Movie Directors' Top Films

[Dubrow555]

Comparing TV and film is always a bit apples and oranges but I'd say The Mandalorian > The Jungle Book.

I'm also curious about Mank vs The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and About Elly vs The Salesman.

I'd also vote Dragon Tattoo > Mank

*Since the criteria is pretty close, I'd give The Salesman the edge since it won the Oscar.

[ManPerson]

About Elly has a striking advantage on TSPDT, a slight advantage on pretty much every rating site, so I'd give it the win considering neither film's popularity is all that noteworthy.

[Dubrow555]

One more thing: despite a clear critical acclaim win, I'm wondering if it makes sense to move Gone Girl about Zodiac with a pretty significant popularity win (both initial and lasting), plus slight audience acclaim win. GG is about 45 spots ahead on the 2010's list - so despite it being a weaker decade than the 2000's, I'm wondering if that makes sense.

[ManPerson]

I wouldn't be against that.

[pauldrach]

I've made all the requested changes to the Farhadi, Favreau and Fincher lists. Nothing I disagree with.

[Tim]

Have you seen my Guadagnino list, paul?

[Zach]

I've made all the requested changes to the Farhadi, Favreau and Fincher lists. Nothing I disagree with.

Any thoughts on "Freedom! '90" for Fincher?

I think its influence, acclaim, and cultural popularity exceed what The Killer (and very possibly a couple of Fincher's other films) has achieved so far.


Just a quick ChatGPT rundown:

Influence:
“Freedom! ’90” revolutionized music videos by replacing the singer with a cadre of top supermodels and using striking visual symbolism to redefine pop-star imagery. Its innovative approach has continued to shape the aesthetics of music videos and even fashion (with supermodels becoming synonymous with high style in pop culture).

Acclaim:
Critics and fans alike praise “Freedom! ’90” as a masterpiece of the medium. Its groundbreaking direction and lasting impact have earned it a near–mythic status in the history of music videos. In contrast, while “The Killer” has received positive reviews and strong technical praise, it hasn’t sparked the same transformative shift in its genre.

Popularity:
The cultural footprint of “Freedom! ’90” remains enormous—it’s still frequently referenced in discussions of iconic pop visuals and is celebrated for its daring departure from the norm. “The Killer” is a solid thriller, but its appeal is more niche compared to the broad, enduring legacy of “Freedom! ’90.”

[Tim]

Fincher's top 10 without a single music video would feel lacking to me.

[pauldrach]

Have you seen my Guadagnino list, paul?

Yeah, sorry, I don't get to new lists at the moment though I might quickloy let him sneak in when we get to that point in the alphabet. He's clearly among the most important missing names.

[pauldrach]

Yeah, another sorry. I forgot about "Freedom '90", which I'm pretty sure was on Fincher's list at some point in the past. Where do you see it? #10? #9?

[Tim]

Think we used to have Vogue and Express Yourself on his list but not Freedom '90. However, Freedom is now Fincher's highest ranked music video on Ryan's list.

[Zach]

Yeah, another sorry. I forgot about "Freedom '90", which I'm pretty sure was on Fincher's list at some point in the past. Where do you see it? #10? #9?

#9 seems reasonable to me.

[ManPerson]

Speaking of music videos, what do people think about adding Sledgehammer and Take On Me to the bubblers of the '80s list?

[Tim]

Meh. I know we have Thriller on that list but that appears to transcend it's niche plus was the highest ranked entry on John Landis' list for a while.

[pauldrach]

Updates for page 12:

Terence Fisher
1. Dracula (1958)
2. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
3. The Devil Rides Out (1968)
4. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)
5. The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)
6. The Mummy (1959)
7. Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)
8. The Brides of Dracula (1960)
9. The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)
10. So Long at the Fair [with Antony Damborough] (1950)

Dave Fleischer
1. Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor (1936)
2. Bimbo's Initiation (1931)
3. Superman (1941)
4. Snow-White (1933)
5. Minnie the Moocher (1932)
6. Popeye the Sailor (1933)
7. The Mechanical Monsters (1941)
8. Swing You Sinners! (1930)
9. Gulliver's Travels (1939)
10. Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937)

