Favorite Directors

[ChiO]

Between thinking of Silents (non-comedy) and “The Worst Movie Ever”, here is my selfish request. List your favorite directors (any number you wish) and, for each director, list three movies (preferably available for rental, at least in your region*) – not necessarily your favorites – that you would recommend as representative of the director’s range or periods or in answer to another’s question “Why should I watch movies by this director?”. This is NOT a poll to determine the “Best,” “Favorite,” or “Bestavorite.” This is a “selfish request” because:

(1) There are a small handful of actors that will cause me to watch a movie, but there are dozens of directors (and more than a handful of cinematographers and writers) whose movies I’ll watch just because they were involved;
(2) It will help me in checking out those directors that either (a) I don’t care for, or (b) I’m not familiar with; and,
(3) As former General Counsel to the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, I am qualified to make snap judgments about our SSO members based on this flimsy evidence.

Here are my Top 25**, the first five being in order of preference and, thereafter, in alphabetical order:

Orson Welles: Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, F For Fake
Carl Th. Dreyer: The Passion of Joan of Arc, Day of Wrath, Ordet
Jacques Tourneur: Cat People, Out of the Past, Stars in My Crown
Samuel Fuller: The Steel Helmet, Pickup on South Street, The Naked Kiss
John Cassavetes: Minnie and Moskowitz, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Love Streams

Robert Bresson: A Man Escaped, Pickpocket, Au hasard Balthazar
Charles Chaplin: The Gold Rush, City Lights, Monsieur Verdoux
Sergei Eisenstein: Strike, The Battleship Potemkin, Ivan the Terrible
Howard Hawks: Scarface: The Shame of a Nation, His Girl Friday, Red River
Stanley Kubrick: The Killing, Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Barry Lyndon
Akira Kurosawa: Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood
Fritz Lang: M, Scarlet Street, Clash by Night
Anthony Mann: Raw Deal, The Naked Spur, Man of the West
F. W. Murnau: Nosferatu, Der Letze Mann, Sunrise
Max Ophuls: Letter from an Unknown Woman, The Reckless Moment, The Earrings of Madame de…
Yasujiro Ozu: A Story of Floating Weeds, Tokyo Story, Floating Weeds
Michael Powell: The Edge of the World, A Matter of Life and Death (w/ Emeric Pressburger), Peeping Tom
Otto Preminger: Angel Face, The Man with the Golden Arm, Anatomy of a Murder
Nicholas Ray: In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, Rebel Without a Cause
Jean Renoir: Grand Illusion, The Rules of the Game, The Southerner
Martin Scorsese: Mean Streets, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy
Douglas Sirk: A Scandal in Paris, Written on the Wind, The Tarnished Angels
Edgar G. Ulmer: The Black Cat, Detour, The Amazing Transparent Man
Erich von Stroheim: Foolish Wives, Greed, Queen Kelly
Billy Wilder: Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole, The Apartment

* OK, I cheated for Region 1 with Ophuls, but I couldn't cut him from my list.
** You think 25 is unmanageable? You should see who I cut from Robert Aldrich to Ed Wood, Jr.

[moira finnie]

The Earrings of Madame de...may be only on Region 2 dvds, but it is available in vhs format and there are dvd-rs floating around on the web.

I'm awestruck, not just by your list of directors and films. When did you compile such a list. Waiting in line at the grocery store? Sitting in traffic? Recuperating from surgery? I'm lucky if I can come up with a grocery list. I'm also in awe of your former rather lofty position in keeping Illinois mentally healthy. Better watch my Ps & Qs, eh?

I've tried to come up with a few of my usual oddball directors, some had more than 3 movies, a few had less. I have mixed emotions about the auteur theory, since I think it all really starts with the writing. In no order whatsoever and with no real respect for the film's critical reputation, whatever that might be:

Jean Negulesco: Three Strangers, Humoresque, Johnny Belinda, The Mudlark (no, I can't make it only three for him)
David Lean: Brief Encounter, Madeleine, Summertime, Hobson's Choice
Ronald Neame: The Horses Mouth, Tunes of Glory
Frank Borzage: History Is Made At Night, Little Man, What Now, Seventh Heaven (1927)
John Cromwell: So Ends Our Night, Caged, In Name Only, The Prisoner of Zenda (ditto)
Raoul Walsh: The Roaring Twenties, Gentleman Jim, White Heat
William Wyler: Counsellor-at-Law, The Good Fairy, Dodsworth
Julien Duvivier: Pépé le Moko, La Fin du Jour, Tales of Manhattan
René Clément: Plein Soleil, Forbidden Games,
Clarence Brown: Flesh and the Devil, Anna Karenina (1935), Idiot's Delight, National Velvet
Joseph Mankiewicz: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, No Way Out, House of Strangers
Fritz Lang: Liliom, Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window
Edmund Goulding: Nightmare Alley, White Banners, The Razor's Edge

[myrnaloyisdope]

Following your list: first 5 are my favorite directors, and then everyone else is alphabetical(also with the caveat that everything I've listed is on region 1 DVD).

