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In Reply to: You knew it was coming posted by mvwine on November 22, 2002 at 07:43:48:
...who, arguably, should be somewhere near the very top of any list of great Ameerican directors. BTW, Chaplin was was never a U.S citizen; originally British, he had his entry permit cancelled in 1952 while on vacation in Europe with his family during the McCarthy "witch-hunts" when film-makers were being asked to rat on their colleagues. He became a permanent ex-patriot, settling in Switzerland. Also, Billy Wilder (1906-2002) was a successful German silent film scenario writer before immigrating here in 1934 after Hitler came to power (Wilder was Jewish) and eventually acquiring U.S. citizenship.I agree with many of the directors on your list, but I'm kind of glad that you're limiting it to sound because I might have to take issue with leaving off D. W. Griffith and Erich Von Stroheim, even though, sadly, they're almost forgotten today.
Among those listed which I'd be inclined to nudge down below the Top Ten are Francis Ford Coppola and possibly Wood Allen; while both are great directors, the formers claim to fame rests a,most entirely on the Godfather series and Apocolypse Now, the remainder of his body of work being rather hit & miss, IMHO. Woody Allen is also a great director, but far too eclectic (i.e., being an acquired taste) for a list of America's greatest, IMO; his work is also hit & miss, although some might be inclined to say take it or leave it! ;^)
Cheers,
AuPh
Follow Ups:
but surely you wouldn't think of Chaplin as a "british" director, or Wilder as a "German" one?And believe me, my reasons for limiting it to American and sound are more for my limits of knowledge, rather than an intentional slight.
Yes, Coppola was on the edge, just a personal preference, but Woody Allen had one of the most prolific periods of turning out very good to great movies (IMHO, of course) of any director - roughly bookended by Annie Hall and Crimes and Misdemeanors. Sadly, his output since then has been spotty.
And Scorsese to me, fits in with many directors who have directed some very good movies, but their overall body of work is just not consistent enough to be in that top ten.
I gave at the office!
Even his failures are interesting and of a very high caliber, and he's certainly no more hit or miss than the estimable Woodman.OTOH, Scorsese's best films are among the greatest American films of all time - Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas (yes, GOODFELLAS). I'd rather watch one of Scorsese's near misses (Bringing Out the Dead, Age of Innocence, Kundun) than most director's hits (anything by Steven Spielberg or Soderbergh's Traffic.)
Variation in output is not a reason to leave any director off the list...King In New York, Bram Stoker's Dracula, anyone????
but we do agree on Speilberg :). After doing some research since my initial post, I believe I would put Scorsese in the next ten - there are loads of directors who have made very good films, and been spotty otherwise. Scorsese is probably one of the best of those.And yes, Coppola's stinkers are what almost sunk him on my list. That and one other thing. It always bothered me that there was never a screen credit on "Apocalypse Now" crediting "Heart of Darkness" or Joseph Conrad. And I looked closely for one. I think it's OK to adapt, and I think Coppola did a fine job, but it should have been credited. Just wanted to get that off my chest.
I gave at the office!
nt
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