Top 10 Film Directors

[El Vez]

English-Language Directors:

1. Buster Keaton
2. Robert Altman
3. Orson Welles
4. Howard Hawks
5. Martin Scorcese
6. Stanley Kubrick
7. William Wyler
8. Sam Peckinpah
9. David Lean
10. D.W. Griffith

....Breaks my heart that there wasn't room for John Huston, but I doubt it bothers him much.

Foreign Language Directors:

1. Ingmar Bergman
2. F.W. Murnau
3. Sergei Einstein
4. Luis Bunuel
5. Federico Fellini
6. Jean Renoir
7. Akira Kurosawa
8. Pedro Almovodar
9. Werner Herzog
10. Fritz Lang (For his German films)

[BlueChair]

1. Joel Coen
2. Wes Anderson
3. Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Alfred Hitchcock
5. Spike Jonze
6. Martin Scorsese
7. Woody Allen
8. Orson Welles
9. Jim Jarmusch
10. Sofia Coppola

[HungupStrungup]

BC, Sofia Coppola? Really, on the basis of two films? Don't Sam Fuller deserve more consideration than she, and Mike Figgis at least as much?

And EV, I like Peckinpah as much as the next person, but he is the man who made Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and The Killer Elite. How can he and Altman (whom I revere, but he does have a few dodgy credits) make the list if Hitchcock doesn't? How can Truffaut not make either list?

I can't do a top ten. not without a whole lot more thought anyway, but I have to say that John Sayles and Terry Gilliam would almost certainly make mine.

[BlueChair]

my #10 choice is really just an honourable mention... I suppose time will tell whether she makes the grade. But at the same time, Wes Anderson only has three films to his credit, and I easily feel confident putting him near the top of my list.

[bobster]

Wow, El Vez -- I suspect you're more up than me on the Foreign directors (and I don't meet many folks who are -- though my tastes lean to the classical U.S. style, I try to keep up). Still, I'll break my down similarly. Once again, this list is titled (inevitably, you might say) toward the "favorite" -- "greatest" is just too hard. Still, it's easier when you have a whole career to look at. Also, I do one for newer directors, who's careers are still more in progress.

Also, the ranking is really more of a guideline -- it's a little bit like asking someone to rank their children. They're all great! My first English language choice is also something of a recent discovery for me, so it might be getting an unfair advantage.

English Language (through 1980, more or less)

1. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
2. John Ford
3. Alfred Hitchcock
4. Howard Hawks
5. Charlie Chaplin
6. Martin Scorsese
7. Bob Fosse
8. John Huston
8. Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen
9. Stanley Kubrick
10. Nicholas Ray

Very honorable mention: Peckinpaugh, Robert Altman and lots of other seventies guys!

Foreign Language: (Apologies in advance for an uninteresting list -- I'm not as well versed, perhaps, as a true cineaste should be on the furriners. Also, includes more contemporary directors)

1. Jean Luc Godard (okay, he made many unwatchable films -- but he's kind of a walking "Citzien Kane" in terms of importance, fascination, and influence)
2. Francois Truffuat
3. Akira Kurasawa
4. Luis Bunuel
5. Ingmar Bergman
6. Pedro Almodovar
7. John Woo (his American output so far is neglible, except for "Face-Off", maybe)
8. Tsui Hark (haven't even seen his American films -- also recent stuff doesn't look good -- also, may be more of a brand name than a director....)
9. Federico Fellini (more for his earlier films, before he was "Fellini")
10. Wim Wenders

Honorable mention: John-Pierre Melville (hey, he named a film "Bob, the Gambler" -- how could I not mention him?), Chen Kaige (mainly for "Farewell, My Concubine"), Jules Dassin (both U.S. and French), Costa-Gravas, and lots of others I can't remember right now!

[bobster]

And now, the "up and comers" -- post 1980, though at least one entry here has only one film released in the U.S.

1. Quentin Tarentino
2. Wes Anderson
3. Ang Lee
4. Jim Jarmusch
5. Shinji Aoyama (have seen only "Eureka" -- but that was enough!)
6. The Coen Brothers
7. John Sayles
8. John Cameron Mitchell -- (has made only "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" but that was enough, too!)
9. Spike Lee
10. Spike Jonze

Honorable mention -- anyone else named "Spike"

[El Vez]

EV, I like Peckinpah as much as the next person, but he is the man who made Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and The Killer Elite. How can he and Altman (whom I revere, but he does have a few dodgy credits) make the list if Hitchcock doesn't? How can Truffaut not make either list?

