Great Directors of the New Generation

[Sarge 2.0]

The other great directors thread got me thinking, what directors do you think are among the best of the current scene? Which do you think will be remembered as the titans and innovators?

My list would have to be, in no particular order:

Darren Aronofsky
Paul Thomas Anderson
David Gordon Green
Kelly Reichardt
Ang Lee
Ryan Fleck
Ramin Bahrani
Sofia Coppola
Christopher Nolan
Wes Anderson
Tomas Alfredson
Gus Van Sant
Todd Haynes

I'm sure I'm forgetting several, and I dunno how much Ang Lee and Gus Van Sant actually count.

 

[Figs]

A few of those names I don't recognize Sarge but most of them I do and I agree with you.

One that I would include personally, would be David Fincher but I know not everyone thinks he is as good as me and some others do.

 

[Dark Victory]

David Fincher directed Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, and Curious Case of BB. In my opinion, he's up there with Kubrick and Hitchcock.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

Se7en was fantastic, Fight Club was vastly overrated but very interesting, Zodiac was middling, and Benjamin Button was just awful. Fincher seems to be declining in quality, honestly.

 

[Rac]

David Fincher directed Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, and Curious Case of BB. In my opinion, he's up there with Kubrick and Hitchcock.

If we leave BB out...

 

[Carmine Falcone]

I think Wes Anderson makes really charming and often quite beautiful films. And while they're all mostly in the same style and have some similarities in substance I do think they're all quite diverse in a way. My favorite is undoubtedly The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The humour in his films is very subtle, and sometimes kinda... awkward. And I like his use of music and slow-mo. I mean, Life Aquatic was chock-full of Bowie music, I respect that. That flick was actually the reason I got into Bowie in the first place...

 

[Max J Power]

Great directors who debuted in the last 20 years:

Paul Thomas Anderson
Wes Anderson
Brad Bird
Guillermo Del Toro
David Fincher
Christopher Guest
Ang Lee
Sam Mendes
Christopher Nolan
Robert Rodriguez
Kevin Smith
Andrew Stanton
Quentin Tarantino
Edgar Wright

Ones that might be on the list but I haven't seen enough of their movies to really know:

Darren Aronofsky
Danny Boyle
Alfonso Cuaron
Michel Gondry
Paul Greengrass
Steven Soderbergh

 

[That-Guy]

Sofia Coppola is the epitome of someone riding on her daddy's coattails.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Great directors who debuted in the last 20 years:

Paul Thomas Anderson
Wes Anderson
Guillermo Del Toro
David Fincher
Ang Lee
Sam Mendes
Christopher Nolan
Robter Rodriguez
Kevin Smith
Quentin Tarantino
Edgar Wright

Seriously? Watch Sin City and realize that the man does not have the FAINTEST idea of what pacing is. What a terrible film.

From Dusk Till Dawn is awesome though. But that's because of Clooney, Keitel and Tarantino's script (Not his acting!!)

 

[Sentinel X]

^I think Sin City was good but it is the only robert rodriguez movie that I consider good. He is pretty overrated and is a poor man's Quentin Tarantino

Sofia Coppola is the epitome of someone riding on her daddy's coattails

^Lost in Translation was a good movie....but imo, her only good movie. However, her film resume is really short and I give her credit for making her films her own and not knocking off her dad's stuff.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

^I think Sin City was good but it is the only robert rodriguez movie that I consider good. He is pretty overrated and is a poor man's Quentin Tarantino

^Lost in Translation was a good movie....but imo, her only good movie. However, her film resume is really short and I give her credit for making her films her own and not knocking off her dad's stuff.

The Virgin Suicides? Marie Antoinette? All great films.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

Seriously? Watch Sin City and realize that the man does not have the FAINTEST idea of what pacing is. What a terrible film.

From Dusk Till Dawn is awesome though. But that's because of Clooney, Keitel and Tarantino's script (Not his acting!!)

Sin City was great. I found no problems with the pacing whatsoever.

