Movie Directors' Top Films

[pauldrach]

Proposed updates for page 6:

Martin Campbell
1. Casino Royale (2006)
2. Edge of Darkness [TV serial] (1985)
3. GoldenEye (1995)
4. The Mask of Zorro (1998)
5. The Foreigner (2017)
6. Edge of Darkness (2010)
7. Green Lantern (2011)
8. The Protégé (2021)
9. Reilly, Ace of Spies [with Jim Goddard] (1983)
10. Vertical Limit (2000)

Jane Campion
1. The Piano (1993)
2. The Power of the Dog (2021)
3. An Angel at My Table (1990)
4. Top of the Lake [with Garth Davis & Ariel Kleiman] (2013-2017)
5. Bright Star (2009)
6. Sweetie (1989)
7. In the Cut (2003)
8. The Portrait of a Lady (1996)
9. Holy Smoke! (1999)
10. A Girl's Own Story (1984)

Frank Capra
1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
2. It Happened One Night (1934)
3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
4. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
5. You Can't Take It with You (1938)
6. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
7. Meet John Doe (1941)
8. Lost Horizon (1937)
9. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
10. Lady for a Day (1933)

Leos Carax
1. Les amants du Pont-Neuf (1991)
2. Holy Motors (2012)
3. Mauvais sang (1986)
4. Annette (2021)
5. Boy Meets Girl (1984)
6. Pola X (1999)
7. It's Not Me (2024)
8. Sans titre (1997)
9. Gradiva (2014)
10. My Last Minute (2006)

Marcel Carné
1. Children of Paradise (1945)
2. Port of Shadows (1938)
3. Le jour se lève (1939)
4. Hôtel du Nord (1938)
5. Les visiteurs du soir (1942)
6. Drôle de drame (1937)
7. Thérèse Raquin (1953)
8. Gates of the Night (1946)
9. Les tricheurs (1958)
10. The Air of Paris (1954)

John Carpenter
1. Halloween (1978)
2. The Thing (1982)
3. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
4. Escape from New York (1981)
5. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
6. Dark Star (1974)
7. They Live (1988)
8. The Fog (1980)
9. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
10. Christine (1983)

John Cassavetes
1. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
2. Faces (1968)
3. Shadows (1959)
4. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
5. Opening Night (1977)
6. Love Streams (1984)
7. Husbands (1970)
8. Gloria (1980)
9. Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)
10. A Child Is Waiting (1963)

Nick Cassavetes
1. The Notebook (2004)
2. John Q. (2002)
3. My Sister's Keeper (2009)
4. Unhook the Stars (1996)
5. The Other Woman (2014)
6. She's So Lovely (1997)
7. Alpha Dog (2006)
8. God Is a Bullet (2023)
9. Marked Men: Rule + Shaw (2025)
10. Yellow (2012)

William Castle
1. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
2. The Tingler (1959)
3. Homicidal (1961)
4. When Strangers Marry (1944)
5. Strait-Jacket (1965)
6. Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
7. Macabre (1958)
8. The Whistler (1944)
9. 13 Ghosts (1960)
10. The Night Walker (1964)

Nuri Bilge Ceylan​​​​​​​
1. Once upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)
2. Distant (2002)
3. Winter Sleep (2014)
4. The Wild Pear Tree (2018)
5. About Dry Grasses (2023)
6. Three Monkeys (2008)
7. Climates (2006)
8. Clouds of May (1999)
9. Kasaba (1997)
10. Cocoon (1995)

Youssef Chahine
1. Cairo Station (1958)
2. Saladin the Victorious (1963)
3. The Land (1970)
4. The Blazing Sun (1954)
5. Alexandria... Why? (1979)
6. The Sparrow (1972)
7. Jamila, the Algerian (1958)
8. The Return of the Prodigal Son (1976)
9. Destiny (1997)
10. Son of the Nile (1951)

