A Journey with The Gunslinger45 and his Top 10 Favorite Directors!

Hello MoFos! Got some free time these past few weeks to work on yet another Top 10 list! Since my imminent training with law enforcement will more than likely suck up a huge portion of my time, I wanted to share with you a list I have been meaning to explore for a while now. My Top Ten Favorite Directors! The ten filmmakers who speak the most to me, enthrall me with their artistic vision, and sometimes just entertain me the most. I will talk about each director for a bit, and tell the story of how I was introduced to them, which film of theirs I liked the best, which I think is their best work, and which film of theirs I liked the least. In addition I will have a rating for all the films I have seen for each director.

This list will include indie favorites, crowd pleasing types, critical darlings, visionaries, comedic geniuses, and a few selections you might think are off the wall. Either way I hope you enjoy the thread. Take a ride with me through my history with these top filmmakers.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

10.
Wes Anderson


Intro: The Royal Tenenbaums

Favorite: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Masterpiece: Moonrise Kingdom

Least Favorite: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou


To describe Wes Anderson in one word is quirky. And that quality has given Wes a career. Well that and an extreme OCD when it comes to his production design. So much so his films often are compared to dollhouses in their feel. In addition his camera movement is just as meticulous and noticeable in his works. And to be honest even though his is a top ten filmmaker to me NOW… I was very lukewarm when I first was introduced to him. The first movie I saw was The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001. Saw it in the theater. Now when I first heard of this movie, I was told it was a comedy. At this time comedy for me was defined by Kevin Smith, Mel Brooks, and Austin Powers. So I was expecting BIG comedy. I was caught unaware by his more subtle and dry comedic style, full of subtle word play and awkward moments. And regrettably I was unable to appreciate his camera movement or his meticulous set design. Even worse was when I saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou which I simply thought was a bad movie at the time. Between those two movies I decided to skip on Wes Anderson. That was until this year when I saw the trailer for The Grand Budapest Hotel. I heard so many good things about that movie on this site, and after I saw the trailer I decided to give it a shot. And I fell in love with the film! This was also the film were I decided to give Wes Anderson a second try. And since he had only made 8 films at this point, I decided to try and knock the others one after the other fairly quickly. Now in hindsight I should have started from the beginning so I could see his style grow, but I opted to see whatever movies I wanted to see first regardless of timeline. Moonrise Kingdom, a revisit to The Royal Tenenbaums, and Bottle Rocket were the first up and I either really liked or LOVED these movies. Moonrise Kingdom I say is Wes Anderson’s stylistic peak and his masterpiece. And The Royal Tenenbaums I was able to appreciate more the second time around. I also thought The Fantastic Mr. Fox was a good movie despite the inclusion of George Clooney.

Now as much as I love Wes Anderson’s style, not every film is a winner. I love the style of The Darjeeling Limited and think it is a good movie, but it is one of Wes’ weaker movies. And while I know Rushmore is LOVED by a lot of Wes Anderson fans, I can’t get into it. Maybe if I saw this as a socially awkward teenager I would have liked it more. And sadly The Life Aquatic still remains the weakest Wes Anderson movie for me and I can’t bring myself to say that it was a good movie. But I can still appreciate his weaker films for what they are. He is a great auteur and I hope he keeps making films for many more years.

Bottle Rocket
Rushmore
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
The Darjeeling Limited
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Moonrise Kingdom
The Grand Budapest Hotel

I've got to do something like this. Good idea.

Wes Anderson is bomb. He inspired me a bit in senior year of high school, got me back into directing.

Great thread Gunslinger. You know I am on board with #10. My favorite director right now.

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Letterboxd

Great selection.

The best directors are the ones that inspire you personally somehow. Pretty high praise there.

9.
Francis Ford Coppela


Intro: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Favorite Film: Apocalypse Now

