Furious on Film 08.02.07: Issue 100 - Top 100 Directors #100 - #76 (Part 2)

Posted by Arnold Furious on 08.02.2007

Entries #91 - #76

Furious on Film 08.02.07 – Issue 100. Part 2.

91. GEORGE STEVENS (USA)



HONOURS – Won two Oscars. One for Giant in 1957. One for A Place in the Sun in 1952. Moreover he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg award in 1954. The same year he was nominated for his directorial performance on Shane. He also received nominations for The Diary of Anne Frank, The More the Merrier and the Talk of the Town. He was nominated for three Golden Globes and two prizes at Cannes. Finally he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1701 Vine St.

RT Freshness Rating – 88%

TOP FILMS – Shane, Giant, A Place in the Sun, Gunga Din, Swing Time

SHANE (**SPOILERS**)



OPINION – One of the classic Hollywood film makers George Stevens goes down in history as one of the leading directors in of his era along with John Ford, William Wyler and Howard Hawks. With a great eye for detail and composition Stevens had many plaudits including five Oscar nominations and two wins. Stevens learned his craft in the early days of cinema working with Laurel and Hardy. Stevens was one of the first directors to produce his own films. At a time when directors still relied on others to help them finance and organise their pictures Stevens wanted greater autonomy and control over his films. Stevens' most popular film, at least in my mind, remains Shane. I recently sat down to review the film and it's hard to do it justice in words. After all how can words capture the images that Stevens put on the screen for that film. Unusually bright for a Western but not lacking in the fierce outlaw Wild West mentality Shane was an instant classic. Although it had been carefully crafted by Stevens who spent a whole year in the editing suite making sure his vision was spot on. His tendency to be picky and order multiple takes caused his career no end of problems with Frank Sinatra snubbing him in favour of working with quicker directors. While he carried on making fine films well into the 60's the best of them The Greatest Story Ever Told, with Max Von Sydow as Jesus, was underappreciated in it's own time. Both critics and audiences didn't understand or want to understand the film and it faired poorly at the box office. His final film, The Only Game in Town also tanked at the box office thus ending his brilliant career on a down note. He died of a heart attack in the mid 70's leaving behind a legacy that's seen in cinema to this very day. When Clint Eastwood movies weren't stealing from John Ford or changing Akira Kurosawa they were borrowing from George Stevens. And that's pretty good company.

90. JOHN LASSETER (USA)



HONOURS – He won an Oscar for cinematic short Tin Toy. Using that technology and animation he went on to make Toy Story, which won a special award in 1996. He's also received nominations for Monsters Inc and Cars.

RT Freshness Rating – 91%

TOP FILMS – Toy Story, Cars, A Bugs Life and Toy Story 2.

TOY STORY



Because everyone loves Randy Newman. Just sitting there, singing about what he sees.

OPINION – Originally Lasseter was a worker for Pixar. They were trying to sell a 2D computer imager that no one seemed interested in. Lasseter decided to show them what it could do and made a short film called Luxo Jr. Pixar's main job of making computers suddenly became a second string venture to making movies. After coming to agreement with Walt Disney over creation and distribution of films it was John Lasseter that was at the forefront of this new wave of computer animation. Toy Story was the first film made by Disney-Pixar and to say it was a success would be a minor understatement. It made $191M in the US alone. Worldwide it was more like $350M. The little computer company was now a massive animation company. Lasseter was viewed by many as a modern day version of Walt Disney and both Disney and Pixar put a lot of stock into the man. He didn't disappoint and swiftly followed the brilliant Toy Story with A Bugs Life and a Toy Story sequel. As executive producer he then oversaw Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and the Incredibles before returning to the director's chair to make Cars last year. Brad Bird is also hailed as a genius in the field of animation with his work on Iron Giant and the Incredibles but without Lasseter he probably never would have gotten the chance to make bigger budget animated movies with more scope. While animation was a hit in Japan with movies like Akira in America the animated film had almost died a death in the early 1990's. The TV animation was cheap and anything released as a feature film wasn't much better. Lasseter's short films had incredible quality and helped paved the way for a huge boom in cartoon film making during the late 90's. Toy Story changed everything in America. Not only could animated films appeal to people of all ages but they could also make a lot of money again. The current wave of animated films that we're experiencing is all down to the success of Toy Story. Without Toy Story there's no Shrek, no Incredibles and no Iron Giant. Toy Story helped change the landscape of animation in the US and that's down to John Lasseter. If you love animation you should be giving this man a round of applause. He made it popular again.

89. BRIAN DE PALMA (USA)



HONOURS – He's never won or even been nominated at any of the big awards ceremonies or film festivals. He has been nominated for six Razzie Awards though. Sometimes for half decent films like Mission to Mars and Scarface.

