Books, Movies, Music & Entertainment - Top 10 Fav Director Survey

EDIT --- It's top ten now! Please change your votes if you've voted already!

List your top 10. This is a survey which will become a poll of ten top ranking directors.
Each director listed in the top 10 will receive points based on the reverse order of rank.
i.e. #1 will have 10 points, #2 will have 9 points, #10 will have 1 point, etc.
This system of ranking will be tallied in post (see below). Once your choices meet requirement, I'll tally them.

After a while, the top 10 ranking directors will be put into a poll for Fav Director of BF'ers.

It only works if everyone participates!


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My choices are:
1. Stanley Kubrick
2. Jean Luc Godard
3. Federico Fellini
4. Darren Aronofsky
5. Wong Kar Wai
6. Alejandro Jodorowsky
7. David Lynch
8. Luis Bunuel
9. Lars Von Trier
10. Quentin Tarantino


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RANKING as of 12/31 (read about point values above):

Stanley Kubrick - 50
Akira Kurosawa - 50
Alfred Hitchcock - 45
Ingmar Bergman - 27
Federico Fellini - 27
David Lynch - 27
Coens' Brothers - 24
John Ford - 23
Alejandro Jodorowsky - 20
Darren Aronofsky - 20
Ridley Scott - 20
Wes Anderson - 20
Francis Ford Copppola - 18
John Waters - 17
Jim Jarmusch - 16
Jean Luc Godard - 14
Quentin Tarantino - 14
Woody Allen - 14
Steven Spielberg - 13
Sergei Eisenstein - 13
Krzysztof Kieslowski - 13
Zhang Yimou - 12
Peter Greenaway - 10
Victor Fleming - 10
Francois Truffaut - 10
Tim Burton - 9
Billy Wilder - 9
Mel Brooks - 9
Peter Jackson - 9
Robert Reiner - 9
Ken Russell - 8
Kenji Mizoguchi - 8
Jean Cocteau - 8
Ron Howard - 8
Michael Mann - 7
Vittorio De Sica - 7
Peter Weir - 7
Billy Crystal - 7
Wong Kar Wai - 6
John Boorman - 6
William Friedkin - 6
M. Night Shyamalan - 6
Sergio Leone - 6
Lars Von Trier - 6
Terry Gilliam - 6
Whit Stillman - 6
Robert Rodriguez - 6
Stephen Frears - 5
Michael Gondry - 5
Orson Wells - 5
Clint Eastwood - 5
Martin Scorsese - 4
Jean Jeuneut - 4
Luis Bunuel - 4
Blake Edwards - 4
Hayao Miyazaki - 4
Cecil DeMille - 4
Robert Altman - 4
John Frankenheimer - 3
Otto Preminger - 3
Fritz Lang - 3
Maya Deren - 3
David Lean - 3
Don Siegel - 2
Leni Riefenstahl - 2
George Cukor - 2
John Huston - 2
Kenneth Branagh - 2
Kevin Smith - 2
Atom Egoyan - 2
Werner Herzog - 2
Robert Bresson - 1
Roger Avary - 1
Carol Reed -1
Laurence Olivier - 1
Roberto Benigni - 1



BF'ers included in this tally: TheDTrain, KingTermite, lala, georgiaboy, poppaspoke, kubrickian, pigmode, muccapazza, linux_author, skinny, cylowe97, karlfitt, brillig, CRUM,

(Your votes won't be included in the tally unless you choose 10 in order! You can't make major changes in the picks after I tally them since it'll be too confusing.)

1 - Akira Kurosawa
2 - Ingmar Bergman
3 - Kenji Mizoguchi
4 - Federico Fellini
5 - Ridley Scott
6 - Jean Luc Godard
7 - Hayao Miyazaki
8 - Zhang Yimou
9 -Francois Truffaut
10-Robert Bresson

1. Kubrick
2. Huston
3. Ford
4. Capra
5. Eastwood

pt anderson
wes anderson
stanley kubrick
lars von trier
atom egoyan
coen brothers
alfred hitchcock
sophia coppola
martin scorcese
woody allen

1. David Lynch
2. Coens'
3. Jarmusch
10. Martin Scorcese
5. William Friedkin (favorite is Sorcerer, everytning youm wanted to know about TNT)

edit:this is unnecessarily complicatcated imo. what was the middle thing?

