News Film List: great directors

Showing posts with label great directors. Show all posts

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Top Ranked Directors on the Net

© 2009-11, William L. Sinclair

All Directors in the top 1011 list that we compiled from all the internet surveys we could find, ranked by total points for all films on our spreadsheet. Alfred Hitchcock led the list [photo above with fellow director, artist Andy Warhol]. John Ford and Jean-Luc Godard had the most films listed at 16 each. Charles Laughton made the list highest with only one film at #100; unfortunately for this consummate actor, it was the only film he directed, Night of the Hunter. Count, Director, Top Ranked Film, Total Points

14 - Hitchcock, Alfred [Vertigo (1958) #6 ] ..55352

10 - Kubrick, Stanley [2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) #2 ] ..42161

12 - Scorsese, Martin [Taxi Driver (1976) #12 ] ..37474

11 - Kurosawa, Akira [Seven Samurai, The (1954) #7 ] ..33022

16 - Ford, John [Searchers, The (1956) #46 ] ..32142

8 - Chaplin, Charles [City Lights (1931) #21 ] ..31835

16 - Godard, Jean-Luc [Contempt (1963) 74 ] ..31243

15 - Buñuel, Luis [Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The (1972) #88 ] ..29977

7 - Spielberg, Steven [Schindler's List (1993) #27 ] ..28694

11 - Fellini, Federico [8½ (1963) #37 ] ..27722

8 - Wilder, Billy [Sunset Boulevard (1950) #14 ] ..27448

12 - Bergman, Ingmar [Seventh Seal, The (1956) 29 ] ..27032

4 - Coppola, Francis [Godfather, The (1972) #1 ] ..26334

11 - Hawks, Howard [Bringing Up Baby (1938) #118 ] ..25560

7 - Welles, Orson [Citizen Kane (1941) #5 ] ..24090

6 - Lean, David [Lawrence of Arabia (1962) #50 ] ..22668

10 - Lang, Fritz [M (1931) 11 ] ..22392

10 - Renoir, Jean [Rules of the Game, The (1939) #44 ] ..21204

8 - Bresson, Robert [Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) 93 ] ..20832

8 - Huston, John [Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) #62 ] ..20190

7 - Keaton, Buster [Sherlock Jr. (1924) #89 ] ..19724

4 - Capra, Frank [It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 10 ] ..17564

8 - Powell, Michael [Peeping Tom (1960) #360 ] ..17464

5 - Polanski, Roman [Chinatown (1974) #3 ] ..17376

7 - Truffaut, François [Jules et Jim (1961) #59 ] ..17238

7 - Eisenstein, Sergei [Battleship Potemkin (1925) 100 ] ..17070

4 - Scott, Ridley [Blade Runner (1982) 13 ] ..16179

5 - Murnau, F.W. [Sunrise (1928) #38 ] ..16168

5 - Dreyer, Carl Theodor [Passion of Joan of Arc, The (1928) 51 ] ..16068

10 - Rossellini, Roberto [Paisan (1946) #166 ] ..16058

8 - Eastwood, Clint [Unforgiven (1992) #91 ] ..15976

4 - De Sica, Vittorio [Bicycle Thief, The (1949) 16 ] ..15656

7 - Cassavetes, John [Woman Under the Influence, A (1974) #176 ] ..15564

9 - Visconti, Luchino [Rocco and His Brothers (1964) #237 ] ..15186

6 - Allen, Woody [Annie Hall (1977) #77 ] ..15039

5 - Ray, Satyajit [Pather Panchali / Apu Trilogy I (1955) #32 ] ..14988

6 - Antonioni, Michelangelo [L'Avventura (1960) #187 ] ..14434

4 - Leone, Sergio [Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) #70 ] ..14418

7 - Altman, Robert [Nashville (1975) #192 ] ..13854

3 - Lucas, George [Star Wars (1978) #4 ] ..13743

8 - Ophuls, Max [Earrings of Madame de..., The (1953) 264 ] ..13588

6 - Mizoguchi, Kenji [Ugetsu (1953) 58 ] ..13300

7 - Tarkovsky, Andrei [Solaris (1972) #263 ] ..13200

3 - Griffith, D.W. [Intolerance (1916) 64 ] ..13198

6 - Coen Ethan and Joel [No Country for Old Men (2007) #165 ] ..13163

5 - Sturges, Preston [Lady Eve, The (1941) 92 ] ..13162

3 - Jackson, Peter [Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) #84 ] ..12603

4 - Forman, Milos [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) #54 ] ..12314

4 - Cameron, James [Aliens (1986) #159 ] ..12253

4 - Tarantino, Quentin [Pulp Fiction (1995) #20 ] ..12172

4 - Lumet, Sidney [12 Angry Men (1957) #124 ] ..11976

5 - Kazan, Elia [On the Waterfront (1954) #67 ] ..11952

6 - Lubitsch, Ernst [Trouble in Paradise (1932) #234 ] ..11804

4 - Wyler, William [Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) #102 ] ..11786

6 - Resnais, Alain [Last Year at Marienbad (1961) #215 ] ..11250

2 - Fleming, Victor [Wizard of Oz, The (1938) #18 ] ..11132

7 - Fassbinder, Rainer Werner [Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) 196 ] ..11128

4 - McCarey, Leo [Duck Soup (1933) #41 ] ..10924

7 - Kiarostami, Abbas [Close-Up (1990) 189 ] ..10769

5 - Pasolini, Pier Paolo [Gospel According to St. Matthew, The (1964) #103 ] ..10760

3 - Curtiz, Michael [Casablanca (1942) #47 ] ..10506

5 - Lynch, David [Elephant Man, The (1980) #193 ] ..10266

5 - Ozu, Yasujiro [Tokyo Story (1953) #57 ] ..10218

6 - Minnelli, Vincente [Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) #288 ] ..10068

6 - Ray, Nicholas [Rebel Without a Cause (1955) #280 ] ..10052

4 - Bertolucci, Bernardo [Conformist, The (1970) 76 ] ..9788

5 - Cukor, George [Philadelphia Story, The (1940) #148 ] ..9614

5 - Sirk, Douglas [All That Heaven Allows (1955) #233 ] ..9604

4 - Donen, Stanley [Funny Face (1957) #735 ] ..9452

3 - Reed, Carol [Third Man, The (1948) #15 ] ..9246

4 - Mankiewicz, Joseph L. [All About Eve (1950) #33 ] ..9238

5 - Peckinpah, Sam [Wild Bunch, The (1969) #87 ] ..8998

6 - Kieslowski, Krszystof [Dekalog (1988) #235 ] ..8974

5 - Roeg, Nicolas [Don't Look Now (1973) #301 ] ..8966

4 - Gilliam, Terry [Brazil (1985) #188 ] ..8783

4 - Carné, Marcel [Enfants du paradis, Les (1945) #183 ] ..8728

4 - Herzog, Werner [Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) #72 ] ..8534

