greatest american director of all time

[patsopinion]

<p>500-wanted to do something worth posting</p><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000217/">scorsese</a></p><p><a href="http://www.ronfez.net/messageboard/postpoll.cfm/forum/Alfred%20Hitchcock">hitchcock(british) </a></p><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/">stephen spielburg</a><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000338/"><br />Francis Ford Coppola</a></p><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000080/">Orson Welles</a></p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001603/">Sam Peckinpah</a><br /><span class="post_edited"></span>
<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by patsopinion on 3-18-07 @ 4:01 PM</span>

[TheMojoPin]

<p>Those are our only choices?</p>

[patsopinion]

<p>naw feel free to intro others</p><p>ill edit the post and add them&nbsp;</p>

[Don Stugots]

Stallone.

[Mike Teacher]

<p>A list without foreign directors is no list.</p><p>Trouffant? Wenders?</p>

[patsopinion]

fuck the fench

[TheMojoPin]

Well, if it's American directors...my vote goes to Peckinpah.

[Kevin]

<strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br />Well, if it's American directors...my vote goes to<strong> Peckinpah</strong>.<p>God Bless You, but who's your pick???</p>

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>Kevin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br />Well, if it's American directors...my vote goes to<strong> Peckinpah</strong>. <p>God Bless You, but who's your pick???</p><p>Sassypants.</p><p>If we're expanding the list, some other options should be:</p><p>John Ford</p><p>The Coen Brothers</p><p>Quentin Tarantino</p><p>Wes Anderson</p><p>Spike Lee</p><p>Steven Soderbergh</p><p>Robert Altman</p><p>Paul Thomas Anderson</p><p>David Cronenberg</p><p>Terry Gilliam</p><p>Darren Aronofsky</p>

[lleeder]

<font size="3">Shit thats alot of directors. Fuck the pole we need to set up some brackets to figure this one out.</font>

[Mike Teacher]

<p>Well the instant I hit the enter key I thought, 'um.. Hitchcock's not a brit is he...' oops yeah he is duh so my pithy dismissal of the list stands corrected.</p><p>I think each on the list had a high water mark with a specific type of film, or did it first, or best: Welles with the brand new way of shooting films which became a standard; Lucas and Spielberg from 1973-77 or whenever the window between American Graffitti and CE3K, they are the standards for each of their respective genres, 50s americana and sci-fi, and two of them at their best at that time. As Coppola owns the Mobster masterpiece, and Id say, best war movie produced by the above list with Apoc Now. Scorcese is the NY Mvie guy, Peckinpaw with the Wild Bunch as mold for countless Westerns, Hitcock for the thrillers, etc. ad nauseum beats me I just like their films.</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by Mike Teacher on 3-18-07 @ 4:21 PM</span>

[patsopinion]

<p>im down to braket&nbsp;</p>

[TheMojoPin]

Yeah, yank Hitchcock unless you're opening this up globally...there are tons of foreign directors that would run off a lot of these pikers.

[PapaBear]

Hitchcock may get a pass. Did he make many of his films in England? I have no idea. I always assumed he was a Hollywood director. To me, a foreign director makes most of their films overseas.

[patsopinion]

<p>i mean the majority of his critically acclaimed films were american based(birds, phsyco)</p><p>hes british in origin and a lot of his films were british but name a guy in a movie with a blimey as a lead charcert&nbsp;</p>

[feralBoy]

<p>Shouldn't kubrick be on that list.&nbsp; Clockwork orange, 2001, the shining, full metal jacket, spartacus...</p><p>He's not the most prolific, but who gives a fuck.</p>

[KennethC]

<p>Buster Keaton was a genius, easily the equal of most on that list.</p><p>DW Griffith made some eyeball pleasers, even if he helped revive the KKK.</p><p>Elia Kazan was a dirty rat, but a great, great filmmaker.</p><p>Preston Sturges had a comedic style still imitated to this day.</p><p>Woody Allen has had an amazing career that will be more celebrated in the future than it is now.</p><p>Hal Ashby was the great eccentric filmmaker of the seventies.</p><p>Howard Hawkes made smart films in may different genres.</p><p>John Cassavetes basically invented independent film.</p>

