Friday, November 18, 2011

Director's Best and Worst

This was fun. But I know even less than Jeff.

My Personal Key:
B = Best film (the director's masterpiece, based on what I've seen by him or her).
W = Worst film (using this in the way that Brandon did).
F = Favorite film (my personal favorite...sorry to patronize).
OS = I've only seen (comes in handy, as you'll see).

What's cool is that I/we can update this as time goes by. My Netflix queue is about to be bombarded, so I'm pretty excited about that. Here we go...

Lars von Trier: B = Europa, W = Melancholia (there's actually quite a bit I still haven't seen)

Alfred Hitchcock: B = Vertigo, W = didn't make a bad film from what I've seen. Suspicion is my least favorite so far.

Martin Campbell: OS = GoldenEye (same as Jeff, N64)

Curtis Hanson: OS = L.A. Confidential

Woody Allen: B = Annie Hall (F = Love and Death), W = The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (haven't seen Anything Else or Melinda & Melinda).

Martin Scorsese: B = Taxi Driver, W = Cape Fear

Fritz Lang: haven't seen any of his films; been meaning to watch M for the longest time.


Neil Jordan: OS = The Crying Game

George Stevens: Giant was on TCM yesterday (didn't catch it). I've wanted to see A Place in the Sun and Penny Serenade.

Max Ophuls: I'll check him out.

Clint Eastwood: OS = Mystic River (since we're only talking films directed by him).

Stanley Donen: B = Singin' in the Rain, W = Funny Face

Frank Capra: B = It's a Wonderful Life (F = Arsenic and Old Lace), W = haven't seen a bad film by him.

Carol Reed: OS = The Third Man

Robert Altman: OS = MASH (an insane film) and Gosford Park (which I kinda hated). Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts are all in my Netflix queue

Francis Ford Coppola: B = The Godfather (the best in the trilogy), W = Jack (what happened to you, dude?)

Werner Herzog: OS = Grizzly Man (wins my prize for best voice ever).

John Ford: OS = The Grapes of Wrath (yep, I suck); The Searchers is days away from being seen by me.

Joe Dante: OS = Gremlins, Small Soldiers (meh, and meh)

Wes Craven: B = Nightmare on Elm Street, W = Swamp Thing

John Carpenter: Haven't seen anything by him, but I want to see Halloween and The Thing. Also, one of my favorite Todd Harmon moments is of him explaining the plot to Escape From L.A.

David Cronenberg: OS = Eastern Promises and A History of Violence; I have his stuff in my queues.

George Romero: B = Dawn of the Dead, W = Everything but the last twenty minutes of Night of the Living Dead.

Bob Clark: B = haven't seen enough to say, W = A Christmas Story (if I could destroy all existence of a film, I would choose this one in a heartbeat).

Stanley Kubrick: B = 2001: A Space Odyssey (F =  Dr. Strangelove);W = I've enjoyed them all, but still haven't seen Eyes Wide Shut, Paths of Glory, or The Killing.

The Coen Bros. B = No Country For Old Men/ Fargo, W = Barton Fink

Wes Anderson: B = Rushmore (F = The Life Aquatic), W = The Darjeeling Limited ("disappointing" is more apt).

Tim Burton: B = Ed Wood/Big Fish, W = Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland (sorry, Tim)

Preston Sturges: I've been told to watch him, and I will.

Ernst Lubitsch: His stuff is in my queues.

Michael Haneke: OS = Das Weisse Band; Funny Games awaits (dead horse beaten, I know).


Sergio Leone: OS = A Fistful of Dollars (this fact will change soon).

Pedro Almodovar: OS = Talk to Her; I'll check out more of his stuff.

Robert Aldrich: Will check him out.

Michelangelo Antonioni: Same.

Ingmar Berman: B = The Seventh Seal, though I haven't seen a bad film from him.

Jean Luc Godard: OS = really, I think I'll begin and end with Breathless.

Francois Truffaut: OS = Shoot the Piano Player, 400 Blows is in my queue.

Henri Georges Cluzot: I'll look into him

Olivier Assayas: same as above

Mario Brava: same

Frank Borzage: same

Jacques Tourneur: OS = Cat People; definitely want to check out more of his stuff.

Jim Jarmusch: OS = Broken Flowers; will check out more of his stuff.

Robert Bressen: I'll look into him.

Luis Bunuel: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie; W = haven't seen anything I've disliked.

Claude Chabrol: I'll look into him.

Charlie Chaplin: OS = The Gold Rush, The Pawn Shop (yep, I suck even more now). Of course I'll see more, though. I doubt he made a bad film.

Jean Cocteau: I'll look into him.

George Cukor: B = The Philadelphia Story; haven't seen anything that I've disliked.

Brian De Palma: B = The Untouchables, W = Scarface (ridiculous is a more apt term).

Claire Denis: I'll look into her.

Carl Theodor Dreyer: same.

Frederico Fellini: OS = 8 1/2; will see more.

David Fincher: B = Seven (F = Fight Club...sure, I'll go there), W = Alien 3

Terry Gilliam: B & F = Monty Python and the Holy Grail (2nd F = Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas),  W = Brothers Grimm.

DW Griffith: probably won't watch any of his stuff.

Jia Zhangke: I'll look into him.

Buster Keaton: OS = The General, will watch more.

Abbas Kiarostami: I really want to see Taste of Cherry and Certified Copy.

Brad Bird: B = Ratatouille (F = "Krusty Gets Busted"), W = haven't seen The Incredibles yet.

Harmony Korine: Maybe I'll check him out, probably not.

Akira Kurosawa: OS = Rashomon; this is embarrassing, but I'm addressing the problem.

Kenji Mizoguchi: I'll look into him.

