Hi Drake. Huge fan of the site. When do you think you will make a Best of 2020 & 2021 list? Are you waiting for more films to make it into the archives before you start on that? Just wondering since I really enjoy your Best of the Year lists.
Also, what did you think of Licorice Pizza? I liked it a lot, as well as the youthful vibe and ’70s California atmosphere, but thought it was far from PTA’s best. Not as stylistic as Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Punch Drunk, etc.
Though now that I think about it, the arcade scene had great mise en scene. I may need another viewing to fully appreciate it, but I did enjoy a lot of it
@Scott- Thanks for the comment– glad you like the site. So I put up 2016 today and it takes me about a week to do each page so I’m only a few weeks away from doing 2020 and 2021. I had plans to get there already but fell behind. I saw Licorice Pizza in theater a December. I am very excited to get to it again but would agree it seem far from PTA’s best (certainly not an insult) upon first blush.
@Zane – Andrei Tarkovsky directing a screwball comedy…just kidding
Scorsese directing a Western would be interesting, The Searchers is a huge influence on Taxi Driver. I think the types of themes Scorsese often worked with, characters particularly males seeking various forms of personal redemption would make for an interesting film. Also, Gangs of New York has elements of a Western and even though it’s not my favorite of his films I think it showed promise early on but had some flaws that were hard to overcome (miscast characters being one).
Tarantino making a straight up Horror film would be interesting as he is so effective at taking classic genres and adding his own flavor, he’s done work in so many genres; Samurai, Heist, blaxploitation, gangster, western, and you could argue war with Inglorious even if it is very different from any other war film. A straight up Horror would be exciting.
btw Visconti directed The Leopard which is not exactly a war film per se but takes place during a war and there is some violence in the streets but I assume you mean a more standard war film, I agree that would be interesting.
Senso is set during the Second Italian War of Independence and, while they’re far from the focus of the film, the few battle scenes it has are really something to behold. I’d have adored to have seen Visconti make a Napoleon biopic or something (I know Kubrick was planning one but I’d rather have him still get sidetracked and end up making Barry Lyndon instead while Visconti makes Napoleon).
You make me wonder what a Mikhail Kalatozov screwball comedy would look like with the camera backflipping around in every scene.
@Zane – Another that comes to mind would be Terence Malick making a disaster/apocalypse film. The Tree of Life depicts with absolutely stunning images the birth of the universe and earth. And then after that the beginning of life on earth with dinosaurs. I think Malick making a film like this makes sense not only because of the spectacular imagery but it also fit with Malick’s frequent themes regarding the indifference of nature to mankind or as Nick Nolte’s character in The Thin Red Line tells the Elias Koteas character “nature is cruel Staros”.
I am a film student and recently took a screenwriting class with the biggest anti-auteurist of them all. He literally started off the class with a powerpoint saying “the auteur theory is a bunch of bullshit”, can you believe that? I understand a screenwriter may take issue with “auteur” as a term (his argument was that such a theory discredits his own work and I guess that makes it more personal to him) but his insistence that films owe so much to their scripts, I simply couldn’t disagree with more.
My interpretation has always been that auteur theory certainly doesn’t apply to all films, only to those select artists that are clearly the ones driving the ship. His continuous discrediting of film style was incredibly frustrating to listen to as well, he often likened it to theater (he said “you never want to leave the theater remembering the costumes”)….as if the visual arts are not a massive part of…..watching a film? It was so frustrating to sit through.
definitely but it says more about his own credibility and taste than anything. keep doing what you’re doing with this fantastic site! I appreciate how much thought is put into your lists and reviews. I really have a feeling this site will have an impact on future young cinephiles in helping them discover the great works and cultivate their own tastes.
What are your thoughts on Lina Wertmüller? I think she was one of italian cinema’s most underrated auteurs. Not sure if you’ve archived any of her work but she is a very interesting and unique artist.
I am writing down a watchlist of 500 directors, but I need around 20 more names, so if anybody knows any talented obscure or underrated directors, I will be happy to hear about them.
@RK- thank you for reply, but I already put him on the list. It`s funny, I put him on the list yesterday when I was just looking around with which directors work Ugo Tognazzi and then I saw that Ferreri directed The Grand Bouffe so I put him on the list.
JustPassingBy
November 28, 2021 at 6:53 pm - Reply
Thanks for the reply!