RT Freshness Rating – 68%

TOP FILMS – Scarface, Mission: Impossible, Untouchables, Carlito's Way, Carrie and Mission to Mars.

THE UNTOUCHABLES



OPINION – While De Palma has faced fierce criticism over the years, mainly for a lack of originality, he's produced some highly memorable moments in cinematic history in the process. Do we dislike Quentin Tarantino for essentially copying something and then making improvements? Of course not. So why hate De Palma for the same? True there's probably quite the gulf in talent between Tarantino and De Palma but Scarface and the Untouchables are highly memorable films. Not on the same par as gangster films like Goodfellas or the Godfather, made by better directors, but entertaining and accessible. That's one thing De Palma does have that a lot of his rivals don't. He's highly accessible. Untouchables appeals across the board. Ditto for Mission to Mars. It's rare that De Palma manages to get a great performance in his films but when he does it's from a great actor really hitting their role. Al Pacino was incredible in both Scarface and Carlito's Way. How about Michael J. Fox in Casualties of War? It seems people are quick to remember De Palma for his less glorious moments. The average Blow Out starring John Travolta, a knock off of Blow Up. Or the horrible Bonfire of the Vanities or even Nic Cage flick Snake Eyes. Although that's actually quite good until the last 20 minutes. The fact he's been able to make films within the Hollywood system for so long is a testament to his abilities. He's the more creative complex guy who does you one better than the basics of a Michael Bay or Simon West. Of all his big films only Mission to Mars really tanked (although Femme Fatale and Black Dahlia lost money too, they're not really his top films). And I don't think that's a bad film. Unfortunately it made astronauts look really boring until the really, really silly ending that I still can't bring myself to watch twice. If you're after a decent film with a horrible ending then Brian De Palma is your man. The only exceptions being his best films; Carrie, Scarface and the Untouchables. I'd be quite happy with a line up like that. It's one of those films that should mark his success or failure as a director. If the Untouchables prequel; Capone Rising, works out then De Palma could yet go down as one of the greats. Even if he's made a catalogue of errors over the years.

88. TIM BURTON (USA)



HONOURS – Oscar nominated for Corpse Bride. My favourite Burton movie Big Fish got nominated for a BAFTA. Meanwhile Ed Wood was nominated for the Palm D'Or at Cannes in 1995. This year the Venice Film Festival presents Burton with the career Golden Lion.

RT Freshness Rating – 79%

TOP FILMS – Big Fish, Sleepy Hollow, Batman, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, Beetle Juice, Ed Wood, Corpse Bride.

BEETLEJUICE



OPINION – I have an issue or two with Tim Burton. While he's accomplished a few great films (namely Beetle Juice, Ed Wood and Big Fish) most of his career seems dedicated to making quirky offbeat dark comedies that seem to have this gothic following. In particular I'm thinking about how many Goths adopted Edward Scissorhands and to a lesser extent Beetle Juice as favourites. Sleepy Hollow and Corpse Bride were shameless cash in's aimed at the same audience he'd won over already. Neither film is any good and Sleepy Hollow in particular was a waste of a good cast. What really pisses me off about Tim Burton is that he chooses projects that he doesn't have great ideas going into. Like Batman. He'd never even read a comic book. If it wasn't for Jack Nicholson the entire thing would have been a total disaster. I still quite like both Batman and Batman Returns but a fine example of what he could have done was the far superior Batman Begins courtesy of Christopher Nolan. It was only after seeing this new Batman film that I truly realised what a missed opportunity Burton's Batman films were. It's common knowledge that Joel Schumacher flushed the franchise down the toilet with his two entries but Burton's films have a solid fanbase. You'd have to wonder if that will continue now there's a modern and improved Batman film out there. Another bad choice for Burton was Planet of the Apes. I don't think anyone other than Burton thought that film would be a good idea. And the finished article is by far his worst work. It made him look like a hack and a bad director. But Burton is good and if you want proof then look no further than Big Fish. A ripping yarn from start to finish it's Ewen McGregor's best work since Trainspotting and a great piece of film making. It restored my faith in the bespectacled helmsman after a series of misfires. Of course he went on to make Corpse Bride so you can't win them all. It's almost as if Burton let's a budget get on top of him and he's always attempting these magical projects of immense scale. His best films have been far more self contained. Like Ed Wood and Pee Wee's Big Adventure. And especially Beetle Juice where he created an entire universe inside of a loft. Next up is another attempt at his version of something that's been successful elsewhere; Sweeney Todd. I'm not enthusiastic about it. His relationship with Johnny Depp seems pretty solid but the work they've done together since Ed Wood has been a disappointment for both of them. The theory is that Johnny Depp can save a bad film from being bad. More often than not his performances will cause the viewer to overlook how mediocre the film is. Sleepy Hollow seemed to be a clear cut example of this. Burton has had an interesting career to date and his innovative and original work gives his work a distinct style.

