• Most new users don't bother reading our rules. Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ. Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
  • If this is your first time here please read our FAQ and Rules pages. They have some useful information that will get us all off on the right foot, especially our Own the Source rule. If you do not understand any of these rules send a private message to one of our staff for further details.
  • Please read our Rules & Guidelines

Favorite directors (and your favorite of their films)

Jrzag42

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
3,998
Reaction score
1,018
Trophy Points
138
I couldn't find a thread like this, though let me know if I'm wrong. 

List your favorite directors, and your favorite movies by them!

Rob Zombie- Of his movies, I've seen House of 1000 Corpses, Devil's Rejects, Halloween, and 31. My favorite is probably House of 1000 Corpses, though I love them all. I love the brutality, the utter disturbing creepiness of the editing and cuts. I've heard people say his films are edited too much like his music videos, but I love that. Everything is just so unsettling, and it's awesome.

Zack Snyder- People love this guy, people hate him, I love him but not obsessively. My favorite of his is either Dawn of the Dead or Watchmen. Between the music choices, and the visual style, and the action, and the casting, I just love it all. I also love Batman v Superman and Justice League. Those are the only films of his I've seen, and they're all great in my opinion. In fact, I prefer his Dawn of the Dead over Romero's, though I'd have to watch it again.

George Romero- I love him so much. I've only seen his Dead films, not including Survival. I love them all, but my favorites are Night and Day of the Dead. Once again, the unsettling feeling, as well as the allegories and character interactions, his films are just genius to me.

Sam Raimi- My favorite is Darkman. I also love his Spiderman films, especially 3, and of course the Evil Dead trilogy, especially Army of Darkness.

Peter Jackson- I've only seen Lord of the Rings and Bad Taste. I love it all. Oh, and The Frighteners, but we don't talk about that. Peter Jackson is a man with a vision, and seeks to bring his visions to fruition, and I love it.

Guillermo Del Toro- My favorite is probably Hellboy 2 or Shape of Water. Once again, what I said about Peter Jackson applies here, but to a greater extent here I feel. 

Del Toro, Jackson, and Raimi are all really inspiring to me, all coming from backgrounds of either cheap short films or low budget horror. They started with nothing but made their dreams come true. Bad Taste and Evil Dead especially come to mind.

Kevin Smith also is an inspiration, though he's a bit less ambitious in his beginnings, though still amazing. My favorite film of his is either Clerks or Tusk.

Other Directors that I don't much to say about :
Steven Spielberg (Raiders and Jaws)
Quinten Tarintino (Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction)
Neill Blomkamp (Chapple)

Criticize my opinions, tell me what I'm missing, or say your own favorites!
 

Masirimso17

Well-known member
Cover Artist
Messages
2,138
Reaction score
238
Trophy Points
93
@"jrWHAG42" You love Spider-Man 3 & Batman v Superman? Interesting.

Also haven't you seen Man of Steel or The Hobbit?

EDIT: 300 or King Kong (2004)?
 

Jrzag42

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
3,998
Reaction score
1,018
Trophy Points
138
Masirimso17 said:
@"jrWHAG42" You love Spider-Man 3 & Batman v Superman? Interesting.

Also haven't you seen Man of Steel or The Hobbit?

EDIT: 300 or King Kong (2004)?

I haven't seen Man of Steel in its entirety. I've only seen the first Hobbit, haven't bothered to watch the others. Been meaning to watch King Kong and 300.
Also, yes. Spiderman 3 I understand its flaws, it's just a fun movie. Batman V Superman I legitimately think is a good movie.
 

Masirimso17

Well-known member
Cover Artist
Messages
2,138
Reaction score
238
Trophy Points
93
jrWHAG42 said:
I haven't seen Man of Steel in its entirety. I've only seen the first Hobbit, haven't bothered to watch the others. Been meaning to watch King Kong and 300.
Also, yes. Spiderman 3 I understand its flaws, it's just a fun movie. Batman V Superman I legitimately think is a good movie.

Oh that's cool. I love Spider-Man 3, mostly ironically, sometimes unironically. As a movie I think it's a mixed bag though, I'd only give it a 5 or 6 out of 10. I recommend you watch Man of Steel because I really think it's great and underrated. Can't say I agree about Batman v Superman though, but I understand the praises it's given by its fans.
 