Charles Chaplin
1. City Lights (1931)
2. Modern Times (1936)
3. The Gold Rush (1925)
4. The Kid (1921)
5. The Great Dictator (1940)
6. The Circus (1928)
7. A Dog's Life (1918)
8. The Immigrant (1917)
9. Shoulder Arms (1918)
10. Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Chen Kaige
1. Farewell My Concubine (1993)
2. Yellow Earth (1984)
3. The Battle at Lake Changjin [with Tsui Hark & Dante Lam] (2021)
4. The Battle at Lake Changjin II [with Tsui Hark & Dante Lam] (2022)
5. The Emperor and the Assassin (1998)
6. Together (2002)
7. King of the Children (1987)
8. Temptress Moon (1996)
9. LIfe on a String (1991)
10. The Big Parade (1986)

I'll also send the page 5 updates to lew.

[ManPerson]

I'm curious how Les Amants Du Pont Neuf and Holy Motors compare.

[Dubrow555]

I'm curious how Les Amants Du Pont Neuf and Holy Motors compare.

I'd second this

[pauldrach]

Initial popularity: Les amants
Lasting popularity: Holy Motors

Audience acclaim: Les amants
Critical acclaim: Holy Motors

Influence: I don't see any.

I see them as very close and we don't have to swap them. What's your takes?

[ManPerson]

If we're going by the decade lists, I'd think that 128 for the 90s > 119 for the 10s.

[Dubrow555]

I'd agree with that.

[pauldrach]

Reswapped.

[Dubrow555]

This is a bit nit-picky and might not be relevant - but we currently have "Prince of Darkness" on the Top Horror List, but not "Christine"

[pauldrach]

This is a bit nit-picky and might not be relevant - but we currently have "Prince of Darkness" on the Top Horror List, but not "Christine"

Not a fan of that idea. I'd even have Starman before PoD.

[Dubrow555]

Sounds good, I'm honestly not sure why we didn't include "Christine" on the horror movie list.

[pauldrach]

Page 7 updates:

René Clair
1. À nous la liberté (1931)
2. Le million (1931)
3. Under the Roofs of Paris (1930)
4. Entr'acte (1924)
5. Paris qui dort (1925)
6. And Then There Were None (1945)
7. The Italian Straw Hat (1928)
8. I Married a Witch (1942)
9. Bastille Day (1933)
10. It Happened Tomorrow (1944)

Bob Clark
1. Black Christmas (1974)
2. A Christmas Story (1983)
3. Porky's (1982)
4. Deathdream (1972)
5. Murder by Decree (1979)
6. Tribute (1980)
7. Baby Geniuses (1999)
8. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)
9. Porky's II: The Next Day (1983)
10. Rhinestone (1984)

Jack Clayton
1. The Innocents (1961)
2. Room at the Top (1959)
3. The Great Gatsby (1974)
4. The Pumpkin Eater (1964)
5. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
6. Our Mother's House (1967)
7. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)
8. The Bespoke Overcoat (1955)
9. Memento mori [Screen Two episode] (1992)
10. Naples Is a Battlefield (1944)

René Clément
1. Forbidden Games (1952)
2. Purple Noon (1960)
3. Gervaise (1956)
4. Rider on the Rain (1970)
5. The Battle of the Rails (1946)
6. The Walls of Malapaga (1949)
7. Is Paris Burning? (1966)
8. Joy House (1964)
9. The Damned (1947)
10. Knave of Hearts (1954)

John Musker & Ron Clements
1. Aladdin (1992)
2. The Little Mermaid (1989)
3. Moana (2016)
4. The Great Mouse Detective [with Dave Michener & Burny Mattinson] (1986)
5. Hercules (1997)

Edward F. Cline​​​​​​​

Since nine out of ten of his listed films would be with Buster Keaton now, I've prepared two separate lists:

1. The Bank Dick (1940)
2. Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
3. My Little Chickadee (1940)
4. Captain January (1924)
5. Million Dollar Legs (1932)
6. The Rag Man (1925)
7. Hook, Line and Sinker (1930)
8. Cracked Nuts (1931)
9. Crazy House (1943)
10. Old Clothes (1925)

Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton
1. One Week (1920)
2. Cops (1922)
3. The Playhouse (1921)
4. The Boat (1921)
5. Three Ages (1923)
6. The High Sign (1921)
7. The Scarecrow (1920)
8. The Electric House (1922)
9. Neighbors (1920)
10. The Paleface (1922)

George Clooney​​​​​​​
1. Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
2. The Ides of March (2011)
3. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
4. Catch-22 [with Grant Heslov & Ellen Kuras] (2019)
5. The Monuments Men (2014)
6. The Boys in the Boat (2023)
7. The Midnight Sky (2020)
8. Leatherheads (2008)
9. The Tender Bar (2021)
10. Suburbicon (2017)

Henri-Georges Clouzot​​​​​​​
1. The Wages of Fear (1953)
2. Les diaboliques (1955)
3. Le corbeau (1943)
4. Quai des Orfèvres (1947)
5. The Truth (1960)
6. The Murderer Lives at Number 21 (1942)
7. The Mystery of Picasso (1957)
8. Manon (1949)
9. La prisonnière (1968)
10. Les espions (1957)

Joel & Ethan Coen​​​​​​​
1. Fargo (1996)
2. No Country for Old Men (2007)
3. The Big Lebowski (1998)
4. Barton Fink (1991)
5. Miller's Crossing (1990)
6. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
7. True Grit (2010)
8. Blood Simple (1984)
9. Raising Arizona (1987)
10. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Rob Cohen​​​​​​​
1. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
2. DragonHeart (1996)
3. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
4. xXx (2002)
5. Daylight (1996)
6. The Rat Pack (1998)
7. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
8. Stealth (2005)
9. The Boy Next Door (2015)
10. The Skulls (2000)

Chris Columbus​​​​​​​
1. Home Alone (1990)
2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
3. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
5. Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
6. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
7. Bicentennial Man (1999)
8. Stepmom (1998)
9. Only the Lonely (1991)
10. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

Bill Condon​​​​​​​
1. Dreamgirls (2006)
2. Beauty and the Beast (2017)
3. Gods and Monsters (1998)
4. Kinsey (2004)
5. Mr. Holmes (2015)
6. The Good Liar (2019)
7. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
8. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)
9. Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025)
10. The Fifth Estate (2013)

Jack Conway​​​​​​​
1. Libeled Lady (1936)
2. A Tale of Two Cities (1935)
3. Boom Town (1940)
4. Red-Headed Woman (1932)
5. Saratoga (1937)
6. Viva Villa! (1934)
7. A Yank at Oxford (1938)
8. Love Crazy (1941)
9. Brown of Harvard (1926)
10. The Hucksters (1947)

Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack​​​​​​​
1. King Kong (1933)
2. Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925)
3. The Most Dangerous Game [EBS with Irving Pichel] (1932)
4. This Is Cinerama [MCC] (1952)
5. Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927)
6. Mighty Joe Young (1949)
7. Dr. Cyclops [EBS] (1940)
8. Son of Kong [EBS] (1933)
9. The Last Days of Pompeii (1935)
10. The Four Feathers [with Lothar Mendes] (1929)

And I noticed that I somehow forgot to look at Buñuel:

Luis Buñuel
1. Un chien andalou (1929)
2. Viridiana (1961)
3. L'âge d'or (1930)
4. Los olvidados (1950)
5. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
6. Belle de jour (1967)
7. The Exterminating Angel (1962)
8. That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
9. Tristana (1970)
10. The Phantom of Liberty (1974)

I'll send the page 6 updates to lew.

[ManPerson]

Lists look pretty solid.

[Dubrow555]

Looks good to me - I would maybe consider switching "Beauty and the Beast" + "Gods and Monsters," as the first was not well critically received and the second won an Oscar (but unless you think the popularity win is large enough to pull ahead).

