Spielberg is easily my favorite director of all time. The fact that he makes commercially successful films should not detract from his genius.

I once made a list of my favorite images, and scenes from movies, and Speilberg was responsible for over a third of them. A can't remember the list, but I started with...

Jack Nicolson getting his nose cut in Chinatown. -- Polanski

But some of my other favorite images..

Solider looking for lost arm --Saving Private Ryan.
Dinosaur tapping toe while looking for kids -- Jurassic Park
harrison Ford running from Boulder -- Raiders of the Lost Arc

As well as some of the most memorable scenes:
The German solider killing the American solider with a knife - Private Ryan
John Qunicy Adams speech before the Supreme Court -- Amistad
The shark attack on the boat - Jaws

Were vintage Speilberg.

I would like to see the award-winning novel (actually a series of novels) starting with "Rendezvous with Rama" made into a full-blown hi-budget serious movie.
Would need some pretty serious sets and undoubtedly a lot of CGI, but the story is captivating and also technically Clarke followed very plausible lines and theories and never deviated too much into the realms of the fantastic IMO.
It's also got the human-angle with the interaction / power-plays of the astronauts' dynamics.

That - if done in a *serious* way and not 'Buck Rogers-esque' would be something magical. Easy to screw it up i'd imagine and have it turning out like some low-budget space disaster. Let Cameron do it how he wants and it'd be a blockbuster IMO.

It should be done, with Arthur C. Clarke, as principal consultant, before his death.

Interesting you bring that up. Somehow that scene has stuck with me over the years as being one of the most disturbing killing scenes ever.

I'm with you Stu - after the success of 2001:a Space Oddyssey I'd have thought producers would have been clamouring for Arthur Clarke's books. One of my favourites is Childhood's End.

tom.

Me too. Normally, killing is portrayed as a detacted action. In this fight scene, the German solider and the American solider develop mutal respect during the fight. There is a moment of intense intimacy before the killing takes place. I didn't understand what the solider was saying, but I understood the intent. It was an acknowledgement, "you fought well, but now I have won and I have to kill you." If anyone knows German, I'd love to know what he said during the final moments of this scene.

If I remember correctly, the German soldier said something along the lines of "Don't resist, it'll be easier that way."

I would have to say Howard Hawkes. He directed a large number of the classics: westerns (Red River, Rio Lobo), horror (The Thing), comedy (His Girl Friday, Bringing Up Baby), crime (Scarface, The Big Sleep), war (Sgt. York), drama (To Have and Have Not), and that's just scratching the surface.

See. Exactly the kind of nice, caring, line, I'd like to hear before someone stabbed me in the heart...

Quote: "See. Exactly the kind of nice, caring, line, I'd like to hear before someone stabbed me in the heart..."

I had an ex-girlfriend like that once. . . . .

Best Director?
 

Obviously, this is solely a matter of personal taste, of course, because any director strikes a chord within each of us. We all know that we like movies because of the emotional charge and personal message we get from particular movies.

Mr Foreman: I met Kevin Smith. You are correct in saying he is one of us, but man, does he curse up a storm. He uses the "F" work every fourth word! He loves to curse and talk about sex. And I mean he utters all of the slanguage he can possibly use to describe every kind of sexual encounter! The college kids love him. He gave a lecture at our local state colege two months back.

However, in my personal opinion, Sam Peckinpah is one helluva director. He walked the walk and talked the talk. As a testimony to his talent, no matter how deeply people hated him (and believe me, some people wanted to kill him, including Charlton Heston during the making of Major Dundee) they knew that after working with him on a production, they were going to come away with the experience of a lifetime in having seen a master at work. His common theme was "Man out of synchronization with the times." His characters were mostly the underdog, the loser, but loyalty and friendship meant something, always came first. His motion pictures move me.

Emre: I think the German soldier said to the American, in German: "Go to sleep. Just go to sleep." My Jewish friend's father told me that.

Hmmmm... No one has mentioned Luis Bunel yet. Definitely one of the greats.

I tried to like his work, but he makes it so hard. The ending of Diary of a Chambermaid was unforgivably bad. If anyone did that today, he would be committing commercial suicide. His works are supposed to be scathing satires, but I think it they lack bite by today's standards.

Peter Greenaway perhapse? Billie wilder?

Erm... Diary of a Chambermaid was Renoir not Bunuel. And I would definitely say Bunuel's work has plenty of bite by today's standards.

Bite this :)

Wow. I thought you were talking about Renoir's version (which was abominable), and I didn't even know Bunuel had done a version of it (why would be another question).
I looked it up and people were indeed calling it his weakest moment by far. Including the commissioned movies he had to make just to put bread on the table...

Try Un Chien Andalou and see if that has bite. Tee hee...