George Cukor - Holiday, A Star is Born, Adam's Rib
Rouben Mamoulian - Applause, Love Me Tonight, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde
Howard Hawks - Scarface, Bringing Up Baby, Rio Bravo
Preston Sturges - The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story
King Vidor - Duel in the Sun, Hallelujah, Street Scene (although really you should check out his silents)

Woody Allen - Manhattan, Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo
Robert Altman - McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Long Goodbye
Busby Berkeley - 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933, Footlight Parade
John Ford - Wings of Eagles, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Bob Fosse - Cabaret, All That Jazz, Lenny
Jean-Luc Godard - Breathless, Contempt, Weekend
Alfred Hitchcock - Notorious, Rear Window, The 39 Steps
Takeshi Kitano - Kids Return, Boiling Point, Kikujiro no natsu
Stanley Kubrick - Paths of Glory, Spartacus, Barry Lyndon
Fritz Lang - M, Metropolis, The Woman in the Window
David Lean - Ryan's Daughter, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Great Expectations
Ernst Lubitsch - Design For Living, The Smiling Lieutenant, Shop Around The Corner
Leo McCarey - The Awful Truth, Duck Soup, Love Affair
F.W. Murnau - Sunrise, Nosferatu, Tabu
Jean Renoir - Boudu: Saved From Drowning, The Rules of the Game, La Grande Illusion
Douglas Sirk - All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind, Imitation of Life
Josef von Sternberg - The Devil is a Woman, The Shanghai Gesture, The Blue Angel
Billy Wilder - Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole, One, Two, Three
Wong Kar-Wai - As Tears Go By, Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express
William Wyler - The Best Year of Our Lives, Roman Holiday, Little Foxes

This list is tougher than I thought, I really wanted to get Mizoguchi, Rossellini and Bunuel on their but most of their best stuff is either not on DVD or isn't region 1.

[jdb1]

I can think of many directors I like, for many different reasons. However, using the criterion of wanting to see a film just because a particular director's name is on it, my first thoughts are:

Ingmar Bergman - The Magician, Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal
Alfred Hitchcock - Rear Window, Young and Innocent, Psycho
James Whale - Frankenstein, Remember Last Night, Show Boat
George Cukor - Little Women, A Woman's Face, Heller in Pink Tights
Jean Renoir - Grand Illusion, Rules of the Game, The River

As for more names - I think I pretty much concur with the choices already posted.

[feaito]

I'll give it a try, although I'm afraid some of the titles are not available for rental

Rouben Mamoulian- Love Me Tonight, Golden Boy, The Gay Desperado
William Wyler- Dodsworth, The Little Foxes, Counsellor at Law
Ernst Lubitsch- One Hour With You, The Shop Around the Corner, The Merry Widow
James Whale- Bride of Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Invisible Man
Tod Browning- Freaks, The Devil Doll, The Show
William Dieterle- Portrait Of Jennie, Love Letters, The Devil and Daniel Webster, September Affair
Frank Borzage- History is Made at Night, Man's Castle, Little Man What Now?
Rowland V. Lee- Zoo in Budapest, Doomsday, Barbed Wire
George Cukor- Sylvia Scarlett, Girls About Town, Gaslight
John Cromwell- So Ends Our Night, In Name Only, The Prisoner of Zenda
Alfred Hitchcock- Vertigo, Shadow of a Doubt, The Lady Vanishes
Sidney Franklin- The Good Earth, Smilin' Through, Private Lives
Edmund Goulding- The Constant Nymph, Dark Victory, Grand Hotel
Max Ophuls- Letter from an Unknown Woman, Madame De..., Lola Montes
Tay Garnett- One-Way Passage, Stand-In, Valley of Decision

[Lzcutter]

John Ford: Too many to list

Everybody else:
William Wellman: Wings, Ox-Bow Incident
Howard Hawks: Rio Bravo, Red River
Billy Wilder: Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd
Raoul Walsh: Roaring Twenties, Strawberry Blonde
King Vidor: The Big Parade
George Cukor: A Star is Born, Philadelphia Story
Francis Coppola: Godfather and Godfather II
Steven Spielberg: Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark
Martin Scorsese: My Journey through American Film
Bob Fosse: Cabaret, All That Jazz
Kurosawa: The Seven Samaria, Ran
William Wyler: Best Years of Our Lives
George Stevens: Gunga Din

[Dewey1960]

Dewey’s pantheon of three:
JACQUES TOURNEUR (Out of the Past, Leopard Man, Cat People, Nightfall)
NICHOLAS RAY (Rebel Without A Cause, On Dangerous Ground, In A Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, Bigger Than Life)
FRITZ LANG (Scarlet Street, The Big Heat, M, Blue Gardenia, Fury)

