Your Favorite Contemporary Directors

[soitgoes...]

I'm curious to what everyone's favorite contemporary directors are. I'm looking more for directors whose films you are anticipating the most, as opposed to those whose best work is probably behind them.

Mine would probably fall like this:

1. Michael Haneke
2. Chang-dong Lee
3. The Coens
4. PT Anderson
5. Guy Maddin

I could also see Shion Sono or Masaaki Yuasa pop into the discussion when I see more of their work (or when they make more films in Yuasa's case). Three or four years ago Zhang Yimou would probably be 1 or 2, but he's kinda fallen off the map along with Tran.

[B-side]

A few that you didn't mention:

Raoul Ruiz
Jon Jost
Theo Angelopoulos
Lars von Trier
David Lynch

[Winston*]

Ones I look most forward to a new movie by.

Leigh
Coens
Herzog
Miyazaki
Lynch

[Raiders]

Obviously the Coen Brothers, Malick, De Palma, WKW and so forth, but ones where I feel a more personal anticipation...

1. Jonathan Demme
2. James Gray
3. Todd Haynes
4. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
5. Hirokazu Kore-eda
6. Shane Meadows
7. Makoto Shinkai

[kopello]

Michael Mann
Todd Haynes
Hayao Miyazaki (if he actually makes something else)
Coen Brothers

I'm not sure who to throw in for the fifth one, maybe von Trier, even though I wasn't the biggest Antichrist fan.

[Boner M]

Apichatpong, Denis, Tsai, PTA and Lynch stand heads and shoulders above the rest for me; none have made a film I've disliked (except for Wild at Heart, which was 20 years ago), and have offered transcendence multiple times.

The Dardennes, James Gray, Jarmusch, Mike Leigh, Cronenberg, the Coens, Haneke, Van Sant and Hou form the next tier.

I need to see more from Seidl, Martel, Shion Sono, Shinji Aoyama, K. Kurosawa, Ferrara, Costa and Lee Chang-Dong to judge, but what I have seen has been very impressive.

[Boner M]

Ooh, ooh, and Jafar Panahi too. Guess I've kinda forgotten he's a filmmaker with all the recent events...

[baby doll]

In terms of which living directors have the most masterpieces under their belts, Jean-Luc Godard is the obvious choice: À bout de souffle, Vivre sa vie, Le Mépris, Bande Ã* part, Alphaville, Pierrot le fou, La Chinoise, Weekend, Passion, Je vous salue, Marie, Soft and Hard, Éloge de l'amour, Notre musique, and there's still a ton more I haven't seen.

After that, with at least six a piece, I'd say Jacques Rivette (Céline et Julie vont en bateau, La Bande des quatre, La Belle noiseuse, Jeanne la Pucelle, Secret défense, Histoire de Marie et Julien); Alain Resnais (Nuit et brouillard, Hiroshima mon amour, L'Année dernière Ã* Marienbad, Muriel, Providence, Pas sur la bouche); Peter Greenaway (The Falls, The Draughtsman's Contract, A Zed and Two Noughts, The Belly of an Architect, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The Pillow Book); Atom Egoyan (Next of Kin, Calendar, Exotica, The Sweet Hereafter, Ararat, Adoration); Hou Hsiao-hsien (City of Sadness, The Puppet Master, Good Men, Good Women, Flowers of Shanghai, Café Lumière, Three Times); and Michael Haneke (The Seventh Continent, Funny Games, Code inconnu, La Pianiste, Caché, The White Ribbon).

Some other names that come to mind: Woody Allen, Wes Anderson, Roy Andersson, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Olivier Assayas, Albert Brooks, Leos Carax, Ethan and Joel Coen, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, Philippe Garrel, Todd Haynes, Werner Herzog, Miklós Jancsó, Jim Jarmusch, Jia Zhang-ke, Spike Lee, Mike Leigh, David Lynch, Guy Maddin, Chris Marker, Lucrecia Martel, Elaine May, Hayao Miyazaki, Jafar Panahi, Nicolas Roeg, Béla Tarr, André Téchiné, Tsai Ming-liang, Lars von Trier, Agnès Varda, Paul Verhoeven, Bill Viola, Wim Wenders, and Wong Kar-wai.

