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Re: Ensemble Films

9999 — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 16:16:17 GMT

Author: 9999

Posted: 06/18/2018 20:16

Most Wes Anderson movies are ensemble pieces, especially The royal Tenenbaums. I would also count The lord of the rings trilogy. Even though Frodo is supposed to be the protagonist in the first one, this is way less so in the last two. Sin City and Amores perros are other two good examples.

Re: Ensemble Films

badseed — Mon, 14 May 2018 13:00:26 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 05/14/2018 17:00

Oh yes, Dinner at Eight is fantastic (Grand Hotel is also really good but kind of drags). The comedic aspect is what puts Dinner in the upper echelon of not just classic ensembles, but classic comedies in general. Highly recommended to anyone.

Re: Ensemble Films

bobbyb5 — Sun, 13 May 2018 23:21:34 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 05/14/2018 03:21

I just realized that there are about 7 movies named Smile. The one I listed is the one from 1975. And it's fantastic.

Re: Ensemble Films

bobbyb5 — Sun, 13 May 2018 22:58:45 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 05/14/2018 02:58

badseed wrote:

Nice list. Totally forgot about some of those, like the 30s melodramas and the 70s disaster flicks.

Also, Murder on the Orient Express. Actually found it for cheap on DVD and have it sitting in front of the TV. Probably haven't seen it in 12-15 years or so but I remember loving it and, after seeing Big Fish it was my first exposure to a young(er) Albert Finney and he was stellar. Not that the whole cast wasn't great, particularly Bergman and Redgrave (keep in mind this is coming from teenage memory), but he stood out in a cast that I was generally more familiar with.

I haven't seen the new Murder on the Orient Express yet, but i automatically know I'm going to love it. Probably not as much as the 1974 one, which is totally awesome. I watched the 1933 Dinner at Eight today, and it's even better than I remember. It's actually much better than Grand Hotel, which was the other great one from the thirties. I'd probably switch them around on my list now. If you haven't seen Dinner at Eight, don't miss it. It's a trip.

Re: Ensemble Films

badseed — Sun, 13 May 2018 16:45:26 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 05/13/2018 20:45

Nice list. Totally forgot about some of those, like the 30s melodramas and the 70s disaster flicks.

Also, Murder on the Orient Express. Actually found it for cheap on DVD and have it sitting in front of the TV. Probably haven't seen it in 12-15 years or so but I remember loving it and, after seeing Big Fish it was my first exposure to a young(er) Albert Finney and he was stellar. Not that the whole cast wasn't great, particularly Bergman and Redgrave (keep in mind this is coming from teenage memory), but he stood out in a cast that I was generally more familiar with.

Re: Ensemble Films

bobbyb5 — Sun, 13 May 2018 07:49:53 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 05/13/2018 11:49

Yes, I love that style of film ever since I was little. And I know where it started: when I saw my first disaster films like Poseidon Adventure and Earthquake when I was really young. These movies were really exciting to a kid. And ever since I've always liked movies with a lot of people running around all doing different things..

These are my very favorite ones. I like a lot of the ones that people have mentioned so far, but many of them I don't think really qualify. But like you said, I don't think there's really a strict definition of what it is.
I know I've got a lot of Robert Altman films here, but theyre just the best (and the funniest). To me, they were in a different League than any of the others. They're practically their own genre because they're so different from the rest.

Gosford Park
Nashville
Grand Hotel
A Wedding
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
H.E.A.L.T.H.
The Exterminating Angel
Best in Show
Traffic
Smile. (1975)
Welcome to LA
L' Argent (1983)
Boogie Nights
After Hours
The VIPs. (1963)
Separate Tables
Once Upon a Time in America
Kansas City
It's a Mad Mad Mad World
Death on the Nile
And then there were none. (1945)
Godfather Part 2
Bugsy Malone (1974)
American Graffiti
The Poseidon Adventure (1973)
Dinner at Eight
MASH
Trouble in Mind
Pret a Porter
Wonderland. (1999)
Catch-22
What's Up, Doc?
The Chase (1966)
The Towering Inferno
The Long Riders
Platoon
Voyage of the Damned
The Last Picture Show
The Player
Earthquake
The Moderns

Re: Ensemble Films

hereforashortime — Fri, 9 Mar 2018 20:05:02 GMT

Author: hereforashortime

Posted: 03/10/2018 01:05

Just saw Sally Potter's the party, It's totally an ensemble. It reminded me that movies that typically take place in one location tend to be ensembles. The Big Chill, Rope, and the aforementioned Breakfast Club and 12 Angry Men.

Re: Ensemble Films

badseed — Thu, 8 Mar 2018 23:22:22 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/09/2018 04:22

SquishypuffDave wrote:

hereforashortime wrote:

I wouldn't call Galaxy Quest as much of an Ensemble, because Tim Allen is pretty obviously the main character, but I o agree that a lot of comedies are ensembles. I think movies centered on families tend to be ensembles. Particularly Little Miss Sunshine and Royal Tenenbaums.

(Also this is my 500th forum post so that's cool)

Fair point now that I think back on it. I guess it's a non-ensemble film that has an ensemble in it?

I would say every fictional live action film has an ensemble, aside from rare exceptions like Antichrist (or does two people count as an ensemble as well?)

Crash (Paul Haggis, not Cronenberg) is another noteworthy example. I soured on that film and I think a lot of it has to do with it winning best picture when it clearly didn't deserve a nomination that year. Honestly although its motives are a bit cliche it is a great example of a film carried by many strong 10-15 minute performances.