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>feralBoy</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Shouldn't kubrick be on that list.&nbsp; Clockwork orange, 2001, the shining, full metal jacket, spartacus...</p><p>He's not the most prolific, but who gives a fuck.</p><p>Hmmm, I left him off of mine because I assumed he was British...lo and behold, he was born in New York.</p>

[patsopinion]

<span class="postbody"><p>John Ford</p><p>The Coen Brothers</p><p>Quentin Tarantino</p><p>Wes Anderson</p><p>Spike Lee</p><p>Steven Soderbergh</p><p>Robert Altman</p><p>Paul Thomas Anderson</p><p>David Cronenberg</p><p>Terry Gilliam</p><p>Darren Aronofsky</p></span><p>Buster Keaton was a genius, easily the equal of most on that list.</p><p>DW Griffith made some eyeball pleasers, even if he helped revive the KKK.</p><p>Elia Kazan was a dirty rat, but a great, great filmmaker.</p><p>Preston Sturges had a comedic style still imitated to this day.</p><p>Woody Allen has had an amazing career that will be more celebrated in the future than it is now.</p><p>Hal Ashby was the great eccentric filmmaker of the seventies.</p><p>Howard Hawkes made smart films in may different genres.</p><p>John Cassavetes basically invented independent film.</p><p><span class="postbody">Trouffant? </span></p><p><span class="postbody">Wenders?</span></p><span class="postbody"><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000217/">scorsese</a></p><p><a href="http://www.ronfez.net/messageboard/postpoll.cfm/forum/Alfred%20Hitchcock">hitchcock(british) </a></p><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/">stephen spielburg</a><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000338/"><br />Francis Ford Coppola</a></p><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000080/">Orson Welles</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>im down for a braket system out of those but unless were going to do bye rounds we need 6 more people (32 total)</p></span>

[oh_kee_pa]

Jon Favreau???? small catalog but Made and Elf were great movies

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>oh_kee_pa</strong> wrote:<br />Jon Favreau???? small catalog but Made and Elf were great movies <p>Go sit in the corner.</p>

[mikeyboy]

<strong>PapaBear</strong> wrote:<br />Hitchcock may get a pass. Did he make many of his films in England? I have no idea. I always assumed he was a Hollywood director. To me, a foreign director makes most of their films overseas. <p>His early films were British films.</p>

[docgoblin]

I guess Frank Capra was a hack...?

[docgoblin]

<strong>KennethC</strong> wrote:<br /><p style="background-color: #ffff00">Buster Keaton was a genius, easily the equal of most on that list.</p><br /><p>&nbsp;I think you'd have to put Chaplin up there as well.</p>

[jetdog]

It has to be Kubrick.&nbsp; There's just no getting around that.&nbsp; Maybe the poll should be second best American director?.

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by jetdog on 3-18-07 @ 5:47 PM</span>

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote:<br />I guess Frank Capra was a hack...? <p>Pretty much.</p>

[bobrobot]

<p align="center"><img src="http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/webtest/sqerl/images/docs/A-waters%20pink.jpg" border="0" width="200" height="232" /></p><p align="center"><strong><font size="5" color="#ff00ff">John Waters</font></strong></p>

[Crispy123]

Clint Eastwood

[ralphbxny]

I picked Scorcese cause he is hot with all the kids now!!! I also love his movies but there are a ton more than the people listed!

[BoondockSaint]

Savage Steve Holland!

