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.

The Ten Greatest Directors Part 4

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

The Ten Greatest Directors Part 3

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

The Ten Great Directors Part 2

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

The Ten Greatest Directors Part 1

Our three-year anniversary is here! It’s been an awesome run, and we’ve really enjoyed interacting with you and sharing our reviews and articles.

The past two years we’ve had epic lists. Our first year we named the Ten Greatest Films Ever Made, and in year two we did the Ten Worst Movies We’ve Ever Seen. This year we’ve decided to name the Ten Greatest Director.

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

Our Oscar Season Preview

The leaves are changing a golden hue, little trick-or-treaters will soon be ringing our bells, and the quality of films suddenly takes a huge leap after the September lull that always follows a summer of blockbusters. Yes, Oscar season is here, and we can’t wait to see some of the enticing films coming to theaters very soon or are already here. We each picked three we can’t wait to see.

BRIAN
The Master
Currently in limited release but I have not seen it yet. Director Paul Thomas Anderson is currently, in my opinion, the finest American director working today. This has a chance at a second, wider release, like last year’s best picture winner “The Artist.”

Skyfall
Academy Award-winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty) steps in to direct the new James Bond film. How could you not get excited?

Argo
Ben Affleck directs another thriller, and if his last two films are any  indication, this will be fantastic.

MATT
Wreck It Ralph
It’s not too hard to predict that a Pixar film will be nominated for an Oscar, but this is the first one in a while I’ve been pumped for. It looks stocked full of video game nostalgia wrapped in a nice story.

Lincoln
Steven Spielberg has whiffed on a lot of movies over the last decade, but this ambitious period piece could just put him back on the map. Academy Award-winners Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones, and Sally Field round out an excellent cast.

Django Unchained
Any time Quentin Terrantino makes a movie, the world sits up and pays attention. He has yet to win best film or director, but perhaps this is the one to do it. Academy Award-winners Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz star in Terrantino’s first western — a genre that feel made for him.

Vic’s Review – “The Adventures of TinTin”

Blockbuster filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson team up for this 3-D motion capture adaptation of Georges Remi’s classic comic strip, centered around the adventures of fearless young journalist Tintin (Jamie Bell) and his trusty dog, Snowy. Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Nick Frost, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook and Cary Elwes also lend their talents to this action-packed family adventure.

Victor – 8 out of 10

Well, I suppose it was inevitable that one day the two Titans of Movies were bound to collaborate on something. Mr. Peter Jackson (LOTR, King Kong and Dead Alive) and Mr Steven Spielberg (Jaws, War of the Worlds and Duel). What would they come up with? A Jurassic Park sequel? An original Horror flick with Jackson’s intense flair? A space opera that takes place on another world ripe with CGI creatures and settings? Well, gang, none of the above.

What they decide to do is adapt Georges Remi’s classic and iconic comic strip called “The Adventures of Tin Tin” It was an honest decision and a way to make something so highly regarded into a huge success. So on they went and put their two massive resources together and started production on an animated motion capture film that is an extraordinary and adventurous romp that made me feel like a kid again. Something “Super 8” was supposed to do but didn’t.

I am keeping the review spoiler free and just concentrating on what I really liked about Tin Tin. I unfortunately never read the strip but was familiar somewhat from having friends who did. They would explain how TinTin is a very efficient and stalwart individual who as a journalist gets to the bottom of every story no matter the danger. He also does it with the help of his dog, Snowy. Jamie Bell (King Kong) voices the intrepid TinTin and he does a fantastic job in this great looking film. TinTin takes what Zemekis did with “The Polar Express” and raises the bar with dynamic and involving rendering. The film flows and comes to life like a living liquid full of wonder and surprise. The picture is incredible to behold as we are immersed in this photorealistic world full of airplanes, trains and automobiles.

Jackson and Spielberg supplies us with one stunt filled action sequence after another. Displays that can only be seen in this other-world dimension of animation. Displays that no live action cameras can capture on location. It never comes across as cartoony or naive. When we see creases, wrinkles and shadows done so well we are grateful for the way Jackson and old Stevie handle the realism. The set pieces are spectacularly fun and are done on the very superb level of Raiders of the Lost Ark and even The Last Crusade. Pure un-adulterated 1940’s action fare done with style and sophistication. Supporting Jamie Bell’s great VO work is Simon Pegg, Daniel Craig, Cary Elwes and Andy Serkis. Each of them give very believable and inventive voice performances.

I’ve read that the film comes very close to the comics in the way some characters look and even what they wear. But some purists claim that there are some misses in the adaptation itself. They claim that 2 different comic story-lines are melded together and that some of it may be distracting. I, myself, loved every frame and minute of it. Pure fun and an energetic adventurous intensity drive “The Adventures of TinTin” and that is what is important. Highly recommended. Enjoy!

Brian’s Review – “War Horse”

Brian – 6 out of 10

There are three positive things I will say right off the bat while watching War Horse:

1. There has never been a director who sat behind a camera in the history of film making that can hold a candle to Spielberg when it comes to shooting war battles. He is the master.
2. Spielberg breaks the 2 major movie rules: Don’t work with kids and don’t work with animals and he does both successfully.
3. Spielberg loves John Ford and tries to emulate his shots on several occasions and does that successfully as well.

