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Best director in Hollywood: Tarantino vs. Nolan vs Scorsese

Always like Apocalypse Now the most out of Coppola's stuff.

Aside from the Godfathers, there is also The Conversation which is a crackling little voyeuristic whisper of a film.
 
James said:
It's like White sacrifices everything for his friend and then suddenly the platform of trust is completely displaced when Orange reveals himself. All that is left is incredulousness and hatred; Tarantino reminds us of the fragility and absurdity of human relationships. Amazing filmmaking.
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Definitely agree with you on this. The multi-layered characterization of Mr. Orange and Mr. White were really phenomenal and really pushed the thematic moments along well.

If you've had the chance to read Macbeth/Hamlet/even Othello to an extent, the power of 'accidental occurrence' is really evident here and I think that's where Tarantino builds on his take on human relationships. I read somewhere about how Shakespearean the whole film is in that you can almost feel that the characters are meant to die. They are corrupt by their very nature and the smallest trigger will push them to the end. Mr. White seems the most "human" of all the characters yet towards the end, he does the most "human" thing imaginable by killing Orange. Poetic justice? Maybe. Shakespearean tragedy? Possibly. Great directing and script writing? Definitely.
 
leatherface58 said:
Talking of Coppola, he unwittingly gave birth to Twilight. He kickstarted the "Vampires are troubled souls and should be pitied" theme from Dracula. Of course, he didnt water it down to the degree Stephanie Meyer did.
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I really liked his treatment of "Dracula". What you guys think of "Apocalypse now". It's probably not his best work and bit over ambitious but to a certain extent captures the true spirit of "Heart of Darkness".
 
James said:
Taking the fall was his self-inflicted punishment for Rachel maybe?

Also I didn't think til recently, that he breaks his rule: he kills Harvey Dent. Arguable whether it was murder or an accident, but Batman would also see that as worthy of exile.
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it wasn't just that tho, he tried to offload his duties onto harvey, even letting him get taken for him so that he can take rachel up on her pledge at the end of the first film
 
I Believe in the Teesra said:
Definitely agree with you on this. The multi-layered characterization of Mr. Orange and Mr. White were really phenomenal and really pushed the thematic moments along well.

If you've had the chance to read Macbeth/Hamlet/even Othello to an extent, the power of 'accidental occurrence' is really evident here and I think that's where Tarantino builds on his take on human relationships. I read somewhere about how Shakespearean the whole film is in that you can almost feel that the characters are meant to die. They are corrupt by their very nature and the smallest trigger will push them to the end. Mr. White seems the most "human" of all the characters yet towards the end, he does the most "human" thing imaginable by killing Orange. Poetic justice? Maybe. Shakespearean tragedy? Possibly. Great directing and script writing? Definitely.
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Well put.
 
To be honest, I haven't got around to watching Apocalypse Now. I have finished Saving Private Ryan and Platoon. But didn't watch this for whatever reason. The making of doc on that movie is as interesting as the movie from what I have read. Oh yeah forgot Full Metal Jacket.
 
IBIT I love Shakespeare and tragedy, my degree was in all that stuff.

Tragic drama is always characterised by a flashpoint which unravels an already shaky state of affairs. Shakespeare knew the human psyche better than most and Tarantino is definitely a fan.
 
leatherface58 said:
To be honest, I haven't got around to watching Apocalypse Now. I have finished Saving Private Ryan and Platoon. But didn't watch this for whatever reason. The making of doc on that movie is as interesting as the movie from what I have read. Oh yeah forgot Full Metal Jacket.
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I mentioned Kubrick earlier. My pick for the best director period.
 
One of my favourite scenes in Pulp Fiction was Bruce Willis escaping from the slave and running out only to come back to save Marcellus as a sign of humanity. The expression and all was superbly shown. Marcellus could have still killed him. But I guess no good deed goes unpunished didn't apply here.
 
I think one director in particular to watch out for is Stephen Chbosky. His first major work was a TV show called Jericho which got the axe but he really had his breakout moment with The Perks of Being a Wall Flower. I'm a sucker for the coming of age films and this was really well executed.
 
