Welcome to the final installment of The Ten Greatest Directors.
We started with a list of 45 directors and each post removed ten directors from the list with an explanation as to why we cut them. It wasn’t easy, but we’re finally down to the Ten Greatest Directors. There was a lot of debate behind the scenes, but here they are, in no particular order. We’re simply naming them The Ten Greatest Directors.
Jean-Luc Godard
He is one of the pioneers of the French New Wave wasn’t just a great director but changed the language of filmmaking forever. Prior to Godard, such things as having a character address the camera, jump cut editing, and non-linear storytelling were considered taboo. Now, without Godard, we wouldn’t have Tarantino, Von Trier, or Coppola.
Federico Fellini
The ultimate dreamer who made dreams come alive on the screen. His films were a dance with a rhythm, intelligence, and sly wit that no other director in history can match. His legacy is assured and his movies are timeless. Be sure to see La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2. They changed the way viewers looked at filmmaking.
Ingmar Bergman The auteur of the top 10 also is underrated when it comes to delivering a film that also enlightens and entertains. His strongest attribute was dealing with the most basic human emotions: love, life, death, and family and making the films convey these feelings without condescending the audience. I have never watched a Bergman film without thinking about it for at least a week afterwards. They stay with you like all great art.
Charlie Chaplin
Most people know him as The Tramp — the iconic character with the funny mustach, top hat and cane. And it’s a phenominal character, but he also wrote and directed his best films, like The Kid, City Lights, and The Gold Rush. He had 72 films directed, won a lifetime achievement award from the Academy, best actor, and even one for best original score. He knew how to make great films, and was a notorious perfectionist.
Fritz Lang
If you don’t know him, the directors you love certainly do. Lang is one of the most influential directors, and is considered the father of film noir. He never won an Academy Award — most likely because he was born in Germany, and even though he moved to America because of his strong distaste for nazis, was still looked at as a “German filmmaker.” His movies, like M, Metropolis, and Fury are classics still shown in film schools around the world to this day. They are iconic, timeless, and resonate with great awe.
Alfred Hitchcock
He was master storyteller who churned out movies like it was his job… which it was. Over a 50 year career, he cranked out nearly 70 films as a director, plus he wrote and produced his own television series and other films. But he will be remembered most as a director for his uncanny ability to capture suspense, play with our minds with stunning visuals, and create iconic images in films like “Psycho” “The Birds” “North by Northwest” “Vertigo” and the list goes on. He set the stage for other directors in a genre he brought respect to.
John Ford
He’s arguably the greatest. He directed more than 100 films, including classics like Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, and also was a four-time Oscar winner for directing. His pace, understanding of timing, respect for actors and iconic imagery all make up his incredible talent. A master, through and through, and a workhorse.
Martin Scorsese He came out of the NYU film school, and lead a generation of directors that bucked the Hollywood system and its traditional film-making techniques and story lines. He made movies, like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, that challenged the viewer and put them in an uneasy chair. His mafia movies, like Good Fellas and The Departed, are unmatched in the genre. He approaches film humbly, and understands stories and imagery like no other. We love Scorsese, and we hope he never retires.
Stanley Kubrick
Kirk Douglas, after the making of Spartacus, said, “Stanley Kurbick is a talented shit.”
He only made 15 films in his career, which was one of his regrets as a director, but he was a perfectionist and his pictures were a reflection of that. His last film, Eyes Wide Shut, took five years to make. No other director has been given that freedom, and for good reason. Every Kubrick film is a masterpiece.
There has never been a director who understood a camera better. He was a still photographer before he became a motion picture director and his use of light and how it impacts stories and characters as a storytelling vehicle is extremely thoughtful. His storytelling skills are superb, but he never used narrative stories, or rarely did. His movies made you feel the story. They never handed it to you on a silver plate. He challenged viewers with his stories and portrayed them with stunning beauty. He was the Mozart of film making.
