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Best director in Hollywood: Tarantino vs. Nolan vs Scorsese

Tim Burton when he stops being overflashy is good.

Ed Wood is right up there in one of the best biopics ever. Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow are excellent too. Alice in Wonderland was bad though.
 
Tim Burton is one dimensional IMO. Edward Scissorhands was pure class though.
 
leatherface58 said:
Tim Burton when he stops being overflashy is good.

Ed Wood is right up there in one of the best biopics ever. Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow are excellent too. Alice in Wonderland was bad though.
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I like tim Burton too...but my favorite among these 3 is Tarantino
 
My personal favorite Director was Sergio Leone loved some of his Films The Dollar Trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West, Duck, You Sucker and Once Upon a Time in America are all my Favorite movies.
 
leatherface58 said:
Tim Burton when he stops being overflashy is good.

Ed Wood is right up there in one of the best biopics ever. Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow are excellent too. Alice in Wonderland was bad though.
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Tim Burton is good, but at times he starts getting repetitive. Needs to step out of his comfort zone more.
 
Namak_Halaal said:
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?
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Never mind what has been a 'hit' or not.

Memento, Inception and The Dark Knight are IMO all five-star films. If a bloke makes three films of that quality then he's done well. And I haven't even seen Insomnia or The Prestige yet.
 
The prestige was class!! better than dark knight rises imo ..Christian bale was awesome!
 
James said:
Never mind what has been a 'hit' or not.

Memento, Inception and The Dark Knight are IMO all five-star films. If a bloke makes three films of that quality then he's done well. And I haven't even seen Insomnia or The Prestige yet.
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I like Insomnia and Memento. Found Inception badly paced - there were too many ideas for two hours IMO, then that interminable action scene had me yawning. Didn't like TDK so much as BB.
 
This is a tough one. Very tough.

Love what Scorsese has done in the best.
Current favourite is Nolan and Michael Mann.

Tarantino has dropped off recently.
 
Sam Mendes should be mentioned here.

American beauty
Road to perdition
Jarhead
Revolutionary road
Skyfall

From a Shakespeare theatre background. I thought Revolutionary Road didn't get the appreciation it deserved. Di Caprio was brilliant in that movie.
 
musaarthali said:
Alfred Hitchcock?
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He should be on top if not the top most IMO. He has been the most influential director of our times. Every famous director after him has taken some of his methods and techniques to heart. My personal favorite is Psycho.

It had the same effect like Clockwork Orange and later on Pulp Fiction had on Hollywood and movie making. These movies can be labeled as the turning point or waterdshed moments in the history of movie making. They shocked the audience and got them out of their slumber. All of them had a profound influence on movies that were made after them.

Other favorites:

The Birds, Rear window and Vertigo (which has recently overtaken Citizen Kane as the best movie of all times)
 
No one has mentioned Roman Polanski so far. I think he is underrated and lot of his legend has been torn down because of his personal life and scandals etc. But he definitely is a great director. Notable works include:

Knife in the water
Rosemary's baby (the best horror movie along with Shinning ever made IMO)
Chinatown
The Ninth Gate
The Pianist
The Ghost writer (got very little attantion and coverage but I thought it was very tightly paced and directed movie)
Carnage (great translation from a play)
 
musaarthali said:
^ Isn't Psycho word became famous after the movie.

Birds also a very good movie.
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Im not sure about that, could be the case. I think Birds should be ranked as one of his best movies but somehow it does'nt appeal to critics as much as Vertigo or Rear Window. I thought this recent review of Birds in The Guardian was spot on:

When teasing out the meaning of The Birds, many critics take their lead from the hysterical woman who links the attacks to Daniels' arrival ("I think you're the cause of all of this"). This implies that the birds are a manifestation of sex, some galvanic hormonal storm that whisks sleepy Bodega Bay into a great communal lather.

