Epicurean hedonism seems to be lurking under the surface of Wong's exceptional eye for composition and color palette, texture of image and sound, even the very choice of actors and actresses. Masterfully combined, these elements create a unique vision of cinematic beauty. Captured by a drifting camera and nostalgic music, the films surrender to a Herakleitean flux: narratives afraid of a strict locus, characters resistant to stagnancy and commitment, a time-flow that defies linearity; all vaguely reminiscent of Robbe-Grillet and the nouveau roman. Wong's work returns to the inability to define longing, to accept the gravity of living, to allow satiety to stop movement, to acknowledge mortality. The episodic digenesis, fractured by elisions that defy deterministic explanations, simply refuses to yield: to logic, to convention, to old age. Through his idiosyncratic work, Wong has demonstrated an unconditionally personal love for cinema.

Suggested Reading

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Wong Kar-Wai: Auteur of Time (Bfi World Directors)
by Stephen Teo

Wong Kar Wai.NET Website

Director - Selected filmography and DVDBeaver links:

The Lady from Shanghai (2005), 2046 (2004), In the Mood for Love (2000), Happy Together (1997), Fallen Angels (1995), Ashes of Time (1994), Chungking Express (1994), Days of Being Wild (1991),  As Tears Go By (1988)

Cutting his teeth with 30 short two-reel westerns in the 1920's William Wyler went on to direct many of the most popular and critically acclaimed films in Hollywood history. He might be the least well known of his golden-age contemporaries which included Hitchcock, Wilder and Welles. However, his prodigious listing of film credits ran the gamut of excellence to connote his immensely successful career with both the critics and theater patrons. "Wuthering Heights", "The Little Foxes", "Mrs. Miniver", "The Best Years of Our Lives", "Roman Holiday" and "Ben-Hur", are a few of the films that distinguish him and help to recognize his complete command of the Hollywood production medium. His films existed on a strong foundation with a solid narrative while altruistically withdrawing any individualistic directorial style or signature of craftsmanship that might distract from its inherent integrity. His prolific Oscar statistics dwarf any of his peers: Wyler received the most Academy Award nominations (12); induced the most Oscar-nominated performances (35) and the most Oscar-winning performances (14). He directed the most Best Picture Oscar-nominated films (13), winning 3. Wyler's "Friendly Persuasion" won the Palm D'or at Cannes in 57'. Wyler is respected by many for both his brave defiance of the House on Un-American Activities Committee and his surprising decision to retire from filmmaking and spend the final decade of his life traveling the globe with his wife; the mother of his 5 children. William Wyler's distinguished cinema is a legendary and unheralded mark in the grandiose history of Hollywood.

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A Talent for Trouble: The Life of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Director, William Wyler

by Jan Herman

Director - Selected filmography and DVDBeaver links:

Funny Girl (1968), How to Steal a Million (1966), The Collector (1965), The Children's Hour (1961), Ben-Hur (1959), The Big Country (1958), Friendly Persuasion (1956), The Desperate Hours (1955), Roman Holiday (1953), Carrie (1952), Detective Story (1951), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944), The Fighting Lady (1944), Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Little Foxes (1941), The Letter (1940), The Westerner (1940), Wuthering Heights (1939), Jezebel (1938), Dead End (1937), Come and Get It (1936), Dodsworth (1936), These Three (1936) , Barbary Coast (1935) (uncredited; replaced by Howard Hawks), The Gay Deception (1935), The Good Fairy (1935), Glamour (1934), Counsellor at Law (1933)

Zhang Yimou's impressionist depictions of his native China continue to fascinate viewers, either with their sensitive characterization of enchanting, powerful females, the films' ambiguous, multi-layered narratives or their sheer aesthetic merits. The impact of the dramaturgy in Zhang's works relies principally on visual and aural motifs to externalize the characters' emotional state, and metaphors that enrich an otherwise forward diegesis. Thematically, the films chart the struggle against monolithic structures, portrayed through architecture, ideology, institutions etc, the symptoms of alienating traditions and persistence, individuality and free-will under the constraints of coexistence. A filmmaker of remarkable versatility, Zhang has shown an inclination toward vibrant colors and stylized mise-en-scene which swallow the characters, imagistic rhymes which control the flow and poignant societal critique which resonates long after the final images roll off the screen.

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Zhang Yimou: Interviews (Conversations With Filmmakers)
by Frances Gateward

Brief article with links to interview

Director - Selected filmography and DVDBeaver links:

Shi mian mai fu aka House of Flying Daggers (2004), Ying xiong aka Hero (2002), Xingfu shiguang aka Happy Times (2001), Yi ge dou bu neng shao aka Not One Less (1999) , Wo de fu qin mu qin aka The Road Home (1999), Keep Cool (1997), Shanghai Triad (1995), Huozhe aka To Live (1994), Qiu Ju da guan si aka The Story of Qiu Ju (1992), Da hong deng long gao gao gua aka Raise the Red Lantern (1991), Ju Dou (1990), Hong gao liang aka Red Sorghum (1987)