Who is the best director of all time?
 

I'm curious who the fine people of this board consider to be the best director and why. I'll go ahead and start. I think Akira Kurosawa is the greatest director to have ever lived because he tackled so many disparate themes from modern tokyo to Samurai Epics to arty, futuristic sci-fi with an knowing, non-cheesy, existential force that has still not been repeated. His tracking shots still amaze me with their thoughtfullness and his stories always flow with the power and inevitability of a river.

Steven Spielberg for me.
The man has just an instinct for making films and shoots them in a way that as an audience, you are drawn in the movie immediately and makes the scenes as exiting as they possibly can be or as emotional.
Many people hate his emotional manipulation, but I love it.
I love both his popcorn blockbusters (E.T., Indiana Jones, Close Encounters, Jaws, Jurassic Park) and his movies with a more serious subject matter (Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Munich)
If I think MOVIE MAGIC, I think: Spielberg.

My favorite: Woody Allen

My objective choice (and second favorite): Alfred Hitchcock

Greater explanation to come once I have the time. I just couldn't let this thread pass without tossing out my choices.

(Edit: I should also mention Stan Brakhage, who is a major influence of mine, even if I haven't produced anything close to Brakhage-esq)

Kurosawa is my favorite, followed by Kubrick, Lean, Welles, Hitchcock, Spielberg probably.

I'm also a fan of Lubitch, Wilder, John Boorman, Michael Powell, Scorsese, Fellini, Bergman, Ozu, Michael Curtiz, William Wyler, Preston Struges, Buster Keaton, Malick

Just the modern directors: Spielberg, Fincher, Cuaron, Wes Anderson, Coen Brothers, Scorsese, Boorman, Malick... off the top of my head...

It's too bad Juzo Itami died -- he probably had some great films left to make.

David, you've pretty much nailed the list I would have wrote. But I'd probably add Peter Weir, Clint Eastwood and Aki Kaurismaki to the modern directors list and replace John Boorman with either John Cassavetes, John Huston or even John Ford.

Also Sam Peckinpah, Sergio Leone, Roman Polanski and Hal Ashby have got to be in there somewhere.

All coming soon to a Blu-Ray device near you...

Liam.

Okay all you young whippersnappers...
There is one film director who is generally acknowledged by all those in the know (or at least in the media) to be the greatest of all time.
Hint - he's from Sweden.
And most people haven't even heard of him these days...
LOL!!

Ingmar Bergman of course

Persona... Wild Strawberries... Seventh Seal... Scenes From A Marriage... all excellent.

Unless you're thinking of another Swedish director. I can only think of one other Swedish director, and his name actually escapes me at the moment, but the title of his first film is F---ing Amal (Or "Show Me Love" for English audiences).

LMAO!!! Very funny!

Missing...
 

I just want to add some names that I think should be considered: Peter Greenaway, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Eisenstein and Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Well, there's also Swedish director Roy Andersson ("Songs from the Second Floor")

How could I have forgotten John Ford, another favorite of mine!

I love that movie, Songs from the Second Floor!
I haven't seen anything else by him, though.

Spielberg is on top, but other favorites of mine are:
Kubrick, Sergio Leone, Lars Von Trier, Buster Keaton.
Glad you named Buster Keaton, David, he was a genius!

David Mullen's list covers most of mine (and it was good to see the often-overlooked Michael Curtiz get some recognition).

Another "often-overlooked" one I would add to the list is Howard Hawks. He was good in many, many genres. And, if I might broaden my post towards "best director in a particular genre", I think Hawks staked a claim to best direction in the private detective genre with The Big Sleep, and in the western genre with Rio Bravo.

Also (in addition to Wilder, Lubitsch, Keaton, Sturges, etc.) amongst the modern comedy directors I think the Farrelly Brothers are very underrated. They really have their own style and, when they are "on-song", they belong right up there with the Wilders, etc.

But, to get back to the topic, my favourite all-time director (best) would probably be Hitchcock. Foremost, I like a director who is a great storyteller, but when he is also a great visual stylist (camera movement, framing, etc.) you have a pretty much unbeatable combination as far as I'm concerned.

And a modern director who seems to have been overlooked (so far on this list) is Tarantino. I am a particular fan of Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction.

I didn't, he's in my list.

I'd have thought Hitchcock would be in most people's top ten, but Bergman refered to him as an infantile - no pleasing some people.

Liam.

I've always thought that Ridley Scott was one of the best contemporary directors. To me, he makes you want to see a movie on a big screen. Sort of a flair for the epic. He even made Thelma and Louise a grand spectacle.

Also Woody Allen, and Robert Altman.

David Lean. Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, Dr. Zhivago, Oliver Twist, Great Expectaions, and on and on. Writer, Director, Editor...genius.

I may have missed it but I don't see David Lynch on the lists anywhere.

It's Cameron Crowe for me all the way.....

Don't forget the Asians. Zhang Yimou and Wong Kar Wai.

Robert Rodriguez hasn't been named yet??
Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, SotD)
Timur Bekmambetov (Nightwatch, Daywatch)
Dario Argento
David Fincher
Gore Verbinski

Francis Ford Coppola is not listed so I nominate him.

