Greatest film director?

[Madmick]

Spielberg is the best ever. I don't even know how this is a debate.

He's done every genre and hit a home run with each one. He's diversified and makes pop culture mainstays.

He's not Spielberg, but another great director who is like this that I don't think I've seen mentioned is Danny Boyle.

Trainspotting
Slumdog Millionaire
28 Days Later
127 Hours
Millions
Steve Jobs
Sunshine
Trance

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

He's not Spielberg, but another great director who is like this that I don't think I've seen mentioned is Danny Boyle.

Trainspotting
Slumdog Millionaire
28 Days Later
127 Hours
Millions
Steve Jobs
Sunshine
Trance

I really like the movie Sunshine.


Also how is no one saying (unless I missed the post) the Coen Brothers??




Those guys are legitimally legends and some how severely underrated. Their names don't get tossed around all that often.

Lebowski
Fargo
No Country for Old Men
Barton Fink
Raising Arizona
True Grit
Oh Brother
Hudsucker Proxy
Millers Crossing

Their dialogue and stories are always very well done. Every movie they directed has been good. Most are excellent.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Spielberg is the best ever. I don't even know how this is a debate.

He's done every genre and hit a home run with each one. He's diversified and makes pop culture mainstays.

He has not hit a home run in every genre. He tried and failed miserably in comedy with 1942 or whatever it was called.

 

[Fedorgasm]

I really like the movie Sunshine.


Also how is no one saying (unless I missed the post) the Coen Brothers??




Those guys are legitimally legends and some how severely underrated. Their names don't get tossed around all that often.

Lebowski
Fargo
No Country for Old Men
Barton Fink
Raising Arizona
True Grit
Oh Brother
Hudsucker Proxy
Millers Crossing

Their dialogue and stories are always very well done. Every movie they directed has been good. Most are excellent.

I still don't see what's so great about the coen brothers. They make mildly interesting quirky movies. They're ok but i don't get why everyone is so blown away by them. I'd put them on par with Wes Anderson

 

[Fedorgasm]

People love to hate on my boy Mikey Bay but the dude makes money.

List of highest-grossing directors
Rank Name Total worldwide box office
1 Steven Spielberg $9.246 billion
2 Peter Jackson $6.518 billion
3 James Cameron $6.139 billion
4 Michael Bay $5.776 billion

What's funny is that Spielberg appears to be the king of that list, but cameron's number 3 with only a handful of films. If you did a revenue per film average he would crush Spielberg.

 

[dr_hellno]

Spielberg is the best ever. I don't even know how this is a debate.

I sentence you to an eternity of "1942."

 

[Madmick]

He has not hit a home run in every genre. He tried and failed miserably in comedy with 1942 or whatever it was called.

I truly hope you're not implying that Spielberg can't handle comedy. Comedic scenes and exchanges are littered throughout his films. He made a man getting chomped by a carnivorous dinosaur, shown quite graphically, to be one of the funniest moments in movies that year. And it was a tired old joke, but he pulled it off. Wasn't humorous at all in the book. Really, more nasty than humorous. Crichton doesn't like lawyers. That was all Spielberg. It was like Indiana Jones pulling out his gun on the swordmaster.

What's funny is that Spielberg appears to be the king of that list, but cameron's number 3 with only a handful of films. If you did a revenue per film average he would crush Spielberg.

That's not the race.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

I sentence you to an eternity of "1942."

Or Jurassic park

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

Mick pretty much nails it. Spielbergs movies are littered with comedy and sarcastic fun hearted moments.

If The only straw you could pull at is 1942 than you better come up with a new plan.

 

[dr_hellno]

Or Jurassic park

I like Jurassic Park! I actually think Close Encounters is his best, is great, with Minority Report in second. But he's a pandering schlockmeister. Which is not a bad thing, but he deserves to be nowhere near the top of the list.

 

[KONG-D'SNT-TAP]

I like Jurassic Park! I actually think Close Encounters is his best, is great, with Minority Report in second. But he's a pandering schlockmeister. Which is not a bad thing, but he deserves to be nowhere near the top of the list.

Well schindlers list, jaws, catch me if you can, saving private Ryan,and Indiana jones series disagrees. Plus all his other movies, like his underrated ones like Munich, Amistad, War of the Worlds and AI.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Pre or post-jump?

