Favorite Directors

This page is under construction. There's still much writing to do.

So what does it take to become one of my favorite directors? Generally I have to passionately like and advocate a majority of the director's work. They have to have a distinct aesthetic and a set of themes to which I'm partial. Usually I'll have several of their films on DVD and they'll probably be in the "directors" section on my DVD shelves. They may also be on the top of my DVD shelf in the boxset collection.

Just as I use a letter grade system for films, directors receive a grade point average (GPA) based on the average of their letter grades. I use a 4-point scale that breaks down like this: A+ 4.333, A 4.0, A- 3.666, B+ 3.333, B 3.0, B- 2.666, C+ 2.333, C 2.0, C- 1.666, D+ 1.333, D 1.0, D- .666, F 0. It's identical to the scale I actually had in high school and college as a student except I've added an A+. The GPA is figured by adding up the points from all the letter grades and then dividing it by the number of films graded. The GPA is ultimately at my discretion, meaning I will round up and I'll weigh whether or not to include shorts and TV shows.

Unseen titles are listed in green. These are titles I either have not seen, have only seen partially, or do not remember well enough to rate.

A few directors not included: Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Frederico Fellini, Francois Truffaut. I'm just too lazy to copy all of their movies into the format I've created for this page. I also haven't seen a majority of their films and don't feel I have anything particularly original and compelling to say about them. David Cronenberg, Gus Van Sant, Jim Jarmusch, Danny Boyle and Oliver Stone are four directors I like a lot who were originally on here but I ultimately decided to remove them since I haven't seen a majority of their films.

Darren Aronofsky

While I appreciated the vision of Aronofsky's first feature, the 1998 sci-fi thriller "Pi," it didn't quite blow me away. "Pi" tells the story of Max Cohen (Sean Gullette) a reclusive mathematical genius who's slowly going insane. It's an intriguing film with some unique ideas and visuals, but it didn't quite mesmerize me. The potential of the film was more than fulfilled with its sister, 2000's "Requiem for a Dream," which I discuss on my favorite movies page. In "Requiem," my favorite film of all time, Aronofsky took a lot of the visual tricks of "Pi" and applied them to maximize the intensity of a very emotional story. In 2006 Aronofsky proved that "Requiem" wasn't a fluke with "The Fountain," an emotional, intellectual, visual feast that showed he could give us light just as well as darkness.

I have high expectations for Aronofsky. I think he's going to be his generation's Stanley Kubrick. His best work is yet to come.

Written and Directed:

The Fountain (2006) A+
Requiem for a Dream (2000) A+
Pi (1998)  B+

GPA: 3.996, A out of three films graded.

P.T. Anderson

One of the things that the 1990s saw in film was the emergence of the home video film school. You had the first generation of directors emerging and making films who were raised in the era of the video tape. They primarily got their film education by watching tons of movies and then going and just making their films themselves. (One wonders what'll happen when my generation, the DVD generation, really starts making films.) The most celebrated figure of this movement was "Pulp Fiction" director Quentin Tarantino who emerged from life as a video store clerk to basically own '90s pop culture.

Also part of this movement, though, and I'd argue, the better filmmaker, is P.T. Anderson.

Written and Directed:

There Will Be Blood (2007) A+
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) A
Magnolia (1999) A+
Boogie Nights (1997) A+
Sydney (1996) B

GPA: 3.998, A out of five films graded.

Kenneth Anger

S

Written and Directed:

Anger Sees Red (2004)
Mouse Heaven (2004)
The Man We Want to Hang (2002) C
Don't Smoke That Cigarette (2000)
Ich will! (2000)
Senators in Bondage (1976)
Lucifer Rising (1972) A
Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969) A+
Kustom Kar Kommandos (1965) D
Scorpio Rising (1964) B+
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954) A-
Eaux d'artifice (1953) B
Rabbit's Moon (1950) D
Puce Moment (1949) A
Fireworks (1947) A

GPA: 3.032, B out of ten short films graded.