[balmakboor]

Some faves (sticking just to these shores):

Gus Van Sant
Harmony Korine
Todd Haynes
John Cameron Mitchell
Terry Zwigoff
Noah Baumbach
Richard Linklater

And Rob Epstein/Jeffrey Friedman. Between Howl and Lovelace (aka their brave encounter with Lindsay Lohan), I think they are poised for a breakthrough -- of some kind.

[Sycophant]

1. Takeshi Kitano
2. Coens
3. Wes Anderson
4. Kore-eda Hirokazu
5. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
6. Satoshi Kon
7. Stephen Chow
8. Pang Ho-Cheung
9. Wisit Sasanatieng
10. Bong Joon-Ho
11. Katsuhito Ishii
12. Masaaki Yuasa (including TV shows for this dude)
13. Isao Takahata
14. Quentin Tarantino
15. Edgar Wright

[Sycophant]

ASIAN CULT.

[chrisnu]

I may not enjoy everthing these directors do, but I appreciate their artistic voices the most.

David Lynch
Coen Brothers
Michael Haneke
Lars von Trier

Fifth choice is difficult. I'd have to go with Tsai Ming-Liang or Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Leaning toward Tsai.

[Watashi]

1. Brad Bird
2. Coens
3. Tarantino
4. WKW
5. Mann

Miyazaki, Allen, Malick, and Spielbergo would all be on there, but I think the best is already behind them.

Nolan could be on there once he gets the Batman weights off his shoulders. Inception looks fantastic.

Director who will likely be on there once his career blossoms: Andrew Dominik

[Watashi]

I don't think Lynch is ever going to make another full-length film again.

[Melville]

1. Dardennes (though I still haven't seen their last movie...)
2. PTA
3. Malick
4. Lynch

[Bosco B Thug]

Jonathan Glazer, Larry Fessenden, and Jane Campion, to add to the pool.

Ben Affleck has made one exceptional movie but I'm not sure if he can repeat that inspiration, and Eli Roth has shown consistent stylistic talent but who I am not sure has a great movie in him. Ti West, the youngest of anyone mentioned. Kelly Reichardt.

I'm automatically looking forward to any of thse guys' foreseeable new projects.

[Raiders]

Ti West

Ah yes, another one I should mention.

[Ezee E]

I'll never know if Spielberg, Scorsese, Spike Lee, Tarantino, PTA, Coens, Mann, Lynch, Cronenberg, Or Malick will have greatness up their sleeves, but I sure know that I'll be seeing their movies on opening day.

A few unique choices and a few not unique choices, but all directors that i'd see their movie without any hesitation:
David Fincher (can't believe he hasn't been listed yet)
Chan-Wook Park
Neil Marshall
Andrew Dominik
John Hillcoat
Nicolas Winding Refn
Jonathan Glazer
Christopher Nolan
Darren Aronofsky
Todd Field

I'd like to add Ridley Scott to that, but his last few have been movies that I had no interest in whatsoever.

And damnit, I'll be ready if Chris Cunningham ever does a movie.

EDIT:
Also:
Spike Lee

[Mysterious Dude]

1. Michael Haneke
2. Joel & Ethan Coen
3. Tarsem Singh
4. Guy Maddin
5. Christopher Nolan
6. Alfonso Cuarón
7. Darren Aronofsky
8. Bahman Ghobadi

That was kinda hard. It seems like a lot of my favorite films over the last decade were directed by one-hit wonders (at least from my perspective; I know some of them made other movies that people like, I just don't consider them to be among my favorites). Anybody else find this?

Fernando Meirelles (City of God)
Richard Linklater (Waking Life)
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the etc.)
Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse etc.)
Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin)
Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the etc.)
Gus Van Sant (Elephant)

I find that most of the directors who have a really consistent style tend to bore me pretty fast. A lot of foreign directions, especially the Asian ones, today strike me as being really one-note. How many Tsai Ming-liang films should I bother with before I give the hell up?

[Russ]

I made a list, but they've all been mentioned except for one. Was especially glad to see Singh, Yuasa, Maddin and Shinkai mentioned.

I know he's not exactly a popular choice 'round these parts, but I eagerly anticipate each new Todd Solondz film. I'm wondering if I'm ever going to get to see Life During Wartime.