Richard Fleischer
1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
2. Fantastic Voyage (1966)
3. Tora! Tora! Tora! [with Kinji Fukasaku & Toshio Masuda] (1970)
4. The Narrow Margin (1952)
5. The Vikings (1958)
6. Compulsion (1959)
7. The Boston Strangler (1968)
8. Soylent Green (1973)
9. Barabbas (1961)
10. 10 Rillington Place (1971)

Victor Fleming
1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
2. Gone with the Wind (1939)
3. Captains Courageous (1937)
4. Red Dust (1932)
5. The Virginian (1929)
6. Test Pilot (1938)
7. The Way of All Flesh (1927)
8. Bombshell (1933)
9. A Guy Named Joe (1943)
10. When the Clouds Roll By (1919)

Bryan Forbes
1. Whistle Down the Wind (1961)
2. The Stepford Wives (1975)
3. Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)
4. King Rat (1965)
5. The L-Shaped Room (1962)
6. The Wrong Box (1966)
7. The Slipper and the Rose (1976)
8. The Whisperers (1967)
9. International Velvet (1978)
10. The Raging Moon (1971)

John Ford
1. The Searchers (1956)
2. Stagecoach (1939)
3. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
5. My Darling Clementine (1946)
6. The Quiet Man (1952)
7. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
8. Fort Apache (1948)
9. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
10. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

Miloš Forman
1. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
2. Amadeus (1984)
3. Loves of a Blonde (1965)
4. The Firemen's Ball (1967)
5. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
6. Hair (1979)
7. Man on the Moon (1999)
8. Ragtime (1981)
9. Taking Off (1971)
10. Valmont (1989)

Marc Forster
1. Finding Neverland (2004)
2. Monster's Ball (2001)
3. Stranger than Fiction (2006)
4. World War Z (2013)
5. The Kite Runner (2007)
6. Quantum of Solace (2008)
7. Christopher Robin (2018)
8. A Man Called Otto (2022)
9. White Bird (2024)
10. Stay (2005)

Hollis Frampton
1. Zorns Lemma (1970)
2. Hapax Legomena I: (nostalgia) (1971)
3. Hapax Legomena II: Poetic Justice (1972)
4. Lemon (1969)
5. Process Red (1966)
6. Artificial Light (1969)
7. Straits of Magellan (1974-1975)
8. Surface Tension (1968)
9. Hapax Legomena III: Critical Mass (1971)
10. Palindrome (1969)

John Frankenheimer
1. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
2. Seconds (1966)
3. The Train (1964)
4. Seven Days in May (1964)
5. Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
6. Grand Prix (1966)
7. Ronin (1998)
8. French Connection II (1975)
9. Black Sunday (1977)
10. The Young Savages (1961)

Stephen Frears
1. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
2. The Queen (2006)
3. High Fidelity (2000)
4. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
5. Philomena (2013)
6. The Grifters (1990)
7. Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
8. Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
9. The Hit (1984)
10. Hero (1992)

Friz Freleng
1. You Ought to Be in Pictures (1940)
2. Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944)
3. Baseball Bugs (1946)
4. Tweetie Pie (1947)
5. The Pink Phink (1964)
6. Speedy Gonzales (1955)
7. Birds Anonymous (1957)
8. High Diving Hare (1949)
9. Knighty Knight Bugs (1958)
10. Rhapsody Rabbit (1948)

William Friedkin
1. The Exorcist (1973)
2. The French Connection (1971)
3. The Boys in the Band (1970)
4. Sorcerer (1977)
5. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
6. Cruising (1980)
7. Killer Joe (2011)
8. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)
9. 12 Angry Men (1997)
10. Bug (2006)

Cary Joji Fukunaga
1. True Detective [season 1] (2014)
2. Beasts of No Nation (2015)
3. No Time to Die (2021)
4. Jane Eyre (2011)
5. Sin nombre (2009)

Samuel Fuller
1. Pickup on South Street (1953)
2. Shock Corridor (1963)
3. The Big Red One (1980)
4. The Naked Kiss (1964)
5. The Steel Helmet (1951)
6. Forty Guns (1957)
7. White Dog (1982)
8. Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
9. The Crimson Kimono (1959)
10. House of Bamboo (1955)

I'll send the page 11 updates to lew.

[Tim]

Terrence Fisher's list has #9 missing, paul.