Who is your favorite living film director?

[red dog 1]

Last edited Tue May 31, 2016, 04:15 PM - Edit history (2)

Joel & Ethan Coen




Honorable Mention:

-- Mel Brooks
-- Oliver Stone
-- Steven Spielberg
-- Martin Scorsese
-- Ron Howard
-- Michael Moore
-- John Waters




(List as many favorites as you want)

[hunter]

1. J.J. Abrams did Star Wars well...

... but he fucked up Star Trek.

Different kinds of stories.

S. J. Clarkson is cool.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1237416

[Mendocino]

2. Paul Thomas Anderson

Last edited Sun May 29, 2016, 07:42 PM - Edit history (1)

John Sayles

Danny Boyle

John Boorman

Bill Forsyth

[frogmarch]

8. John Sayles

won me over with the wonderful movie The Secret of Roan Inish. I love that movie!

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Roan-Inish-Pat-Slowey/dp/B00004TJKJ

[Mendocino]

9. I've never seen that,

will have to. Did you ever see Matewan?

[frogmarch]

10. No, I haven't.

I will now, though.

[lame54]

40. Lonestar is my favorite

[sarge43]

3. Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese n/t

[some guy]

4. Spike Lee n/t

[frogmarch]

5. Lasse Hallstrom

director of three of my favorite movies, The Shipping News, Chocolat and An Unfinished Life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasse_Hallstr%C3%B6m

[mackerel]

6. His best film is My Life as a Dog

[frogmarch]

7. I haven't see that one, but

I've heard about it. Gotta see it!

[CrawlingChaos]

11. David Lynch

Honorable mention to Jim Jarmusch

Also love me some John Waters

Edit because I'm horrified I neglected to mention Dario Argento

[whistler162]

12. Stanley Donen

[ailsagirl]

14. Wow-- I didn't know he was still alive

He goes wa-y-y-y back (92 years old)

Good choice!!

[ailsagirl]

13. Australian film director Peter Weir n/t

[oberliner]

15. Notice that not a single female director has yet been named

And to be honest, there would not be one on my top five either.

[TexasBushwhacker]

22. I like Jane Campion's films

The Piano is one of my favorite films.

[oberliner]

24. She hasn't directed much since The Piano

And that was almost 25 years ago.

Do you like any of her other films? The Piano is the only one of hers that I have seen (and I enjoyed it).

[TexasBushwhacker]

25. She's been working on Top of the Lake on SundanceTV

It's very good. I recommend watching it from the beginning if possible.

The first films of hers I saw were Sweetie and Angel At My Table, both very good.

In the Cut wasn't great overall, but the relationship between Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo's characters was smokin' hot.

[oberliner]

26. Cool - I will check it out

Hadn't heard her name for a while, so it will be interesting to see what she has been working on recently.

[Tikki]

44. Maybe not top 5...Penelope Spheeris has made some interesting movies.

I especially like The Boys Next Door (1985), The Decline of Western Civilization I (1981) and Suburbia (1984).


Tikki

[oberliner]

49. I'll have to check those out

The only movie of hers I've seen is Wayne's World!

[kentauros]

16. Hayao Miyazaki

[SecularMotion]

17. It's a tie - Paolo Sorrentino & Alejandro Inarritu

Honorable mention - Christian Petzold

[mucifer]

18. Mel Brooks

Cute old Jewish guy that just makes me smile. His movies are lots of fun.

[red dog 1]

28. + 1

He's in a class by himself....one of my all-time favorite directors!

[corkhead]

19. Yes, the Coens, Scorsese, but nobody yet has mentioned Quentin Tarantino

so I will.

[red dog 1]

29. I've probably seen Pulp Fiction at least 40 times

but he pissed me off by releasing "Kill Bill" in 2 separate parts, obviously to make more money.
Why couldn't he just have combined the 2 in a single set?
(Of course, I had to buy them both as soon as they came out....cost me $40 for the pair)

[lame54]

41. I'm glad he did...

that way I only had to sit through half of that dreck

[red dog 1]

51. After seeing Pulp Fiction, I expected another great Tarantino-directed film in "Kill Bill"

but I was wrong.

