Director's List (still a nerd, still sick)

I love film. Duh. I decided since I can't focus on Neo-Nazi's or studies on Violence in media right now, I decided to do this. A nice list of my favorite directors. It's large. And I'm still sick so its really ranty. But, I need to pass the time and I want people to read this and leave me nice comments so it gives me something to do while I'm still laid up. So here are my top 20 (with the top ten getting write ups) directors of all time. These are the people I look up to when looking into the film business.

20. Fernando Meirelles (City of God, Constant Gardener)
19. Peter Weir- (Witness, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show)
18. Terry Gilliam- (Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 12 Monkeys)
17. Darren Aronofsky- (Pi, Requiem for a Dream)
16. David Cronenberg- (Scanners, Videodrome, A History of Violence)
15. David Lynch- (Elephant Man, Lost Highway, Mullholond Drive)
14. Spike Lee- (Do The Right Thing, Malcolm X, 25th Hour)
13. Jim Jaramusch- (Down By Law, Dead Man, Broken Flowers)
12. Christopher Nolan- (Following, Memento, Batman Begins)
11. Spike Jonze- (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation.)

Just some notes on these guys up here. We will see a new Lynch pic, Aronofsky flick this year (or early next) AND an untitled Jonze/Kauffman project. YES!

Now here are the top 10. I'm including a fav of my actors that these directors seem to utilize over and over too. I find it odd that they all have one. So it's just a fun fact for the list.

10. Alfred Hitchcock- I think we all know any fan of filmmaking owes a ton of kudos to the first real insane perfectionist in filmming. He's a genre for God's sake! And, his films are damn good. By far the best of the classic directors, Hitch knew how to make a movie that would suck the audience in and scare the hell out of them with their psychological twists and turns. The man loved the climax of his movies so much, that a lot of them pretty much end at that high point (see Torn Curtain, Rear Window or Sabatoge and you know what I mean....plus many more.) I went through my Hitch addiction early, but those were good times renting all those classics. Psycho the first time always rules, Vertigo never fails in its amazingness, Rope is the underdog fav of mine and With a Friend Like Harry is pretty hilariously dark. If you truly love film, you gotta love Hitchcock. ~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Jimmy Stewart (Vertigo, Rope).

9. Tim Burton- I know I warned him recently, but Burton's style and eye is something I will always love. His love of Suburbia and skewing it to this surreal atmosphere is fitfully brilliant. I love it. From his first full-length feature to now, he has kept that Gothic image no matter what film it is. Not all his movies are amazing (Planet of the Apes) he has too many classics under his belt to not let him on the list. Pee Wee's Big Adventure is still hilarious today as it was when I was younger, and for different reasons. Batman is still the greatest comic book movie, even if Burton was forced by the studio's to do a lot of things with it (Prince). Ed Wood is obviously his masterpiece. Beetlejuice is probably the underdog of the bunch, but how can you not love the scene where Keaton seduces a fly with a Zagnut! Burton has his ups and downs, but his ups a so much higher that his downs are pretty much excusible. Dark and funny make for a great experience anytime, but Burton's eye for the oddities of the real world and his world blend together. And let's not forget Danny Elfman. ~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood)

8. Jean-Pierre Jeunet- I already wrote a long post on this man in my blog entitled Artistry Part II, but hey, why not again. Some of the finest films ever produced, Jeunet's eye for "motion pictures" is something that only a French man could do. Splashes of color, the lust of the story telling and the characters (not to mention same actors) are always complex, quirky and so well acted that his films have a mystique. He's a true Auetuer if there ever was. Amelie is the most beautiful film I've ever seen. Not to mention the introduction of one of the most beautiful women ever to my life (swoon for Audrey). A Very Long Engagement can take a dark subject like World War I and weave a beautiful love story into it. Delicatessan is a Gilliam movie times 3. Hilarious and dark with a ton of quirks, it just works. He is the highest foreign director on here and deserves his spot in the top 10 (even if he directed Alien: Ressurection... *shudders*.) ~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Audrey Tautou (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement)

