Best Director

I always write best on topic, and favorite on poll question. Meaning; I'm trying to find out whose considered the best by asking for everyone's personal favorite.

On directors missing I'm fine with all suggestions except for Mika Kaurismaki. Don't think he qualifies in this company. But his brother Aki does.

Maani: Can't see Weir and Scott being more inexcusable than leaving out any of the ones actually in the poll. They've both (escpecially Scott) made more forgettable films than most directors I've chosen to include imo.

I sure thought Fassbinder would have atleast one certain vote, Fassbinder. Tarkovsky's Andrej Rubljov is in my own top ten. He is just as fantastic and important as Bergman.

Logan: I saw Ju Dou when I was too young to appreciate it. I've recently seen both Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Both ok, but too much of an pompous overdose of scenographic beauty. I know these are not the films that Zhang Yimou got his reputation from.

I love the three Wong Kar-Wai films I've seen. Including Chunking Express. Not as charming, but i thought In the Mood For Love was very beautiful.

Here's some more important names not mentioned yet: Quentin Tarantino, Cronenberg, the Coen brothers , Antonioni, Bunuel, Blake Edwards, John Ford, Eric Rohmer, Nicholas Roeg, Jean Cocteau (his version of Beauty and the Beast is stunning).

I don't know much about asian movies or directors, so I've probably left out a lot of great names.

BTW: I also love Star Wars (old ones), Close Encounters, Heavenly Creatures etc... but still I don't think Lucas, Spielberg or Jackson are among the top 25 best directors ever.


Edited by Rocktopus - July 15 2006 at 19:53

I love Wong Kar-Wai movies... I must admit that his most commercial hit, in The Mood For Love was my favourite.  I almost mentioned him, I was really absorbed by this director a year or so ago when I was anticipating 2046.  I couldn't wait for it it to hit the cinemas here (took a long time for its North American release), and so bought a Hong Kong DVD of it instead.

I think it was the flimscore that really appealed to me -- it just worked so well with the images.  Must buy some Shigeru Umebayashi music (and Peer Raben and Michael Galasso).

A few more directors I like that haven't been mentioned are Peter Greenaway,  Lindsay Anderson, Chen Kaige, Bigas Luna, Agnieszka Holland, Juzo Itami, and Volker Schlondorff. And well, I could think of lots.

A couple classic directors that really deserves nods are Fritz Lang and Robert Weine.  Especially Lang for Metropolis I think.

Don't know much about directors.. Who directed "Scary Movie"? I vote for him/her..

I can't, and wouldn't say who is best, and it's a great list aside from the ones you noted, Spielberg, Lucas, and Jackson.  I do think Jackson's Heavenly Creatures was well-directed.  And gotta say I liked Schindler's List. And THX-1138 is one of my favourite sci-fi movies (Brazil, Delicatessan, Stalker, 2001 are better still), as is Close Encounters... Hmm, come to think of it, maybe they do somewhat deserve to be in such prestigious company.

Of your list, my favourite may be Lars von Trier.  Or, probably Kubrick actually.

My vote could go for Kieslowski, Imamura, or Zhang Yimou.

I think I'll choose Zhang Yimou... it was largely because of him that I pursued film studies in the 90's.  And Gong Li may have had something to do with it too.

Carlos Saura, Sergej Eisenstein, the brothers Kaurismäki (Aki and Mika) and Charlie Chaplin are also missing on the list. And I am sure I could come upm with a lot more names if I hought about it for a moment. And Chaplin definitely was one of the most influental directors of all times.


Edited by BaldFriede - July 15 2006 at 18:02

I voted Coppola.  Apocalypse Now, the Godfather films, and Rocky are excellent examples of why he is such a brilliant director.  Especially Apocalypse now, that picture was filmed in a way only Coppola could.

Spielberg makes some excellent films too, whether it's War of the Worlds, Minority Report, or Close Encounters of a Third Kind, Spielberg will have some of the most unique camera angles.

Honorable mention of Wolfgang Peterson.  He makes all types of films, and his work is so different in each film, you can't really say that's his style.

Not very original of me, but Hitchcock is my favorite.

Tim Burton and David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) are my favorite "modern" directors.

Twinpeaks just might be the best tv-program I've ever seen, but some of Lynch's films are not really to my taste. Mulholland Drive was great, though.

Good list!

Not enough options for these: Kieslovski, Brian De Palma, Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Hal Hartley, Frank Capra, Fritz Lang, Bertolucci, Pasolini, Robert Bresson, Ridley Scott, Roy Andersson, Billy Wilder, Jacques Tati, Jenuet & Caro. The list is endless...

I tried to be a bit less of a snob than I actually am, so I held my nose and included Spielberg, Lucas and Jackson. It feels very wrong, but I know they have a lot more fans than Robert Bresson.

There's atleast 15 directors here worthy of my vote, but I decided to go for Ingmar Bergman. One of the greatest and most important artists of the 20th century with countless classics. My favorite of his so far is Wild Strawberries.