4 - von Stroheim, Erich [Greed (1924) 79 ] ..8234

6 - von Sternberg, Josef [Blue Angel, The (1930) #269 ] ..8170

4 - Wenders, Wim [Wings of Desire (1987) #245 ] ..7908

2 - Vigo, Jean [L'Atalante (1934) 49 ] ..7874

2 - Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly [Singin' in the Rain (1952) #26 ] ..7604

4 - Nolan, Christopher [Memento (2000) #354 ] ..7406

2 - Clouzot, Henri-Georges [Wages of Fear, The (1952) #134 ] ..7390

4 - Miyazaki, Hayao [Spirited Away (2001) #255 ] ..7366

3 - Tati, Jacques [Playtime (1967) #209 ] ..7362

3 - Anderson, Paul Thomas [There Will Be Blood (2007) #180 ] ..7326

3 - Wise, Robert [Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951) #318 ] ..7272

2 - Whale, James [Bride of Frankenstein (1935) #140 ] ..7204

4 - Almodóvar, Pedro [All About My Mother (1999) #283 ] ..6825

5 - Vidor, King [Crowd, The (1928) #355 ] ..6759

3 - Zinnemann, Fred [High Noon (1952) #106 ] ..6560

4 - Tourneur, Jacques [Out of the Past (1947) #236 ] ..6446

2 - Zemeckis, Robert [Back to the Future (1985) #175 ] ..6434

4 - Reiner, Rob [Princess Bride, The (1987) #371 ] ..6426

3 - Malick, Terrence [Days of Heaven (1978) #260 ] ..6402

3 - Carpenter, John [Halloween (1978) #317 ] ..6355

3 - Stevens, George [Shane (1953) #282 ] ..6214

3 - Cocteau, Jean [Belle et la bête, La (Beauty/Beast, 1946) #240 ] ..6196

1 - Laughton, Charles [Night of The Hunter, The (1955) 35 ] ..6100

4 - Melville, Jean-Pierre [Army of Shadows (1969) #291 ] ..6086

2 - Nichols, Mike [Graduate, The (1967) #107 ] ..6016

4 - Demy, Jacques [Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The (1964) #284 ] ..5954

2 - Preminger, Otto [Laura (1944) #168 ] ..5952

3 - De Palma, Brian [Scarface (1982) #210 ] ..5943

1 - Cooper, Merian C./Ernest B. Schoedsack [King Kong (1933) 40 ] ..5838

5 - Hou Hsiao-Hsien [Time to Live and the Time to Die, The (1985) #500 ] ..5802

2 - Stanton, Andrew [WALL-E (2008) #181 ] ..5795

3 - Fincher, David [Fight Club (1999) #271 ] ..5768

2 - Campion, Jane [Piano, The (1993) #81 ] ..5697

3 - Sharpsteen, Ben [Fantasia (1940) #358 ] ..5690

2 - Lasseter, John [Toy Story (1995) #82 ] ..5588

2 - Friedkin, William [Exorcist, The (1973) #143 ] ..5562

1 - Frankenheimer, John [Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) #43 ] ..5559

3 - Rivette, Jacques [Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) 141 ] ..5542

2 - Lee, Ang [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) #152 ] ..5452

3 - Clair, René [Le Million (1931) #313 ] ..5410

2 - Lee, Spike [Do The Right Thing (1989) #112 ] ..5377

1 - Hanson, Curtis [L.A. Confidential (1997) #45 ] ..5348

2 - Bird, Brad [Incredibles, The (2004) #295 ] ..5333

2 - Darabont, Frank [Shawshank Redemption, The (1994) #155 ] ..5234

2 - Demme, Jonathan [Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) #90 ] ..5234

4 - Zhang Yimou [Raise the Red Lantern (1991) #298 ] ..5219

2 - Cimino, Michael [Deer Hunter, The (1978) #110 ] ..5202

2 - Hill, George Roy [Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) #149 ] ..5088

2 - Boyle, Danny [Slumdog Millionaire (2008) #232 ] ..5051

2 - Marker, Chris [La Jetee (1961) 184 ] ..4972

3 - Greengrass, Paul [Bourne Ultimatum, The (2007) #362 ] ..4640

1 - Vertov, Dziga [Man With a Movie Camera, The (1929) 78 ] ..4602

3 - Pabst, G.W. [Pandora's Box (1928) #249 ] ..4430

2 - Gilliam, Terry/Terry Jones [Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) #222 ] ..4330

1 - Mulligan, Robert [To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) #96 ] ..4324

2 - Fosse, Bob [Cabaret (1972) #276 ] ..4302

2 - Angelopoulos, Theo [Landscape in the Mist (1988) 316 ] ..4282

1 - Penn, Arthur [Bonnie and Clyde (1967) #105 ] ..4240

2 - Wong Kar-Wai [In the Mood for Love (2001) #268 ] ..4205

3 - Leigh, Mike [Secrets & Lies (1996) #376 ] ..4195

4 - Weir, Peter [Truman Show, The (1998) #689 ] ..4172

3 - Rocha, Glauber [Black God, White Devil (1964) #528 ] ..4166

2 - Hand, David [Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) #256 ] ..4136

2 - Boorman, John [Deliverance (1972) #309 ] ..4134

1 - Wajda, Andrzej [Ashes and Diamonds (1958) 114 ] ..4132

1 - Hamer, Robert [Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) #117 ] ..4122

2 - Yang, Edward [Yi yi (2000) #221 ] ..4101

1 - Lanzmann, Claude [Shoah (1985) #119 ] ..4078

3 - Cronenberg, David [Dead Ringers (1988) #349 ] ..4076

1 - Pontecorvo, Gillo [Battle of Algiers, The (1966) #132 ] ..3936

1 - Mackendrick, Alexander [Sweet Smell of Success (1957) #133 ] ..3896

2 - Romero, George A. [Night of the Living Dead (1968) #326 ] ..3856

2 - Lester, Richard [Hard Day's Night, A (1964) #327 ] ..3849

2 - Snow, Michael [Wavelength (1967) #259 ] ..3842

1 - Mendes, Sam [American Beauty (1999) #139 ] ..3799

2 - Siegel, Don [Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) #342 ] ..3780

1 - Akerman, Chantal [Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) #146 ] ..3740

1 - Rossen, Robert [Hustler, The (1961) #153 ] ..3686

1 - del Toro, Guillermo [Pan's Labyrinth (2006) #154 ] ..3681

1 - Tornatore, Giuseppe [Cinema Paradiso (1988) #158 ] ..3632

3 - Rohmer, Eric [My Night at Maud's (1969) #497 ] ..3630

1 - von Donnersmarck, Florian Henckel [Lives of Others, The (2006) #162 ] ..3537

3 - Frears, Stephen [Queen, The (2006) #479 ] ..3515

1 - Milestone, Lewis [All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) #164 ] ..3514

