Favourite director...

...no, please don't move to the film forum, with film aficionados waxing on about arthouse types.

So, seeing as we have had a couple of film threads, is there any director that makes you look forward to his or her next release? A director whose work you "follow"?

For me it's got to be Alexander Payne. Sideways, Nebraska, About Schmidt and so on, loved all of them. It's that wonderful mix of ordinary everyday Americana with a slice of quirky, the analysis of family and friendship, characters with whom I can empathise, the drama and humour, the scripts, the casting etc.

Rothko

Scorsese. I don't think he's ever had a bad movie.

Suas11

Suas11 wrote: »

Scorsese. I don't think he's ever had a bad movie.

He is great...but could take or leave Gangs of New York. And even the Departed...though maybe it was Nicholson's overacting that put me off.

Fleawuss

Mr Woo. And Mr Evans.

Vinculus

That's a tough one, but I'm going to say Jim Jarmusch because the films he's made, make me feel warm and happy.

Duckworth_Luas

The guy who made Battleship Pumpkin.

Yeah, that guy!

the groutch

those 11850 guys

Dirty Dingus McGee

Spielberg and Hitchcock.

Because they view cinema as entertainment first and foremost and have delivered entertainment on a consistent basis through their careers.

Cienciano

For me it has to be Quentin Tarantino. Absolutely love his movies. Followed by Kubrick

osarusan

Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lean....but above all, Billy Wilder.

brevity

Steven Spielberg & Wes Anderson.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote: »

Spielberg and Hitchcock.

Because they view cinema as entertainment first and foremost and have delivered entertainment on a consistent basis through their careers.

They were very entertainment oriented...and for me it's the most important thing in a film...but can't say I was entertained by all of their work. But Spielberg reeled off some thoroughly entertaining films in the first decade or two, Jaws, ET, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark...he had a knack for making films where you never looked at your watch. Think he fell off his own high standards a little though.

Canadel

Suas11 wrote: »

Scorsese. I don't think he's ever had a bad movie.

He has certainly made a terrible movie though; The Wolf of Wall Street.

Sam Mendes is my answer. And American Beauty and The Road to Perdition are my reasons.

larrykinney

Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights; Magnolia; There will be blood)

Darren Aaronofsky (Requiem for a dream; Black Swan; Pi)

Dozen Wicked Words

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Alien Resurrection apart, I've enjoyed all his films.

bigroad

Nicolas winding Refn . Drive was a masterpiece.

larrykinney

larrykinney wrote: »

Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights; Magnolia; There will be blood)

Darren Aaronofsky (Requiem for a dream; Black Swan; Pi)

Agree with PTA...but not a fan of Aronofsky at all, in fact it's one of the directors whose name will put me off a film...I think he tries very hard to be deep and meaningful but is almost too...manipulative? A bit like Alan Parker, but not in the same way, Parker almost annoys me with the way he really sets up the "you should like this person and hate that person". Aronofsky tries to tell me me I've seen something very deep, didn't like Requiem at all.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Deleted User wrote: »

They were very entertainment oriented...and for me it's the most important thing in a film...but can't say I was entertained by all of their work. But Spielberg reeled off some thoroughly entertaining films in the first decade or two, Jaws, ET, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark...he had a knack for making films where you never looked at your watch. Think he fell off his own high standards a little though.

He's had some great films this century as well Catch Me if You Can,War Horse,Lincoln and Munich are all great films in my opinion.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Canadel wrote: »

He has certainly made a terrible movie though; The Wolf of Wall Street.

Sam Mendes is my answer. And American Beauty and The Road to Perdition are my reasons.

The Wolf of Wall Street is one of the funniest films I've seen in years.It's up there with his best stuff in my opinion.

Turtyturd

Uwe Boll.

Azalea

Can't pick just one. Whole bunch of the above, and...

Nicolas Roeg
David Lynch
Roman Polanski
Peter Weir
Christopher Nolan

God I love the fillums so I do.

Azalea

Azalea wrote: »

Can't pick just one. Whole bunch of the above, and...

Nicolas Roeg
David Lynch
Roman Polanski
Peter Weir
Christopher Nolan

God I love the fillums so I do.

Don't think Roeg ever came near Don't Look Now again, and Weir never matched Picnic at Hanging Rock. They both have solid cvs, and each of those is just a classic.

john the one

What, no Fincher??

Azalea

john the one wrote: »

What, no Fincher??

Oh yeah him! And the Coens.

If a film director impresses me enough, a few stinkers in their portfolio won't bother me - the Coens being a prime example (in my opinion).

Dirty Dingus McGee

I'm a big fan of Christopher Nolan and Fincher as well.

Fincher is so good that even the title sequence to Panic Room is brilliant on it's own.

I love Nolan's ability to make blockbuster films but at the same time make you think.

Kubrick, Wilder, Tarantino, the Coens, Speilberg and Hitchcock. I'm sure I'll think of more, but when I see those names I know that at the very least I'll have an entertaining couple of hours.

