The “flawless” movie Todd Phillips calls his favourite
Right now, all eyes are on Todd Phillips. After starting an intense cultural conversation with his 2019 interpretation of the complex mythology of the Joker, Phillips is ready to dive back into that unique environment. Titled Joker: Folie à Deux, the upcoming sequel to Joker has been scheduled for a 2024 release and is already garnering the attention of film fans all over the world. Once again, the American filmmaker finds himself at the centre of the public discourse.
Although some fans expressed their disappointment when it was announced that the sequel is going to be a musical, there has been an overwhelming show of support on social media for the casting of Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. That’s exactly why the newly released images from the production have been gaining so much traction on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, signalling a massive amount of interest in the project.
If you’re one of those who can’t wait for the release of Joker: Folie à Deux, maybe it’s time to revisit Phillips’ influences in order to gain a better understanding of the artistic sensibilities he is going to incorporate into the upcoming work. During an interview, the director was asked to name his favourite film of all time. While that’s obviously a difficult task for any cinephile, Phillips was unhesitant to respond to the tough question.
“Gimme Shelter, the Rolling Stones documentary,” the filmmaker revealed. “It is flawless and groundbreaking, it really captures the spirit of the ’60s on film. The Maysles brothers did great with that film. I consider a favourite film a film I watch the most. Is The Godfather more rewarding? Maybe, but Gimme Shelter is my favourite film, it is the film I get excited about and show to people when they haven’t seen it.”
Directed by Charlotte Zwerin and the Maysles brothers, Gimme Shelter definitely belong among the most influential documentaries ever made. An organic combination between the values of the counterculture era and the aesthetic principles of the Direct Cinema movement, the 1970 work attempts to capture a slice of one of the most important periods in our history. Due to the unique approach of the directors, the unreal nature of reality becomes a fascinating lens through which we view the past.
In an interview with the BFI, Albert Maysles admitted that they didn’t have any idea about the eventual destination of the project. He said: “We didn’t know what the film was going to be. We just had a childish faith that having seen the Stones and getting along with them, there might be a feature film there. So at our own expense and speculation we stayed with them.”
David Maysles added: “We wanted something to go beyond just the concert and the tour, and we were developing different themes. One of them had to do with filming the detectives and the Angels and some of the aftermath of the killing itself. That material was rather inconclusive because the trial was still going on, for one thing.”
