Movie Directors' Top Films

[Tim]

The Return is clearly meant to be Twin Peaks season 3 which makes it reasonable to group with Twin Peaks (1990-91) entry. Fire Walk with Me is more debatable imo, we can list it as a separate entry as a standalone film. Don't think it is particularly similar to the Lord of the Rings trilogy case.

[Dubrow555]

But yet...The Return has its own entry on TSPDT, it's own entry on the 2022 Sight and Sound poll, and was considered both a limited/mini series by both The Golden Globes + The Emmy's.

[ManPerson]

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

Fire Walk with Me is clearly its own movie that exists in the same franchise/universe as Twin Peaks so I agree with making it separate.
- if we combine them all, then why combine the three LOTR movies into one entry?
Except Twin Peaks: Return is widely considered to be the third season of the show so it would be more like considering seasons 1 and 2 of Twin Peaks to be their own separate shows.
I personally don't think Twin Peaks 1990-91 should technically be eligible because he only directed about 6 episodes
Considering he was the creator, showrunner, and he directed several episodes, I feel that is sufficient for him to be a clear auteur over the show.
...BUT - if you all consider it eligible, might as well make it the #1.
Agreed.
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.

[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.

Did grok write this?

No...


I also thought about the LotR comparison, but yeah, I agree that The Return is largely seen as simply Season Three of Twin Peaks (outside of a few online databases).

[Fido]

Fire Walk with Me can be #10 I guess, though yeah I was thinking about Dune.

[ManPerson]

I'm curious how Heaven Can Wait and The Love Parade break down. It seems like HCW definitively wins acclaim and popularity so do you consider TLP's influence win to be big enough?

[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?

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.

I disagree with this completely, which is also why I'd rather keep The Return as a separate entry from the original run. IMO The Return is just as different in tone to the original series as FWwM is. If anything, I'd consider The Return and FWwM the two that are most similar in tone as well as the two most obviously Lynchian, whereas the original run included as much Frost as Lynch, which is why its inclusion is debatable at least.

With regards to what M wrote: Was Lynch even the showrunner for the first two seasons? The middle of season 2 doesn't bear Lynch's handwriting at all (beraly even Frost's for that matter).

[pauldrach]

I'm curious how Heaven Can Wait and The Love Parade break down. It seems like HCW definitively wins acclaim and popularity so do you consider TLP's influence win to be big enough?

TLP probably wins initial acclaim and popularity though not quite by as much as HCW wins lasting acclaim and popularity. Combined with its influence win, it might be enough to give the edge to TLP but it's by no means decisive. So, if anyone wants their order changed, I'm ok with swapping.

[pauldrach]

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.

I agree with this completely by the way. And if Jackson had a stronger filmography, I's probably have the two trilogies as one entry each.

[pauldrach]

It's also why I'd rather keep Lynch's list as it is. It feels to me as if nothing really essential is currently missing. But I was never a FWwM guy so maybe I'm alone on this.

[Dubrow555]

Glad you agree, the more I think about it - lumping all three seasons of Twin Peaks really diminishes the achievement of "The Return." Yes, it is technically the "third season" - but it also functions as its' own standalone work from an auteur director that is/should be associated with the 2010's, rather than the with the 1990's original series. So, my vote would be to keep Paulo's original Lynch list ranking, but move Twin Peaks (1990-91) up to the #1 entry.

[ManPerson]

I'm curious how Heaven Can Wait and The Love Parade break down. It seems like HCW definitively wins acclaim and popularity so do you consider TLP's influence win to be big enough?

TLP probably wins initial acclaim and popularity though not quite by as much as HCW wins lasting acclaim and popularity. Combined with its influence win, it might be enough to give the edge to TLP but it's by no means decisive. So, if anyone wants their order changed, I'm ok with swapping.

According to UMR, at least, HCW's adjusted box office was higher than TLP's, which would suggest higher initial popularity, so I'd be inclined to think HCW should win here.

