Rank/Rate the Films of These 'American' '70s' Directors

[Qrazy]

Similar to my Asian film director thread. I want to know what people have seen by these lesser spoken about individuals. Most of them did not only make films during the 70's and I don't know if they were originally American, but whatever.

Robert Benton
Stuart Rosenberg
Robert Rossen
Martin Ritt
Franklin Schaffner
Richard Rush
Peter Yates
Alan J. Pakula
Sydney Pollack
Ulu Grosbard
Jerry Schatzberg
Bob Rafelson
Ken Russell
Michael Cimino
Monte Hellman
Donald Cammell
Michael Ritchie
Walter Hill
Douglas Trumball
Peter Fonda
Haskell Wexler
Paul Schrader

Perhaps Pakula, Pollack, Cimino, Schrader and Schaffner are more widely spoken about... as are Hellman and Hill on this site, but I'll include them anyway.

Leaving off people like Altman, Allen, Lumet, Peckinpah, Cassavetes, Bob Fosse, Spielberg, Zinnemann, Friedkin, Frankenheimer, Lucas, Bodanovich, Roeg, Hal Ashby, De Palma, Penn, Scorsese, Malick, Coppola, Mike Nichols, Schlesinger, Polanski and Forman (all foreign but still), etc. Even Barry Levinson and Norman Jewison.

Let me know if I'm leaving anyone underseen/spoken about off the list.

Also not 70s but has anyone seen Fred Coe's Me, Natalie?

[Watashi]

Isn't this what we have consensus threads for?

[Qrazy]

Isn't this what we have consensus threads for?

The consensus threads didn't touch most of the Asian directors on my list. I make these for the directors who don't get mentioned much. I don't know how many of the ones on this list the consensus threads have tackled. Probably a decent amount since it's American but I doubt all of them.

Many of the people are on this list are known for their one stand out film. I'm wondering if other people have seen more from them.

I know Walter Hill has had a thread so ignore him if you prefer.

[trotchky]

Norma Rae, Martin Ritt - **1/2
Planet of the Apes, Franklin J. Schaffner - ***
Absence of Malice, Sydney Pollack - **
Five Easy Pieces, Bob Rafelson - ****
Back to the Future...The Ride, Douglas Trumball - ***1/2

[Spinal]

Ken Russell (who is actually British):

Women in Love **1/2
Tommy ***1/2
Altered States **1/2
Salome's Last Dance ***
The Lair of the White Worm **
Whore *1/2

[Philosophe_rouge]

For some reason, I doubt this will help you much !

Robert Benton
Kramer vs. Kramer 6

Stuart Rosenberg
Cool Hand Luke 8

Robert Rossen
The Hustler 9

Franklin Schaffner
Patton 8
Planet of the Apes 7

Alan J. Pakula
Sophie's Choice 7

Sydney Pollack
Tootsie 7

Jerry Schatzberg
( I'm planning on watching The Panic in Needle Park (1971) tonight, soo that's something)

Ken Russell
The Boy Friend (1971) 7
Altered States (1980) 6
(I have The Devils to watch, should see soon. I want to see all his adaptations of D.H. Lawrence Novels!)

[Qrazy]

Robert Benton

Kramer vs. Kramer - B-
Bad Company - B

Stuart Rosenberg

The Pope of Greenwich Village - B
Cool Hand Luke - A-

Robert Rossen

Lilith - B
The Hustler - A
All the King's Men - C+

Martin Ritt

Norma Rae - C+
Sounder - C
Hombre - B
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold - B
Hud - A
Paris Blues - B-
The Long, Hot Summer - B-

Franklin Schaffner

Papillon - C+
Patton - A-
Planet of the Apes - B

Richard Rush

The Stunt Man - B-

Peter Yates

Breaking Away - C+
Bullitt - B-

Alan J. Pakula

All the President's Men - B+
The Parallax View - B-
Klute - C+

Sydney Pollack

Tootsie - C
Three Days of the Condor - C
The Yakuza - C+
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - A-

Jerry Schatzberg

Scarecrow - B+
Panic in Needle Park - B

Bob Rafelson

Mountains of the Moon - C+
The Postman Always Rings Twice - C+
The King of Marvin Gardens - B
Five Easy Pieces - B+
Head - C-

Ken Russell

Tommy - C

Michael Cimino

The Deerhunter - B
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - C-

Monte Hellman

Two-lane Blacktop - C

Walter Hill

Southern Comfort - B-
The Warriors - C
The Driver - C+
Hard Times - B+

Douglas Trumball

Silent Running - D+

Paul Schrader

Mishima - B+
Cat People - D

Also been meaning to see American Gigolo and Auto Focus for a while now.

