The Perfect Director

[JsARCLIGHT]

My mistake, I thought it was two season in Chicago and one in Las Vegas, but it was one and one. The stories were a lot meaner in Chicago for Crime Story...

... but then don't forget the last season... in Mexico.

(Del Shannon still plays in my head... must... resist... suicide...)

[EXO]

My mistake, I thought it was two season in Chicago and one in Las Vegas, but it was one and one.  The stories were a lot meaner in Chicago for Crime Story...

... but then don't forget the last season... in Mexico.

(Del Shannon still plays in my head... must... resist... suicide...)

That was in the second season... Torello follows Luca to Mexico in the last 3 eps. Then it was the cliffhanger that never was resolved...

I waa waa wonder... why, waa waa waa why...

Did you know that Michael Mann had Del Shannon rerecord that song to make it darker just for the series?

Oh yeah, any director that kills off David Caruso during the first or second episode rules.

Edited June 4, 2004 by >EXO<

[JsARCLIGHT]

... and did you also know that I've been looking for that damn special cut of the song for 12 years and have not found it?

And only the last 3 episodes where in mexico? wow. I must have seen those same three episodes like ten times that season because it felt like an entire season's worth to me...

[GobotFool]

Funny, the brothers and I have never heard of such a guy... We'll have him check out, see whther he should live or not...

LOOK NO FURTHER.

He's also the hack who's bringing us Alone in the Dark, Bloodrayne, and *gulp* Far Cry.

Who was the genius who decided movies based on video games was a good idea?

Playing a video game = fun

Watching a video game = no fun!

Edited June 4, 2004 by GobotFool

[Neova]

Resident Evil The Movie wasn't that bad at all...

[MSW]

Some really good ones listed so far (but Simon West !? Isn't he like the love child of Micheal Bay and Joel Schumocker )

Here are some more greats not yet mentioned...

The writeing/directing team of the Coen brothers, if for nothing else then for graceing us with the Big Lebowski

Hitchcock...Psycho was cool and all...but Vertigo and North by Northwest are masterpieces

George Miller - the former doctor from down under, whom fueled Mel Gibson to fame...if for nothing else then Mad Max 2 (AKA: the Road Warrior) - one of the greatest (and most imitated) action flicks of all time, IMHO.

Orson wells - Citizen Kane pretty much says it all...I first saw the film back in 1993 as part of a community collage filmstudies class with a bunch of fellow students ... and we all seemed much more eager to watch Terminator 2 instead of the supposed "greatest film ever made"...but after seeing it in that little theater, and how enveloped we all became in watching it...well lets just say it truely deserves much of the praise given to it.

some other up and comers

Christopher Nolan - Momento and Insomnia both show his mastery of tone and setting mood...he has control of Bat Man now, look out

Robert Rodriguez - yeah he has gotten sidetracked by Spy Kids (although the first one wasn't terrible) but Once Upon a Time in Mexico still shows a glimmer of hope.

Danny Boyle - Up for some Trainspotting anyone?

Richard Linklater - Dazed and Confused ) ... plus he is setting up for a Scanner Darkly (a P.K.Dick story...same sci-fi author of the works Paycheck, Minority Report, Impostor, Screamers, total recall, and Bladerunner are all basied upon )

David Lynch - Blue Velvet, need I say more?

John Waters - Hairspray...Like Lynch, he is often hit or miss with me...often within the same film...dependably odd to say the least...

Course there are many others Sam Raimi, Joe Dante, and even Sofia Coppola (I loved the Virgin Suicides )

[Jolly Rogers]

LOL, I thought "up and comers" is reserved for people with relatively few films to their credit and is new to the business. Someone like Darren Aronofsky. Robert Rodriquez already has 2 very successful franchises under his belt (Spy Kids and the Mariachi trilogy). He's not exactly a new kid on the block. Ditto Lynch and Waters.

[Blaine23]

My favorite directors -

Like MSW - The Coen Bros. are incredible. Their ability to bring characters like those Raising Arizona, Fargo, Lebowski - and my personal favorite, Miller's Crossing.

