# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/21 "2002-12-23T00:22:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HomeSlice \* > Peter Jackson \*\* Ok…he has one set of three movies written based on an already great and popular story. Please. Fine…he gets award for Best Director of an Epic Trilogy Director Who Should of Quit While He Was Ahead - George Lucas Most Consistent Best Director - Stephen Spielberg Best Director (Ganster Films) - Martin Scorcese Francis Ford Coppola (tie) Best Director (Films that Make You Say WTF!) - Stanley Kubrick Best Director (Mega Blockbuster Epic) - James Cameron, Ridley Scott (tie) Director Who Should Have Quit While He Was Ahead - George Lucas ---
**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 23, 2002, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/22 "2002-12-23T00:43:12Z")
While I think Wilder has some great films, I think too many of his films are flawed. His cynicism is rarely consistent within a film, and too many characters are simple stereotype/caricatures. Welles certainly has a few magnificent films, but not enough consistently top-notch output. David Lean? I guess it’s a personal opinion, but I find most of his films muddled and not worth watching a second time. So I stick with Hitchcock as best overall, but with Ford as the best storyteller and Griffith as the most innovative. I can watch almost any of their films over and over again, and still come away with some insight. One also has to note that Victor Fleming managed both GONE WITH THE WIND and WIZARD OF OZ in the same year. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/23 "2002-12-23T00:48:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\*Ok…he has one set of three movies written based on an already great and popular story. Please. > > Fine…he gets award for Best Director of an Epic Trilogy\*\* It’s not like those are the only movies he’s made. He didn’t make my list, but he has certainly made some great movies- from **Dead Alive** to **Heavenly Creatures**. ---
**Author:** ![DarRRva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/53a042/32.png) [@DarRRva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarRRva)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/24 "2002-12-23T00:57:28Z")
Ok… Either I’ve forgoten to take my eye pills this morning, or you actually haven’t nominated Baz Luhrman… So he hasn’t made that many movies, but Moulin Rouge and especially Romeo & Juliet’s directorial tchniques make these films what hey are. The best ever, definately ---
**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 23, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/25 "2002-12-23T01:51:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DarRRva \* > \*\*Ok… Either I’ve forgoten to take my eye pills this morning, or you actually haven’t nominated Baz Luhrman… So he hasn’t made that many movies, but Moulin Rouge and especially Romeo & Juliet’s directorial tchniques make these films what hey are. The best ever, definately \*\* You’re right. He hasn’t made that many movies. He’s made three. I’m sure that he’s talented, but to suggest that he is greater at his craft than any one of the aforementioned is ludicrous. This is not to say that he won’t continue to make terrific films, but how about a little perspective? I would suggest that a stronger case could be made for Woody Allen, or Preston Sturges, or Milos Forman, or Roman Polanski, etc. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/26 "2002-12-23T01:54:42Z")
Kurosawa seven samurai ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/27 "2002-12-23T02:23:12Z")
It’s hard to pick a “best,” but I’ll agree with those who named Hitchcock, Kubrick, Scorcese and Spielberg–and because no one has named him yet, let me throw in Ingmar Bergman. ---
**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 23, 2002, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/28 "2002-12-23T02:31:37Z")
Touch of Evil is as well directed as any film ever made. So was Citizen Kane, or The Stranger. That Welles was not given more studio pictures to direct was criminal. The Magnificant Ambersons was a masterpiece even after it was chopped to hell. See Othello. The Trial. When Welles had a adequate budget, he did consistently excellent work. That his first Hollywood effort was to screw WR Hearst was a foolish thing to do with his career, but unavoidable considering who he was. FWIW, Welles would have probably picked John Ford, one of his favorites. ---
**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 23, 2002, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/29 "2002-12-23T02:41:09Z")
And whatever happened to Kenneth Branagh? After Henry V, Dead Again, Much Ado about Nothing, and Hamlet, all made before he turned forty, I would have guessed that he would be a great director. But since then, he’s been pretty quiet. Another one that I would have suspected would be on the list of all-time greats by now was Quentin Tarantino. Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were an amazing debut, followed up by Four Rooms and Jackie Brown. All good movies, and two great ones. But since then, nothing. Now he’s coming out with a martial arts flick. Hopefully, it’ll be good enough to stand the genre on its head and he’ll re-establish himself as a great director, but I have my doubts. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/30 "2002-12-23T02:43:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grendel72 \* > \*\*It’s not like those are the only movies he’s made. He didn’t make my list, but he has certainly made some great movies- from **Dead Alive** to **Heavenly Creatures**. \*\* You forgot **Meet the Feebles** , an R-Rated version of _The Muppet Show_. For my mind, it’s got to be Orson Welles. The man was a genius, surrounded by morons. Yeah, some of his films have problems, but remember Welles either made them under protest, or was shafted with a budget of less than what he needed to complete the film. (There’s one of his films from the 1970’s or 1960’s that he finished all the photography on, but ran out of money to do the editing. Peter Bogdonovich was supposed to finish it after Welles’s death, but I don’t know if he did or not. And no, I am not talking about _It’s All True_.) ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/31 "2002-12-23T02:47:57Z")