87. PEDRO ALMODOVAR (SPAIN)



HONOURS – Won an Oscar for the screenplay of Talk to Her in 2003. He was also nominated for best director. He's won two BAFTA's. One for Talk to Her another for All About My Mother. He's also received four other BAFTA nominations; Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Live Flesh, Bad Education and Volver. All About My Mother also went over well at Cannes winning a prize from the ecumenical jury, best director and a nomination for the Palm D'or. Volver was also nominated for the Palm D'or.

RT Freshness Rating – 81%

TOP FILMS – Talk to Her, All About My Mother, Volver, Bad Education, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER



Had a hard time finding something with subtitles that I liked. So no subtitles.

OPINION – While I've only seen one Almodovar film, All About My Mother, I enjoyed it so much I provisionally had him lined up to be in the F100 as the end credits rolled. Normally my ruling elsewhere, where I'd only seen one film from a director, was to leave them out. But Almodovar has such a good reputation and All About My Mother was so good that I figure I'll be enjoying his films for some time to come and his placement is justified. There's a good chance he'll place a lot higher in the future as well. Often called the "most highly acclaimed Spanish film maker since Luis Bunuel". That's interesting as Bunuel doesn't feature on my list at all. It's probably because Bunuel is a surrealist and I just don't like surrealist films. I don't think many people do. They're an acquired taste. I don't much care for Jean Cocteau or Federico Fellini either. All these guys are great directors but I feel all their work is inaccessible unless you really like surrealism. Almodovar on the other hand is the very definition of accessible. His films are by design globally appealing. They deal with issues that apply to anyone and because he has a habit of casting Penelope Cruz he tends to get men to watch his films as much as women do. I think I like Almodovar because although he makes films that could be stereotypically pigeonholed as chick flicks they don't really turn out that way. Almodovar is a great rags to riches story as well. When he started out making films it was on a small hand held camera with no formal training. He was unable to attend film school because he couldn't afford to and Franco's Spain frowned upon such activities. After Franco died Spain became more liberal and a huge pop culture trend emerged in Madrid. Almodovar found himself at the head of this movement and a string of films followed eventually making him into a global commodity. Almodovar is one of the few male directors to really believe in a strong female lead character. Off the top of my head the only other film maker to frequently use a strong female lead is Hayao Miyazaki and that's with the different Japanese culture of film making. Almodovar is a law unto himself. He has a knack of humanising his characters and putting them through great tragedy in the name of entertainment. In order to really make his name as an all time great I think he'll have to make a film within the Hollywood system although it looks highly unlikely that he'd be willing to do so. It's rare that a film maker is able to come up with a truly superb career of films without going to Hollywood and making something worthwhile there.

86. LEWIS MILESTONE (RUSSIA)



HONOURS – Won two Oscars; All Quiet on the Western Front and Two Arabian Knights. The latter was in the now defunct "best comedy picture" category. He was nominated again for the Front Page in 1931 and in 1940 for Of Mice and Men. He has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

RT Freshness Rating – 90%

TOP FILMS – All Quiet on the Western Front, the original Oceans Eleven, Mutiny on the Bounty, Of Mice and Men.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT



OPINION – Chances are that although you've not heard the name Lewis Milestone you've seen one of his films. Either the timeless war epic All Quiet on the Western Front or Of Mice and Men at school in English Literature class or Mutiny on the Bounty because it's on TV all the damn time. While he didn't have the most glittering career he's nevertheless left his mark on the history of cinema. Milestone's career spanned a huge period during the development of Hollywood. He began his career in 1918 and continued until Mutiny on the Bounty in 1962. The latter being one of the hardest shoots of all time thanks to a combination of on set problems mostly stemming from Marlon Brando's enormous ego. Milestone even went as far as to ignore some of the takes insisting that Brando wanted to it his way so Milestone would see the film at the cinema and collect his paycheck. He's remembered for providing the world with some timeless cinema especially All Quiet on the Western Front, which is routinely hailed as one of the best war movies ever made. Milestone drew upon his own experience to make it having spent a year in the trenches of World War I as an American soldier. Although he'd left Russia to avoid fighting on their behalf. All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the most bleak and harrowing war films devoid of hope and life. But it was also incredibly ambitious with an enormous scope that made Milestone a player in Hollywood and a famous director for the remainder of his career.