2 - Straub, Jean-Marie [Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, The (1968) #850 ] ..3466

3 - Jarmusch, Jim [Stranger Than Paradise (1984) #628 ] ..3426

3 - Sembene, Ousmane [Moolaadé (2004) #617 ] ..3419

1 - Singer, Bryan [Usual Suspects, The (1995) #169 ] ..3410

2 - Sturges, John [Great Escape, The (1963) #294 ] ..3398

1 - Burnett, Charles [Killer of Sheep (1977) #173 ] ..3367

2 - Flaherty, Robert [Nanook of the North (1922) #443 ] ..3362

2 - Aronofsky, Darren [Requiem for a Dream (2000) #459 ] ..3340

2 - Meyer, Russ [Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) 315 ] ..3322

2 - Ashby, Hal [Harold and Maude (1971) #346 ] ..3310

2 - Riefenstahl, Leni [Triumph of the Will (1935) #453 ] ..3310

3 - Malle, Louis [Atlantic City (1980) #489 ] ..3290

1 - Ramis, Harold [Groundhog Day (1993) #182 ] ..3262

1 - Hopper, Dennis [Easy Rider (1969) #190 ] ..3190

3 - Burton, Tim [Ed Wood (1994) #724 ] ..3188

1 - Meirelles, Fernando [City of God(2002) #191 ] ..3188

2 - Walsh, Raoul [White Heat (1949) #322 ] ..3152

1 - Shaffner, Frank [Patton (1970) #202 ] ..3105

1 - Pollack, Sydney [Tootsie (1982) #212 ] ..3049

2 - Parajanov, Sergei [Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964) #510 ] ..3030

1 - Avildsen, John G. [Rocky (1976) #223 ] ..2938

1 - Wachowski, Andy & Larry Wachowski [Matrix, The (1999) #224 ] ..2932

2 - Stone, Oliver [Platoon (1986) #390 ] ..2920

1 - Gondry, Michael [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) #225 ] ..2915

1 - Kelly, Richard [Donnie Darko (2001) #226 ] ..2908

1 - Mann, Michael [Heat (1995) #227 ] ..2904

1 - Gance, Abel [Napoléon (1927) #230 ] ..2888

2 - Tarr, Béla [Sátántangó (1994) #547 ] ..2886

1 - McTiernan, John [Die Hard (1988) #241 ] ..2802

1 - Peterson, Wolfgang [Das Boot (1981) #243 ] ..2798

1 - Hooper, Tobe [Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (1974) #246 ] ..2780

1 - Dovzhenko, Alexander [Earth (1930) #247 ] ..2774

1 - Wise, Robert/Jerome Robbins [West Side Story (1961) #251 ] ..2742

1 - Erice, Victor [Spirit of the Beehive, The (1973) #257 ] ..2688

2 - Chen Kaige [Farewell, My Concubine (1993) #452 ] ..2678

1 - Feuillade, Louis [Les Vampires (1915-16) #262 ] ..2666

2 - Ritchie, Guy [Snatch (2000) #607 ] ..2624

1 - Bogdanovich, Peter [Last Picture Show, The (1971) #278 ] ..2612

1 - Attenborough, Richard [Gandhi (1982) #281 ] ..2598

1 - Sandrich, Mark [Top Hat (1935) #285 ] ..2572

2 - Edwards, Blake [Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) #596 ] ..2560

1 - Schlesinger, John [Midnight Cowboy (1969) #289 ] ..2558

2 - von Trier, Lars [Breaking the Waves (1996) #445 ] ..2548

2 - Schnabel, Julian [Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2008) #439 ] ..2541

2 - Jennings, Humphrey [Listen to Britain (1941) #563 ] ..2500

1 - Clément, René [Forbidden Games (1951) #302 ] ..2488

2 - Zwigoff, Terry [Crumb (1994) #611 ] ..2482

2 - Wellman, William A. [Ox-Bow Incident, The (1943) #461 ] ..2478

2 - Cantet, Laurent [Class, The (2008) #598 ] ..2475

1 - Rafelson, Bob [Five Easy Pieces (1970) #305 ] ..2474

2 - Sjöström, Victor [Wind, The (1928) #512 ] ..2466

2 - Dutt, Guru [Pyaasa (1957) #561 ] ..2416

1 - Egoyan, Atom [Sweet Hereafter, The (1997) #314 ] ..2398

1 - Jewison, Norman [In the Heat of the Night (1967) #320 ] ..2376

1 - Takahata, Isao [Hotaru no Hakaa (Grave/Fireflies, 1988) #319 ] ..2376

1 - Wiene, Robert [Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The (1919) #321 ] ..2372

2 - Forsyth, Bill [Local Hero (1983) #535 ] ..2362

1 - Méliès, Georges [Voyage dans la lune, Le (Trip to the Moon, 1902) #330 ] ..2348

2 - Loach, Ken [Kes (1969) #526 ] ..2344

1 - Aldrich, Robert [Kiss Me Deadly (1955) #336 ] ..2312

1 - Wood, Sam [Night at the Opera, A (1935) #337 ] ..2312

2 - Becker, Jacques [Casque d'or (1952) #543 ] ..2282

2 - Soderbergh, Steve [sex, lies, and videotape (1989) #666 ] ..2280

2 - Ichikawa, Kon [An Actor's Revenge (1963) 601 ] ..2278

1 - Levinson, Barry [Diner (1982) #341 ] ..2276

2 - Anderson, Lindsay [If… (1968) #534 ] ..2244

1 - Argento, Dario [Suspiria (1977) #345 ] ..2234

2 - Kalatozishvili, Mikheil [I Am Cuba (1964) #639 ] ..2186

2 - Kusturica, Emir [Underground (1995) #760 ] ..2184

1 - Payne, Alexander [Sideways (2004) #352 ] ..2182

2 - Crowe, Cameron [Almost Famous (2000) #677 ] ..2140

1 - Bacon, Lloyd [42nd Street (1933) #368 ] ..2098

1 - Park Chan-Wook [Oldboy (2003) #370 ] ..2094

2 - Park, Nick & Box, Steve [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) #821 ] ..2050

2 - Pudovkin, Vsevolod [Storm Over Asia (1928) #757 ] ..2026

2 - Anderson, Wes [Rushmore (1998) #539 ] ..1987

1 - Coppola, Sofia [Lost in Translation (2003) #389 ] ..1981

1 - Rosenberg, Stuart [Cool Hand Luke (1967) #392 ] ..1974

1 - Franju, Georges [Eyes Without a Face (1959) #393 ] ..1972

1 - Denis, Claire [Beau Travail (1998) #395 ] ..1964

2 - Van Sant, Gus [Good Will Hunting (1997) #796 ] ..1956

1 - Olmi, Ermanno [Tree of Wooden Clogs, The (1978) #398 ] ..1956

1 - Brooks, Mel [Producers, The (1968) #400 ] ..1952

1 - Jonze, Spike [Being John Malkovich (1999) #402 ] ..1950

1 - Olivier, Laurence [Henry V (1944) #403 ] ..1946

2 - Linklater, Richard [Before Sunset (2004) #669 ] ..1936

1 - Jordan, Neil [Crying Game, The (1992) #408 ] ..1912

1 - Besson, Luc [Léon (1994) #416 ] ..1864

1 - Eustache, Jean [Mother and the Whore, The (1973) #419 ] ..1858

1 - Menzel, Jirí [Closely Watched Trains (1966) #422 ] ..1850

2 - Varda, Agnès [Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) #822 ] ..1848

