Winner June '02

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Other Winners & How to Win!

Who are your Favorite Directors?

Posted by: Mike Stone (MFUNK75)

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This list took me longer to get right than I thought it would. Much shuffling of position took place before I thought it ready for posting. I still don't think it's "right", but my 25 favourite directors, in ascending order, are:

25. Mike Newell-- because it shocked me when I found out that "Four Weddings and a Funeral" & "Donnie Brasco", two films I have much affection for from vastly different genres, were both directed by the same man.

24. Guy Ritchie -- because although "Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels" & "Snatch" are basically the same films with different casts, I love 'em both dearly, and won't ever tire of watching them. I expect Ritchie to zoom up the list after he makes film #3 (and 4, and 5…)

23. Terry Zwigoff -- because "Crumb" is my top of the heap documentary favourite, and because "Ghost World" is equally pleasurable. Not a prolific director, but when the quality is this good, I don't mind.

22. Kevin Smith -- because his limits as a lensman are more than compensated for by his samurai-like powers as a screenwriter.

21. Billy Wilder -- because "The Apartment", and "Sunset Boulevard", and "Some Like it Hot", etc., are all so good. Not great, but good. For some reason Wilder hasn't taken a position closer to my heart, but I expect as I grow older, his films will grow on me.

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20. Neil LaBute -- because "In the Company of Men" and "Your Friends and Neighbors" were so unabashedly vitriolic. Vitriol is a fine tonic on my worst days.

19. Alfred Hitchcock -- because even though they each contain glaring flaws (the psychiatrist's exposition from "Psycho"; the ennui of "Vertigo"; the cold technique of "Rear Window"), his masterpieces still manage to be masterpieces. And because "North by Northwest" is one of the best damned thrillers ever made.

18. Stanley Kubrick -- because he managed to make the tripped-out space case that was "2001" and the bleak and black satire that was "Dr. Strangelove". Even though I find watching Kubrick's films an aseptic experience, I still find myself watching them.

17. Richard Linklater -- because "Before Sunrise" is one of my top romantic films, because he asks questions that no one else ask in "Slacker" and "Waking Life", and because "Dazed & Confused" and "The Newton Boys" were bold failures that I still find myself appreciating.

16. Steven Spielberg -- because he's been so good for so long.

15. George Cukor -- because he directed "The Philadelphia Story", one of my favourite romantic comedies, and "Holiday", which is damn near as good.

14. George Roy Hill -- because even though Paul Newman and Robert Redford deserve much of the credit for "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting", you still have to acknowledge that George was behind the camera for both. Plus, he took an admiral stab at turning "Slaughterhouse-Five", one of my favourite unfilmable books, into a credible film.

13. Cameron Crowe-- because, if for nothing else, he created Lloyd Dobler ("Say Anything…").

12. Jean-Pierre Jeunet -- because "Amelie" was spellbinding, heartwarming, and magical, while "The City of Lost Children", "Delicatessen", and yes even "Alien: Resurrection" were all creepy nightmares.

11. James Cameron -- because "Terminator 2" is still one of my most visceral theatre going experiences, because "Titanic" is not as bad as you all say it is, and because "The Abyss" is even better.

10. Sam Raimi -- because he made "Evil Dead", "Evil Dead 2", and "Army of Darkness" for no money, while still making them eye-popping (pun intended). And then he got a big budget, a big cast, and deconstructed the western with "The Quick and the Dead".

9. Anthony Minghella -- because, despite my well-developed cynical attitude, "The English Patient" really got me. And then because he killed Jude Law after making you love him in "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

8. Quentin Tarantino -- because he's written and directed three, top-notch crime films. And they're still fresh even after spawning a mountain of imitators.

7. Woody Allen -- because he found the fine line between perfectly constructed jokes and anhedonia.

6. David Lean -- because he "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge on the River Kwai" are the only films I know of that wear the tag 'epic' well.

5. Francis Ford Coppola -- because he went berserk making "Apocalypse Now" and it works, because he went berserk making "The Godfather" trilogy and they work, and because he showed Gene Hackman going berserk in "The Conversation".

4. David Fincher -- because "Se7en" and "Fight Club" are full of style, but it never gets in the way of stories that are engaging and intelligent and a little sick. Sick in a good way.

3. Christopher Nolan -- because "Memento" won't be his only hit; anyone who's seen "Following" and "Insomnia" knows this guy's got the brains to stick around for awhile.

2. Joel Coen -- because he and brother Ethan can knock down a genre as if it were a house of cards, because they write thought-provoking, eclectic and witty screenplays, and because they gave the world Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, et al.

1. Wes Anderson -- because his first three movies -- "Bottle Rocket", "Rushmore", and "The Royal Tenenbaums" -- are, to me, all perfect.

- Mike Stone

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