Jrzag42

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
3,998
Reaction score
1,018
Trophy Points
138
Masirimso17 said:
jrWHAG42 said:
I haven't seen Man of Steel in its entirety. I've only seen the first Hobbit, haven't bothered to watch the others. Been meaning to watch King Kong and 300.
Also, yes. Spiderman 3 I understand its flaws, it's just a fun movie. Batman V Superman I legitimately think is a good movie.

Oh that's cool. I love Spider-Man 3, mostly ironically, sometimes unironically. As a movie I think it's a mixed bag though, I'd only give it a 5 or 6 out of 10. I recommend you watch Man of Steel because I really think it's great and underrated. Can't say I agree about Batman v Superman though, but I understand the praises it's given by its fans.

This may sound even crazier, but I haven't seen the Ultimate cut of BvS, only the theatrical cut, still love it. 
I've seen most of Man of Steel due to Fanedits, enough of it to say that I love it and love Henry Cavill's Superman, but I can't officially say that I've watched it because I fell asleep the one time I watched the actual version.
 

Neglify

Well-known member
Messages
13,968
Reaction score
31
Trophy Points
133
jrWHAG42 said:
...
Zack Snyder... I prefer his Dawn of the Dead over Romero's...
...
Sam Raimi... I also love his Spiderman films, especially 3...
...
Kevin Smith... Tusk.

vhzgF1d.gif
 

Neglify

Well-known member
Messages
13,968
Reaction score
31
Trophy Points
133
Here's my Top 5.

Stanley Kubrick. A Clockwork Orange.
Paul Thomas Anderson. There Will Be Blood.
Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction.
Joel & Ethan Coen. The Big Lebowski.
Martin Scorsese. Goodfellas.

Honorable Mentions.

Akira Kurosawa. Ran.
Steven Spielberg. Jurassic Park.
David Fincher. Zodiac.
 

Jrzag42

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
3,998
Reaction score
1,018
Trophy Points
138
Neglify said:
jrWHAG42 said:
...
Zack Snyder... I prefer his Dawn of the Dead over Romero's...
...
Sam Raimi... I also love his Spiderman films, especially 3...
...
Kevin Smith... Tusk.

vhzgF1d.gif

To be fair, I watched Tusk while extremely tired, so I was over emotional and probably took it as far more serious and meaningful as it actually is. For Dawn of the Dead, I haven't seen the original in a while, and I watched the remake while on a big Dead Rising kick, so it really resonated with me. It's just a fun action zombie movie. Obviously George's is more meaningful, but I personally had more enjoyment with this. 
And for Spiderman 3, again, I understand that it's bad, I just like it cuz it's fun and memorable.
 

DigModiFicaTion

DᴉმWoqᴉԷᴉcɑꓕᴉou
Staff member
Faneditor
Messages
8,609
Reaction score
3,508
Trophy Points
168
I think the only director I actually look forward to is Christopher Nolan, but here's a list of directors who I thought nailed the movie i like them from.

Christopher Nolan - Inception or Interstellar
Robert Zemeckis - Cast Away or Back to the Future
Stephen Spielberg - Hook
Nicholas Meyers - ST II or VI
Ron Howard - Willow
Ben Stiller - Secret Life of Walter Mitty (don't really like anything else he does)
Kevin Sullivan - Anne of Avon Lea
Alfred Hitchcock - North by Northwest or Torn Curtain


I think I'll stop there.  I'm more of a story and execution fan than I am a fan of directors.
 

Duragizer

Well-known member
Messages
2,391
Reaction score
63
Trophy Points
63
By alphabetical order:


  • Wes Anderson — The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • Ingmar Bergman — The Seventh Seal
  • William Peter Blatty — The Ninth Configuration
  • Ethan & Joel Coen — Barton Fink
  • Roger Corman — The Masque of the Red Death
  • Panos Cosmatos — Mandy
  • Frank Darabont — The Shawshank Redemption
  • Alejandro Jodorowsky — The Holy Mountain
  • David Lynch — Lost Highway
  • Guy Maddin — Brand Upon the Brain!
  • Georges Méliès — The Merry Frolics of Satan
  • Hayao Miyazaki — My Neighbor Totoro
  • Jan Švankmajer — Virile Games
 