85. SAM RAIMI (USA)



HONOURS – About as good as he's managed was a Saturn award for Best Director on Spider-Man 2 .

RT Freshness Rating – 62%

TOP FILMS – Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead I, II and Army of Darkness, A Simple Plan, the Quick & the Dead

ARMY OF DARKNESS



OPINION – I never really got Evil Dead. I'm not even that big on Evil Dead II. Many of my friends, when I was younger, raved about various horror films and the use of cheap special effects and how great it was. I never really saw that. It wasn't really until Army of Darkness that I got the appeal of Sam Raimi. He showed that with a little more scope and financial backing he could make a film that was engaging, entertaining and funny. Army of Darkness is one of those films where you get a bunch of people back at your house after the pub shuts and everyone agrees to watch a film. Yeah, easy enough, but which one. Army of Darkness has been played post-pub at my house more than any other film I own. At least half a dozen people have had their first exposure to the film at my house. Alongside another dozen who know the film word for word. "This…is my boomstick", "Shop smart, shop S-Mart", "Klaatu, berada…necktie", "Hail to King, baby", "get your damn filthy bones out of my mouth", "hey yo, she-bitch" etc. I hear these lines quite frequently wherever I go. It seems as if everyone I know has a love for Army of Darkness. And that's what Raimi had done before he was actually famous. When he got some real money and ambition together he started into the Spider-Man franchise. Now, I know I had a few unpleasant things to say about the third one BUT the series as a whole and especially Spider-Man 2 are a great example of how to do comic book adaptations. The characters are so close to what they should be. Especially Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson. It's been a really fun series and despite my issues with #3 I'd love them to carry on making Spidey movies. Raimi is still the right guy to direct despite all the flaws with #3. While his films are enjoyed by millions it seems as if Raimi is never really destined for huge critical success. Perhaps turning his attentions to a cinematic version of the Hobbit may get him the plaudits he so richly deserves.

84. RICHARD DONNER (USA)



HONOURS – Donner isn't that kind of director.

RT Freshness Rating – 58%

TOP FILMS - The Goonies, Lethal Weapon 1-4, Superman, Maverick, The Omen, Scrooged

SCROOGED



OPINION – Dick Donner is one of the most underappreciated directors of all time. His roots are, like Raimi, in horror as he started out with The Omen and that's how he made a name for himself. From there, like Raimi, he made a bigger name for himself in the world of superheroes. Donner came up with the defining superhero film in 1978 when he made the first Superman movie. Had he been allowed to make the franchise his way then we'd be talking about the Superman franchise in the way that Spidey is talked about today. Unfortunately he wasn't able to complete work on Superman II and the series has gone downhill ever since with the slight improvement as the series rebooted with Superman Returns. Since then Donner has mixed cult hits like the Goonies and Ladyhawke with big budget successes like Lethal Weapon and Maverick. The Lethal Weapon series allowed him to show what he could do with characters over a series of films. Lethal Weapon 4's conclusion tied up loose ends from across all of the movies and provided fans of the franchise with a very definite sense of closure. The fact that Donner stuck with the series throughout meant it was never allowed to lose steam or become less intriguing. The reviews got worse but as time progressed the mood on the Lethal Weapon films lightened and comedy doesn't always play well when the franchise started out under such serious terms. But then Mel Gibson can't stay suicidal for 4 movies and you wouldn't want to see them if he did. The franchise went through positive changes and I love the entire run of Lethal Weapon. That's not to say Donner hasn't made movies that deserved the bad reviews. There was the horribly racist exploitation film The Toy. Quite how anyone got Richard Pryor to agree to make that film remains a mystery. I would almost certainly bet on drugs because he couldn't have been in a clear frame of mind when he agreed to that. He also made the terrible Assassins in 1995. But I can forgive him for the odd failure because he's provided me with so many good times including one of my favourite Christmas movies ever in Scrooged, which I know is a 411 staff favourite too. This guy has had a great career but no one seems to give him credit for it.

83. TERRENCE MALICK (USA)



HONOURS – Oscar nominated for the Thin Red Line in 1999. He won the Franklin J. Schaffner award from AFI the following year. Days of Heaven earned him a nomination at Cannes as well as a best director award at the festival. The same film was nominated for a Golden Globe.

