R.I.P. Arthur Hiller

[Mister Tee]

Arthur Hiller was, by most accounts, an exemplary human being. But he was a complete mediocrity as a director. When his movies were good -- as, say, The Americanization of Emily, Popi or The In-Laws -- it was despite him, not because of him. And there were cases (like The Hospital) where he seemed to be actively sabotaging decent material with godawful pacing. He was basically a TV director who advanced to features demanding faceless execution. It's somehow appropriate that his one Oscar attention was for the now universally sneered-at Love Story.

I don't take pleasure in saying this, since, as I noted, he's purported to have been a good guy. But his artistic credentials are exceedingly thin.

[Big Magilla]

http://moviecitynews.com/2016/08/statem ... ur-hiller/