6. Michele Gondry
7. Jean Jeuneut (?)
8. Wes Andersen
9. Werner Herzog
4. Peter Weir

1. Quentin Tarrantino
2. Zhang Yimou
3. Alfred Hitchcock
4. Peter Jackson
5. M. Night Shyamalan
6. Wes Anderson
7. Stanley Kubric
8. Robert Rodriguez
9. John Huston
10. Roberto Benigni
.

Coen Brothers
Wes Anderson
Tim Burton
Kubrick
(lord forgive me...) Spielberg

edit to add a few more at D Train's request...

Hitchcock (should have mentioned him in my first five)
Terry Gilliam

If I think of more, I'll add them, but that should help out. Sorry, I don't know much about Japanese directors... my education seems to be awaiting me...

DTrain, when did you become a fan of Wong Kar Wai ?!?!?! cool :D

Number 5 was between Lynch, WKW, and Jodorowsky. I figured that Lynch would get votes, Jodorowsky wouldn't have a chance at all, so why not go with the wildcard?

IT'S TOP 10 NOW! CHANGE YOUR VOTES!

Ten is too many:

1. Peter Greenaway
2. Alejandro Jodorowsky
3. François Truffaut
4. Sergei Eisenstein
5. Sergio Leone
6. Ingmar Bergman
7. Krzysztof Kieslowski
8. Maya Deren
9. Robert Altman
10. Terry Gilliam

Number 5 was between Lynch, WKW, and Jodorowsky. I figured that Lynch would get votes, Jodorowsky wouldn't have a chance at all, so why not go with the wildcard?

IT'S TOP 10 NOW! CHANGE YOUR VOTES!



Whooo hOO Another fan of Jodorowsky!!!! There's hope yet!

You're supposed to put them in order, how else would I assign points? :rolleyes:

bleh, whatever--that's pretty much the order anyway

Okay, I edited it D - Too much high-octane egg nog ;)

1. Kubrick
2. Kirosawa
3. Aronkofsky
4 Fellini
5. Judoworsky
6. Lynch
7. Trier
8. Lean
9. Cukor
10 Bunuel


Honorable Mention -

11. Orson Welles
12. Alfred Hitchcock
13. Aleksandr Sokurov
14. F. W. Murnau
15. Alain Resnais

1) John Ford
2) Alfred Hitchcock
3) Jean Cocteau
4) Ingmar Bergman
5) Sergei Eisenstein
6) Akira Kurosawa
7) Orson Wells
8) John Frankenheimer
9) Don Siegel
10) Carol Reed

-Stanley Kubrick
-Akira Kurosawa
-Woody Allen
-Michael Mann
-Francis Ford Coppola (NO VOTES!!! I know he has not directed anything of note lately but come on... Apocalypse Now, The Oustiders, The Conversation, GF I & II)
-Darren Aronofsky
-Ridley Scott (he got all the talent in that family)
-Robert Rodriguez (the guy shoots, cuts, directs, writes, scores)
-Kevin Smith
-Roger Avary

I'd expound some more but I'm two bottles of chianti down, in NYC, and dying for a giro from them fellas on 6th b/w 48th and 49th...

How are PT Anderson and Wes Anderson (not related) NOT represented??? Seriously.

If it's lack of name recognition, see below for their work. These are the two best American directors working today.



Wes Anderson

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PT Anderson

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1. Oliver Stone
2. Oliver Stone
3. Oliver Stone
4. Oliver Stone
5. Oliver Stone
6. Oliver Stone
7. Oliver Stone
8. Oliver Stone
9. Oliver Stone
10. Oliver Stone

OK, not my real top ten, but seriously, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? I'm glad so much love is being shown for the Coens and both Andersons, but get real, it's Oliver Freakin' Stone. I know some of his films are like mixing crack and LSD with PCP and heroin, but he's AWESOME that way.

Update on Rule Changes -

PREVIOUSLY -
You gotta have 10 in order or I won't tally them in the ranking. If, at the end of picking, you only have 5, your choices won't be included in consideration. If, at the end of picking, you have 10 in no order, I'll assume order from top to bottom.
Please don't make major changes to choices after I tally them, if you have minor changes, please inform me about them. Don't make this too confusing for me. :o

NOW -
Same concept applies, but if, at the end of surveying, someone only listed 5, I'll count those from 10-6 points.
New voters, please choose 10 for the sake of my sanity.
1 doesn't count (krisp)!