Akira Kurosawa
Ironically, Kirosawa was panned in Japan in his early days for being too influenced by western directors, like John Ford, and for bringing too much emotion to his pictures. But that was his strength. He captured both the action of war and its drama. He paid exquisite detail even to the most mundane characters, and brought humanity to war and famine. “The Seven Samurai” “Yojimbo” “Rashômon” and “The Hidden Fortress” continue to influence directors to this day.
Welcome to part 4 of our series on The Ten Greatest Directors.
We started with a list of 45 directors and each day until our anniversary have remove five directors from with an explanation as to why we cut them. The next post in the last one, with 15 directors left.
Let us know which ones you think should stay, and which should go — and maybe some directors you thought should have been in the mix that weren’t.
Brian Woody Allen I’m a big fan but Woody Allen is more of a brilliant writer than a director. That doesn’t mean he isn’t great but he’s not one of the ten best ever.
Oliver Stone
Has some amazing work (Platoon, JFK, and Born on the 4th of July) but he’s also made some legendary stinkers, like Alexander, Any Given Sunday, and U-Turn.
Yasujiro Ozu A legend who’s films get better with age but outside of Late Spring and Tokyo Story, the rest are merely average to good. This one hurt to drop.
Milos Forman Had three amazing films — One Flew over the Cuckoos’ Nest, Amadeus, and The People vs Larry Flynt — but his work filmography is short and there’s not much outside those three films. I also contend his work didn’t revolutionize films the way the rest of the directors on the list did.
Christopher Nolan
I think in 10-15 years he may end up in the top 10. But, he hasn’t built up enough of a resume yet to be considered one of the 10 best ever.
Matt
Ridley Scott Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Matchstick Men, and of course, Blade Runner, are all excellent pieces of work. He’s a great director, but when you get right down to it, there are directors left with far greater films.
Sergio Leone Not a lot of people may realize this, but he only directed 13 films — five of which were uncredited. A Fistful of Dollars is arguably the best western ever made, as is Once Upon a Time in the West. He’s the king of spaghettis westerns, but it’s not enough to be named one of the ten best ever.
Joel and Ethan Coen Fargo, True Grit, No Country for Old Men, The Man Who Wasn’t There and The Big Lebowski are just a few of their excellent films. They have such a strong case, but I think they’re just on the periphery. Talk to me in a few years.
Paul Thomas Anderson The Master, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia and Boogie Nights are all great films, but he has a very small body of work. I think he’ll be considered the best of his generation when he’s done, and maybe one of the best ever. But today, he’s not.
David Lynch
Mulholland Drive is one of the best films of the past 25 years, Eraserhead is an intriguing film with lasting power, and the Elephant Man is a masterpiece. At this point, we’re not cutting directors with ease. This one stings.
Directors Remaining
Quentin Tarantino
Charlie Chaplin
Billy Wilder
Fritz Lang
Terrence Malick
Robert Altman
Ingmar Bergman
Federico Fellini
Martin Scorsese
John Huston
Stanley Kubrick
Jean-Luc Godard
Alfred Hitchcock
Akira Kirosawa
John Ford
Welcome to part 3 of our series on The Ten Greatest Directors.
We started with a list of 45 directors and each day until our anniversary, we will each remove five directors from the list and give an explanation as to why we cut them.
Let us know which ones you think should stay, and which should go — and maybe some directors you thought should have been in the mix that weren’t.
MATT
Francis Ford Coppola Bram Stoker’s Dracula was probably the last really good film he’s made, and that was in 1992. I know it stings to take Coppola off this list, but he made the Godfather trilogy, and not a lot after or before.
Orson Welles After Citizen Kane, Welles didn’t do a whole lot. He directed a lot of television projects. It’s strange that someone who directed such a beautiful looking film, with such great influence, never really met his potential.
Pedro Almodovar I’m a big fan. Volver, if you haven’t seen it, was great. Talk to her, was also quite good. But his collection of work isn’t strong enough to warrant Top 10.
Sam Peckinpah He only directed 14 films, but made some great ones — like Straw Dogs and The Wild Bunch. But I think his true strength was as a writer.