7. Quentin Tarantino- What an annoying person. But what a brilliant director. The love of ultra-violence, broken narratives, explotation films and amazing dialogue, there is no doubt that this annoying person is one of the best of all-time. He led a new generation in independent cinema that now is the mainstream. His influence has also spread into bringing some fringe foreign films like Hero to the USA. Thats a true lover of filmmaking. Reservoir Dogs started it all with the fast-paced dialogue and bloodtober gest that we all know and love about Q. For me, this film tops my list of favs for him because lord knows I love the low budget grittyness of it, but he perfected this with Pulp Fiction which argueably has his best characters. Kill Bill is rival to Pulp in its characters and winding story, but they are all so different in themselves. Even Jackie Brown which I love is a different take on Q's love of explotation films and violence and hilarious witty dialogue. He jsut knows what he's doing and hasn't gone wrong yet in his directing career. Keep it up! ~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Uma Thruman (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Series)

6. Paul Thomas Anderson- Another eccentric, PTA is another consistently brilliant director. His quirks lie deeper within then that of some other directors. He usually likes to bury his subtexts deep within the characters psyches and the all around direction of the films. Magnolia has the best ensemble cast of all time and makes Tom Cruise an oscar nominated nutcase (and he deserved it that year... no offense Michael Cane, but Cider House Rules sucks). Magnolia has so much depth to it that even though it has a three hour running time, I still find bits about it that I didn't pick up before after many many many viewings. This and The Godfather are the only super-long movies that go by like a flash. Boogie Nights is his Goodfellas of the porn industry. Punch Drunk Love is the darkest romantic comedy ever. I love every frame of that film. Hard 8 is even great. It's just that magical artsy movie making I love. And yes, he is artsy fartsy... which isn't bad because he can do that and be a little more mainstream then some. ~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Phillip Seymour Hoffman...which was actually a tough call toss up with John C. Reilly, but I have to be honest with myself sometimes. (Uhhh, every film? But noteably best in Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love.)

5. Woody Allen- I think he's up to #37 (almost in a row, but not quite) and he has two more movies coming out. What a career! He's a lover of NYC, comedy, sex, lies, relationships and some really dark shit. And they all transcribe and flow together at times to make a career that seems like one huge film at times. He really knows how to make an actor shine. With so many films, lets start with the best. Manhattan is just pure Woody at his ultimate. It has the best opening montage sequence I've ever seen backdropped to "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin and put in black and white (like he says New York should be depicted in this film.) Crimes and Misdemeanors is dark and hilarious. Landau is brilliant and Alda is so hilarious as well. Not to mention a Law and Order double dose with both Sam Waterston and Jerry Orbach! Annie Hall is just comic masterpiece and the list goes on and on.~Fav Actor Director Team Up: Diane Keaton (Manhattan, Annie Hall, Manhattan Murder Mystery)

4. Wes Anderson- New to the top 5, I had to admit my love of his style to being worth this high spot. His film Rushmore was the first film of that style (quirky, artsy, different) that I actual liked and appreciated. I turned a new leaf in life enjoying the artistic side of film. Anderson has a style of story telling and writing that really hits home for me. Hilarious and meaningful, he hits the heart and the funny bone with precision. Rushmore is in my top 5 for these reasons. It shows the best of his attributes in one cohesive stroke of brilliance. The Royal Tenenbaums has the second best ensemble casting ever and my personal favorite role for one of my all time fav actors, Gene Hackman (robbed of an Oscar nomination and win.) Bottle Rocket was an excellent first film and has some of the funniest moments from his and Owen Wilson's writing. The Life Aquatic takes on the amazingly hilarious subtext of the self reflective film. "It's all really happening" as Bill Murray stands inside an obvious huge set peice of a boat and the proceeds to appear actually outside on the deck of a real boat. Wes just knows how to do it and has yet to dissapoint. Let's hope this next project can live up to the films we all own on DVD right now (I suck, however, lacking Bottle Rocket. It's on my list of needs though.) ~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Bill Murray (Rushmore, Royal Tenebaums, The Life Aquatic)