Stanley Kubrick. Clockwork Orange. Full Metal Jacket. 2001. The Shining. Dr. Strangelove. Spartacus. One of the most powerful directors of all time. Period.

Orson Welles. I could watch Citizen Kane daily.

Cameron Crowe - Sure, some of his films are bit too lite... but Almost Famous is probably my personal favorite film ever. Spot on perfect movie to me.

Terry Gilliam - So incredible... if he only ever made Brazil, he'd still be one of the most incredible visualists ever.

Scorcese - an obvious choice, but an undeniable talent as a master of film. Goodfellas. Mean Streets.

Francis Ford Coppola - The Godfather I & II. Apocolypse Now. The Conversation. Not much else.

Speilberg - tough one for me. As much as I love his best - his worst is responsible for alot of the soulless crap we receive daily disguised as "blockbusters". His best - Jaws. Close Encounters. Schindler's List. Empire of the Sun.

Ridley Scott - unlike most action directors, he has range for days. And every shot he makes sets the tone for the next 5 years of film. Blade Runner. Gladiator. Thelma & Louise. Alien.

There's alot of other directors whose films I love, but I could never place in my "best" category - some because of not enough work, others because of an uneven track record. I'll probably see each of their films... but I'm not quite ready to put them up there with the best.

Tarantino, Rodriguez, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, Spike Lee, Verhoven, Donner, Shyamalan, Peter Jackson, Tim Burton, David Fincher, Michael Mann, James Cameron, Ang Lee, Danny Boyle, Bryan Singer, Mike Judge, Gore Verbinski, and many others...

Then I have what I think is the worst of that list.

Michael Bay - Bruckheimer's Golden Boy. Wonderful Commerical director. Has never made a movie I'd want to see twice. Sometimes even once. No concept of story, no originality, no emotion, terrible with actors. Never fails to deliver completely soulless, glossy crap.

Roland Emmerich & Dean Devlin - Michael Bay but not as good visually. Just f'ing terrible.

Jan De Bont - Same category... was an incredible DP... should've stayed one.

Simon West - for god's sake, he made Con Air and Tomb Raider... on purpose! Why on Earth is he on your list, EXO?

[Blaine23]

One more thing -

Anybody who wants to see the work of a trendsetting talent in his big breakthrough film - should go rent (or buy like me) City of God when it comes out on June 8th on DVD.

Incredible story, amazing pacing... it's so good, it's already being openly aped by Tony Scott in Man On Fire.

Awesome flick... best I saw last year.

[bsu legato]

In EXO's defense, the thread is to discuss good and bad directors. If he had only made Con Air, I'd be more forgiving of Simon West. But after enduring Tomb Raider, there can be no forgiveness. You are now my enemy for life, Simon West.

[EXO]

Yup.... that list is NOT about the best, it's the ones I could think of in the 3 minutes I was typing it. I forgot Sam Pekinpah...

And yeah, Simon West must stop making movies, but that's why he's up there. I'm a big Lara Croft fan... ok I enjoyed the first game, the other ones were crap. But that first one is one of my favorite games. But that movie was so wrong in so many ways, starting with Angelina's weird edgy boobs. And don't get me started with Con Air. That whole thing was shot and editted like a 2 hour trailer.

Edited June 4, 2004 by >EXO<

[1st Border Red Devil]

I have a Hack to nominate: Michael Moore.

God...talk about a windbag and a jackass.

[JsARCLIGHT]

Michael Moore is just a propagandist. He latches on to a topic that he himself may or may not be fond of and then proceeds to muckrake, inflame, insult, slander and in some cases just outright bend the truth to suit his needs. He is not a director, he is a partisan with a camera.

[Agent ONE]

Michael Moore is just a propagandist. He latches on to a topic that he himself may or may not be fond of and then proceeds to muckrake, inflame, insult, slander and in some cases just outright bend the truth to suit his needs. He is not a director, he is a partisan with a camera.

It kills me that people refer to his movies as "documentaries."

A documentary presents both sides of an issue, this is not what he does, he is a propagandist that presents propaganda films. I hope he dies a painfull death.