Steven Spielberg What?! Yes, Spielberg is getting cut. This is a band-aid that just needs to be ripped off. For Every Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, there’s an Indiana Jones 4 or War Horse. This one is tough to cut, but again, I go back to relevance. He’s making Indiana Jones 5 right now. Lincoln was great, but you have to go back to 2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence for his last good movie. This is a pattern for him.
BRIAN
Mel Brooks I’m a huge fan of the Producers but a lot of his humor falls flat with me. Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein are highly overrated one joke premises.
Wes Anderson He’s the king of the dry humor. I loved Rushmore and Royal Tenebaums. Wasn’t crazy about Zizou and Darjeeling Limited. Either way, he’s not in the top 10
Tim Burton I loved Pee Wee and think Ed Wood is one of the most underrated films ever made. But, he made Mars Attacks and Planet of the Apes and those weren’t just bad, they were complete disasters.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet Delicatessen and City of Lost Children are fantastic. But, he directed Alien: Resurrection, which was horrendous. Also, Amelie is very cute but terribly overrated.
Brian Depalma He has some great movies on his résumé: Carrie, Blow Out, Scarface. But, he’s still working today and hasn’t even made anything good in 20 years.
Remaining Directors:
Woody Allen
Quentin Tarantino
Charlie Chaplin
Billy Wilder
David Lynch
Ridley Scott
Fritz Lang
Terrence Malick
Robert Altman
Oliver Stone
Paul Thomas Anderson
Ingmar Bergman
Federico Fellini
Martin Scorsese
Joel and Ethan Cohen
John Huston
Stanley Kubrick
Sergio Leone
Milos Forman
Jean-Luc Godard
Yasujiro Ozu
Alfred Hitchcock
Akira Kirosawa
Christopher Nolan
John Ford
Wecome to part 2 of our series on The Ten Greatest Directors.
We started with a list of 45 directors and each day until our anniversary, we will each remove five directors from the list and give an explanation as to why we cut them.
Let us know which ones you think should stay, and which should go — and maybe some directors you thought should have been in the mix that weren’t.
Brian
George Lucas
He made perhaps the greatest popcorn film ever made, THX 1138 was great, American Graffiti was solid, and then… The prequels..oh, those prequels….
Darren Aronofsky Loved Pi and Black Swan, liked requiem, and the rest? Meh. Not enough quality to keep him on the list.
Spike Lee
Lately, he’s more famous for attending New York Knicks games than he is for his films. He hasn’t made anything even remotely relevant in at least 15 years. He did direct Do the Right Thing though. That is one of the best films of the last 25 years.
Robert Zemeckis
He has some great work over his career, particularly Forest Gump, Back to the Future, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? But, not really any form of a ground breaking talent.
Cecil B. Demille
An important and historic director whose work dates back to the silent era. The problem is that he’s really only remembered for the Ten Commandments. It’s good, but very dated.
Matt
James Cameron He’s never made a movie, to me, that is worthy of making the final list. His dialogue is bad – see Titanic. He makes immensely popular movies with formulaic storylines. He’s skilled and makes an entertaining film, but not one of ten greatest.
Clint Eastwood
He’s made some great movies, but didn’t really get going until later in life because of a successful acting career that spanned decades. Mystic River was a wonderful film, but he does suffer from being overly nostalgic at times. Great director, but I have to cut him.
Roman Polanski
He’s got some serious chops, and a long list of great films — Rosemary’s Baby, The Pianist, Tess and Chinatown. It’s tough to cut some of these guys because they’re so talented, but Polanski screwed his career with some horrendous decisions and alleged crimes that have held him back.
Sam Mendes
Awesome director with a great start to his career — American Beauty and Skyfall among them. But he’s only made six movies. There’s guys on this list with way more impressive resumes.
Danny Boyle Another talented director with a couple great movies — 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire, but he’s only made 10 films. Talk to me in 20 years and he may be higher.
