My favorite directors

Well I´ve just finished seeing Rashomon, thanks to Jean, and even though the asynchronous is present in all but the first part and it get´s worst and worst as it goes on... I have to say that it´s a pretty damn good movie! I liked it far more than Seven samurais, which I will try to see again anyways... great performance by Toshiro Mifune and great photography!

BaldJean wrote: el böthy wrote: BaldJean wrote: I have to add Roman Polanski, Francois Truffaut, Fritz Lang, Akira Kurosawa (who directed my favorite movie "Rashomon"), Rainer Werner Fassbinder and the greatest of all, Charlie Chaplin Why? They are not my favorites...   I MUST watch some Fassbinder, specially Welt amd Draht!!! Kurosawa, I only saw 7 Samurais... failed to see the hype about it, I will probably watch it again though. And haven´t seen Rashomon... yet! Fritz Lang would have made it, from what I´ve seen from him, but I´ve seen way to little (Only M and Metropolis) Truffaut is (in my eyes) a better screenwriter than director, but that´s just me. I prefer Goddard´s iconoclastic style Chaplin... was a genius, but his directing is not what stands out in my eyes Polanski... is in my opinion one of the most overrated directors... he is good and has done good movies, but I wouldn´t put him in the top along with the other greats well, "Rosemary's Baby"! is in my opinion the best horror movie ever.. and "Chinatown" and his first movie, "The Knife in the Water", are great too. and not to forget "The Fearless Vampire Killers". "Rashomon" can be viewed here (in 9 parts) Part 1: http://tinyurl.com/9t69l6 Part 2: http://tinyurl.com/7wona8 Part 3: http://tinyurl.com/7x4p4x Part 4: http://tinyurl.com/7cxrqw Part 5: http://tinyurl.com/6wowse Part 6: http://tinyurl.com/8m5lb5 Part 7: http://tinyurl.com/962mdk Part 8: http://tinyurl.com/8vgrou Part 9: http://tinyurl.com/7gf68k sadly sound and picture are asynchronous in part 8 of this youtube version, but I hope you can overlook that; it is my favorite part of the movie. that clumsy and cowardly sword fight. quite the opposite of what the bandit tells in the beginning!

I've got Rashomon, City LIghts, and Rules of the Game headed my way because I got a sweet deal online (3 for the price of 2). I can't wait. Rashomon is utterly brilliant (though Seven Samurai is "better" to the extent that one can rank perfection). Kurosawa might be my favorite director, but I need to watch more of his stuff. So far I've seen:

Rashomon
Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Ran

All of which are perfect in their own way (even Sanjuro, which is terribly underrated). And I rented Ikiru last night but watched Singin' in the Rain first (also excellent).

BaldJean wrote: I have to add Roman Polanski, Francois Truffaut, Fritz Lang, Akira Kurosawa (who directed my favorite movie "Rashomon"), Rainer Werner Fassbinder and the greatest of all, Charlie Chaplin

my favourite ones are :
Alejandro Jodorowsky - god
David Lynch - master 1
Andrei Tarkovski - master  2
Federiko Fellini - genious
Stanley Kubrick
Wim Wenders

el böthy wrote: I´ve yet to see Kaufman´s movie, I´m pretty excited!

It is truly a love it/hate it movie. It's easy to say that anyone who hates it doesn't 'get' it, but I love it and still need some help on the details.

My vote:

el böthy wrote: 1800iareyay wrote: Ingmar Bergman- Frankly it's shameful he hasn't been mentioned yet. The greatest writer-director of all time I would say Bergman was probably the best writer, but not the best director. Personally, I think many are/were better than him, but when it comes to ideas and dialogue... he was the man

Being the best writer-director doesn't mean you're the best writer and best director. It means he was the best at penning and shooting his own work. Kubrick and Hitchcock are leagues better, but at best they contributed to the screenplays they shot.


My favorite writer-directors are:

Bergman
Welles
Woody Allen
Charlie Chaplin (He's pretty much neck and neck with Bergman, but I think Bergman's work has more lasting resonance, while Chaplin's got the edge in directing)
Kevin Smith
Charlie Kaufman's been writing gold for years and proved a very capable director this year with Synecdoche

Honorable mention: Joss Whedon. He's only directed one of his movie scripts (the awesome Serenity), but he's the mastermind behind three of my ten favorite shows ever and he's my personal favorite entertainment writer.

It's hard to pick my favorite. It'd probably come down to Scorsese or Kubrick for the ability to mix art into something completely and totally enjoyable, but I love so many more. I'll focus on those who haven't been named:

Werner Herzog- Nobody makes cinema verite half as well as Herzog, and perhaps that's because he so openly admits his flights of fancy. His films with Kinski are of course his best, but he's got some great stuff without his twisted muse, like Stroszek, Invincible, and Rescue Dawn. He's also the most original documentarian working

Ingmar Bergman- Frankly it's shameful he hasn't been mentioned yet. The greatest writer-director of all time (yes, even above Welles, though that may simply be because Welles lost creative control so quickly)

Robert Altman- Another glaring omission. The master of the ensemble piece. Nashville is a plotless ramble that ends up condensing the dark hilarity of the corruption of the American Dream and the shift in the national zeitgeist to a manufactured happiness, all under the guise of a look into country music. Short Cuts, The Player, MASH, Gosford Park, and The Long Goodbye are likewise brilliant.

Ed Wood was a directorial genius. Blue Velvet and Eraserhead are a couple of my faves. I like Mel Gibson for some reason.