The Greatest Directors' Best Films
Submitted by ash_campbell on Tue, 05/27/2003 - 03:35
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- 1. Alfred Hitchcock: North by Northwest (1959)
- This is a tough one, due to the sheer output by the Master of Suspense. Vertigo (1958) is a close second, and I dig Rear Window (1954), but North by Northwest is more suspenseful than the latter, and has more of Hitch’s broad humor than the former.
- 2. Akira Kurosawa: Ran (1985)
- Again, a very difficult one. Ask me on another day, and I’d say Ikiru (1952), but really, Kurosawa is best known for his samurai genre films, and Ran is about as beautiful as a film comes.
- 3. John Huston: The Maltese Falcon (1941)
- Sometimes you get it right the first time. Masterful debut set the bar high for Huston, and he often came close, though never surpassed this effort.
- 4. Francois Truffaut: Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
- Truffaut, critic turned filmmaker, loved Hitchcock and emulated him better than anyone else ever has. I like this one better than The Bride Wore Black, and barely more than The 400 Blows (1959) (a different genre all together).
- 5. Billy Wilder: The Apartment (1960)
- This one is vastly superior to Some Like It Hot (1959), although I’m less sure it’s better than Double Indemnity (1944) or Sunset Blvd (1950).
- 6. Stanley Kubrick: The Shining (1980)
- Almost went with A Clockwork Orange (1971), but here, Kubrick does so much more with so much less.
- 7. The Coen Brothers: The Big Lebowski (1998)
- Yes, Fargo (1996) won the awards. Yes, Miller’s Crossing (1990) is visually more appealing. Yes, Blood Simple (1985) is the better story. But, scene for scene, this is the most enjoyable of them all.
- 8. Steven Spielberg: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- If you said Schindler’s List (1993), I wouldn’t argue…much.
- 9. Orson Welles: Citizen Kane (1941)
- Another in the first-time got-it-right category, this film never ceases to impress me. Welles would go on to do some great projects (Touch of Evil come to mind), but he never again got the freedom he had here.
- 10. Jean Renoir: Rules of the Game (1939)
- Understood the human condition like very few other directors have.
Author Comments:
I'm interested both in disagreements over who was selected, the film chosesn, as well as their place on the list. Go to Part II.
Hey, great list, and nice to have another new user that includes comments with their lists! Were this my list I don't think I would have picked any of the same movies, but when you're talking about such great directors it's not like either of us could be "right." The only entry where we'd greatly diverge is in the Coen Brothers. While I do like most of their movies, I think they are out of their league when you look at the other directors on this list. Furthermore, I'd have to put Lebowski near the bottom of their ranked output (reserving the bottom rung for The Man Who Wasn't There).
I admire you picking Ran or Ikiru as Kurosawa's best, when most folks seem to favor The Seven Samurai or Rashoman (I'm a Samurai man, personally, although I've never seen any of Kurosawa's non-period pieces).
Oh wait - I was too hasty! We agree on Raiders. Speilberg's best. I can't wait for the DVD, even if it will be issued as a box set only.
Goovy list.
I hope the directors aren't in any sort of order; otherwise, Orson at number nine (especially with that ol' over-rated Hitch on top) borders on the unbelievable.
I'd have to echo Jim's thoughts on the C. Bros and your choice of Big Lebowski.
The Apartment is an excellent choice for Wilder, though I have a hard time seeing any of his films standing up to Sunset Blvd.
I dig your Hitchcock, Renoir, Spielberg, Kurosawa Huston, and Truffaut choices. I'm not sure I agree with all of them, but those films are definitely in the running in some close races.
Kubrick - The Shining? *Really*? I don't even see it close to his best.
I like The Quiet Man, but I wouldn't place it among Ford's best. Are you a western fan?
No silent directors, eh?
Fritz Lang could certainly whip most of the directors on this list with one arm behind his back, IMHO.
Howard Hawks also could fit in here, but going off your choices, he would probably be too subtle for your list. These are all rather showy directors (and that's not a criticism; showiness can be a good thing [see: Welles, Orson])!
Great list, and welcome!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Hawks would be in a top twenty, and the film I'd pick for him would be To Have and Have Not.
I dig silent film, but it has to work a lot harder to stay fresh. The other problem is that, for the viewer, it takes a lot more work to get through a reasonable amount of any one directors work, since finding them can be tricky. The best recent one I've seen is The Phantom of the Opera (with Lon Chaney).
I love good westerns; the Wild Bunch is a particular fave of mine. My reasoning with The Quiet Man is the co-habitation of multiple genres; from outright comedy to romance to a lot of action (love that fist fight scene). Something like The Searchers is too narrow in scope, although it might be more representative of Ford as a director.
Finally, glad to be here. I look forward to reading other stuff and making more lists.
The Phantom of the Opera is a great silent, and one of the first I watched as a younger boy. I remember the local K-Mart sold a line of (generally) poor-quality public domain video tapes for two to four dollars each. I was around 14 when I bought the Phantom on a whim, and I loved it.
Ah, good times. In fact, I believe that was the name of the company who made the tape - Goodtimes!
The Wild Bunch is a great film. I also agree that The Searchers isn't really Ford's greatest film, but I'm not sure that The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance isn't. The Quiet Man is definitely a very, VERY good film.
Great to have you here, and hope this list is the first of many!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
This is definetely a great list. I'm very close to your opinions on a few. I would have taken Rear Window as Hitchcock's best, 2001: a space odyssey as Kubrick's, Shindler's List as Spielberg's, and extreme honorable mention to The Magnificent Ambersons for Welles.
Again, a great list. Ciao.
Also, I'm so relieved to see that you think The Apartment is Wilder's best. I love this movie so much and it really does surpass Some Like it Hot by a lot (even though I love that movie as well).
I can't remember, directorspen, have you seen Sunset Blvd, my favorite Wilder?
Just curious...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Well, if it makes you feel better, I've got Rear Window here and Schindler's List here.