[Qrazy]

Jerry Schatzberg
( I'm planning on watching The Panic in Needle Park (1971) tonight, soo that's something)

Ken Russell
The Boy Friend (1971) 7
Altered States (1980) 6
(I have The Devils to watch, should see soon. I want to see all his adaptations of D.H. Lawrence Novels!)

Well I may finally check out Sophie's Choice now!

Panic in Needle Park is good minus a couple scenes (dog). If you like it definitely check out Scarecrow which has the same degree of excellent acting but Schatzberg ups his game a bit on the formal front.

I also have and should watch The Devils soon too. Not sure what's keeping me... the quality of my copy is a bit poor I suppose.

[Qrazy]

Ken Russell (who is actually British):

Women in Love **1/2
Tommy ***1/2
Altered States **1/2
Salome's Last Dance ***
The Lair of the White Worm **
Whore *1/2

Hrm... might have to give Salome's Last Dance a look then... any thoughts on it?

[Philosophe_rouge]

Well I may finally check out Sophie's Choice now!

Panic in Needle Park is good minus a couple scenes (dog). If you like it definitely check out Scarecrow which has the same degree of excellent acting but Schatzberg ups his game a bit on the formal front.

I also have and should watch The Devils soon too. Not sure what's keeping me... the quality of my copy is a bit poor I suppose.
I don't highly recommend Sophie's Choice, it's a performance showcase, not much else. And as a HUGE fan of Kevin Kline, he's pretty unberable here.

I'm reallyl looking forward to it.

I'm guessing we have the same copy :p

[baby doll]

I'll stick to Schrader, since he's the only one I know semi-well:

Cat People (1982) / **
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) / ****
Auto Focus (2002) / ****
The Walker (2007) / *

It's been too long since I've seen American Gigolo or Affliction.

[soitgoes...]

I'll get to this tomorrow maybe. Definitely not as much input will be given for this rating as opposed to the Asian one.

[ledfloyd]

i've seen one film by alot of these guys, but that's about it. i'm fond of all the president's men, the hustler, five easy pieces and the bad news bears.

pollack i'm not a fan of based on tootsie and three days of the condor

i'd really like to see scarecrow

[Boner M]

Can't be bothered going to the IMDb and refreshing my memory on some of these guys' filmographies, so I'll just rate from memory...

Alan J. Pakula: Klute - 7
Ulu Grosbard: Straight Time - 8.5
Jerry Schatzberg: Scarecrow - 6.5 / The Panic in Needle Park - 7.5
Bob Rafelson: Five Easy Pieces - 7.5 / The King of Marvin Gardens - 7.5
Ken Russell: Women in Love - 6 / The Devils - 6.5
Michael Cimino: The Deer Hunter - 7
Monte Hellman: The Shooting - 5.5 / Two-Lane Blacktop - 9.5 / Cockfighter - 7.5
Donald Cammell: Performance - 9 / White of the Eye - 6.5
Walter Hill: Hard Times - 6.5 / The Driver - 8 / The Warriors - 8 /
Paul Schrader: Blue Collar - 7 (but needs a rpt) / Light Sleeper - 8 / Auto Focus - 4.5 / Affliction - 8 (been too long tho)

[balmakboor]

Robert Benton
Places in the Heart - B+

Martin Ritt
Hud - B-

Franklin Schaffner
Patton - A
Planet of the Apes - A

Richard Rush
The Stunt Man - C

Peter Yates
Breaking Away - A-

Sydney Pollack
Out of Africa - B-

Bob Rafelson
Five Easy Pieces - A

Ken Russell
Tommy - A
Altered States - B
Salome's Last Dance - A-
Lair of the White Worm - B+
Crimes of Passion - A (a big guilty pleasure)

Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter - A+
Heaven's Gate - A
Year of the Dragon - B
The Sicilian - D

Donald Cammell
Performance (w/ Roeg) - A

Michael Ritchie
Bad News Bears - A

Walter Hill
The Warriors - A-
48 Hours - A-
The Long Riders - A-
Southern Comfort - A-