Wibbs

Probably David Lean for me. Howard Hawks another. Fellini and Kubrick would be others. Too many to list as a favourite TBH.

john the one

john the one wrote: »

What, no Fincher??

Surprised his name hasn't come up until page 2.

Can't say I like all his stuff, thought Fight Club and Seven VASTLY overrated. Fell asleep for Fight Club, having guessed the ending. On the other hand really liked Zodiac. He's a bit like a second rate Spielberg for me, entertaining enough, not sure he'll ever really trouble the Oscars even though he's had a couple of nominations.

Azalea

Azalea wrote: »

Oh yeah him! And the Coens.

If a film director impresses me enough, a few stinkers in their portfolio won't bother me - the Coens being a prime example (in my opinion).

The Coens are a bit uneven...but think overall they easily come out on the right side. They are definitely names that will attract me to watching a film.

brevity

john the one wrote: »

What, no Fincher??

I knew I was missing someone.

Azalea

I think Fight Club is hugely over-rated too, but not Se7en.

Azalea

Azalea wrote: »

I think Fight Club is hugely over-rated too, but not Se7en.

Yeah, I never really cared for Fight Club, but I think Se7en is a fantastic movie.

Rothko

Deleted User wrote: »

He is great...but could take or leave Gangs of New York. And even the Departed...though maybe it was Nicholson's overacting that put me off.

Gangs Of New York is my least favourite film of his. I don't think it's particularly or anything, just not up to his usual standard.

Azalea

Azalea wrote: »

I think Fight Club is hugely over-rated too, but not Se7en.

I must watch it again. It may have suffered IMO as it came out within a few years of Silence of the Lambs and think I thought of it as trying to piggyback on the whole detective/horror crossover thing. There were a few of them in the 90s, Kiss the Girls, Copycat etc.

Canadel

My favourite Fincher film is The Social Network, though I think that has a lot to do with the sublime script written by Aaron Sorkin.

eviltwin

John waters, John Hughes and Guillermo del Toro

nokia69

the Coen brothers

so many great films

Rothko

Not mentioned here yet but Charlie Chaplin has to be one of the greatest directors/filmmakers ever.

MadDog76

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

The guy who made Battleship Pumpkin.

Yeah, that guy!

Sergei Eisenstein

efb

Tarantino
Nolan
Fincher
Hogan

efb

Azalea wrote: »

I think Fight Club is hugely over-rated too, but not Se7en.

I liked Se7en, I loved Fight Club

nokia69

Suas11 wrote: »

Not mentioned here yet but Charlie Chaplin has to be one of the greatest directors/filmmakers ever.

of the silent era maybe

redrums

Michael Bay man is a genius

For Forks Sake

redrums wrote: »

Michael Bay man is a genius

No-one else can spend in excess of $100m blowing stuff up quite like him to be fair....

AllGunsBlazing

Kubrick. His films were always visually stunning. But the performances of actors under him could be bit cold, or emotionally detached. Jack Nicholson and Peter Sellers being the exceptions.

nokia69

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

Kubrick. His films were always visually stunning. But the performances of actors under him could be bit cold, or emotionally detached. Jack Nicholson and Peter Sellers being the exceptions.

and George C Scott, great actor

Billy86

Maybe the Coens. They had a bit of a dip in the early/mid 2000's, but outside of that their work is almost always fantastic. They also have a very individual 'feel' to their films, without essentially repeating the same film over and over - I've always thought that is pretty important to good directors. Their 80s/90s stuff especially is nothing short of brilliant.

Darren Aronofsky is another great one.

nokia69

if the Coens keep going for the next 10 or 15 years, and can keep the quality just as high then they will have the best catalog of great films ever

even now its hard to think of a director with so many great films

Billy86

nokia69 wrote: »

and George C Scott, great actor

Probably bullsh*t, but there is a fair bit of talk that he played that role in Dr. Strangelove straight not knowing it was supposed to be satirical. I wouldn't really buy into it though, in no small part because there is no way Peter Sellers in the title role could/would have thought similar.

Also Kubrick was apparently interrogated by the CIA (I think it was) because they were perplexed and very suspicious about just how accurate the war room was, along with several other details. I'm not sure if anyone can get close to Kubrick's obsessive attention to and eye for detail.

Billy86

nokia69 wrote: »

if the Coens keep going for the next 10 or 15 years, and can keep the quality just as high then they will have the best catalog of great films ever

even now its hard to think of a director with so many great films

I'm assuming you've seen it going by your post, but it amazes me how under-the-radar Miller's Crossing is and was. One of the best gangster films ever, or certainly of the modern (1970s and onwards) era. John Turturro in the woods and Albert Finney's "walk down the street" after getting woken up in the night have to be two of the most memorable scenes of any film I've ever seen.

nokia69

AFAIK Dr Stranglove started off as a serious film, so yeah maybe Scott signed on thinking it was 100% serious, its only after filming started that it got changed to comedy/satire

I suppose its possible he didn't know, they all play the parts very straight, which is one of the things that make it so hilarious