[weekapaugjz]

<strong>patsopinion</strong> wrote:<br /><span class="postbody"></span><span class="postbody"><p>im down for a braket system out of those but unless were going to do bye rounds we need 6 more people (32 total)</p></span><p>&nbsp;kevin smith.&nbsp; i know he is not to the caliber of some of the other guys on the list, but for comedy, i think he is top notch. </p>

[docgoblin]

<strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote:<br />I guess Frank Capra was a hack...? <p>Pretty much.</p><p><strong>Arsenic and Old Lace</strong></p><p><strong>Meet John Doe</strong></p><p><strong>Mr. Smith Goes to Washington</strong></p><p><strong>Lost Horizon</strong></p><p><strong>Mr. Deeds Goes to Town</strong></p><p><strong>It Happened One Night</strong></p><p><strong>American Madness</strong></p><p>Oh Yeah... and...</p><p><font size="1"><strong>...It's a Wonderful Life</strong></font> </p><p><font size="2"><strong>8 of the greatest movies of the early 20th century (among the hundreds he directed)... Yeah he's a hack!</strong></font> </p>

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote:<br />I guess Frank Capra was a hack...? <p>Pretty much.</p><p><strong>Arsenic and Old Lace</strong></p><p><strong>Meet John Doe</strong></p><p><strong>Mr. Smith Goes to Washington</strong></p><p><strong>Lost Horizon</strong></p><p><strong>Mr. Deeds Goes to Town</strong></p><p><strong>It Happened One Night</strong></p><p><strong>American Madness</strong></p><p>Oh Yeah... and...</p><p><font size="1"><strong>...It's a Wonderful Life</strong></font> </p><p><font size="2"><strong>8 of the greatest movies of the early 20th century (among the hundreds he directed)... Yeah he's a hack!</strong></font> </p><p>He didn't write any of those except for IAWL, which he has a third-tier credit for.&nbsp; I'm not saying that great directors need to write their own films...I'm saying that movies you listed are great due more to the stellar performances and great writing than Capra's frankly unremarkable and generic directorial style.&nbsp; I'm sorry, but I find his direction about as thrilling as a Hallmark card.&nbsp; He's the the original version of guys like Robert Zemeckis and Ron Howard...capable but very unremarkable directors who don't take chanes and end up looking great because they don't fuck up decent or great scripts and excellent performances by their actors.&nbsp; They don't make their movies poorly...but they don't do anything special or unique.&nbsp; Capra, granted, had more of his own &quot;style,&quot; but even that was pretty bland, like&nbsp;if Norman Rockwell directed films.</p><p>I'm not saying Capra's bad...I'm just saying he's not great.</p>

[docgoblin]

<strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote:<br />I guess Frank Capra was a hack...? <p>Pretty much.</p><p><strong>Arsenic and Old Lace</strong></p><p><strong>Meet John Doe</strong></p><p><strong>Mr. Smith Goes to Washington</strong></p><p><strong>Lost Horizon</strong></p><p><strong>Mr. Deeds Goes to Town</strong></p><p><strong>It Happened One Night</strong></p><p><strong>American Madness</strong></p><p>Oh Yeah... and...</p><p><font size="1"><strong>...It's a Wonderful Life</strong></font> </p><p><font size="2"><strong>8 of the greatest movies of the early 20th century (among the hundreds he directed)... Yeah he's a hack!</strong></font> </p><p>He didn't write any of those except for IAWL, which he has a third-tier credit for. I'm not saying that great directors need to write their own films...I'm saying that movies you listed are great due more to the stellar performances and great writing than Capra's frankly unremarkable and generic directorial style. I'm sorry, but I find his direction about as thrilling as a Hallmark card. He's the the original version of guys like Robert Zemeckis and Ron Howard...capable but very unremarkable directors who don't take chanes and end up looking great because they don't fuck up decent or great scripts and excellent performances by their actors. They don't make their movies poorly...but they don't do anything special or unique. Capra, granted, had more of his own &quot;style,&quot; but even that was pretty bland, like if Norman Rockwell directed films.</p><p>I'm not saying Capra's bad...I'm just saying he's not great.</p><p>&nbsp;I'm sorry... I thought the thread was about great directors, not great writers. He turned great written pieces (as well as stage plays) into <strong><em>GREAT </em></strong>films. He also wrote and directed dozens of great WW2 propaganda films that helped to generate millions of dollars for the war effort, and helped lead us to victory. That may be the most important thing any director on this list ever did. As a matter of fact... If he never directed those insignificant films, maybe none of the other directors discussed here would have been alive, or been able to have the freedom to do their work.</p><p>You can argue that all the other directors mentioned in this thread are better &quot;film makers&quot; than Capra. I can't argue that point. But I think he is the most important director in the history of American film... HANDS DOWN!&nbsp;</p>

