What Favorite Films By Some Film Directors Say About Your Personality
Submitted by dgeiser13 on Tue, 12/02/2008 - 05:42
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Ben Tesch recommends (and Kottke reblogs) a personality test based on a person's favorite film by a number of directors...
1. Joel Coen
2. Wes Anderson
3. Hal Ashby
4. Kevin Smith
5. Quentin Tarantino
with Kottke adding...
6. Stanley Kubrick
7. P.T. Anderson
8. Errol Morris
To me Ashby really stands out on this list as all of the other directors are really auteurs at heart. If it were me I'd drop Ashby and add David Lynch amongst others. I'm starting my own list. What say you?
I think its a great topic. I like it very much. Its so interesting.So i want some information for sharing this side with some of my friend. Thanks.
Okay, here's my own list of ten directors. The films you like best of these filmmakers may very well say something about your personality or taste, and I've tried to stay very close to the whole auteur theory: They've all both written and directed the majority--or at least some of--their output.
I also haven't used any directors anyone else in this thread has used.
1. Woody Allen - Match Point
2. Ingmar Bergman - Persona
3. Charles Chaplin - The Great Dictator
4. Alejandro González Iñárritu - Amores perros
5. Alexander Payne - Sideways
6. Roman Polanski - Chinatown
7. Sam Raimi - Spider-Man 2
8. Martin Scorsese - Mean Streets
9. Oliver Stone - Platoon
10. Billy Wilder - Sunset Blvd.
Totally ditto your Scorcese and Billy Wilder.
Let's see:
1. Woody Allen - Annie Hall
2. Ingmar Bergman - Persona
3. Charles Chaplin - The Great Dictator
4. Alejandro González Iñárritu - Amores perros
5. Alexander Payne - Sideways
6. Roman Polanski - Chinatown
7. Sam Raimi - A Simple Plan
8. Martin Scorsese - The Departed
9. Oliver Stone - JFK
10. Billy Wilder - Sunset Blvd.
OK, this would NOT be my list of directors, but since I've seen a lot of their work, these would be my least-of-evils choices:
Joel Coen: Raising Arizona
Wes Anderson: Darjeeling Limited
Hal Ashby: Being There
Kevin Smith: Chasing Amy
Quentin Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs
Bonus
Stnaley Kubrick: 2001: A Space Odyssey
P.T. Anderson: Magnolia
Errol Morris: Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
If I made my own list of directors, it would be this:
Howard Hawks: Sergeant York
George Cukor: The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Akira Kurosawa: Seven Samurai (1954)
Alfred Hitchcock: To Catch a Thief (1955)
Peter Jackson: Lord of the Rings
John Ford: Young Mr. Lincoln
How's that for a personality test?
Howard Hawks: His Girl Friday
George Cukor: The Philadelphia Story
Akira Kurosawa: Ran
Alfred Hitchcock: Rope
Peter Jackson: King Kong
John Ford: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Ooh! Ooh! I'll do yours, too.
Howard Hawks: Bringing Up Baby
George Cukor: The Philadelphia Story
Akira Kurosawa: Seven Samurai
Alfred Hitchcock: Rebecca
Peter Jackson: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
John Ford: The Grapes of Wrath
I'm gonna come up with my own soon...
Martin Scorsese should be on there.
So do you think Billy Wilder and William Wyler could be added to the list? Maybe John Ford? I'm trying to think of other well-known auteurs.
I think Billy Wilder might be a good addition because he directed so much of his own writing. I'm not so sure about the other two.
You know what might be interesting? Sidney Lumet. He's a master filmmaker, though I know he's not an auteur; rather, every movie he makes seems radically different than the last. Your favorite Lumet might say something broader about what kinds of films you most enjoy.
That's just a thought, though.
I don't get the "personality test" part of this. Aren't we just listing favorite directors?
No. I think the point is to have a definite list of directors. These directors have more than a few films under the belt, generally make good movies, and who have singular films which people usually tend to like more than the other films in their body of work.
I swapped out Ashby because he was the directors who seemed to be most unlike the others on the list whereas Lynch seemed to fit in well with the others on the list.