Here are the remaining directors:
Woody Allen Francis Ford Coppola Quentin Tarantino Orson Welles Charlie Chaplin Billy Wilder David Lynch Ridley Scott Fritz Lang Terrence Malick Robert Altman Oliver Stone Brian De Palma Paul Thomas Anderson Ingmar Bergman Federico Fellini Martin Scorsese Joel and Ethan Cohen John Huston Tim Burton Mel Brooks Sam Peckinpah Stanley Kubrick Wes Anderson Pedro Almodovar Steven Spielberg Jean-Pierre Jeunet Sergio Leone Milos Forman Jean-Luc Godard Yasujiro Ozu Alfred Hitchcock Akira Kirosawa Christopher Nolan John Ford
Here are the list of 45 directors, in no particular order, we will consider for the ten greatest ever. Each day we’ll both cut five from the list until we’re paired down to the Ten Greatest Directors.
Let us know which ones you think should stay, and which should go — and maybe some directors you thought should have been in the mix.
Woody Allen
Francis Ford Coppola
Quentin Tarantino
Orson Welles
Charlie Chaplin
Billy Wilder
Clint Eastwood
David Lynch
Ridley Scott
Fritz Lang
Terrence Malick
Robert Altman
Oliver Stone
Robert Zemeckis
George Lucas
Brian De Palma
Cecil B. DeMille
Spike Lee
Paul Thomas Anderson
Darren Aronofsky
Ingmar Bergman
Federico Fellini
Martin Scorsese
Joel and Ethan Cohen
John Huston
Tim Burton
James Cameron
Mel Brooks
Sam Peckinpah
Stanley Kubrick
Wes Anderson
Roman Polanski
Pedro Almodovar
Danny Boyle
Steven Spielberg
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Sam Mendes
Sergio Leone
Milos Forman
Jean-Luc Godard
Yasujiro Ozu
Alfred Hitchcock
Akira Kirosawa
Christopher Nolan
John Ford
By Brian Volke
This isn’t a list of the most underrated movies ever. I’ll save that for another time. This is a list of films that have been praised in certain circles but never have stood out because either the director has other work that is considered stronger or it came out during a year where other movies soaked up more of the attention. Here we go:
10) “Big Trouble in Little China” Directed by John Carpenter
Long before Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Tarantino’s Kill Bill graced movie screens came this eastern inspired bit of fantasy from the legendary director of Halloween. It was a box office disappointment at the time but has since found a devoted group of cult followers. You’ll rarely see a film that combines so many elements from other films and contains as much originality and action as this little gem. Kurt Russell also turns in his funniest performance ever as Jack Burton. It’s hard to put this in a genre because it’s so original and different. I guess it would be an eastern inspired science fiction Kung-Fu Western comedy.
9) “Road To Perdition” Directed by Sam Mendes
I think Oscar voters were just getting tired of seeing Tom Hanks films get so much attention but Road To Perdition is an incredible film. The cinematography won the Oscar and rightly so. The film oozes authenticity with spot on period detail. However, that’s just the backdrop to a beautiful film about how a father’s devotion to his son can be both wonderful (as in Tom Hanks’ character) and destructive (as in Paul Newman’s character). If you’ve never seen it, add it to your Netflix Queue.
8) “Blow Out” Directed by Brian De Palma
Carrie, The Untouchables, and Mission Impossible are some of the first films that come to mind when thinking of Brian DePalma but Blow Out is the finest film he’s ever done. The performances by both John Travolta and Nancy Allen are excellent, the suspense builds and builds to the amazing climax, and DePalma’s use of sound as well as the incredible camera work throughout are first rate.
7) “I Vitteloni” Directed by Federico Fellini
Fellini has a body of work that other directors would dream to have: The heartfelt “La Strada”, the beautiful “La Dolce Vita”, and the mesmerizing “8 ½.” So, it’s normal that most people would gravitate to his most well known work because it is amazing. However, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you missed “I Vitteloni.” It’s every bit as good as his surrealistic works and was a major influence on all male ensemble pieces done afterward. As a side note, this is Stanley Kubrick’s favorite film of all time. If that’s not praise, I don’t know what is.