[ManPerson]

Glad you agree, the more I think about it - lumping all three seasons of Twin Peaks really diminishes the achievement of "The Return." Yes, it is technically the "third season" - but it also functions as its' own standalone work from an auteur director that is/should be associated with the 2010's, rather than the with the 1990's original series. So, my vote would be to keep Paulo's original Lynch list ranking, but move Twin Peaks (1990-91) up to the #1 entry.

Fine with me.

[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.

I disagree with this completely, which is also why I'd rather keep The Return as a separate entry from the original run. IMO The Return is just as different in tone to the original series as FWwM is. If anything, I'd consider The Return and FWwM the two that are most similar in tone as well as the two most obviously Lynchian, whereas the original run included as much Frost as Lynch, which is why its inclusion is debatable at least.

With regards to what M wrote: Was Lynch even the showrunner for the first two seasons? The middle of season 2 doesn't bear Lynch's handwriting at all (beraly even Frost's for that matter).

COMPLETELY? I see how it is.

[pauldrach]

I'm curious how Heaven Can Wait and The Love Parade break down. It seems like HCW definitively wins acclaim and popularity so do you consider TLP's influence win to be big enough?

TLP probably wins initial acclaim and popularity though not quite by as much as HCW wins lasting acclaim and popularity. Combined with its influence win, it might be enough to give the edge to TLP but it's by no means decisive. So, if anyone wants their order changed, I'm ok with swapping.

According to UMR, at least, HCW's adjusted box office was higher than TLP's, which would suggest higher initial popularity, so I'd be inclined to think HCW should win here.

That's adjusted for inflation, not adjusted for the total number of moviegoers. TLP is significantly higher on its yearly list than HCW so for its year it certainly wins popularity. But, as I said, not decisive. I'll swap since you seem to be adamant about it.

[pauldrach]

Updates for page 22:

Rouben Mamoulian
1. Love Me Tonight (1932)
2. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
3. Queen Christina (1933)
4. The Mark of Zorro (1940)
5. Applause (1929)
6. Becky Sharp (1935)
7. Blood and Sand (1941)
8. City Streets (1931)
9. Silk Stockings (1957)
10. Golden Boy (1939)

James Mangold
1. Logan (2017)
2. Walk the Line (2005)
3. Ford v Ferrari (2019)
4. A Complete Unknown (2024)
5. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
6. Girl, Interrupted (1999)
7. Cop Land (1997)
8. Identity (2003)
9. The Wolverine (2013)
10. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1. All About Eve (1950)
2. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
3. A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
4. Sleuth (1972)
5. Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
6. Guys and Dolls (1955)
7. Cleopatra (1963)
8. The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
9. Julius Caesar (1953)
10. 5 Fingers (1952)

Anthony Mann
1. Winchester '73 (1950)
2. The Naked Spur (1953)
3. The Man from Laramie (1955)
4. Bend of the River (1952)
5. Man of the West (1958)
6. El Cid (1961)
7. The Far Country (1954)
8. The Glenn Miller Story (1954)
9. T-Men (1947)
10. Raw Deal (1948)

Daniel Mann
1. Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
2. The Rose Tattoo (1955)
3. The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
4. BUtterfield 8 (1960)
5. I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
6. Our Man Flint (1966)
7. Willard (1971)
8. Playing for Time (1980)
9. For Love of Ivy (1968)
10. The Last Angry Man (1959)

Michael Mann
1. Heat (1995)
2. The Insider (1999)
3. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
4. Collateral (2004)
5. Manhunter (1986)
6. Thief (1981)
7. Public Enemies (2009)
8. Miami Vice (2006)
9. Ali (2001)
10. Ferrari (2023)

Chris Marker
1. La jetée (1962)
2. Sans soleil (1983)
3. A Grin Without a Cat (1977)
4. Statues Also Die [with Ghislain Cloquet & Alain Resnais] (1953)
5. The Last Bolshevik (1993)
6. Le joli mai [with Pierre Lhomme] (1963)
7. Letter from Siberia (1958)
8. The Koumiko Mystery (1965)
9. A.K. (1985)
10. Level Five (1997)

