10 Directors Who Should Have Their Filmmaking Rights Revoked
3. Oliver Stone
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Having something to say politically no matter what the content, Oliver Stone has always played to his strengths as a film maker. A Vietnam War Veteran himself, he treated the cinematic world to some frighteningly realistic portrayals of the most ignominious war known to man with Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth. JFK, Natural Born Killers and U-turn are also great films, all made with care and consideration for 'having something to say' whilst keeping his flair both original and entertaining. Then came the contrived, misfiring movies of his career. The extremely awful Alexander was the first nail to strike his coffin and since then we have been treated to the dull W., the sequel to Wall Street - which was needed as much as the world needed a sequel to Basic Instinct - and finally the incredibly disappointing and flat Savages from last year. Stone still makes some great films; he has a few good ones of recent years and seems to be leaning towards documentaries a bit more in later life, something which definitely plays towards his strengths as a director with a voice. Similarly to Werner Herzog, who has found nothing but success in real life when he once mainly worked in fictional projects, this could be the route for our man Olly, yet for a man who once had so much to say and knew the stylistic way to say it, Oliver Stone has become a little muted of late. Best Film: Platoon (1986) Most Recent Travesty: Savages (2012)