“Anonymous” (2011)
The poster for “Anonymous” provocatively asks, “Was Shakespeare a fraud?” The answer, of course, is “no.” But that doesn’t stop Emmerich — that student of history who had wooly mammoths constructing the Egyptian pyramids in “10,000 BC” — from conjuring this rococo historical bore. It starts in present-day England, and then goes back in time, further and further until we reach the end of the Elizabethan era, when the movie goes to great pains to suggest that Edward de Vere (Rhys Ifans), the 17th Earl of Oxford, who was forbidden to write (it would bring great shame to his family) but does so anyway, is the true scribe behind the works we attribute to William Shakespeare. After some confusion, the villainous Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) takes credit for de Vere’s plays and (among other things) extorts de Vere to build the famous Globe Theater and kills Christopher Marlowe (Trystan Gravelle), after Marlowe discovers that Shakespeare is a fraud. The whole thing is ridiculous and silly, but not in the escapist sense of Emmerich’s better films. The question about whether or not Shakespeare authored all of this immortal works is a good one, even if the answer is somewhat anticlimactic, and a decent enough movie could be made out of the inquiry. But Emmerich’s more-is-more approach, which leaves subtlety behind and instead insists on a flashback-heavy Russian nesting doll of out-there conspiracy theories, isn’t the right one. Sure, there’s a whole lot of period spectacle to soak in and a touch of Greek tragedy, but since so little of it makes any sense, it’s very hard to ever really engage with the narrative. [D]
“Making Contact” (1985)
Also known as “Joey,” this West German fantasy movie is Emmerich going “full Spielberg.” The movie, like many of Emmerich’s best, starts out intriguingly enough, with a young boy mourning his dead father. Soon enough, objects in his room start to levitate and a toy phone beams in an actual conversation from the dearly departed dad. But things start to get significantly weirder: the young boy develops telekinetic powers (it doesn’t go over well at school) and pretty soon a ventriloquist dummy in his room starts to tell him that it’s not his father he’s talking to, but rather the spirit of an evil magician (or something). Pretty soon all sorts of demonic creatures and questionable optical effects show up, with Emmerich borrowing liberally from both “E.T.” (there’s even a moment where the kid is drinking milk from an E.T. glass) and “Poltergeist” (particularly as the movie goes along, with keen attention paid to the lighting in that earlier, better movie). When released stateside by B-movie titan Roger Corman‘s New World Pictures, “Joey” was heavily edited and renamed “Making Contact.” The extensive dubbing and odd grasp of American culture (there seems to be “Star Wars” paraphernalia in almost every shot) make the movie even stranger and more charming, especially when combined with Paul Gilreath‘s soaring, John Williams-esque score. It doesn’t make a lick of sense, and all of the supernatural gobbledygook definitely slows things down. But as an early indicator of the director’s ability to conjure forth wide-eyed wonder, “Making Contact” is a delightful little romp, and at only 79 minutes, it won’t take up too much of your time. [C]
“The Patriot” (2000)
The closest Emmerich has ever come to having a genuinely underrated film, “The Patriot” is a lavish historical revenge movie that follows a man (Mel Gibson) and his son (a young Heath Ledger) who fight back against the British after an evil Colonel (Jason Isaacs) kills a young family member (and burns down their house). Large thematic concerns, about the nature of guerilla warfare, slavery, cultural identity and the dynamics of teamwork/family, are threaded throughout “The Patriot.” But mostly it’s a warmhearted, horrifically violent, incredibly kick-ass revenge movie, one whose Emmerich-approved earnestness affects you deeply (even while you’re rolling your eyes). It’s unequivocally the most beautiful-looking Emmerich movie ever (it was shot by the legendary Caleb Deschanel), with painterly compositions that will cause you to stare, mouth agape, at the sheer majesty of it. It’s also the most beautiful-sounding Emmerich movie, thanks to John Williams’ sweeping score. In later movies, Emmerich seems to have lost his mojo when it comes to staging action sequences on the ground (ones that don’t involve massive flyovers of crumbling city-states). But here he’s totally in command of his craft, and each giant action set piece is brilliantly choreographed and easy to follow. Today, it’s worth re-watching for Ledger’s performance, which might not be as brilliant as his later work, but is just as commanding. There have been relatively few movies made about the American Revolutionary War, and it’s a miracle this one turned out as well as it did. In the Story of Emmerich, this is also an important movie, because it marks the last time Emmerich worked with Dean Devlin, his longtime co-writer/producer and general creative other half. [C]
The Day After Tomorrow is probably one of my favorite films he did. It\’s predictable, scientifically flawed, and clichéd to hell, but it\’s very entertaining, but I don\’t think it was just because I was an early teen at the time I saw it that I liked it. Heck, I really didn\’t enjoy 2012 that much when he released it. I also very much enjoy Independence Day and Stargate. Both silly and over the top, but very enjoyable.
