to Keira Knightley. I’ve still not seen Wonder Woman yet.
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Yes, I loved Keira in that film, and watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie because of that.
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I love her as an actress. She boasts a real maturity in her work.
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Cleo from 5 to 7 (Agnes Varda) is one of my all-time favourites! I am looking forward very much to seeing Faces Places soon 🙂 Away From Her (Sarah Polley) is another movie gem that I love.
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I’ve heard the names Agnes Varda but have shockingly never seen a movie from her. I promise that will change very soon. As for Sarah Polley, I know her as an actress and wasn’t aware she had gone into directing.
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Near Dark, Kathryn Bigelow.
Blue Steel, Kathryn Bigelow.
Point Break, Kathryn Bigelow.
The Piano, Jane Campion.
An Angel At My Table, Jane Campion.
Sweetie, Jane Campion.
Beau Travail, Clare Denis.
Chocolat, Clare Denis.
Silkwood, Norah Ephron.
Little Man Tate, Jodie Foster.
That will do for now. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I can see you really like Kathryn Bigelow, I don’t blame you she’s a wonderful director. Jane Campion is another whose work impresses me.
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The Hitchhiker by Ida Lupino.
Little Women by Gillian Armstrong.
The Secret Garden by Agnieszka Holland.
The Piano by Jane Campion.
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If you look through my review index, you’ll see that I’ve reviewed Little Women, The Secret Garden and The Piano. All of them are fine movies; especially The Secret Garden and The Piano. I have The Hitchhiker recorded from television, and now you remind me I need to watch it. Thanks Maddy.
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Let’s see. Pretty much anything by Sofia Coppola, Lynne Ramsay, Andrea Arnold, Nicole Holofcener, and Lucrecria Martel as well as a lot of the films I’ve seen by Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, Chantal Akerman, Patty Jenkins, Niki Caro, Agnes Varda, Catherine Breillat, Kasi Lemmons, and whatever I’ve seen from Ava DuVernay and Lina Wertmuller.
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Lucrecria Martel sounds like a fascinating director. Appreciate the introduction. Kasi Lemmons has acted before hasn’t she? The name is familiar.
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I never thought about the gender of a director before. I guess I would actually have to go through my DVD library to answer that question…
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Ha, I was thinking the same. I’m sure I’ve enjoyed some movies directed by females.
But for most movies I watch, I couldn’t tell you who directed it.
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There are so many excellent movies directed by women out there.
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I was inspired to do this after seeing that I’ve reviewed a number of movies directed by women.
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I just went to my favorite movies and I only could find one (!) movie directed by a woman, Veronica Decides To Die’. That’s unfortunate!
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I can recommend quite a few movies directed by ladies, if you’d like.
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Lynne Ramsey – we need to talk about Kevin
Kathryn Bigelow – all of them but I’m a big fan of Blue Steel
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Bigelow is a damn fine filmmaker who takes real risks with her work. I admire her for that. Lynne Ramsey is someone I need to look into.
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I completely agree with Pete’s choices: Kathryn Bigelow is definitely my favorite female director as well. She really has made some wonderful movies 😀
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Yes, she has a great style and content in her work. She’s got a great imagination that runs from the brutally serious to the far-flung fantasy. She covers a wide range in her movies.
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Any other choices?
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Off the top of my head, my favorites include “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” and “Clueless” by Amy Heckerling, “Lost In Translation by Sofia Coppoloa and “Wayne’s World” by Penelope Spheeris.
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Clueless is a fantastic movie with plenty of 90’s attitude and style. Lost in Translation is a gorgeous and moving evocation on connection and alienation.
