AM Auteur Poll 2014: The REAL Results

[JimmyJazz]

7) Ingmar Bergman
869.4 points / 16 votes
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“The Swedish auteur began his artistic career in the theater but eventually navigated toward film—"the great adventure," as he called it—initially as a screenwriter and then as a director. Simply put, in the fifties and sixties, the name Ingmar Bergman was synonymous with European art cinema. Yet his incredible run of successes in that era—including The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and The Virgin Spring, haunting black-and-white elegies on the nature of God and death—merely paved the way for a long and continuously dazzling career that would take him from the daring “Silence of God” trilogy (Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, The Silence) to the existential terrors of Cries and Whispers to the family epic Fanny and Alexander, with which he “retired” from the cinema. Bergman died in July 2007, leaving behind one of the richest bodies of work in the history of cinema.” – The Criterion Collection

TSPDT Rank: 10
Essential Films:
The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
Persona
Cries & Whispers
Fanny and Alexander

Biggest Fans:
pauldrach (1)
BleuPanda (2)
Jirin (2)
Gillingham (3)
Greg (4)
whuntva (5)
McJagger (7)
bonnielaurel (9)
Michel (11)
Chambord (17)
Petri (17)

[JimmyJazz]

6) Akira Kurosawa
881.7 points / 19 votes
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"It would be hard to imagine the modern American cinema without Kurosawa’s palpable influence, whether in the action staging of Sam Peckinpah, Walter Hill, and Martin Scorsese or the distinctive editing patterns that so clearly set off the films of Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. And this is no less true of his influence on internationally acclaimed directors ranging from Italy’s Western auteur, Sergio Leone, to Hong Kong’s master of balletic violence, John Woo. The strategic use of slow motion, the transformation of Sergei Eisenstein’s handling of crowd scenes, the use of jump cuts on movement, the intermixing of long takes and montage, have all entered the lexicon of the modern action cinema." - David Desser, Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film

TSPDT Rank: 6
Essential Films:
Rashomon
Ikiru
Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood
Ran

Biggest Fans:
Charlie Driggs (1)
Stephan (3)
whuntva (3)
BleuPanda (4)
McJagger (6)
Liveinphoenix (7)
Petri (8)
Gillingham (11)
pauldrach (11)
Harold (14)
Jirin (18)

[JimmyJazz]

5) Martin Scorsese
1001.2 points / 22 votes
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“For three decades Martin Scorsese has been at the forefront of American cinema, its most avid champion and respected standard-bearer, and often its most electrifying practitioner… The most cine-literate of directors, he has also been among the most formally restless and exploratory, evolving an obsessive-compulsive mise en scène based on dynamic, agile camerawork and radical, staccato editing rhythms attuned to his innovative, informed and highly influential use of rock, pop and classical music." - Tom Charity, The Rough Guide to Film

TSPDT Rank: 12
Essential Films:
Mean Streets
Taxi Driver
Raging Bull
GoodFellas
Casino

Biggest Fans:
Harold (1)
Greg (3)
Stephan (2)
bootsy (5)
whuntva (6)
PlasticRam (7)
Maschine Man (8)
JimmyJazz (12)
Rob (13)
Romain (13)
stone37 (13)
bonnielaurel (19)
Michel (19)

[JimmyJazz]

4) David Lynch
1026.7 points / 20 votes
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"If high hair is an indication of genius, then David Lynch's plumage outclasses that of his contemporaries - steeper than Jim Jarmusch and wilder than David Cronenberg. The same goes for his oeuvre. With their steep and wild puzzle narratives, Lynch's films are to be experienced instead of explained - never good with words, he is more of a preverbal philosopher than an evangelist, questioning instead of answering." - Ernest Mathijs, 501 Movie Directors

TSPDT Rank: 28
Essential Films:
Eraserhead
Blue Velvet
Twin Peaks (series)
Mulholland Dr.
Inland Empire

Biggest Fans:
BleuPanda (1)
Petri (2)
Liveinphoenix (3)
Chambord (4)
Gillingham (4)
pauldrach (4)
Michel (7)
Henrik (8)
Romain (9)
McJagger (10)
Rob (15)
Jirin (16)
Stephan (16)

[JimmyJazz]

3) Joel & Ethan Coen aka the Coen Brothers
1049 points / 20 votes
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"The Coen brothers' films might lack the high artistic or philosophical intent of Lynch or Cronenberg, but they do have an auteurist sense of absurd incongruity, in addition to an ear for the peculiarities of colloquial speech. Laced in strangely surreal black comedy, intertextual references and mischievous re-workings of genre conventions, their films draw on the collective archetypes of Hollywood. From the bleak noir negativism of Blood Simple to the endearing comedy of The Big Lebowski, their films delight in self-reflexive play, leading some critics to claim them for a postmodern aesthetic." - Tanya Krzywinska, Contemporary North American Film Directors