Nolan has changed the look of the comic book movie now every big franchise want be dark and real just look at the new iron man trailer and superman they all have a touch of nolan. I agree that tdkr wasn't as good as tdk but still was in my top 5 of the year. Tarantino is a nother one big fan his style of movie are basically created a new dimension of pop culture with his witty dialogues and glamorized violence. his best in my opinion if inglorious ******** and Reservoir dogs
 
Nah I'm obsessed with Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness, I love internal conflict and the idea of a war taking place with the Self as much as with the 'Enemy' who is only a phantom or representation anyway, and probably holds common ground with you - he is also human for starters.

[utube]V9oBiD7-kAM[/utube]

'Have you ever considered any real freedoms - freedom from the opinions of others; even from the opinions of yourself?'

Gosh. So good.
 
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leatherface58 said:
One of my favourite scenes in Pulp Fiction was Bruce Willis escaping from the slave and running out only to come back to save Marcellus as a sign of humanity. The expression and all was superbly shown. Marcellus could have still killed him. But I guess no good deed goes unpunished didn't apply here.
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Honour among thieves. Dealing with complex moralities again.
 
James said:
IBIT I love Shakespeare and tragedy, my degree was in all that stuff.

Tragic drama is always characterised by a flashpoint which unravels an already shaky state of affairs. Shakespeare knew the human psyche better than most and Tarantino is definitely a fan.
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:)) Awesome stuff. I actually started off Uni as an English major. Big fan of old-school literature.

Have you gotten around to seeing Anonymous? If you're a Shakespearean fan, it's either a hit or miss for people
 
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leatherface58 said:
One of my favourite scenes in Pulp Fiction was Bruce Willis escaping from the slave and running out only to come back to save Marcellus as a sign of humanity. The expression and all was superbly shown. Marcellus could have still killed him. But I guess no good deed goes unpunished didn't apply here.
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Have you seen Looper yet? I heard the direction is shady but the acting saves the film with my boy Joseph Gordon Levitt (Man Crush yo <3)
 
leatherface58 said:
One of my favourite scenes in Pulp Fiction was Bruce Willis escaping from the slave and running out only to come back to save Marcellus as a sign of humanity. The expression and all was superbly shown. Marcellus could have still killed him. But I guess no good deed goes unpunished didn't apply here.
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That's a memorable scene, the movie is full of such scenes. Roya with cheese, excuse me did I break your concentration, the gold watch speech by Walken, hilarious and poignant at the same time, the overdose scene, last scene holdout in the diner etc. etc.
 
I Believe in the Teesra said:
Have you seen Looper yet? I heard the direction is shady but the acting saves the film with my boy Joseph Gordon Levitt (Man Crush yo <3)
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Yeah saw it recently. JGL is turning out to be one fine actor. Looper was a pretty good film too. Even in that scene where Bruce Willis before vanishing has that one sad expression on his face was an enduring image for me. He was a
Child murderer
but as sympathetic as can be.
 
What about Lars von Trier = I highly recommend 'Dogville' and 'Manderlay ' (in that order)

Also, I was a big fan of Tarantino when I was a teenager...
 
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leatherface58 said:
Yeah saw it recently. JGL is turning out to be one fine actor. Looper was a pretty good film too. Even in that scene where Bruce Willis before vanishing has that one sad expression on his face was an enduring image for me. He was a
Child murderer
but as sympathetic as can be.
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See that's one thing I think is the defining characteristics that separates a good director from a great one. A good director can make us sympathize with a character that we shouldn't really sympathize with due to obvious moral reasons. A great director however can make us fall in love with that same character.

Looper I thought was evident of good direction. Not too great - Bruce Willis' character was likable but not completely attachable for some reason.
 
I Believe in the Teesra said:
See that's one thing I think is the defining characteristics that separates a good director from a great one. A good director can make us sympathize with a character that we shouldn't really sympathize with due to obvious moral reasons. A great director however can make us fall in love with that same character.

Looper I thought was evident of good direction. Not too great - Bruce Willis' character was likable but not completely attachable for some reason.
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That's probably more because of Willis stoic facial expressions rather than direction.
 