Judd Apatow

Written and Directed:

Knocked Up (2007) A-
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) A

GPA: 3.83, A- out of two films graded.

Produced:

Pineapple Express (2008) A-
Step Brothers (2008) B+
Drillbit Taylor (2008)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) A
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) C
Superbad (2007) A+
Knocked Up (2007) A-
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) B+
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) A
Kicking & Screaming (2005)
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) B+
Undeclared (2001-2003 TV show)
Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000 TV show)
The Cable Guy (1996)
Celtic Pride (1996)
Heavy Weights (1995)
The Ben Stiller Show (1992-1993)

GPA: 3.515, B+ out of nine films graded.

Tim Burton

S

Directed:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) A
Corpse Bride (2005) B
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) C
Big Fish (2003) C+
Planet of the Apes (2001) C
Sleepy Hollow (1999) A
Mars Attacks! (1996) B
Ed Wood (1994) A
Batman Returns (1992) B+
Edward Scissorhands (1990) B+
Batman (1989) B
Beetle Juice (1988) B
Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) B

GPA: 3.076, B out of 13 films graded.

Stan Brakhage

S

Catherine Breillat

S

Written and Directed:

Une vieille maîtresse (2007)
Anatomy of Hell (2004) B+
Sex Is Comedy (2002)
Brief Crossing (2001)
Fat Girl (2001) A
Romance (1999) A
Perfect Love (1996)
36 fillette (1988)
Tapage nocturne (1979)
A Real Young Girl (1976) B

GPA:  3.585, B+ out of four films graded.

Larry Clark

S

Directed:

Destricted (2006) (segment "Impaled") B
Wassup Rockers (2005)
Ken Park (2002) A
Teenage Caveman (2002) (TV) F
Bully (2001) A
Another Day in Paradise (1997) B+
Kids (1995) A

GPA: 3.05, B out of six films graded.

Joel and Ethan Coen

S

Burn After Reading (2008) B+
No Country for Old Men (2007) A+
The Ladykillers (2004)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) A
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) A
The Big Lebowski (1998) A+
Fargo (1996) A+
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Barton Fink (1991) A
Miller's Crossing (1990) A
Raising Arizona (1987) B+
Blood Simple.(1984) A

GPA: 3.9665, A out of 10 films graded.

Alfonso Cuaron

S

Children of Men (2006) A
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) B+
Y tu mamá también (2001) A+
Great Expectations (1998)
A Little Princess (1995)

GPA: 3.886, A- out of 3 films graded.

Guillermo Del Toro

S

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) B+
Pan's Labyrinth (2006) A+
Hellboy (2004) B
Blade II (2002) B
The Devil's Backbone (2001)
Mimic (1997)
Cronos (1993)

GPA: 3.415, B+ out of 4 films graded.

Kirby Dick

S

This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006) A-
Twist of Faith (2004) B+
Derrida (2002)
Chain Camera (2001)
Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (1997) A+

GPA: 3.773, A- out of 3 films graded.

Terry Gilliam

S

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
Tideland (2005)
The Brothers Grimm (2005) F
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) A
Twelve Monkeys (1995) A
The Fisher King (1991)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) B
Brazil (1985) B
Time Bandits (1981) A
Jabberwocky (1977)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) A+

GPA: 3.19, B out of 7 films graded

Alfred Hitchcock

S

Family Plot (1976)
Frenzy (1972)
Topaz (1969)
Torn Curtain (1966)
Marnie (1964)
The Birds (1963) C
Psycho (1960) A
North by Northwest (1959) B+
Vertigo (1958)
The Wrong Man (1956)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Rear Window (1954) A
Dial M for Murder (1954)
I Confess (1953)
Strangers on a Train (1951) B+
Stage Fright (1950)
Under Capricorn (1949)
Rope (1948) A
The Paradine Case (1947)
Notorious (1946)
Spellbound (1945) A
Lifeboat (1944)
Bon Voyage (1944)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943) B
Saboteur (1942)
Suspicion (1941)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
Foreign Correspondent (1940) A+
Rebecca (1940) A
Jamaica Inn (1939)
The Lady Vanishes (1938) A
Young and Innocent (1937)
Sabotage (1936)
Secret Agent (1936)
The 39 Steps (1935) B+
Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

GPA: 3.61, B+ out of 12 films graded.