RT Freshness Rating – 79%

TOP FILMS – Thin Red Line, Days of Heaven, Badlands, The New World

THIN RED LINE



OPINION – Terry Malick certainly takes his time over film making. After completing his first studio picture Badlands he took five years off before following up with the critically acclaimed Days of Heaven. Unlike most hot directors who tend to make a string of films at the start of their careers before starting to wind down or keeping that frenetic pace Malick just disappeared after Days of Heaven. He moved to France and stayed off the radar. I remember the incredible buzz when Malick finally resurfaced 20 years later to make Academy award nominated Thin Red Line. Since then, by his standards, he's been prolific. He completed the New World in 2005 and is on course to make his fifth film in 2008 called Tree of Life. There's absolutely no news about it whatsoever although it seems the world was quite disappointed with Malick's 4th film. Perhaps that mojo he had in his early career has now gone? Despite this there's no denying the man's quality. Thin Red Line alone was good enough to ensure his fame even if he'd not made anything before that. It probably helped that he disappeared for 20 years from the scene and then returned. On his return he found Hollywood's top actors all wanted to work with him. Despite this he opted for two relative unknowns for his main characters in Jim Caviezel and Adrien Brody. You could say the experience was a positive one for them. The film boasted stars at every turn. Woody Harrelson, John Cusack, Nick Nolte, George Clooney, Thomas Jane, Jared Leto, Elias Koteas, Sean Penn, John C. Reilly, Nick Stahl and John Travolta included. It seemed when watching it that a new star popped his head around the corner every couple of minutes. That was the drawing power of Malick, the Texan recluse. The film you should probably check out from Malick is Badlands though. A template for Natural Born Killers it features Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen as young lovers who go on a killing spree. Only it goes far deeper than that and questions morality and the rights of parents and good & evil.

82. TAKESHI KITANO (JAPAN)



HONOURS – Has done well in the Japanese version of the Oscars nominated for best actor and best director for Hana-bi in 1999. Kikijuro was up for the Palm D'Or at Cannes the same year. His 2005 film Takeshis was nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice. At the same festival Zatoichi won an audience award and Hana-bi won the Golden Lion in 1997. That was probably his biggest achievement to date.

RT Freshness Rating – 77%

TOP FILMS – While probably better known in the west for his performance in Battle Royale his most successful directorial flicks are Zatoichi, Hana-bi, Brother, Sonatine, and Dolls.

SONATINE



OPINION – The man more commonly known as ‘Beat' Takeshi is a star in his native Japan. He's a comedian, TV presenter, poet, painter, author and actor. As well his highly successful film career. Internationally Kitano gained fame and notoriety for his performance in the critically acclaimed and widely loved Battle Royale. This wasn't his first flirtation with the west though as both Sonatine and Hana-bi had marginal success overseas. His films tend to be very bleak and static but also with touches of comedy that surprise the International audience but probably not his domestic fanbase. The Japanese were most thrilled by his onscreen antics with 2003's Zatoichi. The tale of a blind samurai. It allowed Kitano more room and licence for comedy and was a box office hit in Japan. While I've only seen three films directed by Kitano it seems they have a feel and a vibe all of their own. I'm especially fond of 1993's Sonatine. If bleak with unusual comedic asides is your thing then Sonatine is the movie for you. Amazingly it was during this time that Kitano was suicidally depressed. He actually tried to kill himself in 1994 in a motorcycle crash. He survived and was left with partial paralysis. He took up painting, which became the theme behind his 1997 film Hana-bi, which established him as an Internationally acclaimed film maker. It seemed as if Kitano's brush with death had taught him to embrace life. He's never looked back. Although his only attempt at an English language film to date was the critical bomb Brother with Omar Epps. It was also a box office failure taking only a fraction of the money it was made for (under $450K at the US box office from a $12M budget). He's since redeemed himself with the critically acclaimed Zatoichi. I didn't personally dig Zatoichi but his bleak and nihilistic earlier films are good enough for Kitano to make his way onto this list.

81. DANNY BOYLE (UK)



HONOURS – Won a BAFTA for Shallow Grace his breakthrough first feature. His film The Beach was nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival.

RT Freshness Rating – 67%

TOP FILMS - Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, A Life Less Ordinary, Sunshine, Shallow Grave, The Beach.