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote: <p>&nbsp;I'm sorry... I thought the thread was about great directors, not great writers. </p><p>Like I said, great directors don't have to write their own films.&nbsp;</p>He turned great written pieces (as well as stage plays) into <strong><em>GREAT </em></strong>films. <p>Whenever I see his films, I see the writing and the performances shining through because they're good on their own, not because of Capra's direction.&nbsp; He was a capable filmmaker...but I see nothing unique in his direction and no kind of personal passion whatsoever.&nbsp;</p>He also wrote and directed dozens of great WW2 propaganda films that helped to generate millions of dollars for the war effort, and helped lead us to victory. That may be the most important thing any director on this list ever did. <p>Pretty much everyone involved in Hollywood either made or starred in films that supported the war or the war effort directly.&nbsp; That's hardly anything unique to Capra and that doesn't somehow make the quality of his work more interesting.&nbsp; By that logic, are we supposed to rate these guys by who was the nicest?&nbsp;</p>As a matter of fact... If he never directed those insignificant films, maybe none of the other directors discussed here would have been alive, or been able to have the freedom to do their work. <p>Come on, that's an absurd statement that has nothing to do with what we're actually talking about.&nbsp; Capra's war effort films didn't win the war on their own, and his effort doesn't overshadow the work done by other Hollywood figures during that time.&nbsp; Also, there were filmmakers who actually served in the military...by your line of thinking, doesn't that automatically make them even better directors than Capra?&nbsp; Of course, it's good thing we're talking about the quality of their DIRECTING here, especially since Capra was an admirer of Mussolini, hated FDR and served as an informant during the McCarthy era.&nbsp; <em>Why We Fight</em> is, granted,&nbsp;a stunning piece of propoganda work...I'd probably rate that higher on my own scale than his actual movies.</p><p>You can argue that all the other directors mentioned in this thread are better &quot;film makers&quot; than Capra. I can't argue that point. But I think he is the most important director in the history of American film... HANDS DOWN!&nbsp; </p><p>Well, that's your opinion, and I totally disagree.&nbsp; The only filmmaker I see that actually apes Capra is Frank Darabont.&nbsp; Capra didn't do anything terribly unique with his filmmaking and I really don't see how his work has been widely and significantly&nbsp;influential on filmmakers since him.&nbsp; Again, I'm not saying he's a bad director (the &quot;hack&quot; comment was meant more as a joke) or that his films aren't good and widely beloved...I just don't think he's a terribly unique or innovative or passionate or directly influential director like most of the others brought up here.&nbsp; He's known for making kinda corny and feel-good flicks...if anything, he birthed the chick flick.</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by TheMojoPin on 3-18-07 @ 11:00 PM</span>

[thepaulo]

<p>my vote is for kubrick....</p><p>but i love talking early 20th century....</p><p>capra and sturges for comedy.....ford and hawkes for drama but that distinction is blurred by the fact that these directors made well rounded films that included both....</p><p>and these guys had the clout to put their personal stamp on their films....Hawkes may not have seemed to have had a distinctive style but if you study him it all comes out</p><p>the important issue is whether a filmmaker creates something that could not be done by anyone else....a unique work of art...a hack is someone who makes a film that could been made by anyone....</p><p>There is so much to discuss.....Wells was a genius but his carreer was a mess.....Lynch is getting crazier and crazier...but both true artists</p>

