#6 – American Filmmakers Sophisticated People Should Know (but probably never heard of)
by Adrian Alvarez
6. Monte Hellman
If you were worried that the list was getting a little too mainstream and not obscure enough for you, just take it easy. Likely you haven’t heard of Monte Hellman, which is a shame, mostly for him (he got pretty embittered by the way Hollywood ended up treating him and gave up on the kind of filmmaking that makes him one of the most essential American filmmakers you should know). In fact, I wrote my senior undergraduate thesis on the last 30 seconds of his film, Two-Lane Blacktop (so maybe I’m a little bit biased- duh, it’s a top 10 list).
Try to ignore his unfortunate career after 1974, Silent Night, Deadly Night III: You Better Watch Out! is not an undiscovered gem, in my opinion. It’s evidence of a guy who just plain gave in to the system. Though I said in the preamble to this list that I would only pick directors who had more than a handful of films to their credit, I have to make a huge exception for Mr. Hellman. The handful of films he made in the late 60s and early 70s are some of the most lyrical American narratives in existence.
His spot at number 6 on this list is a testament to the power and “American flavor” of The Shooting (1967), Ride the Whirlwind (1965), Cockfighter (1974) and Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). Do not miss these films.
The List:
One of Monte Hellman's Finest Films
Road to Nowhere (2010)
Trapped Ashes (2006) (segment “Stanley’s Girlfriend”)
Stanley’s Girlfriend (2006)
Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out! (1989) (V)
Iguana (1988) Inside the Coppola Personality (1981)
Avalanche Express (1979) (uncredited)
China 9, Liberty 37 (1978)
The Greatest (1977) (took over for deceased Tom Gries)
**Cockfighter (1974)
Call Him Mr. Shatter (1974) (uncredited)
**Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) (1970 ABC TV prologue only) (uncredited)
**The Shooting (1967)
**Ride in the Whirlwind (1965)
Back Door to Hell (1964)
Flight to Fury (1964)
The Terror (1963) (uncredited)
Beast from Haunted Cave (1959)
** Denotes essential viewing from this director
Comments
Au contraire, mon ami. “Embittered?” Never! Maybe the only guy in Hollywood who doesn’t have an ounce of bitterness in his soul. Unflinching, determined, unstoppable, eternally artistic and hopeful, oh yeah, but bitter, no. He lives by the words of Charles Willeford (author of the novel “Cockfighter”): “The trick in life is to stay cynical without ever becoming bitter.”
Considering he’s one of my favorite filmmakers of all time, it’s really, really great to hear that he hasn’t given up!
I think if more audiences had exposure to the kind of narrative mastery of films like Two-Lane Blacktop and his early westerns, they would demand more from their multiplexes (and likely, their lives… but I won’t get carried away).