1 - Beatty, Warren [Reds (1981) #424 ] ..1848

1 - Kaye, Tony [American History X (1998) #423 ] ..1848

1 - Mungiu, Cristian [4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) #425 ] ..1846

1 - Pakula, Alan J. [All the President's Men (1972) #427 ] ..1840

1 - Jeunet, Jean-Pierre [Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) #431 ] ..#824

2 - Dardenne, Jean-Pierre & Luc [L'Enfant (The Child, 2005) #800 ] ..1815

1 - Browning, Tod [Freaks (1932) #440 ] ..1788

2 - Mann, Anthony [Man of the West (1958) #805 ] ..1780

1 - Rapper, Irving [Now, Voyager (1942) #448 ] ..1764

1 - Merielles, Ferdinand [Children of Men (2006) #455 ] ..1755

1 - Cuarón, Alfonso [Y Tu Mamá También (2001) #467 ] ..1725

2 - Maysles, Albert/David Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin [Salesman (1968) #792 ] ..1708

2 - Morris, Errol [Fog of War, The (2003) #814 ] ..1702

1 - Deren, Maya [Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) #474 ] ..1694

1 - Oshima, Nagisa [In the Realm of the Senses (1976) #477 ] ..1688

1 - Naruse, Mikio [Floating Clouds (1955) #481 ] ..1684

1 - Hirschbiegel, Oliver [Downfall (2004) #482 ] ..1680

1 - Reisz, Karel [Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) #483 ] ..1676

1 - Inarritu, Alejandro Gonzalez [Amores perros (2000) #488 ] ..1668

1 - Ulmer, Edgar G. [Detour (1945) #492 ] ..1660

1 - Begnini, Roberto [Life is Beautiful (1997) #493 ] ..1656

1 - Rosi, Francesco [Salvatore Giuliano (1961) #494 ] ..1656

1 - Berlanga, Luis García [Verdugo, El (1963) #496 ] ..1648

1 - Minghella, Anthony [English Patient, The (1996) #501 ] ..1624

2 - Ghobadi, Bahman [Marooned in Iraq (2002) #854 ] ..1620

1 - Rodgriguez, Robert [Sin City (2005) #502 ] ..1608

1 - Gibson, Mel [Braveheart (1995) #508 ] ..1592

1 - George, Terry [Hotel Rwanda (2004) #514 ] ..1584

1 - McLeod, Norman Z. [It's a Gift (1934) #525 ] ..1566

1 - Marquand, Richard [Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) #531 ] ..1552

1 - Pennebaker, D.A. [Don't Look Back (1967) #545 ] ..1518

1 - Kaufman, Philip [Right Stuff, The (1983) #550 ] ..1510

1 - La Cava, Gregory [My Man Godfrey (1936) #552 ] ..1504

1 - Kuchar, George [Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966) 557 ] ..1490

1 - Klimov, Elem [Come and See (1985) #558 ] ..1488

1 - Losey, Joseph [Servant, The (1963) #560 ] ..1484

1 - Madden, John [Shakespeare in Love (1998) #564 ] ..1478

1 - Warhol, Andy [Chelsea Girls (1967) #565 ] ..1474

1 - Anger, Kenneth [Scorpio Rising (1964) #567 ] ..1470

1 - Alea, Tomás Gutiérrez [Memories of Underdevelopment (1968) #574 ] ..1450

1 - Hicks, Scott [Shine (1996) #575 ] ..1447

1 - Shyamalan, M. Knight [Sixth Sense, The (1999) #578 ] ..1444

1 - Kramer, Stanley [Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) #584 ] ..1432

1 - Lewis, Joseph H. [Gun Crazy (Deadly is the Female, 1950) #583 ] ..1432

1 - Richardson, Tony [Tom Jones (1963) #585 ] ..1432

1 - Schroeder, Barbet [Reversal of Fortune (1990) #588 ] ..1425

1 - Penn, Sean [Into the Wild (2007) #589 ] ..1424

1 - Miller, George [Mad Max 2 (1981) #591 ] ..1420

1 - Ghatak, Ritwik [Cloud-Capped Star, The (1960) #595 ] ..1402

1 - Mamoulian, Rouben [Love Me Tonight (1932) #600 ] ..1392

1 - Makhmalbaf, Mohsen [Moment of Innocence, A (1996) #608 ] ..1378

1 - Chabrol, Claude [Le Boucher (1970) #612 ] ..1372

1 - Tarr, Bela & Hranitzky, Agnes [Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) #614 ] ..1370

1 - Hallström, Lasse [My Life as a Dog (1985) #621 ] ..1360

1 - Kunuk, Zacharias [Fast Runner, The (2001) #620 ] ..1360

1 - Chomet, Sylvain [Triplets of Belleville, The (2003) #626 ] ..1350

1 - Hellman, Monte [Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) #630 ] ..1332

1 - Allers, Roger & Minkoff, Robert [Lion King, The (1994) #632 ] ..1324

1 - Folman, Ari [Waltz with Bashir (2008) #635 ] ..1320

1 - Raimi, Sam [Evil Dead II (1987) #641 ] ..1306

1 - Duras, Marguerite [India Song (1975) #643 ] ..1304

1 - McTeigue, James [V for Vendetta (2005) #644 ] ..1304

1 - Davies, Terence [Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) #649 ] ..1290

1 - Coster, Henry [Harvey (1950) #650 ] ..1288

1 - Hu, King [Touch of Zen, A (1969) #662 ] ..1266

1 - Fei Mu [Spring in a Small Town (1948) #676 ] ..1242

1 - Jones, Terry [Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) #678 ] ..1240

1 - Alfredson, Tomas [Let the Right One In (2008) #680 ] ..1236

1 - Berman, Shari, and Pulcini, Robert [American Splendor (2003) #681 ] ..1235

1 - Genet, Jean [Chant d'amour, Un (1950) #682 ] ..1232

1 - Russell, Ken [Devils, The (aka ..of Loudun, 1971) #685 ] ..1228

1 - Jarecki, Andrew [Capturing the Friedmans (2003) #691 ] ..1215

1 - Paronnaud, Vincent & Satrapi, Marjane [Persepolis (2007) #695 ] ..1210

1 - Giordana, Marco Tullio [Best of Youth, The (2003) #701 ] ..1200

1 - McDonagh, Martin [In Bruges (2008) #709 ] ..1188

1 - Woo, John [Killer, The (1989) #710 ] ..1186

1 - Chambers, Jack [Hart of London, The (1970) #712 ] ..1180

1 - Marsh, James [Man on Wire (2008) #713 ] ..1180

1 - Charles, Larry [Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) #714 ] ..1175

