Notes & Asides on the Best Filmmakers, 1985-2010

Quantitative: Top Ten Directors: 85-10

Percy Adlon: 87
Fatih Akin 07
Thomas Alfredson 08
Woody Allen:    85, 89, 92, 94, 05
Pedro Almodovar 99, 01, 04, 09
Robert Altman 92, 93, 96
Jon Amiel 89
Paul Thomas Anderson 97, 01, 07
Wes Anderson 98
Roy Andersson 07
Gregg Araki 04
Denys Arcard 89
Darren Aronofsky 00, 08
Bille August: 87
Gabriel Axel 87
Fax Bahr 91
Banksy 10
Roberto Begnini 98
Joe Belinger 92
Berman 03
Claude Berri: 86, 86
Kathryn Bigelow 08
John Boorman: 87, 98
Danny Boyle 96
Tim Burton 94
James Cameron: 86
Juan Jose Campanella 09
Jane Campion 90, 93, 96, 09
Laurent Cantet 08
Peter Chelsom 95
Joel & Ethan Coen 90, 91, 96, 01, 07, 08
Anton Cojin 10
Isabel Coixet 05
Bill Condon 98
Sofia Coppola 03
Alex Cox: 86
David Cronenberg 96
Alfonson Cuaron 06
Stephen Daldry 01
Terence Davis 88
Rolf de Heer 06
Jonathan Demme 91
Pete Docter 09
Andrew Domink 00
Martin Donovan 88
Robert Duvall 97
Clint Eastwood 92, 03, 04, 06
Christine Edzard: 87
Atom Egoyan 97
Todd Field 06
David Fincher 07, 10
James Foley 92
Ari Folman 08
Mark Forster 04
Stephen Frears 88, 90
Vincent Gallo 98
Alex Gibney 07
Terry Gilliam 89, 09
Michel Gondry 04, 06
Luca Guadagnino 09
Stephen Gyllenhaal 91
Lasse Hallstrom: 85
Michael Haneke 97, 00, 01, 05, 09
Curtis Hanson 97
David Hare 85
Todd Haynes 01
Werner Herzog 99, 05
George Hickenlooper 91
Agniesaka Holland 91, 92
A & A Huges 93
Tim Hunter 87
Nicholas Hytner 96
John Huston 87
Shohei Imamura 89
Juxo Itami: 86
James Ivory 92, 93
Peter Jackson 94, 00, 01, 03
Steve Jacobs 08
Andrew Jarecki 03
Duncan Jones 09
Spike Jonze 99
Neil Jordan 86, 92
Chen Kaige 93, 99
Phil Kaufman 90
Krystof Kieslowski 88, 91, 93, 94, 94
Steven Kloves 89
Andrei Konshalovsky 85
Chris Kraus 06
Stanley Kubrick 87, 99
Akira Kurosawa: 85, 93
Emir Kusturica 95
Neil La Bute 97
Ang Lee 95, 00, 05, 07
La Kau Leung 94
Claude Lanzman: 85,
Mike Leigh 96
Barry Levinson 90
Richard Linklater 04
Caroline Link 01
Sidney Lumet 88
David Lynch: 86, 92, 97, 99, 01, 06
Brad McGann
John McNaughton 89
Terence Malick 98, 05
Rob Marshall 02
Paul Mazursky 89
Louis Malle 87, 89
Shane Meadows 97, 06
Fernando Meirelles 01
Sam Mendes 99
Bennett Miller 05
Takashi Miike 99
Anthony Minghella 96
Claude Lelouch 95
George Lucas 99
Ross McElwee: 86
David Michod 10
Nikita Mikhalkov 94
Frank Miller 05
Gavin Miller: 85
Jocelyn Moorehouse 91
Robby Muller 93
Cristian Mungiu 07
Mira Nair 01
Christopher Nolan 01, 08, 10
Marcel Ophuls 88
Katsuhiro Otomo 88
Chan-Wook Park 03
Alexander Payne 04
Bob Peterson 09
Roman Polanski 02
Gaylene Preston 10
Luis Puenzo: 85,
Pulcini 03
Bob Rafelson 90
Mark Rappaport 95
Kelly Reichardt 08
Jason Reitman 09
Roland Ritcher 01
Robert Rodrieguez 05
David O. Russell 94
Yves Roberts 90
Stefan Ruzowitzky 07
Claude Sautet 92
John Sayles 96
Lone Scherfig 00
Volker Scholondorf: 85,
Paul Schrader: 85,
Martin Scorsese 90, 91, 93, 95, 95, 99, 04, 06
Jim Sheridan 90, 03
Bruce Sinofsky 92
George Sluizer 88
Steven Soderbergh 89, 00
Todd Solondz 98
Barry Sonnenfeld 95
Steven Spielberg 93, 98, 00, 01
Oliver Stone 88
Quentin Tarantino 94, 97, 03, 04, 05
Bertrand Tavernier: 86
Anh Hung Tran 95
Tom Tykwer 00
Gus Van Sant 03
Agnes Varda 91
Thomas Vinterberg 98
FH Von Donnersmarck 06
Lars Von Trier 96, 98, 00, 03
Tiaka Waitiki
Wayne Wang 95
Vincent Ward: 88
Peter Weir: 86, 93
Wim Wenders: 87
Joe Wright 07
Edward Yang 00,
Zhang Yimou 89, 91, 95, 00, 01
Tian Zhaungzhaung 93
Terry Zwigoff 94, 01

