Just thought it would be fun to shoot the bull. I'm really not sure who I'd pick, as there are the ones that "defined current movie language" earlier on in filmmaking (Like Orson Welles), and then there's the ones that "redifined it to what it is currently" like Steven Spielberg. I personally think this . . . .

Greatest Special FX pioneer goes to George Lucas

Greatest "the first time this has ever been done in cinematography" goes to split decision of Orson Welles and Akira Kurisawa.

Best in "showman" storytelling goes to Speilberg.

Best in I'm not sure what, but, he has to be in here somewhere . . . I guess in building suspense? . . . Is Alfred Hitchcock.

How about you guys?

If you base it solely on total volume of classic movies, Hitchcock wins. Nobody can touch him. Best though? That has to be a subjective. For me: Woody Allen.

Kevin Smith, he's one of us... one of us... one of us...


:)

I'll cast two votes for "not-as-well-know" but brilliant directors working in the contemporary cinema:

Wong Kar-wai (2046, In the Mood for Love, Happy Together, Fallen Angels, Chungking Express, Days of Being Wild, As Tears Go By), style and substance in beautiful balance. In terms of sensuality and lushness, In the Mood for Love is one of the most beautiful love stories ever made in which the environment is as much a character as the actors.

Atom Egoyan (Speaking Parts, Next of Kin, Family Viewing, Exotica, Ararat, The Sweet Hereafter, Calendar), his films have a fascinating structure and style weaving narrative threads with layers of experimental essays that reveal new insights on multiple viewings. A filmmaker's filmmaker, Wim Wenders was so impressed with Egoyan that he gave his prize money won at the Toronto film festival one year to help Egoyan make Speaking Parts.

It's hard to narrow it down but I decided to limit myself two two.

I hear what you're saying on Wong Kar Wai. "In the Mood for Love", "2046", "Ashes of Time" and "Chunking Express" all belong in a filmmaker's library. But Egoyan has fallen down recently. "The Sweet Hereafter", "Exotica" all show a deft touch and good storytelling. But I can't remember the last one after that that I liked.

For me it has to be Akira Kurosawa. He excelled in so many areas from storytelling, dynamic direction, bringing out performances to the varying scope of his productions. In his career he did everything from commercials to industrial films from psychological stories to film noir to comedy to adventure and huge battles. He not only directed films that mattered only to a select few but he made crowd pleasers. He was an auteur who didn't just keep to one genre but branched out and built bridges between cultures. Let me reel off a few classics of his: "High and Low", "Stray Dog", "The Seven Samurai", "Rashomon", "Ikuru", "Ran", "Throne of Blood", "Derzu Uzala", "Yojimbo", "Sanshiro Sugata".

I will suggest another filmmaker who I think lives in Kurosawa's shadow. That is China's great director Zhang Yimou. Zhang Yimou may be trying to establish himself as a martial arts director ("Hero", "House of Flying Daggers") now but prior to that he made three masterpieces in the late 80s and 90s that still evoke awe in terms of composition and metaphor. "Red Sorghum", "Ju Duo" and "Raise the Red Lantern". Totally gorgeous films.

For me the 2 greatest would be
Stanley Kubrick and Akira Kurosawa. There are many other great ones, but for me, those 2 are the best. I like Hitchcock, but felt he was rather formulaic at times.

Yeah, Hitchcock made the same movie over and over. But it was a real good movie!

For me, top honors would go to Stanley Kubric...but I'd have to put Akira Kurosawa and Ridley Scott up there in my list of favorites as well. I'm also quite partial to Francis Ford Coppola's work and, dare I say it, Mike Figgis...but neither approach quite the same level of greatness as Kubric/Kurosawa/Scott.

I disagree! I think nobody tops Coppola for a straight-up drama.

I am heartened to see many of you share my idols.

According to my mom, it is me.

However, I'm partial to Stanley Kubric and Akira Kurosawa, who both seem to be popular choices.

