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Kathryn Bigelow |
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Director / Screenwriter |
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| 1951 - |
| Born November 27,
San Carlos, California, USA |
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Key
Production Country: USA |
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Key Genres:
Action
Thriller, Action, War |
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Key
Collaborators: Howard Smith (Editor),
Ralph Fiennes (Leading Player), Steven-Charles Jaffe
(Producer), Eric Red (Screenwriter), Tom Sizemore
(Character Player), James LeGros (Character Player) |
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Recommended: The Hurt Locker (2008)^ |
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Worth
a Look: Near
Dark (1987), Blue Steel (1990), Point Break (1991) |
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Approach with Caution:
Strange Days (1995) |
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^
Listed in TSPDT's
21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films
section. |
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Links: [
Amazon
] [
IMDB ] [
TCMDB ] [
All-Movie
Guide ] [
Film Reference] [
DGA
Article ] [
Wikipedia ] [
1995 Interview ] [
GreenCine
Interview (2009) ] [
Slant Magazine Interview (2009)
] [
Cinematical Article (2010) ] [
A.V.
Club Interview (2009) ] [
Flickering Myth Profile ] |
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Books: [
The
Cinema of Kathryn Bigelow ] |
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"Kathryn
Bigelow is one of the few women directors working successfully
in Hollywood today. She is certainly exceptional in that much of
her work has been made within the traditionally male-dominated
arena of big-budget action movies, a choice of field that has
earned her a reputation as quite a maverick. However, Bigelow's
films often reflect a different approach to these genres because
she consistently explores themes of violence, voyeurism and
sexual politics; ultimately, she seems to be concerned with
questioning the very nature of the boundaries between particular
genres." -
Hannah Ransley (Contemporary North American Film Directors, 2002) |
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"At the rate she
makes films, this American director's career list is unlikely to
be counted on more than the fingers of two hands. What films she
has made have usually proved noisy, nasty and watchable: there
are few smiles in a Bigelow movie." -
David
Quinlan (Quinlan's Illustrated Guide to Film Directors, 1999) |
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"Bigelow
has been quoted as saying that "action cinema is pure cinema."
To which one must add that it may only expose the dangers of
trying to do without character or good sense. Why does the
cinema need to be so pure? Has anyone ever observed that state
in its manufacture? Since Strange Days, she has made two
more films that struggled to get a proper release." -
David Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, 2002)
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Please
note that the rating given for this director (see top-right) is based
only on the films we have seen (listed above). Films by this director
that we haven't seen include The Loveless (1983) and K-19: The
Widowmaker (2002). |
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6 |
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"Almost
single-handed, Kathryn Bigelow has lastingly scotched the
assumption that the terms ‘‘woman director’’ and ‘‘action
movie’’ are somehow incompatible. So far, no other female
director has shown herself so adept at handling the
intricate ballets of stylised violence that constitute the
modern Hollywood action genre… Her films, though vigorously
paced and tinged with ironic humour, are shot through with a
dark romanticism; and by delving deeper into formal,
psychological, and thematic patterns than mainstream
Hollywood generally cares to, they lift their material some
way towards the condition of arthouse fare. Though Bigelow
avowedly aims at a mass audience, the moral and aesthetic
complexity of her films has kept her a slightly marginal
figure in the industry."
-
Philip Kemp, International Dictionary
of Film and Filmmakers |
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●
21st Century Top 50 |
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●
501 Movie Directors: A
Comprehensive Guide to the Greatest Filmmakers |
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See Also |
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●
John Badham |
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Luc Besson |
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James Cameron |
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John Carpenter |
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Jonathan Demme |
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Renny Harlin |
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Walter Hill |
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John McTiernan |
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Joel Schumacher |
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Ridley Scott |
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Tony Scott |
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Oliver Stone |
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Kathryn Bigelow's Favourites |
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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
David Lean,
Mean Streets (1973)
Martin Scorsese,
The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron,
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Sam Peckinpah.
Source:
Sight & Sound
(1992) |
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