1. Oliver Stone
2. Oliver Stone
3. Oliver Stone
4. Oliver Stone
5. Oliver Stone
6. Oliver Stone
7. Oliver Stone
8. Oliver Stone
9. Oliver Stone
10. Oliver Stone


1. John Waters

& the norm:

2. Ford
3. Hitchcock
4. Kurosawa
5. Bergman
6. Fellini
7. DeMille
8. Lang
9. Riefenstahl
10. Welles

:-)

1. Oliver Stone
2. Oliver Stone
3. Oliver Stone
4. Oliver Stone
5. Oliver Stone
6. Oliver Stone
7. Oliver Stone
8. Oliver Stone
9. Oliver Stone
10. Oliver Stone

The problem with Oliver Stone is he isn't consistent...he's made some GREAT movies (Natural Born Killers for example), but he's made some crap heaps too (U-Turn, Alexander).

Oliver Stone.......Favorite Director? Natural Born Killers one of his best movies? I think I will go back to the Bike Forums before my head explodes from this......................!

Opie.

Damn good Director.

55/Rad
Works with Directors

Natural Born Killers? One of the worst(egregiously bad) movies ever made. It delights in a pornographic sadism, while hiding behind a phony mask of social significance.

Seems these directors need a mention:

1. Victor Fleming...remember Gone with the Wind or Wizard of Oz?
2. Billy Wilder...needs no intro, but Love in the Afternoon?
3. Ken Russell...no one here has seen The Devils?
4. Vittorio De Sica...I know, it's off topic, but The Bicycle Thief :rolleyes:
5. John Boorman...has two great masterpiece's in Excalibur and Deliverance
6. Stephen Frears...Grifters, High Fidelity, My Beautiful Laundrette
7. Blake Edwards...did some insignificant stuff like The Pink Panther movies and Breakfast at Tiffanys
8. Steven Spielberg...do I need to refresh the memory here?
9. Kenneth Branagh...Dead Again
10. Laurence Olivier...yes he directed some great films.

You're all pretentious!

Farrelly brothers.

Okay... because DTrain said it HAD to be 10 directors to get counted...

1 Coen Brothers
2 Tim Burton
3 Wes Anderson
4 Hitchcock
5 Kubrick
6 Spielberg
7 Terry Gilliam
8 Rob Reiner (for This Is Spinal Tap)
9 Francis Ford Coppola
10 Tarrantino

1- Ridley Scott Original Alien and many others
2- Mel Brooks Just saw the musical version of "The Producers" last night, funny
3- Ron Howard Splash come to mind first
4- Billy Crystal 61* a must see
5- Rob Reiner
6- Steven Speilburg
7- Alfred Hitchcock The Trouble with Harry proves he can do comedy too.
8-France Ford Coppola
9- Peter Jackson
10- Terry Gilliam

Thanks for the participation so far everyone. I've just updated the tally and we have a lot more votes.

If your name isn't on the list, that means you haven't been tallied. Only people with 10 choices in order will be tallied. People with 5 in order OR people with 10 in no order will be counted at the end. Everything else will be void.

For the final contest, I'm thinking of an NBA style match-up playoffs with 16 directors against each other in order of seed (#1 vs. #16, #2 vs. #15). Give me your opinion on it.

Meanwhile, keep voting.

My top favorites are John Milius, James Cameron, and John Ford.

Top ten is tough. Real tough. How do you rank a director who has a fantastic body of work against another who is inconsistent but has one or two that you think are superior?

Oh well, here's a stab.

1. Akira Kurosawa
2. Krzysztof Kieslowski
3. Jim Jarmusch
4. Francis Ford Copppola
5. Whit Stillman (I can't believe he hasn't been mentioned yet)
6. Coen Brothers
7. Wes Anderson
8. Martin Scorcese
9. Atom Egoyan
10. Quentin Tarnantino

Honorable Mention to Luc Bassard for making a couple of the coolest action flicks of all time (The Professional, Nikita).

Honorable mention to Tom Tykwer for "Most potential"

My top 2 least favorite is easy.

1. Steven Spielberg
2. Oliver Stone

1 - Stanley Kubrick
2 - Alfred Hitchcock
3 - David Lynch
4 - John Waters
5 - Woody Allen
6 - Clint Eastwood
7 - John Ford
8 - Otto Preminger
9 - Robert Altman
10 - Quentin Tarantino

I probably should mention Orson Welles

You're all pretentious!

Farrelly brothers.

