Movie Directors' Top Films

[pauldrach]

It is finally done. Proposed updates for page 18:

Irvin Kershner
1. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
2. Never Say Never Again (1983)
3. Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)
4. Raid on Entebbe (1976)
5. The Flim-Flam Man (1967)
6. RoboCop 2 (1990)
7. The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964)
8. The Hoodlum Priest (1961)
9. Up the Sandbox (1972)
10. A Fine Madness (1966)

Marlen Khutsiev
1. Spring on Zarechnaya Street [with Feliks Mironer] (1956)
2. I Am Twenty (1965)
3. July Rain (1967)
4. Two Fyodors (1958)
5. Epilogue (1983)
6. It Was in May (1970)
7. Infinitas (1992)
8. And Still I Believe... [with Mikhail Romm & Elem Klimov] (1974)
9. People of 1941 (2001)
10. Gradostroiteli (1950)

Abbas Kiarostami
1. Close-Up (1990)
2. Taste of Cherry (1997)
3. Where Is the Friend's Home? (1987)
4. The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
5. Through the Olive Trees (1994)
6. Certified Copy (2010)
7. Life, and Nothing More... (1992)
8. Ten (2002)
9. Like Someone in Love (2012)
10. Homework (1989)

Krzysztof Kieślowski
1. Dekalog (1989-1990)
2. Three Colours: Red (1994)
3. Three Colours: Blue (1993)
4. The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
5. Three Colours: White (1994)
6. A Short Film About Killing (1988)
7. A Short Film About Love (1988)
8. Blind Chance (1981/1987)
9. Camera Buff (1979)
10. No End (1985)

Kim Jee-Woon
1. I Saw the Devil (2010)
2. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
3. A Bittersweet Life (2005)
4. The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008)
5. The Age of Shadows (2016)
6. The Quiet Family (1998)
7. The Last Stand (2013)
8. The Foul King (2000)
9. Cobweb (2023)
10. Ilang: The Wolf Brigade (2018)

Kim Ki-Duk (1960-2020)
1. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ...and Spring (2003)
2. 3-Iron (2004)
3. Pietà (2012)
4. The Isle (2000)
5. Samaritan Girl (2004)
6. Time (2006)
7. The Bow (2005)
8. Bad Guy (2001)
9. Address Unknown (2001)
10. Moebius (2013)

Henry King
1. Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
2. Tol'able David (1921)
3. The Song of Bernadette (1943)
4. The Gunfighter (1950)
5. Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
6. The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926)
7. In Old Chicago (1938)
8. The Black Swan (1942)
9. Stella Dallas (1925)
10. The White Sister (1923)

Keisuke Kinoshita
1. The Ballad of Narayama (1958)
2. Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)
3. Carmen Comes Home (1951)
4. She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum (1955)
5. Immortal Love (1961)
6. A Japanese Tragedy (1953)
7. The River Fuefuki (1960)
8. Army (1944)
9. Times of Joy and Sorrow (1957)
10. The Garden of Women (1954)

Takeshi Kitano
1. Hana-bi (1997)
2. Sonatine (1993)
3. Zatōichi (2003)
4. Violent Cop (1989)
5. Dolls (2002)
6. Kikujirō (1999)
7. Brother (2000)
8. A Scene at the Sea (1991)
9. Kids Return (1996)
10. Outrage (2010)

Elem Klimov
1. Come and See (1985)
2. Welcome, or No Trespassing (1964)
3. Farewell [with Larisa Shepitko] (1983)
4. Agony (1981)
5. Adventures of a Dentist (1965)

Satoshi Kon
1. Perfect Blue (1997)
2. Paprika (2006)
3. Millennium Actress (2001)
4. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
5. Paranoia Agent (2004)

Andrei Konchalovsky
1. Siberiade (1979)
2. Runaway Train (1985)
3. Dear Comrades! (2020)
4. The Odyssey (1997)
5. The First Teacher (1965)
6. The Postman's White Nights (2014)
7. Tango & Cash (1989)
8. Paradise (2016)
9. Uncle Vanya (1970)
10. Maria's Lovers (1984)

Hirokazu Koreeda
1. Shoplifters (2018)
2. After Life (1998)
3. Still Walking (2008)
4. Nobody Knows (2004)
5. Monster (2023)
6. Like Father, Like Son (2013)
7. Maborosi (1995)
8. Our Little Sister (2015)
9. After the Storm (2016)
10. I Wish (2011)

Harmony Korine
1. Gummo (1997)
2. Spring Breakers (2012)
3. Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)
4. The Beach Bum (2019)
5. Trash Humpers (2009)
6. Mister Lonely (2007)
7. Aggro Dr1ft (2023)
8. Umshini Wam (2011)
9. Baby Invasion (2024)
10. David Blaine: Above the Below [with Steve Smith] (2003)