If anyone wants to see horrific direction and wishes to waste 99 minutes of their lives, I highly recommend watching The Room. It might be and it probably is one of the most awful films I have ever seen - and I've made it a mission to watch awful films.
 
I Believe in the Teesra said:
If anyone wants to see horrific direction and wishes to waste 99 minutes of their lives, I highly recommend watching The Room. It might be and it probably is one of the most awful films I have ever seen - and I've made it a mission to watch awful films.
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:)))
Lol we are talking about best directors. You go from Waqar and Wasim to Sami.

[utube]Plz-bhcHryc[/utube]

Troll 2 is another "classic" of the same breed.
 
leatherface58 said:
:)))
Lol we are talking about best directors. You go from Waqar and Wasim to Sami.

[utube]Plz-bhcHryc[/utube]

Troll 2 is another "classic" of the same breed.
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I fell off my couch when he ate the bologne sandwich and became immune to the goblins. Seriously, who in their right mind would think of that?

Check out Troll 3 - I think it was Italian only or something.
 
There is a documentary on Troll 2 named Best Worst movie which was pretty good. Funny, touching. In that movie, the director compared his movie to Casablanca :)). Totally delusional. And did I mention there are NO trolls in it?
 
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Lol James and Saadibaba will go insane and think this was made by some being from another planet. You dont appreciate the classics until you have waded through the raw sewage methinks.
 
:)) looks like this thread has taken an unexpected turn, I agree though to appreciate good movies one has to watch a lot of bad ones. For me the ratio is 1 out 10.
 
Back on topic though -

Seven Samurai for me is the best non-Hollywood directed film. Music, mood, tone are masterful and Akira Kurosawa really captures moments that make you go wow. Great film. Legendary directing. Kambei Shimada's characterization and his evolution as a character is really breath-taking.
 
WOAT movies are birdemic...watch the trailer

And American Psycho 2 which has certain redeeming characteristics but is a terrible movie overall
 
Speaking of bad movies, name movies which received great reviews, Oscar nods etc. but were really nothing more than self pretentious bs trying too hard to be a classic. "Atonement" is one of recent ones which immediately come to mind for me.
 
saadibaba said:
Speaking of bad movies, name movies which received great reviews, Oscar nods etc. but were really nothing more than self pretentious bs trying too hard to be a classic. "Atonement" is one of recent ones which immediately come to mind for me.
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Bang on!

Another would be The Lovely Bones. It was rumored when Stanley Tucci got the Oscar nod and they were playing clip from his movie after announcing his name among the nominees, he muttered "That's crap" or something like that :))
 
Another one that qualifies for being an ego massaging snooze fest for me was "The tree of life" TBH other than, "thin red line" Terrence Malick has been nothing more than that.
 
Worst thing is the fans. You criticize the movie and they tell you to go watch Twilight or that you are just stupid. Can't defend the movie so resort to petty insults.
 
Oh come on. Shawshank is a classic. So is the Mist. Havent watched the Green Mile.

But some Shawshank fans have insecurity the size of Jupiter. They gave 1 out of 10 to Godfather and 10 out of 10 to Shawshank by making multiple accounts!

As a result, Shawshank is #1 and Godfather is #2. Deserves a polar bear :facepalm:
 
No offense to Danny Boyle fans or Indians in general but did not think Slumdog was Oscar worthy. Got lucky in an extremely slow and bad year for movies and also Academy's fascination with trying to look hip.
 
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I agree. Slumdog was no patch on The Dark Knight or even Wall-E. But Academy dare not present the Best Picture to an entertaining movie based on a comic book ignoring the fact that it could be seen as a commentary on vigilantism and terrorism.
 
leatherface58 said:
I agree. Slumdog was no patch on The Dark Knight or even Wall-E. But Academy dare not present the Best Picture to an entertaining movie based on a comic book ignoring the fact that it could be seen as a commentary on vigilantism and terrorism.
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Great that you mentioned WallE, if any animated movie deserved an Oscar, it was this.
 
saadibaba said:
No offense to Danny Boyle fans or Indians in general but did not think Slumdog was Oscar worthy. Got lucky in an extremely slow and bad year for movies and also Academy's fascination with trying to look hip.
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Definately not....It was a good movie...but nothing spectacular...I have seen way better movies in Bollywood....Leave alone Hollywood !!! Definately a very good movie though.... I guess extreme poverty shown in the movie which Westerns do not get to see...brought the movie a novelty factor !!