I really, really like Alfred Hitchcock. Shadow of A Doubt made my top ten and there are at least an honest half dozen of his films that I dig almost as much; North By Northwest, Rear Window, Rebecca, Spellbound, Strangers On A Train...but I can honestly say I regard Altman and Peckinpah just a little bit more. Yes, both have made some real turkeys but their best work far outshines The Osterman Weekend and Popeye. Hitch made a few crap pictures too.....Torn Curtain being one of the most awful films by a major director I have ever seen.

[ReadyToHearTheWorst]

I may be inebriated and nit-picking, but Buster Keaton and DW Griffiths films have no connection with language, surely?

[noiseradio]

I'm working on top ten, but my all time favorite director (and writer as it turns out) has got to be Alan Smithee.

[Boy With A Problem]

I'll have a stab at this -


Orson Welles
John Houston
Michael Curtiz
Martin Scorcese
Joel Coen
Woody Allen
Stanley Kubrick
John Ford
Francis Ford Coppola
Alfred Hitchcock

I think all of those have been mentioned. I like almost everyone on the lists so far, with the exception of Spike Lee. I think everything he has done after Do The Right Thing has been an enormous letdown.

[BlueChair]

Yes, both have made some real turkeys but their best work far outshines The Osterman Weekend and Popeye. Hitch made a few crap pictures too.....Torn Curtain being one of the most awful films by a major director I have ever seen.

Hey, I like Popeye!

[El Vez]

I may be inebriated and nit-picking, but Buster Keaton and DW Griffiths films have no connection with language, surely?

I thought about that as well, but decided that it is enough to say that D.W. Griffith and Buster Keaton were both english-speaking filmmakers.

[Richard]

So many great names already above, thought I would add a few new ones.

Some overlooked foreign names;

Andrei Tarkovski (particularly for Ivan's Childhood)

Jean Renoir (Boudu Saved From Drowning)

Jean Cocteau (Orpeus)

Andrzej Wajda (Ashes & Diamonds)

Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story)

Roman Polanski (Knife In The Water)

Aki Kaurismaki (Drifting Clouds)

Some directors have brief moments of greatness, sometimes by chance, sometimes by having the greatness sucked out of them by the very process of filmmaking. Like Coppolla they spend many years wallowing in mediocrity after their fleeting genuis:

Jonathan Demme (Melvin & Howard, Something Wild, Married To The Mob)

Albert Brooks (Lost In America)

Deserving mention:

Carl Reiner (The Jerk)

Terrence Mallick (Badlands)

[El Vez]

Richard - Great, great list...but Renoir did make my list.

Francis Ford Coppola is probably the most tragic case of burnout in the history of Hollywood, which is saying something. To nail The Godfather I-II, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now (I'm not a big fan of that last one, but it is undeniably important and influential) all in one decade and then to have such a frustrating arc for the next quarter century. I think he did some fine stuff in the 1980's, but the bombs (Gardens of Stone & The Cotton Club) cost him so much money and disenchanted him to a pretty frightening degree. The less said about Francis Ford Coppola in the 90's, the better. I honestly think he has some great films left in him, he just needs a two things to line up for him.

1. A real budget and the freedom to make the film he wants.
2. A real producer who can keep him on a leash enough so as to avoid Coppola shooting miles of film without an actual script as well as catastrophic overruns the director would surely make in the name of making the film he THINKS he wants to.

[bobster]

Great lists, folks.

Here's a few that should have been on one of my lists, but one of the many problems with top tens is that they're are only ten. All of these are as good as any of the people I list.

1. Roman Polanski -- lots of ups and downs, but I believe in judging ultimately by the "ups" -- "consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds" -- and unlike Coppola, who also makes this list, he's been doing good work lately.

2. Coppolla -- true, he's been on one heck of a decline since the time of "The Cotton Club" but those four movies -- the first two "Godfathers" (particularly II), "The Conversation" and "Apoclypse Now" is a run of greatness we're not likely to see anytime soon. He also made the vastly underrated "Rumblefish" (with an amazing score by Stuart Copeland). I even sorta liked "The Outsiders." Even the first fifteen minutes of "Dracula" was pretty great. (Okay, the rest sucked the nether regions of your least favorite animal, but still....). On the other hand, if movies were math, he'd have to return all his rewards for the middle segment of "New York Stories."

3. Woody Allen -- again, if movies were math, he'd be in trouble for his last several movies. Hasn't made a really excellent one since "Bullets Over Broadway" -- and he hasn't made a geniunely funny and watchable one since the much derided but far better than more recent films "Deconstructing Harry." Well, "Sweet and Lowdown" was okay, but felt very long for such a short movie. On the other hand, what a run from the late sixties into the eighties.

