LawrenceA Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Nearly 21 years ago, the magazine Entertainment Weekly had an issue listing, in their estimation, the 50 greatest movie directors of all time. I'll post the list, and then I invite commentary on how the list should change now that we are 20 years further along. Who has risen in estimation, and who has fallen? Who, if any, have come on the scene since then that deserves a spot? 1) Alfred Hitchcock 2) Orson Welles 3) John Ford 4) Howard Hawks 5) Martin Scorsese 6) Akira Kurosawa 7) Buster Keaton 8) Ingmar Bergman 9) Frank Capra 10) Federico Fellini 11) Steven Spielberg 12) Jean Renoir 13) John Huston 14) Luis Bunuel 15) D.W. Griffith 16) Ernst Lubitsch 17) Robert Altman 18) George Cukor 19) Woody Allen 20) Vincente Minnelli 21) Francis Ford Coppola 22) Michael Powell 23) Stanley Kubrick 24) Billy Wilder 25) Satyajit Ray 26) Roman Polanski 27) Francois Truffaut 28) Preston Sturges 29) Sergei Eisenstein 30) Fritz Lang 31) Jean-Luc Godard 32) Sam Peckinpah 33) F. W. Murnau 34) David Lean 35) Werner Herzog 36) Nicholas Ray 37) Josef von Sternberg 38) Douglas Sirk 39) Max Ophuls 40) Louis Malle 41) Sergio Leone 42) Sidney Lumet 43) Oliver Stone 44) Bernardo Bertolucci 45) Jonathan Demme 46) Jacques Tati 47) Otto Preminger 48) Spike Lee 49) Tim Burton 50) Jerry Lewis Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 In my opinion, a few of the newer directors would no longer be on the list. Oliver Stone, Jonathan Demme and Tim Burton have all faded from prominence. Spike Lee's impact has also diminished a bit, but his import for black filmmakers and NY filmmakers of a certain age may keep him on the list. The notable older omissions I see include Robert Bresson, Yasujiro Ozu, Rene Clair, and Kenji Mizoguchi. There are no Australian or Chinese directors on the list, so I would consider including Peter Weir and Wong Kar-wai. Park Chan-wook from Korea is also a possibility. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu from Mexico is a contender. There are a few of the lesser respected "craftsmen" of old Hollywood, the guys who made solid films but without a personal, auteur touch, that I would include, particularly William Wyler and Michael Curtiz. I think, love him or hate him, Quentin Tarantino would likely appear on the list. My second favorite living filmmakers are the Coen brothers, who I'm sure would appear on the list now. At the time of the original list, EW weren't big fans of the Coens. I recall them begrudgingly conceding that Fargo was okay but they took undue glee when their next film, The Big Lebowski, flopped at the box office. Of course, it's gone on to become a huge cult favorite. EW has gone through various editorial changes, so I don't know if they still knock the Coens as frequently. Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 I'm quite surprised that Vittorio De Sica is not on that list. He has directed some great ones: The Children Are Watching Us 1944 Shoeshine 1946 Bicycle Thieves 1948 Miracle In Milan 1951 Umberto D. 1952 Terminal Station 1953 - his cut The Gold of Naples 1954 Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 1963 Marriage italian Style 1964 The Garden of the Finzi-Coninis 1970 A Brief Vacation 1973 Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 I'm quite surprised that Vittorio De Sica is not on that list. He has directed some great ones: Definitely, and that brings to mind Roberto Rossellini, who is also highly regarded. Luchino Visconti as well. I have personal favorites that would appear on my list, like David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, David Cronenberg, Michael Mann, John Carpenter, David Fincher, Jim Jarmusch and Terrence Malick. They've all had hits and misses, but so have the majority of names on the original list. Also, is it odd that Chaplin isn't on the list? Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Also, is it odd that Chaplin isn't on the list? My goodness, yes. Though I wonder if Entertainment Weekly is a bit mainstream I have to say that they do have some artsy choices as well. i.e., von Sternberg, Bunuel. Link to post Share on other sites
