Best Ever Albums

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

davidsmith150 — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 08:06:30 GMT

Author: davidsmith150

Posted: 10/23/2016 12:06

James Cameron is the best director ever.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Hayden — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 16:43:21 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 07/31/2016 20:43

Aight, well, that'll settle it 😄 The next list will be the 40's.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

badseed — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 16:41:01 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 07/31/2016 20:41

Gowi wrote:

Figure we should do 40s and 30s first.

I wasn't gonna say it.

But I agree with this.

And then the silent era, or everything pre-1930. Although sound films began in 1927 (I think) I don't know if any were good enough to make the list, but if they did that would be okay. I like this as opposed to a silent films list in general because stuff like City Lights and The Artist were eligible for their respective decades regardless (although I think the animated films idea was good I'm not completely sold on Asian films either mainly because my knowledge is 90% Japanese, 5% Chinese, 3% Indian and 2% Other).

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

mickilennial — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 15:17:02 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 07/31/2016 19:17

Figure we should do 40s and 30s first.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Mercury — Sun, 31 Jul 2016 14:29:32 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 07/31/2016 18:29

My rankings by interest:

1) 40s=1a)Asia (Asia would be fun. But I'm itching to continue into the 40s. The 40s are a decade I'd love to get more recs and knowledge on. Also I'd love to talk Asian film).

3) Actors

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Hayden — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 23:00:05 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 07/31/2016 03:00

badseed wrote:

So what's the timetable looking like on the next list?

Weeeelllll, I'm thinking of posting it sometime in August. Still not 100% sure what it will be yet though. It'll either be the 40's, Asia or I might throw a curveball and do actors. Not sure which way I'm leaning at this point... but either way, there'll be a short break.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

badseed — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 18:18:30 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 07/30/2016 22:18

So what's the timetable looking like on the next list?

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Hayden — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 21:07:46 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 07/28/2016 01:07

nutso42 wrote:

11. The new Radiohead album should've won.

It came pretty close.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 20:50:19 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/28/2016 00:50

I'm slightly bored by this squabbling, but also strangely fascinated. So as I wait for further replies in this engrossing Spielberg-off, I'm going to re-rank the top 20.

1. Akira Kurosawa
2. Luis Bunuel
3. Orson Welles
4. Alfred Hitchcock
5. Charlie Chaplin
6. Andrei Tarkovsky
7. Ingmar Bergman
8. Billy Wilder
9. Satyajit Ray
10. Fritz Lang
11. Federico Fellini
12. Stanley Kubrick
13. Woody Allen
14. Roman Polanski
15. David Lynch
16. Steven Spielberg
17. Coen brothers
18. Jean-Luc Godard
19. Quentin Tarantino
20. Martin Scorsese

(everyone from Kurosawa-Lynch appeared on my original list. 15 out of the eventual top 20. Just... FYI? I dunno)

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 20:30:25 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/28/2016 00:30

Spielberg point by point. My turn!

1. Out of all the New Hollywood directors, Spielberg is the only one who I've never found to be super annoying (George Lucas is a hack, Brian De Palma couldn't make an original film if his life depended on it, I've already ranted about Scorsese, Zemeckis is decent but hardly a master, and Michael Cimino just died so it'd be tacky to whine about him yet). Sometimes lame, sometimes awesome, usually somewhere in between.

2. I actually removed Spielberg from my director's list on this poll because while I feel he deserved to be on it, I didn't want to risk him being too high.

3. Saving Private Ryan has of course the amazing, amazing opening scene. After that *rehash of what you all said*. But of course, I'm one of those that feels Roberto Benigni deserved the Oscar that year over Tom Hanks, so take my feelings with a pinch of salt.

4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is an underrated masterpiece. Mostly because of Sean Connery. On that note...

5. Lincoln should not be considered in a discussion of Spielberg films. It's a Daniel Day-Lewis film. Seriously, M Night Shyamalan could've directed that and it would've been the same. Lincoln is a Day-Lewis film. Spielberg just pointed a camera at him.

6. I like pie

7. Duel is his best film. I will allow no argument on this point. If you don't agree, go out and watch it again

8. This post is too long

9. Seriously, who's actually going to read this whole thing?

10. I like the point comparing Spielberg to Ed Wood. When it comes to his popcorn blockbuster films, Spielberg is like an Ed Wood with the talent and the money to make his vision truly come to life.

11. The new Radiohead album should've won.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

badseed — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 18:36:25 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 07/27/2016 22:36

Muslim-Bigfoot wrote:

badseed wrote:

Hayden wrote:

Oh, right, tally for #1's that made the top 100:

Robert Bresson: 1

I don't know who you are, but I will find you and I will kiss you.