Haskell Wexler
Medium Cool - B-

Paul Schrader
Cat People - C+
American Gigolo - C
Hardcore - B-
Autofocus - B

[Raiders]

Robert Benton
Kramer vs. Kramer [**½]
Twilight [***]

Stuart Rosenberg
Cool Hand Luke [***]
The Amityville Horror


Robert Rossen (not a 70s director)
Body and Soul [**]
The Hustler [***]
Lilith [***½]

Martin Ritt
The Long, Hot Summer [***]
Hud [**½]

Franklin Schaffner
Planet of the Apes [***]
Patton [***]
Nicholas and Alexandra [*½]
Papillon [**½]

Richard Rush
The Stunt Man [**]
Color of Night


Alan J. Pakula
The Parallax View [**½]
All the President's Men [***]
Sophie's Choice [***]

Sydney Pollack
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? [***½]
Jeremiah Johnson [**]
The Yakuza [***]
Three Days of the Condor [**½]
Tootsie [**½]
Out of Africa [**]
Random Hearts

The Interpreter [**½]

Bob Rafelson
Five Easy Pieces [****]
The King of Marvin Gardens [***½]

Ken Russell
Women in Love [***]
The Devils [***½]
Lair of the White Worm [**½]

Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter [***½]

Monte Hellman
Two-Lane Blacktop [***½]

Michael Ritchie
Prime Cut [***½]
The Candidate [***]
Smile [****]
The Bad News Bears [***]
Fletch [**½]
The Golden Child [*½]

Walter Hill
Hard Times [***]
The Driver [***½]
The Warriors [***½]
The Long Riders [***½]
Southern Comfort [****]
48 Hrs. [**½]
Brewster's Millions [**]
Geronimo: An American Legend [***]
Undisputed [***]
Broken Trail [***]

Paul Schrader
Blue Collar [***½]
American Gigolo [**]
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters [***]
The Comfort of Strangers [**½]
Affliction [***]

[Sven]

Richard Rush
The Stunt Man [**]
Color of Night



So wrong.

And I'm surprised that's all you've seen from Benton. I think he's one of the strongest stalwart filmmakers around, though I've heard mostly dreadful things about his last film. Also, I think you should try out more Cimino. I think you would really like Heaven's Gate, actually.

[Qrazy]

pollack i'm not a fan of based on tootsie and three days of the condor

i'd really like to see scarecrow

Don't write off They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Based on those two.

[Grouchy]

Robert Benton
The Human Stain - Nicole Kidman was naked in this when she was still smoking. Good movie.

Martin Ritt
Hud - Rock solid melodrama. Paul Newman is amazing in this.

Franklin Schaffner
Planet of the Apes - Needless to say, a fucking classic.

Peter Yates
Bullitt - A defining police procedural movie. A cool action classic.

Alan J. Pakula
Sophie's Choice - It has been too long for this one but I have good memories. The "choice" scene itself, for example, I remember that as being intense.

Sydney Pollack
The Interpreter - Dull attempt at a thriller. Remember it as being boring as all hell.

Jerry Schatzberg
Scarecrow - I really like this depressing little film. Pacino and Hackman are an unlikely coupling, but they work off each other wonderfully. Pacino's fountain scene is a show-stopper.

Bob Rafelson
Five Easy Pieces - Great film that seems to have a bit of a bad reputation. One of the most memorable Nicholsonian characters.

Ken Russell
The Devils - Saw this recently and loved it. Really intense, violent and smart.
Salome's Last Dance - I remember masturbating to this.

Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter - Another classic, deserving of reputation.

Monte Hellman
He's one of a long list of directors who did uncredited work in Roger Corman's The Terror. Which is a very bad movie.

[trotchky]

Oh yeah, I saw The Interpreter too. Sucked.

Grouchy I find myself agreeing with you a lot. I need to see The Deer Hunter.

[soitgoes...]