Alternatively, they might be viewed as an eruption of rage. The film's first act, after all, is an uncomfortable buildup of tension (both sexual and social), an ongoing joust of loaded glances and teasing evasions. Its characters are so guarded, so gamey, so disconnected from their own emotions, that something's got to give. The moment when Daniels has her hair knocked over her eyes is the moment when the mask slips and the pressure cooker explodes. When the pie is opened, the birds begin to sing. Except that in this case they don't sing so much as scream.

The Birds is generally regarded as the last great Hitchcock movie (it was shot in 1963, when the director's reputation was at its peak). Might it also stand as the essential Hitchcock movie, the purest and most confident, a brilliant distillation of the themes that had fuelled him ever since he sent the lodger creeping to his upstairs room? Every time I watch it, I find myself more impressed with its daring, audacity and command of its material. I love the way Hitchcock juggles shrill B-movie histrionics with chill arthouse gloss. I love the formal precision of his camerawork, the deft economy of Evan Hunter's dialogue and a sense of location so sharp and assured that I feel that I've been there, stood on that jetty and made the walk around the headland.
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Hitchcock is a great inclusion. I liked Frenzy more than Psycho though I did like psycho a lot. The thing I hate is Polanski apologists tend to overlook his mistakes by saying he is remorseful. Let's face it. He si remorseful only cause he got caught. On the other hand, they demonize Mel Gibson for being a racist. While being a racist is horrible, what Polanski did is remarkably worse.
 
leatherface58 said:
Hitchcock is a great inclusion. I liked Frenzy more than Psycho though I did like psycho a lot. The thing I hate is Polanski apologists tend to overlook his mistakes by saying he is remorseful. Let's face it. He si remorseful only cause he got caught. On the other hand, they demonize Mel Gibson for being a racist. While being a racist is horrible, what Polanski did is remarkably worse.
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I agree, he basically raped an underage girl and he should be severely punished for this hedious and despicable act.
 
Blake Edwards. Directed Pink Panther movies. Old ones not the crappy new Steve Martin ones.
 
Rear Window is class, my favourite Hitchcock. So tense!
 
Alot of people mentioning Nolan just because of Batman, but TBH those films weren't hard to direct. I'm sure many other directors would have done a job just as good or even better.
 
PetroDollars said:
Alot of people mentioning Nolan just because of Batman, but TBH those films weren't hard to direct. I'm sure many other directors would have done a job just as good or even better.
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I disagree..Nolan did a superb job with them ..watch some old batman movies of 90s , you ll notice the difference..
 
PetroDollars said:
Alot of people mentioning Nolan just because of Batman, but TBH those films weren't hard to direct. I'm sure many other directors would have done a job just as good or even better.
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I don't know who only mentioned him because of Batman, and he did a great job.
 
Nolan's "Following", his first movie made on a shoe string budget is a masterpiece itself. In fact this is the kind of movie, devoid of any special effect enhancement or use of fancy camera work or lightning, that exposes the true talent behind Nolan. He managed to create a complex movie with typical Nolanesque twists, psychological manipulations, identity crisis, fragmented and complex story line into a short, taught and amazingly effective piece of thriller. You can watch this movie and just know that the director is sure to be a big name in the future.
 
PetroDollars said:
Alot of people mentioning Nolan just because of Batman, but TBH those films weren't hard to direct. I'm sure many other directors would have done a job just as good or even better.
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No. If others could have done it why wasn't it done? Nobody has created such a complex superhero movie within such a realistic frame of reference. Not even Burton did Batman this well.
 
Strangers in a Train by Hitchcock was a masterpiece, donno why some people don't take to it much
 
Nolan by a long way for me

Followed in no particular order by Tarantino, Fincher, Aranovsky and PTA
 
Kwremb said:
Strangers in a Train by Hitchcock was a masterpiece, donno why some people don't take to it much
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Loved it! Though North by Northwest will have to be my favorite Hitchcock flick. So watchable it was, even teenagers would not mind sitting through 140 min of it :D
 
What about Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson both made a few decent movies, apocalypto, mystic river etc.


Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
musaarthali said:
No..