6) “Casino” Directed by Martin Scorsese
I can understand why many critics and viewers dismissed Casino when it came out. It was a reaction of “Here we go again: another Scorsese movie with Deniro and Pesci. Been there, done that.” But, to dismiss it simply because he used the same actors and genre again would be doing it a disservice. Goodfellas was a crime epic about a young man’s dream to make it in the world of organized crime and how they were a family. Casino’s story is one of utter distrust and paranoia of everyone and everything including one’s own family. The technical wizardry of the camera is better than any other Scorsese effort. We get to know the surrounding of Las Vegas in a very personal way by the time the film is over and with an understanding that money and power can buy you almost anything…almost.
5) “THX 1138” Directed by George Lucas
Before George Lucas was the multi-bllionaire creator of Star Wars, he created a student film at USC film school called “THX 1138” as a short. His close friend Francis Ford Coppola saw it, loved it, and gave him the financing to create it as a feature length movie and the results are amazing. His use of camera, his vision for the future, and a potent story packed with metaphors all come together to create one of the great science fiction films of all time.
4) “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” Directed by Terry Gilliam
My brother hates this film. It’s a normal reaction that is warranted and I understand. It’s not the kind of movie that unites people together but tends to separate viewers into the “Love it or hate” variety. For those that love extreme film making that pushes your sense to the edge, Terry Gilliam delivers. The scenes of drug users, their paranoia, and the limited world they inhabit was clearly a labor of love for all involved and it’s my favorite Gilliam film not named “Brazil.”
3) “Ikiru” Directed by Akira Kurosawa
The king of the Japanese samurai films also had a soft side and shows it here with an amazing story of a man diagnosed with terminal cancer who decides it’s never to late to leave your mark on the world. This movie really moved me and I not only consider it one of Kurosawa’s best but one of the greatest films ever made at showing the power of the human spirit.
2) “Eyes Wide Shut” Directed by Stanley Kubrick
I remember when this film came out, the majority of the attention was focused on Cruise and Kidman, who were married at the time, and how their off screen life affected the film. At the time, Stanley Kubrick had not made a film in 12 years and had been largely forgotten by mainstream audiences. Audience reaction was mixed at best and it was thought of as an inferior entry in a stellar career and I couldn’t disagree more. The visuals in Eyes Wide Shut are some that will stay with me all my life. The look of it, the interaction between the characters, and the pacing are unforgettable. I’ll never think of this as anything but the masterpiece that it is.
1) “Blade Runner” Directed by Ridley Scott
Nowadays, Blade Runner is thought of in much higher regard and with more appreciation than when it was released back in 1982. It grossed a “mere” 30 million dollars and was largely panned by critics despite the high star power of Harrison Ford attached. I supposed at the time most viewers saw Harrison Ford in a science fiction film and thought it would be another space opera like Star Wars and instead they got a slower paced film noir detective story. It took years to find its audience but even today when you think of Ridley Scott, Gladiator, Alien, and Robin Hood may come to mind but none of them can hold a candle to what he accomplished with Blade runner. It’s the greatest film he ever made.
Every day we’re cutting ten movies from our original list of 45 of the Greatest Movies Ever Made until we’re down to ten. Brian and Matt will each chop five from the list.
Here are the movies that didn’t make the grade.
Brian’s vetoes
Life is Beautiful — A comedy about the Holocaust where a father tries to convince his son that he’s having a game with the Nazis? Wayyyy too overly sentimental to even be considered.
The Kid — Brilliant but dated and Chaplin has better films, namely “City Lights” and “The Gold Rush.”
Gone With The Wind — A classic film that really comes down to being a 3 1/2 hour soap opera. She loves him but he doesn’t love her and he loves her but she doesn’t love him until later when he decides he doesn’t love her but then she decides she really loves him….boring!!
Duck Soup — Funny but forgettable. Yes, the Marx brothers were great but hardly enough to be considered a top 10 film ever.
Rear Window — A great, classic suspense film that I love but it’s not even Hitchcock’s best.
Matt’s Vetoes
Braveheart – Too sentimental, the directing wasn’t that great, and the dialogue isn’t as strong as the movies that did make the cut.
Star Wars – It’s one of my favorite movie series of all time. I love it, and hold it close to my heart. But let’s be honest, these movies have wooden dialogue, stiff acting and the series was killed by the prequels (namely Jar Jar).