JustPassingBy
November 27, 2021 at 11:18 pm - Reply
Who would be your top directors if you only counted films from the 21st century?
@JustPassingBy- That would be a fun exercise. It would take some work. I do have this for a start for the 2010s https://thecinemaarchives.com/2020/01/21/the-10-best-directors-of-the-2010s/. Of course this omits a few that would show up in the conversation for sure like Haneke, WKW, The Dardennes…. but PTA, Wes, Cuaron, Nolan, Fincher, Tarantino also had a strong 2000s as well. Roy Andersson would be there.
@JustPassingBy – I think Nolan might have the strongest case since all of his major work was made in the 21st Century. He has 3 definite MPs with The Dark Knight, Inception, and Dunkirk plus Memento, Interstellar, and Dark Knight Rises which are not quite MPs but still very strong
With PTA you have to exclude 2 of his huge MPS in Boogie Nights and Magnolia.
With Tarantino you take away Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown
With Fincher there is no Seven or Fight Club
@James Douglas- Thank you for visiting the site and the comment. What’s the case for De Toth? I have a few films in the archives but maybe there is something I haven’t seen but should.
I watched a fun podcast on Quentin Tarantino from The Ringer (link below), it’s a site that follows both sports and pop culture including films. In the podcast three of the writers on the site talk Tarantino and make there top 5 lists for him. Around the 8:20 mark (podcast is 65 min) one of the site’s writers, Chris Ryan, says that Tarantino movies always feel like a national holiday. He said they feel like an event in a way that is different from any other filmmaker. This got me thinking, which director do you get the most excited for? I think this is a different question than who is your favorite filmmaker or who do you think is the best; of course it’s possible that you could pick the same director to all 3 of these questions.
For me:
Best Living Director: Martin Scorsese
Favorite Living Director: Martin Scorsese
Director Most Excited For: Quentin Tarantino with Scorsese and Fincher not far behind
Also, any thoughts on Claude Chabrol and Koreeda? For interest, were any of Stephen Frears, Neil Jordan or Jim Sheridan close? Shane Meadows or Bruno Dumont? Thanks
He’s not quite a heavy hitter so I can’t say I’m surprised he’s missing from this list, but William A Wellman has a pretty sturdy resume with Wings, The Public Enemy, and The Ox-Bow Incident, all of which are in the top 10 of their respective years. Since he isn’t in the top 250, he surely wouldn’t be that far below the threshold right?
@Declan- I just know he wasn’t in the next 10-15 after 250. The resume is very solid (below)
1927- Wings HR
1931- Public Enemy HR
1933- Wild Boys of the Road R
1937- A Star Is Born R
1937- Nothing Sacred R
1942- The Ox-Box Incident HR
1948- Yellow Sky R
1949- Battle Ground R
1954- The High and the Mighty
1954- Track of the Cat R
1955- Blood Alley R
@James Trapp- for sure, on my short list– I just finished Michael Mann so was thinking of maybe doing one or two directors between the two from a different genre
I’ve mentioned this before but you have to see Angelopoulos. The Travelling Players is available in the Stremio app with subtitles, so is Alexander the Great in the best quality you can find them. Probably his two most well known films, Landscape in the Mist and Eternity and a Day, are also available. He’s probably one of the handful masters left you haven’t gotten into.
Hi, Drake. Following Mad Mike’s comment… maybe it’s just for me, but I think there are issues with both Bi Gan pages you have (Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey Into Night). On my phone it works fine, but on desktop there’s no content for some reason.
Why Thomas Vinterberg isn`t part of the list?
Because he is much better then, for example Tom Hopper or Jeff Nichols.
He wouldn`t be in top 100, but he should be in top 250.
Archivable movies:
The Celebration
The Hunt
Another Round
@RujK- Well for one this page was written before Another Round was released. I think Vinterberg has an argument over Tom Hooper or Jeff Nichols- but they’re in the same class, even with Another Round. “Much better” feels like a reach.
Drake, if there was a scenario where “Mr. Y” had directed The Searchers (currently number one on your all-time films list) and it’s the only film he had ever directed, and “Mr. X” had directed Nosferatu The Vampyre (currently number 500 on your all-time films list) and it’s the only film he had ever directed. About where would “Mr. Y” rank on the list and where would “Mr. X” rank?