[bobrobot]

<strong>thepaulo</strong> wrote:<br /><p>my vote is for kubrick....</p><p>but i love talking early 20th century....</p><p>capra and sturges for comedy.....ford and hawkes for drama but that distinction is blurred by the fact that these directors made well rounded films that included both....</p><p>and these guys had the clout to put their personal stamp on their films....Hawkes may not have seemed to have had a distinctive style but if you study him it all comes out</p><p>the important issue is whether a filmmaker creates something that could not be done by anyone else....a unique work of art...a hack is someone who makes a film that could been made by anyone....</p><p>There is so much to discuss.....Wells was a genius but his carreer was a mess.....Lynch is getting crazier and crazier...but both true artists</p><p><strong><font color="#000080">WOW PaulO, yer life really IS a movie!!!???!!!???</font></strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[epo]

<strong>docgoblin</strong> wrote:<br /><p>&nbsp;</p><p><font size="2"></font></p>You can argue that all the other directors mentioned in this thread are better &quot;film makers&quot; than Capra. I can't argue that point. But I think he is the most important director in the history of American film... HANDS DOWN!&nbsp;<p>Welles isn't more important than Capra?&nbsp; That's crazy talk.&nbsp; </p>

[Beelzebub]

<p>If we are going to use foreign born American Directors, I would like to throw Billy Wilder's hat into the ring.</p><p>Also, I think if more people watched Nicholas Ray films they might believe he was one the greatest. </p><p>How about documentary filmmakers? Robert Flaherty or Robert Drew, </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

[Beelzebub]

<strong>thepaulo</strong> wrote:<br /><p>my vote is for kubrick....</p><p>but i love talking early 20th century....</p><p>capra and sturges for comedy.....ford and hawkes for drama but that distinction is blurred by the fact that these directors made well rounded films that included both....</p><p>and these guys had the clout to put their personal stamp on their films....Hawkes may not have seemed to have had a distinctive style but if you study him it all comes out</p><p>the important issue is whether a filmmaker creates something that could not be done by anyone else....a unique work of art...a hack is someone who makes a film that could been made by anyone....</p><p>There is so much to discuss.....Wells was a genius but his carreer was a mess.....Lynch is getting crazier and crazier...but both true artists</p><p>Are you saying that to be a great american director one must be an auteur? <br />What would Welles be without a Toland? </p><p>I'm glad you mention Hawks, if only more people would watch his work, so many great genre films he should be at the top of the list, some of his great genre work: Rio Bravo(western), Scarface(gangster), Sergeant York(war film), The Big Sleep(thriller noir), The Thing From Another World(science fiction), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(musical), Bringing Up Baby(screwball) and even a biblical epic in Land of the Pharaohs.&nbsp;</p><p>I wonder about the hawksian hero?</p>

[thepaulo]

<p>calling Billy Wilder an american director is like saying arnold swarzenegger has a shot at being an american president.......ehhh....well....but yeah...wilder is pretty good</p><p>nicholas ray has his admirers but his films are just as often categorized as camp (even Rebel without a cause)</p><p>documentary directors are generally unheralded but if you have to mention one name it would be frederick wiseman......(though flathery is important and influential...and erroll morris has had success over the last decade.....robert drew? he's not a name to anyone but the most ardent film students)</p><p>if we're gonna go this far afield then we should ask which of these oscar winning directors is best...</p><p>Beatty,Costner or Gibson (Mel born in New York)(I'm leaving out Eastwood because he'd get all the votes)</p>

[thepaulo]

<p>to be a great director you need to be an auteur...absolutely</p><p>Toland was a great cinematographer who worked on Citizen Kane but it would be crazy to say he was in any way responsible for&nbsp;Orson's genius....film is a collaborative art...no one does everything except Robert Rodreiguez</p>

[A.J.]

