Top 10 Modern Directors

I’ve no doubt that I’ll receive a large amount of email and comments claiming someone else should be listed or someone on the list shouldn’t be. Relax, seriously. As with anything I write here, this is my perception and opinion. These happen to be the ones that I feel are the best. Though I’m thinking of editing out Joel Coen for Tim Burton. Anyway, on with the show:

1. Francis Ford Coppola

• Vital Statistics: He was born April 7, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is 6ft tall and married to Eleanor Coppola.
• Current Movie: Tetro (2009)
• Tendencies: Often casts his relatives in his movies; Re-releases his work later.
• Best Movie: The Godfather, Part II (1974)
• Good Movies: The Conversation (1974), The Godfather (1972), Dracula (1992), Apocalypse Now (1979)
• Worst Movie: Jack (1996)
• Quotation: “In a sense, I think a movie is really a little like a question and when you make it, that’s when you get the answer.”

2. Roman Polanski

• Vital Statistics: Born August 18, 1933 in Paris, France. Stands 5ft 5in tall. Currently married to Emmanuelle Seigner.
  
• Current Movie: None
• Tendencies: Has a tendency to shoot a sequence from an actor’s point-of-view and pan around the room.
  
• Best Movie: Chinatown (1974)
  
• Good Movies: The Pianist (2002), Oliver Twist (2005), The Ninth Gate (1999), Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
  
• Worst Movie: Pirates (1986)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema should make you forget you are sitting in a theater.”

3. Steven Spielberg

• Vital Statistics: Steven was born December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He is 5ft 7.5in. He is married to Kate Capshaw.
  
• Current Movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
• Tendencies: References to World War II; music by John Williams; Often has a character who is ordinary and transforms into more.
  
• Best Movie: Schindler’s List (1993)
  
• Good Movies: Minority Report (2002); Saving Private Ryan (1998), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Empire of the Sun (1987)
  
• Worst Movie: The Terminal (2004)
  
• Quotation: “The older I get, the more I look at movies as a moving miracle.”
  
• Member of Theta Chi Fraternity, like this article’s author.

4. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

• Vital Statistics: Jean-Pierre was born September 3, 1953 in Roanne, Loire, France. He is married to Liza Sullivan.
  
• Current Movie: Micmacs ? tire-larigot (2009)
  
• Tendencies: Always includes Dominique Pinion; Uses coloring extensively to achieve the intended feeling.
• Best Movie: Amelie (2001)
  
• Good Movies: The City of Lost Children (1996), Delicatessen (1991), A Very Long Engagement (2004)
  
• Worst Movie: Alien: Resurrection (1997)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema since the New Wave always seems to be about a couple fighting in the kitchen. I prefer to write positive stories.”

5. Martin Scorsese

• Vital Statistics: Born November 17, 1942 in Queens, NY, USA. He is 5ft 4in. Married to Helen Morris.
  
• Current Movie: Shine a Light (2008)
  
• Tendencies: Frequently casts Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro; Makes skilled and frequent use of long tracking shots.
  
• Best Movie: Goodfellas (1990)
  
• Good Movies: Taxi Driver (1976), Gangs of New York (2002), The Departed (2006), Raging Bull (1980)
  
• Worst Movie: After Hours (1985)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.”

6. David Fincher

• Vital Statistics: Fincher was born in Denver, Colorado, USA, on August 28, 1962. He is presently unmarried.
  
• Current Movie: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
• Tendencies: Single-frame inserts; Fluid tracking shot pioneer; Uses lots of wide shots.
  
• Best Movie: Fight Club (1999)
  
• Good Movies: Se7en (1995), The Game (1997), Panic Room (2002)
• Worst Movie: Zodiac (2007)
  
• Quotation: “People will say, ‘There are a million ways to shoot a scene,’ but I don’t think so. I think there’re two, maybe. And the other one is wrong.”

7. Darren Aronofsky

• Vital Statistics: Darren was born February 12, 1969 in Brooklyn, NY, USA. 6ft tall. Presently he is engaged to Rachel Weiscz.
  
• Current Movie: The Wrestler (2009)
  
• Tendencies: Short, repeated sequences of actions with very quick edits, accompanied by music
  
• Best Movie: Requiem for a Dream (2000)
  
• Good Movies: Pi (1998), The Fountain (2006)
  
• Worst Movie: Protozoa (1993)
  
• Quotation: “To me, watching a movie is like going to an amusement park. My worst fear is making a film that people don’t think is a good ride.”

8. Luc Besson

• Vital Statistics: Born March 18, 1959 in Paris, France. Luc is presently married to Virginie Silla.
  
• Current Movie: Arthur et la vengeance de Maltazard (2009)
• Tendencies: Frequently casts Jean Reno; Often has a character getting slapped; Sometimes features scenes in real-time.
• Best Movie: The Fifth Element (1997)
  
• Good Movies: Leon (1994), Nikita (1990)
  
• Worst Movie: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
  
• Quotation: “Cinema never saved anyone’s life, it is not a medicine that will save anyone’s life. It is only an aspirin.”

9. Quentin Tarantino

• Vital Statistics: He was born March 27, 1963 in Knoxville, TN, USA. 6ft 1in tall. He is presently unmarried.
  
• Current Movie: Inglorious Bastards (2009)
  
• Tendencies: Mexican stand-offs in his movies; Avoids product placements with fake products; Often casts Samuel L. Jackson.
  
• Best Movie: Pulp Fiction (1994)
  
• Good Movies: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Four Rooms (1997)
  
• Worst Movie: Jackie Brown (1997)
  
• Quotation: “When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, ‘no, I went to films.’”

10. Joel Coen

• Vital Statistics: Joel was born November 29, 1954 in Minneapolis, MN, USA. 6ft tall. Married to actress Frances McDormand.
  
• Tendencies: Often casts wife Frances McDormand; Movies often have a victim who seems like they may deserve what happens to them.
  
• Current Movies: Burn After Reading (2008)
  
• Best Movie: Fargo (1996)
  
• Good Movies: The Big Lebowski (1998), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991)
  
• Worst Movies: Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
  
• Quotation: “Ethan [Coen] had a nightmare of one day finding me on the set of something like The Incredible Hulk, wearing a gold chain and saying, ‘I’ve got to eat, don’t I?’

Runner-up: Sam Mendes

• Vital Statistics: Born August 1, 1965 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK. He is 5ft 10in tall. Sam is married to Kate Winslet.
  
• Current Movie: Revolutionary Road (2008)
  
• Tendencies: Beginning his films with narration from a prime character; Sometimes repeats this tendency at the end of his movies.
  
• Best Movie: American Beauty (1999)
  
• Good Movies: The Road to Perdition (2002)
  
• Worst Movie: Jarhead (2005)
  
• Quotation: “If you shout in the theater, people think you’ve gone a bit mad. But if you raise your voice on a film set, people just work a bit harder.”

Again, thanks to Amazon.com and IMDb.

Tags: darren aronofsky, david fincher, directors, francis ford coppola, jean-pierre jeunet, joel coen, luc besson, martin scorsese, quentin tarantino, roman polanski, sam mendes, steven spielberg

This entry was posted on January 8, 2008 at January 8, 2008 and is filed under Top 10. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.