Did you saw old super hero movies ??
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TM Riddle said:
I disagree..Nolan did a superb job with them ..watch some old batman movies of 90s , you ll notice the difference..
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Saqib S said:
No. If others could have done it why wasn't it done? Nobody has created such a complex superhero movie within such a realistic frame of reference. Not even Burton did Batman this well.
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Well it just shows what a terrible job the others did with super hero films.

But i was only talking of the great directors like Tarantino, Scorsese etc. when i said others could have done a job just as good or even better.
 
PetroDollars said:
Well it just shows what a terrible job the others did with super hero films.

But i was only talking of the great directors like Tarantino, Scorsese etc. when i said others could have done a job just as good or even better.
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Not everyone can do a super hero movie well. Even if his last name is Scorsese. Tarantino did Kill Bill which was awesome but hardly believable or relatable as Batman trilogy.

Just like nobody can do a crime/mafia movie well. Even if his last name is Nolan.

Horses for courses.
 
There are so many good directors out there it's impossible single out a few.I would say Spielberg and Michael Mann.Watch Pachino's The Insider - great filmmaking by Mann and it's based on a true story.
 
Mann's Manhunter was tense but got boring because of weird "artsy" shots. Tom Noonan was chilling as the Tooth Fairy. I personally liked Brian Cox's LecKtor more than Sir Anthony Hopkins' Lecter in Red Dragon which seemed close to self parody unlike the creepy one in Hannibal and Silence of the Lambs.

Mann's problem is his "artsy" style tends to get in the way of good storytelling.
 
Anyone mentioned James Cameron ?

I cant remember any stinkers he has directed.
 
Speaking of Hitchcock...my favorite is North by Northwest, besides the plot the cinematography is rich and stunning...

As for the OP, Nolan hands down...
 
90MPH said:
Anyone mentioned James Cameron ?

I cant remember any stinkers he has directed.
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He was sacked halfway through and got no creative control but this is his one stinker:

41VZNNASVML._SL500_AA300_.jpg


Notorious little stinker :))

But on movies where he has been allowed to act as prima donna, he has been very successful.
 
Stanley Kubrick

loved his film "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Akira Kurosawa

Loved his film "Ran"(Greatest Shakespeare Adaptation)
 
David Fincher is the best director in hollywood. Tarantino is overrated rubbish.

Order goes:

Fincher
Scorsese
Polanski
Mendes
Nolan
 
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Oh come on. When they mention crime comedy with multiple criss crossing storylines, Tarantino is the name remembered. I would also remember Edward D. Wood Jr. who made such classics as Plan 9 from Outer Space, Glen or Glenda, Bride of the atom. All examples of filmmaking brilliance and a director's passion.
 
Malakian you are off your swede.

[utube]vfiNVTPqWPY[/utube]
 
RexRex said:
There are so many good directors out there it's impossible single out a few.I would say Spielberg and Michael Mann.Watch Pachino's The Insider - great filmmaking by Mann and it's based on a true story.
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I love 'Collateral', such a slick vintage thriller which evokes panache as often as it does claustrophobia. Not a big fan of Cruise but Mann extracts from him a sterling villainous performance throughout the piece.
 
Just saw Apocalypse Now. Brilliant Film! Interesting how Coppola wants to show that war is not about winning or losing but rather keeping your sanity. Of course, who is sane in that movie is anybody's guess. Nice to see young Harrison Ford, Laurence Fishburne, Robert Duvall(who looks like De Niro in some scenes). Even Martin Sheen looks like his crazy son in some shots.

Really screams WAR IS HELL does this movie.
 
leatherface58 said:
Just saw Apocalypse Now. Brilliant Film! Interesting how Coppola wants to show that war is not about winning or losing but rather keeping your sanity. Of course, who is sane in that movie is anybody's guess. Nice to see young Harrison Ford, Laurence Fishburne, Robert Duvall(who looks like De Niro in some scenes). Even Martin Sheen looks like his crazy son in some shots.

Really screams WAR IS HELL does this movie.
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The tension is so palpable in many scenes because the set was an absolute nuthouse. Brando was overweight and depressed, Sheen was under severe stress and had a heart attack half way through filming, Hopper got the part because Coppola spotted him on drugs chatting to the extras and of course then cast him as such, and Duvall is just a maniac in that film. One of the best ever made.
 