<p>Either Thomas Edison</p><p><img src="http://www.edwardsamuels.com/illustratedstory/chapter%203/Edison.jpg" border="0" width="450" height="587" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>or Jack Woltz</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><img src="http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:YZ0w3Wgxo9aZpM:http://www.gonemovies.com/www/TopFilms/Godfather/Woltz1.jpg" border="0" width="139" height="80" /></p>

[sailor]

<strong>PapaBear</strong> wrote:<br />Hitchcock may get a pass. Did he make many of his films in England? I have no idea. I always assumed he was a Hollywood director. To me, a foreign director makes most of their films overseas.<p> <font size="2">where does polanski fall. his early films were overseas, then he started filming in the U.S., but hasn't made any here recently.</font></p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by sailor on 3-19-07 @ 8:25 AM</span>

[A.J.]

<p>The Greatest American HERO of all time.</p><p><img src="http://squidwranglers.files.wordpress.com/2006/05/greatest-american-hero.jpg" border="0" width="388" height="490" /></p>

[BLZBUBBA]

<p>&nbsp;</p><p>I gotta go with Kubrick....on variety.&nbsp; FULL METAL JACKET,&nbsp; BARRY LYNDON,&nbsp; LOLITA,&nbsp; 2001, THE SHINING,&nbsp; A CLOCKWORK ORANGE,&nbsp; DR. STRANGELOVE,&nbsp; SPARTACUS?&nbsp; That's a wide range of GREAT films.&nbsp; </p>

[foodcourtdruide]

<strong>BLZBUBBA</strong> wrote:<br /><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I gotta go with Kubrick....on variety.&nbsp; FULL METAL JACKET,&nbsp; BARRY LYNDON,&nbsp; LOLITA,&nbsp; 2001, THE SHINING,&nbsp; A CLOCKWORK ORANGE,&nbsp; DR. STRANGELOVE,&nbsp; SPARTACUS?&nbsp; That's a wide range of GREAT films.&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>My vote would go to Hitchcock.</p><p>Vertigo, Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, North By Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Dial &quot;M&quot; For Murder</p><p>Though you can make a strong case for everyone on that list. </p>

[BLZBUBBA]

Isn't Hitchcock British?

[Tall_James]

<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9iEm2qdJpE&amp;eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcommunity%2E livejournal%2Ecom%2Fohnotheydidnt%2F">I'd like to put my vote in for this director who calls Lily Tomlin a cunt around the 1:11 mark.</a></p>

[ralphbxny]

<p>Seymour Butts!!</p>

[foodcourtdruide]

<strong>BLZBUBBA</strong> wrote:<br />Isn't Hitchcock British? <p>He was born in Britain, but died in California. I'm not sure what he considered himself.</p>

[thepaulo]

<p>Hitchcock is dead...his opinion no longer matters......</p><p>Hitchcock was born in britian...he's british.....end of story</p><p>mel gibson was born in America...he's american</p><p>there has to be some structure.....</p><p>all these people.....roman polanski, milos foreman, billy wilder, arnold swarzenegger...not american</p><p>Just because Michelangelo Antonioni made a film in the USA does not make him American.....</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I'm gonna go and sit down now.</p>

[BLZBUBBA]

<p>This is reminding me of those sports arguments.&nbsp; Who was the greatest hitter,&nbsp; pitcher,&nbsp; whatever of all time.&nbsp; Perhaps the best measure is the best of a particular era.&nbsp; I mean...Consider some of the current directors that rely on so many special effects.&nbsp; Could they even had made a film in say...Chaplin's era?</p><p>But if the topic is the greatest American-born director of all time I'm sticking with Kubrick.&nbsp;</p>

[Enabler]

I cant really make too strong of a case against Kubrick,Scorcese, but for Earls sake ill throw Spike Lee out there. He definetlty has more soso flicks than classics but his name should be mentioned.