Speaking of hacks, I see Carl Macek didn't make the list.

[EXO]

I have a Hack to nominate: Michael Moore.

God...talk about a windbag and a jackass.

That probably describes every director there is. I mean a lot of them make good films but their personalities probably stink like donkey ass.

Great point about Ridley Scott Blaine, it's so true about how he sets the trend for so many years. Look at the impact of Gladiator and Black Hawk Down right now. But I think it lasts more than five years. I mean they're still rehashing the Alien storyline today. But his influence isn't really a good thing, because so many bad movies come out of it. The whole problem with that is when some one comes out with something original (and I use that term loosely) Hollywood perverts originality into a formula.

I've never seen a Michael Moore film. As far as I know, there's no car chases, no stuff that blows up and no nekkid women...

[EXO]

Speaking of hacks, I see Carl Macek didn't make the list.

He's not a director... he's just an editor of stuff that has ALREADY been editted, and a bad one at that. Remember Lensman?

[bsu legato]

Speaking of hacks, I see Carl Macek didn't make the list.

He's not a director... he's just an editor of stuff that has ALREADY been editted, and a bad one at that. Remember Lensman?

Somebody had better tell CARL that.

But otherwise, I agree with EXO. He's a hack, but of a differrent order.

[Blaine23]

I actually like Michael Moore's docs, but anybody so political charged and one-sided is going to draw fierce criticism... usually for being both of those things.

Roger & Me is an excellent, intensely watchable documentary about a subject that any American should be able to relate to. What citizens have to do in order to survive after "the plant" closes... anybody that's actually been to Flint, Michigan can easily see the damages that occur when a major company moves its production to Mexico.

A good documentary should show you things that effect you.

As far as his other works, I agree they've been lesser... but I enjoyed them, too.

Why are we discussing a documentary director?... entirely different thing than a feature director.

Edited to add - No need to respond... this will veer into a downward spiral of politically themed crap... let's just say I liked his docs and the rest of you guys hate him. Either way, he's not a feature director. And there are absolutely far too few nekkid women in his flicks.

Edited June 4, 2004 by Blaine23

[Nied]

Blaine you beat me to it. I would just add that there is no requirement that a documentary show both sides of an argument (though it does make it more powerful if it does), and cetainly no requirement that it not have an agenda. The Thin Blue Line is widely considered to be one of the best documentary films ever made, and it got a man out of prison!

[Blaine23]

Thin Blue Line is awesome. I saw 2 other docs thios year that I thought were pretty riveting - Stevie and Capturing the Friedmans. I can reccommend both of those pretty highly.

I also forgot to mention a few other film directors (actually I forgot tons - Hitchcock, Peckinpah!)... but a few more emerging directors whose work I think is pretty incredible - Wes Anderson (Rushmore, Royal Tennenbaums, Bottle Rocket), Spike Jonze, Michael Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and Mark Romanek (1 Hour Photo).

All of those guys except for Anderson are pretty much music video prodigies. There's some pretty cool DVDs of their stuff out now... I'd reccommend them too.

Another underrated master I forgot to mention.

Peter Weir - Austrailian and almost always top notch. Not necessarily predictable either. The Truman Show. Dead Poet's Society. Fearless. Master & Commander.

Edited June 4, 2004 by Blaine23

[Agent ONE]

The best Director of all time is John Milius.

Conan the Barbarian was (to me at least) the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, beyond any sunset or baby, even more beautiful than a swimming pool full of naked hookers.

This movie truly showcases what a great actor Schwarzenegger is, but beyond that it allows for Arnold to be remembered for thousands of years, and ultimately be more important to human mental and spiritual evolution than Jesus.

[EXO]

See it's not easy making that list, I forgot Scorsese of all people and one of the most important people in the field.

I love the Wes Anderson films, but I lot of it I think comes from the teaming up with Owen Wilson as his co-writer. We'll find out soon when his next film comes out and Wilson isn't in the writing chair. I'm just wondering why he Bill Murray became his leading man. I mean sure Leone had Eastwood and Hitchcock had Stewart, but Anderson already had the Wilson brothers. Maybe they weren't funny enough.