They are.

Paul Verhoeven - I mean who will ever forget "Showgirls"?

Sergio Leone

A few others are OK.

They are.

Paul Verhoeven - I mean who will ever forget "Showgirls"?
http://www.tvsquad.com/images/2005/03/robocop.jpg

http://www.tvsquad.com/images/2005/03/robocop.jpg

You're just taking the p1ss now.

Natural Born Killers? One of the worst(egregiously bad) movies ever made. It delights in a pornographic sadism, while hiding behind a phony mask of social significance.


Yeah.... what he said.

Rob Reiner(for The Princess Bride)
Ron Howard
Kubrik
Spielberg
Milos Foreman
Bob Fosse
Mel Brooks
Hitchcock
Copola(either one)
Lawrence Kasdan

Well, I'm surprised at the lack of knowledge of film history that is showing up here.

Wait, no I'm not.

People...I know 10 is difficult, but try!

I updated the tally once again.

lala is absolutely right, everyone should have TEN up in order!

It's useless to post a one director, say what directors you hate, or just comment on other people's choices! You might as well not post anything at all!

Remember what I posted on an earlier post?

"If your name isn't on the list, that means you haven't been tallied. Only people with 10 choices in order will be tallied. People with 5 in order OR people with 10 in no order will be counted at the end. Everything else will be void."

So either have 10 in no order OR 5 in order. Better yet, HAVE 10 CHOICES IN ORDER! Otherwise, don't bother posting anything.

OK,
I you re tallied you missed midgie because Brooks hasen't moved up from the 9 points I gave him. :eek: :D

I'm urging a full-inquiry into DTrain's tabulation methods!

It's useless to post a one director, say what directors you hate, or just comment on other people's choices! You might as well not post anything at all!




Not if you want to post one director, say what directors you hate, or just comment on other people's choices! Don't count them if they don't tally up to 10. Some of the comments are interesting.

OK,
I you re tallied you missed midgie because Brooks hasen't moved up from the 9 points I gave him. :eek: :D
I didn't count midgie yet because he didn't number them so I don't know if they're in order or not. As according to the rules, at the end, I'll assume he put them in order and count his choices too. You can see a list of the people included in the tally within my original post.


I'm urging a full-inquiry into DTrain's tabulation methods!
Go ahead. :D
The list of people tallied and their posts are still there. It'll take a while, but do some math if you see something wrong. I'm confident I've very accurate in my tabulation.

I'm confident I've very accurate in my tabulation.

Would that be an evil accurate tabulation?


http://home.hawaii.rr.com/konnichiwa/%20%20dr.evil.jpg

The corruption in DTrain's (movie poll) Administration is appalling!!!

An independent body should formulate the totals--with DTrain in charge, it will be:

Godard - 2 zillion points
Bunuel - 500,000 points
Jodorowsky - 2,500 points
Aronofsky - 600 points
Kurbrick - 254 points
Scorcese - 1 point
Orson Wells - 1.3 points
Coppola - 3.2 points
PT Anderson -6 points
Wes Anderson -2.7 points
Woody Allen - 0.0078 points
Hitchcock - 0.0000000000000314 points


DTrain's approach to movies is like my approach to cycling--the more it hurts, the better :D

(Bunuel? :eek: if Un Chien Andalou is all you've seen, try sitting through 2 hours--watch Discreet Charm of the Bourgeiosie or some other Bunuel and get back to us).

In terms of foundation, which is good at your age--you ARE watching the correct films though. Gotta say that, in all fairness. You'll watch films that are ACTUALLY good in a few years and see the influence of the Cahiers du Cinema type directors you laud (Godard, et al). But I still don't think any, save for Fellini and Truffaut, have made films that stand on their own as FILMS. They just introduced new techniques (ie Godard=jumpcut and editing, Bunuel=deep focus and framing, etc) which STORYTELLERS are able to utilize now.

Zig, first of all, Godard rules. Period. :D (explanation below)
Secondly, I would give Kubrick 2 zillion points, he is my fav director after all.