Robert Rodriguez sure thing. Although he is SO much more then just a director. Writer/producer/director/ camera and steadicam operator/director of photography/editor/visual effects supervisor/sound mixer/composer and probably 20 other jobs I'm not thinking of.

He would probably be best film maker of all time, maybe not best director.

Ford and Hawks for sure ... Hitchcock and Kurasawa (sp) .. Hidden Fortress is one of my faves of all time ... those are my top three

John Sturges, John Boorman, David Mammet

For sure the Coen brothers ... Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Fargo ...

Pechinpah and his unoffical love child Walter Hill .. sure he mad some crap but I love his visual style in those crappy movies .. Warriors, Streets of Fire, et al

Billy Wilder, Carrol Reed, Orson Welles

geez .. Scorcese Scorcese Scorcese ... how could I forgot .. mentioned all ready of course, but there is a body of work with such resonance and style and emotion ... there's a guy who can express a view with a frenetic dialogue scene or an over saturated color. And nobody used slo mo like him ... maybe pechinpah ... but sam used the slo mo to rub your face in the mess .. scorcese uses it to show you that important thing you catch out of the corner of your eye

Sorry to be a thread hog but one more ... Michael Mann ... Thief absoultely grabbed me and The Keep aside, he has rarely disappointed. From historical romance/adventure like Last of the Mohichans to biographies like Ali and The Insider to his gritty adventures into digital like Collatteral I just find him totally watchable

OK. Done now. Really

Seems to be a pretty Anglo-American/big Hollywood movie focus. You guys need to broaden your movie-watching horizons.

Here's some greats from the international and documentary cinema
who are missing in all the lists above:

Krystof Kieslowski
Werner Herzog
Francois Truffault
Hayao Miyasaki
The Maysles Brothers
Federico Fellini
Dziga Vertov
Sergei Eisenstein

Eisenstien I will give you, no arguments there. Toss in Fritz Lang as well, he definitely should have been mentioned.

As for "widening horizons" well a lot of Japanese directors were mentioned.

As for Fellini and Truffault .. well, Truffault had some good moments but Fellini is the most over rated director of all time. Stream of conscioussness works in novels (big fan of As I Lay Dying and Mrs Dalloway) but it kind of falls apart in a movie .. .especially when accompanied by crappy hand held camera work and acting that pretty much is comprised of shoulder shrugs and grunts

You can say that I don't get it ... probably true. And I certainly don't mind thinking about a film and looking for the subtext (you mentioned Herzog and I liked some of his stuff for this reason) but really, tossing in midget at some unexpected moment does not subtext make

I don't know, "The Orchestra Rehearsal" is pretty brilliant. And no random midgets, either.

If you don't like Truffault and Fellini, how about Godard and Antonioni?

I really haven't seen enough Goddard to have an opinion. Antonini .. er ..um .. well Blow Up had its moments ... but mostly it just made me want to go for coffee.

As for other "non American" directors I love the work of Guillermo del Toro ... maybe not ready to call him one of the world's greatest but Pan's Layrinth was incredibly compelling

Oh no no no no, I would DEFINITELY call him one of the greatest. Look at Cronos and Devil's Backbone. Even Blade 2! Not that Blade 2 is great, but compared to 1 and 3, it's cinematic gold. Hellboy I loved, but compared to his other stuff it's one of the weakest. I think that might be in part because it was an introductory story. I'm excited to see what he does with the next one, and even more excited when he does another original story of his own.

Tobe Hopper - the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (every remake after it is pretty much trash IMHO)

Kubrick - The Shining is one of the best scary character profiles and has some of Jack's best work.

Oliver Stone - Natural Born Killers is a great blend of contempory 90's pop-culture and idealism blending with a great mix of cinematic styles.

Harmony Korine - directed Gummo and Julien Donkey Boy among others. A very simplistic style but a very real eye for how to portray life and make you entirely believe in the characters. Not for the faint of heart subject matter though.

hmmm.....you forgot to add Wong Kar Wai to that list. asethetically, In the Mood for Love is one the best ive ever seen. so deliberate and beautiful.

Ridley Scott ! Enough said :)

Just nobody say Tony Scott ..please please please please ....

Michael Bay!

Oh wait..I thought it said "worst" directors.
Sorry!
:)

Kubrick and Welles are my favourites - also Scott and Coppola would be up there

my fav is Michael Mann collateral did it for me when i saw that movie nothing hit me emotionally like that movie the guy is amazing.

Hal Hartley.

For my money, it will always be Charlie Chaplin.

Without study reference to any other great directors except the Eisenstadt era, he came up with Moden Times, etc - and told compelling stores in a charmed and wonderous way - all without useful little tools like ... sound.

Genius. Pure and simple.

More and more, I love Orson Welles' work, even his weird documentary, F IS FOR FAKE. I think he's a brilliant director, ahead of his time. In the past, directors who inspired me:

Spielberg, Scorsese, Sayles, Victor Nunez, the Coen Bros., Mann, Verhoeven, Donner, McTiernan, and many, many more.

heath