[pauldrach]

Looks good to me - I would maybe consider switching "Beauty and the Beast" + "Gods and Monsters," as the first was not well critically received and the second won an Oscar (but unless you think the popularity win is large enough to pull ahead).

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its cast, songs, and visual detail.

On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 384 reviews and an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "With an enchanting cast, beautifully crafted songs, and a painterly eye for detail, Beauty and the Beast offers a faithful yet fresh retelling that honors its beloved source material." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100 based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In CinemaScore polls, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

All in all I'd say B&tB's win in popularity is significantly bigger than G&M's in acclaim.

I hated Beauty and the Beast btw.

[Dubrow555]

Makes sense - for some reason in my memory I thought Beauty + Beast had under a 50 on metacritic or something.

[pauldrach]

Updates for page 8:

Francis Ford Coppola
1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Apocalypse Now (1979)
3. The Godfather Part II (1974)
4. The Conversation (1974)
5. The Godfather Part III (1990)
6. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
7. Rumble Fish (1983)
8. The Outsiders (1983)
9. Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
10. The Rainmaker (1997)

Sofia Coppola
1. Lost in Translation (2003)
2. The Virgin Suicides (1999)
3. Marie Antoinette (2006)
4. Priscilla (2023)
5. The Beguiled (2017)
6. Somewhere (2010)
7. On the Rocks (2020)
8. The Bling Ring (2013)
9. A Very Murray Christmas (2015)
10. Lick the Star (1998)

Roger Corman (1926-2024)
1. Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
2. House of Usher (1960)
3. The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
4. The Wild Angels (1966)
5. The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
6. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)
7. The Haunted Palace (1963)
8. The Trip (1967)
9. The Raven (1963)
10. A Bucket of Blood (1959)

George P. Cosmatos
9. Sin (1971)

Correct year and most common title for the same film as before.

Pedro Costa
1. In Vanda's Room (2000)
2. Colossal Youth (2006)
3. Vitalina Varela (2019)
4. Horse Money (2014)
5. Ossos (1997)
6. O Sangue (1989)
7. Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? [with Thierry Lounas] (2001)
8. Casa de Lava (1994)
9. Change Nothing (2009)
10. The Daughters of Fire (2023)

John Cromwell
1. Since You Went Away (1944)
2. Of Human Bondage (1934)
3. The Prisoner of Zenda (1937)
4. Caged (1950)
5. Algiers (1938)
6. Anna and the King of Siam (1946)
7. The Enchanted Cottage (1945)
8. Dead Reckoning (1947)
9. Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
10. Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940)

David Cronenberg
1. The Fly (1986)
2. Videodrome (1983)
3. A History of Violence (2005)
4. Dead Ringers (1988)
5. Eastern Promises (2007)
6. Crash (1996)
7. Naked Lunch (1991)
8. Scanners (1981)
9. The Dead Zone (1983)
10. Shivers (1975)

Cameron Crowe
1. Almost Famous (2000)
2. Jerry Maguire (1996)
3. Say Anything... (1989)
4. Vanilla Sky (2001)
5. Singles (1992)
6. We Bought a Zoo (2011)
7. Pearl Jam Zwenty (2011)
8. Elizabethtown (2005)
9. Roadies (2016)
10. Aloha (2015)

Alfonso Cuarón
1. Gravity (2013)
2. Roma (2018)
3. Children of Men (2006)
4. Y tu mamá también (2001)
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
6. A Little Princess (1995)
7. Disclaimer (2024)
8. Sólo con tu pareja (1991)
9. Great Expectations (1998)
10. Believe [with Mark Friedman] (2014)

George Cukor
1. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
2. My Fair Lady (1964)
3. A Star Is Born (1954)
4. Gaslight (1944)
5. Adam's Rib (1949)
6. Holiday (1938)
7. The Women (1939)
8. Dinner at Eight (1933)
9. Camille (1936)
10. Born Yesterday (1950)

I'll send the page 7 updates to lew.