Top 20 Directors (5-1)

 5. David Fincher

Films: Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network

            David Fincher is a greatly talented, fairly young director. His films are often psychological and can certainly be considered thrillers. Fincher has created amazingly fresh films in the past 20 years. Fincher’s first “real” film was Alien³ in 1992. It is considered a fair final to the trilogy, which is impressive considering the first two are sci-fi/horror classics that were directed by Ridley Scott and James Cameron respectively. Fincher’s next film, Se7en, is ranked number 28 on the IMDb.com Top 250 films of all time list and was nominated for an Oscar. Fincher’s next film, The Game, went under the radar. I hadn’t even heard of it until last year (It was released in 1997). I gave it 10 out of 10 stars on IMDb.com when I saw it. He followed this by IMDb’s 18^th ranked film, Fight Club, the box office hit but poorly reviewed, Panic Room, another great film that went under the radar, Zodiac, the triple Oscar winner, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and IMDb’s 149^th ranked, The Social Network. It is of my opinion that David Fincher has never made a bad film. His next film due out in 2011 is the American remake of the Swedish hit, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Not many directors can effectively remake a movie 2 years after the release of the original. Although I don’t think the remake should happen, I have faith in Fincher to at least make a good film.

4. Alfred Hitchcock

Films: The 39 Steps, Sabotage, Rebecca, Suspicion, Saboteur, Shadow of a Doubt, Spellbound, Notorious, Rope, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie

            This man and the next two directors on this list should not come as a surprise to anybody. Alfred Hitchcock has passed on but he has left us one of the most impressive collections of films that have ever been compiled. He was nominated for 5 Oscars for Best Director, but sadly never won. Empire magazine ranks Hitchcock as the second best director of all time. He is known as the greatest horror movie director ever, for his intricate murder scenes, and ability to get people on the edge of their seats. Hitchcock made successful film after successful film, most of which have been able to withstand the test of time. Hitchcock was likely the most famous director before Steven Spielberg, which is amazing for somebody who strictly directed horror/suspense/psychological type films. Many of his films share similar themes as well as similar casts.  

3. Martin Scorsese

Films: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, New York New York, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island

            Martin Scorsese is known primarily for directing gangster films and he is certainly the best at it. Scorsese works with high profile actors such as Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Scorsese has worked with DeNiro on 8 films and with DiCaprio on 4 films. Scorsese taught two other directors on this list how to direct (Spike Lee & Oliver Stone). Six of Scorsese’s films are on IMDb.com’s Top 250 list. Scorsese finally won his long overdue Oscar for Best Director in 2006 for his work on The Departed. Scorsese has been on a roll of late and is set to direct 3 new films in the upcoming years, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Sinatra, and Silence. Each of these films sound like they are going to be awesome.

2. Stanley Kubrick

Films: Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut

            The person who is number one on this list is number one because I think when all is said and done he will be deserving of number one. If all of these directors directed at the same time and possible future films were not taken in to play, Stanley Kubrick would be my number one favorite director. In my opinion Kubrick is the most versatile director ever. Kubrick’s films were not simple films; each film is a masterpiece, like a Picasso painting. Kubrick died unexpectedly in 1999 when he released his final film, Eyes Wide Shut. Sadly, Eyes Wide Shut was not received well by critics and he could not win a posthumous win for Best Director or Best Film. Kubrick had a bit of strangeness throughout his films; he seems to be the main inspiration for the directing styles of David Fincher, Darren Aronofsky, and Paul Thomas Anderson among many others. Kubrick received Oscar nominations for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and Full Metal Jacket. Four of his films were ranked on AFI’s list of the 100 best films of all time.

1. Quentin Tarantino

Films: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill vol. 1, Kill Bill vol. 2, Sin City, Death Proof, Inglourious Basterds

            This may be the most contested choice in the top 5. I am in love with every Quentin Tarantino film I have seen. Tarantino is an eccentric director and actor (Much better director than actor). He is known for the incredible scenes of dialogue he puts in his films. These scenes often feature hilarious points of view of philosophical topics or philosophical points of view on hilarious topics. Most of Tarantino’s films include a “Mexican Standoff” (Three or more characters point guns at each other at the same time). He uses a lot of elements from “film-noir” and “spaghetti westerns”. Tarantino will likely never win an Academy Award for Best Director because his films are often frowned upon for the seemingly pointless violence and language. Tarantino’s favorite directors include Brian De Palma (Scarface, Carrie), Sergio Leone, and Martin Scorsese. Tarantino has a lot of time left to direct more great films and that is why he is my top ranked director. I can’t imagine disliking a Tarantino film unless he made drastic changes from his trademark style.