Favorite Film Director?

Eunos_Cosmo

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Simple enough topic. Who is your favorite film director and why?

I'll chime in with mine after a while.
 
Christopher Nolan. He's the only director that i would confidently be able to watch and know that theres a very good chance i'm going to enjoy the film.
 
Right now it's an obscure German filmmaker called Klaus Lemke (german wiki Link) whose film "Rocker" i tremendously enjoy (trailer is brilliant for non-german speakers as well):

LOOK! YouTube has the full movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBlXf1YdeH4

On a more general note, I think Hal Needham is the most underrated director out there and definitely one of my favourites. Apart from that I'm a huge admirer of Stanley Kubrick, Sergio Leone and the 1040s paid-by-the-month studio hacks who in fact were geniuses like Howard Hawks or Michael Curtiz.
 
Scorsese has always been a firm favourite of mine.
Edward Zwick is awesome, but hasn't done much recently.
 
Early Guy Ritchie.

Or maybe Alan Smithee
 
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Christopher Nolan has yet to disappoint me.
The Prestige is one of my favorite films ever.
 
Christopher Nolan is quite good.


For me though, I love Michael Mann. His list of movies, like Nolan, isn't long, but every single one is fantastic (I even enjoy Miami Vice, despite it being all but incomprehensible at times) I absolutley love his attention to detail, and his careful selection and usage of music. Also, nobody knows how to end a movie like Mann. Just watch Miami Vice, Last of the Mohicans, Public Enemies, Heat, or Collateral to see this. I love how he never uses dubbed audio for scenes with gunfire. The result is an absolutely horrifying, yet totally convincing portrayal of the scene. Here are a few clips:



(this is probably my favorite scene in cinema, period. Absolutely gorgeous North American landscape, stunning music, great drama)
 
Quentin Tarantino.... every film they talk non-cohesively for about 18 hours. Maybe 3 minutes of 'action'.

FTFY.
.....................
This is gonna backfire, but if you want explosions and nonsense The Bay is where it's at.
 
FTFY.
.....................
This is gonna backfire, but if you want explosions and nonsense The Bay is where it's at.

Michael Bay is the definition of Hollywood.
 
I don't really have any favorites, but now that I think about it, I might have to say Hithcock based on his solid hit rate. Most directors have 1-3 good movies and the rest is a bit so-so. While Hitchcock's movies might not be my absolute favorites, he kept up a very steady quality. The Man Who Knew Too Much, The 39 Steps, Vertigo, Rear Window, Shadow Of A Doubt, Psycho, The Birds, North By Northwest, and the list goes on.
 
David Fincher. Just because he hasn't been mentioned, but I enjoy most movies by the directors already posted just as much, don't really have a favorite.
 
I would like to throw in another one: George Lucas, but selectively.

THX-1138, American Graffiti, Star Wars. Those three films are excellent examples of thinking outside of the box.
 
I would like to throw in another one: George Lucas, but selectively.

THX-1138, American Graffiti, Star Wars. Those three films are excellent examples of thinking outside of the box.

Raiders of the Lost Ark as well. example of how you can do an action film but not have it revolve around explosions and fireballs every 5 seconds.
 
I still think that American Graffiti is Lucas' best film.

I love the ones mentioned so far, (Tim Burton has an amazing visual style, but his pacing is off sometimes.) but I would have to add James Cameron. The Terminator blew me away when I saw it in 1984, and with the exception of True Lies, he hasn't disappointed. Strong, well-rounded characters and tight pacing - even if the movie is 3 hours long.

Favorite Cameron movie? The Abyss. Despite the plot holes, such a moving message of discovery, fear, sacrifice, and at the end, hope. Plus, you get to see Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio change from a stone-cold b-word to a person that you genuinely care about. "We all see what we want to see. Coffey looks and he sees Russians. He sees hate and fear. You have to look with better eyes than that."
 
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Scorsese is the best hands down. The cinematography of his films bring them to life. His use of freeze frames and tracking shots are amazing.

I also think Robert De Niro is hugely underestimated director. A Bronx Tale anyone?

Hitchcock is also one of my favorites. No one could build suspense in a film quite like him.
 
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