A Moment of Catharsis With One of My Favorite Creators

I read an A.N.N (Anime News Network) article listing out the cinematic favorites of Masaaki Yuasa. A man whom I consider to easily be one of the best directors of the past decade and my favorite in T.V. anime. Now much can be said about the likes of Hiroshi Hamasaki the creator of Steins:Gate Technolyze and the current running Blade of the Immortal. All of which have an ambiance that's geared towards my taste in many ways.  Like the bizarre and surreal tone of the first few episodes of Steins:Gate, cut with photography and other elements to solidify itself as being a cross between Horror and thriller. A style that proliferates in Texhnolyze and Blade of the immortal, one of which is an agonizing watch (not for it's bad writing) but how he perfectly displays the pure nihilism of the world in which the characters inhabit. Through downtrodden backgrounds, to very interesting changes in the art style that all serve the purpose of drawing those emotions out. 

Yuasa while he's able to depict darker more emotional scenes, my favorite thing about him that separates him from even Hamasaki is his devotion to the medium of animation. Focusing more on depicting a massive variety of emotions through that, and by diversifying his use of  color. Akiyuki Shinbo, another favorite of mine does this to great effect as well in the Monogatari series, with Bakemonogatari and Kizumonogatari being my favorites and perfectly depicting everything I want from anime, good narrative in conjunction while optimizing on elements only possible within their medium of choice. Yuasa I feel however takes that to the next level with his exaggerated stylization that creates situations where he can contort his characters beyond obvious recognition, making those moments of sadness that much sadder and those moments of joy or agony that  much more ethereal. 

Going through Yuasa's catalog I realized that a lot of the films that are among his favorites are long standing favorites of mine.Some of theme are cheezy action films and cinematic classics that in a lot of ways explain why he's so incredible with not only his animation but scene composition. To me those elements are essential, and is why 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of my favorite films. The beautifully made practical effects in The Thing inundate his Kemonozume series released in 2006, and even in his Devilman Crybaby series. There are alot of classics in horror, action and comedy and his tastes are varied and nuanced. I wish there was an interview to explain in more detail about why he likes these films.
Here's a link to the A.N.N article:
And here are the film favorites where he and I overlap
No Country For Old Men
The Sixth Sense 
Die Hard 
Beetlejuice
Jurassic Park
Drunken Master 
Pulp Fiction 
Blade Runner 
West Side Story
The Godfather
Shawshank Redemption
E.T. 
The Thing
Singin in the Rain 
2001: A Space Odyssey

Now mind you some on his list I haven't seen I hope to watch soon!

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