TRAINSPOTTING



OPINION – Most people discovered Danny Boyle with Trainspotting. The gritty Scottish flick complete with heroin overdoses and shoplifting. But I saw Shallow Grave when it came out two years earlier in 1994. The Trainspotting film was undoubtedly his biggest success in terms of entering into pop culture. When it came out there were seemingly endless magazine columns dedicated to the film. Lad mags gave away Trainspotting posters for the following two years. I still have one on the back of a door somewhere. It seemed destiny for him to hit Hollywood sooner rather than later and unsurprisingly he took Ewen McGregor, star of both Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, with him. They collaborated on A Life Less Ordinary co-starring Hollywood star Cameron Diaz. The film didn't please the Trainspotting fanbase that expected a gritty film in a Hollywood setting nor it satisfy the American public. Made for a modest $12M it took a mere $4M at the US Box office. Because there was no underground support for the film because it was so light compared to Trainspotting it failed completely. Back to the drawing board then for Danny Boyle. When he returned to American film making you almost wish he hadn't as he provided the world with the terrible Leo DiCaprio flick The Beach. But luckily for Danny Boyle the Beach did ok taking nearly $40M. Although it didn't recoup it's budget. That would be two bombs in a row. Although the Beach had a setting and atmosphere that was closer to Trainspotting and Boyle's better earlier films the presence of DiCaprio pretty much eliminated that hardcore audience once again. It seemed as if Danny Boyle couldn't catch a break. He got it with 28 Days Later. The zombie film recouped its budget in 2 days and went on to bring home $45M from its paltry $8M budget. Once again it was a gritty realism that allowed Boyle's Trainspotting fanbase to reconnect with him. From there he moved to the ambitious Sunshine. The Brit sci-fi flick was made for a meaty $50M and released early in the UK to mixed reviews. One thing they all agreed on was that Sunshine was visually amazing. Time will tell if it's a big success.

80. SAM MENDES (UK)



HONOURS – 2000 saw him scoop an Oscar for American Beauty. It also won an array of other best director and best film awards including a Golden Globe. His other famous film Road to Perdition was nominated for a Golden Lion at Venice.

RT Freshness Rating – 78%

TOP FILMS – American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead.

AMERICAN BEAUTY



OPINION – Sam Mendes probably couldn't have picked a better debut film than American Beauty. All the pieces were in place for that film to be hugely successful. It hit all the right buttons and garnered a great performance from Kevin Spacey. Although Mendes didn't just dive in head first into cinema. He was originally a stage director working on lavish stage productions like Oliver and Caberet. He was working for the Royal Shakespeare company, which is about as good as it gets in theatre. He won the Olivier Award twice after starting his career at a remarkably young age. He was under 25 when he started directing theatre in 1990. When Mendes had achieved all he wanted on stage he turned to film and his first feature was American Beauty. The film won five Oscars and grossed $130M. That, right there, is the very definition of success. Not only does the film make a tonne of money but it also dominates the biggest award ceremony in the world. For his follow up to this enormous success Mendes worked with a great cast on the Road to Perdition. Paul Newman and Tom Hanks both turned in great performances allowing Mendes to bag another big critical success. It won one Oscar, cinematography, and was nominated for five more. While it took home over $100M it was made for a substantial $80M and wasn't regarded as being on the same level as his previous success on American Beauty. He returned to theatre and won another Olivier award for Uncle Vanya & Twelfth Night. It seemed as if everything Mendes touched turned to gold including his personal life where he dated a string of actresses before marrying Kate Winslet. That was until his third film Jarhead in 2005. While the anti-war flick received quite a lot of buzz it wasn't enough to reclaim it's $70M budget. Mendes had his first failure. Although it wasn't a spectacular one it'll be interesting to see how he recovers. If it means we get the driven Sam Mendes again then chances are his next film will be a work of art. It's called Revolutionary Road and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet together for the first time since they sunk the Titanic and made record money.

79. TONY SCOTT (UK)



HONOURS – He won a BAFTA in 1995 and an Emmy for a TV movie in 2002. He's not really the kind of guy who makes awards movies.

RT Freshness Rating – 52% (that's the lowest so far).

TOP FILMS - Crimson Tide, True Romance, Man on Fire, Top Gun, Enemy of the State, Last Boy Scout

TRUE ROMANCE



Everyone remembers the Sicilian talk (if you don't know what I'm talking about then get that off YouTube stat) but most people don't remember the James Gandolfini speech about killing people.