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>thepaulo</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Hitchcock is dead...his opinion no longer matters......</p><p>Hitchcock was born in britian...he's british.....end of story</p><p>mel gibson was born in America...he's american</p><p>there has to be some structure.....</p><p>all these people.....roman polanski, milos foreman, billy wilder, arnold swarzenegger...not american</p><p>Just because Michelangelo Antonioni made a film in the USA does not make him American.....</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I'm gonna go and sit down now.</p><p>Then you have to throw out Capra, you little Capra-corn...he was born in Italy.</p><p>BOOOOO-YAH.</p>

[SinA]

<p><img src="http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_03_img1305.jpg" border="0" width="519" height="393" /></p><p>#1:&nbsp;Jack Horner</p>

[ppanda]

<p>my pick isnt up there...Stanley Kubric is my fav</p>

[torker]

<p><img src="http://www.dga.org/news/v25_6/images/feat_raimi01.jpg" border="0" width="250" height="164" /></p><p>Sam Raimi</p>

[thepaulo]

Now that you mention it...I think Welles was born in Ireland....Oh this just isn't gonna work.....Someone's gonna have to build a wall to protect our borders

[KennethC]

<strong>thepaulo</strong> wrote:<br />Now that you mention it...I think Welles was born in Ireland....Oh this just isn't gonna work.....Someone's gonna have to build a wall to protect our borders <p>Orson Welles was born in Wisconsin - I think you're thinking of John Ford, who was a potato-scarfing mick.</p>

[NJHARDHAT]

Hmmm, no John Waters? WTF!

[A.J.]

<strong>NJHARDHAT</strong> wrote:<br />Hmmm, no John Waters? WTF! <strong>bobogolem</strong> wrote:<br /><p align="center"><img src="http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/webtest/sqerl/images/docs/A-waters%20pink.jpg" border="0" width="200" height="232" /></p><p align="center"><strong><font size="5" color="#ff00ff">John Waters</font></strong></p>

[johnniewalker]

<p>Hitchcock is dead...his opinion no longer matters......</p><p>Hitchcock was born in britian...he's british.....end of story</p><p>mel gibson was born in America...he's american</p><p>there has to be some structure.....</p><p>all these people.....roman polanski, milos foreman, billy wilder, arnold swarzenegger...not american</p><p>Just because Michelangelo Antonioni made a film in the USA does not make him American.....</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I'm gonna go and sit down now.</p>

Mel hasn't made enough movies, but i just watched apocalypto today and it was stunning. Reading some of reviews affirmed to me that he made a great movie. The review were so mixed, but shockingly some people gave it a 1 star or a half a star. If you want to compare it to norbit or wild hogs go ahead. Some reviewers gave it a 1 star, and midway through the review he said it was visually stunning and entertaining, but the historical inaccuracy made it the worst film of the year. Rediculous. The lack of people to see past their own problems with a person is amazing, they sounded like religious zealots critizing a film for too much swearing as if that affects the quality of a movie. Anyways, his ambition and ability to coordinate movies like this on such a scale is amazing. Maybe someday he will have enough movies to back it up.

[hedges]

Kubrick was born in New York? I didn't know that, but after considering Peckinpah, I gotta go with Scorcese. They are the top two.

[BoxerAF]

There are so many directors I love but I'd ultimately give it to Marty. He has some of the best dialog and amazing editing. My fave is Bringing out the dead.

[Flea_Man]

I'm a Tarentino fan, myself.

[Yuppie_Scum]

Where's Kubrick?

[TheMojoPin]

There are so many directors I love but I'd ultimately give it to Marty. He has some of the best dialog and amazing editing. My fave is Bringing out the dead.

Just to clarify the dialogue thing, Scorsese only wrote Mean Streets. Everything else was written or adapted by screenwriters other than him. Yeah, his films often have some great dialogue, but it wouldn't be totally accurate to credit it all to him.

But really, BYD is your favorite Scorsese movie out of everything he's done?

Huh.

Wow.