Filmspotters' Top 100 Directors 2011: Comments and Discussion

[Sam the Cinema Snob]

Tati. 

[sdedalus]

Bondo, that doesn't look like the list of a Christopher Nolan superfan to me.  I don't think he has much in common with any of them, who seem to be almost uniformly humane, funny or visually inventive, none of which are virtues I'd associate with Nolan.

[mañana]

Something happened in the past year about Kevin Smith because suddenly when Red State came out it seemed like everyone hated all his films all of a sudden. I mean, I'm used to the M. Night hate but Smith hate was new to me.

Kevin Smith placed 92nd last year and not at all in 2009. I don't think it has anything to do with Red State, I think he's just not particularly loved around the forum, though he certainly has his fans.

[AAAutin]

The 18/40 from my list that didn't make the cut:

04. Albert Brooks
07. Cloones
08. Noah Baumbach
11. David O. Russell
19. Tom Tykwer
20. Guy Ritchie
22. Michael Winterbottom
24. John Sayles
25. Neil Jordan
26. Nicolas Winding Refn
28. Albert & Allen Hughes
30. Todd Solondz
32. Ken Burns
34. Ken Loach
35. Alex Gibney
37. Alejandro González Iñárritu
38. Tom DiCillo
40. Michael Moore


The only ones I find surprising are Loach, Tykwer, and Winterbottom.

[Bondo]

1SO, Pasolini is close. Next year I watch and join the cabal and get him on the list (unless Salo is the high water mark).

Bondo, that doesn't look like the list of a Christopher Nolan superfan to me.  I don't think he has much in common with any of them, who seem to be almost uniformly humane, funny or visually inventive, none of which are virtues I'd associate with Nolan.

Nolan was my #2, that's all one needs to know for me to be a Nolan superfan. I'm not sure what directors are like Nolan really. You get talk of Kubrick vis a vis unemotional filmmaking and Kubrick is fairly high on my list as well. I think Boyle (my #1) is pretty distinctive as well.

[sdedalus]

Boyle, E Wright, JP Jeunet seem to be very similar to me.

I think the Kubrick comparisons with Nolan are more aspirational on the Nolan superfan side than anything else.  Can't imagine Nolan's Strangelove or Barry Lyndon, let alone something involving sex like Lolita or Eyes Wide Shut.  Or anything as humane as Paths of Glory.  The intricacies of The Killing and arguable misanthropy of Clockwork or The Shining maybe.  But even those are far more subtle and complex than anything Nolan's done.

Anyway, my point is that you're too good for Nolan.  You should give up on him. 

[skjerva]

Anyway, my point is that you're too good for Nolan.  You should give up on him. 

i'll second that

Anyway, I don't think anybody has posted more from their ballot that missed the list than I'm about to with 25

my 29:

4. Aki Kaurismäki
9. Kevin Smith
11. Gregg Araki
 12. Chantal Akerman
14. Su Friedrich
 15. Vittorio De Sica
17. David Mamet
 19. Todd Haynes
 20. George Romero
21. Jem Cohen
 22. Rick Prelinger
 23. John Cameron Mitchell
 24. Michael Moore
26. Pier Pablo Pasolini
 27. Patricio Guzmán
 31. James Marsh
 32. Bruce LaBruce
 33. Jil Godmilow
 35. James Benning
 36. Abel Ferrara
 41. Joe Swanberg
 42. Vincent Gallo
 43. Sean Penn
 44. Ross Brothers
 45. Steve James
46. Stan Brakhage
 47. Jan Svankmajer
 48. Robert Greene
 50. Adam Curtis

and, granted, it was obvious a handful of these would not make it, but i reckon that is a safe bet for many of us. i'm kinda surprised that i have so many misses from my list that seem like they actually could have made it (or at least wouldn't seem so out of place)

"Morally bankrupt Eastwood".  LOL, I missed you skjerva.  Hope you at least dropped Kubrick if you dropped Hitch.

likewise. i know i have to meet certain expectations for you old-timers

no kubrick on my list, not even from the start, though he could be in that neck-of-the-woods

and for clarification on rankings, did one vote earn 1 point (or was there a weighted component)? e.g., my 50 rank for Adam Curtis earned the same one point as your 1 rank for him?

[1SO]

1SO, Pasolini is close. Next year I watch and join the cabal and get him on the list (unless Salo is the high water mark).

I learned this year Pasolini is so much more than Salo.

[worm@work]

and for clarification on rankings, did one vote earn 1 point (or was there a weighted component)? e.g., my 50 rank for Adam Curtis earned the same one point as your 1 rank for him?

Nope, points were weighted by rank. A #1 ranking earned 10pts, 2-10 earned 9 pts, 11-20 earned 8pts, 21-30 was 6, 31-40 was 4 and 41-50 was 2.

[skjerva]

and for clarification on rankings, did one vote earn 1 point (or was there a weighted component)? e.g., my 50 rank for Adam Curtis earned the same one point as your 1 rank for him?

Nope, points were weighted by rank. A #1 ranking earned 10pts, 2-10 earned 9 pts, 11-20 earned 8pts, 21-30 was 6, 31-40 was 4 and 41-50 was 2.

cool, i figured something like that. i wonder if i would have gamed a bit more...