Spike Jonze is nuts, but I didn't enjoy Adaptation as much as Malkovich. But he's videos are out there, starting with Sabotage and the Fat Boy Slim video where he leads the dance troop outside the theatre..

[glane21]

4 - Clint Eastwood

His directing style may not have the flash of today's hyper editing, music video directing crowd, but the man undeniably knows how to tell a story. His only falterings were in the late 80's, but I believe part of that can be attributed to the fact that he just didn't care what audiences thought. He's paid his dues, and as a result he can make whatever damn movie he wants.

Indeed, personally I love the mans paceing when it comes to his story telling. Personally I love his camera work, how he lingers on a scene, letting us soak up the image. Unforgiven, Pale Rider, and Jose Wales are 3 of my favorite movies of all time. Oh toss in Mystic River into that lot as well!

I reckon so. The Outlaw Josie Wales is an awesome movie, as is Unforgiven. I thought Pale Rider was a bit more formulaic (Open Range had almost the same story formula) but still enjoyable.

[bsu legato]

I thought Pale Rider was a bit more formulaic (Open Range had almost the same story formula) but still enjoyable.

I love Pale Rider, but I thought High Planes Drifter was a more interesting take on the same material.

[EXO]

4 - Clint Eastwood

His directing style may not have the flash of today's hyper editing, music video directing crowd, but the man undeniably knows how to tell a story. His only falterings were in the late 80's, but I believe part of that can be attributed to the fact that he just didn't care what audiences thought. He's paid his dues, and as a result he can make whatever damn movie he wants.

Indeed, personally I love the mans paceing when it comes to his story telling. Personally I love his camera work, how he lingers on a scene, letting us soak up the image. Unforgiven, Pale Rider, and Jose Wales are 3 of my favorite movies of all time. Oh toss in Mystic River into that lot as well!

I reckon so. The Outlaw Josie Wales is an awesome movie, as is Unforgiven. I thought Pale Rider was a bit more formulaic (Open Range had almost the same story formula) but still enjoyable.

How much variety can you have about western? I mean, there were men... then there were cows...

I'm kidding... I hope there another one coming our way directed by Eastwood. It doesn't have to star himself, but a good western is due, I'd say. Open range was OK, enough to fill the void.

[ChrisG]

Ridley Scott is one of those "high-low swingers" I mentioned. I love some of his movies but others just didn't do it for me. He did a great job with Hannibal, only to follow up with the rather boring and emotionally blank Gladiator.

Actually, he made Gladiator before Hannibal. He was offered the chance to direct Hannibal based on the success of Gladiator.

[Blaine23]

I love the Wes Anderson films, but I lot of it I think comes from the teaming up with Owen Wilson as his co-writer.  We'll find out soon when his next film comes out and Wilson isn't in the writing chair.  I'm just wondering why he Bill Murray became his leading man.  I mean sure Leone had Eastwood and Hitchcock had Stewart, but Anderson already had the Wilson brothers.  Maybe they weren't funny enough.

Well, to be fair to Anderson, Owen's pretty busy running around w/ Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and just about anybody else who'll pay him some good hard green.

I think Anderson's the real force there. Owen's writing is good, but it's also obvious that he adds such lines to most his roles - there's no way his character in Shanghai Noon was that funny (or typically Owen Wilson-ish) before he started changing things. It's getting sorta easy to spot his "adds", plus its sterotyping.

Anderson you hear in all of the other characters - and is also completely responsible for the visual tone, editing, and general all around "feel" of his movies. Hell, the music used in Rushmore and Tennenbaums alone are enough for me to salute him.

Besides, you know you'd kill a yak to work with the badassness of Bill Murray over the Wilson Bros.

As to the Eastwood thing... as much as I love his best - Unforgiven, Mystic River, Josey Wales (easily my favorite western), A Perfect World...

But after the one-two suck punch of Blood Work and Space Cowboys... He also did some other schlock novel crap like Absolute Power and True Crime before that. It just doesn't seem fair to other directors to put him in that category.. his hits are far rarer than his misses, to me.

