Registered: Jul 2000
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So, what are some of your favorite film directors?

A lot goes into such a list. I mean, on what grounds do you answer such a question? In some cases, a director's competence is best shown by how invisible he is. Take Schindler's List for example. An extremely well directed film, mostly because nowhere in the picture can you see the director's touch (save the end). That is partly why so many regular Joes have no fucking clue what exactly a director of a movie does, as they best succeed when they appear absent.

But that's not much fun, at least in terms of choosing among your favorites.

I like a director with some style (I can't even spell style without the "i" anymore on my first try lol), I want one with some bite to him or her (I say "her" only to be politically correct, as we all know that women make LOUSY film directors. Penny Marshall? Fuck you.) Quenten Tarantino. There is a man with style. I also give him extra credit for writing his own shit. Everybody tells you that "making a movie is a team effort". But any critic will tell you that making a GREAT movie requires one man with one vision, and the ability to permeate that single vision among the cast and crew. Thus, it really helps if they write and produce it as well (Orson Wells, Tarantino, whatever). You also have to give Tarantino some props for being so goddamned influencial (for better or worse). After 1995 the amount of Tarantino clones is staggering, and while yes, a lot of his stuff was lifted from various other styles and directors, he was the one who put them all together and made them a hit. Something to be said for that. He re-introduced a ferocity to filmmaking that hasn't been seen really since maybe the late 70s.

So I would have to put him in the top 5, and as much as I hate to, I would have to put Spielberg up there as well. The man makes great pictures, that's all there is to it (though my favorite Spielberg film is probably his first one, a movie called Duel, starring some guy and a truck. Great flick. If you ever get a chance to see it, do so).

And speaking of ferocity, two of my favorites are the Spikes. Spike Lee and Spike Jonze. I know Spike Jonze has only thus far directed one feature (Being John Malkovich), but judging from his past work in music videos and television, I feel safe in not having to hedge my bets too much. Besides, WHAT a directorial debut! And I also wanted to include one fresh director on my list, just for the sake of it really.

As far as Spike Lee goes, he kinda goes into the ferocity category. Nobody handles social issues like he does, and while he can be heavy-handed while doing so, what I respect about his work is how none of his films are "easy". All to often when a director makes a film as social commentary, they drag the viewer by the ear to the conclusion that the director intends them to make. Not so with Spike. There are a myriad of ways to take his films, and no one film tends to be only about any single particular issue. It isn't really and issue of whether or not you agree, as his films aren't really made like that. He simple brings up an issue, explores it, plays with it, and leaves it hanging there in your mind. Besides, he is a pretty comprehensivly great director. His work with actors, his narrative, his imagery, everything about his work is, at least in my mind, brilliant. And on the occassions when he does press a point, even if you don't agree with him, you'd still have to say he tells lies better then most people tell the truth.

Before I round out my top 5, I'll mention why I didn't put in a few that some other people would probably be inclined to bring up.

Orson Welles Ah. The easy answer. I am fully aware that this man was WAY ahead of his time. I simply don't include him because he is old.

Kevin Smith Bah. Fucking mallrats. A much better writer then he is a director. When you think about him, you remember the wit, you remember the ireverence, you remember the biting sarcasm of his films. These are the works of a great writer, not neccessarily a director. Besides, I have always found his work with actors to be far below par. A lot of the actors are stilted and wooden, the dialouge clunky and unreal. Chasing Amy was the only really well acted film he has made yet, and his most "human" work, and my personal favorite. Ben Affleck's best movie as well, IMHO. He makes some great movies, but has really only made 4 of them, and I give him credit as a writer, not a director.

Oliver Stone FUCK Oliver Stone. Oliver Stone can suck my limp dick. I LOATHE this man. I mentioned earlier that I like a director that has some style to him, some bite. But that CAN be taken too far. Oliver Stone does just that. He is so intent on making his films look "edgy" and "stylistic" that his direction completley overwhelms the entire picture, chocking out all story, performances, and narrative. I would say JFK was probably his best movie, as he ruined it less then most movies of his (though I liked some of his war movies). Natural Born Killers ranks as one of my least favorite movies, partly because had Tarantino directed it (he was the writer), it would have been great. And also partly because Julliete Lewis is the most annoying actress to ever grace the silver screen, but that is neither here nor there.

