My vote goes to SEVEN BEAUTIES.
( http://us.imdb.com/Details?0075040 )
Weird, since I pretty much hated everything else she’s ever done.
STRANGERS IN GOOD COMPANY is a second.
( http://us.imdb.com/Details?0102993 )
I’m sure the unrepentent Nazi chick will show up in good time.
Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair), American Psycho (Mary Harron), and Bridget Jones’s Diary (Sharon Maguire) are strong contenders.
Leni Riefenstahl, Triumph of the Will.
I couldn’t resist.
Little Man Tate and A League of Their Own are both big favorites of mine.
While I would not put these with the greatest of all time, I think **Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl ** directed by Joan Chen and The Virgin Suicides directed by Sofia Coppola were damn good.
The Piano (Jane Campion)
Runner-up: Europa, Europa (Agnieszka Holland)
A League of Their Own - Penny Marshall
A League of Their Own stands out there for me. Besides being artisticly well done, it is also quite entertaining and moves well.
“A League of their Own” and “The Piano” were the first movies I thought of when I saw the thread.
Big - Penny Marshall
Boys Don’t Cry and Fire are both up there for me.
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Peirce,%20Kimberly
and
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Mehta,%20Deepa
Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnes Varda.
The Queen of Diamonds by Tina Menkes.
Angel at My Table by Jane Campion.
Titus was pretty cool.
Excuse the double post, but I forgot to mention Priest…
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Bird,%20Antonia
… and Sally Potters Orlando. I also liked The Man Who Cried wouldn’t call either of them “The best movie ever directed …” tho.
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Potter,%20Sally
Also got to give a shout out to Alice Guy for being amongst the first, and most prolific female directors ever.
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Guy,+Alice
On the issue of Riefenstahl, whatever else can be said about her as a person, and the subjects of her work, her work is/was incredible.
The Wild Party directed by Dorothy Arzner.
OK, not really, but come on people, let’s think outside Penny Marshall’s box!
What? No votes for Private Parts or The Brady Bunch Movie (Betty Thomas)?
[sub]Okay, okay, maybe not the best. But damn good movies![/sub]
Allow me to strongly disagree. Nazi propaganda is Nazi propaganda. Regardless of cinematography, editing, etc. Triumph of the Will is a pretty vase filled with piss. Great art it ain’t.
I think it’s sad that there are so few films (or mainstream films, I should say) to pick from. Penny Marshall? Come on. She’s competent.
The Piano was very good, but I’m not sure I would say it’s the best…
If I’m not mistaken, the female-directed film to receive the most votes in the recent Sight & Sound Greatest Films survey is Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (unseen by me).
I honestly tried to think of a film by Arzner or Ida Lupino or Alice Guy or Maya Deren that would qualify, but I really couldn’t (though they’ve all made good films)
13 Conversations About One Thing, directed by Jill Sprecher
I don’t know if it’s the best female-directed movie, but it’s certainly better than anything by Penny Marshall.
Just thought of another one:
Whatever by Susan Skoog