TSPDT Rank: 69
Essential Films:
Miller's Crossing
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
No Country for Old Men
Inside Llewyn Davis

Biggest Fans:
Rob (1)
Petri (4)
Gillingham (5)
Harold (5)
Jirin (6)
PlasticRam (6)
bootsy (7)
pauldrach (8)
Stephan (10)
Miguel (11)
BleuPanda (12)
Maschine Man (12)
Romain (12)
Chambord (16)
stone37 (17)

[JimmyJazz]

Well, my friends, we have reached the end. I can only assume that you are all CLUELESS regarding the final two contenders for the crown in our poll. Needless to say, the only speculation left is which one will take the prize, and which one will end up the bridesmaid?

It has been a wonderful journey being the host of this poll, a first ever for the Acclaimed Music film board. It has been entertaining to receive all of your extremely varied and diverse lists of auteurs. The late Andrew Sarris once said that the perfect way to figure out somebody's personality was by reading their favorite films list, and I feel that his words ring even more true for lists of directors. I have seen all sorts of artistic and even general sensibilities during my time running this poll, and feel I got a strong impression of all the wonderful people that are part of this community.

[JimmyJazz]

In second place is...






2) Alfred Hitchcock
1235.3 points / 19 votes
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“Few directors have been as influential as Alfred Hitchcock. His lasting impact on the genre he more than mastered over the course of nearly five decades—the thriller—is undeniable and for generations of devoted filmmaking followers, his carefully constructed, mesmerizing set-piece sequences continue to be studied… and mimicked. Moreover, he is one of the rare directors who almost everyone knows, from studied scholar to your average Joe Pony Keg. To them, his name is synonymous with a certain style, a specific artistic approach, and more than one example of cinematic brilliance in his personal portfolio. When you look over his life behind the lens, his astonishing accomplishments speak for themselves.” – Bill Gibron, PopMatters

TSPDT Rank: 1
Essential Films:
Notorious
Rear Window
Vertigo
North by Northwest
Psycho

Biggest Fans:
bonnielaurel (1)
Henrik (1)
Miguel (1)
whuntva (1)
Charlie Driggs (2)
Harold (2)
McJagger (4)
Petri (5)
BleuPanda (7)
JimmyJazz (7)
Stephan (9)
stone37 (9)
Maschine Man (10)
Rob (10)

And the Winner Is....






1) Stanley Kubrick
1415.5 points / 20 votes
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“Is there anyone more respected or, with the possible exception of Hitchcock, recognizable? Turn on any Stanley Kubrick movie and you should know instantly, whether you’ve seen it before or not, who the film’s director is. The peerless, pristine images; the long, empty corridors; the upturned, dead-eyed stare of the madman; the hypnotic tracking shots, so smooth they seem to be gliding on ice; and, of course, the music: Kubrick’s telltale motifs as distinctive as a photograph by Ansel Adams. In some ways, this is not such a good thing. It would be nice, for instance, to return to a time when “The Blue Danube Waltz” didn’t evoke the image of a giant white hamster wheel tumbling through space. Yet such is the scope of Stanley Kubrick’s influence. Reading “Lolita” today, we can’t help but picture Sue Lyon, contrary as she may be to Nabokov’s description of the nymphet, peering out over the tops of her sunglasses, just as we can’t remember the Cold War without thinking of Slim Pickens, Stetson in hand, bull-riding an A-bomb to the point of impact. Kubrick’s hold over our imaginations is simply too great.” – Graham Daesler, The Moving Arts Film Journal

TSPDT Rank: 3
Essential Films:
Dr. Strangelove
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Barry Lyndon
The Shining

Biggest Fans:
Gillingham (1)
Liveinphoenix (1)
Petri (1)
Romain (1)
stone37 (1)
whuntva (2)
Harold (3)
Michel (3)
Rob (3)
BleuPanda (5)
bonnielaurel (5)
Henrik (5)
Miguel (5)
Maschine Man (7)
bootsy (8)
Charlie Driggs (13)
Stephan (18)

[Nick]

Great presentation, JimmyJazz! Thanks for all the hard work!

I didn't vote, but if I did, my top 5 would've been...

