I've been perusing through Total Film's
100 Greatest Directors Ever list and, for the most part, it's a generally acceptable list. I always cherist a movie-related list that doesn't have
Citizen Kane or Orson Welles at the top (I've said it before, and I'll say it again -
The Magnificent Ambersons is better than
Citizen Kane) and it's hard to deny the likes of Hitchcock, Scorsese, Spielberg, Hawks and Coppola their place in history, but the following names didn't just
annoy me in a "Oh no they di'nt!" way. No, they made me angry in a "Oh no they
did not!" See that, non-abbreviation. That means angry.
#9 Peter JacksonI don't deny that his career has certainly been an
achievement, but if Brett Ratner had directed the
Lord of the Rings trilogy, would he be here too?
#10 David Fincher No. Just
NO! FUCKING NO!, even. Christ. It's a good thing he hasn't made more than
six movies because if he had he might have actually been number ONE! I like the guy and has made a few great movies, but this is fanboy-ism gone beserk. Sorry, but it is. Fincher is the
TENTH best director
EVER after six movies? No. Way. Jose. (who's Jose?)
#12 Quentin TarantinoEven as a
huge fan of QT's I can't help but think he's a tad high, don't you think? He, too, only has six films on his resume.
Jackie Brown is still his best, by the way (and don't you forget).
#20 Paul Thomas AndersonMuch like Fincher at #10, this is utter madness. Let me get this straight Total Film: After
FOUR films, Anderson is already considered a greater director than Robert Altman, the man who has influenced him more than any other. For the record, Altman came into the countdown at #26. Yeah, I'm confused too.
#22 David LynchShould be, like, #2. :P
#32 Christopher NolanJust like the other younger modern directors on this list it seems that the fanboy mentality has overtaken rational thinking. Four movies (okay, five, but only about three people on the planet have seen his debut
Following) into his career and he is already considered one of the greats (a spot under him at #33? Yasujiro Ozu!) I presume it is
only because he made
Batman Begins. If he hadn't he'd be hanging around #99 with Sofia Coppola. Or, at least, #65 with Bryan Singer.
#38 James CameronYeah,
I KNOW! Quite possibly one of cinemas greatest pioneers of all time apparently hasn't done enough of merit to rank him alongside David Fincher (five films) and Paul Thomas Anderson (four films). Not creating one of cinemas most beloved franchises with
The Terminator. Not revolutionising cinema and visual effects with
Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Not even creating the highest-grossing film of all time with
Titanic. Nope. He didn't make
Fight Club so, naturally, he doesn't deserve to be that high. :/
#51 Robert WiseI'd rank him (much) higher, but my issue is with their selection of his best film.
The Curse of the Cat People, his debut and a sequel to
Cat People, is actually lame and doesn't feature anything that made the original an amazing classic. Bizarre.
#75 Tony Scott/#76 Milos FormanLet it be known that the man who has won two Best Director Academy Awards and been nominated for another is ranked one position
below the man who made
Days of Thunder. You
did read that correctly.
#92 Paul VerhoevenThis isn't about Verhoeven (I haven't seen any of his Dutch work to say), but could they at least do some fact checking? They say that "Verhoeven impressed with ironic/iconic sci-fi(Robocop, Starship Troopers) until success bred excess (Showgirls)." yet
Starship Troopers came
after Showgirls. So, until success bred excess, which bred success again?
#97 Baz LuhmannWith only three movies to his name, with
Australia he'll be TOP TEN MATERIAL!
Christ, what a stupid list (yet at other times, spot on perfect - Hitchcock!) I thought I'd type down a few names that failed to meet the taxing criteria put upon the candidates.
Elia Kazan - East of Eden, On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, Splendor in the Grass,
Jacques Tourneur - Cat People, Out of the Past, I Walked With A Zombie, The Leopard Man
Sidney Lumet - Dog Day Afternoon, 12 Angry Men, Serpico, The
Verdict
Charlie Chaplin - The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, The Kid
FW Murnau - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, Nosferatu, Faust
Bernardo Bertolucci - The Last Emperor, The Last Tango in Paris, The Conformist, 1900
Warren Beatty - Reds, Heaven Can Wait, Dick Tracy
Victor Fleming - Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Joan of Arc
Otto Preminger - Anatomy of a Murder, The Man with the Golden Arm, Bunny Lake is Missing, Carmen Jones
William Wyler - Mrs Miniver, Funny Girl, The Little Foxes, The Best Year of Our Lives
George Stevens - Giant, A Place in the Sun, Woman of the Year, Shane
Bob Fosse - All That Jazz, Cabaret, Lenny, Sweet Charity
Vincente Minnelli - An American in Paris, Meet Me in St Louis, Designing Women, Gigi
King Vidor - The Champ, War and Peace, The Citadel, The Crowd
Michelangelo Antonioni - Blow Up, L'aventtura, The Passenger, Zabriskie PointBut who are those guys compared to the man who made
Alien3? REALLY? I'm surprised they didn't throw Guillermo del Toro or someone like him on there because
Pan's Labyrinth was the greatest thing evaaaaa!
Awards Daily has the poster for Francis Ford Coppola's "comeback" Youth Without Youth, which you can view to the left there. The best thing about it is the title design. But, what's with all the roses lately?