@RK- interesting hypothetical. So the Mr. X question is easy to answer- Mr. X wouldn’t be one of the top 250 directors on the list. Mr. Y is more difficult. I’d say between 80-100 maybe? There would be other small factors so it’s hard to determine. It wouldn’t be the same as like Falconetti on the female list (#27)
@RK – I asked a similar question on the Francis Ford Coppola page, only I asked where would he would be ranked if he had only directed 3 films, The 1st and 2nd Godfather and Apocalypse Now and Drake said somewhere between 20-35, so around 27 would be the middle of that range. Woody Allen is number 27 and he has 33 archivable films including several MPs so that shows the power of huge MPs like Godfather level films.
@Gustavo Mello- Not really well enough. I have seen Black God, White Devil- but it has been 15 years or so and the copy of the version I saw wasn’t ideal
If you have time to check out his movies.
He is the greatest director in Brazil and has been highly praised by directors such as Scorsese, Pasolini and Bong Joon-ho.
I would like to know if he would have a space on that list.
@Gustavo Mello- Absolutely- he and his work are very well respected. I do have a poor transfer dvd copy of Black God, White Devil but as I said have been holding out to find something better.
@Harry- very much appreciate your help here
Hi Drake. Huge fan of the site. When do you think you will make a Best of 2020 & 2021 list? Are you waiting for more films to make it into the archives before you start on that? Just wondering since I really enjoy your Best of the Year lists.
Also, what did you think of Licorice Pizza? I liked it a lot, as well as the youthful vibe and ’70s California atmosphere, but thought it was far from PTA’s best. Not as stylistic as Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Punch Drunk, etc.
Though now that I think about it, the arcade scene had great mise en scene. I may need another viewing to fully appreciate it, but I did enjoy a lot of it
@Scott- Thanks for the comment– glad you like the site. So I put up 2016 today and it takes me about a week to do each page so I’m only a few weeks away from doing 2020 and 2021. I had plans to get there already but fell behind. I saw Licorice Pizza in theater a December. I am very excited to get to it again but would agree it seem far from PTA’s best (certainly not an insult) upon first blush.
Name any Director you would’ve loved to work in a genre they never made a film in. My pick is Luchino Visconti directing a war film.
@Zane – Andrei Tarkovsky directing a screwball comedy…just kidding
Scorsese directing a Western would be interesting, The Searchers is a huge influence on Taxi Driver. I think the types of themes Scorsese often worked with, characters particularly males seeking various forms of personal redemption would make for an interesting film. Also, Gangs of New York has elements of a Western and even though it’s not my favorite of his films I think it showed promise early on but had some flaws that were hard to overcome (miscast characters being one).
Tarantino making a straight up Horror film would be interesting as he is so effective at taking classic genres and adding his own flavor, he’s done work in so many genres; Samurai, Heist, blaxploitation, gangster, western, and you could argue war with Inglorious even if it is very different from any other war film. A straight up Horror would be exciting.
btw Visconti directed The Leopard which is not exactly a war film per se but takes place during a war and there is some violence in the streets but I assume you mean a more standard war film, I agree that would be interesting.
Senso is set during the Second Italian War of Independence and, while they’re far from the focus of the film, the few battle scenes it has are really something to behold. I’d have adored to have seen Visconti make a Napoleon biopic or something (I know Kubrick was planning one but I’d rather have him still get sidetracked and end up making Barry Lyndon instead while Visconti makes Napoleon).
You make me wonder what a Mikhail Kalatozov screwball comedy would look like with the camera backflipping around in every scene.
@Zane – Another that comes to mind would be Terence Malick making a disaster/apocalypse film. The Tree of Life depicts with absolutely stunning images the birth of the universe and earth. And then after that the beginning of life on earth with dinosaurs. I think Malick making a film like this makes sense not only because of the spectacular imagery but it also fit with Malick’s frequent themes regarding the indifference of nature to mankind or as Nick Nolte’s character in The Thin Red Line tells the Elias Koteas character “nature is cruel Staros”.
I am a film student and recently took a screenwriting class with the biggest anti-auteurist of them all. He literally started off the class with a powerpoint saying “the auteur theory is a bunch of bullshit”, can you believe that? I understand a screenwriter may take issue with “auteur” as a term (his argument was that such a theory discredits his own work and I guess that makes it more personal to him) but his insistence that films owe so much to their scripts, I simply couldn’t disagree with more.