Wall -- E was an amazing movie....but I do not think it was better than Slumdog....It kinda got boring in the end. However showing emotions with Robots...and no expressions almost...Genius stuff !!
 
I think Guy Ritchie should be included...lock,stock...Snatch...rocknrolla...awesome movies....sherlock holmes too !!!

What about Coen brothers??? Fargo is one of my favorite movie....

Darren Aronofsky --- Requim of a dream...wrestler....black swan...I have watched half of Pi...it was good...have to complete it....
 
Totally forgot the great Sidney Lumet. I consider him the father of old school drama and character studies in movies of the last century. Notable works include

Dog day afternoon
12 angry men
Network
Verdict
Murder on the orient express
Before the devil knows youre dead
 
navroks123 said:
I think Guy Ritchie should be included...lock,stock...Snatch...rocknrolla...awesome movies....sherlock holmes too !!!

What about Coen brothers??? Fargo is one of my favorite movie....

Darren Aronofsky --- Requim of a dream...wrestler....black swan...I have watched half of Pi...it was good...have to complete it....
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Darren Aronofsky is a great mention, I think we all missed mentioning him. Requim is one of the most deeply disturbing yet profoundly impactful movie I have ever seen.
 
saadibaba said:
Totally forgot the great Sidney Lumet. I consider him the father of old school drama and character studies in movies of the last century. Notable works include

Dog day afternoon
12 angry men
Network
Verdict
Murder on the orient express
Before the devil knows youre dead
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I have not watched any of them....except 12 angry men. I usually do not like apparently good movies from the 1950s and 1960's....Likes of citizen kane and stuff I think are way over hyped....but 12 angry men was one the few I liked...a true classic...
 
Guy Ritchie became repetitive. Coen brothers are wildly talented, just depends on what kind of movie they want to make and what subject they find interesting. They can literally make a movie on frogs tanning in the sun on a pond eating flies look interesting.
 
Aronofsky is a top shout.

Slumdog is decent. A quality script, a great idea for a film, and IMO Anil Kapoor's performance deserved more recognition. Entertaining smug villain. Not strictly Best Picture standard, but with the cultural awareness and underdog yarn you can see why they chose it.

Danny Boyle will never top Trainspotting though. One of the very best films to be made in the UK.
 
saadibaba said:
Darren Aronofsky is a great mention, I think we all missed mentioning him. Requim is one of the most deeply disturbing yet profoundly impactful movie I have ever seen.
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One of the best films, closest to flawless page-to-page that I have viewed, along with Schindler's List, Shawshank and Trainspotting.
 
navroks123 said:
I have not watched any of them....except 12 angry men. I usually do not like apparently good movies from the 1950s and 1960's....Likes of citizen kane and stuff I think are way over hyped....but 12 angry men was one the few I liked...a true classic...
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Fair enough but please watch "Before the devil..." it's recent, I think 3-4 years old and features the enigmatic Philip Seymore Hoffman and Ethan Hawk. It's based on a robbery gone wrong, family fued, greed, lust etc. Starts with a very provocative almost shocking scene from a director like Lumet.
 
It is cruel to not even mention Spielberg in this thread...(may be my eyes have cheated me )...Guy made some of the defining movies of Hollywood...may not be too intelligent like people mentioned here..(few of his movies are) ...but I think cinema is about experiance too....

Jaws....Jurrasic Park....ET...

Saving Private Ryan....Schindlers list...Minority Report...Catch me if you can...The terminal...
 
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navroks123 said:
It is cruel to not even mention Spielberg in this thread...(may be my eyes have cheated me )...Guy made some of the defining movies of Hollywood...may not be too intelligent like people mentioned here..(few of his movies are) ...but I think cinema is about experiance too....

Jaws....Jurrasic Park....ET...

Saving Private Ryan....Schindlers list...Minority Report...Catch me if you can...The terminal...
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Spielberg is a giant, but on a serious level he is known for sloppiness, plot holes and continuity errors. I refused to believe it until my mate showed me some of them and talked them through.