Coppola has had kind of a weird career. The first two Godfathers and "The Conversation" are among my all-time favorite movies. "Apocalypse Now" is great too, but not something I personally would watch over and over. But nothing he's made since even comes close to those movies. It's not that his current work is bad. His movies just don't seem to have the same impact. Interesting nobody has said Scorcese. He's been a lot more consistent over his entire career.

You have to pretend Coppola retired in 1979.

For me it's Steven Spielberg.
I love others too (Lars Von Trier, Sergio Leone, Stanley Kubrick, Wong Kar Wai, ...), but he's my all time favorite. The man has many classic masterpieces on his name, and you really feel he breathes film.
He seems to have a natural connection with film language, he knows how to tell a story, how to put you right in the middle of it, and get you to feel what he wants you to feel.

agree with most of you...
Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Kurosawa, etc...

however, i'd like to mention Wachowski bros. Altho their filmography is very short, i think they're good for groundbreaking VFX and very deep philosophical story...(too deep not many people understand the story tho..)

also James Cameron, Night Shyamalan, Wolfgang Petersen, etc.

i think most box office stands for good direction.

A vote for Ridley Scott and also prob Kubrick.

and it's difficult to argue with James Cameron's consistent success and skill - although i agree that doesn't necessarily make him 'the best'.

Steve Soderbergh i think also is highly talented and makes some great movies.

also Night Shyamalan, etc.

Forgot about him! Great director too with a complete own visual style!

I will go see anything by Luc Besson.
He's my fav.

People slag Speilberg off all the time cause he's all "Hollywood" but when I first read this thread, I looked back in my mind to all the films I've enjoyed over the years from a single director and he came out on top.

Watched Jaws last night again - great film.
Always loved ET - I still cry when I see that ugly little beggar get all sick.
Indiana Jones - Ultimate adventure movie
Jurassic Park - Dinosaurs!
Minority Report - Good adaptation of a book by my favourite author

Duel - I'll just forget about that one ;)

Aaron

I always liked Alfred Hitchcock.

Rudolf Cartier - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0174444/ - a TV pioneer, who made such fantastic dramas with next to nothing in the way of technology. His 1984 is a true television classic that always amazes me how much feeling can be got across with such crude technology.

Graeme

For Direction, and cinematography: Akira Kurosawa.

For just basic direction: Hitchcock. I think, no matter what you make of him, he always told the story through the pictures. In essence, if you do your film literacy and history, he started the Speilberg style. The best example is "Psycho" when the Private eye goes into the house, he looks left, then we see it, he looks up, we see it, he looks right, we see it... then, a door opens, and we think its one of the two doors on the left or right.... NO! ITS THE ONE ON THE TOP OF THE STAIRS!!!! OMG OMG!!! NOOOOOOOOO...... oh... hes dead.

That kind of direction is what made hitchcock, and gave modern day directors a foundation to work with. If it wanst for Hitchcock, Jaws would have been a very bad movie, the film is littered with Hitchcockness...

Kubrick, Ridley Scott and Akira Kurosawa

You know, I would have normally put Ridly Scott in my list, but ever since Bladerunner, I really didnt have a lot of praise left for him. Dont get me wrong, I like the film, its really good, but I think there is a balance between a literary film and a popular film. It just never did well, and there were so many bad reviews written about it at the time of release.

Maybe someone can change my mind?

Well, as much as you might not like his movies, modern cenima starts with D.W. Griffith. Yes other people at the time were doing some inturesting stuff. But Griffith is realy the first one to but it together, amek it work, and use the basics of what we all know as cinema. He is dated now, but he deserves credit for what he did for all of us in terms of film work (not subject matter)

Hitchcock is good, for a director he's up there at the top.(you have to say that he stoped with the birds tho.)

Orson Wells is brilliant, try watching F for Fake.

Nick Roeg, give walkabout a spin.

Best use of FX I'd have to go with kubrick, take a look at 2001, it's still amazing after all these years...with 0 computers, now thats true film work!

