I’ve always been intrigued, but never got around to any of his films. They seem to have a very unique “flavour”, like I can almost taste his style, which I find really interesting.
Should I start with Bottle Rocket and go through by release date, or is there a recommended film to start with?
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wes Anderson films have a kind of cartoon surrealism that is hard to explain, but Fantastic Mr. Fox, being stop-motion animation, captures the spirit of his work perfectly. It’s the ideal entry point.
Alternatively, go chronologically and start with Bottle Rocket. It’s interesting seeing Anderson and his troupe mature over time.
Just for science I would be fascinated to see what your opinion would be if you started with The Phoenician Scheme that just came out.
It’s such pure, unadulterated Wes Anderson tropes that I wonder what a newcomer with your level of interest would take to it. Would it be fun or impenetrable?
That said: Royal Tenenbaums would be a strong safe start otherwise.
Well, I haven’t started yet and now I’m intrigued…
I would suggest The Grand Budapest Hotel without a doubt.
Brilliant choice. Ralph Fiennes showing just how brilliant he is but also a lovely surprise to have seen F. Murray Abraham in the film.
He told me how you can call something very ugly in a very diplomatic way: “It’s not that I don’t like it. I am physically repulsed”
The one scene where Ralph fiennes runs from the cops may be my single favourite comedic shot in all of cinema.
It was also ‘copied’ in severance s2 and I loved it again. The show Barry also has a similar comedic style where the lack of movement of the camera is funny in and of itself
As someone who’s watched all Wes Anderson films as they were released and gone back over the years to rewatch them, my opinion is that Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums are his best 2 films. I think out of those two Royal Tenenbaums is the fan favorite, but the more I watch Rushmore, the more I’m starting to think it’s the better of the two overall. Jason Schwartzman, the lead actor, was 16 when it was filmed and he absolutely owns the role.
A lot of people, including myself, are starting to think Anderson is going a little overboard on the “quirkiness” factor in his newer films. I still think they’re good. I just think the focus on the quirkiness is detracting from character development and soundtrack and story overall.
Grand Budapest is one of the “newer” ones that captured the vibe of the older movies. Still don’t like it as much as Rushmore or Tenenbaums, but it was up there. The Life Aquatic is somewhere in between the new and old eras. I’ve always enjoyed it. The talented cast kind of helped save the story a bit on that one.
Generally speaking, I’d say go from old to new. You can maybe skip Bottle Rocket (his first) until later as it’s kind of its own experimental first movie before he found his niche.
Anderson is a love him or hate him director. I’ve always found his films unique and fun. A breath of fresh air.
No mention of Moonrise Kingdom!? I finally got around to watching Asteroid City recently and enjoyed it
I would highly recommend Rushmore. Darjeeling limited, the royal Tenenbaums and grand Budapest hotel. These films would bring a smile to your face and they have a lot warmth. Unfortunately I’ve found a lot of his recent films very self indulgent and definitely don’t watch asteroid city to start off. This may sound controversial to his fans but I strongly feel he has become a self parody now
Wes Anderson movies since moonrise kingdom have looked like an AI was trained on Wes Anderson movies. I still enjoyed grand Budapest hotel, but i also really love Ralph Fines.
Agree on Rushmore, Royal Tennenbaums (my personal favorite), and Grand Budapest Hotel, and I would replace darjeeling limited with Bottle Rocket.
Abd if you really really really liked RT and GBT, then watch The Life Aquatic.
You’re absolutely right about AI 😂. Just two years ago when AI kicked off, there were many AI videos of mock Wes Anderson movies. It is sad that the great director himself seems to be using the style in those fakes to make further films. Grand Budapest and Darjeeling limited are two of my favourites as among the comedy there were some dark themes. The shadow of fascism in the former and the injustices of poverty in the latter
I think it’s not even AI mockeries, but that his movies have just started becoming like parodies of his movies.
duuude see also; moonrise kingdom
beautiful, sweet.
My apologies you’re absolutely right. Lovely film but I could see slight shades of how his future films would turn. Large ensemble casts, idiosyncratic dialogue and a bit too much whimsy. The young cast were brilliant however
wow, now that you say that i absolutely agree. would have been slightly better with more focus around the younger characters… there were a few (adult-focused) superfluous tangents that could have been left on the editing room floor.
