Hello Friends,
I've come up with yet another list !! This time it's "Top 15 Hollywood directors of all time". Needless to say, I have my own biases as I am a fan of realistic cinema and believe that movies are not for entertainment only. They should make you think as well. Nolan's movies (Interstellar, Inception, Memento) definitely do that : After the credits roll, one is always left wondering "what was that????". So, the list has no film-makers of the romantic/comedy (read no-brainers) genre; though couldn't exclude James Cameron for the gem of a movie (Titanic) he made. The list is an eclectic mix of modern and cult geniuses. Tarantino is a virtuoso at directing revenge movies. Scorsese is a master of Crime/gangster movies. Fincher makes excellent mysteries. Leone is the spearhead of Westerns and Hitchcock that of Thrillers.
I've also mentioned some of their greatest works that I loved (in decreasing order of preference). Here it goes:
1. Christopher Nolan
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Prestige (2006)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Interstellar (2014)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- Inception (2010)
- Memento (2000)
- Insomnia (2002)
- Following (1998)
- Dunkirk (2017)
2. Martin Scorsese
- Goodfellas (1990)
- The Wolf of Wall street (2014)
- Casino (1995)
- The Irishman (2019)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- The Departed (2006)
- Hugo (2011)
- Raging Bull (1980)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
3. Quentin Tarantino
- Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- Django Unchained (2012)
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003) & Vol.2 (2004)
- Sin City (2005) (special guest director)
- The Hateful Eight (2015)
- Death Proof (2007)
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
- Jackie Brown (1997)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
4. David Fincher
- Gone Girl (2014)
- Se7en (1995)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
- Zodiac (2007)
- Se7en (1995)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
- Zodiac (2007)
- Fight Club (1999)
- The Social Network (2010)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
5. Alfred Hitchcock
- Psycho (1960)
- Dial M for Murder (1954)
- Rebecca (1940)
- Notorious (1946)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Strangers on a Train (1951)
- Notorious (1946)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Strangers on a Train (1951)
- The man who knew too much (1956)
- The Birds (1963)
- Shadow of Doubt (1943)
- Rear Window (1954)
- Rope (1948)
- North by Northwest (1959)
7. Ridley Scott
- Gladiator (2000)- The Birds (1963)
- Shadow of Doubt (1943)
- Rear Window (1954)
- Rope (1948)
- North by Northwest (1959)
6. Sergio Leone
- The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1966)
- Once Upon a time in the West (1968)
- A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
- For a few dollars more (1965)
- The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1966)
- Once Upon a time in the West (1968)
- A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
- For a few dollars more (1965)
7. Ridley Scott
- Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
- Body of Lies (2008)
- American Gangster (2007)
- Robin Hood (2010)
- Black Hawk Down (2001)
8. Guy Ritchie
- Lock, stock & two smoking barrels (1998)
- Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011)
- Snatch (2000)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- RocknRolla (2008)
9. Steven Spielberg
- Snatch (2000)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- RocknRolla (2008)
9. Steven Spielberg
- Schindler's List (1993)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Munich (2005)
- The Terminal (2004)
- Munich (2005)
- The Terminal (2004)
- Jurassic Park (1993) & The lost World (1997)
- Catch me if you can (2002)
- Catch me if you can (2002)
10. Brian De Palma
- Scarface (1983)
- Carlito's Way (1993)
- Carlito's Way (1993)
- The Untouchables (1987)
11. Billy Wilder
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- Some like it hot (1959)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Sunset Blvd. (1950)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Sunset Blvd. (1950)
12. Stanley Kubrick
- The Killing (1956)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- A Clockwork Orange (1971)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- Dr. Strangelove (1964)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
- Dr. Strangelove (1964)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
- The Shining (1980)
13. Francis Ford Coppola
- The Godfather (1972)
- The Godfather II (1974)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
14. Sidney Lumet
- 12 Angry Men (1957)- Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
- Network (1976)
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- Serpico (1973)
15. James Cameron
- Titanic (1997)
- Avatar (2009)
Signing off
Anurag Gupta
being not a very big movie freak, all i ever do is refer ur posts and watch all the movies you have suggested. and ur suggestions never disappoint. gr8 going anu! keep posting.
ReplyDeletethnx a lot mani...thats a very gud compliment from an expert blogger !!
ReplyDeleteGr8 job man....very informative blog.....it's a one-stop for every movie lover..keep it up.."
ReplyDeletethnx shreyas :-)
ReplyDeletedis blog is an appreciable one b'cuz no one thinks f giving credit to d directors as u did... moreover i had always appreciated ur writing skills ... well woven !!!
ReplyDeletethnx a lot upasana :-)
ReplyDeleteDude my take on movies is quite similar to you...most of the movies listed above are my favorites also...plus there is a good news for u!!!! I have got a huge cache of foreign language movies with me :)...khatm karte hai sabko ek ek karke..
ReplyDeleteawesome dude... great info man... great job... never knew u had this much info abt movies... great collection.. i haven't watched many of the movies mentioned above.. i am gonna watch now...
ReplyDeletekool man... thanx for the info...
keep blogging :)
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ReplyDeleteWell Anu, I must say you have a very keen eye of that of a dependable movie critic... I mentioned here dependable because I never found one till date (Most critics are pretty biased). More than a critic, you are a great appreciator of movies... As Das commented rightly, my favorites also have been given the spot that they deserve except for the fact i would like a little tweaking of marks here and there in both the lists (this one and the previous one)... Never mind.. you already mentioned it's your judgement.. :)... well, the next step i would like to notice from you is that a blog on korean movies... The ones we have watched together and the ones which only you have seen among us, friends. I really miss those days... Watching Korean movies back to back... Now I have lost track of all new Korean movies... If you do so, then it'll be of great help to me...
ReplyDelete@Das: thnx yaar !! Give me the names of the movies...i'll download them and we can watch them during our "india trip" :-)
ReplyDelete@Murthy: thnx a lot dude...u might as well can check my other post "Maha Movie Blog"
@K2: thnx a lot..I have tried to be as objective as possible.. As far as Korean movies are concerned, I too have lost track of those :-( But no worries...I'll still update you about some korean movies by mail....Btw, I've found a whole new world of awesome cinema: Italian cinema. I'm planning my next blog on that only.
Gupta u have definitely gud collection of movie . it can be seen whole night with ur frnds without any tiredness , yes i practiced for so many nights
ReplyDeleteI disagree... Scorcese is a legend and deserves a spot higher than 5... definitely not below Tarantino !!!
ReplyDelete