You know, I would have normally put Ridly Scott in my list, but ever since Bladerunner, I really didnt have a lot of praise left for him. Dont get me wrong, I like the film, its really good, but I think there is a balance between a literary film and a popular film. It just never did well, and there were so many bad reviews written about it at the time of release.
Maybe someone can change my mind?
Feel free to criticize "Blade Runner" but the criteria you are using shouldn't matter. Popularity in the box office and other people's reviews shouldn't factor in what is a question of personal opinion.

People slag Speilberg off all the time cause he's all "Hollywood" but when I first read this thread, I looked back in my mind to all the films I've enjoyed over the years from a single director and he came out on top.



I like your point. If I was stuck on a desert island and could only watch the films of one director, I'd choose... uh, who was the guy that made Debbie Does Dallas? Anyway, after him I'd choose Speilberg.

Kubrick. You could print any frame from Barry Lyndon and hang it in your home.

tom.

Kubrick, Scorsese, Kurosawa are my top three. I also like Steven Spielberg, George Miller, Alfred Hitchcock, Ridley Scott, Orson Welles, Sam Peckinpah, and Walter Hill. William Friedkin and Paul Schrader did some classic films in the 70's and 80's. Both don't get enough credit. For newer blood I like Chan-wook Park, Zhang Yimou, Paul Thomas Anderson, Seung-wan Ryoo, David Fincher, Alexander Payne, Wes Anderson, and Wayne Kramer to name a few.

Did anybody see "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"? Great film, directed by Tommy Lee Jones.

i've never seen a film by sidney lumet which i have not liked.

i can't say this about any other single director....

plus, he is willing to take on challenging material with a light touch...like that about him, too....he has had amazing success over a long, storied career, not just made a handful of good films among the dreck. for consistency, he's hard to beat....

I like your point. If I was stuck on a desert island and could only watch the films of one director, I'd choose... uh, who was the guy that made Debbie Does Dallas? Anyway, after him I'd choose Speilberg.

LOL!!

For a great article about spielberg, try this, it talks about him being so popular, many people don't like him while he still remains one of the most talented directors in the world - to my opinion. Check it out, it's really great and informative:

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/06/spielberg.html

Spielberg is among the most talented and capable directors working and he has so many films to his credit there is enough for people to slag and to praise in his career. Goodness knows he has earned enough of my entertainment dollar over the years. Also, if you've ever read anything he has written or heard him speak on film, he is superbly literate about film, art and creation. He is certainly one of the best but not greatest.

That said, I can't think of one of his films that says to me 'masterpiece'. "Schindler's List" is a very good film, an important one, but never breaks through to me and made me hold my breath in wonder. I will certainly always have a place in my heart for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Jaws". I've been thinking about this for some time and I think the one thing that keeps Spielberg's films from convincing me is that he is too concerned with not failing. That is not to say that he never falls down, but that his failures are not to do with overreaching.

One mark of one of the greats is how even their failures speak to you of their yearning to break through convention. Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" is a good one. There are some elements in that film that stay with me even though as a whole that film was a failure. With Spielberg I come away usually with a sense that I got a whole ticket's worth of entertainment - done with every degree of competence - but not usually anything that stays with me in spiritually. To me it is the difference between a beautiful model with not a blemish photographed in perfect lighting conditions and an exotic someone you pass by in an instant on a street knowing she could be the love of your life.

Spielberg is kind of a problem for me too. I do believe that "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and "E.T." are definitely classics, but somehow I can't get too excited about the guy. There's a cool looking remastered DVD of "Duel" I'd like to check out. Maybe it'll change my mind.

Nothing that stays with you? I can't think of a more memorable film than Schindler's List. In fact, I am listening to the soundtrack right now.

Well, "Schindler's List" is a good, maybe great movie, but I wouldn't say it's as memorable as "The Shop on Main Street," which is my favorite movie about the holocaust.

Well, just to take things in a completely different direction, here are the ones who top my list:

1. The Lumiere Brothers: After all, there would BE no film if it weren't for these guys. And while it may be hard for some folks to call putting a camera on a tripod for two and a half minutes at a stretch "directing," they basically invented most of the vocabulary of cinema. It's really amazing to me how well their shorts, made in the 1890's, hold up over time. They make the Edison films, made several years later, look clunky and amateurish.