1 - Bahrani, Ramin [Goodbye Solo (2008) #717 ] ..1170

1 - Duvivier, Julien [Pépé le Moko (1937) #720 ] ..1168

1 - Getino, Octavio & Fernando E. Solanas [Hour of the Furnaces, The (1968) #722 ] ..1164

1 - Bigelow, Kathryn [Hurt Locker, The (2008) #725 ] ..1160

1 - Ferguson, Charles [No End in Sight (2007) #732 ] ..1150

1 - Clayton, Jack [Innocents, The (1961) #745 ] ..1128

1 - Carney, John [Once (2006) #747 ] ..1125

1 - Donner, Richard [Superman: The Movie (1978) #751 ] ..1120

1 - Newmeyer, Fred C. & Taylor, Sam [Safety Last! (1923) #750 ] ..1120

1 - Haggis, Paul [Crash (2004/I) #753 ] ..1116

1 - Rouch, Jean [Maîtres fous, Les (1955) #754 ] ..1116

1 - Dos Santos, Nelson Pereira [Barren Lives (1963) #755 ] ..1112

1 - Chytilová, Vera [Daisies (1966) #759 ] ..1106

1 - Dvortsevoy, Sergei [Tulpan (2008) #761 ] ..1100

1 - Ophüls, Marcel [Hôtel Terminus (1988) #762 ] ..1098

1 - Miller, Bennett [Capote (2005) #763 ] ..1095

1 - Cooper, Stuart [Overlord (1975) #765 ] ..1090

1 - Hughes, John [Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) #768 ] ..1086

1 - Pialat, Maurice [Van Gogh (1991) #771 ] ..1082

1 - Polley, Sarah [Away from Her (2006) #777 ] ..1070

1 - Hodges, Mike [Get Carter (1971) #781 ] ..1062

1 - Potter, H.C. [Hellzapoppin' (1941) #784 ] ..1058

1 - Dayton, Jonathan & Faris, Valerie [Little Miss Sunshine (2006) #788 ] ..1048

1 - Vidor, Charles [Gilda (1946) #790 ] ..1046

1 - Zwick, Edward [Glory (1989) #791 ] ..1044

1 - Nyby, Christian/Howard Hawks [Thing from Another World, The (1951) #793 ] ..1040

1 - Koreeda, Hirokazu [Nobody Knows (2004) #797 ] ..1035

1 - Armstrong, Gillian [Little Women (1994) #803 ] ..1025

1 - Barnet, Boris [Outskirts (Okraina, 1933) #809 ] ..1020

1 - Taviani, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani [Night of the Shooting Stars, The (1982) #808 ] ..1020

1 - Garrone, Matteo [Gomorra (2008) #811 ] ..1015

1 - Redford, Robert [Quiz Show (1994) #816 ] ..1005

1 - Ivory, James [Howards End (1992) #818 ] ..1000

1 - Kitano, Takeshi [Hana-Bi (1997) #825 ] ..986

1 - Marston, Joshua [Maria Full of Grace (2004) #826 ] ..985

1 - Fuller, Sam [Pickup on South Street (1953) #828 ] ..984

1 - Reitz, Edgar [Heimat (Homeland: A German Chronicle, 1984) #829 ] ..982

1 - Koltai, Lajos [Fateless (2005) #830 ] ..980

1 - Brest, Martin [Midnight Run (1988) #833 ] ..972

1 - LeRoy, Mervyn [I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) #836 ] ..966

1 - Jacobs, Ken [Tom, Tom the Piper's Son (1969) #838 ] ..964

1 - Caouette, Jonathan [Tarnation (2003) #841 ] ..960

1 - Rubin, Henry Alex & Shapiro, Dana Adam [Murderball (2005) #844 ] ..955

1 - Carax, Lèos [Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les (1991) #858 ] ..926

1 - Schlöndorff, Volker [Tin Drum, The (1979) #859 ] ..920

2 - Van Dyke II, W.S. [Thin Man, The (1934) #995 ] ..912

1 - Syberberg, Hans-Jürgen [Hitler: A Film from Germany (1977) #864 ] ..910

1 - Teshigahara, Hiroshi [Woman in the Dunes (1964) #865 ] ..908

1 - Apted, Michael [42 UP (1998) #867 ] ..905

1 - Solondz, Todd [Happiness (1998) #871 ] ..900

1 - Philibert, Nicolas [To Be and to Have (2002) #879 ] ..885

1 - Pierce, Kimberly [Boys Don't Cry (1999) #883 ] ..875

1 - de Oliveira, Manoel [I'm Going Home (2001) #890 ] ..865

1 - Haynes, Todd [Safe (1995) #891 ] ..864

1 - Amrohi, Kamal [Pakeezah (1972) #892 ] ..862

1 - Field, Todd [In the Bedroom (2001) #894 ] ..860

1 - Jancsó, Miklós [Round-Up, The (Szegénylegények, 1966) #896 ] ..856

1 - Palcy, Euzhan [Sugar Cane Alley (Rue case negres, 1983) #901 ] ..846

1 - Provost, Martin [Seraphine (2008) #902 ] ..845

1 - Peixoto, Mario [Limite (1931) #906 ] ..836

1 - Sokurov, Aleksandr [Russian Ark (2002) #907 ] ..835

1 - Costa-Gavras, Constantin [Z (1969) #910 ] ..832

1 - Berg, Amy [Deliver Us from Evil (2006) #911 ] ..830

1 - Hamilton, Guy [Goldfinger (1964) #912 ] ..830

1 - Potter, Sally [Orlando (1992) #917 ] ..822

1 - Monicelli, Mario [Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) #918 ] ..818

1 - Ozon, Francois [Under the Sand (2000) #921 ] ..815

1 - Hathaway, Henry [Peter Ibbetson (1935) #923 ] ..812

1 - Brakhage, Stan [Art of Vision, The (1965) #926 ] ..808

1 - Meadows, Shane [This Is England (2006) #930 ] ..795

1 - Hudson, Hugh [Chariots of Fire (1981) #935 ] ..784

1 - Suzuki, Seijun [Branded to Kill (1967) #941 ] ..768

1 - Davis, Andrew [Fugitive, The (1993) #944 ] ..760

1 - Workman, Chuck [Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film (1991) #949 ] ..755