1. Quentin Tarantino (favorite film: Pulp Fiction)
2. Stanley Kubrick (favorite film: The Shining or 2001: A Space Odyssey)
3. Hayao Miyazaki (favorite film: Spirited Away)
4. Martin Scorsese (favorite film: Goodfellas or The Departed)
5. Joel and Ethan Coen (favorite film: The Big Lebowski)

[Petri]

Thanks for the superb presentation and results JimmyJazz. So many great surprises. There aren't so many director lists in which Nolan (not in my top 100) and Tarr (my #69) are one after another. Also Krzysztof Kieslowski in top 30, Lars von Trier in top 25 and Hayao Miyazaki in top 15 were pleasant surprises.
With so many great surprises it's quite a pity not to see a single woman in our final top 100 (well I only voted for four women and only one of them was in top 50 so I'm not the one to blame anyone).

There were three directors in the list I still haven't seen a single movie by them: Jacques Rivette, Theo Angelopoulos and Eric Rohmer.

I guess Jimmy is going to release the individual lists soon but here's my top 10 directors that are not in the final top 100.
19. Roy Andersson
30. 김기덕 [Kim Ki-duk]
34. Emir Kusturica
35. 北野武 [Takeshi Kitano]
40. Bernardo Bertolucci
45. 鈴木清順 [Seijun Suzuki]
46. Sofia Coppola
49. Louis Malle
51. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
56. Nicolas Winding Refn

[bonnielaurel]

That was an electrifying countdown. Nice surprises to me: the good places for Chaplin, Allen, Almodóvar, Ang Lee. I noticed FF Coppola only has four essential films. Unfortunately no women, I was hoping for Sofia Coppola or Jane Campion.

Highest placed I didn't vote for: Coen Brothers, Tarkovsky.
Highest in my list without making the cut: Michael Curtiz (19), Vincente Minnelli (20).

[Petri]

I really need to watch something by Jarmusch, I've never heard of his films outside of here and TSPDT.

It's been a pretty good list so far. Was expecting Wes Anderson to be a bit higher, but still a great placement. Good to see Almodovar get good representation.

Jarmusch's movies are incredible, I can assure you. I would probably start with his 80s stuff first if I were you, like Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law specifically. My favorite film of his though, and one of my all-time favorite movies, is Dead Man, which Jonathan Rosenbaum once called the ultimate "acid Western" and that label completely fits. Other definite must sees from him include Mystery Train, which is his delightful tribute to 50s American Rock music, from the most unusual of characters, and Ghost Dog, which is his tribute to both Japanese cinema and culture as well as hip-hop (specifically the Wu Tang Clan!) Only Lovers Left Alive, his vampire romance film from last year, is also wonderful.

I was definitely expecting Wes Anderson to place in the Top 50 as well. I now regret not placing him on my Top 100, somewhat, but there are a number of auteurs I love too, so he currently sits on my 25 runner ups instead.

I am also shocked at the rather low placement for Mizoguchi and Powell & Pressburger though. Such masters...

Yeah you really nee to watch Jarmusch (my #21) movies BleuPanda. I second Jimmy's choices. Down by Law and Stranger Than Paradise are my favorite too. His debut feature film Permannet Vacation is also a very good one (practically anything by Jarmusch is very good).

Powell & Pressburger just missed my top 100. Peeping Tom is my favorite of Powell's movies. It felt wrong to give credit for Pressburger about a movie he didn't make so I didn't vote for them.

[Gillingham]

Great stuff Jimmyjazz! Thanks a lot for this great poll. Really good idea.

Quite happy with the results, AMF doesnt disappoint me.

One thing, Bergman was my number three, but I am not in the fans list.

[Rob]

Very interesting results. Probably because I already visit so many movie sites already I've always ignored this part of AM, so I didn't know what to expect from this poll. Would it be one of those that shun Nolan and Tarantino and praise Lav Diaz and Aleksandr Sokurov or the other way around. Though these last two examples didn't make it, it seems to hold some middle ground. A good and healthy balance between art and entertainment and anything in between. The only surprises for me where the inclusion of Tarr (a happy one, I voted for him too) and Reiner (unnecessary addition in my opinion). Less surprising, but notable is the absence of D.W. Griffith and Sergei Eisenstein. I don't particularly miss them, but I wondered if their historical achievements alone would be enough to get in here. Apparently not. Besides all this the only surprises came from rankings, like the extraordinary high placement of Miyazaki, compared to say, Ozu.

Here are the directors I voted for that didn't make it:

12. Chuck Jones
18. Robert Clampett
28. Roy Andersson
33. David O. Russell
38. Satoshi Kon
44. Alejandro Jodorowsky
46. Wojciech Has

Not a lot, really. I'm probably a bigger fan of animation films than most and the others have a knack for comedy and surrealism.