Okay, so my favorite director of all time:

STANLEY KUBRICK A visionary, in every sense of the word. The only person to ever consistently make movies better then the books. He used style AS narrative, and did so masterfully. Every other director on my list has made some sub-par films. But every single film Kubrick ever made was a pure masterpiece. What's more, Kubrick has never been a cookie cutter filmmaker. He has tackled every genre there is practically, and he has NEVER made the same movie twice (which cannot be said of any other directors on my list). He took filmmaking farther as an art form then any other director ever. His films are the perfect synthesis of sound and images.

So, there you have my list.

1. Stanley Kubrick
2. Quentin Tarantino
3. Steven Spielberg
4. Spike Lee
5. Spike Jonze

How about you?

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i still say you should go maroon


and this is my 500th post woohoo! congratulations! lets celebriate

[This message has been edited by slappy (edited 12-18-2000).]

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i like all of the above + terry gilliam. and this is a different orange too

and i'm a cock

[This message has been edited by slappy (edited 12-18-2000).]

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Oh, I forgot one.

Or rather, two.

Well, kinda of two, but really four.


Replace Spike Jonze with a tie for these guys.

5. The Coen Brothers. Another pair that have demonstrated remarkable flexibility. Show me two movies as different as Fargo and The Hudsucker Proxy or Miller's Crossing and The Big Lebowski. Their films tend to have enormous wit, not just in writing, but in visuals and style as well. One of my all time favorite shots is from Fargo, a bird's eye view of a snow covered parking lot. At first, you can't really tell what it is. Looks like a closeup of some household product. And then William H. Macy walks into the screen, a little ant, towards what we now realize is a car.

That's an example of an "extra", something the directors didn't need to put in, but they did so anyways. I won't go into all the analysis of what that shot means, though I do have analysis to give, I'll just say it's a really cool shot and leave it at that.

Or look at the first 20 minutes of Raising Arizona. It takes about 20 minutes before the title of the movie is even shown. And that 20 minutes is probably the most perfectly constructed, tightly formed comedy I have ever seen. Absolutly brilliant.

5 1/2. Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. French filmmakers. Alas, I have only seen three movies from the pair, but the thing that you notice RIGHT AWAY is the direction. They did Delicatessen, City of the Lost Children, and then Jeunet did Alien: Ressurection, which kind of spoiled the record (though I did feel that movie was underrated and fairly smartly directed, especially compared to the other two ((not counting the Ridley Scott original)). Selah.). But go rent Delicattessen or City of the Lost Children if you ever want to see PERFECTION from direction.



[This message has been edited by Paint CHiPs (edited 12-18-2000).]

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This is my list of favourites.


Style, ya wan't style?

Martin Scorcese. More style than a roomful of stylish people. No one performs ballet with the camera like scorcese.

F.F.Coppola. See "Hearts of Darkness". Now say your sorry for having doubted me.

Sergio Leone. Everyone from Tuerentino to the jag off who directed the Matrix has copied this king of cool for the last 20 yrs. He invented the badass protaganist and made long coats the gear of the disenfranchised(ie trenchoat mafia)


Ridley Scott. Defined SF for the thinking man in modern cinema. Kicked Gene Rodenberry's happy,shiny ass all the way to Andromeda and back. And then did the same for ancient rome.

George Romero. Zombies. okay.

Woody Allen. Not a popular choice I'm sure. But used the camera like the page in a book instead of a part of the action. Best still shot and best music of any director ever. Some may say influenced by the stills of Bergman. Fuck them. No one relates to Bergman. Woody tells honest disfunctional stories.

selah.




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My what a colorful thread!

I moved this over. I originally posted it in the test forum for the hell of it, until the scoundral bowmore called me out on it.

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how dare you mention the words "style" and "director" in the same sentence without mentioning tim burton? even if you don't like his films, you have to respect the artistry he puts into them. and even though he's still a "newbie" to the business, i am eagerly awaiting new works by darren aronofsky (pi). "requiem for a dream" is on my must see list at the moment. hmm. all of my other favs are already listed. i'll try to think of some others i've forgotten to mention.