Penny Marshall
1. Big (1988)
2. Awakenings (1990)
3. A League of Their Own (1992)
4. The Preacher's Wife (1996)
5. Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)

Rob Marshall
1. Chicago (2002)
2. Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
3. The Little Mermaid (2023)
4. Into the Woods (2014)
5. Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

Lucrecia Martel
1. La ciénaga (2001)
2. Zama (2017)
3. The Headless Woman (2008)
4. The Holy Girl (2004)
5. Dead King (1995)

Archie Mayo
1. The Petrified Forest (1936)
2. A Night in Casablanca (1946)
3. The Doorway to Hell (1930)
4. It's Love I'm After (1937)
5. Black Legion (1937)
6. Svengali (1931)
7. Orchestra Wives (1942)
8. Crash Dive (1943)
9. Moontide (1942)
10. Charley's Aunt (1941)

Albert & David Maysles
1. Salesman [with Charlotte Zwerin] (1969)
2. Gimme Shelter [with Charlotte Zwerin] (1970)
3. Grey Gardens [with Ellen Hovde & Muffie Meyer] (1975)
4. Meet Marlon Brando (1966)
5. What's Happening! The Beatles in the U.S.A. (1964)
6. Iris [AM] (2014)
7. Muhammad and Larry (1980)
8. The Gates [with Antonio Ferrera & Matthew Prinzing] (2007)
9. LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton [AM with Deborah Dickson & Susan Froemke] (2001)
10. Running Fence [with Charlotte Zwerin] (1977)

Paul Mazursky
1. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
2. An Unmarried Woman (1978)
3. Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
4. Harry and Tonto (1974)
5. Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
6. Enemies, a Love Story (1989)
7. Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)
8. Tempest (1982)
9. Blume in Love (1973)
10. Winchell (1998)

Leo McCarey
1. Duck Soup (1933)
2. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
3. The Awful Truth (1937)
4. Going My Way (1944)
5. An Affair to Remember (1957)
6. Love Affair (1939)
7. Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
8. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
9. Liberty (1929)
10. Mighty Like a Moose (1926)

Tom McCarthy
1. Spotlight (2015)
2. The Station Agent (2003)
3. The Visitor (2007)
4. Win Win (2011)
5. Stillwater (2021)

Winsor McCay
1. Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)
2. Little Nemo (1911)
3. The Sinking of the Lusitania (1918)
4. How a Mosquito Operates (1912)
5. Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet (1921)
6. Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House (1921)
7. The Centaurs (1921)
8. Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: Bug Vaudeville (1921)
9. Gertie on Tour (1921)
10. Flip's Circus (1921)

McG
1. Charlie's Angels (2000)
2. Terminator Salvation (2009)
3. This Means War (2012)
4. The Babysitter (2017)
5. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
6. We Are Marshall (2006)
7. 3 Days to Kill (2014)
8. Family Switch (2023)
9. The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)
10. Rim of the World (2019)

Adam McKay
1. The Big Short (2015)
2. Don't Look Up (2021)
3. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
4. Step Brothers (2008)
5. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Norman Z. McLeod
1. Horse Feathers (1932)
2. Monkey Business (1931)
3. It's a Gift (1934)
4. Topper (1937)
5. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
6. The Paleface (1948)
7. Merrily We Live (1938)
8. Road to Rio (1947)
9. The Kid from Brooklyn (1946)
10. My Favorite Spy (1951)

And the new list:

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (1887-1933)
1. The Butcher Boy (1917)
2. The Cook (1918)
3. The Bell Boy (1918)
4. Back Stage (1919)
5. Fatty's Tintype Tangle (1915)
6. Coney Island (1917)
7. Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916)
8. Good Night, Nurse! (1918)
9. The Red Mill (1927)
10. Out West (1918)

I'll send the page 21 updates to lew, leaving the Twin Peaks question open for further discussion and the list as posted for now.