Masterpiece: The Godfather

Least Favorite: Jack

If you want to discuss filmmakers from the 70’s, Francis Ford Coppola is arguably the best director in the 70’s. He had only four films in the 70’s, but each was FANTASTIC! But it was none of those four films that introduced me to him as a director. It was actually Bram Stoker’s Dracula from the 90’s. After that I heard he had directed The Godfather series and Apocalypse Now. So as a teenager I had to see them. Unfortunately much like Wes Anderson, they were a little over my teenage head. But revisits to The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and Apocalypse Now have cemented Coppola as one of my favorite directors, and Apocalypse Now as an easy Top Ten favorite film. But while those three movies have become favorites of mine, the same can’t be said of the movie Jack. Not the best Robin Williams vehicle and certainly no Ms Doubtfire. And on top of that we do not discuss The Godfather Part III. The final Coppola film from the 70's I saw I saw in my college film class. The Conversation. EXCELLENT film, and was the first of Coppola’s two Palme de Ors (the other being Apocalypse Now). Sadly while the man was a giant in the 70’s, his stock as a filmmaker was shot in the 80’s. Needless to say he peaked early critically and commercially. But while his filmography as a whole is not that great, he was fantastic for a decade. We knew this since he had ALL FOUR of his 70’s films in the top 20 of the MoFo 70’s list. He may not have had the lasting power of Spielberg or Scorsese, but he certainly left his mark.

The Godfather
The Conversation
The Godfather Part II
Apocalypse Now
The Godfather Part III
Bram Stokers Dracula
Jack

Coppola is bomb too. LOVE LOVE LOVE The Conversation, that is one film that would easily be in my top ten of all-time if there was room (and may one day be there). Also, Bram Stoker's Dracula has one of my all-time favorite scores.

Oh I love that score too! Got it on my iPod at all times!

How can you not love Coppola's run in the 70's. Another great choice. If you make three all world movies, you are a great director. I liked The Conversation as well but that movie lost a lot of steam for me in the second half.

Wes Anderson is a director I need to see a lot more from. I've always had this feeling that I just don't like his work, but I've only seen 2 of his movies. Moonrise Kingdom was just alright for me, and I loved Fantastic Mr. Fox.

For Coppola, I wasn't crazy about Dracula or The Conversation, but I should watch both again. But The Godfathers and Apocalypse Now, you know, that's a lot of greatness.

8.
John Milius


Intro: Conan The Barbarian

Favorite: Red Dawn

Masterpiece: The Wind and the Lion (directed) / Apocalypse Now (written)

Least Favorite: Big Wednesday

John Milius is another one of the Movie Brats from the 70’s. But unlike Lucas, Coppola, and Scorsese he does not get mentioned as much. The man was prolific as a writer in the 70’s, but was actually a really good director too. My introduction was through the movie that really let Hollywood know who Arnold Schwarzenegger was. I rented Conan the Barbarian as a teenager, and I loved it. But the Milius name did not stick with me immediately. I had to continue to get to know his work. Which I unknowingly did with watching Apocalypse Now, Dirty Harry, Jaws, and The Hunt for Red October. Which John Milius either wrote, or had a hand in writing certain parts of the film. But then I saw the movie that he co-wrote and directed that made me take notice when I was in college; Red Dawn. LOVED the movie, and has been an easy Top 5 favorite movie for me ever since. And while no masterpiece (got to be objective) it is my favorite film of his easily. As for his masterpiece I think his overall best film was The Wind and the Lion. Which is not only an excellent piece of historical fiction but also I think is his peak thematically. It deals with his themes of masculinity, violence, war, the military, and is set in a historical event in the course of US history. Top it off you have Sean Connery playing a Berber prince. I don’t care if he is not Arabic. I didn't care he wasn't doing an accent in The Hunt for Red October. Sean Connery can do WHATEVER he wants! And he was EXCELLENT! Now I also saw his first film Dillinger, which he got to direct only because it was cheaper to have him direct then just buy the script. A damn good start to his career. And while it may be a cult favorite to some, I could not get into Big Wednesday. I guess since I am not a California surfer. Either way I need to see more Milius movies, both those he has written and directed.

Written Only:
Dirty Harry (Uncredited)
Jeremiah Johnson
Magnum Force
Jaws (hand in one scene)
Apocalypse Now (co-writer)
The Hunt for Red October (parts)
Clear and Present Danger (co-writer)

Directed and written:
Dillinger
The Wind and the Lion
Big Wednesday
Conan the Barbarian
Red Dawn

stellar thread, looking forward to the rest, and here's some of dat Wojciech Kilar Dracula