Re: Ensemble Films

SquishypuffDave — Thu, 8 Mar 2018 00:14:32 GMT

Author: SquishypuffDave

Posted: 03/08/2018 05:14

hereforashortime wrote:

Fair point now that I think back on it. I guess it's a non-ensemble film that has an ensemble in it?

Re: Ensemble Films

hereforashortime — Wed, 7 Mar 2018 22:20:47 GMT

Author: hereforashortime

Posted: 03/08/2018 03:20

SquishypuffDave wrote:

Babel might be my favourite example of this. Ensemble comedies like What We Do In The Shadows and Galaxy Quest also come to mind, but even then it's hard to avoid having certain characters emerge as leads, both in terms of the writer giving every character balanced screen time and emotional arcs, as well as audiences identifying with and becoming attached to certain characters, which is often the first character we see on screen, so it's difficult to shake. Also since movies have so much less time to work with than TV shows, I applaud any filmmaker who can give me a bunch of fully fleshed out characters with their own compelling stories within a couple of hours.

Re: Ensemble Films

SquishypuffDave — Wed, 7 Mar 2018 20:23:52 GMT

Author: SquishypuffDave

Posted: 03/08/2018 01:23

Babel might be my favourite example of this. Ensemble comedies like What We Do In The Shadows and Galaxy Quest also come to mind, but even then it's hard to avoid having certain characters emerge as leads, both in terms of the writer giving every character balanced screen time and emotional arcs, as well as audiences identifying with and becoming attached to certain characters, which is often the first character we see on screen, so it's difficult to shake. Also since movies have so much less time to work with than TV shows, I applaud any filmmaker who can give me a bunch of fully fleshed out characters with their own compelling stories within a couple of hours.

Re: Ensemble Films

Mercury — Wed, 7 Mar 2018 04:07:59 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 03/07/2018 09:07

Just about 30 minutes ago I finished an incredible rewatch of Nashville and yeah I was just thinking man I love this freaking film and this style is so so hard to pull off. Nashville is just next level. As is Short Cuts (but even that masterpiece isn’t quite Nashville.) Not a fan of Magnolia.

While watching Nashville I was yet again reminded of Slacker. Probably just the vans blasting out political jargon. But yeah Slacker and Dazed and Confused show Linklater’s brilliant take on the style.

Re: Ensemble Films

hereforashortime — Tue, 6 Mar 2018 11:41:04 GMT

Author: hereforashortime

Posted: 03/06/2018 16:41

badseed wrote:

Speaking of Dazed & Confused, a lot of teen comedies fit the bill. Fast Times at Ridgmont High and American Pie immediately come to mind.

Agreed, breakfast club also qualifies.

Re: Ensemble Films

badseed — Tue, 6 Mar 2018 11:17:40 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/06/2018 16:17

hereforashortime wrote:

So much of Tarantino's work is an ensemble. Kill Bill and Django are really the only films I wouldn't give that title.

Agreed, although I think Jackie Brown may be questionable (Grier and Jackson are leads; Forster, De Niro, Fonda and company are supporting) and also Death Proof (still questionable; I suppose the females are roughly as important as Kurt). Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds and Hateful Eight definitely all qualify though.

Speaking of Dazed & Confused, a lot of teen comedies fit the bill. Fast Times at Ridgmont High and American Pie immediately come to mind.

Re: Ensemble Films

hereforashortime — Mon, 5 Mar 2018 23:51:44 GMT

Author: hereforashortime

Posted: 03/06/2018 04:51

So much of Tarantino's work is an ensemble. Kill Bill and Django are really the only films I wouldn't give that title.

Re: Ensemble Films

hereforashortime — Mon, 5 Mar 2018 23:49:34 GMT

Author: hereforashortime

Posted: 03/06/2018 04:49

12 Angry Men always jumps into my mind immediately, when I think of ensemble films. Obviously Juror #8 is the main character, but for most of the time the cast is completely together, and sometimes shows us small conversations that don't involve Fonda. Dazed and Confused is more in the Magnolia camp of ensemble films, but it obviously has two lead characters, Pink and Mitch, but the film will usually wonder away from their stories and focus on other random events happening.

Ensemble Films

badseed — Mon, 5 Mar 2018 23:15:08 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 03/06/2018 04:15

I don't really know how many stars a film needs to be labeled as an ensemble film as it's a relatively undefined subgenre. Some people would call Casablanca, The Godfather and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ensemble films but those films had a defined line between leading and supporting parts. Even so they are fairly close to being part of the style. I suppose movies with one main character who has tons of support should count, like Citizen Kane, JFK, maybe even Lincoln (and many Ingmar Bergman films). Stuff like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Once Upon a Time in the West both have four main stars who share relatively equal screen time. But the films that really come to mind are the ones where there are many, many characters who have different stories yet cross paths with each other throughout. Of course PTA's Magnolia fits the bill. Particularly the films of Robert Altman, who I feel was listed way low on our directors list. Films like MASH, Nashville and Short Cuts, among others, proved Altman's mastery of the style. Action movies from John Sturges (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape) also come to mind, as well as The Dirty Dozen. Of course 90s crime films like Pulp Fiction and The Usual Suspects. Oh and lots of Woody Allen and Wes Anderson movies. Full Metal Jacket, Do the Right Thing, Happiness, Love Actually. The list goes on and on. Anyway yeah I love that style of film. Anyone else feel the same?