Empires Top 20 Director's list and critique.

**jimbo** · 6th October 2008 06:05

Note, Jimbo didn't write the following:

I thought I wasn't going to have to go on another movie-related rant for quite some time. Unfortunately, Empire magazine has forced me to do so with their poorly informed top 20 list of top all-time directors. Granted, this is based on a readers' poll... 'poorly informed' and 'Empire reader' go hand-in-hand. Not that all the directors listed are bad directors; many are among the best active directors. However, many of them should not be on an all-time list.

Here's their list (with my commentary):
20) Sam Peckinpah (Wow, maybe Empire readers have seen movies before 1975. Imagine that!)
19) Billy Wilder (Good selection.)
18) John Ford (Should be higher on the list.)
17) Sergio Leone (Decent choice, but not in my top 20.)
16) Oliver Stone (Ditto.)
15) Francis Ford Coppola (Only had 2 good movies not named Godfather: Apocalypse Now and The Conversation).
14) James Cameron (I just choked on my own vomit.)
13) The Coen Brothers (Decent, but again, not in my top 20.)
12) Sir David Lean (Would be lower on my list.)
11) Clint Eastwood (Ditto.)
10) Woody Allen (Ditto.)
9) Orson Welles (My #2)
8) Quentin Tarantino (Popularity contest.)
7) Peter Jackson (Again, popularity contest.)
6) Akira Kurosawa (My #3)
5) Sir Ridley Scott (Is this a joke?)
4) Stanley Kubrick (Good choice.)
3) Martin Scorsese (Good choice. Would be lower on my list.)
2) Alfred Hitchcock (My #1)
1) Steven Spielberg (Most popular or well-known director, perhaps. Greatest? Not a chance in hell.)

My List:

HM (alphabetical):

Robert Bresson, Luis Bunuel, Frank Capra, John Cassavetes, Charles Chaplin, Vittorio De Sica, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Sergei Eisenstein, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Werner Herzog, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Buster Keaton, Krzysztof Kieslowski, David Lean, Mike Leigh, Kenji Mizoguchi, F.W. Murnau, Sam Peckinpah, Satyajit Ray, Alain Resnais, Roberto Rossellini, Martin Scorsese, Béla Tarr, François Truffaut, Wong Kar-Wai, Wim Wenders, Billy Wilder

10) Andrei Tarkovsky
9) Yasujiro Ozu
8) Federico Fellini
7) Ingmar Bergman - Woody Allen idolizes him
6) Jean Renoir
5) Jean-Luc Godard - Tarantino, the Coen brothers, and Oliver Stone would be nowhere without him
4) Stanley Kubrick
3) Akira Kurosawa - Spielberg and Peter Jackson can't approach his mastery of epic cinema
2) Orson Welles
1) Alfred Hitchcock - Arguably, along with Welles, the most influential director of all time

For your reference:

Note, these selections are based on a director's film representation in the Top 10 film poll, not a poll of top directors per se.

Sight and Sound's Critic's Top Ten Directors (from a poll of the world's leading movie critics)
1 Orson Welles
1 Alfred Hitchcock
3 Jean-Luc Godard
4 Jean Renoir
5 Stanley Kubrick
6 Akira Kurosawa
7 Federico Fellini
8 John Ford
9 Sergei Eisenstein
10 Francis Ford Coppola
10 Yasujiro Ozu

Sight and Sound's Director's Top Ten Directors (from a poll of the world's leading movie directors)

1 Orson Welles
2 Federico Fellini
3 Akira Kurosawa
4 Francis Ford Coppola
5 Alfred Hitchcock
6 Stanley Kubrick
7 Billy Wilder
8 Ingmar Bergman
9 Martin Scorsese
9 David Lean
9 Jean Renoir

**robsam** · 7th October 2008 16:54

Good thread Jiimbo! I would throw in Terry Gilliam. He's one of my favorites directors and has created 2 of my all time favorite movies: "12 Monkeys" and "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas". He certainly has made some other brilliant movies such as "Brazil", "The Fisher King", "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" and "Time Bandits". And of course he also directed most of the Monty Python related movies like "The Holy Grail", "The Meaning of Life" & Jabberwocky". Anyway, I think the guy's a brilliant, visionary & unique film maker so I would put him in a top directors' list too.