OPINION – One thing all Tony Scott films seem to have in common is a fast pace as well as a high level of excitement. That's what Tony Scott is all about. He made his name with Top Gun in 1986 after the minor underground success of The Hunger. Top Gun was box office gold. The high octane thrill ride had honest to God fighter jets. It couldn't have been anymore testosterone fuelled if it tried. It made $176M (and that's in the 80's) and became a popular guy movie. Tony Scott's career was almost set up for him right there. His reputation for capturing action sequences led him to a series of box office successes with Beverly Hills Cop 2, Days of Thunder and the Last Boy Scout. I think it shows his skill and the popularity of The Cruiser that Days of Thunder became a hit movie despite it being Top Gun with racing cars. Into the 90's Tony Scott began to try different projects. His first divergence from the norm was Quentin Tarantino penned True Romance. I'm still amazed, looking back, that this film didn't do that well. It had all the right ingredients. Tarantino was so hot at that time even films he'd written would get star interest because people wanted to say his dialogue. Tony Scott just had to turn up and do his best QT impression. It worked and True Romance, while not as good as Tarantino's movies themselves, was a very good film. Scott returned to his action roots with perhaps his best film Crimson Tide after that. Critically his two best films came right together in the early 90's. Crimson Tide is probably my favourite Scott movie and began the relationship between Scott and star Denzel Washington. It seemed after his experiment with True Romance that he'd try a risky film then return to his usual action flicks and alternate between the two. His first attempt at something different was unfortunately Bobby DeNiro flop The Fan. It tanked badly at the box office not even getting half it's budget back. Worse still it wasn't even a good movie. He came back with the safe film; Enemy of the State. A real blockbuster starring Will Smith. Lots of action and explosions. Scott was in his element and was getting good reviews again. The tedious Spy Game was up next and although it had good reviews from some quarters they weren't universal. The film, which I fell asleep during, lost $30M despite having Brad Pitt and Robert Redford. I was left puzzling over what the fuck they spent $92M on. Since then he's made half decent films that most critics have panned. Man on Fire, Domino and Déjà vu have all gotten bad press. It seems as if Tony Scott can still do action but it's far too one dimensional for the modern viewer. But if you're ever in any doubt that he can do great action films look no further than Crimson Tide or Last Boy Scout. He has a real eye for action.

78. SATOSHI KON (JAPAN)



HONOURS - Paprika was nominated for a Golden Lion in Venice last year. To date his 10 award wins have not taken place at major awards ceremonies.

RT Freshness Rating – 82%

TOP FILMS - Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress, Perfect Blue, Paprika.

TOKYO GODFATHERS



This is the opening 7 minutes. The entire of Millennium Actress is on YouTube in 20-odd parts.

OPINION – The rise of Satoshi Kon in Japanese animation has been quite dramatic. With the path paved by entrepreneurs like Katsuhiro Otomo and Hayao Miyazaki he found it easier to get his films made. Kon in fact got his break working with Otomo. They worked together on World Apartment Horror. Later he penned the Magnetic Rose segment of Otomo's "Memories". Sadly Kon wasn't given that enthralling and haunting film to direct himself. He'd gotten himself out there though and gained his first film in 1997. Perfect Blue isn't a great film and depends far too greatly on imitating Otomo. The murder-mystery element and strange blurring of reality and fantasy made it reminiscent of the work of Philip K. Dick. With Perfect Blue he took someone else's script and tried to make it his own. So during his first two attempts at cinema he'd been denied the full process. It was clear from Magnetic Rose that he could write and it was clear from Perfect Blue that he could direct but surely combining the two would reap greater rewards. It wasn't until he made 2001's Millennium Actress that his career really took off. While Perfect Blue had mixed reviews, in fact my own review of it was mixed, Millennium Actress was a critical hit. Not only is it an incredible mixture of fantasy (films and events from the past seeping into reality) and the real world but it maintains an inescapable sense of epic. As the characters live out the important moments of the actress's career and life one after another. There's a point in Millennium Actress where the lead character chases after a dream throughout a series of events spanning her entire career. The sense of urgency is only held back every so slightly by the incredible series of visuals provided by Kon. In my original review I compared it to the Mickey Mouse/broomstick part of Fantasia in terms of how great a piece of animation it was but even greater was the storytelling behind it. During the course of this count down I've been trying to get into my memories of these great moments and nothing before this has come close to how I feel about the montage sequence from Millennium Actress. It almost has to be seen to be believed. A few years later Kon brought out Tokyo Godfathers. It was like he didn't have anything to prove after Millennium Actress and so Tokyo Godfathers was a far more relaxed Kon. Often the lighter mood creating some very loving comedy sequences. It's also one of my favourite feel-good movies and is now on my list of Christmas movies. While that list tends to change every year it shared Christmas Day with Scrooged and It's a Wonderful Life last year. Kon is a film maker I really believe in despite his frequent usage of the kind of surreal imagery that I'm generally opposed to. I think it must be his knack of storytelling that flows around that. Although I've not seen it he also has an animated TV show available called Paranoia Agent, which is supposed to be really good.

77. MEL BROOKS (USA)



HONOURS – He won an Oscar for the Producers in 1968. Although it was for writing not directing. He was also nominated for Blazing Saddles. High Anxiety and Silent Movie were also nominated for Golden Globes. He also has three Emmys and a Grammy.