1 - Cissé, Souleymane [Yeelen (1987) #952 ] ..752

1 - Lerner, Irving [Murder by Contract (1958) #954 ] ..750

1 - Bava, Mario [Black Sunday (1977) #958 ] ..744

1 - Lonergan, Kenneth [You Can Count On Me (2000) #963 ] ..735

1 - Badham, John [Saturday Night Fever (1977) #965 ] ..734

1 - Belzberg, Edet [Children Underground (2001) #971 ] ..720

1 - Akin, Fatih [Edge of Heaven, The (2007) #974 ] ..715

1 - Leisen, Mitchell [Midnight (1939) #976 ] ..712

1 - Cline, Edward F. [Bank Dick, The (1940) #977 ] ..710

1 - Jenkins, Tamara [Savages, The (2007) #978 ] ..710

1 - Feyder, Jacques [Carnival in Flanders (1935) #979 ] ..706

1 - Butler, George [Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The (2000) #980 ] ..705

1 - Crichton, Charles [Fish Called Wanda, A (1988) #981 ] ..702

1 - Panahi, Jafar [Offside (2006) #983 ] ..700

1 - Andersen, Thom [Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) #986 ] ..695

1 - Apatow, Judd [Knocked Up (2007) #990 ] ..690

1 - Smith, Jack [Flaming Creatures (1963) #989 ] ..690

1 - Smeaton & Cvitanovich [Festival Express (2003) #997 ] ..680

1 - Ki-duk Kim [Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) #1001 ] ..675

1 - Benton, Robert [Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) #1003 ] ..672

1 - Fleck, Ryan [Half Nelson (2006) #1006 ] ..670

1 - Sautet, Claude [Coeur en hiver, Un (1992) #1005 ] ..670

1 - Szabó, István [Mephisto (1981) #1008 ] ..666

1 - Curry, Marshall [Street Fight (2005) #1010 ] ..665

1 - Gannon, Russell [Last Letter, The (2004) #1011 ] ..655

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Great Directors: Stanley Kubrick

Jan Harlan, 2001 (9*)
TCM recently showed this documentary on master director Stanley Kubrick which was appropriately released in 2001, by his brother-in-law Jan Harlan. It's also available on dvd.

Using home movies, interviews with his ex-wife, other relatives, film stars, other directors, collaborators, writers, composers, and clips from his movies, we get a look at one of the few directors that could equally be labeled genius and artist. For me, this was a real treat, as I’ve always thought Kubrick was among the absolute best of directors, at least his best five films anyway, all legitimate all-time top 100 contenders:

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), ranked #2 on the all-time top ranked 1000 list; about the next step in evolution from a material to a spiritual being, illustrated by one astronaut but in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel Childhood’s End, it happens to an entire generation at once

Dr. Strangelove (1964) bw (#17), perhaps the best comedy ever; brilliant satire, perfect acting from Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens

A Clockwork Orange (1971) (#63), a spellbinding trip into a violent future; Malcolm McDowell was never again to approach such greatness; from Anthony Burgess' brilliant autobiographical novel (he was the author, victim of the home invasion)

Paths of Glory (#83), a powerful anti-war film shot in black and white, Kirk Douglas’ best role, as a heroic officer fighting for the underdogs

Spartacus (#177), an underrated epic and homage to freedom, Kirk Douglas again

Other Kubrick films also make the all-time polls:

Barry Lyndon (#101), shot in natural candlelight on old cameras fitted with Leica lenses made for the low light of space by NASA; perhaps a better choice than American Ryan O'Neal would have made this British novel more authentic

The Shining (#109), a lengthy excursion into the madness of the Stephen King horror novel and the over-acting of Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall

Full Metal Jacket (#206), a war film in two parts, one half covers boot camp, the other the same infantry squad now fighting in Vietnam, with some great war action in a city

The Killing (#324), his first serious feature, his only film noir/pulp fiction film

Lolita (#652), an early bw filming of the controversial Nabakov novel, with James Mason

Eyes Wide Shut (#806 on the critics poll only, 1058th on ours), his final film which took years to film. This last film was a slow and disappointing excursion into infidelity to most, but Kubrick thought it his finest film. Its star Tom Cruise narrates this documentary, and Nicole Kidman is also interviewed. Some say the lengthy filming broke apart their marriage.

This is really all of Kubrick's major features. He only made one before The Killing, Killer's Kiss in 1955, and he himself bought and destroyed all the prints of that one, so his filmography begins in 1956 with The Killing. No other director has all his feature films ranked, at least none with this many. (Charles Laughton's only film is of course an exception)

My favorite interviews, besides my favorite author Arthur C. Clarke, (2001 novel and screenplay, about 50 other books), are the other directors, who include Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen. This is a very rewarding look at a director who made far too few films, but had such standards of perfection that he often made totally original classics. The look of science fiction films were changed forever thanks to 2001, they now have to look realistic at a minimum, and all fans of this genre owe Kubrick a big thank you. Has anyone else since Stanley made us laugh at nuclear annihilation?

Stanley Kubrick at IMDB

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

200 Great Directors' Best Films

These are the top rated films of each director listed by a consensus of critics polls, I’ve included my choices below those if they differ. I included some directors who only had one great picture, such as Laughton, Beatty, Attenborough, if I considered that one film important enough.
[Updated: 8.28.09*]

Allen, Woody: Manhattan (1979) US (photo rt) – I prefer Hannah and Her Sisters
Almodóvar, Pedro: All About My Mother (1999) Spain-France
Altman, Robert: Nashville (1975) US – My pick: McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Anderson, Paul Thomas: Boogie Nights (1997)*
Angelopoulos, Theo: The Travelling Players (1975) Greece
Antonioni, Michelangelo: L’Avventura (1960) Italy-France
Aronofsky, Darren: Requiem for a Dream (2000) US - many prefer Pi, not me
Ashby, Hal: Harold and Maude (1972)US
Attenborough, Richard: Gandhi (1982) UK - worth the two decades he spent
Beatty, Warren: Reds (1981) US
Beresford, Bruce: Driving Miss Daisy (1989) US - many prefer Breaker Morant
Bergman, Ingmar: Persona (1966) Sweden
Bertolucci, Bernardo: The Conformist (1969) Italy-France-Germany
Bogdanovich, Peter: The Last Picture Show (1971) US
Bondarchuk, Sergei: War and Peace (1968) Russia
Boyle, Danny: Trainspotting (1995) UK – mine: Slumdog Millionaire
Bresson, Robert: Au hasard Balthazar (1966) France
Brest, Martin: Midnight Run (1988) US – good, but I like Going in Style
Brooks, Mel: The Producers (1968) US
Buñuel, Luis: Viridiana (1961) Spain – I prefer The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeousie
Burton, Tim: Edward Scissorhands (1990) - I like Big Fish better
Cameron, James: The Terminator (1984) US – I like Aliens and Terminator 2
Camus, Marcel: Black Orpheus (1959) Brazil-France
Capra, Frank: It's a Wonderful Life (1946) US – I prefer Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Carné, Marcel: Les Enfants du paradis (1945) France
Cassavetes, John: A Woman Under the Influence (1974) US
Cavani, Liliana: The Night Porter (1973) Italy
Chaplin, Charles: City Lights (1931) US – I guess I’d pick Modern Times
Chen Kaige: Farewell, My Concubine (1993) Hong Kong-China
Cimino, Michael: The Deer Hunter (1978) US – he did another film?
Clément, René: Forbidden Games (1951) France
Clouzot, Henri-Georges: The Wages of Fear (1952) France-Italy
Cocteau, Jean: La Belle et la bête (1946) France
Cooper, Merian C./Ernest B. Schoedsack: King Kong (1933) US - admirable effects, stupid story
Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen: Fargo (1995) US – close, I’ll go with Raising Arizona