2. Dziga Vertov. Another early film visionary, probably the originator of abstract, conceptual editing techniques.

3. Krystof Kiezlowski. Can anyone think of three more perfectly executed films than his "Trois Couleurs" trilogy (Blue, White and Red)?

4. Oh, man... from here on , it's so hard to pick just a few! Kubrick, Kurosawa, Orson Welles, Fellini, Truffault, Errol Morris, Miyasaki.... argggh... I give up! I can't pick!

3. Krystof Kiezlowski. Can anyone think of three more perfectly executed films than his "Trois Couleurs" trilogy (Blue, White and Red)
I'm glad you mentioned him. These are superb films (though I would leave off "White" and include "The Double Life of Veronika".

In no particular ranking, just that I'm more likely to enjoy their films than others:

Orson Welles. I just re-watched what he considered to be his greatest work: The Trial. Very nightmarish, and currently relevant. Welles was someone not to be pidgeon-holed. That's why Hollywood exiled him. I also like him as an actor, at least in comedy. Anyone see I'll Never Forget What's'isname?

Akira Kurosawa. Great eye for composition and storytelling. A true craftsman, even if most of his stuff wasn't all that original. Don't forget Hidden Fortress upon which Star Wars was based. Ran, Dô Desu ka Den and Tengoku to Jigoku were just a few of his many great works.

Alfred Hitchcock. Another unique artist, whose understanding of storytelling and actors was phenomenal. Incredible eye for composition. I've never seen Psycho, but Rear Window, North by Northwest, The Birds, Vertigo, and, yes, The Trouble With Harry are all great.

Stanley Kubrick. The little giant. Just watched Full Metal Jacket again. Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey (one of the only true works of science-fiction ever making the big screen), A Clockwork Orange (controlling kids with drugs? that'll never happen!), Barry Lyndon, Paths of Glory and others were all fascinating looks at the human condition.

Stanley Kramer. An outspoken crusader, lots of good films. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Judgement at Nuremberg, Inherit the Wind, The Caine Mutiny, High Noon and even The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T!

François Truffaut. I've enjoyed so many of his films. Vivement Dimanche!, La Femme d'à Côté, La Peau Douce and Jules et Jim, to name a few.

Maurizio Nichetti. Volere Volare and Ladri di Saponette are terribly funny and different.

Juzo Itami. The Funeral, Tampopo, A Taxing Woman, A Taxing Woman's Return all made me laugh.

Woody Allen. 'Nuff said!

But 2001 was written for the screen, then made into a book, but based upon a short story, right? Amazing to think it was made in the 60s with it's high level of polished special effects. I like Clockwork Orange also, and find it very watchable, plot-wise, even with all the violence. It's a great book adaption by Kubrick.

Inherit the Wind is a favourite of mine also. Great movie and yes, very well directed.

Ah, so, Grasshopper! Yes, you are right, The Sentinel was the basis for the screenplay. Yes, the FX were as nothing the human race had ever seen before. Fact: Kubrick understood that space is a vacuum, thus no sound. So he used sound as if we were there, in the suit. A very honest film, science-wise.

I said this was one of the few films based on true science-fiction. Fritz Lang's Metropolis is another. I haven't seen but a glimpse of "The Maid in the Moon", which apparently gave us the concept of the countdown. Man, I'd love to see that!

Speaking of Arthur C. Clarke, I wonder that nobody has made Glide Path into a film or TV miniseries. Crimony, it's about the British RADAR folks, for Pete's sake. Clarke was there, too. Amazing stuff.

Edited incomplete Post

Spielberg is among the most talented... He is certainly one of the best but not greatest.

That said, I can't think of one of his films that says to me 'masterpiece'. " ... not usually anything that stays with me in spiritually.

Spielberg is easily my favorite director of all time. The fact that he makes commercially successful films should not detract from his genius.

I once made a list of my favorite images, and scenes from movies, and Speilberg was responsible for over a third of them. A can't remember the list, but I started with...

Jack Nicolson getting his nose cut in Chinatown. -- Polanski

But some of my other favorite images..

