Movie Directors' Top Films

[Sherick]

Though we can't really assess any influence for Oppenheimer yet, I think I could see it at #2 or #3. Both its commercial success and acclaim were quite exceptional.

Also, I think Interstellar might be greater than Dunkirk. Just my impression, could be wrong.

Oppenheimer THAT high is a little bit of a stretch to me - but if it were to be placed above Memento that means it automatically should be on the Top 500 list at this point then.

Easily most acclaimed, lauded film, made a ludicrous amount of money, not that much less than TDK really, and was a phenomenon upon release. There's honestly no reason to be any lower than 2.

[Fido]

Again, not the most acclaimed at this point apart from the award cycle which I don't know how much importance you want to give, considering we have other sources of acclaim that are better overall. Yes, we can "predict" it will go up on TSPDT and the like but that's just a prediction, and unfair to other films that sweep the awards AND also get that overall acclaim.

Memento, TDK and Inception, especially TDK, do have some influence. Oppenheimer has zero.

The only thing it wins is popularity, which makes it jump straight to #4 (I agree with that choice) but is also due to being a blockbuster by one of the most famous directors in the world with an all-star cast with the "Barbenheimer" marketing campaign behind, and it seems unfair to punish Memento for not being up to that standard.

Will it go up? Maybe. But maybe not. If you change the all-time list and it turns out it doesn't, it's worse that just waiting to see what its legacy is.

Also, off-topic, but at this point I wonder if you should substitute RYM with Letterboxd as a source, since the latter is way more popular and actually a movie site.

[Dubrow555]

Again, not the most acclaimed at this point apart from the award cycle which I don't know how much importance you want to give, considering we have other sources of acclaim that are better overall. Yes, we can "predict" it will go up on TSPDT and the like but that's just a prediction, and unfair to other films that sweep the awards AND also get that overall acclaim.

Memento, TDK and Inception, especially TDK, do have some influence. Oppenheimer has zero.

The only thing it wins is popularity, which makes it jump straight to #4 (I agree with that choice) but is also due to being a blockbuster by one of the most famous directors in the world with an all-star cast with the "Barbenheimer" marketing campaign behind, and it seems unfair to punish Memento for not being up to that standard.

Will it go up? Maybe. But maybe not. If you change the all-time list and it turns out it doesn't, it's worse that just waiting to see what its legacy is.

Also, off-topic, but at this point I wonder if you should substitute RYM with Letterboxd as a source, since the latter is way more popular and actually a movie site.

I think both are good resources. I usually take a look at a combination of RYM, Letterboxd, IMDB, and RT to determine a film's overall audience score.

[pauldrach]

Finished looking at the lists on page 2. I suggest the following lists be updated:

Theodoros Angelopoulos
1. The Travelling Players (1975)
2. Landscape in the Mist (1988)
3. Eternity and a Day (1998)
4. Ulysses' Gaze (1995)
5. Voyage to Cythera (1984)
6. Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow (2004)
7. The Beekeeper (1986)
8. The Suspended Step of the Stork (1991)
9. Alexander the Great (1980)
10. The Hunters (1977)

Kenneth Anger​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ (1927-2023)
1. Scorpio Rising (1964)
2. Fireworks (1947)
3. Lucifer Rising (1972)
4. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
5. Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969)
6. Rabbit's Moon (1950)
7. Eaux d'artifice (1953)
8. Puce Moment (1949)
9. Kustom Kar Kommandos (1970)
10. The Man We Want to Hang (2002)

Jean-Jacques Annaud​​​​​​​
1. Quest for Fire (1981)
2. The Name of the Rose (1986)
3. The Bear (1988)
4. Enemy at the Gates (2001)
5. Black and White in Color (1976)
6. Hothead (1979)
7. The Lover (1992)
8. Two Brothers (2004)
9. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
10. Notre-Dame on Fire (2022)

Michelangelo Antonioni​​​​​​​
1. Blowup (1966)
2. L'avventura (1960)
3. L'eclisse (1962)
4. Red Desert (1964)
5. La notte (1961)
6. The Passenger (1975)
7. Il grido (1957)
8. Zabriskie Point (1970)
9. Le amiche (1955)
10. Identification of a Woman (1982)

Judd Apatow​​​​​​​
1. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
2. Knocked Up (2007)
3. Love (2016-2018)
4. Trainwreck (2015)
5. Undeclared (2001-2002)
6. The King of Staten Island (2020)
7. Funny People (2009)
8. This Is 40 (2012)
9. The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (2018)
10. May It Last: A Portrait of The Avett Brothers (2017)