But seriously Emre, he did some truly great movies.

What a groaner! I shouldn't have set up that joke.

Sorry Emre!

No, but seriously, Buñuel made some of the wildest movies around. For example, his L'Age D'Or was banned in France for 50 years (until 1979) and caused riots when it was first shown. But most of his stuff doesn't seem to have ever had great commercial potential, as it is pretty surreal (not surprising as he was one of the original Surrealists). And he never lost his personal edge.
While my views may run counter to many, I would personally nominate him as one of the greatest directors of all time.

David Lean for 'Lawrence of Arabia'. A four hour twenty masterpiece.

Sure it's over 40yrs old. Every shot perfectly framed. An epic of all proportions made in the days when film makers made films the hard way battling against natures elements. In this case the desert with it's dust storms, heat and chilling nights.

No computer effects to get you out of a hole, and, if you needed a cast of thousands you hired a cast of thousands.

As a footnote: In the extra features on the dvd Steven Spielberg says it's the film that inspired him the most as a boy. He likes to replay it before making a film.

John Cassavetes, hands down the best director in my book. A woman Under the Influence, Faces, Opening Night, Husbands, The Killing of A Chinese Bookie, Shadows, etc. etc.... the man was special.

Francois Truffaut is great. The 400 Blows, Jules and Jim, Shoot the Piano Player, etc.

John Ford is wonderful. The Searchers is by far one of the most emotional movies I've ever seen. That last shot of Ethan and the others standing in the doorway brings chills.

Orson Welles, of course! Not only for Citizen Kane, but just look at Touch of Evil, The Lady from Shanghai or F for Fake....

Woody Allen too. I don't care if some of his recent movies aren't 'Great'... he gave us Annie Hall, Manhattan, Sleeper, Bananas.... he earned his respect!

And I'm suprised no one mentioned Ingmar Bergman!

No one's mentioned Fellini, Boorman or Ken Russel either.
 

For me, it would probably be Kubrick who is the greatest. The stories are thought out and layered, the screenplays are perfect, the philosophy is sound, the science impeccable, the cinematography first rate, the editing first rate. He did make a couple of casting mistakes but that's the only flaw I know of in any Kubrick film. He should have never cast Sellers as Quilty, nor Ryan O'Neal as Redmund Barry. I think 2001 is the film of the 20th century - the one essential film.

I also like Fellini - Juliet of The Spirits is one of my favorite movies of all time. Boorman's Point Blank, Hope and Glory, Deliverance, The General - perfection. I even like Zardoz. And Herbert Ross - Pennies From Heaven, The Turning Point. And Ken Russell - even his failures are fun to watch, if painful. But The Devils, Women In Love - perfect and potent works of art. Sidney Lumet - has he ever made a bad film? I don't think so.

Spielberg did not appeal to me personally in the least until Minority Report. Up until that point, I had never suspended disbelief in one of his movies. I always sat there wondering why he expected us to buy his crap - but, of course, people did. With the exception of Schindler's List, I could never understand why anyone went to see his movies.

Best Director?
 

Hmm, I don't think there could ever be a "best director" of all time. There are too many genres that some director's either never try or are just not good at. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and many are not able to translate their natural strengths into material they are not comfortable or familiar enough with.

Judging from the great and wonderful list we've all seen so far through this thread I can say that there are many great directors, each of whom have at the very least contributed to the cinematic artform which is itself without limit.

As well, each filmmaker adds to the growing vocabulary of cinema and each breakthrough or innovation is going to spread out and inspire other filmmakers to new ideas or variations on ideas, therefore can any director really be considered the "best" if he has been inspired by the works of others? Naturally though, someone can be thought of as the best for a personal reason.

I have my favorites, many of whom have been mentioned and I don't need to reiterate any names already mentioned, but I would like to mention the following:

Ousmane Sembene - Senegal
Feroz Khan - India
Jean Renoir - France
Pedro Almodovar - Spain
Sergio Leone - Italy

I love film but unless I was able to watch each and every film ever made, regardless of origin, genre and language, I don't think I could formulate a proper opinion of who I thought was the best.

My 2c,

K.

Joe:

I forgot about Cassavetes! Add him to my post!

IMO, there is no single best director, but one not yet mentioned who I love is John Huston. "Badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges!"

I also love Kubrick and use him all the time to downplay awards as
a true indiction of achievement. Stanley never won an Oscar!!!

Jacques:

It's "Bodges". Hahahahaha!

The question of who is the best director can only be dictated by the personal experience of the actors and crew who work under that director, actors or crew may like certain directors over others for their communication or lack there of etc etc, at the end of the day the director is there to direct cast and crew in which case the question really is which director makes the best films......and that is down to personal opinion.