[Spun Lepton]

Phew!

The Coen Bros.
David Fincher
Paul Thomas Anderson
Terry Gilliam
Sam Raimi
Edgar Wright
Quentin Tarantino

[Ezee E]

Also waiting for something big out of Nimrod Antel.

Add Tarsem Singh and James Gray to my list too.

[Sven]

Some faves (sticking just to these shores):

Gus Van Sant
Harmony Korine
Todd Haynes
John Cameron Mitchell
Terry Zwigoff
Noah Baumbach
Richard Linklater

And Rob Epstein/Jeffrey Friedman. Between Howl and Lovelace (aka their brave encounter with Lindsay Lohan), I think they are poised for a breakthrough -- of some kind.

No Boorman mention? Epic fail, dude.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Most of my faves have already been mentioned. Bong Joon-Ho, Quentin Tarantino, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, the Coen Brothers, Tarsem Singh, Alfonson Cuaron, Andrew Stanton, David Fincher, Larry Fessenden, Paul Thomas Anderson, and others.

[megladon8]

I think Ti West is one of the most exciting new voices in film in years.

[baby doll]

I don't think Lynch is ever going to make another full-length film again.I fail to see how that makes Eraserhead, Dune, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., and Inland Empire any less awesome. It seems kind of silly to try to guess what somebody's going to do in the future; I only care about what they've actually accomplished.

Also, to my knowledge, Martin Arnold and Peter Tscherkassky haven't done any feature-length films, but that doesn't make them any less awesome.

[Sycophant]

I fail to see how that makes Eraserhead, Dune, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Lost Highway, Mulholland Dr., and Inland Empire any less awesome.

I fail to see how Wats said that, or how this thread has anything to do with who is most awesome.

[baby doll]

I fail to see how Wats said that, or how this thread has anything to do with who is most awesome.Obviously it has more to do with differing definitions of what constitutes a "contemporary" director. His assertion is that Lynch doesn't qualify because he may not make another film, which is true of every contemporary filmmaker (especially if the world ends in 2012). Godard might not make another film after Film Socialisme, and clearly most people gave up on him like forty years ago, but in terms of what he's actually produced (as opposed to what he may produce in the future), I defy anyone to come up with a filmmaker who's body of work is even half as impressive, especially keeping in mind that so many of his films are almost impossible to see.

[Sycophant]

I'm curious to what everyone's favorite contemporary directors are. I'm looking more for directors whose films you are anticipating the most, as opposed to those whose best work is probably behind them.

:|

[dreamdead]

I suspect that Charlie Kaufman, Terrence Malick, Jane Campion, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Lee Chang-dong, and maybe Michael Mann all have one more work of excellence in them. I'd like to think that Linklater can reach into the magic pot one more time as well.

Ade looks like a filmmaker whose work I will really love, though I haven't yet seen Everyone Else. I should see her debut soon.

[Sven]

For theaters: I will see the next film from the Neveldine/Taylor duo. I will also see the next Herzog film (only two mentions so far, and one of those on babydoll's comprehensive role call? Shame on y'all). i will also see the next Mike Leigh film, as well as the next John Carpenter, if that will ever happen. Also, again, only as a throwaway by babydoll has Verhoeven been mentioned.

Also, Shyamalan, although I'm less interested in Avatar.

[Raiders]

His assertion is that Lynch doesn't qualify because he may not make another film, which is true of every contemporary filmmaker (especially if the world ends in 2012).

Pretty sure Wats was just mourning that a new Lynch film seems unlikely in the near future if at all, not disagreeing with those who listed him.

[balmakboor]

No Boorman mention? Epic fail, dude.

Ah come one. I was on a train of thought that began with Gus Van Sant.

The only Boorman I've watched since the consensus week was a rewatch of Deliverance. That looks more and more to me like one of the greatest films of the '70s every time I watch it.

[balmakboor]

Also, Shyamalan, although I'm less interested in Avatar.

Man, I hope The Last Airbender isn't a major flop. My daughter -- who has watched every episode of the series close to a dozen times -- will be impossible to live with if it's a train wreck. And the trailers don't look promising.

[Sven]

Ah come on. I was on a train of thought that began with Gus Van Sant.