Totals:

8 Martin Scorsese
6 David Lynch
6 Joel & Ethan Coen
5 Woody Allen
5 Krystof Kieslowski
5 Quentin Tarantino
5 Zhang Yimou
5 Michael Haneke
4 Pedro Almodovar
4 Jane Campion
4 Clint Eastwood
4 Peter Jackson
4 Ang Lee
4 Steven Spielberg
4 Lars Von Trier
3 Robert Altman
3 Paul Thomas Anderson
3 Christopher Nolan

Best Films 2000-2009:

1= Mulholland Drive
1= Inland Empire
3 Yi Yi
4 The Lives of Others
5 There Will Be Blood
6 The White Ribbon
7 Hidden/Cache
8 Dogville
9 LOR: The Two Towers
10 Zodiac

11 You, the Living
12 Disgrace
13 LOR: Return of the King
14 Talk to Her
15 I Am Love
16 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
17 A Prophet
18 The Aviator
19 Capturing the Friedmans
20 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

21 The New World
22 Dancer in the Dark
23 Requiem for a Dream
24 LOR: Fellowship of the Ring
25 AI: Artificial Intelligence

3 Jackson
2 Lynch
2 Haneke

Top 10 Films of the last 25 Years.

1. Shoah (Lanzman, France, 1985)
2. Goodfellas (Scorsese, USA, 1990)
3. Unforgiven (Eastwood, USA, 1992)
4= Mulholland Drive (Lynch, USA, 2000)
4= Inland Empire (Lynch, USA, 2006)
6. Heavenly Creatures (Jackson, NZ, 1994)
7. The Purple Rose of Cairo (Allen, USA, 1985)
8. Distant Voices, Still Lives (Davies, UK, 1988)
9. Yi Yi (Edward Yang, Taiwan, 2000)
10. The Lives of Others (Von Donnersmarch, Germany, 2006)

Conclusions?

While judged over a longer period when his 70s and earlier 80s work could be considered Martin Scorsese should be thought one of the all time great American film artists in the years 1985-2010 Martin Scorsese he was not the most significant director in the world, or even the best in America.  The highlights were considerable - Goodfellas, Cape Fear, two superb film documentaries, The Aviator and a long overdue Oscar for The Departed.  There’s also merit in the period drama The Age of Innocence, the cult variation on Goodfellas, Casino, the music docos No Direction Home and Shine a Light and the Hitchcock homage The Key to Reserva.  Against this there are the failures, relative or outright: Kundun, Bringing Out the Dead, Gangs of New York and Shutter Island.

Joel and Ethan Coen are perhaps the most prolific and self-challenging American directors of the last quarter century, each one of their films totally dissimilar from that which preceded it.  Barton Fink, Fargo, The Man Who Wasn’t There, No Country for Old Men and Burn After Reading are all great films in my book.  The cult appeal of Raising Arizonia, The Big Lebowski and A Serious Man as well as the box office smash O Brother Where Art Thou? should not be underestimated either.  Even when the Coens fail they do so interestingly, with their own ambition outrunning public taste.  The Hudsucker Proxy, Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers are all much better films than their reputations suggest.

For all this no Coen brothers films appear on my lists.  I cannot quite articulate why, for example, I rate David Lynch’s work in the same period so much higher.  From ‘86-’06 this American original was responsible for just one out and out dud: ironically the Palm d’Or winning Wild At Heart.  Against this consider Blue Velvet, Fire Walk With Me, The Straight Story, Lost Highway and those twin highpoints of 21st cinema, Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire.  Purposely enigmatic and disturbing, Lynch’s cinema makes up for in intensity what it delibately lacks in narrative coherence, taking his viewers on a darker ride than anything on offer from his contemporaries.  Lynch also co-created the greatest television series of the last quarter century, Twin Peaks.

Woody Allen the other American veteran active throughout the entire time span, producing an average of one written and directed feature per annumn.  In the late 80s Allen was at his peak, with The Purple Rose of Cairo and Crimes and Misdemeanors undeniable masterpieces and Hannah and Her Sisters a popular hit.  Inconsistency set in shortly afterwards but Husbands and Wives, Bullets Over Broadway, Sweet and Lowdown, Match Point and Vicky Christina Barcelona all contain elements of the Allen genius.  Best forgotten are Alice, Shadows and Fog, Celebrity, Anything Else and Cassandra’s Dream.

Other veterans of note: Spielberg (Schindler’s List/Saving Private Ryan/AI/Catch Me if You Can), Eastwood (Unforgiven/Mystic River/Million Dollar Baby/Letters from Iwo Jima), Altman (The Player, Short Cuts, Kansas City), Huston (Prizzi’s Honor/The Dead).

