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Greatest Movie Director
- Thread starter roy.or.r
- Start date
I’d certainly say that’s applicable to his most recent works. But I’d argue that his first three films - Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown - are all fantastic pieces of work.I find Tarantino films have many great sceens, but overall not great films.
Lovebitesandeveryfing
Well-Known Member
Wow! A tough one! Could go along with many mentioned on here. I disagree that Scorsese has done no bad films. I think he's done some real dogs (God save me from ever having to watch one minute of Gangs of New York again), and one or two that just don't merit the time given over to them. They could have been edited by half-an-hour or so with very little loss (I'm looking at you, Aviator! I'm also looking at you, Irishman!). And I am a big, big Scorsese fan going back to Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More right through to his latest, Killers of the Flower Moon (again, maybe a bit too long?).
Scorsese is also a terrific educator, you know. He knows his film history backwards, forwards and sideways, and speaks very well about other films, some of them unjustly forgotten. Although his strong suit is American cinema, and Italian cinema (unsurprisingly).
I've not really followed his career through, but I remember being hugely impressed by early Terrence Malick. I suppose I know just about line and shot in Badlands.
Welles is a good shout, but his actual film output doesn't last that long, does it? Everybody knows Citizen Kane, but The Magnificent Ambersons is just about up there with it. Incidentally, for those who want their Shakespeare accessible, and even seductive, Chimes At Midnight well worth discovering, for those who don't know it.
Among those no longer with us: Lean, obviously the British director who achieved true greatness (although not with everything — Ryan's Daughter can look almost schmaltzy in places). But if he'd only done Lawrence, he'd have his place in film history. The film that inspired Spielberg to want to be a movie maker.
Hitchcock, very good in his way — but more than half his career is American. Not that that's a fault.
Wilder — as someone I revered, I was surprised to find late on that he made one or two fairly weak films, too. Obviously, Some Like It Hot is one of the treasures of film making. The Apartment too is a gem. Oh, and there's the little matter of Sunset Boulevard.
Among living directors: very good shout for Paul Thomas Anderson (props to the good Dr). But for me the greatest living director, hands down, is David Lynch. Disturbing, thorny, sometimes downright uncomfortable — but always challenging.
Ridley Scott is a supreme craftsman. So is Spielberg. They're very, very good storytellers. I enjoy their films very much, but I don't think of either of them as great film makers. (I make an exception for Blade Runner — if all films were destroyed by aliens somehow, that would be one of the ten or twenty that I would save for other civilisations to know what the human imagination is capable of and — more astonishingly — can put on celluloid).
Scorsese is also a terrific educator, you know. He knows his film history backwards, forwards and sideways, and speaks very well about other films, some of them unjustly forgotten. Although his strong suit is American cinema, and Italian cinema (unsurprisingly).
I've not really followed his career through, but I remember being hugely impressed by early Terrence Malick. I suppose I know just about line and shot in Badlands.
Welles is a good shout, but his actual film output doesn't last that long, does it? Everybody knows Citizen Kane, but The Magnificent Ambersons is just about up there with it. Incidentally, for those who want their Shakespeare accessible, and even seductive, Chimes At Midnight well worth discovering, for those who don't know it.
Among those no longer with us: Lean, obviously the British director who achieved true greatness (although not with everything — Ryan's Daughter can look almost schmaltzy in places). But if he'd only done Lawrence, he'd have his place in film history. The film that inspired Spielberg to want to be a movie maker.
Hitchcock, very good in his way — but more than half his career is American. Not that that's a fault.
Wilder — as someone I revered, I was surprised to find late on that he made one or two fairly weak films, too. Obviously, Some Like It Hot is one of the treasures of film making. The Apartment too is a gem. Oh, and there's the little matter of Sunset Boulevard.
Among living directors: very good shout for Paul Thomas Anderson (props to the good Dr). But for me the greatest living director, hands down, is David Lynch. Disturbing, thorny, sometimes downright uncomfortable — but always challenging.
Ridley Scott is a supreme craftsman. So is Spielberg. They're very, very good storytellers. I enjoy their films very much, but I don't think of either of them as great film makers. (I make an exception for Blade Runner — if all films were destroyed by aliens somehow, that would be one of the ten or twenty that I would save for other civilisations to know what the human imagination is capable of and — more astonishingly — can put on celluloid).
Lovebitesandeveryfing
Well-Known Member
I find Tarantino films have many great sceens, but overall not great films.
I know exactly what you mean.
Trevor Morley's Tache
Well-Known Member
As writer/director, Roman Polanski.
As Director, a toss up between Scorsese and Coppola.
As Director, a toss up between Scorsese and Coppola.
OB1
Well-Known Member
I was just watching the Jaws again after a long time and I still get impressed that this movie was made more than 30 years ago. This got me thinking how many different types of films Speielberg has made.
Do you think Spielberg is the greatest movie director of all time or is it someone else like Scorsese, Coppola?
Spielberg.
Coppola made the greatest movie of all time but his career ran aground.
Scorsese is a contender but I think Spielberg has a better range of movies and his ability to produce crowd pleasing blockbuster movies as well as tackling more serious stuff sets him apart for me.
Elbow beards
Well-Known Member
Christopher Nolan.
urban genie
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 11 May 2008
- Messages
- 32,821
spielberg made 2-3 near perfect movies and 2-3 great movies but it masks all the bang average ones he also did
cannot fault, shindlers list, jaws, raiders etc
However Spielbergs needing to rewrite history in saving private ryan and amistad for a soppy american dream reivisionism was poor, also his dumbiming down the colour purple has been reviewed and critiqued since it came out.
Hitchcock is still the greatest for me then for specific genre tgere are so many that weee good at telling a genre story, I could not say Speilberg hasnmade any more better number of films than
Carpenter
Caremon
Garland
peckinpah
Scorsese
Kubrick
Scott
Leone
Wilder
lean
kim jee won
Park chan-wook
boyle
loach
Some directors make blockbusters but really they are not ones I keep going back to watch while some make great films you can watch time and time again
cannot fault, shindlers list, jaws, raiders etc
However Spielbergs needing to rewrite history in saving private ryan and amistad for a soppy american dream reivisionism was poor, also his dumbiming down the colour purple has been reviewed and critiqued since it came out.
Hitchcock is still the greatest for me then for specific genre tgere are so many that weee good at telling a genre story, I could not say Speilberg hasnmade any more better number of films than
Carpenter
Caremon
Garland
peckinpah
Scorsese
Kubrick
Scott
Leone
Wilder
lean
kim jee won
Park chan-wook
boyle
loach
Some directors make blockbusters but really they are not ones I keep going back to watch while some make great films you can watch time and time again
urban genie
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 11 May 2008
- Messages
- 32,821
Yeah but you notice people don't mention polanski anymore being that he is a bit nonceyAs writer/director, Roman Polanski.
As Director, a toss up between Scorsese and Coppola.
jimharri
Moderator
Never heard of him.*Film