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Off the top of head:
A New Leaf (1971) — Elaine May
Impulse (1990) — Sondra Locke
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940) — Dorothy Arzner
Seven Beauties (1975) — Lina Wertmuller
Yentl (1983) — Barbra Streisand
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) — Amy Heckerling
My Brilliant Career (1979) — Gillian Armstrong
The Piano (1993) — Jane Campion
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Ooh, there are some new ones I must look at now. Barbra Streisand is an all around talented lady; she acts, sings and directs. Talk about a triple threat. Gillian Armstrong and Jane Campion both fascinate me with the strong and complex female characters they put on the screen.
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This might date me, but I always loved Strange Days directed by Kathryn Bigelow. I haven’t seen it in years, and I need to remedy that. For more recent Frozen and Wonder Woman.
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Oh, that doesn’t date you at all. Strange Days is an enthralling and daring piece of movie making.
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Representing the rest of the world… 😉
Momoko Ando – 0.5mm
Naoko Ogigami – Close-Knit
Naomi Kawase – An (Sweet Bean)
Katell Quillévéré – Love Like Poison
Susanne Bier – In A Better World
Lee Kyoung-Mi – The Truth Beneath
Jannicke Systad Jacobsen – Turn Me On, Goddammit
Icíar Bollaín – Even The Rain
Xue Xiaolu – Ocean Heaven
Sylvia Chang – Murmur Of The Hearts
Annie Hui – A Simple Life
Marjane Satrapi – Persepolis
Haifaa al-Mansour – Wajdja
Manijeh Hekmat – Women’s Prison
Samira Makhmalbaf – At Five In The Afternoon
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You’ve introduced me to many I wasn’t aware of. I do like Susanne Bier though, she’s a top notch director.
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Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank would be right at the top of my list.
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I swear I have that on DVD but still haven’t seen it. Thanks for the reminder, Alex.
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You might enjoy the #DirectedbyWomen list of women who have directed film: http://directedbywomen.com/en/directedby.html
It’s a work in progress. 11146 directors… and counting!
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Thank you so much for that list. I’m going to check it soon. I’m curious to see what I discover.
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One I really like that hasn’t been mentioned is Proof (1991), directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, and starring Hugo Weaving and Russell Crowe before they were famous. Also, since I’m thinking about Aussie films, The Babadook (2014), directed by Jennifer Kent, one of the best horror films of the last few years.
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+1 for The Babadook!
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I so want to see it now.
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The Babadook has just come on Netflix and I love horror movies. So a match made in heaven for me.
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Can’t say I follow that many or have seen too many so I’ll just mention the few that have really caught my interest. Firstly, Ava DuVernay and what she did with Selma was very captivating and impressive. And I like Kathryn Bigelow and what did with Point Break and especially what she did with Detroit, that was some good stuff. And did enjoy what Patty Jenkins brought to Wonder Woman last year, gave us a film far better than I expected it to be. 🙂
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I have Selma lined up for viewing, it looks like my kind of movie.
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Sophia Coppola for Lost In Translation and Virgin Suicides.. I’m also a huge Sarah Polley fan, and Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding is a huge fave of ours, everything about it. And don’t forget Deepha Mehta’s Water, Fire, Earth… well, any of her films, really… Oh man, there are so many!
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I love Coppola. Such a visual and expressive filmmaker. Thanks for telling me your other ones.
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I definitely agree with Pete’s choices. Especially Kathryn Bigelow. Interestingly, despite the #metoo and #timesup movements, not one female director was nominated for a Golden Globe this year. My choices would have been:
Greta Gerwig/Lady Bird
Dee Rees/Mudbound
Patty Jenkins/Wonder Woman
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That’s a shame that there were no women nominees. I hope in the future that can change for the better.
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I was thinking about doing this as a quiz. I was going to do one before this but not I think I will put t next. Thanks Vinnie.
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I look forward to that quiz, Alex. Happy to help with your ideas.
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Point Break by Kathryn Bigelow.
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That’s one riotously entertaining film.
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Jane campion – The Piano
Katherine Bigelow- The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty
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I really like The Piano.
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Ladybird – Greta Gerwig
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It’s on my watch list.
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