Terrible, I know.

How dare you tarnish the memory of Tony Scott. @dr_hellno

 

[dr_hellno]

How dare you tarnish the memory of Tony Scott. @dr_hellno

I mean, I don't know why this whole thread just isn't entitled "Domino." But hey - genius rarely goes recognized in its time. Perhaps now that he's bit the big fat one in the sky...

 

[dr_hellno]

War of the Worlds

I take back my original "I condemn you to an eternity of '1942'" and replace it with "I condemn you to an eternity of Dakota Fanning's screaming and Tim Robbin's monologues."

P.S. "Duel" is pretty good.

 

[JSN]

This anecdote would be more compelling if the objective sources were substantiating your opinion, but they've contradicted it. Furthermore, perhaps you will find this compelling:
Google Search results for "Akira Kurosawa stencil" (stencils fill the top two rows, dominate the next one, and then are scattered throughout the rest of the page)
Google Search results for "Ingmar Bergman stencil" (I see one stencil image in the top results-- 3rd row, on a t-shirt)

I can start going into Google & Alexa analytics if you so desire in addition to what I've already presented which paints a very straightforward picture. Nothing will favor these guys over Akira for the simple reason that I'm not fabricating this; they simply aren't as popular.

well in that case, Michael Bay is far more popular than any of the people we're talking about. He must be better.

 

[Sir Galahad]

I mean, I don't know why this whole thread just isn't entitled "Domino." But hey - genius rarely goes recognized in its time. Perhaps now that he's bit the big fat one in the sky...

He's directed the iconic film Top Gun and that alone should elevate him to the top. @dr_hellno

 

[Madmick]

well in that case, Michael Bay is far more popular than any of the people we're talking about. He must be better.

Except that popularity was just one of the pillars we were discussing. Bay's films don't register with serious appeal; not even with the people who enjoy them most. That's why he doesn't sniff the Top #250 after time settles in.

 

[mmascene]

Werner Herzog

 

[CO68]

Objective qualifications become easier when you get this ambitious.

If The Shining doesn't make the cut, and if that's where you wish to set the benchmark

Not really where I set the benchmark, but pointed it out because it also has its share of detractors. I have a movie guide book done by Mick Martin and Marsha Porter that gave it a mere 2.5/5. If I wanted a benchmark, then I could point out Liberty Valance. What lists does that make? I'm not sure why you wouldn't want to include the likes of The General, One Flew, M, and Metropolis. They all have better scores than The Shining at rottentomatoes. The General is #34 on Sight & Sound's list, #143 on IMDB, and #18 on AFI's list. M and Metropolis aren't eligible for the AFI list as they're German films, but M is #56 on the Sight & Sound list, and #74 at IMDB while Metropolis is #36 on the Sight & Sound list and #104 at IMDB. Empire magazine has them both high on their The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema list. Then, there's One Flew which has a better placement than The Shining on Sight & Sound's director list, is #16 at IMDB, #33 on AFI's list, and it won 5 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Screenplay).

It doesn't even make the cut for the AFI's Greatest 100 Films and you're trying to argue that it has the canonical capital to make a case for it. If it registered on this level, then it would be on that list, not parked in the also-ran handicap list for comedies. Sherlock Jr. doesn't cut it.

You know what else isn't on AFI's top 100 list? The Shining. I can look at Sight & Sound's top 250 list and see Sherlock, Jr. at #59 while The Shining is tied at #154. Sherlock, Jr. has an 8.3 rating at IMDB, which is just a hair below The Shining. If I look at rottentomatoes, then The Shining is at 88% with an average rating of 8.5, and an audience score of 4/5 while Sherlock, Jr. is at 97% with an average rating of 9.7 and an audience score of 4.3/5.

Think about what you're asserting. In this context you are placing Sherlock Jr. on par with Apocalypse Now, Rear Window, A Touch of Evil, Rashomon, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Saving Private Ryan, Raging Bull or Goodfellas

Yes, it's on par. The only thing holding it back is its short runtime of about 45 mins. I get it, some may not consider it because of its runtime. What makes Liberty Valance on par with those listed movies?

 

[CO68]

That was all Spielberg. It was like Indiana Jones pulling out his gun on the swordmaster.

That was Ford's idea.