[Cinema]Clutchfans Movie Directors Tournament 2nd Half of First Round

West Regional
1 - Alfred Hitchcock
8 - Wes Anderson
5 - 12 Billy Wilder
4 - John Ford
6 - Michael Mann
3 - 14 Cameron Crowe
7 - Oliver Stone
2 - Francis Ford Coppola

Southeast Regional
1 - Martin Scorsese
8 - Robert Zemeckis
5 - Pedro Almodovar
4 - Brian DePalma
6 - 11 Milos Forman
3 - 14 Mel Brooks
7 - Darren Aronofsky
2 - 15 Sergio Leone

 

I'll try and give a little more reasoning this round. Again, my decisions are based on the director's best works, not penalizing for their worst (except in rare circumstances).

West
Hitchcock - Haven't seen much of Lupino's work, so Hitchcock wins by default. But I imagine he would have won either way.
Anderson - I just love his weird, quirky sensibilities and The Royal Tennenbaums is one of those movies I can sit down and watch anytime. Such incredible heart to go with the comedy.
Bigelow - Haven't seen any of Wilder's directorial output but I imagine The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty would be enough to put Kathryn over the top. Let's not talk about K-19
Mendes - Grapes of Wrath is great but I loved Road to Perdition. I feel it is one of those highly underrated movies. Jude Law is incredible in it.1917 is also an incredible accomplishment.
Mann - Collateral, Ali and The Insider are great. Heat is a masterpiece. Lyne's Jacobs Ladder is pretty trippy but most of his output is just not my cup of tea.
Crowe - This is incredibly tough for me. I thought the Revenant was just okay. Birdman was incredible. I love Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire but for very different reasons. Crowe gets the nod here because of rewatchability. I loved Birdman, but I haven't revisited but maybe once. I've seen Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire many, many times and always enjoyed it.
Stone - Haven't seen any of Fellini's work, but JFK, Natural Born Killers, The Doors and Wall Street would probably put Stone over the top even if I had.
Reiner - Upset here. Coppola has a lot of powerhouse movies, but I'm not as big a Godfather fan as many are and I absolutely adore This is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride. Movies like A Few Good Men and Misery just add icing to the cake.

Southeast
Scorsese - Wizard of Oz is incredible but not enough to overcome Scorcese's incredible output. The Wolf of Wall Street, as great as it is, is one of his lesser offerings. Bill the Butcher remains one of my favorite villains of all time.
Zemeckis - This one is a bit skewed because I never saw The Thing. I know it is considered a classic I've just never really been drawn to it, for whatever reason. But Zemeckis has a lot of powerhouse movies and even some that I love that I never knew were him (like Death Becomes Her).
No vote on Almodovar vs Eisenstein. I've never seen any of their films
De Palma - Not a huge fan of De Palma except for The Untouchables and Scarface. I feel he's probably too highly seeded here. I haven't seen any of Wyler's work except for Ben Hur, so I guess DePalma wins regardless.
Forman - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The People vs Larry Flynt and Man on the Moon are all great. I'm not a huge Lynch fan and he just got severely upstaged by Villeneuve on Dune adaptations. I guess an upset by seeding but Lynch is seeded too high.
PTA - My hardest one yet. I love both directors but for very different reasons. Both have remarkable re-watchability too (and quotability). The tie-breaker in this case is going to be There Will Be Blood, which I feel is a better movie than any of Brooks' offerings, and it has one of the most perfect endings. Brooks is criminally seeded too low, IMHO.
Aronofsky - Everything the man did from Pi to Black Swan was incredible. After that is a bit sketchy. Toro is great and Pan's Labyrinth is probably as good as most Aronofsky films, but Aronofsky has 5 films at that level to Toro's one with a smattering of great but not masterpiece level movies to his credit.
Nolan - Nolan is one of my favorite currently working directors. Leone mostly did westerns and I'm not a huge western guy. The Prestige is a top 5 film for me and Inception is probably top 10. The guy just makes amazing movies, even his lesser attempts. When I try to wrap my mind around how a person comes up with the concept of the movie Memento and then pulls it off to perfection I get a headache.

 

Now that I think about it, a region with oddballs, outcasts and bad boys like David Lynch, Tarrantino, Roman Polanski, John Carpenter, Michael Mann and James Cameron could've been fun. Spike Lee deserved a chance to take down Clint Eastwood too.

