Spielberg, Scorcese, Kubrick, Hitchcock are names that deserve mentioning but some other guys who don't get any mentioning and who's work I personally enjoy: Wes Anderson Ridley Scott James Cameron and somebody nobody mentioned: Quentin Tarantino
Others not mentioned: John Woo, Michael Bay, Spike Lee, and Antoine Fuqua. John Woo - Gotta love the gun play. Michael Bay - He likes to blow s*** up. Spike Lee - Always been entertained by his movies. Fuqua - Good action movies. Clint Eastwood has been making some good movies too.
I'm only gonna mention the currents. Not the old schools like Hitch, Welles, or Hawks. Nor will am I considerg guys who peeked out like Scorsesse (Aviator was such a let down, Gangs of NEw York was a controlled mess), Coppola, or Godard. Spielberg as of late has regained form, but I think we all agree the old Spielberg(Dull - IJ & Last Crusade) is better the new Spielberg (Schindlers list - present) Currently: USA: Tarantino. Some say he's a fake and a scam. Others think he peeked out with Pulp Fiction. But after watching KIll Bill I feel there is no American director who's films embody the visceral energy and possabilites of the film medium. With todays movie prices no other US director delivers with the frequency of Tarantino. I mean I would caugh up $10 if he filmed the yellow pages. Europe: Lars Von Tries would have been the man 10 year ago, but that dude lost me after Dancer in the Dark. Which I thought was Breaking the Waves with music. Anyway I cant think of any one Euro who is constant grabbing my attention. Maybe Perdro Almoldovar. Euro flix just havent been the same since the 70's Asia: Chan-wook Park. You could argue for Wong Kar-wai or Takashi Mike but Park is nearing the peek of his game. After Watching 2046 wong Kar-wai's latest i feel he peeked out with In the Mood For Love. Mike hasnt been the same since Ichii the Killer. If any of yall caught Oldboy at the Angelica then you lnow what I'm talkin about. If you havent then i would describe his style as a blend between the dark themes explored by France's Gasper Noe (Irriversible is a freaking snuff film) and the visual syntax of a David Fincher. Latin America: Alejandro González Iñárritu(Amorres Perros & 21 Grams) hands down. Alfonso Cuarón is a close second, but Iñárritu takes the cake. If you havent seen Amorres Perros then you should rent it. Especially if your knowledge of Mexico goes no further than Taqueria Arandas. If your still not convinced check out "Powder Keg," he did this short for BMW. http://www.bmwfilms.com
I thought the first 2 parts of 'Amores Perros' were amazing. But the 3rd part seemed aimless, pointless, and confusing to me. I thought that and the overall ending ruined what was otherwise a stellar film. Out of curiosity, what are some good movies from Cuaron that you can suggest?
Scorsese is the obvious choice for our time. Tarantino is the logical heir apparent (I thought Jackie Brown was underrated/overlooked). 2 directors that I like but not necessarily think the best: David Lynch and David Fincher. I always thought Spielberg was never in the league of Scorsese; his films didn't have a lasting impression on me like Scorsese's (I'll take Goodfellas and Taxidriver over Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan anyday; all of them were good films to me but again I prefer the first 2.) Any director that worked under the Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson regime I instantly detested their film without watching it; so never really watched a Michale Bay film yet; but then I heard he's gotten out of the Bruckheimer production shadow recently.
To me,Stanley Kubrick is the ultimate technician. I don't think anyone has ever used music,light,and sound the way Stanley could...unparralleled cinematography as far as I'm concerned.But it didn't end there by a long shot. He got bigtime performances out of his actors.Kubrick might have been difficult to work for,but he got the most out of the people he used...and Kubrick didn't always use experienced,name actors and actresses.Stanley had the power to make a film EXACTLY like he wanted...and the results of his vision are classic. Lastly,Kubrick's dark,but IMO dead on insight into the human condition always made for controversial and cutting edge cinema.He was way ahead of his time....just like Welles.
Cocteau, Truffaut, Goddard, Rohmer, Cassavetes, and lloyd Kaufman's Toxic Avenger movies were very good if you can around the crude humour.
