Ang Lee names his six favourite movies of all time
There aren’t many filmmakers who can be directly compared to James Cameron, but in terms of repeatedly attempting to push the limits of cinematic technology, Ang Lee is definitely one of them.
The clear and obvious difference between the two is that Lee has been much more prolific and versatile, having helmed 14 features since 1991 that have covered drama, comedy, Jane Austen, martial arts, Westerns, comic book adaptation, romance, espionage, eroticism, fantasy, and sci-fi.
It’s an eclectic and acclaimed career that’s yielded two Academy Award wins from nine nominations to go along with five gongs apiece from the Golden Globes and the Baftas, even if Lee’s repeated and Cameron-esque desire to test out the shiniest new toys available hasn’t always gone off without a hitch.
He decided he was the ideal person to suit up in the motion capture leotard for 2003’s divisive disappointment Hulk, brought Life of Pi to stunning realisation by utilising cutting-edge visual effects and soundstage techniques, did a terrible job of convincing anybody that 120 frames per second was the way forward in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and experienced the biggest flop of his career when de-ageing Will Smith in Gemini Man.
The hits drastically outweigh the misses, though, with Lee’s ability to effortlessly move between different genres being at least partially inspired by the diverse array of titles that comprise his own favourite films. Like almost all of his contemporaries, the shadow of Stanley Kubrick looms large.
“2001: A Space Odyssey is one of my favourites,” Lee said to the British Film Institute. “His ideas are a pure visual feast, and he did that way ahead of his time. How did he get away with that?” Ingmar Bergman’s Persona was another touchstone, leaving Lee “aware that I was watching an art film” for the first time, even if he’s watched it multiple times “and still didn’t know what it was about”.
Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist classic Bicycle Thieves opened Lee’s eyes to how to “raise melodrama to a different level, to a philosophical and socialist level that transcends the melodrama”, with The Birds being named as the Alfred Hitchcock movie he holds dearest, partly based on an understanding that came later in life.
“Now I’m older I can see it’s a film about perversion and female sexuality,” he admitted. “The moment the birds become active, it really syncs with how those ladies feel, the jealousy, the anger. That’s very effective. It’s genius”. In a similar vein to Persona, Lee adores Federico Fellini’s Roma because his “favourite movies are the ones where I don’t know why I like them”, although being described as “inspiring”, “mystical”, and “artistically fulfilling” states a compelling case either way.
Yasuijro Ozu’s Last Spring is “very Asian and not obviously artistic” in Lee’s eyes, and while he’s no fan of the performances, the elegiac drama’s craftsmanship – including the way “the composition and framing is very restrained” – is enough to see it held up as one of his most important influences.
Ang Lee’s six favourite movies:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
- Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
- Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
- The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963)
- Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972)
- Late Spring (Yasuijro Ozu, 1949)