The Hughes Brothers

S

From Hell (2001) A
American Pimp (1999) B+
Dead Presidents (1995) C
Menace II Society (1993) A

GPA: 3.3325, B+ out of four films graded.

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

S

Babel (2006)
21 Grams (2003) A
11'09''01 - September 11 (2002) (segment "Mexico")
Amores perros (2000) A+

GPA: 4.165, A out of two films graded.

Alejandro Jodorowsky

S

The Rainbow Thief (1990)
Santa sangre (1989) A
Tusk (1980)
The Holy Mountain (1973) A+
Topo, El (1970) A+
Fando y Lis (1968) F
Cravate, La (1957)

GPA: 3.165, B out of four films graded.

Tony Kaye

S

Lake of Fire (2006) A+
American History X (1998) A

GPA: 4.165, A out of two films graded.

Stanley Kubrick

S

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) A-
Full Metal Jacket (1987) B
The Shining (1980) B+
Barry Lyndon (1975) B
A Clockwork Orange (1971) A+
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) A
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) A
Lolita (1962) B+
Spartacus (1960) B
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Killing (1956)
Killer's Kiss (1955)
Fear and Desire (1953)

GPA: 3.516, B+ out of nine films graded.

Spike Lee

S

Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
"When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" (2006) TV mini-series
Inside Man (2006) A
Sucker Free City (2004) (TV)
She Hate Me (2004) C+
25th Hour (2002)
A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) (TV)
Bamboozled (2000) B+
The Original Kings of Comedy (2000) B
Summer of Sam (1999) A
He Got Game (1998) B
4 Little Girls (1997) A
Get on the Bus (1996)
Girl 6 (1996)
Clockers (1995)
Crooklyn (1994)
Malcolm X (1992) A+
Jungle Fever (1991) B
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Do the Right Thing (1989) A+
School Daze (1988) B
She's Gotta Have It (1986) B

GPA: 3.443, B+ out of 12 films graded.

Sergio Leone

S

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) A
Duck, You Sucker (1971) B
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) C
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) A-
For a Few Dollars More (1965) A+
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) A
The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)

GPA: 3.498, B+ out of six films graded.

Richard Linklater

S

A Scanner Darkly (2006) B-
Fast Food Nation (2006) C
Bad News Bears (2005)
Before Sunset (2004) A
The School of Rock (2003)
Tape (2001)
Waking Life (2001) A-
The Newton Boys (1998)
SubUrbia (1996)
Before Sunrise (1995) A
Dazed and Confused (1993) B
Slacker (1991) B
It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1988)

GPA: 3.188, B out of seven films graded.

David Lynch

S

Inland Empire (2006)
Mulholland Dr. (2001) A
The Straight Story (1999)
Lost Highway (1997)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
"Twin Peaks" (1990-1991) A-
Wild at Heart (1990)
Blue Velvet (1986) A
Dune (1984) B
The Elephant Man (1980) A
Eraserhead (1977) B

GPA: 3.61, high B+ out of 6 films graded.

John Cameron Mitchell

S

Shortbus (2006) A
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) B+

GPA: 3.665, A- out of 2 films graded.

Errol Morris

S

Standard Operating Procedure (2008)
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003) A
"First Person" (2001) B
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) A
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)
A Brief History of Time (1991) B
The Dark Wind (1991)
The Thin Blue Line (1988) A
Vernon, Florida (1982)
Gates of Heaven (1978)

GPA: 3.6, very high B+ out of five films graded.

