ROTTEN TOMATOES: Five Favorite Films with Director Rod Lurie

Five Favorite Films with Director Rod Lurie

We talk movies and media politics with the Nothing But the Truth director.

by Tim Ryan | December 19, 2008

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Nothing But the Truth director Rod Lurie (The Contender) took a circuitous route to Hollywood -- he was an army officer and an entertainment reporter before perching himself in the director's chair. He's also an engaging conversationalist, full of insight on the key issues of the day, especially where the worlds of film, politics, and journalism collide.

In Lurie's latest film, Nothing But the Truth, Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale), a reporter for a fictional Washington newspaper, is jailed after revealing the identity of Erica Van Doren (Vera Farmiga), a CIA agent who's married to a government official critical of a U.S. attack on Venezuela. Armstrong's imprisonment takes a toll on her family life, while Van Doren and special prosecutor Patton Dubois (Matt Dillon) try to find the source of the leak. The film has a number of parallels to the real-life cases of Judith Miller and Valerie Plame, although Lurie says he was not trying to make a fictionalized account of their stories. Rather, he wanted to make a thriller that examined the personal toll on these two women.

In an interview with RT, Lurie not only waxed poetic on his favorite movies, he also discussed his approach to melding fact and fiction, and bemoaned the current state of the mass media.

All the President's Men (1976, 100% Tomatometer)

My number one favorite film is All the President's Men, by [Alan] Pakula. All the President's Men is a movie that has a very personal place for me because it made me want to be a journalist, and then it made me want to be a filmmaker. I think that it has a level of realism that's really unparalleled in the world of thrillers which, inevitably, this film actually is. There are moments of naturalism in it that are extraordinary. I remember there's one moment in it where [Robert] Redford is speaking to someone on the other line who's speaking Spanish. And he turns to the newsroom and says, "Does anyone here speak English?" And then he laughs at himself and says, "I mean Spanish." It had this very real feel, and I asked Bob whether or not it was improvised. He said, "No, it was actually planned. It was in the screenplay." And there's that sort of attentiveness to human mannerism and the frailty of our diction is rather beautiful in a film. It's also supremely cast. There's nothing about it I don't like.

The 400 Blows (1959, 100% Tomatometer)

Les Quatre cents coups, better known as The 400 Blows, a film that every man can relate to, because every man once was a boy. It also bears the historical importance of being among the first films of the Nouvelle Vague, along with Breathless.

[The last shot] is one of the few freeze fames that I think really works in the history of film. When you do a freeze frame, you have the opportunity to find the exact shot that you want -- no guessing. And [director Francois Truffaut] used it to the full effect.

The Godfather Part II (1974, 98% Tomatometer)

I would say [I like it] more so than [All the President's Men], because I sort of luxuriated in the ambition of it all: telling two stories simultaneous from different eras. I don't think that had ever been done before. It was also the first R-rated movie I saw. I saw that, and in the evening I saw Chinatown. So I saw two R-rated movies when I was 12 years old. That was quite a Christmas vacation. I remember quite distinctly that my dad and I also saw The Conversation, and we saw Lenny and The Towering Inferno. We saw all five movies over that Christmas vacation. That was really great.

Paths of Glory (1957, 92% Tomatometer)

Being a military historian, I was really blown away by the depiction that [Stanley] Kubrick had of trench life. But more importantly, I was immersed in the moral quagmire that Col. Dax, played by Kirk Douglass, experienced in the film. There's a moment when somebody looks down at a cockroach and says, "You see that cockroach?" He says something like, "In an hour, he'll have more relevance than I do." And [another character] steps on the cockroach and says, "Not anymore." Also, it was a very revolutionary shooting style that Kubrick presented, with his long tracking shots and his use of close-up wide lenses that I found very attractive. I first saw that film when I was a cadet at West Point.

The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three (1974, 100%)

And the final film, since you limited me to a mere five… that's always the biggest battle, not what will be number one, but what will be the last film on a short list, because, you know, I would want to throw Pan's Labyrinth on there, or City of God, or Annie Hall, or Crimes and Misdemeanors. What I'm gonna put on is The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. You want to throw on your list something that is perhaps would be contrarian, or would be unusual. But to me, it's the most entertaining crime film that I have ever seen. In a movie like that, involvement is the most significant aspect in determining whether or not it's successful. And you're simply involved in this movie. It doesn't have one movie star. There's nobody particularly handsome or heroic in the film. You're dealing with Walter Matthau and Marty Balsam and Robert Shaw. To me, it's a delight. It's interesting because a remake of it is gonna be coming out, I believe next year. I don't begrudge them. I think it's an absolutely appropriate film to remake. As good as it was, it can be given a modern sensibility that can appeal to modern audiences.

Next: Rod Lurie talks about mass media, film distribution, and the politics of awards season.

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(1-8 of 8 posts) | Reply

funniestgames writes:
on Dec 19 2008 05:04 PM

Good List, I love "All the Presidents Men"

(Reply to this)

Detrs writes:
on Dec 19 2008 05:12 PM

Not bad.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Dec 19 2008 09:20 PM

Hey excellent list. And hey, who the hell is he?!

(Reply to this)

caseyfan14 writes:
on Dec 20 2008 01:17 PM

Rod Lurie is best known for his film "The Contender" and has a new movie this year called "Nothing But the Truth" which received two BFCA nominations.

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Dec 20 2008 01:30 PM

Oh.

(Reply to this)

steve s. writes:
on Dec 21 2008 04:37 PM

wow this is a gutsy list! paths of glory??? i thought i had seen every important military film ever made...guess not....hope its as good as Cross of Iron which also flew an anti-war flag and is a great film....very under appreciated.

(Reply to this)

vitajex writes:
on Dec 22 2008 01:12 PM

Pelham kicks butt!

I'm not so sure about the sequel, even though I'm sure I'll see it...

Achoo!

(Reply to this)

vitajex writes:
on Dec 22 2008 01:13 PM

In reply to this comment (#2197601)
I meant remake not sequel.

(Reply to this)

All the President's Men (1976, 100% Tomatometer)

The 400 Blows (1959, 100% Tomatometer)

The Godfather Part II (1974, 98% Tomatometer)

Paths of Glory (1957, 92% Tomatometer)

The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three (1974, 100%)

Next: Rod Lurie talks about mass media, film distribution, and the politics of awards season.

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