West Regional
1 - Alfred Hitchcock vs 16 Ida Lupino
8 - Wes Anderson vs. 9 Woody Allen
5 - Kathryn Bigelow vs 12 Billy Wilder
4 - John Ford vs 13 Sam Mendes
6 - Michael Mann vs. 11 Adrian Lyne
3 - Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu vs. 14 Cameron Crowe
7 - Oliver Stone vs 10 Federico Fellini
2 - Francis Ford Coppola vs 15 Rob Reiner

Southeast Regional
1 - Martin Scorsese vs 16 King Vidor
8 - Robert Zemeckis vs 9 John Carpenter - Zemeckis is seeded a bit too low here. Plus, Carpenter vs George Miller or Tarrantino would've been fun to think about.
5 - Pedro Almodovar vs 12 Sergei Eisenstein
4 - Brian DePalma vs 13 William Wyler
6 - David Lynch vs 11 Milos Forman - Lynch is simply too strange for competitions like this. Lynch vs someone like Shyamalan or Paul Thomas Anderson would've been interesting to think about though.
3 - Paul Thomas Anderson vs 14 Mel Brooks - This is a tough matchup for Brooks. But PTA is hit or miss with me and so he lives to fight another day.
7 - Darren Aronofsky vs 10 Guillermo del Toro - I respect the hell out of Guillermo del Toro and the worlds he creates, but I have to give the nod to Aronofsky, who could've been seeded even higher.
2 - Christopher Nolan vs 15 Sergio Leone

 

Let’s make it simple:
Kubrick/Spielberg + Hitchcock/Scorsese = (x-h)2 + (y-k)2 = r2

 

Hitchcock
Woody
Wilder
Ford
Mann
Inarritu
Fellini
Coppola (why is Reiner that low?)

Scorcese
Carpenter
Eisenstein (not easy)
Wyler
Forman
PTA (and I hate that)
GDT
Nolan

I sought outside counsel

 

West Regional
1 - Alfred Hitchcock
9 - Woody Allen (unpopular vote, but based on lifetime work and greater range, IMHO)
5 - Kathryn Bigelow
4 - John Ford
6 - Michael Mann
3 - Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
10 Federico Fellini (really dislike Stone's work at a visceral level, for some reason, nearly all of it)
2 - Francis Ford Coppola (though Reiner's The Jerk made me pause).

Southeast Regional
1 - Martin Scorsese
9 - John Carpenter
5 - Pedro Almodovar (maybe the committee underrated him)
4 - Brian DePalma
6 - David Lynch (so flawed but he might fare well if we get some... upsets)
14 Mel Brooks (same reason as Manny mentioned, and what's wrong with silliness? Underrated.)
10 Guillermo del Toro -- monsters (literally) > *.*
15 Sergio Leone (hahaha, Nolan has annoyed me one time too many.)

 

West Regional
1 - Alfred Hitchcock
9 Woody Allen
12 Billy Wilder
13 Sam Mendes
6 - Michael Mann
3 - Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
7 - Oliver Stone
2 - Francis Ford Coppola

Southeast Regional
1 - Martin Scorsese
8 - Robert Zemeckis
5 - Pedro Almodovar
4 - Brian DePalma
6 - David Lynch
3 - Paul Thomas Anderson
10 - Guillermo del Toro
15 Sergio Leone

 

I love the idea of officials walking into the gym and just waving their hands, shaking their heads. Nope, you both stink. You both lose.

 

West Regional
1 - Alfred Hitchcock vs 16 Ida Lupino - I don't think I have seen any of Lupino's movies
8 - Wes Anderson vs. 9 Woody Allen - two known for their stylistic films. Anderson's style is just more to my taste.
5 - Kathryn Bigelow vs 12 Billy Wilder - it is a generational thing. I don't like the era most of Wilder's work comes from
4 - John Ford vs 13 Sam Mendes - I like several of John Ford's westerns, and the Searchers is one of the best ever. Mendes's work is mediocre to me, though I have not seen 1917. His Bond stuff is middle of the pack and the artsy American Beauty didn't speak to me. I liked Jarhead, but there are better things about the Iraq war (see Generation Kill)
6 - Michael Mann vs. 11 Adrian Lyne - Last of the Mohicans and Heat are two of my favorite action/dramas.
3 - Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu vs. 14 Cameron Crowe - I think Birdman is my favorite film by either, and a virtuoso directorial vision, but I think Crowe has a lot more that I really love than Inarritu.
7 - Oliver Stone vs 10 Federico Fellini - I don't really care for either. I guess I like Platoon okay.
2 - Francis Ford Coppola vs 15 Rob Reiner - Probably my most controversial pick. I am not a fan of the slow, plodding style of FFC. Reiner makes movies that I would much rather watch over and over again, like the Princess Bride, This is Spinal Tap, A Few Good Men, and When Harry Met Sally...

