What Country Makes the Best Movies?

I always hear people decrying America has making bad movies. Movies so bad it makes them want to watch only foreign movies. So, I'm curious as to where people think the best movies come from? Please explain your answer.

For me, it is, in fact, America. I've seen amazing movies from Mexico, Japan, the UK, Korea, China, Australia, Hungary, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Sweden, Russia, New Zealand, and a few other countries I've probably forgotten. But for overall history, America has them all beat.

We've so many incredible directors: David Lynch, the Coen brothers, Robert Altman, Paul Thomas Anderson, John Carpenter, Billy Wilder, John Huston, Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Peckinah, Jim Jarmusch, Martin Scorsese, Stephen Speilberg, Quentin Tarantino, and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. That doesn't include directors from other countries who have made mostly American movies (Ridley Scott, Alfred Hitchcock, etc), or actors who are just amazing, or sort-of one hit wonder directors, or directors I'm not especially found of (Woody Allen), or comedic directors.

America produces a lot of loud garbage, but every country does. I'm sure every country makes mostly trash, but we just hear about the good ones, because why send over the bad. This is kind of the opposite for the US. We send all our trash over because huge budget spectacles are kind of our niche.

That's my thinking, but I'd like to hear what countries other people favor.

Canada makes the best movies! XD - kidding lol...

I think I agree with America making the best, but not nearly always generated out of Hollywood. Just look at some fan films on you tube.. they're the future, I think.

ETA - Navy_vet, agreed. British gangster movies are epic.

I think it boils down to culture a lot of times. I like U.S. movies. I also like British movies. My wife, who is British, turned me onto some of them, and they were great. The biggest problem I see is that British movies are generally full of Cockney slang, and such, which American's don't understand, so they lose a lot of the humor, etc. I like the old "Spaghetti Westerns" as well though. Adios Sabata with Yul Brynner and Dean Reed is a favorite.

Opinion, isn't it?

All countries are great for specific genres.

For example, I'd never turn to America for horror. They're just awful.

I'd turn to European countries like Spain, France and Germany. E.g. Martyrs is amazing. REC as well. Just really good horrors.

France actually has some very good gritty movies. La Haine is a good example, as well as really happy films. Must I remind you of Amelie.

I'll tell you that England is best for the realism. They make some really emotional but gritty little films. E.g This is England, Four Lions, Quadrophenia. Plus their TV Drama is way better. Luther & Life on Mars are the best
examples.
EDIT: To add Snatch and Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. I don't think America could make films like that.

America has the best epics though. E.g. The Dark Knight, Inception... I'm a Nolan fan. Plus they push the boundries the most when it comes to Graphics. I mean, Transformers. Just wow.

India. If you want to see Batsh#t crazy action films, go to India. E.g. Endhiran. Just watch some clips from that.

reply to post by BourneConspiracy


La Haine you sir just reminded me I must watch that movie again

I'm more 'writer/'director'' oriented when it comes to movie appreciation

But there was a thread about South Korean movies a while ago with some very good title in it. The first that come to mind are ''The man from Nowhere'' and of course ''Old Boy''

Originally posted by BourneConspiracy
Opinion, isn't it?

Of course. That's why I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on it. Plus, maybe I'll hear of a few new movies in the process.

Oh, and I'll never be able to forge Amelie. France does whimsy, surrealism and existentialism well too. Bunuel set up shop there for awhile. And one of the first foreign movies that hit me hard was one of theirs called "The Man on the Train"

I will disagree with you on British TV dramas, I think America does them better. Haven't watched all of Luther yet, but I do have the whole run of Life of Mars (I wish they would send Ashes to Ashes over here as well, I need some more Gene Hunt). I think with The Wire, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, etc, the US kind of dominates in that arena. Though, I haven't seen a lot of British drama. Comedy, might be a different story, I envy any country that has Charlie Brooker.

Originally posted by jesiaha
reply to post by BourneConspiracy

 

I'm more 'writer/'director'' oriented when it comes to movie appreciation

What non-American writers and directors do you especially admire? I have to admit I barely think about foreign writers for some reason. Directors are different, they're obviously more prominent in whatever country you're in.

ETA: Oldboy is amazing. One of the best fight scenes ever, made cooler by the fact that it was in a movie that wasn't focused on fighting. That director has a few other movies I need to check out.

Originally posted by SaulGoodman

Originally posted by BourneConspiracy
Opinion, isn't it?

Of course. That's why I'm interested in everyone's thoughts on it. Plus, maybe I'll hear of a few new movies in the process.

Oh, and I'll never be able to forge Amelie. France does whimsy, surrealism and existentialism well too. Bunuel set up shop there for awhile. And one of the first foreign movies that hit me hard was one of theirs called "The Man on the Train"

I will disagree with you on British TV dramas, I think America does them better. Haven't watched all of Luther yet, but I do have the whole run of Life of Mars (I wish they would send Ashes to Ashes over here as well, I need some more Gene Hunt). I think with The Wire, Breaking Bad, Deadwood, etc, the US kind of dominates in that arena. Though, I haven't seen a lot of British drama. Comedy, might be a different story, I envy any country that has Charlie Brooker.