The personality test part comes in when you have a bunch of people list their favorite films by that defined list of directors. Somehow, based on your choices, you could define a personality type. Unfortunately at this point the connection between your choices and your personality type has not clearly been identified. And all Ben Tesch (the original poster) says is "Judge accordingly".
I just thought it was an interesting concept and much more fun to analyze and think about than the regular Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
No, you are listing favorite movies by famous directors.
Come on, Luke, have some imagination! For example, WriterWill37's favorite Coen Bros movie is Fargo, which means his personality would drive him to dispose of his enemies by putting them in a wood-chipper. CaptMal, on the other hand, prefers No Country for Old Men, meaning his personality makes him predisposed to murdering with a pneumatic air gun.
Bah! You figured me out!
Right-o, I'll play.
1. Joel Coen: The Big Lebowski (it alternates with Miller's Crossing)
2. Wes Anderson: Rushmore
3. Hal Ashby: Harold and Maude (why the major dislike for it? I love it, personally)
4. Kevin Smith: Clerks (out of default)
5. Quentin Tarantino: Pulp Fiction
6. Stanley Kubrick: 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. P.T. Anderson: Boogie Nights
8. Errol Morris: The Fog Of War
9. David Lynch: Mulholland Drive (the only "difficult" Lynch movie I've enjoyed, actually)
awww...I like Harold & Maude just fine! Definitely one of my contenders, although I finally settled on The Last Detail. :-)
Okay, someone give me a psych evaluation:
1. Joel Coen - No Country for Old Men
2. Wes Anderson - The Royal Tenenbaums
3. Hal Ashby - Being There (but I've only seen this and Harold and Maude, and didn't like either)
4. Kevin Smith - Clerks.
5. Quentin Tarantino - Pulp Fiction
6. Stanley Kubrick - 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. P.T. Anderson - Boogie Nights
8. Errol Morris - The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. Macnamara (only one I've seen, but I loved it)
9. David Lynch - The Elephant Man
Joel Coen - The Big Lebowski
Wes Anderson - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Hal Ashby - Harold and Maude is all I've seen and I hated it
Kevin Smith - Clerks.
Quentin Tarantino - Pulp Fiction
Stanley Kubrick - The Killing
P.T. Anderson - Boogie Nights
Errol Morris - The Fog of War is all I've seen and I thought it was okay
David Lynch - Eraserhead
1. Coen - Miller's Crossing
2. W. Anderson - Royal Tenenbaums
3. Ashby - easily Harold and Maude
4. Smith - Clerks
5. Tarantino - Pulp Fiction
6. Kubrick - probably Dr. Strangelove
7. P.T. Anderson - easily There Will Be Blood
8. Morris - The Thin Blue Line
9. Lynch - Mulholland Drive
I think my choices for Coen, Lynch, Tarantino, and both Andersons indicate that I prefer more developed, intricate films to rawer, messier, more rudimentary works (although I came very close to picking Eraserhead for Lynch). My Smith choice contradicts that theory, but it may be an anomaly based on the fact that I don't really love any of Smith's movies, and haven't seen Zack and Miri Make a Porno yet.
My Morris choice may fit into this theory as well, but it may just mean that I find court cases more interesting than pet cemeteries or the Vietnam War.
All of my choices have other factors in their favor, of course, e.g., I think Pulp Fiction's themes are brilliant and that it is the greatest film of the 90s; I didn't think Rushmore or The Life Aquatic were very funny or interesting; I wasn't a big fan of Boogie Nights and although I love most of Punch-Drunk Love, I do find it flawed; etc.
I think my Ashby and Kubrick choices indicate that I love really inventive comedies, although there are a good number of other movies I could've just as soon picked for Kubrick (and almost went with Paths of Glory).
So if you're looking for a funny guy who enjoys complex beauty, I'm your man.
I'd go...
Joel Coen - Fargo
Wes Anderson - The Darjeeling Limited
Hal Ashby - The Last Detail
Kevin Smith - Clerks. (favorite film)
Quentin Tarantino - Pulp Fiction (close second)
Stanley Kubrick - A Clockwork Orange
P.T. Anderson - Magnolia
Haven't seen anything by Morris, unfortunately.
Coming late to the party, but I want to do them all! (Lists! Lists!) They may not match the favorites on my "100 Directors" list, but many of my favorites are very close calls, and I'm going with my mood right now.