Last edited:

Jrzag42

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
3,998
Reaction score
1,018
Trophy Points
138
You mentioning David Lynch reminds me that I should've included Cronenberg. Videodrome is a super thought provoking movie, and I applaud it for that. That, paired with me recently watching The Fly, Cronenberg us up there with my favorites. They're just awesome. I've only seen those two though.
 

thecuddlyninja

Well-known member
Staff member
Faneditor
Messages
1,843
Reaction score
12
Trophy Points
53
Neglify said:
Here's my Top 5.

Stanley Kubrick. A Clockwork Orange.
Paul Thomas Anderson. There Will Be Blood.
Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction.
Joel & Ethan Coen. The Big Lebowski.
Martin Scorsese. Goodfellas.

Honorable Mentions.

Akira Kurosawa. Ran.
Steven Spielberg. Jurassic Park.
David Fincher. Zodiac.

I think you nailed the list and I love all these films but I think I'd pick different films for all but Scorcese. Though my favorites go back and forth, right now I'd go with Dr. Strangelove, Magnolia, Jackie Brown and Miller's Crossing.

Oh and thanks for reminding me I need to watch Zodiac. It's the only hole in Fincher's discography for me, which I am overall very into. It's a boring pick but I think Seven really is the best, and perfectly matches up with his story and aesthetic inclinations. Fight Club is the most interesting, for how the messaging got muddled by impeccable filmmaking, and the Game is the most fun.
 

Gaith

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
5,785
Reaction score
291
Trophy Points
123
^ Zodiac is excellent.

DigModiFicaTion said:
I'm more of a story and execution fan than I am a fan of directors.

Agreed. Apart from sequels, none of my Top Ten-plus favorite movies share a director. I love a lot of movies, but that love tends to be pretty widely distributed. Even with such a heavy hitter as Spielberg, I only really love Raiders, and then rather like, but don't quite love, Lincoln and Bridge of Spies and Schindler's List, etc.

In fact, with four movies I flat-out love (X-Men, X2, Valkyrie, and DoFP), my single favorite director might well be... hmmm. :s (And I haven't even seen Jack the Giant Slayer!) Well, maybe if I count lump those three X-movies as one, I can pick someone else? With T1, T2, and Aliens, "Big Jim" Cameron has three, though that's only two separate film series. With Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, Joe Wright has two masterpieces plus one quite good Darkest Hour, while Cary Fukunaga also has two masterpieces with Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre, though I haven't bothered to check out Beasts of No Nation or his Netflix series Maniac. With Seven, Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac and The Social Network, Fincher is indeed quite good, but I don't like Fight Club, and hesitate to call him a favorite per se...

Bottom line, if I love a movie, I love that movie, and don't much care who made it.
 

Jrzag42

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
3,998
Reaction score
1,018
Trophy Points
138
Gaith said:
^ Zodiac is excellent.

DigModiFicaTion said:
I'm more of a story and execution fan than I am a fan of directors.

Agreed. Apart from sequels, none of my Top Ten-plus favorite movies share a director. I love a lot of movies, but that love tends to be pretty widely distributed. Even with such a heavy hitter as Spielberg, I only really love Raiders, and then rather like, but don't quite love, Lincoln and Bridge of Spies and Schindler's List, etc.

In fact, with four movies I flat-out love (X-Men, X2, Valkyrie, and DoFP), my single favorite director might well be... hmmm. :s (And I haven't even seen Jack the Giant Slayer!) Well, maybe if I count lump those three X-movies as one, I can pick someone else? With T1, T2, and Aliens, "Big Jim" Cameron has three, though that's only two separate film series. With Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, Joe Wright has two masterpieces plus one quite good Darkest Hour, while Cary Fukunaga also has two masterpieces with Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre, though I haven't bothered to check out Beasts of No Nation or his Netflix series Maniac. With Seven, Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac and The Social Network, Fincher is indeed quite good, but I don't like Fight Club, and hesitate to call him a favorite per se...

Bottom line, if I love a movie, I love that movie, and don't much care who made it.