Also, El Mariachi and Desperado and Planet Terror were all good films in their own way. Planet Terror was especially good. Rodriguez is a perfectly good director, but Sin City is as close as he's come to a truly great work.

 

[Sentinel X]

^Oh I forgot about The Virgin Suicides. That was a good film. I didn't like Marie Antoinette however, it pales in comparison to other similar films such as Elizabeth. Its not terrible but not good either.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Sin City was great. I found no problems with the pacing whatsoever.

Also, El Mariachi and Desperado and Planet Terror were all good films in their own way. Planet Terror was especially good. Rodriguez is a perfectly good director, but Sin City is as close as he's come to a truly great work.

I find this odd coming from you. I really do. The pacing of that flick is obviously...****ed up.

 

[Max J Power]

Seriously? Watch Sin City and realize that the man does not have the FAINTEST idea of what pacing is. What a terrible film.

From Dusk Till Dawn is awesome though. But that's because of Clooney, Keitel and Tarantino's script (Not his acting!!)

I didn't have any problems with the pacing. It was paced the same as the comics, and I like those a lot. I think Rodriguez is one of the best action directors of his generation.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

I find this odd coming from you. I really do. The pacing of that flick is obviously...****ed up.

It was episodic, but nothing felt particularly ill timed, or too brief, or overlong. Everything moved at a brisk pace, and it was constructed in sort of Tarintinian style of narrative that felt fine to me.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Not the entire movie had the pacing problem, but ALOT of scenes were so rushed... so wasted. The Tarantino directed scene for instance was a... normal scene, but especially in The Hard Goodbye and That Yellow Basterd there were scenes that almost felt like they were sped up.

But anyway, I see I'm not going to convince anybody here, and I really don't want to ruin this thread by continuously discussing Sin City.

 

[Episode29]

David Fincher directed Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, and Curious Case of BB. In my opinion, he's up there with Kubrick and Hitchcock.

Well, I'm gonna be sick...

 

[Episode29]

Sin City was great. I found no problems with the pacing whatsoever.

Also, El Mariachi and Desperado and Planet Terror were all good films in their own way. Planet Terror was especially good. Rodriguez is a perfectly good director, but Sin City is as close as he's come to a truly great work.

I agree. Rodriguez has shown himself to be more of innovator production-wise than film-wise. I'd argue that he has yet to make a single film that will earn him any sort of legacy, beyond the occasional praise from fanboys. Like Kevin Smith, its time for him to stretch himself and work outside his comfort zone for a while.

 

[Figs]

Well, I'm gonna be sick...

I like David Fincher a lot but even I have to admit what Dark Victory said was a quite a stretch. I know we all have our own opinions but putting him up there with Hitchcock is a bit much.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

I agree. Rodriguez has shown himself to be more of innovator production-wise than film-wise. I'd argue that he has yet to make a single film that will earn him any sort of legacy, beyond the occasional praise from fanboys. Like Kevin Smith, its time for him to stretch himself and work outside his comfort zone for a while.

I eagerly await Smith's horror project, because I'd love to see what he can do with it.

 

[Figs]

I eagerly await Smith's horror project, because I'd love to see what he can do with it.

I haven't even heard of that yet. Hopefully it's not comedy, I like his older films but as Episode29 said he really needs to try something completely new.

 

[Episode29]

I eagerly await Smith's horror project, because I'd love to see what he can do with it.

The problem with that one is that I think he's gotten freaked out of doing at after it got turned down and Z&M under-performed. It seems to me that he's more concerned with fighting to keep his head above water. Hence, the new Bruce Willis comedy.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

The problem with that one is that I think he's gotten freaked out of doing at after it got turned down and Z&M under-performed. It seems to me that he's more concerned with fighting to keep his head above water. Hence, the new Bruce Willis comedy.

It's unfortunate because I think "Zack and Miri" was really some of his best work. I hope he gets the greenlight for his horror film some day, and I think he'd have a knack for serious character drama if he'd let himself explore that territory.

 

[Sawyer]

Peter Jackson will be up there with Spielberg in another ten/twenty years.