Yeah read about it. The opening scene in which Sheen is doing that weird dance and punches the mirror, Sheen was actually drunk. Not to mention, Hurricane destroying the whole set. Is the redux version better or worse than the theatrical version? Many say that redux adds unnecessary stuff while some say it is far more effective.
 
I prefer the original, which is lengthy and heavy but just about right. Redux is too bloated.

It's more than a war or an anti-war film - listen to what Kurtz says - it's about 'the horror' of the war each human being has with the decentering of binaries, separate cultures, shades of grey, the wider picture. It's about the battle with the Self in making moral, spiritual and violent decisions.

Truly amazing. Read Conrad's Heart of Darkness, it is based on that.
 
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Looking at this topic, the hidden hipster part in me wants to say that Nolan is too mainstream and he is just an excuse for pathetic Transformers-watchers to feel good about the guilt they feel watching simplistic crap, but the real ones know Nolan is no different from regular hollywood directors. Then I would say ''The Real ones know Malick is the best deal'' and would go and watch the latest Cannes/Berlin film that is considered as cinema d'auteur.

Sadly, I am a Nolan fan so I will have to agree with everyone else :'(
 
The way Nolan is going, he should suppress Spielberg by the end
 
Peter Jackson is also the director I had high hopes from but he has regressed after LOTT and King Kong. Cameron is also brilliant but takes too long to make movies. In order to be considered great director, you have to churn out excellent movies in reasonable time frame.
 
Alex Garland....remember this name.

He directed the brilliant sci-fi Ex-Machina in 2015. He is working on another sci-fi movie Annihilation due to release in 2018 based on the book of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. Should be a classicc...here is the trailer

https://youtu.be/JIGXgCvLTXU
 
Hmm don't recall this thread but I was actually thinking this sometime ago and I find Tarantino extremely overated.
 
Denis Villeneuve has some masterpieces to his name. Up & coming director.
 
Tarantino specialises in cetrain genres, and creates all his stories within a "tarantino" universe. He can't just help it . That sort of puts questions on his versatility .

In terms of ability to switch genres, themes, collaborators and styles and REMAINING SUCCESSFUL nevertheless, I'd say Scorcese and Spielberg are on top, even with their recent misfires (Mostly for Spielberg). So among active filmmakers they are still on Top for me .

Nolan , just like James Cameron before him, is actually primarily a science fiction director who has started succesfully crossing over to other Genres. Hopefully a few more non-sci-fi flicks like Durnkirk will put him as the best of this generation. I wish Nolan could do comedy, I mean James cameron made True lies ! And there was some genuine funny moments in the Terminator films. Nolan's films don't seem to have the same level of "human emotion", which is something Spielberg is accused of overdoing, but cameron does it adequately enough !

There are 2 other names which deserve the same level of recognition :

1. Steven Soderberg : Doesn't make HUGE films like Nolan, but has a very varied filmography and is outrageously accomplished in many/most genres ! Deserves a position as high as taranatino/Nolan.

2. David Fincher : Another stalwart, with great reputation, success and varied resume.
 
Out of Nolan/Martin/Tarantino/Spielberg I'd rank them as follows:

1.Martin
2.Nolan
3.Spielberg / Tarantino
 
SandyB said:
Tarantino specialises in cetrain genres, and creates all his stories within a "tarantino" universe. He can't just help it . That sort of puts questions on his versatility .

In terms of ability to switch genres, themes, collaborators and styles and REMAINING SUCCESSFUL nevertheless, I'd say Scorcese and Spielberg are on top, even with their recent misfires (Mostly for Spielberg). So among active filmmakers they are still on Top for me .

Nolan , just like James Cameron before him, is actually primarily a science fiction director who has started succesfully crossing over to other Genres. Hopefully a few more non-sci-fi flicks like Durnkirk will put him as the best of this generation. I wish Nolan could do comedy, I mean James cameron made True lies ! And there was some genuine funny moments in the Terminator films. Nolan's films don't seem to have the same level of "human emotion", which is something Spielberg is accused of overdoing, but cameron does it adequately enough !