Joel Coen: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Wes Anderson: Bottle Rocket
Hal Ashby: The Last Detail
Kevin Smith: Dogma
Quentin Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs
David Lynch: Mulholland Drive
Stanley Kubrick: Barry Lyndon (even though I normally hate Ryan O'Neal...I also really love The Killing and Paths of Glory)
P.T. Anderson: Boogie Nights (haven't seen TWBBlood, though)
Errol Morris: The Thin Blue Line
Howard Hawks: The Big Sleep
George Cukor: The Women
Akira Kurosawa: Seven Samurai
Alfred Hitchcock: Notorious
Peter Jackson: Lord of the Rings, I guess
John Ford: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (narrowly followed by six others at least)
Woody Allen - Manhattan
Ingmar Bergman - The Seventh Seal
Charles Chaplin - The Great Dictator
Alejandro González Iñárritu - 21 Grams (but haven't seen Amores perros)
Alexander Payne - About Schmidt
Roman Polanski - Chinatown
Sam Raimi - A Simple Plan
Martin Scorsese - The Departed
Oliver Stone - Platoon
Billy Wilder - The Apartment
Have to add some of my big favorites (sorry!):
Kenji Mizoguchi: Ugetsu
Yasujiro Ozu: Late Spring
Ernst Lubitsch: Trouble in Paradise
Max Ophuls: Madame de ...
William Wyler: The Westerner
I know...this psych profile probably means I have a big problem setting limits, and never know when to freaking quit. ;-)
Joel Coen: The big Lebowski (seen only 8 of 13)
Wes Anderson: The Darjeeling limited (seen 4 of 5)
Hal Ashby: (only seen Being there of 12)
Kevin Smith: Clerks. (6 of 8)
Quentin Tarantino: Reservoir dogs (6 of 6)
Stanley Kubrick: Full metal jacket (7 of 13)
P.T. Anderson: Magnolia (3 of 6)
Errol Morris: (only seen The fog of war of 7)
Alfred Hitchcock: North by northwest (5? of 56?)
Peter Jackson: The lord of the rings: The fellowship of the ring (4 of 9)
Woody Allen: Match point (7 of 38)
Charles Chaplin: Modern times (3? of 75?)
Sam Raimi: liked none (3 of 15)
Martin Scorsese: Taxi driver (12 of 28)
Oliver Stone: Wall street (10 of 18)
So, like, how much does it horrify me that I've never seen any Mizoguchi or Ozu? And I call myself a film buff...! I also haven't seen any Ophuls.
But I do love William Wyler, and my favorite of his is without a doubt The Best Years of Our Lives.
I bet it horrifies you about as much as it does me that I *forgot* The Best Years of Our Lives when considering Wyler! As much as I care for The Westerner , I hereby change my Wyler answer.
I'm actually jealous that you haven't "met" Mizoguchi, Ozu, or Ophuls yet; it means you have so many pleasures (I hope) awaiting you. Mizoguchi is still not easy to find in the U.S. on DVD, but Criterion has published beautiful editions of two of my favorite films, Ugetsu (one of my favorite films, period), and Sansho the Bailiff. C. also just released three of his films on their "Eclipse" label. Can't wait for more of them to surface... Criterion has *really* gone to town on Ozu -- there are several full-treatment Criterion CDs of his major works, and two wonderful Eclipse sets of his silents and later work. Criterion to the rescue again with Ophuls: they just released Madame de ... (another of my all-time favorite films), Le Plaisir , and La Ronde (all really good). Letter from an Unknown Woman is also one of his best; I don't think it's readily available in the U.S. on DVD (imports are around, but you can't just pick up a copy in a store, as far as I know), but there are solid VHS copies around, at least---it's another of my favorites in the wider film world. Sorry to go on and on, but they're three of my favorite directors (along with Wilder, Ford, Kurosawa, Lubitsch, Hitchcock, Hawks, Ray, blah, blah, yes, I'm obsessed).
I just saw my first Fassbinder film last night -- Veronika Voss . My head's still sort of "in it," if you know what I mean, thinking about it and remembering the experience... Really looking forward to seeing more.
I put Madame de... in my Netflix queue recently!
Oh, uh...
David Lynch - Blue Velvet