“Spielberg has another 20-30 years worth of films left” Not at his peak if history is any guide. I don’t know of too many directors who continued making great films in their 70’s (Kurusawa being perhaps the main exception). Wilder and Hitchcock were probably past their best by 65 though they continued to make films. So Spielberg probably has about 10 good years left. And don’t forget that Scorcese is still making films. While I think Spielberg is a great director, IMO too many of his recent films (eg Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report ) have the same problem of sappy, artificial endings spoiling otherwise good films. Plus he has made at least one truly awful film : The Temple of Doom. When you are talking about the all-time no.1 ,with so many good choices, that puts Spielberg out of contention IMO unless he produces several more masterpieces. Wumpus, I would question some of the Hitch movies you list as “great” especially Rope and Man who know too Much(either version). Anyway you are probably right that Hitch made more good films than Lean. Like I said IMO Lean has a big edge in the range of his talents. Think of Lawrence of Arabia, Great Expectations, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter and In Which We Serve. Each of them is completely different from the other. I don’t see the same range of films from Hitchcock. Many of his great films repeat the same themes (eg. innocent man on the run, trains etc.) I know less about Ford but my impression is of another great director who worked in a relatively narrow range of films. Wilder and Spielberg have been more versatile but not quite as much as Lean IMO and each of them has made at least one film I really didn’t like (Irma La Douce from Wilder). Ultimately of course it’s a matter of opinion what you value for your no.1 choice. In reality there are too many great directors to narrow it down to just one choice. But it does make you really think about your preferences so it is a useful and interesting exercise. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@ChrisM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisM)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/32 "2002-12-23T04:25:22Z")
No one has mentioned Ozu Yasujiro? Or Satyajit Ray? But of course, the true winner has to be Michael Bay. _Bad Boys._ _The Rock._ _Armageddon._ _Pearl Harbor._ None can match such grandeur, such humanity, such delicate grace. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/33 "2002-12-23T05:05:11Z")
Best stylized violence… Sam Peckinpah. ---
**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 23, 2002, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/34 "2002-12-23T05:35:26Z")
Tuckerfan, you are thinking of_The Other Side of the Wind_ and it is unlikely we will ever see it. ---
**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, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/35 "2002-12-23T06:18:14Z")
In a recent thread about the Coen brothers’ _The Hudsucker Proxy_ I noted that on IMDB it rates as their worst film with a rating of 7.4 (7.6 being required to crack their top 250 of all time). So the Coens are batting 1.000 at scoring 7.4 I thought I would check some other career averages Hitchcock .320 16/50 Ford .326 15/46 Wilder .342 13/38 Spielberg .480 12/25 Lean .533 8/15 Kubrick .625 10/16 For scores over 7.0 it becomes Hitchcock .560 Ford .587 Spielberg .680 Kubrick .688 Wilder .763 Lean .933 For what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/36 "2002-12-23T06:57:05Z")
Well, consistency isn’t necessarily all that important in an artist, given that what he creates lives on. It’s the number of _good_ movies they made that’s important. The fact that Hitchcock (or Ford, or Welles, or even Lean–heretic that I am, I can’t stand Dr. Zhivago) made some stinkers is irrelevant. Just don’t watch 'em. To put it another way: there are people who feel that all three of Terrance Malick’s films–Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line–are masterpieces. I’m not one of them, but that’s neither here nor there for the purposes of this discussion. If you think all three are great, that gives him a perfect record. But still … he’s only directed three films in thirty years. During that same time, Scorcese has made over a dozen movies. Some of those were stinkers; some of them were Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, After Hours, Goodfellas, etc. When you add up the good Scorcese films, there are more on the plate than there are Malick films, period. That’s pretty decisive in my book. (That and the fact I’m not actually a Malick fan!) ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/37 "2002-12-23T07:15:53Z")
Frank Capra for his take on who is the American Common Man. His films have the basic good over evil plot. Stories brilliantly told through film. ---
**Author:** ![sirtonyh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@sirtonyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sirtonyh)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/38 "2002-12-23T10:50:02Z")
I’ll 2nd all the votes for Lean, Ford, Kurosawa, Spielberg and Welles and the Coens. But the winner would have to be Kubrick. He directed virtually every genre possible (sc-fi, drama, horror etc.) and his films were intelligent, provocotive and always very watchable. ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/39 "2002-12-23T12:45:52Z")
Since so many of my other choices have already been taken, I shall nominate Jean Renoir, the most humane of directors. Check out _La Grande Illusion_ and _La Règle du Jeu_. ---
**Author:** ![Fingolfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297/40 "2002-12-23T13:25:23Z")
**David Fincher** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-director-in-cinema-history/144297.md?page=3)