The rest are in alphabetical order…
ROBERT ALDRICH (Kiss Me Deadly, The Big Knife, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane)
ROBERT ALTMAN (The Long Goodbye, California Split, The Player, Short Cuts)
TOD BROWNING (Freaks, Miracles For Sale, Fast Workers, The Unknown)
JOHN CASSAVETES (Shadows, Husbands, Killing of A Chinese Bookie)
ROGER CORMAN (Bucket of Blood, Little Shop of Horrors, It Conquered The World)
JULES DASSIN (Thieves’ Highway, Brute Force, Rififi)
JACQUES DEMY (Young Girls of Rochefort, Lola, Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
BRIAN DE PALMA (Carrie, The Fury, Dressed To Kill, Blowout, Scarface)
STANLEY DONEN (with or without Gene Kelly) (Singin’ In the Rain, Charade, Funny Face)
ABEL FERRARA (Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, Ms. 45, Blackout)
JOHN FORD (The Searchers, My Darling Clementine, Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)
SAMUEL FULLER (Pick Up On South Street, Naked Kiss, Crimson Kimono, Steel Helmet)
HOWARD HAWKS (The Big Sleep, Bringing Up Baby, Scarface)
ALFRED HITCHCOCK (Psycho, North By Northwest, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window)
PHIL KARLSON (Kansas City Confidential, 99 River Street, Phenix City Story)
ELIA KAZAN (East of Eden, On The Waterfront, Streetcar Named Desire)
STANLEY KUBRICK (The Killing, Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove)
AKIRA KUROSAWA (High and Low, Seven Samurai, Ran)
MITCHELL LEISEN (Remember The Night, Midnight, Hands Across The Table)
JOSEPH H. LEWIS (The Big Combo, Gun Crazy, My Name is Julia Ross)
ANTHONY MANN (He Walked By Night, Raw Deal, The Naked Spur, Winchester ‘73)
VINCENTE MINNELLI (Meet Me In St. Louis, Some Came Running, The Band Wagon)
FLOYD MUTRUX (American Hot Wax, Dusty and Sweets McGee, Aloha Bobby and Rose)
ROMAN POLANSKI (Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, The Tenant)
BOB RAFELSON (Five Easy Pieces, Stay Hungry, Head)
KAREL REISZ (The Gambler, Who’ll Stop The Rain, Everybody Wins)
MARTIN SCORSESE (Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, King of Comedy)
DON SIEGEL (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Killers, Charley Varrick)
PRESTON STURGES (Palm Beach Story, The Lady Eve, Sullivan’s Travels)
QUENTIN TARANTINO (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Ficiton, Kill Bill I and II)
FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT (The 400 Blows, Shoot The Piano Player, Day For Night)
EDGAR G. ULMER (Detour, The Black Cat, Bluebeard)
RAOUL WALSH (White Heat, High Sierra, They Drive By Night, Pursued)
ORSON WELLES (Touch of Evil, Citizen Kane, Lady From Shanghai)
JOHN WOO (Bullet In The Head, The Killer, A Better Tomorrow II)

[stuart.uk]

Just to show his versatility, rather than his best films Michael Curtiz-The Adventures Of Robin Hood, King Creole and Trouble along The Way.

John Ford-The Searchers, Stagecoach, Fort Apache, They Were Expendable and The Quiet Man

Howard Hawks-Red River, Bringing Up Baby, The Big Sleep and Rio Bravo

Frank Capra-It's A Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Mr. Deeds Comes To Town and Meet John Doe

Charlie Chaplin-The Kid, City Lights and Limelight

David Lean-Hobson's Choice, Great Expectations, This Happy Breed, Brief Encounter and In Which We Serve

Kevin Costner-Dances With Wolves and Open Range

Leslie Howard-Pimpernael Smith, The First Of The Few and The Gentle Sex

[MichiganJ]

My list, in no particular order:

Francois Truffaut: Jules and Jim, Shoot the Piano Player, Small Change
Ingmar Bergman: Winter Light, Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers
Richard Linklater: Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused, Waking Life
Eric Rohmer: My Night at Maud’s, Clair’s Knee, Summer
G.W. Pabst: Pandora’s Box, Joyless Street, Diary of a Lost Girl
Kurosawa: Throne of Blood, Ran, Hidden Fortress
Krzysztof Kieslowski: The Decalogue, Three Colors: Red, Double Life of Veronique
Kevin Smith: Dogma, Clerks, Chasing Amy
Werner Herzog: Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu, Aguirre: The Wrath of God
David Lynch: Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, The Straight Story
Fellini: Nights of Cabiria, 8 1/2, Amarcord
Terry Gilliam: Brazil, The Fisher King, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Woody Allen: Stardust Memories, Love and Death, Crimes and Misdemeanors
Pedro Almodóvar: All About My Mother, Kika, Talk To Her
Martin Scorsese: Goodfellas, The Last Waltz, Last Temptation of Christ

[MissGoddess]

ChiO (or should I call you "Your Honor"?) I look forward to posting my list
as soon as I make note of what may be available on Region 1 (that
makes it TOUGH). This will be fun and a challenge. Don't worry, they
won't all be John Ford.