7.
Mel Brooks


Intro: Spaceballs

Favorite: Blazing Saddles

Masterpiece: Blazing Saddles

Least Favorite: The Twelve Chairs

Mel Brooks to me is the GREATEST comedic director who ever lived. The man was a master of timing and satire that no one else has been able to top. The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein; only one man could put out this kind of quality. And that is the master of comedy. I was first introduced to Mel in elementary school on a family summer vacation to North Carolina. My family and my Uncle Chuck’s family were at a beach house, and they went to a local mom and pop video store to rent some movies for the night. One of which just happened to be Spaceballs. And I LOVED the flick! It was my first taste of Mel’s genre satire and very Jewish sense of humor. And it was great to rent his movies through Blockbuster Video. And while his later movies are not AS good as his first few movies, I remember enjoying the likes the next two films I saw of his which were Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It as a kid. Another fantastic film of his I saw was History of the World Part I, which was a very frequent rental from Blockbuster. But my favorite film of Brook’s also happens to be the movie I think is his masterpiece, Blazing Saddles. It is simply one of the greatest and funniest comedies ever made. A film that not only gets the most laughs from me, but also epitomizes the genre satire Mel was best known for. His other two great works were seen around this time too. You have his first movie The Producers, which was a HILARIOUS movie and my favorite movie concept of his. Young Frankenstein is another brilliant satire as well, only this one is for the Universal horror movies rather than Westerns and Sci-Fi. The Twelve Chairs is the only movie I have seen from Mel so far that I did not like. And I liked Silent Film quite a bit, but I do not know if I will rewatch it much. High Anxiety I need to revisit now that I am more brushed up on Hitchcock. Hard to deny the man’s fantastic body of work.

The Producers
The Twelve Chairs
Blazing Saddles
Young Frankenstein
Silent Film
High Anxiety
History of the World: Part One
Spaceballs
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Dracula: Dead and Loving It

Awesome idea for a thread (might do one myself in the future). I've seen everything Wes Anderson has done, including his shorts, with the exception of Life Aquatic. Should fix that one of these days.

70s Coppola is obviously great, but I haven't seen anything else from him. Not seen anything by the other two.

love wes anderson and he would definitely make my top 10 atm.

apocalypse now and the conversation alone make coppola a great director but outside of his 70s work most of his stuff looks pretty bad. good choice, though.

i hate john milius for political reasons, so i've never gone out of my way to see one of his films, although i remember seeing conan the barbarian as a kid and not really liking it.

mel brooks is really hit or miss, but i like blazing saddles and young frankenstein and i appreciate what he's done for comedy.

Well three out of four ain't bad. + rep.

6.
Steven Spielberg


Intro: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Favorite: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Masterpiece: Schindler’s List

Least Favorite: The film that shall not be named.

Ah Spielberg; one of the three men whose films defined my childhood. And while George Lucas kinda s**t the bed with the prequels and Disney I had to rediscover my passion for, Spielberg was a very consistent filmmaker during my childhood. His films have a certain whimsy and ability to inspire wonder that are the perfect films for a growing film lover during the early years. My first introduction was with the Indiana Jones trilogy. Starting with Raiders and ending with The Last Crusade. But my favorite film of his even to this day remains Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I was at the perfect age to see it (5 years old or so). EVERY scene remains memorable to me. Each scene I can remember sitting on the floor of our house in Seoul South Korea and seeing each scene for the first time. Each action sequence, each piece of exposition, and every scene meant to shock the audience were firmly ingrained in my mind as a kid. This was simply the film that made me a super fan of movies. And that is no faint praise. I also was introduced to ET, Hook, and Close Encounters when I was young too. Heck I was young enough to remember the buzz of Jurassic Park when it was first released in theaters. And it was just after Jurassic Park that I saw Jaws for the first time, becoming yet another staple of my childhood and one of my favorite films ever. And while Spielberg does have the ability to make more adult fare like Schindler’s List (his masterpiece) and Amistad, I thought he was always most comfortable as the maker of blockbusters. Sadly his big budget movies fell apart for me post Jurassic Park: The Lost World. But his more adult fare did get a boost. He made Lincoln and Saving Private Ryan, but at the same time he made crap like Minority Report and that one movie that I refuse to believe was canon with the other Indiana Jones movies. Either way you look at it, Spielberg is one of my favorite filmmakers of all time, even if I do believe his best days are behind him. But then again this guy has been around since the 70’s so who the hell cares? I still love ya Steve! Total homo.

Jaws
Close Encounter of the Third Kind
Raiders of the Lost Ark
ET
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Hook
Jurassic Park
Schindler’s List
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Amistad
Saving Private Ryan
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Minority Report
Munich
The film that shall not be named
Lincoln

I'm going to have to add Red Dawn to my To Watch list.

Remember 1984 NOT the recent remake!

Heh, yes that much I figured. The remake looks appalling.