But he is the ultimate cowboy, regardless.

Edited June 4, 2004 by Blaine23

[EXO]

I love the Wes Anderson films, but I lot of it I think comes from the teaming up with Owen Wilson as his co-writer.  We'll find out soon when his next film comes out and Wilson isn't in the writing chair.  I'm just wondering why he Bill Murray became his leading man.  I mean sure Leone had Eastwood and Hitchcock had Stewart, but Anderson already had the Wilson brothers.  Maybe they weren't funny enough.

Well, to be fair to Anderson, Owen's pretty busy running around w/ Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, and just about anybody else who'll pay him some good hard green.

I think Anderson's the real force there. Owen's writing is good, but it's also obvious that he adds such lines to most his roles - there's no way his character in Shanghai Noon was that funny (or typically Owen Wilson-ish) before he started changing things. It's getting sorta easy to spot his "adds", plus its sterotyping.

Anderson you hear in all of the other characters - and is also completely responsible for the visual tone, editing, and general all around "feel" of his movies. Hell, the music used in Rushmore and Tennenbaums alone are enough for me to salute him.

Besides, you know you'd kill a yak to work with the badassness of Bill Murray over the Wilson Bros.

As to the Eastwood thing... as much as I love his best - Unforgiven, Mystic River, Josey Wales (easily my favorite western), A Perfect World...

But after the one-two suck punch of Blood Work and Space Cowboys... He also did some other schlock novel crap like Absolute Power and True Crime before that. It just doesn't seem fair to other directors to put him in that category.. his hits are far rarer than his misses, to me.

But he is the ultimate cowboy, regardless.

Yeah I guess that was unfair to Anderson, but I meant it to ask whether the comedy was good becaus e of the dynamic. Like I said though, the next movie will feature a different co-writer even though it'll have Wilson and Murray.

I can't expect a director to have perfect record, but I'd say Clint Eastwood has a good track record. Take for example, Steven Speilberg... he's all over the map. Schindler's List then Jurassic Park 2? He's not #1 on my list but he's arguably the greatest director there is as far as careers go, just surpassing Alfred Hitchcock.

[MSW]

LOL, I thought "up and comers" is reserved for people with relatively few films to their credit and is new to the business. Someone like Darren Aronofsky. Robert Rodriquez already has 2 very successful franchises under his belt (Spy Kids and the Mariachi trilogy). He's not exactly a new kid on the block. Ditto Lynch and Waters.

It was late when I wrote that. I originaly intended to put true "up and comers" in there but drifted off into directors I thought were "really really good, but not quite what I consider great"...sorry for not makeing that clear

There are three things I really dislike in movies...lots of slowmotion, lots of rapid fire "intense" editing, and the insecure need to always move the camera around in every shot ... None of it is "cool" anymore, and so overdone it has become trite and cliched ... too damn many former music video directors turned film makers and not enough true storytellers

[glane21]

Was it Guy Ritchie who directed Snatch and Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels? I enjoyed those two, even though they were almost the same movie. Very clever.

[Agent ONE]

Was it Guy Ritchie who directed Snatch and Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels? I enjoyed those two, even though they were almost the same movie. Very clever.

Unfortunately I think he is a one trick pony.

[EXO]

Was it Guy Ritchie who directed Snatch and Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels?  I enjoyed those two, even though they were almost the same movie.  Very clever.

Unfortunately I think he is a one trick pony.

Yeah, he married Madonna and then came out with one of the biggest bombs in filmmaking history... so bad I can't remember the name, but it starred his wife.

[Blaine23]

Swept Away... a remake. The original film is excellent. Guy & Madonna's remake is worse than Gigli.

[soze]

I nominate Wai Keung Lau (English name Andy Lau?)

Nothing like good old Rascal Triad fun.

[Opus]

I've realized that I'm not really very aware of who directs movies so I went through my DVD collection and the name that popped up most often was John Landis. Obviously I'm partial to silly movies.

Also, I'm torn on wether or not Tobe Hooper is a hack or not. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is in my top 3 favorites category but everything he's done since has been crap.