# Most Overrated Directors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159 "2003-07-26T23:40:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/21 "2003-07-27T06:05:15Z")
Is it weird that I thought this was **Most Overrated Dictators**. I just clicked on it to see what the hell people would say - “Yeah, that Mussolini, people always talk about him, but what did he do really?” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/22 "2003-07-27T06:17:09Z")
**Meyer** , I’ve posted to this thread, and I looked real fast just now and thought the same thing. Anyway, I agree with the Mussolini nod. He didn’t even really make the trains run on time. ---
**Author:** ![Atom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@Atom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/23 "2003-07-27T06:23:55Z")
Lynch is most definetly up there. He gets away with making mediocre films which are visually interesting but thematically empty. He’s described his writing style as grasping for ideas for images and stringing those images together through a lose story. And for this he gets called a genius. Occasionally he directs films for which there is an actual story written, such as The Elephant Man and the Straight Story. Those are probably his best films, and they are quality due mostly to the writing, but the direction is flat out mediocre. I disagree with the previous sentiments about John Woo, as Woo’s Hong Kong action films, Hard Boiled, The Killer, and A Better Tommorow 2 feature some of the most visceral action scenes I’ve ever seen in a film. His talent ran dry when he was drafted by Hollywood to make quintessentially Hollywood action films. Somewhere along the way he seemed to get the notion that slow-mo = genius, when most of his Hong Kong films didnt feature much slow-mo at all. Spielberg takes the cake though. The man is great at making money, no question about that. But his annoying habit of trying to concoct fairy tales that appeal to adults as well as kids seem to fail most of the time. Of his films, i can say that i really only enjoyed Jaws, Duel, and Minority Report. The latter would’ve been flawless if they had cut an ending or two, and stopped drilling the big plot revelation into the heads of the audience. He has an terrible habit of insulting his audience’ intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/24 "2003-07-27T06:52:28Z")
Let me have the pleasure of being the first to nominate **Ang Lee** Even though I have only seen 2 of his films(Crouching tiger hidden dragon and The Hulk),it was sufficient evidence for me to nominate him. ---
**Author:** ![Atom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@Atom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atom)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/25 "2003-07-27T07:01:33Z")
I agree, although The Ice Storm had it’s moments. ---
**Author:** ![Nightime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Nightime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightime)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/26 "2003-07-27T07:57:21Z")
Ang Lee? Have you seen _Eat Drink Man Woman_? Great movie. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/27 "2003-07-27T09:29:58Z")
Brian De Palma ---
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/28 "2003-07-27T10:17:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nightime \* > \*\*Ang Lee? Have you seen _Eat Drink Man Woman_? Great movie. \*\* Well **Nightime** I have only had the (mis)fortune of watching 2 Ang Lee movies and I dont think I was majorly impressed with what I saw. IMHO “Crouching tiger…” was more creative in the marketing sense than in the direction sense.Well I am sure watching a wider spectrum of his movies might change my opinion about him.But frankly I dont have to guts to do so. ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/29 "2003-07-27T10:23:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*Also David Mamet, whose mystique exceeds his talent by a margin of about a million percent. He’s had his moments as a writer, but as a director he’s a catastrophe. And people love his films. I have no idea why. \*\* **RickJay** I was reading this to Leechboy and he asked for a cite, please? Apparently he can’t think of a better self-contained film than _Spanish Prisoner_ (and now he is muttering something about well structured). For my part I have to say most of the directors at La Trobe Uni’s Student Theatre are overrated but I’m told they are still learning and I should be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/30 "2003-07-27T10:24:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*_For me, Paul Thomas Anderson has to get consideration due to \* Punch Drunk Love_, which I didn’t like at all, and his other masterpiece (_Magnolia_) has its good points, but I’m not sure it’s as good as the impression it originally left. > \*\* I thought Magnolia was a monumental waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![asomihite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@asomihite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asomihite)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/31 "2003-07-27T11:23:22Z")