Michael Apted (1941-2021)
1. Up series [with Paul Almond] (1964-2019)
2. Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
3. Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
4. Gorky Park (1983)
5. Thunderheart (1992)
6. Nell (1994)
7. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
8. Continental Divide (1981)
9. Enigma (2001)
10. Class Action (1991)

Gregg Araki
1. Mysterious Skin (2004)
2. Nowhere (1997)
3. Totally F***ed Up (1993)
4. Smiley Face (2007)
5. The Living End (1992)
6. The Doom Generation
7. Kaboom (2010)
8. White Bird in a Blizzard (2014)
9. Three Bewildered People in the Night (1987)
10. Splendor (1999)

Dario Argento
1. Suspiria (1977)
2. Deep Red (1975)
3. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
4. Tenebre (1982)
5. Inferno (1980)
6. Phenomena (1985)
7. Opera (1987)
8. The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)
9. Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)
10. The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

Darren Aronofsky
1. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
2. Black Swan (2010)
3. The Wrestler (2008)
4. Pi (1998)
5. The Whale (2022)
6. The Fountain (2006)
7. mother! (2017)
8. Noah (2014)
9. Postcard from Earth (2023)
10. Protozoa (1993)

Dorothy Arzner
1. Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
2. The Wild Party (1929)
3. Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
4. Christopher Strong (1933)
5. Craig's Wife (1936)
6. Get Your Man (1927)
7. The Bride Wore Red (1937)
8. Fashions for Women (1927)
9. Sarah and Son (1930)
10. Working Girls (1931)

Jacques Audiard
1. A Prophet (2009)
2. Emilia Pérez (2024)
3. The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)
4. Rust and Bone (2012)
5. Read My Lips (2001)
6. Dheepan (2015)
7. The Sisters Brothers (2018)
8. A Self-Made Hero (1996)
9. Paris, 13th District (2021)
10. See How They Fall (1994)

David Ayer
1. End of Watch (2012)
2. Fury (2014)
3. Suicide Squad (2016)
4. Bright (2017)
5. The Beekeeper (2024)

If there are no further suggestions for improvement, I will send the page 1 updates to lew.

[ManPerson]

I'd have Smiley Face a bit higher on Gregg Araki's list, it's his third highest ranked film on TSPDT and seems to be his second most popular film as well.

[Dubrow555]

I'd agree with a Smiley Face bump up. You might want to consider Emelia Perez for #1...hard to say this early though.

[ManPerson]

I'd be against having Emilia Perez at #1 at this point. A Prophet had near universal acclaim and while Emilia Perez won a ton of industry awards its reception, with audiences especially, is very mixed. I don't think an, not very significant, advantage in popularity can overcome that.

[Dubrow555]

That makes sense #2 seems appropriate

[Tim]

A Prophet is ranked #5 for it's year, 2009. I'd rather avoid having Emilia Perez in the top 5/10 for 2024.

[ManPerson]

Plus, a top 5 film for a year in the 2000s is generally stronger in the criteria (at this point) than a top 5 film from more recent years.

[Dubrow555]

Good points from both of you.

[Fido]

Seeing some of this lists makes me think about the topic of having TV series on the directors' top 10s, because being a showrunner and a director are not the same thing, unless you happen to direct at least most episodes, like Lynch on Twin Peaks.

[Dubrow555]

And honestly - Lynch didn't direct the vast majority of episodes in seasons 1 +2: so I kind of think that only "The Return" should be on his list.

[pauldrach]

I'd have Smiley Face a bit higher on Gregg Araki's list, it's his third highest ranked film on TSPDT and seems to be his second most popular film as well.

I'd agree with a Smiley Face bump up.

How high do you guys see it? 3, 4, 5?

[pauldrach]

Seeing some of this lists makes me think about the topic of having TV series on the directors' top 10s, because being a showrunner and a director are not the same thing, unless you happen to direct at least most episodes, like Lynch on Twin Peaks.

I think Twin Peaks was the reason I started putting them there. A Lynch list without Twin Peaks felt somewhat off.

I'd say a series that as a whole feels like the vision of the director in question should be allowed to remain. I'm open to excluding others.

[ManPerson]

I'd have Smiley Face a bit higher on Gregg Araki's list, it's his third highest ranked film on TSPDT and seems to be his second most popular film as well.

I'd agree with a Smiley Face bump up.

How high do you guys see it? 3, 4, 5?

I was thinking 4th