Gaspar Noe

S

Destricted (2006) (segment "We Fuck Alone") B
Irréversible (2002) A
I Stand Alone (1998) A
Sodomites (1998)
Carne (1991)

GPA: 4.0, A out of 2 films graded, Destricted short not included in GPA.

Christopher Nolan

S

The Dark Knight (2008) A+
The Prestige (2006)
Batman Begins (2005) A
Insomnia (2002) B
Memento (2000) B+
Following (1998)

GPA: 3.665, A- out of 4 films graded.

Pier Paolo Pasolini

S

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) B
Arabian Nights (1974)
The Canterbury Tales (1972)
The Decameron (1971)
Medea (1969)
Porcile (1969)
Teorema (1968)
Oedipus Rex (1967/I)
The Hawks and the Sparrows (1966)
Love Meetings (1965)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) A+
Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963) (segment "Ricotta, La") A
Mamma Roma (1962) B+
Accattone (1961)

GPA: 3.665, A- out of 4 films graded.

Alexander Payne

S

Sideways (2004) A+
About Schmidt (2002) B
Election (1999) A
Citizen Ruth (1996)

GPA: 3.776, A- out of 3 films graded.

Eli Roth

S

Hostel: Part II (2007) A
Grindhouse (2007) (fake trailer segment "Thanksgiving") B
Hostel (2005) A
Cabin Fever (2002) A

GPA: 4.0, A out of 3 films graded, "Thanksgiving" mock-trailer not included in GPA.

Robert Rodriguez

S

Grindhouse (2007) (segment "Planet Terror") (fake trailer segment "Machete") B+
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005)
Sin City (2005) A
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) C+
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002) B
Spy Kids (2001) B
The Faculty (1998) C+
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) A-
Four Rooms (1995) (segment "The Misbehavers") B+
Desperado (1995) A
Mariachi, El (1992) B
Bedhead (1991) B

GPA: 3.198, B out of 10 films graded, Bedhead short not included.

Mark Romanek

S

"Are You Gonna Go My Way," Lenny Kravitz (1993) A
"Jump They Say," David Bowie (1993) A
"Closer," Nine Inch Nails (1994) B
"Strange Currencies", R.E.M. (1995) C
"Scream," Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson (1995) C
"Novocaine for the Soul," Eels (1996) B
"El Scorcho," Weezer (1996) B+
"Devils Haircut" Beck (1996) B
"The Perfect Drug," Nine Inch Nails (1997) B+
"Criminal," Fiona Apple (1997) B+
"Got 'Til It's Gone," Janet Jackson (1997) B+
"God Gave Me Everything," Mick Jagger (2001) A
One Hour Photo (2002) B
"Hella Good," No Doubt (2002) A
"Cochise," Audioslave (2002) A
"Hurt," Johnny Cash (2002) A+
"Can't Stop," Red Hot Chili Peppers (2003) B
"Faint," Linkin Park (2003) B+
"99 Problems," Jay-Z (2004) A

GPA: 3.367, B+ out of 18 music videos and one film graded.

Kevin Smith

Smith was one of many filmmakers to ride in on the '90s independent cinema wave. He was one of several filmmakers to make the argument that to break into the film world one should just go out and make a film on a shoestring budget. Smith's debut "Clerks" was produced for $27,000 (The other most famous one is Robert Rodriguez whose debut "El Mariachi" was made for $7,000.)

Several recurring themes and motifs can be found throughout Smith's films: strong dialogue, frank discussions of sexuality, profanity, pop-culture (particularly geek culture) references, struggles in male-female relationships, themes of the nature of sex, male friendship, films that share a single universe (the viewaskewniverse,) the characters Jay and Silent Bob, and the struggle to grow up and mature. Stylistically Smith is known much more for his writing and his screenplays than his directing and visual style. Throughout his films he's embraced a very minimalist look. In "Clerks" a confrontation between protagonist Dante and his ex-girlfriend is a single take from a stationary camera that lasts at least seven minutes. In "Dogma" Smith cut an action sequence in which a gang fights a demon made of human feces and replaced it with the protagonists merely watching the action take place. Smith specifically rebelled against this tendency in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," a film made as a satire of Hollywood filmmaking.

