[MartinTeller]

Your list is a collection of directors I feel guilty for not checking out.

You should feel more guilty for saying Hitchcock never made a great film, calling Woody mediocre, or using the word "pretentious".  

Truth be told, Woody is one that I'm thinking of moving further down the list.  He has done a handful of my favorite films, but a lot that I'm not as fond of as I used to be.

I'm also thinking I like Mizoguchi more than Kurosawa these days.

[chardy999]

Those numbers are actually sickening. I doubt I've seen much more than 10 from any particular director. Having said that, off the top of my head

1. Quentin Tarantino
2. Roman Polanski
3. Sergio Leone
4. Ingmar Bergman
5. Federico Fellini
6. Joel & Ethan Coen
7. Krzysztof Kieslowski
8. John Cassavetes
9. Yimou Zhang
10. Christopher Nolan

[zarodinu]

I think its time I check out this Kieslowski fellow.

[Sam the Cinema Snob]

Yes, it is. Now is the time.

[michael x]

I haven't seen nearly as many movies as some of you, so I created my own restrictions - I had to have seen at least 3 films from the director, and at least one had to be in my Top 100. This eliminated a lot of people I'd otherwise have very high, like Welles, Varda, Woody Allen, Antonioni, John Ford, and Kobayashi. There were a few eligible directors I left off because I'm not yet convinced they're great directors, from what I've seen.

#1   Akira Kurosawa   Seven Samurai, Ran, High and Low, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood
#2   Federico Fellini   8 ½, La Dolce Vita, Nights of Cabiria
#3   Werner Herzog   Grizzly Man, Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Little Dieter Needs to Fly
#4   Sergio Leone   Once Upon a Time in the West, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, For a Few Dollars More
#5   Joel & Ethan Coen   The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Raising Arizona, No Country for Old Men, Miller's Crossing

#6   Quentin Tarantino   Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown
#7   Martin Scorsese   Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Departed
#8   Billy Wilder   Sunset Blvd., Double Indemnity, The Apartment
#9   Krystof Kieslowski   The Three Colors trilogy, The Double Life of Veronique
#10   Francis Ford Coppola   The Godfather, The Godfather, pt. II, Apocalypse Now

#11   Wong Kar-wai   2046, Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love
#12   Christopher Nolan   Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Batman Begins
#13   Alfred Hitchcock   Rear Window, North By Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo
#14   Howard Hawks   Only Angels Have Wings, Rio Bravo, The Big Sleep, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
#15   Peter Jackson   The Lord of the Rings trilogy

#16   Michael Mann   Heat, Miami Vice
#17   Terrence Malick   Days of Heaven, Thin Red Line, The New World

[verbALs]

So, I'm pretty sure that after having seen Thirst to go along with the Vengeance Trilogy, Chan-wook Park is going to end up very high on my list this year, provided I actually do one.

15) Park Chan Wook
(Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Thirst)

This is where he ranks for me. I know that is high but Lady Vengeance, in particular, is that good. {AND I don't mind how divisive he is either}

I haven't seen nearly as many movies as some of you, so I created my own restrictions - I had to have seen at least 3 films from the director, and at least one had to be in my Top 100. This eliminated a lot of people I'd otherwise have very high, like Welles, Varda, Woody Allen, Antonioni, John Ford, and Kobayashi. There were a few eligible directors I left off because I'm not yet convinced they're great directors, from what I've seen.


#13   Alfred Hitchcock   Rear Window, North By Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo

I have left off so many directors who are at the two film mark for me, it just ain't enough, three really is a lower limit, so I agree and if you can't name those three then how are they great directors? Mike Leigh is one of those (happy go lucky/ Topsy Turvy)
OK enough personal fascism. On Hitchcock; respect to those named, but I am picking up a sense that outside of the obvious masterpieces (Z) there are a LOT of very good or very entertaining Hitch films. If it helps anyone's future viewing these are the others.

MASTERPIECE
Notorious, Shadow of a Doubt, Rebecca

GREAT
39 Steps, Lady Vanishes, The Birds, Marnie, Dial M for Murder, I Confess, Strangers on a Train

GOOD
Rope, Trouble with Harry, Frenzy, To Catch A Thief, Suspicion, Spellbound, The Wrong Man, The Man Who Knew Too Much

Outside of Kurosawa I don't think many directors can be considered pantheon great just by sheer weight/ quality like Hitch (and I am thinking of Ford and Hawks, too much studio hackery for me). I can't speak for Bergmann, somehow he has passed me by, if someone can work up the same treatment on the great Swede (MT?) I would be grateful.

['Noke]

50. Steven Spielberg


49. Ridley Scott


48. Guillermo Del Toro


47. Francis Ford Coppola


46. Billy Wilder


45. Quentin Tarantino


44. Robert Altman


43. Joss Whedon


42. Ingmar Bergman


41. Michael Mann


40. Henry Selick


39. Paul Greengrass


38. Sidney Lumet


37. Andrew Stanton


36. James Cameron


35. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu


34. Andrew Dominik


33. Terry Gilliam


32. Alfred Hitchcock


31. Jim Sheridan


30. Rob Reiner


29. Edgar Wright


28. Francois Truffaut


27. Charlie Chaplin


26. Banksy


25. Jim Jarmusch


24. Apichatpong Weerasethakul


23. Duncan Jones


22. Sylvain Chomet


21. Wong Kar Wai


20. Gus Van Sant


19. David Fincher


18. Christopher Nolan


17. Steve Mcqueen


16. Terrence Malick


15. Pedro Almodovar


14. Akira Kurosawa


13. Stanley Kubrick


12. Kathryn Bigelow


11. Danny Boyle


10. John  Hughes


9. Joel & Ethan Coen


8. Martin Scorsese


7. Rian Johnson


6. Paul Thomas Anderson


5. Lynne Ramsay


4. Chris Marker


3. Sergio Leone


2. Spike Jonze


1. Hayao Miyazaki

[Beavermoose]

Banksy and McQueen after 1 film?

[dallegre]

Nice list 'Noke. A few of those seem a bit premature, but they don't bother me too much.

[MartinTeller]

I can't speak for Bergmann, somehow he has passed me by, if someone can work up the same treatment on the great Swede (MT?) I would be grateful.

Bergman's tricky because I don't think he has as much universal appeal as Kurosawa or Hitchcock.  I will say that the five "cornerstone" Bergman films, the ones that get the most attention, are SEVENTH SEAL, WILD STRAWBERRIES, PERSONA, SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, and FANNY & ALEXANDER.  All deservedly so (although Persona is much tougher to appreciate than the others).

As for the rest, you can always refer to my rankings here, but I'll recap:

MASTERPIECE:
Shame, Winter Light, Through a Glass Darkly (plus the five listed above)

GREAT:
Sawdust and Tinsel, Saraband, Autumn Sonata, Thirst, The Silence, The Virgin Spring, Smiles of a Summer Night, In the Presence of a Clown

GOOD:
Summer With Monika, Brink of Life, Cries and Whispers, Hour of the Wolf, Dreams, Port of Call, The Passion of Anna, The Magician (most people rank it higher)



...there are several others I consider "good", but I may be biased.