In conjunction with Kyle at www.EnterTheMovies.com, I'm happy to present my Top 10 Favorite Directors. Please make sure to check out his list, too, and let us know who you agree with more!
1. Joel and Ethan Coen
The Coen brothers are by far my favorite filmmakers, and they do so much more than direct. In addition to directing, they have also written, produced, and edited almost all of their films. Because they are so heavily involved with the main aspects of filmmaking, their films all have a distinct feel and sound to them - it's very easy to tell if you're watching a Coen brothers film, almost from the start, but at the same time, their films are very diverse. They are just as skilled at making screwball comedies (The Hudsucker Proxy, Raising Arizona, O Brother, Where Art Thou?) or film noirs (The Man Who Wasn't There, Blood Simple, The Big Lebowski) or westerns (True Grit) or thrillers (No Country for Old Men) or dark comedies (Fargo, Burn After Reading). Their genius shines through, no matter what style of film they set out to make. They are the only directors (of a sizable filmography) where I own all of their films and even their worst (The Ladykillers) is still entertaining and worth watching several times. Their newest film, Hail Caesar!, is set to come out in February and I'm fully expecting it to be one of the best of the year.
2. Stanley Kubrick
If you read this blog regularly, you've probably noticed that I really like Stanley Kubrick. His films have appeared on several of my lists already and I'm sure they'll continue to show up on future lists. I've only recently really "gotten into" his films, but they have made a strong impact on me over the last two years or so. Before that point, I had seen several of his works (most notably Dr. Strangelove and The Shining), but I hadn't seen seen the majority of them. Like the Coens, Stanley Kubrick was a master at changing genres and often produced a classic in each genre he chose to tackle. He handled everything from satire to science fiction to drama to war to film noir to epics with relative ease. One of the things I love most of Kubrick's films are how deep and layered they are, for the most part. They all benefit from multiple viewings and several have worked their way into my Top 100, Top 50, and even Top 10 after revisiting them. Shortly before dying in 1999, Kubrick delivered his final film - Eyes Wide Shut - which is quite the achievement to go out on. Even though he can't give me any more films, he's left so many great ones that they'll occupy me for ages. I now own all of Kubrick's feature films, with the exception of his debut, Fear and Desire.
3. David Fincher
David Fincher got his start directing music videos in the 1980's and 90's for some of pop music's biggest stars - Madonna, Paula Abdul, Rick Springfield, Aerosmith, and even Michael Jackson. His debut feature film (Alien 3) is the only one that I haven't seen or own, but he's been on a nearly flawless winning streak since then, starting with Se7en in 1995. Fincher has a knack for creating atmospheric, moody films with interesting characters caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Some people find his work cold, a complaint often attached to Kubrick, as well, but that has never been the case for me. Fincher's best films (Se7en, Zodiac, and The Social Network) are all technical masterpieces, but also engaging and emotional. 2014's Gone Girl was one of my favorites of the whole year and I have high hopes that whatever his next project is, it won't disappoint.
4. Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is the most recent addition to this list. I'd long been a fan of the films of his that I had seen, but up until a couple of months ago, that only included about half of his filmography. After I got around to watching Magnolia, The Master, and Inherent Vice, I was convinced - this was a man who definitely belonged among my favorite directors. PTA (as he's widely known) not only directs, but writes and produces his films, so he's heavily involved in creating these works of art. Almost all of PTA's films include drama, comedy, and action, so there's a little bit of something for everyone. With only seven feature films, he's got one of the shortest resumes on this list, but all seven of those films are quite good and some of them are flat out masterpieces. I only own four of his films, but will definitely purchase the rest at some point in the future as they're all worthy of multiple viewings.
5. Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson (no relation to PTA) has a style all his own and it's impossible to mistake one of his films as being directed by anyone else. This style (sometimes referred to as "literary geek chic") rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but I think it's impressive. Anderson makes fun, but often times sad, comedies set in their own distinct universe and populated with eccentric, vibrant characters. One particular strength of his is production design. The sets on a Wes Anderson film are so detailed that you could go through one of his films on slow motion and zoom into the backgrounds and be amazed. Everything in the shot is designed in such a way to enhance the feeling of being real and lived-in. Like the Coens and PTA, Anderson does much more than direct. He also writes and produces most of his films and has a gift for getting career best performances out of his casts. I have seen and enjoyed all eight of his features and own all of them except for Moonrise Kingdom, which is one of his weaker efforts, but still better than most films.
6. Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino, as a person, isn't someone I'd want to hang out with for very long, I don't think. He's hyper and manic and doesn't seem to think before talking. None of those traits, though, seem to hurt him as a director or writer. He's managed to make some of the best films of the last 20 years and he helped propel "independent" films into the mainstream with his first two features, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. An oft repeated criticism of Tarantino is that he "pays homage to" (or directly steals from) too many older films, but this has never especially bothered me, maybe because I haven't seen the (mostly obscure) films that helped inspire him. Tarantino has a way with writing characters and dialogue that is all his own and this is his strongest attribute. He's created some truly unforgettable characters, ranging from Mr. Pink to Jules Winnfield to The Bride to Colonel Hans Landa to Calvin Candie. These characters are etched into my memory, thanks to Tarantino's writing and the wonderful performances that he coaxes out of his talented casts. Tarantino's one downfall is his casting himself in several of his films. He's a poor actor and those films would be better served with someone more talented in his roles. I've seen and own all of his eight films and am eagerly awaiting his next feature, this December's The Hateful Eight.
7. Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese is a living legend of cinema and one of my favorite people to listen to talk about film - his knowledge and passion is second to none. When it comes to his films, he has made some of the most popular and critically acclaimed of the last 40+ years. Films like Taxi Driver. Raging Bull. Goodfellas. The Departed. While some misinformed people might say he's only capable of making films about gangsters or criminals, that's simply not the case. Scorsese is actually quite the diverse filmmaker and has shown time and again that he's capable of making pretty much any type of film that he wants. Since he is so prolific (23 feature films, plus several full length documentaries), there are a bunch of his films, especially the early ones, that I've yet to see. I recently bought Who's That Knocking, Mean Streets, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and After Hours, but haven't gotten a chance to watch any of them yet. Knowing Scorsese, they won't disappoint.
8. Alexander Payne
Like most of the directors on this list, Alexander Payne is also a writer and has a very distinct style to his films. His six feature films are all drama/comedy hybrids (or "dramadies" as they're sometimes called), are all populated with very realistic, believable characters, and are mostly set in the Mid-West. Given these facts, you'd think that Payne's films would get repetitive or boring, but that's never been the case for me. From his start with Citizen Ruth, a film that I just saw for the first time this summer, he has shown that he has immense skill in creating these stories. Payne is also adept at getting great performances out of his casts, whether they be huge stars (like Jack Nicholson or George Clooney), veteran character actors (like Paul Giamatti or Bruce Dern) or young up-and-comers (like Reese Witherspoon). For each of these examples, Payne's films mark some of their best work, which is really saying something considering the talent level represented. One odd tidbit about Payne - he helped write the screenplays (or at least early versions of them) for Jurassic Park III and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, two films that are absolutely nothing like any of his other works.
9. Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg is probably the most widely known film director of all time. If you ask a regular person who isn't particularly into films, they would probably still know his name and a few of his more popular movies. Spielberg is responsible for some of the biggest hits in the last 40 years, including Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, and Minority Report. He has inspired a generation of people to make their own films and his influence will live on long after he's gone. Spielberg has more films on my Top 100 (six) than any other director, so why is he ranked at #9 on this list? Frankly, for every great film of his there is one that I do not like or have no interest in seeing. He has directed 29 feature films, so there's bound to be some duds, but he seems to have an usually high percentage for me. I haven't seen five of his last six films and I don't think he's made a great film since 2002, but he has made about ten very good or better films in his career, and that's an impressive feat. As a side note, I loved his cameo in Austin Powers in Goldmember and how he brandished his Academy Award as a way to silence Austin's criticisms.
10. Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is another prolific director who I still need to see a lot of his work. What I have seen (besides the dreadful The Ninth Gate) has impressed me, though, so I didn't hesitate much when putting him on my list. Polanski has made some of my very favorite films, including Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist, and The Ghost Writer. He has a visual flair and penchant for creating mesmerizing works in a wide range of different genres and across many decades. I'm excited to see several of his earlier works, such as Knife in the Water, Repulsion, and The Tenant. Polanski himself has gone through so much in his life (escaping Nazi Germany as a child, his pregnant wife getting murdered by
the Manson family, the rape charge that sent him into exile in France) that I'm sure someone will make a film based on his life at some point. Odds are, whoever is chosen to direct that film won't be as talented as their subject matter.
There's my list! Is your favorite director included? Do you hate any of my choices? I'd love to hear from you, so please let me know in the comments section.
Coming up next Friday: My Favorite Films (Part 2).
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