Those three items are what rated this film a 6. So, what pulls it back from greatness? Well, the usual sappy Spielberg melodrama for starters. Why is it that every time something major happens between the main characters there’s an audience of starry eyed observers? Is there not enough of a dramatic undercurrent and paint by numbers storytelling that we really need a group of people to show us how we’re supposed to feel? That really annoyed me. Also, I get that the whole story is based on the idea that this young man loves his horse so much that he’s willing to join a war and put his life in danger to find him, but, why? Did the horse save his life? No. Did the horse do something that somehow changed the course of his life? Nope. Right from the first shot we’re led to believe that he’s infatuated with the horse. Once his father comes home with the steed, he stares at the animal with a lover’s eyes. It actually comes across as kinda creepy. He’s put in charge of training Joey (the horse’s name) and constantly presses his face to his and stares lovingly in the horse’s eyes while saying shit like, “Oh, c’mon Joey, you can do it. I believe in you.” Who the hell talks to an animal like that? It made me wonder whether he slept in the house or the barn.

Thank God the movie shifted tone about a third of the way through as the horse goes to war. When that happens, the film shifts main characters from the young man who trained him to a British officer, to a young boy and his brother going AWOL, to a young french girl and her Grandpa, and so on. I enjoyed that storytelling approach because we’re seeing the world from very different perspectives and the feeling has less of a Disney film. Where does it rank in the Spielberg filmography? Somewhere in the middle and that’s still better than most filmmakers who take a stab at such emotional material.

Super 8

With a nod toward producer Steven Spielberg’s landmark sci-fi films of the 1970s and ’80s, writer-director J.J. Abrams crafts a supernatural tale about six kids who witness something incredible while shooting a movie with their Super 8 camera.

Matt
Rating: 8 out of 10

I’m becoming a huge fan of Abrams for one reason: He’s not affraid to make a fun movie. And neither was the man who made all the amazing Steven Spielberg films Super 8 pays homage to.

This was a popcorn movie I’d been waiting all year for. We haven’t had a great summer for movies, but this one is excellent. Abrams pays attention to developing some great characters in his script. And even though they are put in some ridiculous situations, trying to find a friend kidnapped by a giant alien who escapes the military and lives underground, we care about them through it all.

The directing is total Spielberg. I was lost in this movie like I was the first time I saw “The Goonies,” or “E.T.” My wife hated the film, but she didn’t grow up on those great 80s kids movies. She didn’t like it at all, and I will say it’s totally geared to guys like me, but it’s a fun ride. I highly recommend.

Stephen Spielberg, a commentary

Steven Spielberg is under appreciated: A Commentary

Brian

It seems in today’s age of blogging, internet movie sites and message boards that fans of films have become extremely fickle. We no longer watch movies as a complete piece of work and then decide if we like it. Nowadays, we pick one scene and beat it to death, blaming it for ruining the entire film.

The phenomenon now even has its own catch phrase: “nuke the fridge.” It refers to the one scene in a film that was so unbelievable that it crushed an entire movie. In the case of “nuke the fridge” it’s referring to the scene in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” when Harrison Ford hid in a refrigerator to avoid an atomic blast. Other films have been said to have a “nuke the fridge” moment, such as when Jar-Jar Binks showed up in Star Wars Episode I or when Peter Parker breaks into a dance in “Spider-Man 3.” I bring this up because no filmmaker since the internet age hasthe brunt of criticism more than Steven Spielberg. It’s fitting that the majority of his most successful films were at a time when his only critics were actual film critics. Movie audiences flocked to his work and didn’t dissect every single moment or they would have realized most of his popcorn films have “nuke the fridge” moments in them and yet we consider these flicks classics. Here’s a list of what could be considered “fridge” moments from his earlier work:

1. Jaws: The shark diving on the boat and causing it to sink.

2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The spaceships fly around the town like kids riding big wheels.

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark: The boulder that chases Indy through the cave.

4. Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom: Ripping the heart out of a guy’s chest.

5. E.T.: Elliott releasing frogs all over the classroom.

All these scenes could be considered movie killers by today’s standards, and yet each of these films holds a special place in my heart. They’re not just great movies but they have been ingrained in our popular culture.

Steven Spielberg may be the greatest American film director in history. There are other filmmakers that may be more artistic, more daring, and even more influential, but there are none that can weave a story as well as he can. His films are captivating from beginning to end. Think back on watching Jaws and how quickly the time watching it lapsed between when the first victim swam out into the water and when Chief Brody and Hooper swam back to shore at the end. It takes a great director to take you out of your body and make you feel like you’re experiencing the story. No one has ever done that better than Spielberg. I suppose why I feel he’s under appreciated is that film buffs love to praise people like Terrence Malick for creating realism but then bash Spielberg for creating the unbelievable. All films were not made to create a sense of real world believability. Some are meant to take us out of our day-to-day lives and show us fantastic worlds and stories that we could never experience without the imagination of great filmmakers.

Spielberg also takes a lot of shit for trying too hard to appeal to a mass audience. I completely disagree. He really has a child’s wonder when it comes to the process of storytelling and it is easy to see on the screen. Whether Elliott is flying across the screen on his bicycle, Richard Dreyfuss is watching the landing of the first U.F.O., or Sam Neill is battling a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spielberg knows how to capture our inner child and make us wonder about more than what is real. It’s not a marketing decision. It’s just how he sees the story.