For real though, who did that? I don't remember seeing that one on the other page. Whoever you are, you're beautiful. I had Bresson considerably higher than anyone from whom I've seen as many or less films.

So when are we gonna make out?

From 10:50 to 4:00.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Muslim-Bigfoot — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 17:32:41 GMT

Author: Muslim-Bigfoot

Posted: 07/27/2016 21:32

badseed wrote:

Hayden wrote:

Oh, right, tally for #1's that made the top 100:

Robert Bresson: 1

So when are we gonna make out?

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Applerill — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 17:02:47 GMT

Author: Applerill

Posted: 07/27/2016 21:02

I like Boom Blox

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 15:42:30 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/27/2016 19:42

oo lemme try this

1. It's all been downhill since Duel
2. Spielberg's heavy handed drama flicks are indeed overlong, bloated, self-serious to the extreme, and aspire to traverse artistic territory well outside of Spielberg's realm as a relatively competent director.
2a. That said, I actually dig Empire of the Sun way more than I feel like I should, mostly because, indulgent as it may be, its indulgence seems less the product of Spielberg patting himself on the back and more of him just earnestly loving the film in a sort of Ed Wood Jr. fashion. Also John Malkovich.
3. A.I. is a fucking mess, and its also among his best, in no small part because Haley Joel Osment gives what may be the single best performance by a child actor ever.
3a. like seriously that film is tonally so all over the place and goes from Spielberg family adventure to pseudo-Kubrick existential slap in the face without any kind of warning, and somehow I still like it. Kinda feels like it's the first time Spielberg's ever-present inner-child hit that point in every early childhood where the kid begins to fear death/the universe/etc but has no idea how to process it(?)
4. Raiders is fun
5. Jurassic Park is fun
6. Jaws is fun albeit stupid
7. SPR is just stupid
8. Dude jacked up one of my favorite books of all-time with his ill-fated adaptation of The Color Purple
8a. For more on Spielberg ruining things Gabe loves, see: Twilight Zone: The Movie
9. War Horse is fucking trash
10. I just saw the BFG, which was mostly a big yawn but every so often it felt like a live-action Miyazaki film which is way more than I've ever expected from Spielberg, so there's that
11. I feel every Spielberg film is either overrated because it's Spielberg (Schindler) or unjustly maligned/ignored because it's Spielberg (Sugarland Express).
12. Dude went to my old high school for a year and hated it because of the rampant antisemitism. The school conveniently neglects to mention that last bit whenever talking about Spielberg being a graduate because a history of bigotry ain't amazing for PR.
13. dude has nice hair (or what's left of it anyway) for a man pushing 70
14. Ultimately, i think duel is a pretty cool guy. Eh makes childhoods and doesnt afraid of anything.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

CA Dreamin — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 15:17:28 GMT

Author: CA Dreamin

Posted: 07/27/2016 19:17

Spielberg is the among the most praised, criticized, and debated directors in history. Everybody has Speilberg movies they like alongside Spielberg movies they hate. And no two people can ever completely agree on them.

I'll state a few opinions. Some you may agree with. Others you'll want to attack:

1. Spielberg's best work is in the popcorn thriller genre. Jaws, Raiders, Jurassic Park, and Minority Report are his finest.
2. His dramatic films are his weakness. Nearly all of them are overrated, heavy-handed, and bloated.
2a. Schindler, while good, is overly long and overly praises its title character.
2b. SPR, also well-made, but so jingoistic it makes me angry.
2c. Lincoln and Empire of the Sun are boring pieces of shit.
3. But I'll defend The Terminal and War of the Worlds. They're average movies, but I'll defend them against their haters.
4. Catch Me is You Can is terrific. Spielberg hasn't made a truly great film since.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

badseed — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 01:47:45 GMT

Author: badseed

Posted: 07/27/2016 05:47

Hayden wrote:

Oh, right, tally for #1's that made the top 100:

Robert Bresson: 1

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Mercury — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 01:31:33 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 07/27/2016 05:31

WindowAbove wrote:

I like Spielberg a lot but my favorites from him are actually the R rated war epic ones, Schindler's List (10/10) and Saving Private Ryan (high 9/10). Those are two of my all time favorite films and both show his directing talents the most imo; I think the commercial family stuff doesn't touch that level but I still like Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Catch Me if You Can, Jaws, Close Encounters quite a lot too. When elitists criticize him I feel like they're talking about the second sentence films and not my first sentence ones. When I think of why I love Spielberg SL and SPR are the ones that come to mind first

Same here, tbh. I'd put Schindler's list and saving private Ryan number 1 and 2. Then I also really adore ET, Jaws and Munich and Close Encounters, Indiana jones Minority Report, Sugarland Express and some others.