I honestly hope that we once again see the down to earth Wes Anderson. The French dispatch and asteroid city really threw me off unfortunately. I’m holding out hope for the Phoenician scheme so fingers crossed
I feel the same after TGBH, that his movies are basically just the same movie.
Interesting. I was actually thinking about starting with Asteroid City so I’ll just work up to it instead. Thanks.
Watching through chronologically as you are will give Asteroid City the strongest punch. It’s one of my favs of his (and one of his funniest), but it’s so deeply in conversation with the rest of his body of work that it would be a lot harder to get on its wavelength without at least a few of them under your belt.
Absolutely. His earlier work is far more accessible. I watched asteroid city and felt like maybe I wasn’t intelligent enough to understand the film. Maybe that’s true 😂 but it’s a far cry from the accessible simplicity of his earlier works The royal tenebaums is a good example of brilliant dialogue and an awesome turn from the late Gene Hackman, who stole the film. However, Wes Anderson got really good performances from the rest of the cast
Isle of Dogs yo
Best one.
Granted all over seen are Isle of Dogs and Asteroid City, and Asteroid City was a big miss for me.
…what about it is likable enough to make it worthwhile? Yeah I liked a part of it. But it was largely a drag.
The Life Aquatic is my favorite :3
Who’s that with?
I think it was with Steve Kuzko
Just know that if you don’t like one, chances are pretty good none of them are for you.
With Wes Anderson, I think that he’s found his knack and if it’s pleasing the critics, then he’ll continue. You have some directors such as Ang Lee who can produce works across many genres but I suppose Wes must be doing something right as anyone who is anyone in Hollywood is literally falling head over heels to star in his films.
Yup, he’s got a singular cinematic language that is very ‘him’, not unlike Tim Burton.
It’s just not for me personally, and that’s okay.
I love it when I see obvious artistic expression in the medium, and those filmmakers with clear styles make it super obvious and easy to appreciate. Most aren’t for me either but I love that they exist.
Yeah, that’s the impression I’ve been getting. I’m also assuming I should pace myself? Maybe only a few per week?
I strongly recommend starting with bottle rocket and most definitely Rushmore. Both are a good way of easing yourself into the Anderson universe.
Yeah I’ve decided to go in order of release. I get the impression he’s a director that’ll be really interesting to watch evolve.
That’s a solid approach.
The two best Wes Anderson movies, according to me:
Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Asteroid City
Life Aquatic is just all around good. Probably don’t need any kind of esoteric knowledge to understand any of the humor or plot. Asteroid City, on the other hand, might hit harder if you are or ever were a theatre kid.
Fantastic Mr Fox is one of my favorites. His visual style is reminiscent of children’s illustration books, so why not start with an adaptation of a children’s book?
Bottle rocket.
I don’t think I had seen a Wes Anderson movie until about 3 years ago when I watched one with friends.
It was ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’, and my reaction to it prompted a friend of a friend to suggest that maybe I should watch more of his movies.
Now, I am no fan of certain directors or produces and know/recognise their work. I just like a movie because I like the movie.
So I cannot say if this is a good one to start off with or how good it is compared to other works of his.
Edit:
Wait, I lie.
I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel a few years before The Life Aquatic and I enjoyed that one as well.
I didn’t realise that was one of his as well, but I had a hunch and looked it up.
I’ve decided to go by release date and limit to 2 per week so I should hit Life Aquatic next week.
I confused the name with wes craven and was like, well I mean seems like the original elm street is where to start.
I don’t remember liking Grand Budapest Hotel at all, but it was a while ago, maybe my taste changed. Same goes for the Tenenbaums, I found it boring.
On the other hand I loved Moonrise Kingdom. It’s a film that just exudes freedom and possibility, and has a terribly strong melancholic feel to it, even though it’s a lot of action. It’s the story of two kids who decide to just fuck off one day.
And there’s Fantastic Mister Fox : super super fun. It also reads differently than his other films (the ones I’ve seen), being animated I suppose. Definitely less static than most, which I think can be a problem sometimes with his work.From the begging.
Bottle rocket is fantastic and layout the narrative and characters from him lacking his characteristic art style. Then Rushmore where you can start seeing his style start to forming. After that Fantastic Mr Fox to see his animation. And finally The Grand Budapest Hotel, that is imo his best movie.
I’ve decided to go through by release date, and suspect his style could easily become overwhelming so I’m gonna limit to 2 per week.