OK, Spielberg, no doubt!! And another guy who isn’t necessarily praised for his directing by critics, but just has too much of a fan base is Kevin Smith. After Clerks it’s just been downhill. It was fun for a minute, but after I saw that newest one with the long title I’m not gonna bother typing, I almost decided I hate him. George Lucas isn’t praised by critics for his “directing” either, but ask the average un-film-educated people and they’ll say he’s one of the best directors. They don’t know he’s only directed (I’m not bothering to check) I think 5 movies. And the last two were so poorly directed that it’s hard to even count them. Oh, and Spike Lee. Really, what is great about his directing?? I don’t get it. But onto more important things: David Lynch is not praised by film critics very often. He’s usually shitted on by most and avoided by others. His stuff is not for people that aren’t Lynch fans. With the exception of course of The Elephant Man and The Straight Story (which barely anyone seems to have ever heard of). If you wanna talk about an overrated Lynch film though: Wild at Heart! This won best film at Cannes and is horribly painful for me to watch. This coming from someone who loves his stuff. Watch Lumiere & Company and tell me David Lynch didn’t create the most interesting and probably only short worth even watching on there. And about P.T. Anderson, he’s brilliant. He’s very different, but I’ve never seen characters as real as the ones in his movies. ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/32 "2003-07-27T11:48:50Z")
> [@](#): > > If you wanna talk about an overrated Lynch film though: Wild at Heart! This won best film at Cannes and is horribly painful for me to watch. I agree. As a long time Lynch fan, I really expected to like this. But I didn’t. It’s strange that this film got him more praise than some of his other (better) films. My vote’s on Stanley Kubrick. Granted, I’ve never seen a film by him I didn’t like, but I’ve never really fallen in love with him the way many people seem to do. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/33 "2003-07-27T12:09:29Z")
I’ll vote for Tim Burton, the epitome of style over substance. Oh, and I didn’t see Magnolia, but I’m glad to find I’m not the only one who didn’t like Punch Drunk Love. I hadn’t even heard of it before I saw it and I just assumed it would have been a critical disaster - I couldn’t believe it afterward when I heard it had got such great reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/34 "2003-07-27T12:16:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Atom \* > \*\* > I disagree with the previous sentiments about John Woo, as Woo’s Hong Kong action films, Hard Boiled, The Killer, and A Better Tommorow 2 feature some of the most visceral action scenes I’ve ever seen in a film. His talent ran dry when he was drafted by Hollywood to make quintessentially Hollywood action films. Somewhere along the way he seemed to get the notion that slow-mo = genius, when most of his Hong Kong films didnt feature much slow-mo at all. > > \*\* Huh? That’s crazy-talk. I also am tired of people bashing Woo for his Hollywood studio films when they haven’t seen the reason he was imported in the first place, but he used PLENTY of slow-motion in his older films. I haven’t done a survey to see if there’s been any change, but to say his HK films “didn’t feature much slow-mo at all” seems nuts, unless when you say “most” you’re counting the old kung fu and comedy flicks. His action style hasn’t really changed at all, it’s just now neutered by the MPAA and the fact that Hollywood action movies aren’t about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vampire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Space\_Vampire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vampire)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/35 "2003-07-27T12:30:36Z")
Oh, I will also throw in with Altman (boring, self-satisfied artsy-fartsy crap) Lynch (look at me, I’m craaazy! Liked Twin Peaks, though) and DePalma, who just plan… well, sucks. Scarface was good-bad, everything else was bad-bad or couldn’t even catch my interest. I only saw the light-show portion of 2001 and it pretty well put me off the movie forever, but otherwise I’ve found the Kubrick films I’ve seen very enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![WadeG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d26b3c/32.png) [@WadeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WadeG)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/36 "2003-07-27T13:02:40Z")
He isn’t really overrated anymore, but he was once: Ed Burns. An even worse director (and writer) than he is an actor. I never understood the people who celebrate Clint Eastwood’s directing either. Meanwhile, it’s fascinating to see what other people hate, especially since Dr. Strangelove, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Goodfellas, and The Player are among my favorite movies. (I also really dug Punch-Drunk Love…) ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/37 "2003-07-27T13:09:47Z")
I have to second Scorcese and Kubrick. ---
**Author:** ![skin2skin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@skin2skin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skin2skin)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/38 "2003-07-27T17:11:53Z")
I’m surprised that nobody has said: **Michael Bay** If you sat through _Armegaddon_, or _The Rock_, you’ll know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/39 "2003-07-27T17:11:55Z")
Another vote for Tim Burton. I thought ED WOOD was great but the rest of his stuff barely watchable. MARS ATTACKS managed to have Jack Nicholson (in two roles for no apparent reason), Martin Short, Glenn Close, Sylvia Sidney, and a long list of other very capable actors and waste every single one of them- the Martians were given better roles than the humans. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159/40 "2003-07-27T18:55:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by skin2skin \* > \*\*I’m surprised that nobody has said: > > **Michael Bay** > > If you sat through _Armegaddon_, or _The Rock_, you’ll know what I mean. \*\* Apparently some people don’t know the definition of “overrated.” For someone to be overrated, a lot of people have to think they are better than they are. I doubt this is the case with Bay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-overrated-directors/191159.md?page=3)