Inception – Great movie. The second best of 2011. It’s original, brilliantly directed, and I love it. However, the character development was held up by too much explanation of the complex story.
Schindler’s List – It’s the kind of movie you watch once, say, “It’s great.” Then don’t go back to it again. To be in the ten best ever, it has to be a movie I can watch over and over.
Clockwork Orange – LOVE LOVE LOVE Stanley Kubrick. Favorite director ever. However, this was not his best and there are movies I hold closer to my heart on this list. Tough choice to veto.
Tony Curtis is nestled into the second row along with 19th century British Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, Sigmund Freud, Marilyn Monroe, H. G. Wells and Karl Marx.
Famous for his thick Bronx accent and good looks, Tony Curtis’ career is the stuff of legend. He had more than 130 films on his resume, including classics like Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus,” his crossdressing role in “Some Like it Hot,” and his Oscar-nominated performance in 1958’s “The Defiant Ones.”
One of my favorite interviews with Tony Curtis was a very honest and candid look at the actor by Roger Ebert in 1985 at Cannes Film Festival, where even in his 50s he shouts to a girl below passing his hotel room on the street to come up, and she does.
Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in New York to poor Hungarian immigrants on June 3, 1925. He quit school to join the navy during World War II, serving on a submarine tender, and pursued acting after his discharge. He was a notorious lady’s man, and was married six times. His first wife was actress Janet Leigh, famous for the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic “Psycho.” They had two children, actors Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis.
He was an alcoholic and drug user, and had two stints at the Betty Ford Clinic. While fighting his various addictions throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Curtis still managed to work, mostly in television. He’s one of the few remaining from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and his films will live on. We’ll remember him more for his fantastic films that his wild life.
All of us have particular movies we’ve seen, whether as an adult or child, that stay with us in a way others hadn’t before. They’re special experiences we hold onto, whether it was because you saw them with a close friend or the film connected with your life in a personal way. These are movies that define us, and we’re breaking down each by genre. Each week, one of our contributors will list their movie.
Matt
Action/Adventure: As a child, one of my favorite films was “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” I was 10 years old in the summer of 1989, the prime age for Indiana Jones, and had seen the other two Indy films on Beta Max. But this was the first one I remember seeing and experiencing in the theater. It was magical. The theme song still gives me chills and gets my heart pumping for those thrilling action sequences. Harrison Ford owned this iconic role and Sean Connery was a wonderful compliment to a script full of mystery, suspense and action.
Science-fiction: This one was easy. I can still clearly remember going to see “Return of the Jedi” for my brother’s birthday party. It’s the only Star Wars film to be released in theaters (minus the rerelease and prequels) in my lifetime, so I had to choose this one. I can remember being captivated as Luke pulled off Vader’s mask as we all got a first look at the old man within. I was glued to the screen and hooked on Star Wars for life. I felt so much angst during the fight scenes between Luke and Vader and loved watching the ewoks battle storm troopers. It’s a movie memory that will always stay with me.
Drama: I’m a huge Stanley Kubrick fan, and I could easily put a Kubrick movie in here for every category, but that’s another list. But his epic war film “Paths of Glory” is not only one of the best dramas I’ve ever seen, but one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. It’s a masterpiece from its incredible performances by Kirk Douglas and Adolphe Menjou to the incredibly smart script and stunning visuals by Kubrick. One of the most epic shots is in the opening sequence of the camera panning, seemingly forever, through the trenches of a French platoon as bullets fly overhead, wounded soldiers weep, men vomit in their helmets and soldiers prepare for battle. This is a poignant film with a clear message delivered in a powerful fashion.
Horror: I can honestly say “The Exorcist” still scares the hell out of me — no pun intended. I was 8 years old when I saw this movie. My sister was babysitting me and she rented it not knowing what and how scary it really was. We grew up Catholic. My brother told me it was real, and when I asked my mother if it was she said, “Yes, honey, it is.” That only scared me more. I didn’t take a bath alone for months or go in the basement by myself for years. This is by far the most scared I’ve ever been by a movie. Gives me the willies just thinking about it.