Robert Benton
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) - 8.0
Places in the Heart (1984) - 5.5

Stuart Rosenberg
Cool Hand Luke (1967) - 9.5

Robert Rossen
The Hustler (1961) - 6.5

Martin Ritt
The Long, Hot Summer (1958) - 5.0
Hud (1963) - 10
The Outrage (1964) - 3.5
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) - 6.0
Hombre (1967) - 5.0

Franklin Schaffner
Planet of the Apes (1968) - 7.0
Patton (1970) - 8.0
Papillon (1973) - 7.5

Alan J. Pakula
The Parallax View (1974) - 6.5
All the President’s Men (1975) - 7.0
The Pelican Brief (1993) - 5.0
The Devil’s Own (1997) - 5.0

Sydney Pollack
Three Days of the Condor (1975) - 6.5
Absence of Malice (1981) - 5.5
Tootsie (1982) - 8.0
Out of Africa (1985) - 7.0
The Firm (1993) - 5.0
The Interpreter (2005) - 5.5

Bob Rafelson
Five Easy Pieces (1970) - 9.0

Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter (1978) - 5.0
Heaven’s Gate (1980) - 5.0

Ken Russell
Altered States (1980) - 6.5

Monte Hellman
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) - 7.5

Michael Ritchie
Smile (1975) - 8.0
The Bad News Bears (1976) - 4.0
Fletch (1985) - 4.5
The Golden Child (1986) - 2.5
Wildcats (1986) - 1.0
Fletch Lives (1989) - 2.5
Diggstown (1992) - 2.0

Walter Hill
The Warriors (1979) - 7.0
The Long Riders (1980) - 6.5
Brewster’s Millions (1985) - 1.5
Red Heat (1988) - 1.5
Another 48 Hours (1990) - 2.5
Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) - 4.0
Supernova (2000) - 1.0

Paul Schrader
Affliction (1997) - 6.5

My man crush on Paul Newman has been exposed.

[Qrazy]

What's with your The Hustler score?

[B-side]

Robert Benton
Kramer vs Kramer- 7

Bob Rafelson
Five Easy Pieces- 7.5

Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter- 9

Donald Cammell
Performance- 8

Walter Hill
The Warriors- 7

[soitgoes...]

What's with your The Hustler score?

What's with your face?




Yeah, that's weird to me too. I like pool. I like the cast. The score is great. The romance angle did nothing for me. It took me out of everything else. Gleason, Newman, and Scott all had great chemistry when together in some capacity, but the film died when it is just Newman/Laurie.

[Qrazy]

What's with your face?




Yeah, that's weird to me too. I like pool. I like the cast. The score is great. The romance angle did nothing for me. It took me out of everything else. Gleason, Newman, and Scott all had great chemistry when together in some capacity, but the film died when it is just Newman/Laurie.

Hrm I'd have to watch it again to defend it or concur with you.

[soitgoes...]

Hrm I'd have to watch it again to defend it or concur with you.
Haha! I have temporarily won this battle Qrazy! I'm surprised that The Hustler was the film you pointed out. There is a lot of hate on my list.

[Qrazy]

Haha! I have temporarily won this battle Qrazy! I'm surprised that The Hustler was the film you pointed out. There is a lot of hate on my list.

Well I mean obviously I disagree and felt the relationship worked or I wouldn't have rated the film well but maybe a second viewing wouldn't be as kind, who knows.

The Parallax View and The Deer Hunter are the only other two I've seen that I guess I'd also call into question. However I can understand weak scores for the former film although Willis work elevated it quite substantially for me. As to the latter I've had Deer Hunter conversations before where people felt the film was bloated, many segments inconsequential, etc... I assumed you fell into that category.

By the way do you have anyone to add to the list that I left off?

I guess since I included Rossen other undermentioned directors from the 60s I'm interested in could include...

Joshua Logan
Tony Richardson

[Russ]

Richard Rush
The Stunt Man [**]


So wrong.

I'm with you, Sven. These mediocre scores are just...wrong. I don't get it. It placed fairly high on my top 100 if memory serves. It's a great film. Why doesn't it get the love?

[Raiders]

Tony Richardson (very British, but ok...)
Look Back in Anger [***½]
The Entertainer [***]
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner [***]

[Qrazy]

Tony Richardson (very British, but ok...)
Look Back in Anger [***½]
The Entertainer [***]
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner [***]

Yeah I apostrophed the 70s and American corollaries because I'm more interested in just general English language filmmakers from that era who don't get a lot of talk.

I did include Walter Hill for whatever reason but Aldrich just had his thread so I didn't... same for Fuller.

[Qrazy]

I'm with you, Sven. These mediocre scores are just...wrong. I don't get it. It placed fairly high on my top 100 if memory serves. It's a great film. Why doesn't it get the love?

Because the protagonist is a terrible actor and the pacing of the film is a bit odd.

[soitgoes...]