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When I first watched Independence Day back in 1996, I found it to be quite enjoyable, but I was 11 years old, today as an adult I have no fondness whatsoever for his types of films ( end of the world survival stories filled with horrible cliches). Now the Patriot is a whole different case, I first watched it in my teens, must've been 16 or 17, and to this day I consider it a beautiful film, it's such a powerfull, grand, moving story with so many layered characters. With beautiful cinematography and score and great performances. It's as if all of Emmerich's movies he's attempting to be Michael Bay or some similar piece of crap director, but with the Patriot it feels like he's folowing the footsteps of Steven Spielberg, I would give it an A-
Good try, but the problem with Emmerich is that every single one of his films is garbage. They're all 'F's.
When your best film steals the premise of 'V' and then does nothing interesting with it you know you're in trouble.
I strongly disagree with this ranking (except for 10,000 BC being last). For my money, Emmerich is one of the finest blockbuster craftsman out there. Godzilla is one of my favorite movies, and I'm a big fan of 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow is well.
I probably would move THE PATRIOT to first position and ID4 down one-I think the Gibson film has more earnestness than any of Emmerich's other films, plus I think it has one of Gibson's most vulnerable characters, along with Jeremy Isaac's truly loathsome villain (although Isaacs does allow a sliver of compassion for a soldier wounded by Gibson) who goes so far as to slaughter an entire village by locking them in their church and burning them alive. It is one of those rare films about the American Revolution but it also shows that it was not all just men and muskets-it had its moments of savagery both up close (Gibson's taking out of the soldiers holding his son prisoner is both thrilling yet it shows how monstrous such a task could be by showing his sons seeing their father in a different light during and afterwards) and far away (the aforementioned torching of the church).
I will have to check out UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, MOON 44, GHOST CHASE and MAKING CONTACT-they all sound intriguing.
I generally agree but think you should reconsider "Anonymous." I thought it was a great movie that handled complicated Elizabethan politics very well (and it was a political, not literary, movie). And, it was visually beautiful, and so worthwhile simply for sinking back into a sofa and letting the images wash over you. Plus, it had an amazing cast. It was an excellent film that deserved a larger audience.
The American Godzilla was only nicknamed "GINO" for a short time, but officially nicknamed "Zilla" by Toho, dropping the "God" because there was nothing god-like about him.
and a massive volcano erupting in Yellowstone National Park (it shoots out clumps of liquid hot magma that, in the filmmakers' imagination, look more like tiny meteors)
Lava bombs are totally a real thing. Wiki it, dude.
Independence Day is without any shadow of a doubt a cornerstone of 90s pop culture. An absolute classic, with a great cast and awesome set pieces. Stargate is pretty neat too, a nice cult sci-fi flick with it's own little charm. And if features James Spader and Kurt Rusell! I'm downloading it to rewatch it asap.
Did you leave out "Moon 44" on purpose because you couldn't be bothered to watch it or because you've never heard of iMDB?
Lazy.
WTF?!!! Independence Day and Stargate are you 1 top 2? Really??
They are horrible movies….in fact I find that most of his movies are one note drivel. Always tons of action scenes to make up for the lack of good story telling and over-acting. Sorry
Nice piece.
I've been saying it for a while now, I think Roland Emmerich is this generation's Douglas Sirk. A mad but brilliant German genius with unparalleled technical skills who uses the form of the genre film to explore surprisingly complicated socio-political issues, bringing them to a wide mainstream audience under a veneer of schlock. If he doesn't have the lightness of touch that Sirk did, it's only because he's making summer blockbusters and not women's weepies, but there's the same intelligence behind his work. I'm convinced people will be studying his films in a few decades, amazed at how he was unappreciated in his time.
Frankly, the only movies of his worth the film have been The Patriot and Moon 44. Beyond those, the level of implausibility and bigger plot holes than the Stargate itself could create sink everything he touches. How you guys could refer to his movies as "high concept" is beyond me. Granted, he's not Uwe Boll, but he doesn't even reach the "heights" of Michael Bay either.
It seems like it's a generational thing to rank them all but it's clear now that Emmerich appeal to every single boy teenager. As a guy in his early 30s like you guys, I have fond memories of both Stargate and Independence Day but my little brother's favorite flick is The Patriot. I felt that teen summer vacation vibe in the trailer of WHD and i'm considering blowing money on that later on.
The Day After Tomorrow is basically a classic for anyone who was a teenager in the mid-2000s, the Patriot, too. Those are both B+'s in my book. I'll take either of those over Independence Day or Universal Soldier