Charlie Brooker is hilarious. I always was a big fan of british humour

Originally posted by SaulGoodman
Quentin Tarantino

I still don't understand why this asshole is so popular. All he does is rip-off asian and american movies from the 70's in a very bad way, mixing alot of stuff together - very bad and somehow people go crazy over that unwatchable crap. If anything, Tarantino is the proof that with enough PR and media hype you can sell even the biggest worthless crap to a stupid audience.

Originally posted by BourneConspiracy
For example, I'd never turn to America for horror. They're just awful.

I'd turn to European countries like Spain, France and Germany. E.g. Martyrs is amazing. REC as well. Just really good horrors.

True especially the american 'horror' movies from the past 20 years are laughably bad.
There are also some asian country that make really good horror movies like Tale of Two Sisters from South Korea.

Hollywood was pretty good from the 1930's until the late 1980's after that there was nothing new and they just began to rehash and remake everything, the younger actors mostly suck, the directors are a joke (you really have to wonder why Michael Bay has a job) and there are maybe 1-2 good movies per year from there.

It's with other countries the same. Germany was really big from the 1920's until the mid-1940's (though by then there of course was lot of nazi propaganda in the movies) with a lot like classics from Murnau, Lang and others. In the late 1960's there was a revival with Fassbender, Herzog and others until the late 1980's (i always say that Das Boot was the last good german movie). Since then, only cheap crap was produced or big budget crap, i don't need anything more to say than Uwe Boll, right?

Japan i think overall is a very good country for movies. From the Akira Kurosawa classics to their modern horror movies or basically everything from Takeshi Kitano and of course the very good Studio Ghibli Animes. They have a lot of good movies.

I generally don't like French movies, i think they always try to be too 'artsy', too ambitious. They fail most of the time. There's only one movie from France i like: Les Diaboliques from 1955. Great movie!

Italian is a fun country. Of course they had Sergio Leone and he made awesome movies. Besides that they were one of the premier countries for campy and trashy movies, often ripping off Hollywood classics and making them stupid. A lot of these movies like Troll 2, Yor - The Hunter from the Future or countless barbarian movies have become cult classics. They also managed to combine Aliens and Terminator, making one of the most stupid-awesome movies ever: Terminator II aka Alienators

Overall of course the USA will be named the country with the best movies. When you produce hundreds of movies per year, you can be sure there will be a lot of gems and especially in the past decades with talented directors like Hitchcock, Spielberg, Coppola, Kubrick, Lynch, Cronenberg, Waler Hill, Ridley Scott, Peckinpah and lot of others, which even came from other countries it's normale to have a lot of very good movies that will never be topped

reply to post by SaulGoodman


I'll agree with Breaking Bad, plus I'm a massive Mad Men fan.The Office US & Curb Your Enthusiasm are my favourite comedies. Just the execution is done so well.

The first proper foreign film I watched was La Cabina (The Phone Box). Such a odd little film, but really captivates you.

But I like gritty TV, which is why I love British films like Fish Tank and Harry Brown. Oh and let's not forget 28 Days Later. What a film. My favourite film is American though. The Bourne Trilogy. Just perfect .shots/soundtrack/acting

Oh and America has the best soundtracks, even if the composers aren't American.

Originally posted by ShadowAngel85

Originally posted by SaulGoodman
Quentin Tarantino

I still don't understand why this asshole is so popular. All he does is rip-off asian and american movies from the 70's in a very bad way, mixing alot of stuff together - very bad and somehow people go crazy over that unwatchable crap.

I hesitated to put Tarantino on there, because he is basically a rip-off (or, euphemistically, remix) artist. I do like his movies, though. They're entertaining. He's also been one of the biggest influences on indie film-making in the last 20 years.

I agree that after the late '80s, film making in all countries has gone down hill as companies have tried to maximize profit, but there's still some bright spots. I think the Coen Bros have a really good track record, plus a lot of under-the-radar greats and the rare deserved Oscar winner (I thought the Hurt Locker was amazing).

I haven't seen a ton of German movies (mostly Herzog's stuff), but I thought Downfall was a pretty good movie. And Italy also gave us all the giallo horror movies before they started doing weird knock-offs.

And you're right, the question is a little unfair because it's like if someone works at a marble factory and wants to play the game of "Who has the most marbles?" America has cranked out more for a longer period and at a greater rate than anybody else. But I wanted to hear what other people thought other countries did better than the US.

as my favourite movies are american made i have to say america makes the best movies imo.
full metal jacket, shawshank redemption, fear and loathing in las vegas, blade runner, moon.
The list goes on but here are some examples of fine movie making by the americans.

Originally posted by jesiaha

Charlie Brooker is hilarious. I always was a big fan of british humour

Really, I find his aggresive style intolerable, always shouting.


