# 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:** 3
**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, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/41 "2011-09-12T17:32:09Z")
> [@WreckingCrew](#): > > 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. Right, but all those reviews were from when it was new and considered a lesser Brooks movie. I’m saying that criticism is disappearing as more and more people realize Spaceballs is fucking funny (especially those of us that grew up on it). ---
**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, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/42 "2011-09-12T22:26:09Z")
There’s a little mistake in my previous post: Ingmar Bergman did direct a dud in 1964, splitting his 1960s run of classics in two. It was a movie called _All These Women_, which gets the lowest IMDb rating of all his directorial works. Even Bergman himself called it “quite putrid.” But, taking a step back, I submit that Bergman’s run of films between 1955 and 1978 is the most amazing in the history of cinema. IMDb ratings provide a rough way to gauge classic-ness, at least for older movies (ratings will be inflated for recent releases). Poring through lists of some famous directors’ resumes, it appears that an IMDb rating of 7.5 is the approximate benchmark for calling a film a classic. So then, this is Bergman’s output from '55 to '78, with their IMDb ratings rounded: Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) 7.8 The Seventh Seal (1957) 8.4 Wild Strawberries (1957) 8.4 The Brink of Life (1958) 7.2 The Magician (1958) 7.7 The Virgin Spring (1960) 8.1 The Devil’s Eye (1960) 7.1 Through a Glass Darkly (1961) 8.0 Winter Light (1962) 7.9 The Silence (1963) 7.9 All These Women (1964) 5.9 Persona (1966) 8.2 Hour of the Wolf (1968) 7.7 Shame (1968) 7.9 The Rite (TV, 1969) 7.1 Passion of Anna (1969) 7.7 The Touch (1970) 6.4 Cries and Whispers (1972) 8.0 Scenes from a Marriage (1973) 8.4 The Magic Flute (TV, 1975) 7.8 Face to Face (1976) 7.6 The Serpent’s Egg (1977) 6.6 Autumn Sonata (1978) 8.1 Going by the 7.5 standard, that’s 17 classics out of 23 releases. With only 3 of 23 below a 7 rating. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/43 "2011-09-12T22:36:54Z")
Arguably, the Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali achieved his hat-trick with the critically acclaimed and very popular _Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam_ (1999), _Devdas_ (2002), and _Black_ (2005). ---
**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, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/44 "2011-09-12T22:53:44Z")
One last thing about Bergman, it’s fair to say he accomplished what the OP asks for _four different times_: '55 to '58; '61 to '63; '66 to '68; and '72 to '76. There’s also Sergio Leone: **A Fistful of Dollars** (1964) **For a Few Dollars More** (1965) **The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly** (1966) **Once Upon a Time in the West** (1968) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/45 "2011-09-12T22:55:26Z")
James Cameron had a pretty good run early on. If you don’t count a few TV and documentary shorts that he dropped in the middle of his movies, his feature films in the period 1984 to 1991 were: The Terminator Aliens The Abyss Terminator 2: Judgment Day ---
**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, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/46 "2011-09-12T22:57:32Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > How about **Federico Fellini** then: > > _Nights of Cabiria_ (1957) > _La Dolce Vita_ (1960) > _8 1/2_ (1963) No argument here. I would even stretch that to _Juliet of the Spirits_ (1965) ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/47 "2011-09-12T23:03:38Z")
Quentin Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown Terry Gilliam: The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas John Waters: Desperate Living, Polyester, Hairspray ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/48 "2011-09-12T23:08:49Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Oh, no. > > If Dune is a “classic”, then the oeuvre of Uwe Boll is next. Are you kidding? There’s no comparison. _Dune_ definitely has its dragging moments, but hardly any movies _look_ as cool. It’s a perfect example of how physical sets are superior to CGI. The art direction is first rate. And Sting is in it. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/49 "2011-09-13T12:56:06Z")
Alfred Hitchcock: ‘Vertigo’ (1958), ‘North by Northwest’ (1959), ‘Psycho’ (1960) and ‘The Birds’ (1963) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/50 "2011-09-13T13:08:46Z")
> [@gatorslap](#): > > Terry Gilliam: The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas You’re three movies short on Gilliam. _Time Bandits_, _Brazil_, and _The Adventures of Baron Munchausen_ all directly preceded _The Fisher King_. And while I like all three of the movies you mentioned, only _12 Monkeys_ comes close to those earlier films. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/51 "2011-09-13T13:28:58Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But I think you could count early George Lucas as an example. His first three movies as director were _THX 1138_, _American Graffiti_, and _Star Wars_. If he had just stopped there, he’d have been fine. Even before the SW prequels, _Howard the Duck_ pretty effectively stank up the place. John Lasseter directed _Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2_ and _Cars_ in a row. Not too shabby. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/52 "2011-09-13T13:56:41Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > 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. I would argue against _Raising Arizona_. Their only stinker. Watched it a few months ago for the first time in years and could not believe how bad it was. ---