David Lean: B = The Bridge on the River Kwai, haven't seen a bad film, but need to see more.

Joseph H. Lewis: I'll look into him.

Henry Hathaway: same.

Richard Linklater: B = Before Sunrise, W = haven't seen one I've hated.

Jospeh Losey: I'll look into him.

David Lynch: B = Mulholland Drive/Blue Velvet, W = Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Eraserhead (Jeff and Brandon are both right).

Terrence Malick: B = The Tree of Life (sure), W = I've seen them all and have loved them all.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz: OS = All About Eve, will definitely see more.

Anthony Mann: I'll look into him.

Michael Mann: B = Heat, W = Public Enemies (because it was kinda boring, not because of the camera).

Leo McCarey: B and F = Duck Soup, haven't seen one I've hated or enough of his stuff for that matter.

James Cameron: B = Terminator 2, W = Avatar (much deserved, even if it's an easy target)

Jean-Pierre Melville: I'll check him out.

Paul Thomas Anderson: B = There Will Be Blood, W = Boogie Nights (sorry Jeff, I don't hate it, but I'm not remotely crazy about it).

Quentin Tarantino: B = Inglorious Basterds, W = I don't hate any of his films, Death Proof was the most disappointing, though.

Danny Boyle: B = Trainspotting/28 Days Later, W = Slumdog Millionaire

Vincent Minnelli: I will watch his stuff soon.

Sam Peckinpah: same as above.

Arthur Penn: OS = Bonnie and Clyde.

James Whales: OS = Frankenstein.

Tod Browning: Will see Freaks and Dracula at some point.

Edgar G. Ulmer: I'll look into him.

Robert Zemeckis: B = Back to the Future, W = Beuwolf, Polar Express, A Christmas Carol

Powell and Pressburger: I'll look into them.

Yasujiro Ozu: I have plans to catch his stuff.

Otto Preminger: same.

Nicholas Ray: OS = Rebel Without a Cause; will see more.

Jean Renoir: OS = The Grand Illusion; will definitely see more.

Nicolas Roeg: OS = The Witches; I'll look into him.

Eric Rohmer: Haven't seen anything; I'll check out those VHS's, John.

Roberto Rossellini: I'll look into him.

Douglas Sirk: same.

Steven Soderbergh: B = Traffic (F = Ocean's 11), W = Ocean's 12

Steven Spielberg: B = Schindler's List (F = Catch Me If You Can, Raiders of the Lost Ark), W = Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Lost World

Andrei Tarkovsky: B = Solaris; need to see more.

Jacques Tati: I'll look into him.

Paul Verhoven: haven't seen any of his movies because most of them look like shit (but who am I? a nobody).

Jean Vigo: I'll look into him.

Raoul Walsh: B = The Roaring Twenties (F = White Heat...maybe); need to see more by him.

John Waters: Why do I feel like I've seen one of his films?? But I haven't. Pink Flamingos has been in my queue for years.

Peter Weir: B and F = The Truman Show, W = haven't seen enough to say.

Orson Welles: B = Citizen Kane, W = haven't seen enough to say.

Wim Wenders: OS = Wings of Desire, but am definitely looking into him.

Billy Wilder: B = Sunset Blvd. (F = Some Like It Hot, Double Indemnity), W = haven't seen a bad film by him.

William Wellman: Haven't seen any of his films, but that will change soon.

William Wyler: same as above.

Wong Kar-wai: I'll look into him, but I believe this is the second time he is on the list, no?

Zhang Yimou: I must see his stuff; essential contemporary viewing.

Victor Fleming: B = Gone With the Wind/The Wizard of Oz; haven't seen enough of his work.

Mark Robson: I'll look into him.

Robert Wise: OS = West Side Story and The Sound of Music; will see The Curse of the Cat People at some point.

Josef Von Sternberg: I'll look into him.

Sam Fuller: same as above.

Roman Polanski: B = Chinatown; haven't seen one I've hated, but haven't seen enough.

John Cassavetes: I'll look into him.

John Boorman: OS = Deliverance

Tobe Hooper: I'll catch some of his stuff.

Robert Rodriguez: B = Sin City, W = Sharkboy and Lava Girl 3D crap-tacular

William Friedkin: B = The Exorcist; haven't seen enough to say.

John Huston: OS = The African Queen, this will change soon.

Mike Leigh: OS = Another Year, but definitely would see more.

Kathryn Bigelow: OS = The Hurt Locker, maybe I'll see her other stuff. I still like her better than her ex-husband.

Oliver Stone: Why all the hate? Oh wait, he sucks.

Spike Lee: B and F = Do the Right Thing (2nd F = 25th Hour), W = He Got Game

Gus Van Sant: B = Milk/Elephant, W = haven't seen a bad one yet, but haven't seen all of his stuff.

Hayao Miyazaki: I'll look into him.

George Miller: Maybe.

Darren Aronofsky: B and F = The Fountain, W = yeah, probably The Wrestler.

Spike Jonze: B = Adaptation (shame on you, Brandon), F = Being John Malkovich, W = Where the Wild Things Are...sure.
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Directors I'm Adding:

Howard Hawks: B = Only Angels Have Wings; haven't seen a bad one yet, but need to see more.

Christopher Nolan: B and F = Memento, W = The Prestige, but I like it.

Cameron Crowe: B = Almost Famous, W = Elizabeth Town

Jean-Pierre Jeunet: B = Amelie, W = haven't seen enough.

People Brandon Forgot Because He Probably Didn't Want To Put Himself In a Sour Mood:

Mike Nichols: B = The Graduate, W = Closer

Sam Mendes: B = Away We Go, W = Jarhead

I had one or two other names, but I've forgotten. I'll try and remember them, though.

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