Animation: I think the movie that taught me to love animation for its ability to tell stories that are wild, yet refined, focused and with a heart and imagination, was Walt Disney’s classic “Alice in Wonderland.” The story is wild and spontaneous, sometimes visually scary to a small child with wicked characters who are vicious and insane. It also had a great sense of humor, was visually a masterpiece, and wildly imaginative. I devoured the books after seeing the movies and to this day I’m still a big fan. This film showed me that animation could be more than just princesses and romantic songs and it shaped my taste in animation for life.
Comedy: I am serious, and stop calling me Shirley. I love a silly but smart sense of humor, and that’s just what you get in “Airplane.” It’s the kind of movie I own and have seen dozens of times, but no matter how many times I’ve seen it, I find something new to laugh at. It’s just loaded with silly humor, spoofs, one-liners, word play, zany characters and just ridiculous gags that makes me laugh until my stomach hurts. I saw this as a child, and I missed tons of jokes, but really loved the ones I understood. This is a classic camp comedy and has withstood the test of time.
Family/Children: There are a bunch of great kids movies, like “Back to the Future” or “The Goonies.” This was a tough choice, but for me “The Karate Kid” stands out above the rest because it had such a fantastic blend of action, comedy and at its heart, a meaningful, coming-of-age drama. I think I’ve seen this movie in the theater more than any other film. It seemed like my brother and I were going to see it every weekend. We would karate kick each other silly, wear kung-fu pajamas, and I even took a karate class. But as a film, I still watch this one on a regular basis and I take something new away from it with every viewing.
The Movie Brothers welcomes Tony D’Arcangelis, an established sports and fantasy sports writer and an avid movie lover. Tony is a big fan of Netflix’s Watch Instantly feature, as are we — there’s no shortage of great films. Tony will be reviewing films and making suggestions in each of his columns to help you pick from Netflix’s massive instant library. So on with his first review, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killing.”
After getting out of prison, Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) masterminds a complex race-track heist, but his scheme is complicated by the intervention of the wife of a teller (George Peatty) in on the scheme, the boyfriend of the wife, airport regulations, and a small dog.
Antonio
Rating: 9 out of 10
As heist films go, this noir classic is near the top of my list. Kubrick penned the script with Jim Thompson – who also wrote The Grifters – a novel that eventually became an Oscar-nominated Donald Westlake screenplay (the taut 1990 flick starred John Cusack, Annette Bening and Anjelica Huston). While Kubrick’s mastery of chilly atmosphere and palpable dismay wasn’t fully developed yet in “The Killing,” its infancy can be spotted in a few of the film’s key sequences.
I’m a big fan of voiceover (when it works) and the narration here seems like Joe Friday got dropped into David Mamet’s universe – a detail I enjoyed as much as the looming tension that’s woven throughout. While we don’t learn a lot about Hayden’s Johnny – certainly not as much as we learn about his character in Dr. Strangelove – he’s an avuncular hustler we root for. He knows what he wants, he’s willing to work to get it, and he relies on everybody to know their painfully specific roles and do what’s expected of them. Johnny doesn’t like questions, but what he’s offering – a portion of a hefty racetrack take – should be worth accepting some shadiness. The lesser actors all perform competently, and if you’re a Kubrick buff, you’ll recognize Brooklyn-born actor Timothy Carey – who shines as reliable marksmen Nikki Arcane – from “Paths of Glory,” Kubrick’s subsequent masterpiece.
The dialogue is just what I’d expect from a young Kubrick – short and snappy lingo that elicits some chuckles, a few gasps, and more than a few satiated smiles. I’d rank the film’s final line somewhere in my top 20 of all-time, mainly for its succinct awesomeness.
The Movie Brothers 
The Ten Greatest Directors
Welcome to the final installment of The Ten Greatest Directors.
We started with a list of 45 directors and each post removed ten directors from the list with an explanation as to why we cut them. It wasn’t easy, but we’re finally down to the Ten Greatest Directors. There was a lot of debate behind the scenes, but here they are, in no particular order. We’re simply naming them The Ten Greatest Directors.