3. Martin Scorsese- Marty! Where can I start. His films range from the gritty, dark tones of his 70s catalogue to the lush, epics of his modern day flair. Regardless of this, he takes on topics he loves and puts them on celluloid. Never did Marty have a movie he didn't want to do or get it done. Some have taken him a while (Gangs of New York was one of three films he wanted to do for a long long time) and some seem to be just perfect for their time and place. Taxi Driver still haunts me to the bone with its dark subject of paranoia and isolation. Mean Streets still reeks of penance and sin. Raging Bull still flows on the screen and shows a lost soul fighting for his life. After Hours is still fitfully hilarious and dark. Goodfellas is a brilliant epic in its own right. Marty adds a personality to his films that stand out among a lot of other directors. The thing with this, however, is that its harder to pinpoint what exactly it is. You can pick out Burton or Hitch's style, but Marty is more elusive. ~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Robert DeNiro (Mean Streets, Raging Bull, Goodfellas)

2. Hal Hartley- I can't thank Byron enough for this one. Hal Hartley is the greatest indie director I have ever encountered. And it's his renegade style that makes him a cut above the rest. Even more than any other director I know, he uses the same group of actors which make all his films flow into one magnum opus on life. He relives the same topics over and over again, but they always take on a new life. The deadpan acting style, the smart high brow dialogue mixed in with punch in the face comedy moments cause for a learning experience that film has never given me until I found him. Surviving Desire is the greatest short film I've ever seen (which isnt saying too much since most of the others I've seen are Hartley shorts). You get so much in just 60 minutes from that film including a great dance scene. Trust takes you on a journey of love that is dark, hilarious and very melancholy at times. Henry Fool is his masterpiece mixing all the styles he has ever done and bridging the gap between his early 90s films and his later films. The Book of Life is a really great portrayal of religion and the end of the world (maybe). Simple Men and Amateur blend together to show just how clockwork his style is. Some of the funniest film moments I have ever experienced can be found in a Hartley film alond with some of the most meaningful.~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Martin Donovan (Trust, Surviving Desire, The Book of Life)

1. Stanley Kubrick- Whoever didn't already know that Kubrick takes the cake probably has never seen the fact that I own his box of DVD's. His craftsmanship at shaping a shot, telling a story and getting a feel across works in every single one of his films because he is so good at it. His filmography isn't as large as you'd think (over almost 50 years, he only made 13 films!) but from Lolita to Eyes Wide Shut, you got nothing but genius. I may harp on Barry Lyndon a lot because it's slow and kind of a boring story, but God is it ever amazingly beautiful and radiant. It's a true art peice for a director who knows how to mix the two better than anyone else ever. Lolita is really creepy but in a really funny way (thanks to Mr. Sellers.) Dr. Strangelove is the best satire ever filmmed with the best performances from, once again, Peter Sellers. Then Kubrick moved into the next level of awesomeness. 2001: A Space Odyssey is his masterpiece of visual brilliance. It holds up so much better than any CGI ever will. It's extremely trippy and deep philosophical side also stand the test of time. A Clockwork Orange continues this tradition to a new level of greatness. One of the best characters ever and the best performance of Malcolm McDowell's career. The Shining is my personal favorite horror movie of all time. Not even Shelley Duvall could ruin one of Nicholson's most psychotic and awesome performances. Full Metal Jacket is a great look at war. No matter what anyone says, just because the Parris Island stuff is so memorable and awesome, doesn't make the movie whole. You need the horror of Nam after the glorification of killing and the military. Besides the bathroom scene with Private Pyle and such, the best image is when the soldiers find the sniper out to be a little girl. Another one commonly knocked, Eyes Wide Shut was his last and still an amazing look into a relationship (and one that was semi-real with Cruise and Kidman). Even after death, his next film would have been A.I.:Artificial Intelligence which even though people knock it for the ending (blame Speilberg not listed on the top 20) it still reeks of what might have been on of his finest images had he taken the helm. We miss you, Stanley. However, we will always remember the fact that you had the greatest eye for cinema.~Fav Actor/Director Team Up: Peter Sellers (Lolita, Dr. Strangelove)