Henry Koster
1. Harvey (1950)
2. The Robe (1953)
3. The Bishop's Wife (1947)
4. Three Smart Girls (1936)
5. One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
6. Flower Drum Song (1961)
7. My Cousin Rachel (1952)
8. Come to the Stable (1949)
9. It Started with Eve (1941)
10. The Inspector General (1949)

Stanley Kramer
1. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
2. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
3. The Defiant Ones (1958)
4. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
5. Inherit the Wind (1960)
6. On the Beach (1959)
7. Ship of Fools (1965)
8. The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)
9. Not as a Stranger (1955)
10. The Pride and the Passion (1957)

Stanley Kubrick
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
3. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
4. The Shining (1980)
5. Paths of Glory (1957)
6. Barry Lyndon (1975)
7. Spartacus (1960)
8. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
9. The Killing (1956)
10. Lolita (1962)

Akira Kurosawa
1. Seven Samurai (1954)
2. Rashōmon (1950)
3. Ikiru (1952)
4. Yojimbo (1961)
5. Ran (1985)
6. Throne of Blood (1957)
7. High and Low (1963)
8. Stray Dog (1949)
9. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
10. Kagemusha (1980)

Kiyoshi Kurosawa
1. Cure (1997)
2. Pulse (2001)
3. Tokyo Sonata (2008)
4. Bright Future (2002)
5. Wife of a Spy (2020)
6. To the Ends of the Earth (2019)
7. Creepy (2016)
8. Charisma (1999)
9. Chime (2024)
10. Before We Vanish (2017)

Emir Kusturica
1. Underground (1995)
2. Time of the Gypsies (1988)
3. Black Cat, White Cat (1998)
4. When Father Was Away on Business (1985)
5. Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981)
6. Arizona Dream (1993)
7. Life Is a Miracle (2004)
8. Promise Me This (2007)
9. On the Milky Road (2016)
10. El Pepe: A Supreme Life (2018)

And the new list:

Michael Ritchie (1938-2001)
1. The Bad News Bears (1976)
2. Fletch (1985)
3. The Candidate (1972)
4. Downhill Racer (1969)
5. Smile (1975)
6. The Golden Child (1986)
7. Prime Cut (1972)
8. Semi-Tough (1977)
9. Wildcats (1986)
10. The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993)

With a few changes compared to Tim's original submission: I swapped "The Candidate" and "Downhill Racer" and replaced the bottom three.

I'll send the page 17 updates to lew.

[Tim]

Rob Epstein
1. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
2. The Celluloid Closet [with Jeffrey Friedman] (1995)
3. Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt [with Jeffrey Friedman] (1989)
4. Paragraph 175 [with Jeffrey Friedman] (2000)
5. Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives [with Peter Adair et al.] (1977)
6. Howl [with Jeffrey Friedman] (2010)
7. End Game [with Jeffrey Friedman] (2018)
8. Lovelace [with Jeffrey Friedman] (2013)
9. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice [with Jeffrey Friedman] (2019)
10. The AIDS Show [with Peter Adair] (1986)

Michael Roemer
1. Nothing But a Man (1964)
2. The Plot Against Harry (1971)
3. Dying (1976)
4. Vengeance Is Mine (1984)
5. Children of Fate: Life and Death in a Sicilian Family [with Susan Todd & Andrew Young] (1993)

[ManPerson]

I'm curious how The Defiant Ones and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner compare?

Also I'd move Monster below Nobody Knows, as I think NK has a clearer win in acclaim than Monster has in popularity.

[Dubrow555]

Is Dekalog considered to be significantly more acclaimed than Red or Blue?

I'd maybe consider switching Certified Copy + Through the Olive Trees as CC is significantly higher on the 2010's list (even if the 90's is stronger). But, not a must switch or anything.

[ManPerson]

Is Dekalog considered to be significantly more acclaimed than Red or Blue?

I'd maybe consider switching Certified Copy + Through the Olive Trees as CC is significantly higher on the 2010's list (even if the 90's is stronger). But, not a must switch or anything.

Dekalog is clearly his most acclaimed work with both critics and audiences.

Considering the fact that the 90s are clearly a stronger decade atp than the 2010s, I'd hardly consider 144 vs 219 to be a significant difference, especially since Certified Copy is arguably a bit too high on that list. TtOT is clearly more acclaimed than Certified Copy and popularity is hardly the strong suit of any of Kiarostami's films.

[Dubrow555]

That works, thank you.

[Dubrow555]

I'm curious how The Defiant Ones and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner compare?

Also I'd move Monster below Nobody Knows, as I think NK has a clearer win in acclaim than Monster has in popularity.

Nobody Knows also has pretty exceptional audience acclaim (letterboxd + imdb)

[pauldrach]

Swapped NK and Monster as well as TDO and GWCtD.

The original reason for having TDO higher was that it was higher on its decade list but seeing that GWCtD pretty clearly wins popularity while the other criteria are close, I'm good with swapping.

[Dubrow555]

10. The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (1993)

Okay...now this is Gotta see......