Anyway, I have to agree that US make some of the best movies, but we in the UK have Guy Ritchie. Now Madonna isn't pulling his strings he's sorted his shiz out.

For Lock Stock and Snatch fans in the US make sure to check out "Rock'n'roller" it's an amazing film.
He also done Sherlock Holmes with Downy Jr. It's a great movie IMO.

It's not only culture, but money...

What other country is going to crank out a movie costing a hundred million to make? Nobody, that's who, so of course it's America...specifically, Hollywood, the seat of the industry.

Doesn't mean some good foreign films don't come along now and then though.

I still remember when I saw Pan's Labyrinth in theaters. The trailer intrigued me, and even with subtitles, I went to see it. Nobody had even heard about it then.....Weeks later, it had all kinds of Oscar buzz, and was suddenly being talked about (and re-released).

Originally posted by listerofsmeg
as my favourite movies are american made i have to say america makes the best movies imo.

moon.

The list goes on but here are some examples of fine movie making by the americans.

You do realise that Moon is a British film right?

Also as others have said... every country does different films well.


Of course America is going to be the best... the amount they churn out... if it was based on quality to quantity ration, America would be the absolute worst ever.

But It's not... and most people's favourite films (or at least some) are going to American.


I LOVE foreign/subtitled movies and love movies in general.


I don't think any one country makes better movies because of their nationality.... it's about funds and access to sets and SFX and all of it.


Horrors over the last few years have been dominated by the French, they've made some excellent films.

Scandinavians are making some great films and shows recently.

Spain make some excellent gritty stories.

English make some fantastic stories & comedies.

And America (just by sheer volume) are also able to do all of this.

Japanese and Koreans are still making some amazing and mind-bending movies...



I don't focus on which country makes them, I just read reviews or read movie sites and keep my ear to the ground for the latest stuff and then watch it.
Where it's from has no bearing on my decision whatsoever.

Nothing annoys me more than people who don't watch subtitles movies and who moan about having to "read a movie"

Seriously? What a joke.


And the amount of remakes that American studios have done of foreign films too.... completely unnecessary remakes too... just because people are too lazy or stupid to read subtitles.

reply to post by blupblup


It's not just the subtitle issue...American remakes are also so they can put a big name (or even a small name) star in, versus unknowns.

There are still many stars in Hollywood that translate to instant box office dollars, just be being in the film, so they take advantage of it, of course.

Originally posted by blupblup


Horrors over the last few years have been dominated by the French, they've made some excellent films.

Scandinavians are making some great films and shows recently.

Spain make some excellent gritty stories.

edit on 1/5/12 by blupblup because: (no reason given)

Ooh, could you give some examples?

I thought most people considered Asia to be on the forefront of horror. I know the French have Inside and Martyrs and High Tension, but I don't know any more. And I don't know if I've ever seen a Scandinavian movie. I saw the American remake of The Vanishing (is Holland considered part of Scandinavia?) and then kick myself because it probably ruined the original for me. And I'm sure I've seen a Spanish movie, but I can't recall any. The closest I can think of off the top of my head are Guillermo Del Toro movies, but his stuff his Spain by way of Mexico. So, if you want to throw out some names, I'd be really grateful.

And the subtitle argument is stupid. If you know how to read, reading is an automatic thing. it doesn't take effort. Try not to read, that's almost impossible. There is one problem with subtitles and that's if the people doing them are careless. i just bought the blu-ray for Jean Luc Godard's "Pierrot Le Fou." I saw "Band of Outsiders," loved it, asked for suggestions about where to go from there and PLF was one of the top recommendations. I got it, put it in and most of the white subtitles blend in with the background. It's really frustrating.

reply to post by SaulGoodman



French Horrors would include:

Trouble Every day
Sheitan
Switchblade Romance
Dans Ma peau
Martyrs
Frontiers
Inside
Ils



Scandanavian is a pretty broad term to be honest so some again would include

3 Of Lukas Moodysson's films, "Show me Love", "Together" and "Lily4ever" all absolutely amazing.
Let The Right One In
The Girl With The.... series

You have shows like

Wallander
The Killing
Borgen




Spanish movies as you say, are sometimes by way of Mexico... so we'll say Spanish Language although there are some great Spanish films too

Most of Pedro Almodavar's movies of recent times

Live Flesh
Talk to Her
All about my mother
Bad Education
Tie me up, Tie Me down

And then many others by different people


Amores Perros
The Devil’s Backbone
The Orphanage
Abre Los Ojos - (Vanilla Sky was a crappy remake of this)
REC & REC 2 (although REC 2 not as good) (Quarantine was an unnecessary remake of REC)
Timecrimes - (Absolutely one of my fav films ever)



There really are sooo many and too many to list.

And that's just those 3 countries.... let alon Asian moves and so on.

If you haven't seen some of those I listed, I'd definitely recommend checking them out.

reply to post by SaulGoodman


I'm happy to watch subtitled films, but it does take your eye away from whats happening, even if briefly.
OR you may be watching and miss whats being said.