# The greatest director in cinema history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297 "2002-12-22T01:05:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/1 "2002-12-22T01:05:12Z")
One name only and state your reasons briefly. If I had to stick to one director it would probably be **David Lean**. Reasons: He had a long career(about 40 years) and made great films in several genres. In addition to his classic epics (Lawernce of Arabia, Dr Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai), you had his Dickens adaptations (Great Expectations, Oliver Twist), comedies (Blithe Spirit, Hobson’s choice), romantic drama(Brief Encounter) as well as In which we Serve which is hard to classify. Maybe only Kurusawa has had a comparable career and I admit I haven’t seen too many of his films and was a little disappointed with the couple I have. What’s your choice? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/2 "2002-12-22T01:16:42Z")
I think the obvious answer here is James Melkonian. He directed The Greatest Film Ever AKA The Stoned Age. ---
**Author:** ![HomeSlice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9d8465/32.png) [@HomeSlice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HomeSlice)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/3 "2002-12-22T01:31:45Z")
Peter Jackson ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/4 "2002-12-22T02:02:24Z")
Of all time? Alfred Hitchcock. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/5 "2002-12-22T02:31:32Z")
Another vote for Hitchcock. He had the adulation of his fellow directors, the critics (at least after 1960), and the moviegoing public. He made over 50 movies, starting in the silent '20s and continuing into the '70s. His influence is still felt today in all sorts of areas, from the artiest art film to the most brazen blockbuster actioner to the cheesiest low-budget slasher flick. And, of course, he made great movies: Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds, Nortorious, Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt, Rebecca, North by Northwest, The Lady Vanishes, etc. etc. etc. Oh, and he said “Good evening” better than anybody, ever. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/6 "2002-12-22T02:35:34Z")
The most ground-breaking: D W Griffith The most profound: Hitchcock The best story-teller: John Ford ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/7 "2002-12-22T02:38:29Z")
Billy Wilder - among his highlights: _Double Indemnity_ _The Lost Weekend_ _Sunset Boulevard_ _The Big Carnival_ _Stalag 17_ _Sabrina_ _The Seven Year Itch_ _Love in the Afternoon_ _Witness for the Prosecution_ _Some Like it Hot_ _The Apartment_ _One, Two, Three_ _Irma la Douce_ He won two Acadamy Awards for directing (_The Apartment, The Lost Weekend_); he was nominated for seven others that he didn’t win. He was also a pretty fair writer, winning three times, and nominated eight other times. Notable runners-up for me would have to include Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Francois Truffaut, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Akira Kurasowa, Martin Scorcese, Wim Wenders, John Huston, and John Frankenheimer (many more). Steven Soderburgh, P.T. Anderson, and Wes Anderson are comers. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/8 "2002-12-22T02:47:04Z")
Billy Wilder - among his highlights: _Double Indemnity_ _The Lost Weekend_ _Sunset Boulevard_ _The Big Carnival_ _Stalag 17_ _Sabrina_ _The Seven Year Itch_ _Love in the Afternoon_ _Witness for the Prosecution_ _Some Like it Hot_ _The Apartment_ _One, Two, Three_ _Irma la Douce_ He won two Acadamy Awards for directing (_The Apartment, The Lost Weekend_); he was nominated for seven others that he didn’t win. He was also a pretty fair writer, winning three times, and nominated eight other times. Notable runners-up for me would have to include Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Francois Truffaut, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Akira Kurasowa, Martin Scorcese, Wim Wenders, John Huston, Federico Fellini, Joel Coen and John Frankenheimer (many more). Steven Soderburgh, P.T. Anderson, and Wes Anderson are comers. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/9 "2002-12-22T02:53:11Z")
sorry about the double post ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/10 "2002-12-22T16:24:20Z")
I had a feeling that Hitchcock would be quite popular and a few years ago I would have named him as well probably. The reason I think he ranks a little below Lean is the range of their talents.I can easily imagine Lean directing a great suspense film; I find it hard to imagine Hitchcock directing an epic like Lawrence of Arabia. YMMV of course. ---
**Author:** ![I\_am\_Sparticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@I\_am\_Sparticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_am_Sparticus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/11 "2002-12-22T19:19:38Z")
Welles, Kurowasa, Griffiths, Huston ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/12 "2002-12-22T19:21:54Z")
Spielberg can’t be discounted, on sheer gross, and fan favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Homer\_J](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c37758/32.png) [@Homer\_J](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homer_J)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/13 "2002-12-22T19:26:21Z")
Hitchcock, Spielberg, Scoresse, Lean and Wells ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/14 "2002-12-22T19:28:47Z")
Yasuzo Masumura, and Orson Welles. Each was a genius compromised by their respective studio systems, but no other directors could have made **The Magnificent Ambersons** or **Giants and Toys**. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/15 "2002-12-22T20:29:55Z")
No knock on Lean–Kwai and Lawrence are two are my favorite movies–but he only made 18 films. You could match those 18 movies (some of which are forgotten today) with really great Hitchcock movies … and still have 35 Hitchcock movies left over. 18 great Hitchcock movies: the aforementioned Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, The Birds, Nortorious, Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt, Rebecca, North by Northwest, The Lady Vanishes, plus, say, Frenzy, Marnie, Rope, Suspicion, The 39 Steps, Sabotage, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and the Lodger. You could do something similar with John Ford. 18 great John Ford movies: Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, My Darling Clementine, Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, The Informer, Drums Along the Mohawk, Young Mr Lincoln, The Fugitive, Mister Roberts, The Last Hurrah, Cheyenne Autumn, and 3 Godfathers. And you still have a zillion Ford movies left over (including silents, TV shows, WWII training films like “Sex Hygiene” and more!) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/16 "2002-12-22T20:50:16Z")
Surely the producer/director of “PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE” should be on the list? He also made “GLENN OR GLENDA”, and a whole pile of other crap! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/17 "2002-12-22T21:00:18Z")
As of today, I’d have to vote for Hitchcock, Scorcese, and Billy Wilder. But unless Spielberg retires or dies early, he’s going to wind up the ‘champ’. He’s still young, in his mid-50’s, and he has already greated a great number of phenomenal movies. I’m watching ‘Jaws’ as we speak. What a great film. Spielberg has another 20-30 years worth of films left in him. He’s at the mid-point of his career. Mind you, he still has time to flop, too, or to slow down the pace of making films. Kubrick made a lot of great films, but his last 10 years were underwhelming (although I did like Eyes Wide Shut), and then he died young. A better example would be Francis Ford Coppola. He had an amazing string of great movies (Apocalypse Now, The Godfather I and II, The Conversation), but lately he’s produced pretty bad stuff. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2002, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/18 "2002-12-22T21:05:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\*I think the obvious answer here is James Melkonian. He directed The Greatest Film Ever AKA The Stoned Age. \*\* “Ever since you got hit by that laser at that Blue Oyster Cult Show you’ve been acting like a p\*\*\*y!” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/19 "2002-12-23T00:03:07Z")
No mentions of Stanley Kubrick? I know he made few films, but he’s the best in my opinion. Very different movies. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/20 "2002-12-23T00:19:01Z")
Another vote for Wilder who excelled at both drama and comedy. He also wrote most of his screenplays. I read years ago that at one award ceremony, having been beaten for the best director Oscar and feeling cheated, he tripped the winner as he walked past Wilder’s seat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297.md?page=2)