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Ooo! Good call on Burton.

Dammit. That is going to be a top 10 list I suppose.

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...and i know you'll hand me my ass for this one, but...i have a huge thing for john hughes. he had a gift for translating the experiences of the average 80's teen onto the screen. the breakfast club is still one of my fav movies of all time. so nyah.

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David Lynch.

Um. Hitchcock.
Wim Wenders. Akira Kurosawa.

(Burton, Kubrick, ... ahhhhh)

[This message has been edited by missphinx (edited 12-18-2000).]

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So all the good answers are already taken. Oh well.

My top 5:
1. Kubrick. Fucking genius. See Paint's post.
2. Ridley Scott, if for no other reason than Blade Runner. Alien was classic, and Gladiator was well-made, looked fantastic, but utterly predictable (blame the writers for that).
3. Tim Burton. Refer to my goth-brat teenage years.
4. Sergio Leone. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is second only to 2001 for mind-blowing vistas and a level of hyper-intense minimalism that has still not been bested.
5. Chris Cunningham. So he's not yet released a debut film. Going on the strength of his videos for Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and Bjork, I have VERY high hopes for his upcoming version of Neuromancer. Time will tell, I guess.

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[This message has been edited by Shadow23 (edited 12-18-2000).]

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Ridley Scott and why has no one mentioned John Woo?

Hard Bolied kicked all ass.

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Carl Dreyer
Wim Wenders
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Vittoria de Sica

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David Fincher. fight club, SE7EN, etc
good movies.


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Coen Bros - for Raising Arizona & Big Lebowski
Scorcese - for Goodfellas
Hitchcock - Vertigo, North by Northwest
Coppola - Apocalypse Now
Raimi - Evil Dead 2

All pretty obvious I guess.

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Some other very notable Directors:

Terrence Malick- The Thin Red Line, Badlands, Days of Heaven

Michael Mann- HEAT(the one with De Niro and Pacino), The Insider, Last of the Mohicans

Todd Solondz- Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness

Danny Boyle- Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary(although I didn't like this movie at all)

Paul Thomas Anderson- Boogie Nights, Magnolia

Darron Aronofsky- Pi, Requiem for a Dream


These directors may not be as "good" as Spielberg, Kubrick (am I the only one who thought "Eyes Wide Shut" was fucking brilliant? Why does everyone hate that flick?), Scorcese, or Coppola, but they certainly have a unique style of their own.

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I forgot one: Harmony Korine. Is anyone familiar with his stuff, particulary "Gummo"?

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1) Tim Burton - Pure genius in the field of stop animation, and his other films are really good as well.

2) Steven Spielberg - ET, Close Encounters of the Thrid Kind, Jaws, Jurassic Park . . . need I say more?

3) Mel Brooks - Comical genius at its best. Who else could build a scene around farting round a campfire and not come off as immature?

4) Georgre Romero - Night of the Living Dead . . . 'nuff said.

5) Woody Allen - Very sophisticated and funny at the same time.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Paint CHiPs:
And also partly because Julliete Lewis is the most annoying actress to ever grace the silver screen, .......

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quote:

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Originally posted by GoFuckYourselves!:
I forgot one: Harmony Korine. Is anyone familiar with his stuff, particulary "Gummo"?

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quote:

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Originally posted by blank22:
I believe he also wrote the script for "KIDS", an equally disturbing film.

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My favourite directors, if forced to choose, are the following (not in any particular order):

1) John Huston - The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle

2) John Ford - The Searchers (probably the greatest western ever made), The Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine

3) Alfred Hitchcock - Lifeboat, Rear Window, Vertigo, Saboteur (my favourite Hitchcock movie)

4) Orson Wells - Touch of Evil, Citizen Kane (in which he acted as well)

Various directors for #5):
a) Howard Hawks - The Big Sleep, Sergeant York, To Have and Have Not
b) Otto Preminger - Laura (one of the best film noir)
c) Anthony Mann - Winchester '73
d) Cecil B. DeMille - The Ten Commandments (twice), The Greatest Show on Earth

No modern director can come close to the "classic" movie directors. They did not have special effects and 100 million dollar budgets. They had scripts, actors and use of light to make their films great.

Great topic.

CAL


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