Coppola, Francis: The Godfather (1972) US – I like Godfather II best (photo rt)
Cukor, George: The Philadelphia Story (1940) US – close, I’ll take My Fair Lady
Curtiz, Michael: Casablanca (1942) US
Darabont, Frank: The Shawshank Redemption (1994) US
De Palma, Brian: Carrie (1976) US
De Sica, Vittorio: Bicycle Thieves (1948) Italy
Demme, Jonathan: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Deren, Maya: Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) US
Dieterle, William: Portrait of Jennie (1948) US
Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly: Singin' in the Rain (1952) US
Dovzhenko, Alexander: Earth (1930) Russia
Dreyer, Carl: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) France
Eastwood, Clint: Unforgiven (1992) US – Good, but I prefer Mystic River
Egoyan, Atom: The Sweet Hereafter (1997) Canada
Eisenstein, Sergei: Battleship Potemkin (1925) Russia
Fassbinder, Rainer Werner: Ali - Fear Eats the Soul (1974) Germany
Fellini, Federico: 8½ (1963) Italy
Fincher, David: Fight Club (1997) US - I still prefer The Game
Flaherty, Robert: Nanook of the North (1922) US
Fleming, Victor: Gone with the Wind (1939) US – gimme the giant girl in Wizard of Oz
Ford, John: The Searchers (1956) US – argh, I’ll take Mister Roberts
Forman, Milos: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) US – I like Amadeus
Fosse, Bob: Cabaret (1972) US – I think All That Jazz was more interesting
Frankenheimer, John: The Manchurian Candidate (1962) - my pick: The Train
Frears, Stephen: Dangerious Liaisons (1988) US
Friedkin, William: The Exorcist (1973) US – yuck, French Connection is far better
Gance, Abel: Napoléon (silent, 1927) France

Gilliam, Terry: Brazil (1985) UK (photo rt)
Godard, Jean-Luc: Breathless (1959) France
Griffith, D.W.: Intolerance (1916) US
Hallström, Lasse: My Life as a Dog (1985) Sweden
Hamer, Robert: Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) UK
Hawks, Howard: Rio Bravo (1959) US – r.u. kidding? His Girl Friday
Herzog, Werner: Aguirre - The Wrath of God (1972) Germany – I like Fitzcarraldo
Hitchcock, Alfred: Vertigo (1958) US
Howard, Ron: A Beautiful Mind (2003) US - my pick: Parenthood
Hughes, John: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) US
Huston, John: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) US - mine: The Maltese Falcon (42)* (photo bottom)
Ivory, James: A Room With a View (1986) US
Jackson, Peter: The Lord of the Rings (trilogy, 2001) US-New Zealand
Jewison, Norman: In the Heat of the Night (1967) US
Kaufman, Philip: The Right Stuff (1983) US

Kazan, Elia: On the Waterfront (1954) US (photo rt)
Keaton, Buster/Clyde Bruckman: The General (1926) US
Kiarostami, Abbas: Close-Up (1989) Iran
Kieslowski, Krszystof: Dekalog (Decalogue, 1988) Poland
Kubrick, Stanley: 2001 - A Space Odyssey (1968) UK
Kurosawa, Akira: The Seven Samurai (1954) Japan
Lang, Fritz: M (1931) Germany
Laughton, Charles: Night of the Hunter (1955) UK - his only film as director
Lean, David: Lawrence of Arabia (1962) UK
Lee, Ang: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2002) China-Taiwan-US - he's underrated
Lee, Spike: Do the Right Thing (1989) US
Leone, Sergio: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Italy-US – I much prefer Once Upon a Time in America, the long version
LeRoy, Mervyn: Goldiggers of 1933 (1933)
Lester, Richard: A Hard Day's Night (1964) UK
Levinson, Barry: Diner (1982) US
Losey, Joseph: The Servant (1963) UK
Lubitsch, Ernst: To Be or Not to Be (1942) US – give me Trouble in Paradise
Lucas, George: Star Wars (1977) US
Lumet, Sidney: Network (1976) US
Lynch, David: Blue Velvet (1986) US

Mackendrick, Alexander: The Sweet Smell of Success (1957) US (photo rt)
Malick, Terrence: Days of Heaven (1978) US
Malle, Louis: Lacombe, Lucien (1974) France – my pick: Atlantic City
Mankiewicz, Joseph L.: All About Eve (1950) US
Marker, Chris: La Jetée (1962) France
Mazursky, Paul: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) US - never liked this, loved Enemies-A Love Story
McCarey, Leo: Duck Soup (1933) US
McLeod, Norman Z.: It's a Gift (1934) US
Meirelles, Fernando: City of God (2002) Brazil-Germany-France
Mendes, Sam: An American Beauty (1999) I like 2008's Revolutionary Road
Milestone, Lewis: All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) US
Miller, George: The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2) (1981) Australia
Minghella, Anthony: The English Patient (1996) US
Minnelli, Vincente: The Band Wagon (1953) US – I like Meet Me in St. Louis
Mizoguchi, Kenji: Ugetsu monogatari (1953) Japan
Morris, Errol: The Thin Blue Line (1988) US - I prefer the pure documentary Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
Mulligan, Robert: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) US
Murnau, F.W.: Sunrise (silent, 1927) US *Best Silent*
Nair, Mira: Salaam Bombay! (1988) India

Nichols, Mike: The Graduate (1967) US (photo rt)
Nolan, Christopher: Memento (2000) US
Ophüls, Max: Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) US
Ozu, Yasujiro: Tokyo Story (1953) Japan
Pabst, G.W.: Pandora's Box (silent, 1928) Germany
Pakula, Alan J.: All the President's Men (1976) US
Pasolini, Pier Paolo: The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) France-Italy
Peckinpah, Sam: The Wild Bunch (1969) US
Penn, Arthur: Bonnie and Clyde (1967) US
Pennebaker, D.A.: Don't Look Back (1967) US
Polanski, Roman: Chinatown (1974) US
Pollack, Sydney: Tootsie (1982) US