Jean-Luc Godard
He is one of the pioneers of the French New Wave wasn’t just a great director but changed the language of filmmaking forever. Prior to Godard, such things as having a character address the camera, jump cut editing, and non-linear storytelling were considered taboo. Now, without Godard, we wouldn’t have Tarantino, Von Trier, or Coppola.
Federico Fellini
The ultimate dreamer who made dreams come alive on the screen. His films were a dance with a rhythm, intelligence, and sly wit that no other director in history can match. His legacy is assured and his movies are timeless. Be sure to see La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2. They changed the way viewers looked at filmmaking.
Ingmar Bergman
The auteur of the top 10 also is underrated when it comes to delivering a film that also enlightens and entertains. His strongest attribute was dealing with the most basic human emotions: love, life, death, and family and making the films convey these feelings without condescending the audience. I have never watched a Bergman film without thinking about it for at least a week afterwards. They stay with you like all great art.
Charlie Chaplin
Most people know him as The Tramp — the iconic character with the funny mustach, top hat and cane. And it’s a phenominal character, but he also wrote and directed his best films, like The Kid, City Lights, and The Gold Rush. He had 72 films directed, won a lifetime achievement award from the Academy, best actor, and even one for best original score. He knew how to make great films, and was a notorious perfectionist.
Fritz Lang
If you don’t know him, the directors you love certainly do. Lang is one of the most influential directors, and is considered the father of film noir. He never won an Academy Award — most likely because he was born in Germany, and even though he moved to America because of his strong distaste for nazis, was still looked at as a “German filmmaker.” His movies, like M, Metropolis, and Fury are classics still shown in film schools around the world to this day. They are iconic, timeless, and resonate with great awe.
Alfred Hitchcock
He was master storyteller who churned out movies like it was his job… which it was. Over a 50 year career, he cranked out nearly 70 films as a director, plus he wrote and produced his own television series and other films. But he will be remembered most as a director for his uncanny ability to capture suspense, play with our minds with stunning visuals, and create iconic images in films like “Psycho” “The Birds” “North by Northwest” “Vertigo” and the list goes on. He set the stage for other directors in a genre he brought respect to.
John Ford
He’s arguably the greatest. He directed more than 100 films, including classics like Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, and also was a four-time Oscar winner for directing. His pace, understanding of timing, respect for actors and iconic imagery all make up his incredible talent. A master, through and through, and a workhorse.
Martin Scorsese
He came out of the NYU film school, and lead a generation of directors that bucked the Hollywood system and its traditional film-making techniques and story lines. He made movies, like Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, that challenged the viewer and put them in an uneasy chair. His mafia movies, like Good Fellas and The Departed, are unmatched in the genre. He approaches film humbly, and understands stories and imagery like no other. We love Scorsese, and we hope he never retires.
Stanley Kubrick
Kirk Douglas, after the making of Spartacus, said, “Stanley Kurbick is a talented shit.”
He only made 15 films in his career, which was one of his regrets as a director, but he was a perfectionist and his pictures were a reflection of that. His last film, Eyes Wide Shut, took five years to make. No other director has been given that freedom, and for good reason. Every Kubrick film is a masterpiece.
There has never been a director who understood a camera better. He was a still photographer before he became a motion picture director and his use of light and how it impacts stories and characters as a storytelling vehicle is extremely thoughtful. His storytelling skills are superb, but he never used narrative stories, or rarely did. His movies made you feel the story. They never handed it to you on a silver plate. He challenged viewers with his stories and portrayed them with stunning beauty. He was the Mozart of film making.
Akira Kurosawa
Ironically, Kirosawa was panned in Japan in his early days for being too influenced by western directors, like John Ford, and for bringing too much emotion to his pictures. But that was his strength. He captured both the action of war and its drama. He paid exquisite detail even to the most mundane characters, and brought humanity to war and famine. “The Seven Samurai” “Yojimbo” “Rashômon” and “The Hidden Fortress” continue to influence directors to this day.
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