There are 2 other names which deserve the same level of recognition :

1. Steven Soderberg : Doesn't make HUGE films like Nolan, but has a very varied filmography and is outrageously accomplished in many/most genres ! Deserves a position as high as taranatino/Nolan.

2. David Fincher : Another stalwart, with great reputation, success and varied resume.
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Ready Player One looks promising
 
shaz619 said:
Ready Player One looks promising
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Nah, I think Spielberg should lay off CGI films and make some other kind of action adventure, like a minority report or Indiana jones type films. Or maybe an alien/monster film would do too.
 
SandyB said:
Nah, I think Spielberg should lay off CGI films and make some other kind of action adventure, like a minority report or Indiana jones type films. Or maybe an alien/monster film would do too.
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Am not too fussed, as long as he makes something that's quality I will watch it. And when it comes to GGI movies I will only watch if there's a talented director making the movie or potential for a great narrative otherwise I don't watch them so I never suffer from burn out because majority of main stream CGI movies I tend to avoid, especially those from the pathetic Dwayne Johnson :ashwin
 
If rewatching movies count then personally for me it will be Spielberg ,Robert Zemeckis and Cameron Crowe.
 
JaDed said:
Hmm don't recall this thread but I was actually thinking this sometime ago and I find Tarantino extremely overated.
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I think people are just getting a bit blase with the graphic violence and comic book quality of his work, but he really is a genius nonetheless. His characters are always fascinating and usually really well cast even if his themes can get a bit repetitive.
 
shaz619 said:
Am not too fussed, as long as he makes something that's quality I will watch it. And when it comes to GGI movies I will only watch if there's a talented director making the movie or potential for a great narrative otherwise I don't watch them so I never suffer from burn out because majority of main stream CGI movies I tend to avoid, especially those from the pathetic Dwayne Johnson :ashwin
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Do you know which director I think has tremendous potential, but never makes good with it ? - Micheal Bay
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I think people are just getting a bit blase with the graphic violence and comic book quality of his work, but he really is a genius nonetheless. His characters are always fascinating and usually really well cast even if his themes can get a bit repetitive.
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Tarantino is a genius, but genius alone won't make you a GOAT, you need consistent performance , adaptability etc etc etc, which I feel Scorsese and Spielberg have done the best . Nolan is getting somewhere, but not there yet .
 
Nolan isn’t strictly sci-if director. Has made stunning thrillers and also recent war movie. Can’t get more versatile than this. Much like Spielberg
 
Chrish said:
Nolan isn’t strictly sci-if director. Has made stunning thrillers and also recent war movie. Can’t get more versatile than this. Much like Spielberg
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Nah, Nolan has some glaring holes : Comedy/Humor , Romance, "emotion" in general. Spielberg and even cameron incorporate that very well in films. Thats why I don't think Nolan is still THERE yet ..
 
Cpt. Rishwat said:
I think people are just getting a bit blase with the graphic violence and comic book quality of his work, but he really is a genius nonetheless. His characters are always fascinating and usually really well cast even if his themes can get a bit repetitive.
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The only reason to watch his films are the characters and dialogues,have never enjoyed the scripts,would be nice once in a while where he come out of his shell, ofcourse his hardcore fans would hate it,but Guy Ritchie did it ,hoping he can as well.
 
SandyB said:
Nah, Nolan has some glaring holes : Comedy/Humor , Romance, "emotion" in general. Spielberg and even cameron incorporate that very well in films. Thats why I don't think Nolan is still THERE yet ..
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I guess we as fan have different expectations.. as far as I am concerned Nolan has achieved everything to be a great film maker. He just needs to continue in order to be called GOAT
 
SandyB said:
Nah, Nolan has some glaring holes : Comedy/Humor , Romance, "emotion" in general. Spielberg and even cameron incorporate that very well in films. Thats why I don't think Nolan is still THERE yet ..
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Its GOAT not the most versatile of all time.
 
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