Southeast Regional
1 - Martin Scorsese vs 16 King Vidor - as a libertarian, I of course love the Fountainhead. That is not enough to overcome all that Scorsese has done.
8 - Robert Zemeckis vs 9 John Carpenter - One of the hardest matchups. I think my love for the Thing and Big Trouble in Little China edges out Zemeckis. Back to the Future is a masterpiece though.
5 - Pedro Almodovar vs 12 Sergei Eisenstein - have not seen a single film by either, though foreign language films are not my jam
4 - Brian DePalma vs 13 William Wyler - Wyler is from an era that I don't care much for. I am not a huge DePalma fan either, but he gets the edge. If I liked more of the cinema of the 40s and 50s, Wyler would likely have taken it.
6 - David Lynch vs 11 Milos Forman - I don't really like Lynch's work. It just doesn't do it for me, he is too up in his head for my taste.
3 - Paul Thomas Anderson vs 14 Mel Brooks - Mel is criminally low here.
7 - Darren Aronofsky vs 10 Guillermo del Toro - del Toro can do the art films as well as Aronofsky (Pan's Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, Shape of Water) but can also do the blockbusters (Pacific Rim, Hellboy/Golden Army)
2 - Christopher Nolan vs 15 Sergio Leone - Leone is wonderful, and shouldn't be at 15. Once Upon a Time in America and the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly are great, great films. Nolan is a master that has been hitting them out of the park and has at least 5 movies that are better than anything Leone has done. Will be a tough matchup in future rounds

Jon Favreau, the Russo Brothers, the Wachowskis, Ralph Bakshi, J.J. Abrams, Peter Jackson. I think some people could have been left off for some of these.

 

I was tempted to do this once or twice but bore down and concentrated. sometimes you have to do unpleasant things for the greater good

 

Wonderfully annotated and well-said!

 

dam second round already? i missed the first round. is this best of 5 or 7?

 

That is like Breh Draft.

 

West Regional
1 - Alfred Hitchcock vs 16 Ida Lupino - Hitchcock
8 - Wes Anderson vs. 9 Woody Allen - Anderson but this one was tough. Allen films where he's either in a minor role or out altogether are good stuff.
5 - Kathryn Bigelow vs 12 Billy Wilder - Billy Wilder made the best comedies in film history and no one else is close. This was a massive mistake in the seeding and I'm breaking the rules (see below) to make sure both advance
4 - John Ford vs 13 Sam Mendes - Ford gets in on quantity and quality
6 - Michael Mann vs. 11 Adrian Lyne - Neither - give this spot to Bigelow.
3 - Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu vs. 14 Cameron Crowe - Inarritu, but partly because Crowe's real strength is as a writer (he's a pretty mediocre director)
7 - Oliver Stone vs 10 Federico Fellini - I find Stone's misanthropy and sense of self-importance tiresome (other than Platoon)
2 - Francis Ford Coppola vs 15 Rob Reiner - The best film Reiner did was Spinal Tap. Coppola made nearly all of the best films of the 70s. No contest

Southeast Regional
1 - Martin Scorsese vs 16 King Vidor - Scorsese
8 - Robert Zemeckis vs 9 John Carpenter - Hard to say this, but even though Carpenter has a stone cold classic in Halloween, Zemeckis has a better history (even though Forrest Gump is an abortion)
5 - Pedro Almodovar vs 12 Sergei Eisenstein - pass - I have never watched an Eisenstein film.
4 - Brian DePalma vs 13 William Wyler - Wyler. DePalma peaked early and always seemed too indebted to Hitchcock (that being said, I love Carrie)
6 - David Lynch vs 11 Milos Forman - Now this is impossible. I'm going to say Lynch only because he's literally an adjective for directing now. I think I'm going to put Forman in another seed
3 - Paul Thomas Anderson vs 14 Mel Brooks - Mel Brooks. Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles are among the greatest of comedies. Anderson peaked with Boogie Nights and everything else he's done has been overrated.
7 - Darren Aronofsky vs 10 Guillermo del Toro - also tough, but Aronofsky has been more consistent
2 - Christopher Nolan vs 15 Sergio Leon - neither - give this spot to Forman

 

Yeah no - Wilder and Wyler both have awesome films in their CVs.

EDIT- scratch that - I see you're making a joke here.

 

Those officials would've done childhood me and my dreams of becoming a tennis player a solid. Same with my some of my little league teams.

 

Agree but I was trying to imagine what crossing out a whole game meant, a la @FrontRunner .