Well I mean obviously I disagree and felt the relationship worked or I wouldn't have rated the film well but maybe a second viewing wouldn't be as kind, who knows.

The Parallax View and The Deer Hunter are the only other two I've seen that I guess I'd also call into question. However I can understand weak scores for the former film although Willis work elevated it quite substantially for me. As to the latter I've had Deer Hunter conversations before where people felt the film was bloated, many segments inconsequential, etc... I assumed you fell into that category.

By the way do you have anyone to add to the list that I left off?

I guess since I included Rossen other undermentioned directors from the 60s I'm interested in could include...

Joshua Logan
Tony Richardson

Richardson is English, isn't he? Then how about Watkins, Lester or Glenville? You could add the Maysleses and Wiseman for some documentarian flair. Siegel or Larry Cohen?

Personally I prefer my American film (well I could say film in general) from the 50s and 60s.

PS: I'm of the thinking that anything Cimino does is probably bloated. He's got (he had?) talent, but just doesn't know when to stop. I'm surprised you haven't seen Heaven's Gate. Such a beautiful overloaded film.

[Russ]

Because the protagonist is a terrible actor and the pacing of the film is a bit odd.
For me, the acting of the protagonist is more than compensated for by that of the antagonist. And fwiw, Railsback does 'bewildered' pretty well; hard to determine if it's because of his acting chops, tho.

Re: the pacing - I see your point, but the whole film has a bit of that off-kilter feeling. Whether its intentional or not (I'd tend to say it is), I'd argue that the overall form/content is even odder than the pacing.

And actually, Q, you rated it the highest of all three of the posted ratings.

[Qrazy]

Richardson is English, isn't he? Then how about Watkins, Lester or Glenville? You could add the Maysleses and Wiseman for some documentarian flair. Siegel or Larry Cohen?

Personally I prefer my American film (well I could say film in general) from the 50s and 60s.

PS: I'm of the thinking that anything Cimino does is probably bloated. He's got (he had?) talent, but just doesn't know when to stop. I'm surprised you haven't seen Heaven's Gate. Such a beautiful overloaded film.

I have Heaven's Gate, just haven't watched it yet. Good call on Lester and Glenville. Lester has had some talk but not much more than Schaffner, Pakula, etc. Watkins has his own thread so I'll leave him out of it. Cohen and Siegel get enough talk as well I think and same for the docu fellows. Appreciate the suggestions though.

I also have Becket and haven't seen anything by Glenville so perhaps I"ll prioritize it.

I think I'll add...

Peter Glenville
Richard Lester
Richard Brooks

[Qrazy]

For me, the acting of the protagonist is more than compensated for by that of the antagonist. And fwiw, Railsback does 'bewildered' pretty well; hard to determine if it's because of his acting chops, tho.

Re: the pacing - I see your point, but the whole film has a bit of that off-kilter feeling. Whether its intentional or not (I'd tend to say it is), I'd argue that the overall form/content is even odder than the pacing.

And actually, Q, you rated it the highest of all three of the posted ratings.

I was explaining why people probably rated it harshly. I felt the good outweighed the bad.

[Melville]

Stuart Rosenberg
Cool Hand Luke - 8

Robert Rossen
The Hustler - 6.5

Franklin Schaffner
Planet of the Apes - 4
Patton - 7
Papillon - 5.5

Alan J. Pakula
Klute - 7.5
The Parallax View - 4 (though I don't remember it very well)
All the President's Men - 7
Sophie's Choice - 7
The Pelican Brief - 3
The Devil's Own - 3

Sydney Pollack
They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - 9
Tootsie - 6.5
The Firm - 4

Bob Rafelson
Five Easy Pieces - 5.5

Ken Russell
The Devils - 8.5

Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter - 7.5

Monte Hellman
Two-Lane Blacktop - 8.5

Michael Ritchie
Fletch - 3
Fletch Lives - 2

Walter Hill
48 Hrs. - 5
Another 48 Hrs. - 4

Paul Schrader
Affliction - 7.5

[Qrazy]

Robert Rossen
The Hustler - 6.5


Same reason as soitgoes for you?

[Melville]

Same reason as soitgoes for you?
I guess so. I only vaguely remember it, but what I do remember is Newman and Gleason being very compelling and everything else being somewhat dull.

[Spinal]

Piper Laurie, sucka. Piper Laurie!

[Qrazy]

Updated.