[pauldrach]

Page 19 updates:

Gregory La Cava
1. My Man Godfrey (1936)
2. Stage Door (1937)
3. So's Your Old Man (1926)
4. Fifth Avenue Girl (1939)
5. Primrose Path (1940)
6. Gabriel over the White House (1933)
7. Running Wild (1927)
8. Bed of Roses (1933)
9. Symphony of Six Million (1932)
10. The Half Naked Truth (1932)

John Landis
1. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
2. The Blues Brothers (1980)
3. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
4. Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983)
5. Trading Places (1983)
6. The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
7. Coming to America (1988)
8. Spies Like Us (1985)
9. ¡Three Amigos! (1986)
10. Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)

Fritz Lang
1. Metropolis (1927)
2. M (1931)
3. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)
4. The Big Heat (1953)
5. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
6. Scarlet Street (1945)
7. The Woman in the Window (1944)
8. Fury (1936)
9. Destiny (1921)
10. Die Nibelungen (1924)

Walter Lang
1. The King and I (1956)
2. State Fair (1945)
3. Sitting Pretty (1948)
4. Desk Set (1957)
5. The Little Princess (1939)
6. Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
7. With a Song in My Heart (1952)
8. Call Me Madam (1952)
9. There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
10. Mother Wore Tights (1947)

Yorgos Lanthimos
1. Poor Things (2023)
2. The Favourite (2018)
3. Dogtooth (2009)
4. The Lobster (2015)
5. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Francis Lawrence
1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
2. I Am Legend (2007)
3. Lady Gaga: Bad Romance (2009)
4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014)
5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015)
6. Constantine (2005)
7. Jennifer Lopez: Waiting for Tonight (1999)
8. Justin Timberlake: Cry Me a River (2002)
9. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird & Snakes (2022)
10. Red Sparrow (2018)

David Lean
1. Lawrence of Arabia (1963)
2. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
3. Brief Encounter (1945)
4. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
5. Great Expectations (1946)
6. Oliver Twist (1948)
7. Ryan's Daughter (1970)
8. In Which We Serve [with Noël Coward] (1942)
9. A Passage to India (1984)
10. Hobson's Choice (1954)

Patrice Leconte
1. Monsieur Hire (1989)
2. The Hairdresser's Husband (1990)
3. Girl on the Bridge (1999)
4. French Fried Vacation 2 (1979)
5. Ridicule (1996)
6. French Fried Vacation (1978)
7. Man on the Train (2002)
8. The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2000)
9. Intimate Strangers (2004)
10. Tandem (1987)

Ang Lee
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
2. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
3. Life of Pi (2012)
4. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
5. The Ice Storm (1997)
6. Lust, Caution (2007)
7. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994)
8. The Wedding Banquet (1993)
9. Hulk (2003)
10. Ride with the Devil (1999)

Spike Lee
1. Do the Right Thing (1989)
2. Malcolm X (1992)
3. BlacKkKlansman (2018)
4. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
5. 25th Hour (2002)
6. Inside Man (2006)
7. Da 5 Bloods (2020)
8. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
9. David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
10. 4 Little Girls (1997)

Mike Leigh
1. Naked (1993)
2. Secrets & Lies (1996)
3. Topsy-Turvy (1999)
4. Life Is Sweet (1990)
5. Vera Drake (2004)
6. Another Year (2010)
7. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
8. Mr. Turner (2014)
9. Meantime (1983)
10. High Hopes (1988)

Mitchell Leisen
1. Midnight (1939)
2. Easy Living (1937)
3. Remember the Night (1940)
4. Hold Back the Dawn (1941)
5. Death Takes a Holiday (1934)
6. To Each His Own (1946)
7. Hands Across the Table (1935)
8. The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
9. The Mating Season (1951)
10. No Man of Her Own (1950)

Claude Lelouch
1. A Man and a Woman (1966)
2. Les misérables (1995)
3. And Now My Love (1970)
4. Les uns et les autres (1981)
5. C'était un rendez-vous (1976)
6. Live for Life (1967)
7. L'aventure, c'est l'aventure (1972)
8. Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988)
9. Roman de gare (2007)
10. La bonne année (1973)

Kasi Lemmons
1. Eve's Bayou (1997)
2. Talk to Me (2007)
3. Harriet (2019)
4. Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C. J. Walker [with DeMane Davis] (2020)
5. Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)

Robert Z. Leonard
1. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
2. Pride and Prejudice (1940)
3. The Divorcee (1930)
4. Dancing Lady (1933)
5. Naughty Marietta [with W. S. Van Dyke] (1935)
6. Maytime (1937)
7. In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
8. Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
9. April Folly (1920)
10. The Delicious Little Devil (1919)

Sergio Leone
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
2. Once upon a Time in the West (1968)
3. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
4. Once upon a Time in America (1984)
5. For a Few Dollars More (1965)

No new list this week cause I barely finished this page and the remaining suggested ones don't strike me as first priority.

I'll send the page 18 updates to lew.