Directors Poll: Your top 3 favorite directors (1 Viewer)

I'd like to know which directors you all have as personal favorites (i.e. you love all or almost all of their films, they have the best or most intriguing ideas in your opinion, or whatever makes you love them and their films so much).

My top 3 in order are:

1) David Cronenberg- I love every single film this genius has done, and his ideas are some of the most original and interesting of any director ever. I can honestly say that I think every film he has done is a classic to me. Long live Cronenberg!

2) John Carpenter- Carpenter has two films that reside in my top five of all time, and I love almost all of his other films as well. Carpenter is also as outstanding at creating brilliant film scores as he is at making spectacular films. Its hard to name a Carpenter film that isn't a favorite of mine.

3) David Lynch- I love every film Lynch has done except for DUNE, and his masterful MULHOLLAND DR. is actually my second favorite film of all time. Lynch is an extremely innovative mastermind of cinema, and his films effect me like no other directors' films can. Once again, most all of his films are huge favorites of your's truly.

John Carpenter - Yeah, he has some bad films, but when he's good, he's one of the best.

David Cronenberg - I don't think I admire him for his directing skills so much as his intellect. This man is absolutely brilliant.

David Fincher - Easily my favorite in terms of sheer beauty of the final product. He doesn't exactly lack in the areas of pacing, atmosphere, or intensity, either. Oh, and between Fight Club and Panic Room, he's proved himself the all-time master of camera movement...

1. The Coen Brothers
2. David Lynch
3. Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock He is truly the master of suspense. What else needs to be said than what has already been said about this master?

Billy Wilder Can do comedy, drama, noir. There's nothing this guy couldn't do.

Steven Spielberg He did some of my all time faves including my number one all time fave - Raiders. Anyway, with Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, etc. he is number 3.

Honorable mentions go to David Lean, Frank Capra, John Ford, Stanley Kubrick and Orson Welles.

Alfred Hitchcock - while I certainly don't love every film he's done, he has made of 20 films I consider true masterpieces (including 4 of my top 20), films that are well-written, entertaining, with lots of symbolism and other artistic touches.

Billy Wilder - the man is simply a genius. He excels at so many things, and has made great mysteries (Double Indemnity), hilarious comedies (Some Like It Hot), and is one of the masters of mixing comedy and drams (Stalag 17, The Apartment). He usually also wrote the scripts, which in my opinion are unparalled. He's my #2 director, but my #1 screenwriter. Again, I don't like all of his films, but the vast majority are great.

These are 1 & 2 easily. Selecting #3 is hard. There are lots of candidates, but none sticks out clearly for me (Orson Welles, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen).

Geez, Tommy posted while I was composing my list. Bizarre, but damn good taste you have there.

This changes all the time. At the moment:

• Woody Allen
• Hitchcock
• Fincher

Stanley Kubrick
Orson Welles
Werner Herzog

Kurosawa would be a very close #4.

Naming only three is tough and the third slot could have gone to several different people.

William Wyler Gets my vote as the greatest director of film. Very versatile and many great films, including two of my top ten.

John Ford Also one of the very greatest directors, not as versatile as Wyler but great in every sense.

Ang Lee Thought I include my favorite current director here.

Stanley Kubrick
Akira Kurosawa
Oliver Stone


Also love:
Alfred Hitchcock,Martin Scorcese,Coen Bros

What Jim said...
Kurosawa
Kubrick
Hitchcock


I have one shelf on my DVD rack devoted to specific directors: these three, and Woody Allen.

1. Hitchcock
2. Capra
3. Wyler

1. Akira Kurosawa - He understood human beings as well as anyone who ever directed films. Known for action-filled samurai epics, it's his gentleness and humanity that most attracts me in films like Ikiru, Ran, Rashomon, and Madadayo.

2. Stanley Kubrick - Combined technical genius with the ability to pull every element of filmmaking together to create his cinematic masterpieces. I treasure each of his films.

3. Ingmar Bergman - Always willing to expose his soul for the world to see. Always ready to question why and to seek to understand the world we live in. Worked with 2 of the great cinematographers to create films that are showpieces of visual economy and lighting.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Luis Bunuel, and Preston Sturges would be my runners-up.

Pretty much interchangeable, but today:

1. Tarkovsky (the festival's in town, so I'm on a super Tarkovsky kick right now)

2. Bunuel

3. Hitchcock

Tarkovsky
Dreyer
Bergman

1. Stanley Kubrick
2. Alfred Hitchcock
3. Akira Kurosawa

1. Steven Spielberg
2. John Carpenter
3. Robert Zemeckis

1. Terry Gilliam
2. Stanley Kubrick
3. The Coen Brothers

1. Stanley Kubrick
2. Woody Allen
3. Steven Spielberg (just saw Schindler's List on Laser and it bumped Billy Wilder to 4th )