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

WindowAbove — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 22:26:40 GMT

Author: WindowAbove

Posted: 07/27/2016 02:26

I like Spielberg a lot but my favorites from him are actually the R rated war epic ones, Schindler's List (10/10) and Saving Private Ryan (high 9/10). Those are two of my all time favorite films and both show his directing talents the most imo; I think the commercial family stuff doesn't touch that level but I still like Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Catch Me if You Can, Jaws, Close Encounters quite a lot too. When elitists criticize him I feel like they're talking about the second sentence films and not my first sentence ones. When I think of why I love Spielberg SL and SPR are the ones that come to mind first

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Mercury — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 16:19:16 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 07/26/2016 20:19

Gowi wrote:

Mercury wrote:

I don't totally get that. He's made so many just absolutely brilliant films. And of all different kinds. I can't see anything in his style or the 8 to 10 classic films in his filmography which isn't absolutely canon-level brilliant.

Obviously this is an art conversation, so it's subjective. And obv I'm alone not on an island here being a fan boy of Spielberg. I guess I'm just curious to know more about what is sort of uninteresting or bad about him as a filmmaker, in your opinion (if that is your opinion)? Or is it you just think he's okay and not nearly top 100 for you due to your great love of many many other filmmakers more. I'm rambling. But I guess I see him 100% as one of THE truly master directors of all time and I'm surprised to see a distaste for him just as I would be for Welles or Ford or Kurosawa, and etc.

I understand from a popular analysis that Spielberg has been a consistent part of commercial Hollywood since the 1980s and has shown a broad range of genres with a decent amount of films that are appealing to me personally but the fact is I find it rather plastic, bland, and by-the-numbers with nothing interesting about the cinematography or subtext he puts into his films. I’m a lot more fair on Spielberg than those who are more critical (and I guess fall into the “elitist” category) but I still don’t think he’s particularly good. I guess my conclusion is that Spielberg is an average albeit accessible director in pop Hollywood that is obviously successful but I’d never put him in line with the masters of cinema let alone my favorites.

I actually totally get that point of view. Obviously, based off my ranking of him as my number 5, we don't have similar feelings for him. I think as a storyteller he's absolutely on another level for me. I consistently am totally engaged and in the thick of the film when I see his movies. He also consistently inspires me and excites me emotionally. And his sense of action always blew me away.

He's not as innovative as a lot of these higher up people. But at the same time I don't judge a director based off how experimental and ahead of the curve he is. I am totally just looking at how consistently well made the movies are, how invested I am in the films.

Right from the jump he had a natural style and feel for film. Sugar land express, jaws, close encounters were such an insane start. And I also love how consistently he creates a sense of wonder and beauty in his best movies.

He is also the most commercially successful director of all time. And that can kind of make him come off as a lowest common denominator, blockbuster filmmaker only. I can understand that. All that considered, he also is a fabulous artist. I love his natural, flowing cinematography. I love how he can always put the audience right in the action and moments.

As far as films I consider almost perfect and in my top 150 favorite movies that he made I count 9. So it's clear where I stand on him.

I definitely don't agree that he's plastic or by the numbers. His films are the movie equivalent of perfect 4 minute pop songs. Trimmed of most all the fat. To the point, emotional, wondrous, beautiful, adventurous, touching, etc.

But anyway, your list is boss. So I super respect your opinion.

I'm annoyed Tarantino is above Spielberg. The hack. Just kidding, I like me some Tarantino too. But I'm BEYOND pleased that he didn't finish in the top 10, not to mention number fudgin 2! Phew!!!

Re: Best Ever Directors [List]

Hayden — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 15:30:10 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 07/26/2016 19:30

Oh, right, tally for #1's that made the top 100:

Ingmar Bergman: 3
Jean-Luc Godard: 2
Woody Allen: 1
Coen Brothers: 1
Christopher Nolan: 1
Quentin Tarantino: 1
Andrei Tarkovsky: 1
F.W. Murnau: 1
Roman Polanski: 1
Satyajit Ray: 1
Charlie Chaplin: 1
Akira Kurosawa: 1
Robert Bresson: 1

A lot of #1's didn't actually make the cut. Also, no one had Kubrick or Hitchcock at #1.