My interpretation has always been that auteur theory certainly doesn’t apply to all films, only to those select artists that are clearly the ones driving the ship. His continuous discrediting of film style was incredibly frustrating to listen to as well, he often likened it to theater (he said “you never want to leave the theater remembering the costumes”)….as if the visual arts are not a massive part of…..watching a film? It was so frustrating to sit through.
@Ce- Oh wow- thanks for sharing this. Sounds like this teacher would hate my website.
definitely but it says more about his own credibility and taste than anything. keep doing what you’re doing with this fantastic site! I appreciate how much thought is put into your lists and reviews. I really have a feeling this site will have an impact on future young cinephiles in helping them discover the great works and cultivate their own tastes.
@Ce- thank you- appreciate the kind words here
Give the same screenplay to two differents directors (say Wes Anderson & Quentin Tarantino).
Not the same movie.
What are your thoughts on Lina Wertmüller? I think she was one of italian cinema’s most underrated auteurs. Not sure if you’ve archived any of her work but she is a very interesting and unique artist.
Ce- I have The Seduction of Mimi (1972) and Seven Beauties (1975) in with a page for the latter here https://thecinemaarchives.com/2021/08/27/seven-beauties-1975-wertmuller/
I am writing down a watchlist of 500 directors, but I need around 20 more names, so if anybody knows any talented obscure or underrated directors, I will be happy to hear about them.
@RujK- id say add Jerry Schatzberg (Scarecrow, Puzzle of a downfall child) if you haven’t already.
@RujK Nanni Moretti
@RujK – Late reply but Marco Ferreri if you haven’t already put him on the list.
@RK- thank you for reply, but I already put him on the list. It`s funny, I put him on the list yesterday when I was just looking around with which directors work Ugo Tognazzi and then I saw that Ferreri directed The Grand Bouffe so I put him on the list.
Thanks for the reply!
Who would be your top directors if you only counted films from the 21st century?
@JustPassingBy- That would be a fun exercise. It would take some work. I do have this for a start for the 2010s https://thecinemaarchives.com/2020/01/21/the-10-best-directors-of-the-2010s/. Of course this omits a few that would show up in the conversation for sure like Haneke, WKW, The Dardennes…. but PTA, Wes, Cuaron, Nolan, Fincher, Tarantino also had a strong 2000s as well. Roy Andersson would be there.
@JustPassingBy – I think Nolan might have the strongest case since all of his major work was made in the 21st Century. He has 3 definite MPs with The Dark Knight, Inception, and Dunkirk plus Memento, Interstellar, and Dark Knight Rises which are not quite MPs but still very strong
With PTA you have to exclude 2 of his huge MPS in Boogie Nights and Magnolia.
With Tarantino you take away Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Jackie Brown
With Fincher there is no Seven or Fight Club
Great list! I was surprised not to see, Frederick Wiseman. He’s 91 and still making documentaries.
@Christian H- Thank you for the comment and for visiting the site. I do not watch or study documentaries so that is not part of this.
Andre De Toth?
@James Douglas- Thank you for visiting the site and the comment. What’s the case for De Toth? I have a few films in the archives but maybe there is something I haven’t seen but should.
I watched a fun podcast on Quentin Tarantino from The Ringer (link below), it’s a site that follows both sports and pop culture including films. In the podcast three of the writers on the site talk Tarantino and make there top 5 lists for him. Around the 8:20 mark (podcast is 65 min) one of the site’s writers, Chris Ryan, says that Tarantino movies always feel like a national holiday. He said they feel like an event in a way that is different from any other filmmaker. This got me thinking, which director do you get the most excited for? I think this is a different question than who is your favorite filmmaker or who do you think is the best; of course it’s possible that you could pick the same director to all 3 of these questions.
For me:
Best Living Director: Martin Scorsese
Favorite Living Director: Martin Scorsese
Director Most Excited For: Quentin Tarantino with Scorsese and Fincher not far behind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6__dKWSWjK0&t=862s
How far off the list would successful, prolific, yet less stylistically adept directors such as Ron Howard and Stanley Kramer land?
@Graham- I think I’d get to 300 before them. I do plan on expanding the list at some point.