I celebrate Smith's work and argue on his behalf because his films are a part of an important trend that Hollywood would do well to embrace more fully. What Smith does is he takes lowbrow comedy and combines it with highbrow filmmaking. On the one hand he makes films that feature adolescent humor (sex jokes, bathroom jokes, pop culture references.) On the other he infuses his films with all the key elements of serious cinema. He creates substantial characters with whom the audience can relate and sympathize. He also tackles issues of substance. "Dogma" features some pretty thoughtful ideas about religion. "Chasing Amy" is a powerhouse of a film loaded with commentary on sexuality, homosexuality, relationships, and male friendships. Smith works out of the same tradition as The Simpsons, South Park, and Judd Apatow. It's the radical idea of a comedy of intelligent stupidity. So much of comedy today is stupid stupidity. It's Adam Sandler's "The Waterboy" or the "Epic Movie" films or Rob Schneider's work. It's disposable. Smith's work isn't. It gives us laughs and entertainment but also the opportunity to not just shut our brains off for an hour and a half.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) A
Clerks II (2006) A-
Jersey Girl (2004) B
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) B+
Dogma (1999) A-
Chasing Amy (1997) A
Mallrats (1995) C+
Clerks. (1994) A-
Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary (1992)

GPA: 3.499, B+ out of 8 films graded.

Martin Scorsese

Everything I might say about Scorsese I've already said before in my Scorsese retrospective here.

Steven Soderbergh

S

The Argentine (2008)
Guerrilla (2008)
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
The Good German (2006)
Bubble (2005/I)
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Eros (2004) (segment "Equilibrium")
"K Street" (10 episodes, 2003)
Solaris (2002) B
Full Frontal (2002)
Ocean's Eleven (2001) A
Traffic (2000) A
Erin Brockovich (2000) B
The Limey (1999)
Out of Sight (1998) B
Schizopolis (1996)
Gray's Anatomy (1996)
Underneath (1995)
King of the Hill (1993)
Kafka (1991)
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) B

GPA: 3.333, B+ out of 6 films graded.

Todd Solondz

S

Palindromes (2004) B+
Storytelling (2001) B
Happiness (1998) A+
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) A
Fear, Anxiety & Depression (1989)

GPA: 3.665, A- out of 4 films graded.

Quentin Tarantino

S

Grindhouse (2007) (segment "Death Proof") D
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) A
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) A
Jackie Brown (1997) A+
Four Rooms (1995) (segment "The Man from Hollywood") B
Pulp Fiction (1994) A+
Reservoir Dogs (1992) A-

GPA: 3.474, B+ out of 7 films graded. GPA is 3.386, still a B+ average, if "Kill Bill" is considered one film.

John Waters

S

A Dirty Shame (2004) B+
Cecil B. DeMented (2000) B+
Pecker (1998) B+
Serial Mom (1994) B+
Cry-Baby (1990) B+
Hairspray (1988) A
Polyester (1981)
Desperate Living (1977)
Female Trouble (1974) B
Pink Flamingos (1972) A+
The Diane Linkletter Story (1970)
Multiple Maniacs (1970)
Mondo Trasho (1969)
 

GPA: 3.497, B+ out of 8 films graded.

Rob Zombie

S

Halloween (2007) A-
Grindhouse (2007) (fake trailer segment "Werewolf Women of the S.S.") B+
The Devil's Rejects (2005) A
House of 1000 Corpses (2003) B-

GPA: 3.44, B+ out of 3 films graded. Fake trailer in "Grindhouse" not included in GPA.

Terry Zwigoff

S

Art School Confidential (2006) C+
Bad Santa (2003) A
Ghost World (2001) A
Crumb (1994) A+
Louie Bluie (1985)

GPA: 3.665, A- out of four films graded.