That's fair. Even if you don't take into account directors as far as your favorite films, are there any directors that have a particular style that you like, or a director with an inspiring history? Or just a director that you think seems cool outside of film?
Just directors that you like that aren't tied to your favorite films?
 

Neglify

Well-known member
Messages
13,968
Reaction score
31
Trophy Points
133
Duragizer said:
[*]William Peter Blatty — The Ninth Configuration

It's tragic that he only directed two films in his lifetime. "Ninth Configuration" is awesome and "Exorcist III" is pretty damn good, too.

thecuddlyninja said:
...the Game is the most fun.

It is quite fun  to make others lose The Game, I do agree.
 

Moe_Syzlak

Well-known member
Messages
3,453
Reaction score
1,162
Trophy Points
118
jrWHAG42 said:
Gaith said:
^ Zodiac is excellent.

DigModiFicaTion said:
I'm more of a story and execution fan than I am a fan of directors.

Agreed. Apart from sequels, none of my Top Ten-plus favorite movies share a director. I love a lot of movies, but that love tends to be pretty widely distributed. Even with such a heavy hitter as Spielberg, I only really love Raiders, and then rather like, but don't quite love, Lincoln and Bridge of Spies and Schindler's List, etc.

In fact, with four movies I flat-out love (X-Men, X2, Valkyrie, and DoFP), my single favorite director might well be... hmmm. :s (And I haven't even seen Jack the Giant Slayer!) Well, maybe if I count lump those three X-movies as one, I can pick someone else? With T1, T2, and Aliens, "Big Jim" Cameron has three, though that's only two separate film series. With Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, Joe Wright has two masterpieces plus one quite good Darkest Hour, while Cary Fukunaga also has two masterpieces with Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre, though I haven't bothered to check out Beasts of No Nation or his Netflix series Maniac. With Seven, Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac and The Social Network, Fincher is indeed quite good, but I don't like Fight Club, and hesitate to call him a favorite per se...

Bottom line, if I love a movie, I love that movie, and don't much care who made it.

That's fair. Even if you don't take into account directors as far as your favorite films, are there any directors that have a particular style that you like, or a director with an inspiring history? Or just a director that you think seems cool outside of film?
Just directors that you like that aren't tied to your favorite films?

That really gets to where is the defining line of a director vs an auteur. For example, I feel like every Wes Anderson movie feels like a Wes Anderson movie. Whereas every Marvel movie feels like a Marvel movie regardless of the director.
 

Sinbad

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
1,362
Reaction score
4
Trophy Points
48
Brian DePalma - Carrie and Blow Out

Quentin Tarantino - Reservoir Dogs

William Friedkin - To Live and Die in L.A 

Shane Meadows Dead Man's Shoes

Ken Loach - Kes and Sweet Sixteen

Ridley Scott - Thelma and Louise

Speilberg and Cameron (all their classics)
 

Neglify

Well-known member
Messages
13,968
Reaction score
31
Trophy Points
133
I recently finished watching all of Danny Boyle's films and he's the newest addition to my Favorite Directors list (he kicked Michael Mann off the list). My favorite Boyle flick is--no surprise here--"Trainspotting". Here's my full Danny Boyle, ranked list for anybody that's curious.
 

Sinbad

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
1,362
Reaction score
4
Trophy Points
48
I've always admired Danny Boyle, it's impossible to pin him down to any particular genre that's exactly what a great director should be.. agreed on Trainspotting being his best work, T2 Trainspotting however just didn't need to happen It's probably my least liked of his films.
 

Ryantology

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
325
Reaction score
130
Trophy Points
53
Neglify said:
I recently finished watching all of Danny Boyle's films and he's the newest addition to my Favorite Directors list (he kicked Michael Mann off the list). My favorite Boyle flick is--no surprise here--"Trainspotting". Here's my full Danny Boyle, ranked list for anybody that's curious.

Danny Boyle is actually my favorite director because he’s shown me so many different strengths in so many different genres which isn’t something every director can do. To go from 28 Days Later to Millions to Sunshine is phenomenal to me and I love every one of them. 

Follow this up with Jaws for Speilberg, Halloween for Carpenter, Requiem for a Dream for Darren Aronofsky and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure for Tim Burton.
 
Top Bottom