Bogie56 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 William Wyler is one of those names that is too easily overlooked. You could make the argument that he was the most complete film director. He could cut across any genre and was a fabulous actors director. Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 William Wyler is one of those names that is too easily overlooked. You could make the argument that he was the most complete film director. He could cut across any genre and was a fabulous actors director. Yeah, I think he gets overlooked because he wasn't an auteur. He didn't put a "signature" on his movies. He was the greatest of the studio craftsmen, I think, working successfully in so many different genres. Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted January 23, 2017 Author Share Posted January 23, 2017 I thought of a few more that I'm surprised weren't on there. Fred Zinnemann Elia Kazan Lewis Milestone George Stevens Carol Reed Michelangelo Antonioni Mike Nichols A few more still working are Wes Anderson, Clint Eastwood, Ang Lee and Ridley Scott. Link to post Share on other sites
jamesjazzguitar Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Yeah, I think he gets overlooked because he wasn't an auteur. He didn't put a "signature" on his movies. He was the greatest of the studio craftsmen, I think, working successfully in so many different genres. I agree with both Bogie and you when it comes to Wyler. That was the first director 'missing' from the list that I noticed. Link to post Share on other sites
skimpole Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Here is theyshootpictures.com list of the 50 greatest directors. Actually it will be updated later next month. Numbers in brackets are those from the EW list that are more than 10 spots different. 1. Alfred Hitchcock 2. Orson Welles 3. Stanley Kubrick (23) 4. Federico Fellini 5. Jean-Luc Godard (31) 6. Francis Ford Coppola (21) 7. Akira Kurosawa 8. Ingmar Bergman 9. Jean Renoir 10. John Ford 11. Yasujiro Ozu (-) 12. Martin Scorsese 13. Luis Buñuel 14. Andrei Tarkovsky (-) 15. Charles Chaplin (-) 16. Billy Wilder 17. Carl Theodor Dreyer (-) 18. Robert Bresson (-) 19. F.W. Murnau (33) 20. Michelangelo Antonioni (-) 21. Howard Hawks (4) 22. Fritz Lang 23. Sergei Eisenstein 24. François Truffaut 25. Steven Spielberg (11) 26. Kenji Mizoguchi (-) 27. Woody Allen 28. Roberto Rossellini (-) 29. David Lean 30. David Lynch (-) 31. Vittorio De Sica (-) 32. Alain Resnais (-) 33. Luchino Visconti (-) 34. Roman Polanski 35. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger (22) 36. John Cassavetes (-) 37. Sergio Leone 38. Satyajit Ray (25) 39. Wong Kar-wai (-) 40. Jean Vigo (-) 41. Ernst Lubitsch (16) 42. Ridley Scott (-) 43. Robert Altman (17) 44. Max Ophüls 45. Werner Herzog 46. Abbas Kiarostami (-) 47. Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly (-) 48. Dziga Vertov (-) 49. D.W. Griffith (15) 50. Chris Marker (-) Link to post Share on other sites
LawrenceA Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 Nice! Thanks for adding that, skimpole. I'm surprised by Chris Marker on the list. Also surprised about Coppola being that high, even if he did make 3 of my favorite films. I can't believe I forgot Tarkovsky earlier in the discussion. Link to post Share on other sites
kingrat Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Yeah, I think he gets overlooked because he wasn't an auteur. He didn't put a "signature" on his movies. He was the greatest of the studio craftsmen, I think, working successfully in so many different genres. I don't agree that Wyler didn't put a signature on his films. Films like Jezebel, Dodsworth, and The Best Years of Our Lives, to name only a few, could have been directed by no one else. Building tension by showing actors' backs and shooting important scenes through glass windows (BYOOL) are only two of his trademarks. Some of the auteurist criticism was excellent, some was incredibly foolish, and not regarding Wyler as one of the great directors is foolish. Essentially, all the established critical favorites (like Wyler) were junked by the auteurists because praising them didn't distinguish the auteurists' critical work from their predecessors. Incidentally, when I saw Lawrence's topic "50 Greatest Directors," my first thought was, "In my opinion or in their own minds?" Link to post Share on other sites
johnm001 Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 I wouldn't even try to list 50, but my top ten favorites are: Robert Wise Brian De Palma Alfred Hitchcock Howard Hawkes Don Siegel Victor Fleming John Ford Michael Curtiz Robert Stevenson Blake Edwards Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Gorman Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 → The 50 Greatest Directors are the directors who directed my 50 favorite movies. Link to post Share on other sites
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