A-List
Actor/Director Collaborations
By Josh Spiegel
February 18, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Yes, I'm coming out here as a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio's acting. Sure, back in 1997, he was just a bland heartthrob, but over the past decade, he's built up a solid list of performances, and has managed to work with some very talented and unpredictable directors, from Ridley Scott to Sam Mendes to his upcoming starring role in Christopher Nolan's Inception. But DiCaprio's leap from matinee idol to actor is largely and correctly attributed to Martin Scorsese. Scorsese and DiCaprio have worked on four films together in the past eight years, from Gangs of New York to The Departed. Even though it seemed an unlikely collaboration, this duo has been favorably compared to Scorsese and Robert De Niro for the last few years, and it's hard to argue it.
No, DiCaprio hasn't delivered consistently amazing performances on the same level as De Niro did in films such as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, but he's emerged out of each movie as a stronger and smarter performer. Though Scorsese is well-known for his collaborations with various actors, he's only one such director. This week's A-List, in honor of the continuing partnership between Scorsese and DiCaprio, is all about some great and lasting actor/director collaborations, old and new. It's become more noticeable in the last couple of decades that certain directors are known for favoring certain actors; there are cases where it doesn't pay off (M. Night Shyamalan would do well to not feature, in The Last Airbender, a cameo from M. Night Shyamalan), but the people on this list are strong arguments in favor of such collaborations.
Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
And where better to start than with this dynamic twosome? As I mentioned above, Scorsese and De Niro have worked together on, most notably, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, the latter of which garnered an Academy Award for De Niro. However, these two men worked on eight films together, also including Casino, GoodFellas, Mean Streets, and The King of Comedy. The persona that De Niro has spent a good portion of the decade mocking or destroying - that of the quiet, repetitive bruiser who's less interested in talking than kicking your ass - was created by these two men. Decades and decades of would-be actors and directors were inspired by the timeless scene in Taxi Driver, in which De Niro faces his mirror image, asking "You talkin' to me?" For better or worse, this is one of the most influential film partnerships of the past 50 years.
In some ways, by the time Scorsese and De Niro worked on Casino, his performance seemed closer to parody than something honest. There's only a limited amount of time where you can play a similar character without tipping into cartoonishness. It's probably too early to tell, but Leonardo DiCaprio is likely not going to pose such a problem; when you can jump from playing Howard Hughes to playing a scrappy undercover cop, you show off some versatility. And, yes, De Niro was plenty versatile in The King of Comedy, but he's always played something close to the same character, going all the way back to Mean Streets. DiCaprio is a far more vulnerable actor; De Niro doesn't want to let any of his emotions seep through his visage. Whatever criticisms I may have about his later career doesn't diminish the impressive early filmography that De Niro had with Scorsese. But let's just forget they were ever in Shark Tale.
Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon
For some modern directors, the ideal is Billy Wilder. Current Oscar nominee Jason Reitman has often stated his affinity for this classic helmer; Cameron Crowe is so dedicated to Wilder's craft that he conducted lengthy interview sessions with the director before he passed away. Wilder managed to make wildly diverse movies; his 1959 classic Some Like It Hot is often cited as the greatest American comedy ever (I'd say differently, but I understand the love for the movie). But, he's also responsible for great film noirs such as Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard. That aside, one of his most lasting collaborations was with an ultimate Everyman, a nebbish before Woody Allen ever came onto the scene. Moreover, when he also passed away, one of the big reasons why we mourned as we did, is because Jack Lemmon would never act again.
Lemmon and Wilder worked on seven films together, including the aforementioned Some Like It Hot, Irma la Douce, The Fortune Cookie, The Front Page, and, most remembered, The Apartment. The Apartment, co-starring Fred MacMurray and a young Shirley MacLaine, is easily Wilder's best non-noir film, a bittersweet comedy about how far a young man will go to be respected by his superiors at a thankless big-city job. Lemmon is C.C. Baxter, a man who wants to move up in his company, and figures that if he loans his apartment to some of the higher-ups for their various affairs, he'll be in like Flint. Though all of the films they made were notable, The Apartment is the one worth checking out, and the one that solidified Lemmon's status as a great actor. Wilder's style may not be as flashy, but his mark was all over Lemmon's work.
Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant
Though he famously made fun of the actors in his movies, there's no question that acting was of critical importance to the films of the great Alfred Hitchcock. Though he worked with many actors, including Ingrid Bergman, Tippi Hedren, James Stewart, and Farley Granger, Hitchcock's most memorable collaboration was with the ultimate movie star: Cary Grant. Grant was, and is, the epitome of the ideal star. When we equate George Clooney to being a movie star, it's because of the image Cary Grant instilled in all of us. Grant and Hitchcock only worked on four movies together, but when those movies are Suspicion, To Catch A Thief, Notorious, and North by Northwest, it's hard not to pay attention. Though Grant had a long and illustrious career in Hollywood, his most challenging and exciting work came at the hands of Hitch.
For the ultimate in Hitchcock entertainment, I'd have to choose North by Northwest (despite knowing that the generous Box Office Prophets overlords have a special place for To Catch A Thief). Frankly, North by Northwest is the ultimate in entertainment, even now. It's got action, romance, comedy, drama, intrigue, thrills, spills, and so on. What more could you ask for? But for a true challenge, for a true subversion of the movie-star ideal, check out Notorious, a movie in which Grant plays another of his debonair, slightly aloof leads; this time, though, Hitchcock makes no bones about having us ask the hard questions: is what his character, Devlin, does to Ingrid Bergman's Alicia for her good or for his? Does he deserve to be as loved by her as he is? Grant has the distinction of being at his best when with Hitchcock, and some of his films with Hitch are also among the best ever made.
Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder
Here we have two men who only worked on three movies together. But what movies they were! The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein are not only three great comedies, but, I'm willing to wager, the three best comedies Mel Brooks ever made. Yes, I have a soft spot for Spaceballs and Silent Movie, but those three movies are among the best comedies of the past 50 years. I can remember perfectly the first time I saw Blazing Saddles, mostly because of exactly how hard I was laughing all the way through (yes, most people are baffled by the ending, but it's just the right amount of absurd for me). Young Frankenstein is as funny as Blazing Saddles, while also seeming oddly grounded in reality. The Producers is the film that got Brooks a rare Oscar nomination, and Wilder's first major comedic film role.
Though Brooks has worked with many other actors more often, such as Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, and Dom DeLuise, the most amount of success he's had with repeat actors is with Wilder. Though The Producers and Young Frankenstein have both had their reputations changed because of the recent Broadway musicals, these films stand the test of time. It's just unfortunate that both Brooks and Wilder have chosen to avoid the spotlight in years past; Wilder showed up on Will & Grace, and Brooks appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but they've not worked in over 30 years. I hesitate to say that, were they to meet up again, the results would be as hilarious, but I'm almost willing to let the result be awful, if only Wilder and Brooks met again. There's nothing wrong with trying to recapture the old magic.
Wes Anderson and Bill Murray
During the 1970s and 1980s, Bill Murray was known as the laconic, wisecracking lead of such classic comedies as Stripes, Ghostbusters, and Groundhog Day. After Groundhog Day, Murray's career took a bit of break; once he met up with quirky director Wes Anderson, though, his career hit a second wind, despite changing his persona into a stone-faced dramatic lead. He and Anderson have collaborated on five films: Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Though it took Murray a job with another quirky director, Sofia Coppola, to get an Oscar nomination, I can't help but get angry at the idea that the Oscars didn't even nominate Murray's performance in Rushmore.
It's no surprise that because of his success with Anderson, he was able to make Lost in Translation (another BOP favorite) and make more mainstream audiences aware of the fact that he could - big shock - act with the big boys. Though his lead performance in The Life Aquatic was met with more tepid response (though it's not a great Anderson film, the performance is excellent), Murray and Anderson have worked hard at creating prickly, father-figure characters who long for emotion while masking their wishes. His last two films with Anderson haven't been exactly the same; he's got a blink-and-miss-him role in The Darjeeling Limited and provides the voice of a badger in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Still, the reason why Bill Murray is remembered as more than just snarky Dr. Peter Venkman is partly because of Wes Anderson's gifted writing and directing.