Hey! Does it count as being on Region 1 if I have it recorded in my
collection?

[ChiO]

MissG humbly asked:

Hey! Does it count as being on Region 1 if I have it recorded in my
collection?

Yes, if you then send me a copy.

Might I also offer that your reference to me as "Your Honor," although incorrect, does show a healthy regard and respect for one that has white hair (some call it gray, but I insist that it is merely reverting to its natural color and -- no -- that's Truth, not Narcissism). I hereby declare you to be Mentally Well.

[MissGoddess]

General ChiO,

I will be happy to send you copies of whatever you wish, as soon
as I know how to "burn" dvds, which will be soon, I promise.

I hereby declare you to be Mentally Well

ME, "mentally well"? Now I understand why it's "former" General Counsel. No matter, as soon as you see my list you no doubt will reverse your own opinion reserve a padded room for me.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm sure I'll leave somebody out but here goes

G W PABST - PANDORA'S BOX, DIARY OF A LOST GIRL
CHARLIE CHAPLIN - THE KID, THE GOLD RUSH ETC
F W MURNAU - SUNRISE, TABU
FRANK BORZAGE - SEVENTH HEAVEN, THE RIVER
KING VIDOR - THE BIG PARADE, THE CROWD
CARL DREYER - PASSION OF JOAN DE ARC, DAY OF WRATH
ERNST LUBITSCH - TROUBLE IN PARADISE, DESIGN FOR LIVING, THE MERRY WIDOW ETC
HOWARD HAWKS - ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, RED RIVER
MAX OPHULS - LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, MADAME DE.....
VICTOR DE SICA - BICYCLE THIVES, MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE ETC
FREDERICO FELLINI - LA DOLCE VITA, LA STRADA
ORSON WELLES - CITIZEN KANE
CHARLES LAUGHTON - NIGHT OF THE HUNTER
VICENTE MINELLI - MEET ME IN ST LOUIS, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
GENE KELLY/STANLEY DONEN - SINGING IN THE RAIN
ELIA KAZAN - A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, ON THE WATERFRONT
FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT - JULES ET JIM
JACQUES DEMY - UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT
AKIRA KUROSAWA - SEVEN SAMOURAI, ROSHAMON
Y OZU - THE TOKYO STORY, ENDLESS SUMMER
MIKIO NARUSE - SOUND OF THE MOUNTAIN, FLOWING


this is where my knowledge fails me, I know there are some great noir directors but don't know their films well enough to include them.

[Mr. Arkadin]

I'm running a bit late here and am left with scant pickings (unless I want to post the same things everyone else has ), but I shall endeavor to throw a few new wrinkles in:

Zhang Yimou
Ju Dou (1990), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), To Live (1994) Shanghai Triad (1995)

Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980), Veronika Voss (1982), Chinese Roulette (1976), Fox and His Friends (1974), The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (1972)


Sam Peckinpah
The Wild Bunch (1969), Cross of Iron (1976), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

Vittorio De Sica
Senso (1954) Bicycle Thieves (1948), Umberto D. (1953), Miracle in Milan (1951)

Luis Bunuel
Los Olividados (1950), Belle de Jour (1967), Land Without Bread (1933), That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), Tristana (1970), Simon of the Desert (1965), Viridiana (1961), Nazarín (1959)

[ChiO]

Well, Mr. Ark, you named four that narrowly missed making my laundry list -- so I guess I need to see some Zhang Yimou films. Other narrow escapes: Robert Aldrich, Bernardo Bertolucci, Tim Burton, Andre de Toth, Werner Herzog, Jim Jarmusch, Joseph H. Lewis (oh, that one drew blood), David Lynch, Alan Resnais, Don Siegel, Preston Sturges, Wim Wenders, and Ed Wood, Jr (no, that is not stated with either a smirk or even a smidgen of irony -- an auteur is an auteur).

If I could only find two more films up to the level of SIN IN THE SUBURBS and BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL for each, then Joe Sarno and Doris Wishman could be added.

Based on others lists, I really do need to get crackin', starting with Negulesco, Neame, Borzage (love MOONRISE), Clement, Mamoulian (love LOVE ME TONIGHT, which is exactly the kind of movie I would expect to be bored by), Dieterle, Leisen (dropped my jaw watching GOLDEN EARRINGS), Reisz, Woo and Rohmer.

I truly appreciate everyone's suggestions.