Of the American directors to emerge during the period Tarantino is the first cab off the rank, perhaps the strongest combination of writer and director since Billy Wilder.  The most disappointing aspect of Tarantino’s career has been how few films he has made since the sensational debut with Reservoir Dogs.  Pulp Fiction remains the feature he’s most likely to be remembered for yet in its own way the mammouth adaptation Jackie Brown is just as good.  The underrating of that film and the stunning Kill Bill movies are as puzzling as the overrating of Inglourious Basterds.  Like the equally cult Kubrick wannabe Terence Malick, I would like Tarantino to work harder, and more often, because few can touch the man for pure talent.

Andersons Wes and PT and Darren Aronofsky the other key American artists to emerge.  The wonderfully formal family sagas of Wes Anderson - Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenanbaums, The Life Acquatic, The Darjeeling Limited - are perhaps only bested by Paul Thomas’ dark, ironic vision of America in Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood.  Aronofsky less consisent, his debut Pi and third feature The Fountain imperfect works, but Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler are major achievements.

The writer Charlie Kaufman and his two interpretors Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry are noteworthy.  Being John Malkovich, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless and Adaptation the best, but Human Nature, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Kaufman’s directorial debut Synechdoche, New York also warrant attention.  Gondry’s The Science of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind interesting if not quite at the Kaufman level, nor is Jonze brave, iconoclastic version of Where the Wild Things Are.

David Fincher’s impressive, early style pieces - Seven, Fight Club, The Game - have latterly given way to both the populist (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and the epic art house (Zodiac, The Social Network).

Christopher Nolan the master of the intelligent blockbuster, producing two superior batman films as well as this year’s stunning Inception.  Cult favourits Memento and The Prestige should also not be overlooked.

European auteurs: in the late 80s/early 90s none could touch Krystof Kieslowski.  The ten part television epic Dekalog was followed by the enigmatic Double Life of Veronique before Kieslowski produced the quintessential art house trilogy of the period, the three colours films.  Sadly, he then died prematurely.

Since the Pole’s demise, Spain’s Pedro Almodovar and Austria’s Michael Haneke are continental contenders.  The post modern pastiche comedies of Almodovar’s early career have lately given way to densely structred melodramas: All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Bad Education and Broken Embraces his major works.

Haneke we have recently devoted a show to.  His cool intelligence and consistent thematic concerns are formible.  Few if any missteps in his contemplation of the woes of contemporary society.  Funny Games, Code Unknown, The Piano Teacher, Hidden, The White Ribbon.

The crazy Dane Lars Von Trier.  Prolific, confrontational, experimental, Von Trier is a force of nature.  Have not really seen his initial trilogy, but the second, ‘the trilogy of female suffering’ a masterpiece of melodrama: Breaking the Waves/The Idiots/Dancer in the Dark.  The Dogville/Manderley not as universally loved - particularly by US critics.  Early television series The Kingdom rivals Twin Peaks for populist surrealism.  The Boss of It All displays a sense of humour, The Five Obstructions some sentimental attachment to an old mentor.

I suspect Swede Roy Andersson a major player but he also far from prolific.  You, the Living a wonderful film.

I am not particularly equipped to talk about Asian directors.  Personally I think Japan’s Takeshi Kitano and Takeshi Miikie are interesting but not quite first rank directors. The animator Hayao Miyazaki deserves mention.

Korea’s Bong Jo-Ho - Barking Dogs Never Bite, The Host, Memories of Murder, Mother - and Chan-wook Park (Old Boy) are undoubted talents.

Zhang Yimou had the most promising career of the period.  Though his output since Hero in 2003 has proven disappointing, the man who made Red Sorghum Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live and Shanghai Triad and The Road Home was once as fine a director as any in the world.  Whatever the merits of Hero, The House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Yellow Flower prove that his forte is not cold, action epics.

Ang Lee’s remarkable ability to make films all around the world is unprecedented in the period.  From Eat Drink Man Woman in his native Taiwan to Sense and Sensibility in the UK to major US success - and a Oscar - with Brokeback Mountain, Lee demonstrates that talent is universal.  Perhaps not everything has come off - the Hulk was an interesting failure and Taking Woodstock minor - but Lust Caution saw him back on form.

Peter Jackson.  It’s hard to be objective about his recently controversial New Zealand artist.  Heavenly Creatures is still his major work and the splatter movies that predated it - Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles and Brain Dead - all have tremendous energy and vision.  The Lord of Rings is pehaps the finest achievement in fantasy filmmaking ever.  However, since its success there’s been the relative disappointment of a vanity project gone awry in King Kong and the out and out disaster of The Lovely Bones.  Is The Hobbit a backward step?

New Zealand born Jane Campion is sole female director to rate consistently.  An Angel at My Table, The Piano and to a lesser extent Portrait of a Lady and In the Cut the major works.  Humour not her forte, as demonstrated in the failures of Sweetie (though it has a following) and Holy Smoke.

The Qualitative List: Best Modern Filmmakers 1985-2010

1. David Lynch
2. Joel & Ethan Coen
3. Michael Haneke
4. Pedro Almodovar
5. Lars Von Trier