Robert Eggers names his movie “guilty pleasure”
The arrival of the independent distribution platform A24 and the unparalleled freedom it gives to its filmmakers has led to the emergence of a number of iconic contemporary creatives. From the horror of Ari Aster to the quintessential American dramas of Sean Baker to the arthouse epics of Robert Eggers, A24 has opened the door to a whole host of new talent from across the world.
Of the trio previously mentioned, it is Eggers who has found the most success, catching the attention of fans ever since his gothic 2015 debut The Witch, which provided a modern take on the classic horror folk tale. The film raised enough eyebrows for Eggers to be fast-tracked for a follow-up, collaborating with actors Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe four years later for the release of The Lighthouse.
Clearly a lover of eerie, barbaric tales from the history books, Eggers diversified his filmography in 2022 with the release of The Northman, a grim action flick set in the Viking era. Although not receiving the adoring praise his previous two films had, The Northman established Eggers as a fearless director capable of taking on grand narratives that innovated the cinematic form.
It is for this reason that the director has developed such a loyal following among movie lovers, with the filmmaker himself having a deep passion for the history of cinema that spans decades and generations. Naming the ten greatest movies of all time, for example, Eggers picked an eclectic mix, opting for films from the likes of world cinema icons Andrei Tarkovsky and Carl Theodor Dreyer, as well as creatives closer to home like David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick.
Still, whilst Eggers is a self-confessed lover of the likes of Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Werner Herzog and Akira Kurosawa, the director loves a guilty pleasure too. For example, the director previously voiced his love for the 1964 Disney flick Mary Poppins, stating: “It’s a movie where kids have power. They understand some things that their Edwardian dad doesn’t. And we use a Mary Poppins-esque weathervane shot in The Lighthouse”.
Yet, although it’s a throwaway children’s movie, many wouldn’t consider Mary Poppins to be a guilty pleasure; indeed, for Eggers, there is one movie that he boldly calls his definitive secret cinematic love.
During an interview with Le Cinema Club, Eggers named five of his favourite movies, naming the 1993 western flick Tombstone, directed by George P. Cosmatos and Kevin Jarre. Speaking about the movie, The Lighthouse director stated: “A childhood favorite and guilty pleasure. Objectively, it’s unique in its portrayal of Victorian aspirationalism in the Wild West, especially in the design”.
Eggers might call it a “guilty pleasure”, but we’d have to admit that Tombstone is more of an underrated western classic. Starring the likes of Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell and Sam Elliot, the movie tells the true story of Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp, a lawman and a criminal who come to blows shortly before the former is due to retire.