**The Dude** · 22nd October 2008 06:38

It's a tough chore but the "Empire" list is ridiculous. My top ten of all time, in no particular order:

1. Hitchcock
2. Ford
3. Fellini
4. Bergman
5. Kurosawa
6. Lean
7. Welles
8. Kubrick
9. Hawks
10. Wilder

Modern directors I greatly admire, but they ain't breaking that top ten:

Peter Wier
John Sayles
Zhang Yimou
Sidney Lumet
Woody Allen
Steven Spielberg
The Coen Bros

**panhunger** · 22nd October 2008 12:12

Howard Hawks - The most underrated director of all time.

**oxfordstu** · 22nd October 2008 14:05

All right, I'll chime in:

1. Krzysztof Kieslowski
2. Akira Kurosawa
3. Stanley Kubrick
4. Jean Pierre-Jeaneau
5. Alfred Hitchcock
6. Park Chan-Wook
7. Clint Eastwood
8. David Fincher
9. P.T. Anderson
10. Sofia Coppola

**WilliamBlake** · 22nd October 2008 16:34

No one has mentioned M. Night Shyamalan (he of The Sixth Sense and The Village) or David 'Blue Velvet' Lynch. Out of style at the mo?

**LeedsLeedsLeeds** · 22nd October 2008 16:39

^ Yep, agree with those two Bill. Although Shyalaman let himself with one of his more recent effort, can't remember what it was called but it was truly dreadful, had that short hairy bloke from 'Sideways' in it, 'Bint in a Puddle' or something similar.

I'm surprised that Gaspar Noé and Pedro Almodóvar haven't been mentioned yet, they've both made some remarkable films.

No Fritz Lang either.

**WilliamBlake** · 23rd October 2008 14:29

Originally Posted by LeedsLeedsLeeds

truly dreadful, had that short hairy bloke from 'Sideways' in it, 'Bint in a Puddle' or something similar.

You must spread some jizz around blah blah blah.

**Nick** · 23rd October 2008 15:21

Originally Posted by LeedsLeedsLeeds

Shyalaman

It all went to his head, eh?

In no particular order:

Hitchcock
Kubrick
Coens
Speilberg
John Hughes
Harold Ramis
Ted Kotcheff

I studied film at uni, and did enjoy it, but honestly, there are so many peeps banging on about it, and usually saying insightful, smart things, that I've always half-heartedly joined in.

My mate Eddie (sorry if you've heard this story before, but it always makes me laugh) was sat next to me on the first day of our film course.
I was 22 and was dead serious about doing well at uni. Ed was 18 and didn't give a fuck. The prof' asked us to write down what we considered were the most important films of all time.

I stroked my chin, chewed my pencil and began to earnestly lay down my choices: 'Jaws', 'Star Wars', 'Psycho', 'Citizen Cane' etc etc...

Once satisfied, I looked over at Eddie's list:

'Predator', 'Predator 2', 'Rambo 1', Rambo 2', 'Rambo 3', 'Top Gun'......

He looked up from his list and our eyes met.
It's the different expressions on our faces which still tickles me.
Mine was a mixture of puzzlement and concern.....his was joyfully manic.

**toong tao daeng** · 23rd October 2008 19:26

16) Oliver Stone (Ditto.)

JFK and NBK are brilliant...and he has made many other very good movies in my opinion.

5) Francis Ford Coppola (Only had 2 good movies not named Godfather: Apocalypse Now and The Conversation).

10) Woody Allen (Ditto.)

Perhaps the only true auteur in contemporary cinema.

Sir Ridley Scott (Is this a joke?)

I hope so. I wrote a paper in school on what a sexist hack he is.