Pontecorvo, Gillo: The Battle of Algiers (1965) Algeria-Italy (photo rt)
Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger: A Matter of Life and Death (1946) UK – I think I prefer The Red Shoes, and A Canterbury Tale
Rafelson, Bob: Five Easy Pieces (1970) US
Ramis, Harold: Groundhog Day (1993) US
Ray, Nicholas: Johnny Guitar (1954) US – easily In a Lonely Place
Ray, Satyajit: Pather Panchali (1955) India
Reed, Carol: The Third Man (1949) UK – I actually prefer Outcast of the Islands
Reiner, Rob: This Is Spinal Tap (1984) – my pick: When Harry Met Sally
Reisz, Karel: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) - I love Morgan!
Renoir, Jean: The Rules of the Game (1939) France – like many others, I prefer La Grande Illusion; they’re close in the poll
Resnais, Alain: Last Year at Marienbad (1961) France-Italy – not a big fan, but Hiroshima, Mon Amour over this
Richardson, Tony: Tom Jones (1963) UK
Riefenstahl, Leni: Triumph of the Will (1935) Germany (Nazi)
Ritt, Martin: Hud (1963) US - although Norma Rae is more inspirational
Rivette, Jacques: Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) France
Roeg, Nicolas: Don't Look Now (1973) UK – I vastly prefer Walkabout, even Performance
Roehmer, Eric: My Night at Maud's (1969) France
Rossellini, Roberto: Voyage in Italy (1953) Italy
Rossen, Robert: The Hustler (1961) US
Salles, Walter: Central Station (1998) Brazil-France - a tossup, or: The Motorcycle Diaries
Sandrich, Mark: Top Hat (1935) US - I prefer the hilarious The Gay Divorcee
Sayles, John: Lone Star (1995) US
Schlesinger, John: Midnight Cowboy (1969) US
Scorsese, Martin: Raging Bull (1980) US – right, but Taxi Driver is close
Scott, Ridley: Blade Runner (1982) US – yes, but Gladiator is close
Sharpsteen, Ben: Fantasia (1940) US
Siegel, Don: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) US
Singer, Bryan: The Usual Suspects (1995) US
Sirk, Douglas: Written on the Wind (1956) US
Sjöström, Victor: The Wind (1928) US
Spielberg, Steven: Jaws (1975) US – over E.T., Close Encounters, Schindler’s List? I even liked Minority Report, Raiders/Lost Ark, Pvt. Ryan more..
Stanton, Andrew: Wall-E (2008) US - not listed yet, I added him for this and Finding Nemo
Stevens, George: Shane (1953) US
Stone, Oliver: JFK (1991) US - me and Oscar prefer Platoon
Sturges, John: The Magnificent Seven (1960) US
Sturges, Preston: The Lady Eve (1941) US
Szabó, István: Mephisto (1981) Hungary
Tarantino, Quentin: Pulp Fiction (1994) US – inspired by Wong Kar-Wai

Tarkovsky, Andrei: Andrei Rublev (1966) Russia (photo rt)
Tati, Jacques: Playtime (1967) France
Tornatore, Giuseppe: Cinema Paradiso (1988) Italy-France
Tourneur, Jacques: Out of the Past (1947) US
Truffaut, François: Jules et Jim (1961) France
Vidor, King: The Crowd (1928) US
Vigo, Jean: L’Atalante (1934) France
Visconti, Luchino: The Leopard (1963) Italy – not a fan of this, give me Death in Venice
von Sternberg, Josef: The Blue Angel (1930) Germany
von Stroheim, Erich: Greed (1924) US
von Trier, Lars: Breaking the Waves (1996) Denmark-Sweden
Wajda, Andrzej: Ashes and Diamonds (1958) Poland
Washowski Brothers, Andy and Larry: The Matrix (1999)*
Weir, Peter: Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Australia – I like Fearless, many like Witness
Welles, Orson: Citizen Kane (1941) US
Wertmuller, Lina: Seven Beauties (1976) Italy - first woman director nominated for best directing Oscar®

Wilder, Billy: Some Like it Hot (1959) US – good but mine: Sunset Boulevard (photo rt)
Wise, Robert: West Side Story (1960) US - co-dir w Jerome Robbins
Wong Kar-Wai: Chungking Express (1994) Hong Kong – and the sequel Fallen Angels
Wyler, William: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) US
Zemeckis, Robert: Back to the Future (1985) US
Zhang Yimou: Raise the Red Lantern (1991) Hong Kong – my pick: Hero, one of my favorite films, China’s top grossing
Zinnemann, Fred: High Noon (1952)US

Note: Currently at 182, I intend to add to this list until I have at least 200 directors

The Maltese Falcon (Huston, 42)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Great Directors: James Ivory

American director (as I was corrected!) James Ivory, most often worked with Indian producer Ishmael Merchant, who died in 2005, concentrating their work primarily on adaptations of classic and modern literature. I've never seen an Ivory film that wasn't worth watching. My favorites are Heat and Dust, and A Room With a View, a BAFTA winner for Best Film:

Complete Filmography

The Householder (1963)
Shakespeare Wallah (1965)
Bombay Talkie (1970)
Savages (1972)
The Wild Party (1975)
Roseland (1977)
Georgie and Bonnie’s Pictures (1978)
The Europeans (1979)
Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980)
Quartet (1981)
Heat and Dust (1983)
The Bostonians (1984)
A Room With a View (1986)
Maurice (1987)
Slaves of New York (1989)
Mr. And Mrs. Bridge (1990)
Howard’s End (1992)
Lumiere and Company (1995)
Jefferson in Paris (1995)
The Golden Bowl (2000)
The Five Forty-Eight (2002)
Le Divorce (2003)
The White Countess (2005)

Friday, August 22, 2008

Great Directors: Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder started as a screen writer for Ernst Lubisch and others, then began directing with The Front Page, later re-filmed as His Girl Friday. He made his stylistic breakthrough in his third film with the crime classic, Double Indemnity in 1944, which "invented" film noir and garnered 7 Oscar nominations. Wilder then began to direct a plethora of film classics, including:

Dramas:

The Apartment (bw, Best Picture winner, 5/10 Oscars)
Ace in the Hole (bw, 1 nom)
Lost Weekend (bw, Best Picture, 4/7 Oscars)
The Spirit of St. Louis (bw, 1 nom)
Stalag 17 (bw, 1/3 Oscars, Willam Holden, best actor)
Sunset Boulevard (bw, Pic nominee, 3 Oscars, 11 noms)
Witness for the Prosecution (bw, BPic nominee, 6 noms)

Comedies:
The Fortune Cookie (bw, 1/4 Oscars)
The Front Page (bw, 3 Oscar noms)
Irma la Douce
One Two Three (bw)
Sabrina
The Seven Year Itch
Some Like It Hot (bw, 6 Oscar noms)

Wilder was nominated for 21 Oscars, 12 in writing, 8 in directing, and won six. He won for directing Lost Weekend and The Apartment (and got another for Apt for Best Picture), and won for writing Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, and The Apartment. He personally picked up three for The Apartment.

It could easily be argued that Billy Wilder is the greatest American film director.