Movie Directors' Top Films

[pauldrach]

Updates page 21:

Ernst Lubitsch
1. To Be or Not to Be (1942)
2. Trouble in Paradise (1932)
3. Ninotchka (1939)
4. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
5. The Love Parade (1929)
6. Heaven Can Wait (1943)
7. Design for Living (1933)
8. The Merry Widow (1934)
9. Cluny Brown (1946)
10. Lady Windermere's Fan (1925)

George Lucas
1. Star Wars (1977)
2. American Graffiti (1973)
3. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
4. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
5. THX 1138 (1971)

Baz Luhrmann
1. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
2. Romeo + Juliet (1996)
3. Elvis (2022)
4. Strictly Ballroom (1992)
5. The Great Gatsby (2013)

Sidney Lumet
1. 12 Angry Men (1958)
2. Network (1976)
3. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
4. The Verdict (1982)
5. Serpico (1973)
6. The Pawnbroker (1964)
7. Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
8. Fail-Safe (1964)
9. The Hill (1965)
10. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Auguste & Louis Lumière
1. L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat (1896)
2. Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895)
3. L'arroseur arrosé (1895)
4. Démolition d'un mur (1896)
5. Repas de bébé (1895)
6. Bataille de neige (1897)
7. Barque sortant du port (1896)
8. The Photographical Congress Arrives in Lyon (1895)
9. La charcuterie mécanique (1895)
10. Partie de cartes (1896)

Ida Lupino
1. The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
2. The Bigamist (1953)
3. Outrage (1950)
4. The Trouble with Angels (1966)
5. Not Wanted (1949)

David Lynch
1. Mulholland Dr. (2001)
2. Blue Velvet (1986)
3. Twin Peaks [with Mark Frost] (1990-1991)
4. The Elephant Man (1980)
5. Eraserhead (1977)
6. The Straight Story (1999)
7. Lost Highway (1997)
8. Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)
9. Inland Empire (2006)
10. Wild at Heart (1990)

Adrian Lyne
1. Fatal Attraction (1987)
2. Flashdance (1983)
3. Jacob's Ladder (1990)
4. Unfaithful (2002)
5. Indecent Proposal (1993)
6. 9½ Weeks (1986)
7. Lolita (1997)
8. Foxes (1980)
9. Deep Water (2022)
10. Mr. Smith (1976)

Seth MacFarlane
1. Family Guy (1999-)
2. Ted (2012)
3. American Dad! [with Mike Barker & Matt Weitzman] (2005-)
4. The Orville (2017-2022)
5. Ted 2 (2015)
6. Ted [TV series] (2024-)
7. The Cleveland Show [with Richard Appel & Mike Henry] (2009-2013)
8. A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
9. Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy (2008-2009)
10. The Life of Larry (1995)

Alexander Mackendrick
1. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
2. The Ladykillers (1955)
3. The Man in the White Suit (1951)
4. Whisky Galore! (1949)
5. The Maggie (1954)
6. Mandy (1952)
7. A High Wind in Jamaica (1965)
8. Don't Make Waves (1967)
9. Sammy Going South (1963)
10. The Hidden Fury [The Defenders episode] (1964)

Mohsen Makhmalbaf
1. A Moment of Innocence (1996)
2. Kandahar (2001)
3. Salaam Cinema (1995)
4. Gabbeh (1996)
5. The Cyclist (1989)
6. The President (2014)
7. Once upon a Time, Cinema (1992)
8. The Silence (1998)
9. The Peddler (1987)
10. The Marriage of the Blessed (1989)

Terrence Malick
1. Days of Heaven (1978)
2. Badlands (1973)
3. The Tree of Life (2011)
4. The Thin Red Line (1998)
5. The New World (2005)
6. A Hidden Life (2019)
7. To the Wonder (2012)
8. Knight of Cups (2015)
9. Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016)
10. Song to Song (2017)

Louis Malle
1. Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
2. Au revoir les enfants (1987)
3. Atlantic City (1980)
4. The Fire Within (1963)
5. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
6. Murmur of the Heart (1971)
7. Lacombe, Lucien (1974)
8. The Lovers (1958)
9. Zazie dans le métro (1960)
10. Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)

And the new list:

Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman (RE: 1955- | JF: 1951-)
1. The Times of Harvey Milk [RE] (1984)
2. The Celluloid Closet (1995)
3. Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
4. Paragraph 175 (2000)
5. Howl (2010)
6. End Game (2018)
7. Lovelace (2013)
8. Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice (2019)
9. Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (2023)
10. And the Oscar Goes to... (2014)

Which means I made three changes to Tim's suggested list. The first is that I wouldn't consider "Word Is Out" to be eligible at all as it was directed by six people and if any single person could be considered mainly responsible, it is Peter Adair. The second is that I considered the film version of "The AIDS Show" relatively ingignificant and scrapped it. The third is that I added Friedman's name to the list credit since now all but one film have been co-directed by him.

I'll send the page 20 updates to lew tomorrow.

[Dubrow555]

Tough to call...but I'm wondering if THX was closer to making the 1970's list than Phantom Menace was to making the 1990's list. I suppose you could argue it was Robert Duvall's first leading role as well.

[Fido]

As I said, I'd include Twin Peaks as just one entry, which leaves room for another film. Also, Ted above American Dad? Surprising since I've seen lots of people say it's even better than Family Guy, while Ted has always been a kinda mediocre film.