I don't agree with how you describe directors like Godard, Bunuel (granted I only like him a little bit), and Kubrick. A great director is not only a great storyteller; imagery, technique, and ideas are equally, if not more, important. To say that all films have to do is tell a good story is to assert it as a lesser artform. Would only paintings that tell a good story be considered great? I don't think Michelangelo, da Vinci, Goya, Dali, or Warhol would agree. Would only literature with a great story be considered great? Shakespeare wouldn't agree, what is so great about his work then?
I love Godard because he revolutionized cinema with his imagery and technique. He expressed ideas, both his and opposing his, through his work and made the audience think about important questions and question their own thoughts. Most importantly, his works were from his mind and heart and changed with the times. That is why they are still relevant today. Breathless was one of the greatest turning points in film because it changed the standards. Is Breathless boring? No. Is it exciting, interesting? Yes. Is there a story? Yes. Is the story most important? NO. Film is just photography in motion. As an artform, it should be appreciated for its ideas, technique, and imagery. This is why Kubrick is great, this is why Godard is great, this is why Fellini is great.
Godard changed the way films were made, and at the same time, excited us, provoked us, and entertained us. Breathless, Band of Outsiders, Alphaville, Weekend, these films were enjoyable for the eyes and mind.
Godard did not JUST introduced new techniques, he was the total package.
Godard will still continue to be studied and applauded for decades and centuries after. Would someone like PT Anderson have that much influence? Would he have that much importance? I don't think so.

Also, I don't know if you are just kidding or really criticizing my tabulation. Everyone with 10 choices in order have been tallied. In fact, Kurosawa, a director I don't even like, is tied for first place.


Sorry for this thread going totally off topic, everyone else, keep listing your directors.

you're ahead of me dude, I didn't start watching french new wave/italian neo-realist/etc/etc/etc films until I was four years older

I think I've just gotten more pragmatic over the last 10 years--I can still appreciate experimentation, but rather than thinking "Wow, checkout that jumpcut" or "This cinematography is great"--I'd rather just be immersed in the film

as far as pt anderson or wes anderson, I dunno--Boogie Nights and Magnolia are literally two of the most brilliant films I've ever seen, and I've seen EVERYTHING ;)

David Lynch is a perfect example, I used to love his stuff--now I'll watch it, but it isn't a story

I'm not into short films or video art either, I guess I like filmmakers who are similar to novelists--good storytellers

like I said, you are watching a great body of filmwork right now--keep it real, but don't caught up in cinematography, camera work, editing, etc--the best filmmakers do it so well you don't notice it

btw, I :love: the Lars Von Trier aesthetic of Breaking the Waves, ten years later I still think that film is so far beyond anything I've seen yet

If I close my eyes and read the last two posts ( I know, I know, but like Godard and imagery, go with the idea, ok?) - If I close my eyes and read the last two posts, I am back in Film class in college listening to the stuffed shirt film prof over-intellectualize and proclaim that his opinion is the definitive and final word on what makes good cinema. I remember telling him he was full of......beans. I also remember failing that class. But that doesn't mean I was wrong. He was full of it and full of himself. Your words don't make you like him, they just remind me of the uselessness of attemptig to determe what a good film is.

Good cinema is in the eye of the beholder. A good director makes movies that stimulate, entertain, anger, or leave the audience numbed over what they just saw. If you leave the theater moved in some way, the film was successful. That in my opinion is the bottom line. The 10 directors I chose I feel are not necessarily the best. They are the ones whose films I consistently enjoyed.

Last night, my wife, my daughter, and myself went to see "Syriana". A well crafted film I realized 20 minutes into it, was probably not going to be enjoyed by my wife. When we left, we didn't talk about it. Half way home, I couldn't stand it anymore. So I asked "What did you all think?"

Instead of hearing about how we should have seen Harry potter and the latest evil thing coming down the pike, my wife said, "It disturbed me." I thought great, it disturbed me too. And then she said, "I hated the fact that it felt so real but couldn't keep my eyes off the screen."

My daughter said, "The ending sucked, but it was the only way it could end. I liked it".

That is IMO what a good movie should do.

That's a great academic view of Godard and his place in film history, but there are other aspects of film including the straightforward narrative in terms of the unfolding of a story in a more visceral sense. Godard was not as accessible or visceral a storyteller that Fellini was with La Strada, or Kurosawa with The Seven Samurai. There is also the deep introspective element that is one of the hallmarks of Bergman's work. To a certain extent, in many of his films I feel that Godard sacrificed telling the story for his mise en scene, and in that sense the avante-garde is not always exclusively the highest level of art.

...

a certain extent, in many of his films I feel that Godard sacrificed telling the story for his mise en scene, and in that sense the avante-garde is not always exclusively the highest level of art.

thank you! exactly