Direct me to the best !!!

[Mandon Knight]

Who are your favourite directors and their, in your opinion, best work or scenes from their films, obviously you may have a director you like who has directed but not from a fave film, I get that too, it doesn't have to be a 'masterpiece' from them as such.

Kind of a secondary point to the above too, from your own film collections, which directors are most prominent ?

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

My favourite director is undoubtedly John Carpenter - he's fantastic at making movies look more expensive than they are, and at generating a genuinely unsettling atmosphere. My favourite JC movie is easily The Fog (my all-time favourite horror film - I watch it every Halloween). As for which director features most in my collection I think it's David Lynch - six movies plus the whole of Twin Peaks. I've also got six films by Christopher Nolan, and six by Zack Snyder. The rest is pretty evenly shared with ones, twos and threes.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Thank you for contributing MTG, awesome. I love John Carpenter as a director too, for the same reasons, even on a less than good day, his invention, artistry with a camera and ability to tell a story are incredibly good.

My fave director is Hitchcock and have all his films and earlier work, Vertigo being my favourite of his.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I do like Hitchcock, although the only films of his that I own are Psycho and The Birds (of the two I prefer The Birds). I do remember when Carpenter was first emerging on the scene more than one critic compared him favourably to Hitchcock.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Carpenter has said in notes that Psycho influenced him heavily for Halloween. For Carpenter's genius, the opening sequence of Halloween shows that as does the dog 'let loose' in the corridor surveying his surroundings as The Thing in The Thing. No dialogue to work with (it's a dog), yet you get every element of fear and anticipated horror you need from what is coming.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Carpenter has said in notes that Psycho influenced him heavily for Halloween.

Ah, I didn't know that. One of my favourite Carpenter scenes is an unspectacular one but for me it's absolutely gripping, and that's John Houseman telling the kids around the campfire the story of the ship the Elizabeth Dane at the start of The Fog. I've seen the film so many times, but every time that scene starts I'm instantly as spellbound as one of the kids, hanging on Houseman's every word! I feel I'm sitting round that campfire too!

 

[Mandon Knight]

The Fog is one of the finest 'ghost stories' ever translated to film.

 

[Moridin]

In Bruges - Dir. Martin McDonagh
Boy - Dir. Taika Waititi
Moon - Dir. Duncan Jones
The Commitments - Dir. Alan Parker
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Dir. Andrew Dominik
The Way, Way Back - Dir. Jim Rash, Nat Faxon
Slow West - Dir. John Maclean

 

[Mysteryman]

Steven Spielberg.
Pick your poison.
There is plenty to choose from and much more to come in the future.

 

[childeroland]

Who are your favourite directors and their, in your opinion, best work or scenes from their films, obviously you may have a director you like who has directed but not from a fave film, I get that too, it doesn't have to be a 'masterpiece' from them as such.

Kind of a secondary point to the above too, from your own film collections, which directors are most prominent ?

Edward Yang.

Favorite work of his: A Brighter Summer Day

Favorite scenes: Marthe and Hong's first trip through the city in Mahjong and the first Elvis number in A Brighter Summer Day.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Favorite work of his: Millennium Mambo

Favorite scenes of his: the sublime opening of Millennium (Vicky traipsing through the tunnel) Vicky and the two brothers visiting their grandmother in Hokkaido and eating her dumplings, the trio visiting the old film festival and viewing all the film posters, and the scene and the end with them playing in the snow.

Hitchcock

Favorite work of his: Shadow of a Doubt

Favorite scene of his: Too many to count, but favorite scene in Shadow is Charlie and Uncle Charlie in the bar with her down-in-the-mouth waitress friend.

Most prominent directors in my collection: Ozu, Miyazaki, Hou, Hitchcock, and Kurosawa

 

[Mandon Knight]

Edward Yang.

Favorite work of his: A Brighter Summer Day

Favorite scenes: Marthe and Hong's first trip through the city in Mahjong and the first Elvis number in A Brighter Summer Day.

Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Favorite work of his: Millennium Mambo

Favorite scenes of his: the sublime opening of Millennium (Vicky traipsing through the tunnel) Vicky and the two brothers visiting their grandmother in Hokkaido and eating her dumplings, the trio visiting the old film festival and viewing all the film posters, and the scene and the end with them playing in the snow.

Hitchcock

Favorite work of his: Shadow of a Doubt

Favorite scene of his: Too many to count, but favorite scene in Shadow is Charlie and Uncle Charlie in the bar with her down-in-the-mouth waitress friend.

Most prominent directors in my collection: Ozu, Miyazaki, Hou, Hitchcock, and Kurosawa

This is exactly the kind of post that I hoped would come out of this thread.... thank you

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Fog is one of the finest 'ghost stories' ever translated to film.

 

[Xrated48]

Martin Scorsese is my favorite director of all time. Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, Gangs of New York, The Avaitor, Casino and many other films. Such an amazing Director.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I hope Scorcese and De Niro work together before one of them leaves this earth.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Over the years, my appreciation of Spielberg has grown hugely, always loved his work, from being a child through to adulthood and he is a director who really has shaped my life in the films he's made.