.
In no particular order, my favorite directors:

Scorsese
Stone
The Coens
PT Anderson
Kubrick
Cassavettes
Soderbergh
Allen
Altman
Malick
Lynch
Cronenberg

**jimbo** · 23rd October 2008 19:36

Please remember TTD (and I know the quote function doesn't immed. comply) that I didn't compose that. Was just sharing.

BTW: I see Kubrick showing up on a number of lists here. As it happens I am attempting to write a 30 page essay highlighting the changes and adaptation his direction (thru 4 chosen films) has gone through.

It's an academic observation rather than personal.

I'm sure to struggle at certain points in this task, and when I chime in here for some help, I EXPECT SOME FUKKIN HELP!! (full metal jacket stylee)

**MisterModo** · 26th October 2008 15:52

well that list is idiotic for the most part...

Peter Jackson shouldn't be anywhere near it. Spielberg is a fucking hack with no subtetly, no sophistication, and for every decent movie he's made (I'll give him Saving Private Ryan as the best battle directing ever made up to that point in time) he's made a piece of shite to match it like AI or Catch Me If You Can.... but this Reader's Poll just goes to show how ignorant most people are of what makes a good movie

Oliver Stone.. riiiiight.

Ridley Scott and James Cameron... both of those have to be a joke.. this list is just stupid! I mean, Blade Runner Director's Cut is probably my favorite movie of all time, but Ridley Scott isn't even close to my favorite director.

What kind of magazine is The Empire? I'm not familiar with it, but from reading this list I'm assuming it's on a level with Maxim?

Warner Herzog shoud be on there but you wouldn't expect most Americans to even know a guy like him..
but no Howard Hawks is just INSANE!

I actually think Quentin Tarantino totally deserves to be up there with the best, even though I think he, himself, is a tool.

now, I just have to say a word on M. Night Shyamalan because he is a hack and an awful director and should never be mentioned as being one of the greats. let's just examine Signs for a second, one of the stupidest movies ever made.

the BIG SURPRISE in Signs is that water kills the aliens... so Mr Shyamalan (who must be fucking retarded because he WROTE the script) wrote a story about alien beings, smart enough to travel faster than light speed, who decide to invade a planet that is 75% WATER, when WATER is LETHAL to them..

now, what kind of idiot would write that story? the aliens can be killed by WATER, but their big invasion plan is to send guys down to run around NAKED in people's backyards on a planet that is pretty much ALL WATER! what happens if it RAINS!$%%$%! oh, woops! Sorry Sir! But our invasion was foiled because there was a big rainstorm yesterday! D'oh!

I remember coming out of that movie thinking how completely, utterly idiotic it was, and hearing most of the people around me saying it was one of the best movies they'd ever seen... For me, it was irrefutable evidence that people are stupid, and suckers, and have no grasp on logic whatsoever, much less what makes a good screenplay.

I have to say one more thing. Where are the directors of Animated Movies in this discussion??

I feel that Hayao Miyazaki deserve to be in any discussion of the greatest directors. his films with Studio Ghibli are consistently beautiful and moving, and they show a unique vision and a unique spirit that has permeated his entire carreer.. also he makes kick-ass action sequences, and he has some of the best female roles in the history of cinema.

**Nick** · 26th October 2008 16:02

Nice intensity, anger and know-it-all contemptuousness. 8/10.

**MisterModo** · 26th October 2008 16:11

thanks!

maybe I've been watching too much election coverage and financial markets news.. I'm just pissed off these days about the stupidity of everything on this stupid, stupid planet.

**Nick** · 26th October 2008 16:37

Maybe you should make a movie and show them all up. I'll write the script.

We'll call it.....'I Fucking Hate Fucking Stupid People.'

Opening shot: Jeff, our anti-hero who will go on to assassinate a dumb as fuck VP candidate, is dozing in his film studies class listening to Dr Sally Bodowski drone on about the pastoral ideal and the push west. 'What does that final shot in John Ford's The Searchers signify to you.....er, Jeff?'
Jeff wakes with a start and....