Also, any thoughts on Claude Chabrol and Koreeda? For interest, were any of Stephen Frears, Neil Jordan or Jim Sheridan close? Shane Meadows or Bruno Dumont? Thanks
Would include Audiard and Vinterberg. How is Ari Aster included (for 2 interesting, but imperfect films)? Bresson should be higher.
@Leroux- thank you for visiting the site and sharing your thoughts here.
Bresson is about 50 places low and Au Hasard Balthazar is among the ten best films ever made, let alone 500.
I am just finishing up on a Terence Malick study (1 film left)
Next I am considering the following directors in no particular order
– Roman Polanski
– Oliver Stone
– Jean-Pierre Melville
Any thoughts? All are welcome to weigh in
He’s not quite a heavy hitter so I can’t say I’m surprised he’s missing from this list, but William A Wellman has a pretty sturdy resume with Wings, The Public Enemy, and The Ox-Bow Incident, all of which are in the top 10 of their respective years. Since he isn’t in the top 250, he surely wouldn’t be that far below the threshold right?
@Declan- I just know he wasn’t in the next 10-15 after 250. The resume is very solid (below)
1927- Wings HR
1931- Public Enemy HR
1933- Wild Boys of the Road R
1937- A Star Is Born R
1937- Nothing Sacred R
1942- The Ox-Box Incident HR
1948- Yellow Sky R
1949- Battle Ground R
1954- The High and the Mighty
1954- Track of the Cat R
1955- Blood Alley R
Drake,
Curious if you’re planning to do a Seijun Suzuki study? I know I mentioned it at some point.
@James Trapp- for sure, on my short list– I just finished Michael Mann so was thinking of maybe doing one or two directors between the two from a different genre
I’ve mentioned this before but you have to see Angelopoulos. The Travelling Players is available in the Stremio app with subtitles, so is Alexander the Great in the best quality you can find them. Probably his two most well known films, Landscape in the Mist and Eternity and a Day, are also available. He’s probably one of the handful masters left you haven’t gotten into.
Hi, Drake. Following Mad Mike’s comment… maybe it’s just for me, but I think there are issues with both Bi Gan pages you have (Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey Into Night). On my phone it works fine, but on desktop there’s no content for some reason.
@Pedro- Thank you for pointing these out. Sorry- and they should be fixed now.
@Drake – There is an issue with Preston Sturges page.
@Mad Mike- appreciate the help and sorry about that. Should be fixed now
Well Pedro Costa is better than all of them😉
Why Thomas Vinterberg isn`t part of the list?
Because he is much better then, for example Tom Hopper or Jeff Nichols.
He wouldn`t be in top 100, but he should be in top 250.
Archivable movies:
The Celebration
The Hunt
Another Round
@RujK- Well for one this page was written before Another Round was released. I think Vinterberg has an argument over Tom Hooper or Jeff Nichols- but they’re in the same class, even with Another Round. “Much better” feels like a reach.
Drake, if there was a scenario where “Mr. Y” had directed The Searchers (currently number one on your all-time films list) and it’s the only film he had ever directed, and “Mr. X” had directed Nosferatu The Vampyre (currently number 500 on your all-time films list) and it’s the only film he had ever directed. About where would “Mr. Y” rank on the list and where would “Mr. X” rank?
@RK- interesting hypothetical. So the Mr. X question is easy to answer- Mr. X wouldn’t be one of the top 250 directors on the list. Mr. Y is more difficult. I’d say between 80-100 maybe? There would be other small factors so it’s hard to determine. It wouldn’t be the same as like Falconetti on the female list (#27)
@RK – I asked a similar question on the Francis Ford Coppola page, only I asked where would he would be ranked if he had only directed 3 films, The 1st and 2nd Godfather and Apocalypse Now and Drake said somewhere between 20-35, so around 27 would be the middle of that range. Woody Allen is number 27 and he has 33 archivable films including several MPs so that shows the power of huge MPs like Godfather level films.
Do you know Glauber Rocha??
@Gustavo Mello- Not really well enough. I have seen Black God, White Devil- but it has been 15 years or so and the copy of the version I saw wasn’t ideal
If you have time to check out his movies.
He is the greatest director in Brazil and has been highly praised by directors such as Scorsese, Pasolini and Bong Joon-ho.
I would like to know if he would have a space on that list.
@Gustavo Mello- Absolutely- he and his work are very well respected. I do have a poor transfer dvd copy of Black God, White Devil but as I said have been holding out to find something better.