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Noah Baumbach names his favourite movie of all time
There’s an innate American spirit to the films of Noah Baumbach, with the filmmaker defining himself by a brand of naturalism that binds the acting, aesthetics and story. Popularising the indie movement of Mumblecore, the director rose to popularity with the release of The Squid and the Whale in 2005, with subsequent successes Frances Ha and Marriage Story establishing him as one of the country’s best contemporary voices.
Frequently collaborating with his wife and fellow filmmaker Greta Gerwig, Baumbach has become a pioneer of independent cinema, with his latest project with her being the pair’s most anticipated release to date. In any other scenario, if one heard news of the release of the new Barbie movie, it would be met with sheer apathy, but the involvement of Baumbach and Gerwig make it an exciting prospect that will surely capture the interest of the contemporary zeitgeist.
Directed by Gerwig, with a script co-written by herself and Baumbach, the new movie is sure to deviate from all we know about the iconic toy living in her ‘Barbie World’. Whilst little is known about the plot of the forthcoming movie, given both filmmakers’ fondness for grounded, narrative drama, it’s likely that Barbie will remain in the remits of the real world for this outing, with a sprinkle of social commentary to be expected.
Taking inspiration from the films of German director Max Ophüls among many others, Baumbach’s style is very much unique, even if he’s fond of using the history of cinema as a springboard for creative success. For the American director, however, there is one film above all others that remains his definitive favourite, with the essence of the classic 1982 movie making it into each and every one of his own movies, in some shape or form.
In conversation with W Magazine, Baumbach was asked for his all-time favourite film, and he responded with lightning speed. “E.T. I saw it nine times in the theatre, breaking the record of six I had with Star Wars,” the indie director stated, with Steven Spielberg’s alien coming-of-age flick being something of a surprising pick considering the fact that there are no cosmic beings anywhere throughout his filmography.
“E.T. phone home,” the brown bulbous alien of Spielberg’s sci-fi croaks in the film’s most quotable line. Arriving on earth in a vast spacecraft, the titular character is abandoned by his impatient family, who flee back into space after being pursued by federal agents, heading back to their home across the stars in a galaxy far, far away whilst the strangely cute alien was left to fend for himself.
Known for his humble beginnings making Super-8 home movies, Spielberg’s earliest attempts to make it in the cinema industry were similar to that of Baumbach who tells the publication later in the interview, “I made movies on a camcorder and edited them using two top-loader VCRs. The edits would all have that rainbow running through them. Anyone familiar with pausing a VHS recording will know what I’m talking about”.
Take a look at the trailer for the classic movie, below, and see if you can spot any points of reference that Baumbach might have been inspired by.
