# Director winning streaks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 11, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919 "2011-09-11T05:28:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/21 "2011-09-12T13:22:49Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Justin\_Bailey, you’ve skipped _Always_. You’ve also skipped _Twilight Zone: The Movie_, although it’s possible to argue that it’s not a Spielberg film, since he was just one of four directors of it Always was released after Last Crusade. And I skipped Twilight Zone because I don’t think anthologies should count. It’s unfair to give Spielberg the credit (or the blame, if you prefer) for that one. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/22 "2011-09-12T13:46:56Z")
So apparently Spielberg lost it sometimes between May 24, 1989 and December 22, 1989. This makes me wonder what it even means for a director to have a streak. Surely Spielberg was working on _Always_ as he was finishing up _Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade_. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/23 "2011-09-12T14:11:25Z")
David Lynch: Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart Scorcese had two streaks… 1st: Mean Streets, Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver 2nd: The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/24 "2011-09-12T14:17:45Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > David Lynch: Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, **Dune** , Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart Oh, no. If Dune is a “classic”, then the oeuvre of Uwe Boll is next. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/25 "2011-09-12T14:18:29Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Spielberg does qualify with five in a row: Raiders, E.T., Temple of Doom, The Color Purple, Empire of the Sum, Last Crusade Temple of Doom was not very good. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/26 "2011-09-12T14:21:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The Coen brothers qualify (I know Joel is listed as the director but people say they actually work as co-directors). Their first three movies were _Blood Simple_, _Raising Arizona_, and _Miller’s Crossing_, which I feel were all classics. Haven’t seen Miller’s Crossing, but their first 8 is pretty impressive: 1984 Blood Simple. 1987 Raising Arizona 1990 Miller’s Crossing 1991 Barton Fink 1994 The Hudsucker Proxy 1996 Fargo 1998 The Big Lebowski 2000 O Brother, Where Art Thou? You can argue Barton and the Hudsucker Proxy (though I love them both), but Fargo-Lebowski-O Brother is definitely a winning streak. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/27 "2011-09-12T14:27:59Z")
Hayao Miyazaki: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, 1984 film Castle in the Sky, 1986 film My Neighbor Totoro, 1988 film Kiki’s Delivery Service, 1989 film Porco Rosso, 1992 film Princess Mononoke, 1997 film Spirited Away, 2001 film (winner, Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, 2002) Howl’s Moving Castle, 2004 film (nominee, Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, 2005) Ponyo, 2008 film I haven’t seen **Porco Rosso** , but it rates about even with\*\* Ponyo\*\* in the IMDB. Then there’s Brad Bird: The Iron Giant (1999) The Incredibles (2004) Ratatouille (2007) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/28 "2011-09-12T14:28:29Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Temple of Doom was not very good. Temple of Doom was not very good _compared to Raiders and Last Crusade_. As a movie it’s still ridiculously great. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/29 "2011-09-12T15:39:25Z")
Depending on how you feel about “12 chairs” which the critics seem to like, Mel Brooks had a pretty good run for a while. The Producers (1968) The Twelve Chairs (1970) Blazing Saddles (1974) Young Frankenstein (1974) Silent Movie (1976) His next two also have a lot of fans, but are less universally respected. High Anxiety (1977) History of the World, Part I (1981) The less said about his more recent works, the better. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/30 "2011-09-12T15:42:40Z")
> [@WreckingCrew](#): > > Depending on how you feel about “12 chairs” which the critics seem to like, Mel Brooks had a pretty good run for a while. You forgot Spaceballs. Which has been sliding more and more into the “classic Mel Brooks canon” for years now. ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/31 "2011-09-12T15:53:22Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You forgot Spaceballs. Which has been sliding more and more into the “classic Mel Brooks canon” for years now. Thought about it, but I checked Mel’s wiki page, and it lists only 54% critic support at Rotten Tomatoes for Space Balls. On the other hand, his lowest rating for the first 5 is 89%. Either way, a hell of streak. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/32 "2011-09-12T16:07:19Z")
> [@WreckingCrew](#): > > Depending on how you feel about “12 chairs” which the critics seem to like, Mel Brooks had a pretty good run for a while. > > The Producers (1968) > The Twelve Chairs (1970) > Blazing Saddles (1974) > Young Frankenstein (1974) > Silent Movie (1976) > > His next two also have a lot of fans, but are less universally respected. > > High Anxiety (1977) > History of the World, Part I (1981) > > The less said about his more recent works, the better. Has anybody else directed two classics that came out the same year? ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/33 "2011-09-12T16:12:37Z")
On a smaller, more “Indie Classics” way, [Tom McCarthy](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0565336/#Director) is hitting 1000% with the first three film’s he’s written and directed: _The Station Agent The Visitor Win Win_ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/34 "2011-09-12T16:29:07Z")
Warren Beatty only directed four movies, each of which was nominated for Best Motion Picture at the Golden Globes: **Heaven Can Wait** (which won, and got him an Oscar nomination for acting and one for writing and one for producing along with the one for directing), **Reds** (which likewise got him Oscar nominations for acting and writing and producing, but this time got him the win for directing) **Dick Tracy** (which did exactly what he produced it to do, grossing a ton of money as a fun popcorn movie that looked like a comic book come to life – promptly winning the Oscar for Best Art Direction) and **Bulworth** (which got him yet another Oscar nomination, because, hey, that’s what he does). ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/35 "2011-09-12T16:43:01Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Has anybody else directed two classics that came out the same year? Victor Fleming directed **Gone With The Wind** , and co-directed **The Wizard Of Oz** , in 1939. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/36 "2011-09-12T16:49:02Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Has anybody else directed two classics that came out the same year? Spielberg, 1993: \*\*Jurassic Park \*\*and **Schindler’s List**. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/37 "2011-09-12T16:58:49Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Has anybody else directed two classics that came out the same year? Preston Stuges again: 1940 – **Christmas in July** & **The Great McGinty** 1941 – **The Lady Eve** & **Sullivan’s Travels** 1944 – **The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek** & **Hail the Conquering Hero** John Ford: 1939 – **Stagecoach** & **Young Mr. Lincoln** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/38 "2011-09-12T17:03:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Has anybody else directed two classics that came out the same year? Michael Curtiz: **Adventures Of Robin Hood** and **Angels With Dirty Faces** in 1938, **Casablanca** and **Yankee Doodle Dandy** in 1942. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/39 "2011-09-12T17:06:53Z")
These streaks from Ingmar Bergman come to mind: **Smiles of a Summer Night** (1955) **The Seventh Seal** (1957) **Wild Strawberries** (1957) **The Face** aka **The Magician** (1958) or **Through a Glass Darkly** (1961) **Winter Light** (1962) **The Silence** (1963) **Persona** (1966) **Hour of the Wolf** (1968) **Shame** (1968) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/40 "2011-09-12T17:24:26Z")
How about **Federico Fellini** then: _Nights of Cabiria_ (1957) _La Dolce Vita_ (1960) _8 1/2_ (1963) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919.md?page=3)