3. Allison Anders
Okay now I’m excited. Are you excited? This is the start of the Top 3 American Filmmakers Sophisticated People Should Know (but probably never heard of). This is epic! The final three. The master builders of their class. The three most important American filmmakers you sophisticates out there should know. Say what you will, about the merits of choosing Rebecca Miller over Whit Stillman (I’m still a little torn about that one, but, sigh, my decision stands), these three are as solid as they come.
Allison Anders is a smart, emotionally engaging, and incredibly powerful voice in American cinema. She is one of the only female directors in Hollywood who is as dedicated to carving out a room of her own, as far as establishing a feminist narrative space and (more importantly) language in our National cinema. I find her films refreshing, perplexing, and always profound. She does us a favor when she directs a feature, except for her segment of Four Rooms which was a fiasco, or else, I truly am just incapable of understanding women. Explanations anyone? It almost disqualified her from the list if not for what I will now refer to as “The Monte Hellman Exception.”
By the way, for these last 3 directors, I strongly suggest you watch their films in chronological order (it’s okay to skip the TV episodes).
The List:
Essential viewing for anyone wanting to know Allison Anders' work
Smile Now Cry Later (2010) (in production) (rumored)
“What About Brian” (2 episodes, 2006)
- What About True Confessions? (2006) TV episode
- What About First Steps… (2006) TV episode
“Men in Trees” (1 episode, 2006)
- Power Shift (2006) TV episode
“The L Word” (1 episode, 2006)
- Last Dance (2006) TV episode
“Cold Case” (1 episode, 2004)
- Volunteers (2004) TV episode
In the Echo (2002) (TV)
Things Behind the Sun (2001)
“Grosse Pointe” (2 episodes, 2000)
- Star Wars (2000) TV episode
- Boys on the Side (2000) TV episode
“Sex and the City” (4 episodes, 1999-2000)
- The Big Time (2000) TV episode
- Drama Queens (2000) TV episode
- La Douleur Exquise! (1999) TV episode
- The Caste System (1999) TV episode
**Sugar Town (1999)
**Grace of My Heart (1996)
Four Rooms (1995) (segment “The Missing Ingredient”)
Mi vida loca (1993)
**Gas, Food Lodging (1992)
**Border Radio (1987)
** Denotes essential viewing from this director