[pauldrach]

Tough to call...but I'm wondering if THX was closer to making the 1970's list than Phantom Menace was to making the 1990's list. I suppose you could argue it was Robert Duvall's first leading role as well.

I'd argue that Episode 1 wins popularity by more than THX wins acclaim and influence. I'd be open to switching if everyone else disagrees though. I know I wouldn't have put THX anywhere near the 1970s list while Tim had it in his top 20 for 1971.

[pauldrach]

As I said, I'd include Twin Peaks as just one entry, which leaves room for another film. Also, Ted above American Dad? Surprising since I've seen lots of people say it's even better than Family Guy, while Ted has always been a kinda mediocre film.

My reasoning for Ted > American Dad! was the former's franchise building, making it win, as I see it, popularity and influence while AD! would only take acclaim. Albeit maybe by more? What do others think?

And you really do want Dune on the Lynch list? Or would you have TP:FWwM as a separate entry? If so, I wonder why that and not The Return...

[ManPerson]

The Phantom Menace was also a pioneering use of mocap. I'd honestly say there's a solid argument for it to be in the 1990s top 250.
I'd say
Acclaim: THX
Influence: close
Popularity: Phantom Menace by a couple landslides

[Tim]

Think Ted's popularity win is greater than American Dad's acclaim win although it's a bit of apples and oranges comparison.

I think Fido is technically correct about The Return being apart of Twin Peaks series so why not add Dune at #10?

[ManPerson]

I'm curious how Strictly Ballroom and Elvis compare.

I'd say Twin Peaks should be Lynch's number one (and I'd agree with The Return being included as part of it).

Here's how I'd compare it with Mulholland Dr./Blue Velvet
Popularity: Considering Twin Peaks strong ratings in its first season, and its similar lasting popularity to MD/BV I'd give it popularity here
Acclaim: Difficult to compare, all 3 are some of the highest regarded works in their respective mediums. Twin Peaks definitely has stronger audience ratings, though.
Influence: Here I'd say Twin Peaks clearly takes this. While MD and BV are influential in their own right, Twin Peaks importance to serial dramas that came after is hard to overstate, with The X-Files, The Sopranos, Lost and many more citing it as a key influence.

I'm curious how Murmur of the Heart/Lacombe, Lucien compare with My Dinner with Andre.

[pauldrach]

I object neither to having TP as Lynch's #1, nor to including The Return as part of it. What about Fire Walk with Me then? Should that also just be included under the "Twin Peaks" banner or should that become #10?

[pauldrach]

I'm curious how Strictly Ballroom and Elvis compare.

Influence: Strictly Ballroom but I don't think it's much
Initial and lasting popularity: Elvis clearly
Initial and lasting acclaim: Strictly Ballroom by little, especially considering Elvis probably wins audience acclaim

[pauldrach]

I'm curious how Murmur of the Heart/Lacombe, Lucien compare with My Dinner with Andre.

Looking at this again, I'd probably move MDwA ahead of both.

[Zach]

I object neither to having TP as Lynch's #1, nor to including The Return as part of it. What about Fire Walk with Me then? Should that also just be included under the "Twin Peaks" banner or should that become #10?

I agree with putting Twin Peaks at #1 -- it's undoubtedly the most well-known and celebrated thing he's ever done.

Treating The Return as part of Twin Peaks also emphasizes the cohesive, decades-spanning storytelling arc Lynch crafted, rather than fragmenting it into different ranked entries. Meanwhile, Fire Walk with Me makes more sense as a separate entry -- it's different in tone and stands alone more clearly as a distinct film that reframes the original series rather than simply continuing it.

[ManPerson]

Fire Walk with Me should be considered separately, I think.

[ManPerson]

I'm curious how Strictly Ballroom and Elvis compare.

Influence: Strictly Ballroom but I don't think it's much
Initial and lasting popularity: Elvis clearly
Initial and lasting acclaim: Strictly Ballroom by little, especially considering Elvis probably wins audience acclaim

Fair enough. I guess it really depends on how much credit you think SB should get for being Luhrmann's breakthrough.

[Tim]

I object neither to having TP as Lynch's #1, nor to including The Return as part of it. What about Fire Walk with Me then? Should that also just be included under the "Twin Peaks" banner or should that become #10?

I agree with putting Twin Peaks at #1 -- it's undoubtedly the most well-known and celebrated thing he's ever done.

Treating The Return as part of Twin Peaks also emphasizes the cohesive, decades-spanning storytelling arc Lynch crafted, rather than fragmenting it into different ranked entries. Meanwhile, Fire Walk with Me makes more sense as a separate entry -- it's different in tone and stands alone more clearly as a distinct film that reframes the original series rather than simply continuing it.

Did grok write this?

[Dubrow555]

The Twin Peaks thing is a little silly....the original 1990-91 series, Fire Walk with Me, and The Return all have separate IMDB entries - if we combine them all, then why combine the three LOTR movies into one entry? I personally don't think Twin Peaks 1990-91 should technically be eligible because he only directed about 6 episodes...BUT - if you all consider it eligible, might as well make it the #1. MD + BV didn't quite crack the top 100 all time movie list. I have a feeling Twin Peaks would be somewhere in the top 20-30 entries in the inevitable DDD All time TV shows list.