**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 13, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/53 "2011-09-13T14:29:13Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Are you kidding? There’s no comparison. _Dune_ definitely has its dragging moments, but hardly any movies _look_ as cool. It’s a perfect example of how physical sets are superior to CGI. The art direction is first rate. And Sting is in it. Sorry, we’ll just have to disagree on this one. I wasted my birthday seeing “Dune” in the theater. The portrayal of Baron Harkonnen was just plain stupid. This movie also had some of the worst acting this side of George Lucas - Kyle McLachlan was awful in it; and the kid who, at the end, declared that Paul was the Kwisatz Haderach may have had the single worst line reading I’ve ever seen in movies. Sting is cool, though. “I WILL KILL HIM!” ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/54 "2011-09-13T16:37:55Z")
Christopher Nolan has a streak going. Memento Insomnia Batman Begins The Prestige The Dark Knight Inception His average RT score is 86% and his average Metacritic score is 75. I’m sure The Dark Knight Rises will continue his streak next year. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/55 "2011-09-13T16:53:44Z")
Woody Allen’s first 15[!] movies: > [@](#): > > 1987 Radio Days > > 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters > > 1985 The Purple Rose of Cairo > > 1984 Broadway Danny Rose > > 1983 Zelig > > 1982 A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy > > 1980 Stardust Memories > > 1979 Manhattan > > 1978 Interiors > > 1977 Annie Hall > > 1975 Love and Death > > 1973 Sleeper > > 1972 Every Thing You Always Wanted to Know About Sex \* But Were Afraid to Ask > > 1971 Bananas > > 1969 Take the Money and Run People have wildly differing opinions on those films. I sure wouldn’t count all 15 as classics. That’s still arguably the best run from the beginning of a career of anybody in movies, and ranks with the best runs ever. Terry Jones’ first three movies were Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, which also can fairly be described as shabbyless. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/56 "2011-09-13T17:39:28Z")
**Michael Mann** : Last of the Mohicans (1992) Heat (1995) The Insider (1999) Ali (2001) Collateral (2004) Nice streak with 5 very different films. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/57 "2011-09-13T17:45:06Z")
**Penny Marshall** : Big (1988) Awakenings (1990) A League of Their Own (1992) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/58 "2011-09-13T18:38:33Z")
Arguably, John Hughes, although I know that some folks don’t like **Weird Science**. **Sixteen Candles** (1984) **The Breakfast Club** (1985) **Weird Science** (1985) **Ferris Bueller’s Day Off** (1986) **Planes, Trains, and Automobiles** (1987) Rotten Tomatoes gives **WS** a 56%, but the others are 88%, 90%, 84%, and 93%, respectively. ---
**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 14, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/59 "2011-09-14T02:17:56Z")
Basically, I agree with you, Exapno Mapcase, but let me make several notes. _What’s Up, Tiger Lily?_ (from 1966) is sometimes listed as Allen’s first movie. He directed some extra scenes and completely rewrote the original dialogue. I suppose since he didn’t direct the original Japanese film that he and others redubbed, you don’t consider it to be his film. I would list _Play It Again, Sam_ (from 1972) among his best films. Even though he wrote it and starred in it, he didn’t direct it, so again I guess you might not consider it to be one of his films. There’s also the 1971 PBS film _Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story_, which never got shown at all, although it’s possible to see it at a film archive, so again you might not want to consider it as one of his films. Anyway, the early films are great. Even the more recent ones are pretty good. I think he’s a great filmmaker overall: > **[Woody Allen filmography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Allen_filmography)** > > Woody Allen has acted in, directed, and written many films starting in the 1960s. His first film was the 1965 comedy What's New Pussycat?, which featured him as both writer and performer. Allen felt that his New Yorker humor was mismatched with the director Clive Donner's British sensibility, and decided he wished to direct all future films from his material. He was unable to prevent the production of films by other directors from previous stage plays of his to which he had already sold the film ... ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919/60 "2011-09-14T12:09:44Z")
Nicolas Roeg had a pretty good start as a director: Performance (1970) Walkabout (1971) Don’t Look Now (1973) The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) I’ve never seen his next one: Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980), so I can’t say if it is good or not. And, yes, my ipod did spin through Big Audio Dynamite’s “E=mc2” on the way to work this morning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/director-winning-streaks/595919.md?page=2)