Well, whose fault is that? :)

Derek reminds me: Walter Hill, though I own though still haven't seen Broken Trail. (See, Brightside? This is what I'm talking about.)

[Ivan Drago]

For theaters: I will see the next film from the Neveldine/Taylor duo.

Are you considering Jonah Hex the next film from them? I ask considering that they wrote it but aren't directing.

And my five favorite contemporary filmmakers:

1. Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Lars von Trier
3. Gaspar Noe
4. David Fincher
5. Quentin Tarantino

[Sven]

Are you considering Jonah Hex the next film from them? I ask considering that they wrote it but aren't directing.

Nah. I'm mostly interested in them as visualists.

[B-side]

(See, Brightside? This is what I'm talking about.)

So we SHOULD do a director of the month topic?

[ledfloyd]

Arnaud Desplechin would probably be the director i'm most interested in right now. he made two of my favorite films of the last decade and he hasn't been named.

[Boner M]

Arnaud Desplechin would probably be the director i'm most interested in right now. he made two of my favorite films of the last decade and he hasn't been named.
A Christmas Tale and Kings & Queen are pretty good, but Esther Khan is where it's @.

[Derek]

A Christmas Tale and Kings & Queen are pretty good, but Esther Khan is where it's @.

I'd reverse that statement, but regardless he'd certainly be somewhere in the top 5 for me. I really need to get around to seeing My Sex Life.

EDIT: Though EK is better than "pretty good". I suppose I prefer him when his stylistic embellishment is in full force.

[Sven]

So we SHOULD do a director of the month topic?

I own but still have not watched Broken Trail. I would rather do that first than watch Journeys into Eichfrond by Norman Heisel or whatever.

[BuffaloWilder]

George Miller
Alfonso Cauron
Tarsem Singh
Paul Thomas Anderson
Andrew Dominik
Christopher Nolan
Rian Johnson
Neil Blomkamp
Kathryn Bigelow
Park Chan-Wook
The Coen Brothers.

:)

[Watashi]

No one has mentioned Spike Jonze yet?

[soitgoes...]

Yeah, Shion Sono must be included as one of my top current directors.

[Adam]

It seems like a lot of my favorite films over the last decade were directed by one-hit wonders (at least from my perspective; I know some of them made other movies that people like, I just don't consider them to be among my favorites). Anybody else find this?

...Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the etc.)...


Feh! Gondry was the director of the decade for me, easy, and he'd come close to topping my favorite contemporary directors list, too. Eternal Sunshine is wonderful, but he's made three other films that are even better

[origami_mustache]

No particular order:

Theo Angelopoulos
Lars von Trier
Michael Haneke
WKW
PTA
Guy Maddin
Tsai Ming-Liang
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Jia Zhangke
Harmony Korine

[B-side]

No particular order:

Theo Angelopoulos
Harmony Korine

:)

[balmakboor]

Have either of you seen Trash Humpers yet? I personally can't wait.

[MacGuffin]

Have either of you seen Trash Humpers yet? I personally can't wait.

I've seen it. It's a nightmare of a film, far more so than any of his others. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. It loses cohesiveness and fluidity, but it's also consistently interesting and atmospheric.

[dmk]

They've not made a lot of films, but...

Azazel Jacobs
Ronald Bronstein
Christopher Weekes
Noah Baumbach
Vincent Gallo
James Fotopoulos

from the top of my head...

[Sxottlan]

Ten years ago my favorites were:
Steven Spielberg
Martin Scorsese
John Woo
David Fincher
Alex Proyas

Nowadays it's:
Christopher Nolan
Satoshi Kon
The Coen Brothers
Martin Scorsese
David Fincher

Followed closely by:
Guillermo Del Toro
Werner Herzog
P.T. Anderson
Guy Maddin
Peter Jackson

Were it a contest, I'd vote Nolan for best of the decade and best new director. The Coens being on the list is a bit of a miracle after their output in the first half of the decade. Spielberg I'd still see on opening day, but I've lost a lot of enthusiasm for him.

[origami_mustache]

Have either of you seen Trash Humpers yet? I personally can't wait.

Yeah, definitely another unique return to form for Harmony.

[Spinal]

David Lynch
Coen Brothers
Michael Haneke
Lars von Trier



These four. Plus Lukas Moodysson.