 

[Boom]

Alfred Hitchcock
North by Northwest
Psycho
Rear Window
Rebecca
The Birds

Christopher Nolan
Batman Begins
Dunkirk
Inception
Memento
The Dark Knight

David Fincher
Fight Club
Gone Girl
Se7en
The Social Network
Zodiac

Guillermo del Toro
Hellboy
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Pan's Labyrinth
The Devil's Backbone
The Shape of Water

Joel and Ethan Coen
Fargo
Miller's Crossing
No Country for Old Men
The Big Lebowski
True Grit

Martin Scorsese
Goodfellas
Raging Bull
Shutter Island
Taxi Driver
The Departed

Paul Thomas Anderson
Boogie Nights
Inherent Vice
Phantom Thread
The Master
There Will Be Blood

Quentin Tarantino
Inglourious Basterds
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs

Ridley Scott
Alien
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Gladiator
Kingdom of Heaven: The Director's Cut
The Martian

Stanley Kubrick
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Full Metal Jacket
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Shining

Steven Spielberg
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Jaws
Jurassic Park
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Wes Anderson
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Moonrise Kingdom
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Royal Tenenbaums

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Over the years, my appreciation of Spielberg has grown hugely, always loved his work, from being a child through to adulthood and he is a director who really has shaped my life in the films he's made.

I'm a massive admirer of Spielberg too

Jaws is my all-time #5 film.

 

[Ivan Drago]

Christopher Nolan
Batman Begins
Dunkirk
Inception
Memento
The Dark Knight

David Fincher
Fight Club
Gone Girl
Se7en
The Social Network
Zodiac

Guillermo del Toro
Hellboy
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Pan's Labyrinth
The Devil's Backbone
The Shape of Water

Joel and Ethan Coen
Fargo
Miller's Crossing
No Country for Old Men
The Big Lebowski
True Grit

Martin Scorsese
Goodfellas
Raging Bull
Shutter Island
Taxi Driver
The Departed

Paul Thomas Anderson
Boogie Nights
Inherent Vice
Phantom Thread
The Master
There Will Be Blood

Quentin Tarantino
Inglourious Basterds
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Kill Bill Vol. 2
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs

Ridley Scott
Alien
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
Gladiator
Kingdom of Heaven: The Director's Cut
The Martian

Stanley Kubrick
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Full Metal Jacket
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
The Shining

Steven Spielberg
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Jaws
Jurassic Park
Raiders of the Lost Ark

Wes Anderson
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Moonrise Kingdom
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Royal Tenenbaums

Replace Jurassic Park with Schindler's List and Shutter Island for Mean Streets and this is a great list.

 

[Boom]

Schindler's List is #6 for me. Not because of its quality, mind you, but because it's such a heavy film that I just can't watch it very often. And I must confess that Jurassic Park was the first movie I ever saw and is my favorite film or all time, so I am biased.

I must also confess that Shutter Island is only on the list because for whatever reason I simply love that movie.

 

[Mandon Knight]

I like Shutter Island for the simple fact it shows Scorcesse in a different light, every few years he goes off his tried & tested path and gives us something different.

 

[Thundarr]

Carpenter has said in notes that Psycho influenced him heavily for Halloween.

Ah, I didn't know that. One of my favourite Carpenter scenes is an unspectacular one but for me it's absolutely gripping, and that's John Houseman telling the kids around the campfire the story of the ship the Elizabeth Dane at the start of The Fog. I've seen the film so many times, but every time that scene starts I'm instantly as spellbound as one of the kids, hanging on Houseman's every word! I feel I'm sitting round that campfire too!

Really? The sheriff’s name in Halloween was Leigh Brackett. Psycho starred Janet Leigh. In Psycho, Janet Leigh’s boyfriend was a medical student named Sam Loomis. The name of Michael Myers’ doctor in Halloween, Sam Loomis. The POV shot of Michael watching Annie through the kitchen window is clearly an homage to Norman Bates watching Janet Leigh through the spy hole in the wall. Seriously, the entire movie is filled with little tips of the hat to Psycho if you want to look for them.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Yeah, much as I love Carpenter Halloween isn't a movie that I rewatch. Not that I think there's anything wrong with it, it's just not my kind of horror film. I'd sooner watch The Fog, The Thing, In the Mouth of Madness, Assault on Precinct 13, or Prince of Darkness.

 

[Lord]

My favorite directors are Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Hayao Miyazaki, Christopher Nolan and Satoshi Kon.

In a secondary level i would put Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Wes Anderson, James Cameron, Edgar Wright, and Guillermo del Toro.

In a third level for great but less consistent filmmakers i put Danny Boyle, George Lucas, Ben Affleck, Shane Black, J. J. Abrams, Joss Whedon and Rian Johnson.

Then there are rising talens such as Jeremy Saulnier, Alex Garland and the duo that directed Swiss Army Man. But while they have made in least one top tier film, only time will tell if they are consistently great Directors.

But there are other Directors whose works i have to properly watch in full, like Andrei Tarkovsky, Orson Welles, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, the Coens and even Woody Allen. The few i have watched from them was amazing.