I'm a huge fan of David Carradine, especially after watching every episode of "Kung Fu"
Also, I thought he did a great job playing Woody Guthrie in "Bound For Glory".

IMO, Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen & the other actors in "Kill Bill" all seemed like they didn't even know what the hell they were doing!

(Daryl Hannah was the one bright spot for me...She was very good in that very bad film)

[lame54]

52. I thought I was alone...

Everybody told me - you have to see this flick - it's awesome

I did and it sucked (like watching a video game - the hero goes from one room to the next fighting an army of guys until she gets to the boss)

Then they told me - no, you have to see Kill Bill 2 - that is where the awesomeness comes in

No thanks

[Laffy Kat]

61. For the longest time I didn't "get" Tarantino.

I sort of accidentally watched an interview with him on youtube a few years ago and then I loved him. Go figure. I know he elicits a lot of criticism, valid criticism imo, but in the long run, I like his writing and his strong female characters. And he's just quirky. There is also a purity about his movie-making I admire. Just last night I re-watched "From Dusk 'til Dawn" and still thought it was a hoot. (Although now that I think about it, I think his buddy Robert Rodriguez directed that one.)

[pressbox69]

20. Tim Burton

After all he worked with Vincent Price and Christopher Lee.

[edbermac]

21. I'll throw in David Fincher, Clint Eastwood and Terrence Malick.

Though all my favorites are gone, Welles, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Russ Meyer...

[red dog 1]

30. Don't forget John Huston

"Chinatown" may be the best movie I've ever seen.

Alfred Hitchcock is probably my favorite director of all time; and I loved the TV series as well
("Alfred Hitchcock Presents"..I think it was called)

[bigwillq]

23. Martin Scorsese

Quentin Tarantino
Alejandro Inarritu

[MrScorpio]

27. Living? A tie between Tarantino and Luc Besson nt

[dilby]

31. George Romero followed by Neil Marshall and Danny Boyle. N/t

[Tikki]

32. James Jarmusch

Tikki

[My Good Babushka]

33. Jan Švankmajer and David Lynch. nt.

[oberliner]

34. Still not a single female named by anyone

Is that not noteworthy?

[lame54]

42. Including you

[oberliner]

43. That was part of my point

That I cannot think of one that I would put in my top 5 either.

[lame54]

46. I like Kathryn Bigelow - but...

Your repeated insistence implies that female directors are inferior

[oberliner]

48. I liked Hurt Locker but haven't seen any of her other films

My repeated insistence is meant to highlight the fact that there is some serious gender inequality in Hollywood, not that female directors are in any way inferior. They just have not been given similar opportunities.

[lame54]

50. It doesn't come across that way at all

[oberliner]

55. Well hopefully my comment will correct that perception

I find it that there is something wrong with the whole power structure in Hollywood in that there is a comfort level historically with male directors that has not yet been effectively dispensed with.

[LanternWaste]

53. You should analyze it and let us know what you find out... if it's noteworthy, that is.

"Is that not noteworthy?"

You should analyze it and let us know what you find out... if it's noteworthy, that is.

[oberliner]

54. My thought is that it speaks to the history of sexism in Hollywood

It seems like very few female filmmakers are given the same sorts of opportunities that their male counterparts are given. Not only do they direct fewer films, but, in particular, fewer widely seen films.

[Number9Dream]

35. Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter

Francis Ford Coppola, just for Godfather I & II

[lame54]

47. and Apocalypse Now

[auntpurl]

36. Bryan Singer, JJ Abrams, Joss Wheedon

I like superhero films.

[GOLGO 13]

37. Tarintino & John Carpenter

[47of74]

38. Richard Donner

He did a great job with Superman and Lethal Weapon.

[surrealAmerican]

39. The only one I would add to those already mentioned ...

Guy Maddin.

[SheenaR]

45. Sidney Lumet, Wes Anderson and without question Christopher Guest

Coens are excellent by try and get too cute sometimes. They are hurt by their own genius.

EDIT: all of the above listed in this thread too.. Great list.

[Laffy Kat]

62. Yes, yes, Guest! Let's don't forget him. nt

[SheenaR]

63. The term genius

Is often overused. It is not overused with Christopher Guest.