Thanks for hosting JimmyJazz! You did a great job. My only complaint would be that as probably the only cinephile in the world who doesn't worship at the altar of Robert Bresson I again had to read yet another critic making a grand statement like "to not get Bresson is to not get the idea of motion pictures". Oh well, since he is your favorite director I forgive you for choosing the description with the biggest praise

[JimmyJazz]

Sorry about the Bresson quote, Rob, but it is definitely how I feel about his cinema

My selection of quotes tried to be objective, but when it came to some directors, I felt too passionate about them. You're clearly not the only cinephile who doesn't care for Bresson. He didn't receive that many votes, so you're not alone in your dislike of him.

I like both Griffith and Eisenstein, though as far as pioneers go I love Feuillade and Melies even more actually.

I love both Diaz and Sokurov actually, and I'm not a huge fan of Nolan or Tarantino (excepting his 90s films of course) at all, so there you have it.

I didn't actually include any animators on my own list, not because I don't enjoy their work, but because it almost seems like a different medium to me in some respects. I love Tex Avery's old cartoons, Yuri Norstein and Michel Ocelot's work is wonderful, which I discover fairly recently actually, and I love all of the studio Ghibli works of course.

[JimmyJazz]

Thanks for all of the compliments, guys! I will start posting the lists very soon, though if anyone wants to post their lists go right ahead!

[Henrik]

More compliments coming - thanks a lot for this poll JimmyJazz, it was great!

My favorite directors that didn't make the top 100:

12. Lukas Moodysson
21. Ruben Östlund
23. Emir Kusturica
24. Jean-Pierre Jeunet
25. Peter Bogdanovich

[Luke JR68]

Thank you for hosting JimmyJazz and congratulations on a job well done, this made for very interesting reading for a rank film amateur like myself

[bootsy]

Thanks Jimmy Jazz. This was a great idea and hopefully there will be more movie-themed polls in the future.

[Henrik]

Yes, how about an actors poll?

[Jirin]

I like Tarkovsky's vote breakdown. 12 votes, 6 of which are top 2.

[Chambord]

Great job JimmyJazz !

The overall poll looks good. All the big boys are there (sadly no girls). Though definitely the ranking is pretty funny: Top 5 all english language, Fincher above Godard / Fellini, Spielberg no 15, Tarantino would have a big laugh seeing himself above many of his masters. Same for the Coens (3rd ??) Etc. In all fairness the ranking of the albums poll was much closer to Reality, whatever that is

But it gives me joy to discover people that are in the same time fans of music AND film (AND books, as seen in other threads) like myself.

[Miguel]

Thank you very much for your job, Jimmy!

Here's my top 10 directors that are not in the final top 100:

7. M. Night Shyamalan
12. Don Siegel
18. David Mamet
20. Atom Egoyan
21. Stanley Donen
24. Paul Verhoeven
26. Douglas Sirk
31. Robert Zemeckis
32. Sam Peckinpah
33. Blake Edwards

[Rob]

My selection of quotes tried to be objective, but when it came to some directors, I felt too passionate about them.

No problem, the more passionate quotes work well in a list like this. It's just that for some reason critics always save their biggest hyperbole for Bresson. I don't actually dislike him, by the way. He has his merits, but for various reasons I just don't think his movies work too well, though that's of course mostly a personal reaction.

I like both Griffith and Eisenstein, though as far as pioneers go I love Feuillade and Melies even more actually.

I'm now banging my head for forgetting Méliès in my list. I like Feuillade, but not enough for a top 50 placement.

I love Tex Avery's old cartoons, Yuri Norstein and Michel Ocelot's work is wonderful, which I discover fairly recently actually, and I love all of the studio Ghibli works of course.

Nice to see a mention of Norshteyn (the spelling of his name seems to vary from place to place) there. He's actually the only director I considered voting for just on the basis of one film (A Tale of Tales), but I didn't want to break my own rule. If his other work turns out to be as strong as that one he'll probably enter my list of directors on a high place. The same goes for Lotte Reiniger, of whom I also saw just one movie. I haven't gotten to Ocelot yet. Tex Avery was bubbling under (probably between 50 and 60) for me. A great cartoon director and a pioneer of his genre, but Clampett did his thing just a little better in my opinion.
I consider animation a different style, but not a different medium, by the way. A bit like how, documentaries, silent movies and experimental cinema can seem like a different approach to film. And with the advance of digital imagery in the last few decades the lines between animation and live action cinema blur more and more each year.