4. Jean Cocteau -- Merely on the strength of his "Beauty and the Beast", one of my all time favorite films which was only not on the other list because I didn't happen to be thinking about it. Still, "Orpheus" and "Blood of a Poet" are, for me, more in the "interesting" category. Though who knows how I'd react if I saw them again tomorrow. My reactions to these things change all the time. ("King Kong" also makes my top ten lists, at times.)

Possibilities --

Andrej Wadja -- have seen both "Ashes and Diamonds" and "Kanal" once, and loved them. (The book "Ashes and Diamonds" -- I saw it in a class on film and literature, was also good.) "Man of Marble" less so, and I honestly can't remember whether or not I've seen "Man of Iron" or which preceeded which. Great visuals, still, I'm not sure. If I saw them again....

Curtiz doesn't make my list despite having directed two of the greatest films of all time, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and, yes, "Casablanca." Still, it's partly because one gets the feeling that he just presided over them. They are more triumphs of the studio system than any one person. (Casablanca had multiple writers and Robin Hood was codirected, though who did it what remains murky to me.)

Ozu -- I fall asleep every time I try to see one of his films -- but then this can happen to me with any subtitled picture. (I close my eyes and suddenly everyone's speaking gibberish, and for me, movie theaters are like wombs. Movies I have slept through at least once include: Ran and Das Boat; I tried to fall asleep during "Home Alone", but it didn't work!) I'll try again sometime....

Buster Keaton -- I know lots of people who prefer him to Chaplin. (Chaplin has fallen out of fashion in favor of Keaton, at least until recently.) I don't. I like his movies a lot, but he just doesn't come close for me in terms of overall storytelling. Chaplin for me works on far more levels and Keaton made good comedies and was a truly great performer. Just not a "greatest" filmmaker for me.

Griffith -- no denying his importance. Still, I'm not silent films are for me, sort of half a medium -- though slapstick comedies can transcend that. Have yet to see one of his movies that really moved me. Still have to give "Intolerance" a try again real soon. (Last tried to watch it age 12!) "Broken Blossoms" had moments. Let's leave "Birth of a Nation" alone....

Jonathan Demme -- a real candidate. "Silence of the Lambs" is definitely one of my favorite films of the nineties and, I think, would have impressed Hitchcock and Lang if they'd lived to see it. "Something Wild" is possibly even better. Haven't seen his last few, though I know "Beloved" his its fans. (I barely made it through the book, and wasn't that enthused about seeing the movie....)

Kaurismaki -- Despite the fact that I sense I'd love their movies, I haven't seen any...they always seem to leave theaters just as I'm getting a chance to think about it and I've avoided videos (DVDs are a godsend for me).

Here's three rather macho selections that no one's mentioned so far but I think deserve to be considered:

Don Siegel
Sergio Leone
Clint Eastwood

[HungupStrungup]

Some directors have brief moments of greatness, sometimes by chance, sometimes by having the greatness sucked out of them by the very process of filmmaking. Like Coppolla they spend many years wallowing in mediocrity after their fleeting genuis:

Jonathan Demme (Melvin & Howard, Something Wild, Married To The Mob)

Albert Brooks (Lost In America)

Deserving mention:

Carl Reiner (The Jerk)

Terrence Mallick (Badlands)

I'm not sure this is fair to Demme and I know it isn't to Brooks. Malick, for whatever reasons, simply chose to take 20 years off after Badlands and Days of Heaven. Maybe the pressure of following two excellent, and critically lauded films made with such apprent ease was just too much. Maybe he had two great films in him and no more.

Mentions of Demme's wonderful early work too often leave out Stop Making Sense, just as too many praise Scorsese without mentioning The Last Waltz. Rock documentaries may be a step below Gangs of New York in terms of the number and complexity of elements under the director's complete control; but in all other senses, they are just as difficult to do well and worthy of praise when the effort succeeds. Made after Melvin and Howard but before Something Wild and Married to the Mob, the Talking Heads film is a masterpiece. Admittedly I haven't seen enough of Demme's recent efforts to say whether or not his skills have degenerated to the extent you claim.

As for Brooks, he has directed these films: Real Life, Modern Romance, Lost in America, Defending Your Life, Mother and The Muse. As with any such list, some are better than others, but Defending Your Life and Mother are excellent films and can't be cited as evidence of any decline, at least as far as I'm concerned. And in between writing and directing his own films, he manages to get a decent acting gig here and there (Broadcast News, Finding Nemo, Taxi Driver, My First Mister, Out of Sight).

[Boy With A Problem]

I was extremely let down by Mother.