Side note. If you love that humor, Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara have a show out called Schitt's Creek that's right out of the Guest playbook. It's on Amazon video if you have it or the Pop Network whatever that is lol

[Laffy Kat]

66. I know about "Scihitt's Creek." Unfortunately, I don't get Amazon.

I've got Netflix right now, although I might switch. Both Levy and O'Hara are hysterical. Looking forward to eventually seeing the series. I still think "Best in Show" was the funniest docu. parody I've seen.

[TexasBushwhacker]

64. Sidney Lumet died in 2011

Sorry dude.

[SheenaR]

65. Lol I knew. I didn't read the living part :-/

I'm sorry.

[valerief]

56. MICHAEL MOORE. His films are important to see! I love Mel Brooks, too. His films

are equally important to see.

[red dog 1]

57. Yes!

MM's films are, indeed, important...and very well-directed too, especially "Fahrenheit 911"

In Fahrenheit 911 he lays out facts that the 911 Commission didn't even cover.
While filming across the street from the Saudi Arabian Embassy, the cops show up;
but not the D.C cops, the Secret Service (go figure!)

BTW, his second film, "The Big One" is hilarious!
He really can be very funny when he wants to.
It's about a book tour he goes on across America with a BBC film crew.
He goes to different cities to promote his book "Downsize This"
He appears on radio shows, including the Studs Terkel show in Chicago.
He goes to book signings in each city and gives talks.
At one point he "hangs out" with the lead guitarist from Cheap Trick.
Near the end of the film, he's giving a talk to about 200 people and one person shouts out:
"You should run for President..it would send a message!"
and Michael responds :"What message? Eat out more often?"

[KamaAina]

58. Henry Corra, because he interviewed me in his doco George

about his Autistic son named Darryl , who himself went to film school.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Corra

Henry Corra is a filmmaker and Sundance Institute Fellow, best known for pioneering what he calls living cinema....

In addition to his film work, Corra has worked on campaigns for brands as diverse as Mercedes-Benz USA, Accenture, Gateway Computers, Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson, Reebok, McDonalds and Ford. He is also known for memorable advocacy campaigns, tackling issues including smoking (NYC, Austin) and drunk driving (Texas). Currently he's in post-production on his latest feature, Farewell to Hollywood....

George (2000, 88 minutes, Henry Corra, Grahame Weinbren) Described by Amy Taubin in The Village Voice, as “an exceptionally intelligent and moving documentary that explores Corra’s twelve-year-old autistic son George, who uses his own video camera to make a movie within the movie. In fact, the film is about how we define normalcy.” George had its American theatrical premiere at The Screening Room, New York and was shown at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The Gaga Film Festival, Berlin Germany. It aired on HBO in July 2000. "The more you know, the more you care. The more you care, the more your heart will break," said Ron Wertheimer in the New York Times.

The sequence that George shot is quite reminiscent (derivative?) of The Blair Witch Project. I have never been able to watch it on the big screen without getting nauseous!

Also of note:

NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell (2007, 120 minutes, Henry Corra) A two-hour VH1 Rock Doc that documents one of the most tumultuous years in New York City’s history. The Emmy nominated documentary examines everything from the birth of hip-hop, the burgeoning disco movement, the famed New York blackout, the Son of Sam murders, the sexual revolution and the city’s ongoing financial and political problems. The list of people interviewed by Corra includes Mayor Ed Koch, Screw magazine publisher Al Goldstein, porn actress Annie Sprinkle, hip-hop pioneers KRS One, Afrika Bambaataa and D.J. Kool Herc, punk’s Richard Hell, Blondie’s Christ Stein, Studio 54 co-owner Ian Schrager and disco diva Gloria Gaynor.

I remember going to the Honolulu Museum of Art to take the tour of the Doris Duke mansion across town, only to find that Henry and his partner Grahame Weinbren had produced the introductory film!) Heiress Doris Duke loved Arabic art; her mansion at Black Point near Diamond Head is full of it. Definitely do this if you're on O'ahu and want something more than sun 'n surf 'n stuff.

[Enrique]

59. that's just like your opinion man

mine too

[red dog 1]

60. The Dude abides!

I've seen that movie at least 40 times.