The films of Michael Curtiz have come to symbolize Warner Brothers Studios of the 1930s and 1940s. Curtiz directed many favorites from that era, including Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Sea Hawk, Yankee Doodle Dandy, 20,000 Years in Sing Sing, and Mildred Pierce. He helped guide Bette Davis as her popularity rose in the 1930s, and helped establish Errol Flynn as the symbol of the swashbuckling hero. James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy) and Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce) both won Oscars under Curtiz's direction.
Alexander Korda may be Britain's most controversial film figure, but there is no doubt that his name stands everywhere for the most splendid vision of cinema as it could be, if one had money and power. Both of these Korda had, although several times he was close to bankruptcy, living on pure Hungarian charm and know-how. He at least had a dream that came near reality on several occasions.
The films of Judit Elek serve as textbook examples of art as a reflection of personal experience and political/humanist commitment. The works of many of our foremost contemporary filmmakers are autobiographical: In his films, Woody Allen consistently focuses on the neuroses of middle-class Jewish New Yorkers whose childhood insecurities and Brooklyn roots forever affect their actions as adults; the films of Martin Scorsese often spotlight the Italian-American tough guys and tough-guy wannabes of the director?s youth.
Marta Meszaros is one of few contemporary woman filmmakers consistently making films both critically and commercially successful for an international audience. Her eight feature films made from 1968 to 1979 are concerned with the social oppression, economic constraints, and emotional challenges faced by Hungarian women. Meszaros explains, "I tell banal, commonplace stories, and then in them the leads are women--I portray things from a woman's angle."