[Richard]

Everybody is bringing up so many great films I am already scheming how to see some of the ones I am unfamiliar with.

Some clarification. My deserving mention of Terrence Mallick was seperate from those whose talant has waned. Yes he was merely on a self imposed hiatus.

Jonathan Demme had so much potential & achieved such heights that yes I am still disappointed by where he is right now. I didn't mention Stop Making Sense, but most certainly deserves to mentioned in the same breath as the Last Waltz. And Silence Of The Lambs was the rare melding of commercial success with genius.

Coppolla was just so godamned brilliant that the last 20 years have been nothing but a crying shame. Rumblefish is one of my favorites & yes Outsiders is also enjoyable. I remember going to see both Peggy Sue Got Married & Tucker & so much wanting them to be great. Wanting sadly is not having.

Not surprised you fell asleep during Ozu, Bobster. But hopefully his greatness shone between naps.

As for Albert Brooks I stand by my claim. Yes there are moments in all his films that are inspired, & yes he is always great even when simply a hired actor on mediocre projects. But his crowning achievment to date I still think is Lost In America. One of the great American comedies of the last 25 years at least. Nothing else he has done comes close.

[El Vez]

Citizens Band is another great Jonathan Demme film. I think that time will show that The Truth About Charlie and (to a lesser extent) Beloved represent a momentary dip in his career rather than any real decline. Since completing his apprenticeship with Roger Corman, Demme's batting average has been amazing. Citizens Band, Melvin & Howard, Stop Making Sense, Something Wild, Married To The Mob, The Silence of The Lambs, Philadelphia as well as numerous tv and other side projects. I especially liked the tv movie he made with Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken, Who Am I This Time? A must see for anyone who is curious what Walken, playing a regional theatre actor, would have done with Stanley Kowalski.

I have to agree with Richard on Albert Brooks. For my money, Modern Romance is one of the greatest films ever made on the subject of relationships. The scene where Brooks gets stoned on pills and flips through his rolodex trying to find a date is so painfully hilarious things that I have to psyche myself out to even get through it. Just brutal. Lost In America was probably his peak, but even lesser films like Mother and The Muse are a lot better than 99% of what Hollywood peddles as comedies.

[bobster]

Wow --

I had no idea that Demme directed "Who am I This Time" which I saw on PBS when I was in high school or college or junior high or something. All I remembered is that it was based on Vonnegut short story.

In fact, I had forgotten it starred Walken and Sarandon. An interesting acting pairing to see the least. Is the think on DVD?

[El Vez]

Bobster-

I'd check over at amazon.com or some such entertainment mecca. I had it for the longest time on vhs until my mom misplaced it with some junk and it wound up getting left outside in the backyard until the elements had eaten through the tape itself. I usually don't see it for rent, but at places like Suncoast or Tower or such they usually have a copy. Sometimes, for whatever reason, they repackage it to look like a thriller and give it a different title.

[LessThanZero]

Buster Keaton -- I know lots of people who prefer him to Chaplin. (Chaplin has fallen out of fashion in favor of Keaton, at least until recently.) I don't. I like his movies a lot, but he just doesn't come close for me in terms of overall storytelling. Chaplin for me works on far more levels and Keaton made good comedies and was a truly great performer. Just not a "greatest" filmmaker for me.

BOBSTER YOU CRAZY COMMUNIST!

Keaton's films were amazing.

And I think your opinion is WRONG!
Just kidding.

wow, though, like chaplin, he did everything. Wait, he might not've been in charge of the music like chaplin was...but those stunts! Those stories! Those stocisms!!

[bobster]

Would never belittle Buster..., the guy is a huge influence of lots of great filmmakers and performers.

But Chaplin just speaks to me a lot more loudly. Maybe it's that I'm a sloppy sentimentalist/idealist at heart, or because his birthday comes just a day before mine...

[miss buenos aires]

Here's my list, with a different set of bilnders than you guys:

Agnes Varda
Clair Denis
Agnieszka Holland
Allison Anders
Jane Campion
Amy Heckerling
Leni Riefenstahl
Lina Wertmüller
Sofia Coppola
Penelope Spheeris

Yeah, so maybe they're not all the greatest geniuses the world has ever seen, but I just get so tired of this "all boys all the time" rut people seem to slip into (Tower of Song, anyone?).

[Richard]

Wow!. What a great list Miss.BA. More than deserving nominees. Thanks for the re-education.

Riefenstahl would be a great case that great art can come from where you least expect it. She is never even remotely critical of the machine she is documenting, but you can not fail to watch in terror. Or perhaps I have had a little too much hindsight.