So maybe I’m slow, but I just realized this is a good strategy to find out what to watch.
I’ve seen a lot of Kubricks stuff, but after watching Dr. Sleep I decided to look into director Mike Flanagan’s other work. Some of it is pretty good, some is just ok but I’m realizing if you like one movie by a director their other stuff is probably good too.
Same with A24 films, when I realized a lot of good movies that have come out recently were all put out by A24 I started going through their list of films and so far its been a good way to find decent films.
Blumhouse too, I’ve been trying to study their catalog.
So rather than going on movies and TV shows based on who the actors are, what directors, writers, creators, production companies, etc are worth going through their filmography to other people?
If a director has a known style, and I like it, I will certainly seek him out.
Stanley Kubrick, as in the OP, is the prime example
Akira Kurasawa
Alfred Hitchcock
Fred Zinneman
George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
Chuck Jones (hey, cartoons count, too! Also Tex Avery and Bob Clampett)
Will Vinton (If you’re gonna include Nick Park of Aardman, you oughtta include the guy who trademarked the term “Claymation”. His The Adventures of Mark Twain is my favorite piece of plasticine animation ever)
Rouben Mamoulian
Byron Haskin
George Pal
I do this all the time. If I like the style or humor or sensibility of a film, I’ll seek out others by the same writer, director or writer/director. Doesn’t always work. Some directors produce very different types of films from one year to the next, and sometimes what worked once doesn’t work again. Some such directors include Penelope Spheeris, Whit Stillman, Ivan Reitman, Richard Curtis, Danny Boyle, etc.
I regularly do a film fest and try to see all the films of a particular director. Last year I completed Alfred Hitchcock starting with the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Most recently I watched Orson Welles, prompted by the release of The Other Side of the Wind. Some of the ones I hadn’t seen were great, others were nearly unwatchable.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have been doing well with their TV productions so far (Preacher, Future Man, The Boys). I’d be very interested to see whatever they come up with next.
Debra Granik has only directed three films in fifteen years, but each one was a gem. I can only hope she continues in this vein and doesn’t fall into the Terrence Malick trap (first three films over 25 years, then descent into self indulgence).