RT Freshness Rating – 64%

TOP FILMS - Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, The Producers, High Anxiety, Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

SPACEBALLS



OPINION – Brooks got his break working with Carl Reiner in the 60's with his popular 2000 Year Old Man routine. After that he brought the TV show Get Smart to the world. His comedic talents were destined for big things and his first feature film, The Producers, won him an Oscar. The story of two guys desperate to create a flop musical because a flop makes more money in insurance pay outs didn't go down well with financial backers or critics. It later picked up a cult market thanks to it's outlandish set pieces. The most memorable of which has to be the musical number "Springtime for Hitler". Brooks went on to become a well known and respected satirist during the 1970's. In particular scoring a big hit with Blazing Saddles, his spoof Western, in 1974. The same year he made his most recognised film Young Frankenstein. A spoof of horror films starring Gene Wilder. He followed that with loving tribute to silent film Silent Movie. It was the first silent comedy made in over 40 years. After that was the Hitchcockian spoof High Anxiety, which played off Hitchcock's Vertigo for the most part. The difference between Brooks' 70's spoofs and the spoof films of today being that much of the spoof was due to the film having an actual plot and just hinting at moments from other films rather than just staging scenes from another film for laughs. There is a bell tower scene in High Anxiety but like other hints at other films it's not done precisely the same way as it was originally. Next Brooks tackled the rather ambitious History of the World Part 1. At the same time he set up a production company so he could get involved in serious film making without driving potential punters away. It was when he was attending to his producing that he took a break from directing only returning in 1987 for the Star Wars spoof Spaceballs, which remains one of my favourites. His career wound down during the 1990's mainly because of his riches to rags tale Life Stinks in 1991 that…stunk. Even after that he still managed a few chuckles in Robin Hood: Men in Tights but his final film, 1995's Dracula: Dead and Loving It, was a total disaster. He opted instead to retire from film making not even being tempted by the remake of his first film the Producers in 2005. Brooks has been responsible for some of the biggest laughs in cinematic history. His career knows no parallels in the field of satire and anyone who makes money off spoofs nowadays owes a debt of gratitude to Mel Brooks. Even Jim Abrahams and the Zucker's didn't start into their work until a decade after Brooks' first comedy successes. For his innovation alone Brooks makes the list. His films are now timeless.

76. RON HOWARD (USA)



HONOURS – Won two Oscars for A Beautiful Mind. He also got a Golden Globe nomination for Apollo 13. He has a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

RT Freshness Rating – 66%

TOP FILMS – A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Cinderella Man, Ransom, Da Vinci Code, Backdraft, Splash, Cocoon

APOLLO 13



OPINION – Little Ronnie Howard started his career of as a child star. He appeared in countless TV shows and movies before he even hit puberty. Ron Howard grew up on set so it was no surprise that after his acting career began to lose it's lustre he moved behind the camera. That's not to say he didn't have a hugely successful acting career. He appeared in a string of hits including the long running Happy Days, which he starred in as Richie Cunningham. He actually directed his first film way back in 1969 at the ripe old age of 15. During his run on Happy Days he made his first feature film; Grand Theft Auto. By the time he was finishing up on Happy Days he'd made Splash and Cocoon and achieved a large degree of success for such a young director. Both Splash and Cocoon are fondly remembered and, more importantly, both were commercial successes. After spending the 80's making family films he started to branch out into the 90's and spread his creative wings. First up was fire fighting drama Backdraft. It was a commercial success. He then teamed up with husband and wife team Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman on Far and Away. While it received critical pannings at every turn the film was a commercial success. Howard was swiftly gaining a box office reputation. Soon he'd have a critical pedigree to go with it. 1995's Apollo 13 saw him receive huge critical acclaim with the film winning two Oscars from nine nominations. Having had this massive hit he then collaborated with Mel Gibson on Ransom before taking some time off in the late 90's. His biggest critical success to date came on his return in 2001 when A Beautiful Mind bagged four Oscars. He followed that with more critical success in the form of Cinderella Man before the huge box office success of the outstandingly awful Da Vinci Code film. Howard already has an amazing back catalogue of films and seeing as he is only 53 there's every chance he'll go on to establish a portfolio on a par with many of the great directors. So far he has a good mixture of critical successes and money spinning movies. Hollywood loves his movies because they make money and usually get critical support, Da Vinci Code aside. Although they probably don't care seeing as it grossed $217M at the US Box Office. Up next for Howard is Frost/Nixon a retelling of the David Frost interviews with Richard Nixon after Watergate.

Well this is significantly longer than I originally planned! The original idea was to make it a two-parter; this week and next. But it's getting longer and longer by the day. So next week we'll look at 75-51. Let's make this a four parter!

NEXT –

#75 - #51. Some old names, some new names, some foreign names and three lightweight comedy directors! At least one of them will get me stick from the person who demanded I include David Cronenberg in the 100. But which one? See you in seven days!