Solider looking for lost arm --Saving Private Ryan.
Dinosaur tapping toe while looking for kids -- Jurassic Park
harrison Ford running from Boulder -- Raiders of the Lost Arc

As well as some of the most memorable scenes:
The German solider killing the American solider with a knife - Private Ryan
John Qunicy Adams speech before the Supreme Court -- Amistad
The shark attack on the boat - Jaws

Were vintage Speilberg.

Speaking of Arthur C. Clarke, I wonder that nobody has made Glide Path into a film or TV miniseries. Crimony, it's about the British RADAR folks, for Pete's sake. Clarke was there, too. Amazing stuff.
I would like to see the award-winning novel (actually a series of novels) starting with "Rendezvous with Rama" made into a full-blown hi-budget serious movie.
Would need some pretty serious sets and undoubtedly a lot of CGI, but the story is captivating and also technically Clarke followed very plausible lines and theories and never deviated too much into the realms of the fantastic IMO.
It's also got the human-angle with the interaction / power-plays of the astronauts' dynamics.

That - if done in a *serious* way and not 'Buck Rogers-esque' would be something magical. Easy to screw it up i'd imagine and have it turning out like some low-budget space disaster. Let Cameron do it how he wants and it'd be a blockbuster IMO.

It should be done, with Arthur C. Clarke, as principal consultant, before his death.

The German solider killing the American solider with a knife - Private Ryan


Interesting you bring that up. Somehow that scene has stuck with me over the years as being one of the most disturbing killing scenes ever.

I'm with you Stu - after the success of 2001:a Space Oddyssey I'd have thought producers would have been clamouring for Arthur Clarke's books. One of my favourites is Childhood's End.

tom.

Interesting you bring that up. Somehow that scene has stuck with me over the years as being one of the most disturbing killing scenes ever.

Me too. Normally, killing is portrayed as a detacted action. In this fight scene, the German solider and the American solider develop mutal respect during the fight. There is a moment of intense intimacy before the killing takes place. I didn't understand what the solider was saying, but I understood the intent. It was an acknowledgement, "you fought well, but now I have won and I have to kill you." If anyone knows German, I'd love to know what he said during the final moments of this scene.

If I remember correctly, the German soldier said something along the lines of "Don't resist, it'll be easier that way."

I would have to say Howard Hawkes. He directed a large number of the classics: westerns (Red River, Rio Lobo), horror (The Thing), comedy (His Girl Friday, Bringing Up Baby), crime (Scarface, The Big Sleep), war (Sgt. York), drama (To Have and Have Not), and that's just scratching the surface.

If I remember correctly, the German soldier said something along the lines of "Don't resist, it'll be easier that way."

See. Exactly the kind of nice, caring, line, I'd like to hear before someone stabbed me in the heart...

Quote: "See. Exactly the kind of nice, caring, line, I'd like to hear before someone stabbed me in the heart..."

I had an ex-girlfriend like that once. . . . .

Obviously, this is solely a matter of personal taste, of course, because any director strikes a chord within each of us. We all know that we like movies because of the emotional charge and personal message we get from particular movies.

Mr Foreman: I met Kevin Smith. You are correct in saying he is one of us, but man, does he curse up a storm. He uses the "F" work every fourth word! He loves to curse and talk about sex. And I mean he utters all of the slanguage he can possibly use to describe every kind of sexual encounter! The college kids love him. He gave a lecture at our local state colege two months back.

However, in my personal opinion, Sam Peckinpah is one helluva director. He walked the walk and talked the talk. As a testimony to his talent, no matter how deeply people hated him (and believe me, some people wanted to kill him, including Charlton Heston during the making of Major Dundee) they knew that after working with him on a production, they were going to come away with the experience of a lifetime in having seen a master at work. His common theme was "Man out of synchronization with the times." His characters were mostly the underdog, the loser, but loyalty and friendship meant something, always came first. His motion pictures move me.

Emre: I think the German soldier said to the American, in German: "Go to sleep. Just go to sleep." My Jewish friend's father told me that.