He made one tight, ambivalent and magnificent testament in Schindler's List, the greatness of which cannot be denied.
 
saadibaba said:
Fair enough but please watch "Before the devil..." it's recent, I think 3-4 years old and features the enigmatic Philip Seymore Hoffman and Ethan Hawk. It's based on a robbery gone wrong, family fued, greed, lust etc. Starts with a very provocative almost shocking scene from a director like Lumet.
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Added to my watch list....

What do you guys think of Bernardo Bertullucci....I know he is not as awesome as few people mentioned here....and also makes very contrversial movies for mainstream.....But I think he is very under rated..

I watched The Dreamers for Obvious reasons :D...but the Movie is brilliant too...and then googled him and saw few movies of his....Stealing beauty... last emperor(got oscar as best director)..both of them were greaat !!!...last tango on paris was almost borderline exploitation though....One of the very few....good erotic film makers I feel...a genre not talked about much in mainstream.....La luna was again as decent as well.... controversial again!!
 
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James said:
Spielberg is a giant, but on a serious level he is known for sloppiness, plot holes and continuity errors. I refused to believe it until my mate showed me some of them and talked them through.

He made one tight, ambivalent and magnificent testament in Schindler's List, the greatness of which cannot be denied.
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Really? Never noticed it.....Will google ..,..may be IMDB has the errors..should be fun checking them out !!!
 
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I forgot to mention "The Fountain" by Darren Aronofsky. A visual masterpiece.
 
Damn this thread makes me want to watch apocalypse now. Read it's troubled production history. Mayhem doesn't even begin to describe it.
 
James said:
Spielberg is a giant, but on a serious level he is known for sloppiness, plot holes and continuity errors. I refused to believe it until my mate showed me some of them and talked them through.

He made one tight, ambivalent and magnificent testament in Schindler's List, the greatness of which cannot be denied.
Click to expand...

Tbf, most movies are full of continuity errors.

For me, Spielberg's best work is Jaws- the movie that kicked off the summer blockbuster.
 
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James said:
Spielberg is a giant, but on a serious level he is known for sloppiness, plot holes and continuity errors. I refused to believe it until my mate showed me some of them and talked them through.

He made one tight, ambivalent and magnificent testament in Schindler's List, the greatness of which cannot be denied.
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I think his second feature length TV film "Duel" is a masterpiece considering the budget restrains and scoope of the movie. I think he was only 25 when made that. Ofcourse "Schindlers List", how can anyone's top 10 can be complete without it, absolutely flawless.
 
Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth deserved the Oscar. As much as I liked tommy lee Jones, Fiennes was too damn good.
 
Does Guillermo Del Toro count?
 
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leatherface58 said:
Damn this thread makes me want to watch apocalypse now. Read it's troubled production history. Mayhem doesn't even begin to describe it.
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Makes me want to watch it again too, even though already seen it at least ten times in its entirety if not more.
 
Heard of deer hunter by Michael "heaven's gate" Cimino. Is it good? It has Walken, De Niro and Meryl Streep. So can't be totally bad.
 
Scorsese
Tarantino
Nolan

Imo Tarantino peaked early with reservoir dogs and pulp fiction. Although pulp fiction is probably my favorite movie of all time.
 
i feel pathetically left out in this thread conversation...havent even heard of the names of movies and directors that are being thrown around.. thank god for bollywood thread.
 
GentleMan said:
i feel pathetically left out in this thread conversation...havent even heard of the names of movies and directors that are being thrown around.. thank god for bollywood thread.
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So we finally found your weak spot Gentleman, after all you turned out to human too. :)
 
I personally find Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove to be his best. Mein Fuhrer I can walk!!!!!
 
Nolan? :)))

Please, he's had one hit, let see what he does in time. What next, Peter Jackson is the best director becasue of LOTR?
 
^^^

Momento, Pristige, Inception, Dark Knight, Insomnia..

How is that one hit?? not even counting Batman begins...and DK Rises !!!!!
 
Nolan's movies have a certain cold detachment. He is similar in that way to Kubrick.
 
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