If you asked a regular joe public who directed king kong or the usual suspects and asked them what other films they directed i would bet good money they would have no clue

Andy.

I'm sure I'll be alone in this, but.....

I love Clint Eastwood as a Director. I'm sure acting for as many years as he did would have to have an effect on directing, but to me, the shots, feel, and look of the films he directs are incredible. Unforgiven, IMHO, is one of the best shot movies of all time. When I say shot, I am talking about, locations, camera angles, lighting, color, feel, etc.) Pretty much everything under the director's hat.

IMHO
Bryon <><

I still have to say Luis Buñuel and second Guy Debord...

I have to respect Spielberg as one of the best b/c of "Munich." Flawlessly acted and Spielberg's need for at least a few minutes of heavy-handed sentimentality was absent.

I also believe that Robert Redford's directing portfoilo has exemplary work: "Ordinary People" and "A River Runs Through It."

Alan Smithee. Really, who else would you pick as the world's greatest director of all time?

good thread! kurosawa because he's the first internationally respected asian director =). i'm asian and i wanna be a director one of these days. thus, he's my Sensei in the truest sense.

7 sam. is my fav. film of all time and yesh i have the 3 disc criterion edition... as well as in HD >). my fav. part of his works has to do with the humanity he injects into his works.

2nd fav. director is orson welles+citizen kane. even though it was "one-hit-wonder" i really think he could have achieved the greatness yet again if it hadn't been for hearst.

I beg to differ with this characterization of Welles as a "one-hit wonder." "Touch of Evil," "The Stranger," "The Magnificent Ambersons," even "Macbeth" and "Mr. Arkadin" all came after "Citizen Kane" and all illustrate the man's genius.

Keep in mind that very few of Welles' films were released the way he wanted them, as he fought countless battles against the studio system of the day. Without Welles, I doubt there would be an independent cinema in America today, or at least it would look extremely different.

And don't forget Welles' work in live theater and radio, too, just to add to his resume'.

Certainly the most prolific. He's had a very long career, too. Still going strong at what... 108, 110?

that is why i said one hit wonder. i didn't really mean it in a derogatory sense. i just meant that it is the one film in which he had complete artistic control over. it's the one film that was truly his. the rest... got taken away from him. i dunno what other idioms i could use to describe that scenario.

yesh, i'm well aware of his previous achievements.

this has more info about orson welles's non-film works from The Mercury Theatre:
http://www.mercurytheatre.info/

he was also an accomplished painter, poet and writer, etc. he is truly one of the great American genius artists of our time. it's going to be very difficult to have another human being like that ever again.

My favorite is always Akira Kurosawa, Cecile B Demille.

Gotta be someone like Michael Hanike or The Dardenne brothers. The Son (le Fils) is probably the best movie I have ever seen.

Obviously names like Godard and Felini are right up there, as are, funnily enough, names like Kubric and Spielberg, but my Money is on Hanike or the Dardennes (they might lose cause there are two of them).

Kurosawa is also right up there.

Im amazed theres six pages on this subject...i sure aint read them all, what do you actually mean by best director? do you mean the best films? in that case its like asking whos the best musician ever.... i like the who but a lot of people like justin timberlake who i hate and i don't like jaz much. Or do you mean who is the most successfull? hmmm in that case there are only a handfull and they are all as big as each other....you know who they are. or is it the best director to work with? only the people under them can know that.....the runners and the dop's and the lighting guys , iv heard michael bay is a real bas##rd to work for but what do i know i just like his films.

its a redundant question, why not ask whats your favourate films.

The director is a guy/girl that works with a LOT of other people to make a film look good its not all his/her triumph, not enough recognition goes to the other people that get things done like joe bloggs that threaded a hundred thousand plastic rings etc to make the chainmail vests on lord of the rings.

Sure, why talk about the director at all. Afterall, if it wasn't for craft services, there wouldn't be a movie. Not to mention the Teamsters. And the guy who runs the machine that puts the plastic on the DVD case. With all them folks, who needs a director

Right?

funny you should mention craft services, in indie filmaking at least they are the most important factor in keeping cast and crew happy and im sure its important on big movies. The director has a hard stressfull job as does the producer and exec producer, every person in every department relys on each others skills, a great job by the camera department or sound department can be for nothing if any of the other departments aren't up to scratch. On a Hollywood movie its a guarentee that all departments are as good as they can be but with any indie film its up to who the best person you can get. The bottom line is a good director needs a good crew behind him wether it be a small crew or a huge crew. The fact still remains the director is a part of a bigger picture....he may be in charge but the requirments for skilled people is no less and the director can't make the film on his own.

Do you think steven speilberg would put the plastic on his DVDs? he'd probably screw a lot of them up before he got it right.

Andy.