Oh gosh... really... anything. Terrible or mediocre films can be just as good for honing your eye. If you see a movie and a scene doesn't work, analyze it and try to figure out why it isn't working... is the dialogue cheesy, or are the actors not delivering the lines properly? Is it the pacing? Are the shots awkward? How can they be stronger - how could the scene have been filmed in a way that is more dramatic, or funny, or emphasized a different point or character. Pay attention to lighting and compositions of shots - this goes again to ANY movie. Some film critics tend to think that because a shot is straight-on it is less creative or skillful than heavily distorted shots, but that is really not true because straight shots are much harder to compose (imo) than weird ones.
A really good method to study a film is to do a sequence analysis - where you deconstruct every single shot of a scene very closely. This requires watching 1-4 min (wouldn't recommend anything longer) over and over again, and pausing at every cut. You'll be amazed at what you learn.
So I guess my point of view is... it's not really about who or what, just watch watch watch watch and analyze analyze and looke closely at A LOT of films - preferably the more varied the better, that way you can inform and form your own tastes!
As far as my favorite directors - of the classics I love Fritz Lang, Orson Welles, and Akira Kurosawa. Current: Coen Bros, Ang Lee, Wes Anderson. But really I prefer going by favorite films rather than directors.
A really good method to study a film is to do a sequence analysis - where you deconstruct every single shot of a scene very closely. This requires watching 1-4 min (wouldn't recommend anything longer) over and over again, and pausing at every cut. You'll be amazed at what you learn.
So I guess my point of view is... it's not really about who or what, just watch watch watch watch and analyze analyze and looke closely at A LOT of films - preferably the more varied the better, that way you can inform and form your own tastes!
As far as my favorite directors - of the classics I love Fritz Lang, Orson Welles, and Akira Kurosawa. Current: Coen Bros, Ang Lee, Wes Anderson. But really I prefer going by favorite films rather than directors.
Good luck! Let us know if any of this is helpful!
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