Top 40 living directors

Originally posted by markie:
  But David Lynch cant even normally get enough money to make a movie. He seems like a rather odd choice, what is his magnus opus?
 

Wild At Heart

[mankie]

Originally posted by markie:
  Errrrrr, the list is hardly dominated by women, unlike Mankie.

I wish!

[markie]

I was almost sucked in, well until:
 
 "In the past three years Spielberg has released three movies -- ''A.I.,'' ''Minority Report'' and ''Catch Me if You Can'' -- that are not only, individually and in the aggregate, as good as anything he has ever done; these films are also, in the current artistic and technological circumstances, as good as it is possible to imagine movies to be. The three have yielded a tiny handful of nominations, again mostly in secondary categories, and no Oscars."
 
 I have not seen catch me if you can, but the other two are really very average movies. File under instantly forgetable.
 
 As for Polanski:
 
 http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover1.html
 
 do the crimes of the artist taint the art? I really dont think so.

[Bags]

Where the f*ck is Kevin Smith.
 
 And Neil Labute (okay, maybe not on this list, but he rocks)

[ggw]

Originally posted by Bagster:
  Where the f*ck is Kevin Smith.

New Jersey

[Bags]

Originally posted by markie:
  I have not seen catch me if you can, but the other two are really very average movies. File under instantly forgetable.
 

Catch Me If You Can was awesome, one of my favorites last year for sheer enjoyment.
 
 I dunno, I think Spielberg's catalog is awfully varied, and whatever genre he works in, he comes out with pretty fine films.  Not all hit it just right, but the track record's impressive.
 
 But in lists like this, they tend to go for those cutting edges or forging new ground, with little concern (or at times outright scorn) for enjoyable, entertaining movies.  Hey, my faves are Smith, Coens, Alexander Payne, Spike Jonze, Wes Anderson, Neil Labute, Scorsese and Todd Haynes, so I'm all on it.  Just something to think about.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Where the f*ck is Kevin Smith.
 
 snorting blow and feeding his big ugly face
 
 
 And Neil Labute
 
 probably deflowering a 15 year old retarded blind girl or something

[PR_GMR]

Ohhh this I gotta read! (PR's a filmmaker)
 
 Be right back after I read through the list.  

[PR_GMR]

O right, just read it. It's a fairly well-put together list, in my opinion.
 
 There are many names I don't recognize, mainly Russian, east european and middle eastern filmmakers whose films are not well released in the states: Kiarostami, Tarr, Kaurismaki, Sokurov, Mhakmalbaf. So Kudos to the list-writers for really getting around to these filmmakers. Sadly, I can't remember the last time I saw a Russian film.
 
 The Wachowski brothers don't belong in that list. I must be one of the few who think that The Matrix movies aren't the oh-so-deep masterpieces which many people very foolishly consider. Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions were dissapointing.
 
 Terrence Malik should be lower on that list--he has only made three movies in thirty years. Give his spot to an actual working director.
 
 Tarantino should be higher, at least on the top ten. 'Kill Bill' is magnificent, regardless of its blood and over-emphasis on style.
 
 Scorcese should be lower. I guess I was one of the few who thought 'Gangs Of New York' was an overambitious, overlong, muddled dissapointment.
 
 I'm glad to see Hayao Miyazaki on the list. His films (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) take Japanese animation to the next level as accomplished cinema.
 
 I agree with whoever said Kevin Smith should be on that list. Take the Wachowski bros out and put Kevin Smith there instead. Better!
 
 Another notable omition: Darren Aronofski (Pi, Requiem For A Dream). He should be on the list.
 
 Also, Spike Lee should be on that list, despite his big mouth. His last film, The 25th Hour, was remarkable.
 
 As for no. 1, I think David Lynch deserves the spot. No other filmmaker who's on that list films will mistify future audiences more than David Lynch.   :cool:

[PR_GMR]

posted by ggw
 
 Polanski is a child molester. Why anybody would ever go see one of his movies is beyond me.

Oh come on, Polanski is a fine filmmaker. 'The Pianist' was remarkable. If you're going to discredit an artist's works by his 'crimes' or legal troubles, you might as well burn half your record collection.   :cool:

[igor]

spielberg hasn't really put out any great films lately, but almost half of the people they had on that top 40 is less deserving.
 
 as for polanski, like someone said, if you separate the person and the films that person made, he deserves to be up there.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I want Stephen Frears on this list.

[PR_GMR]

Yes, Spielberg should be somewhere on that list. At least for his past work if not his most recent films.
 
 Coppola technically should be there too.. although he's 'in decline' now.   :cool:

[ggw]

Originally posted by PR_GMR:
 Oh come on, Polanski is a fine filmmaker. 'The Pianist' was remarkable. If you're going to discredit an artist's works by his 'crimes' or legal troubles, you might as well burn half your record collection.    :cool:  

Why is 'crime' in quotes?  Is drugging and anally raping a 13-year old not really criminal in your opinion?
 
 He's a fugitive. It's not like he made some 'errors in judgment' and did his time and moved on with his life.  He fled to escape prosecution, so I'm not going to line his pockets so he can continue to avoid paying his dues.
 
 If any artist in my record collection is a fugitive child molester, I'll happily burn their discs.

[kurosawa-b/w]

Not a bad list though I disagree with the numbering. I was very happy to see Lynne Ramsay on there. She is a brilliant director. If you haven't seen Movern Callar, you should.
 
 Where is David O Russell right now? Love his stuff.
 
 And I was pretty anti-Spielberg until I saw Minority Report. That was a very good film.
 
 Oh and I'm not knocking David Cronenberg as a director (though I'm also not a fan), but I don't understand why he's so high on the list.