Funniest Directors?

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matt72582's Avatar
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John Cassavetes - he probably inherited this from his mother who I think is the funniest woman on the screen.

Vincent Gallo for Buffalo 66' which is probably the most unique and funny movies I have ever seen.



Although Billy Wilder is mostly known for some of his drama masterpieces and noirs (e.g. Sunset Boulevard), he directed some outstanding comedies, such as Ball of Fire, Sabrina, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like it Hot, and The Fortune Cookie. I'm sure some of his German and French films were successful comedies, but I've never seen any of them.



Howard Hawks directed Ball of Fire.
Right you are, Mark. But Billy Wilder wrote it. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia:

"The script was written by Charles Brackett, Thomas Monroe, and Billy Wilder from a short story titled "From A to Z", which Wilder had created while he was still in Europe.[7] Partly inspired by the fairy tale "Snow White", the professors were loosely based on the dwarfs from Walt Disney's animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Although Ball of Fire was directed by the well-established Howard Hawks, Wilder had already decided that he needed to direct his screenplays to protect them from studio and other directors' interference. Hawks was happy to let Wilder study his directing on the set and Wilder thereafter directed his own films. The film was the second feature of 1941 to pair Cooper and Stanwyck, following Meet John Doe."



I think the Coens are the funniest filmmakers of the last few decades. All of their films have some degree of humor - even Old Men as a couple of snorts. Raising Arizona, Big Lebowski, O! Brother, Intolerable Cruelty and Burn After Reading are among my very favorite of recent comedies, and Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, Man Who Wasn't There and A Serious Man all have their share of endlessly quotable, sometimes inexplicable, hilarity.



I think the Coens are the funniest filmmakers of the last few decades. All of their films have some degree of humor - even Old Men as a couple of snorts. Raising Arizona, Big Lebowski, O! Brother, Intolerable Cruelty and Burn After Reading are among my very favorite of recent comedies, and Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, Man Who Wasn't There and A Serious Man all have their share of endlessly quotable, sometimes inexplicable, hilarity.
I agree. Intelligent comedy is in real short supply in the 21st Century. I particularly enjoyed Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski; both of them very re-watchable.



I wish Peter Bogdanovich would have done more comedies. His What's Up, Doc? (1972) is as good as any screwball comedy from the '30s/'40s, and it might be the all time best.

There was also first rate comedy in Paper Moon (1973), and the ill-fated They All Laughed (1981). He was never the same after the Dorothy Stratten murder.



This guy



Kevin Smith
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