Directors’ Favorite Movies

Directors’ Lists: Favorite Movies

These are lists of favorite films by some of the film industry’s most-acclaimed directors. Woody Allen Francis Ford Coppola Guillermo del Toro Lena Dunham Rian Johnson Stanley Kubrick Christopher Nolan Paul Schrader Martin Scorsese Steven Spielberg Quentin Tarantino Orson Welles Edgar Wright Woody Allen Allen submitted this unranked list to the 2012 Sight and Sound poll: Amarcord (1972) The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Biciclette) (1947) Citizen Kane (1941) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise (Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie) (1972) 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963) The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959) Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion) (1937) Paths of Glory (1957) Rashômon (1950) The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) (1957) Source: OpenCulture.com (8/2/2013). “Woody Allen Lists the Greatest Films of All Time…” Francis Ford Coppola Coppola submitted this unranked list to the 2012 Sight and Sound poll: The Apartment (1960) Ashes and Diamonds (Popiól I Diament) (1958) The Bad Sleep Well (1960) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) I Vitelloni (1953) The King of Comedy (1983) Raging Bull (1980) Singin’ in the Rain (1951) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) Yojimbo (1961) Source: Flavorwire.com (7/31/2013). “10 Great Filmmakers’ Top 10 Favorite Movies: Francis Ford Coppola” Guillermo del Toro Del Toro submitted this unranked list to the Sight and Sound poll: Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bette) (1946) 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963) Frankenstein (1931) Freaks (1932) Goodfellas (1990) Greed (1925) The Young and the Damned (Los Olvidados) (1950) Modern Times (1936) Nosferatu, a Symphony of Terror (aka “Nosferatu, the Vampire”) (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922) Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Source: Flavorwire.com (7/31/2013). “10 Great Filmmakers’ Top 10 Favorite Movies: Guillermo del Toro” Lena Dunham Dunham selected 14 titles for a 2008 Criterion poll: Fish Tank (2009) Days of Heaven (1978) Broadcast News (1987) Weekend (2011) La Pointe Coure (1955) Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) Le Bonheur (1965) Vagabond (1985) The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978) Fear Eats the Soul (Angst Essen Seele Auf) (1974) Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Straw Dogs (1971) Dead Ringers (1988) Through a Glass Darkly (1961) The War Room (1993) Source: Criterion.com (6/25/2013). “Lena Dunham’s Top 10” Rian Johnson Johnson put this list together for Criterion: 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963) Brazil (1985) F for Fake (1973) Amarcord (1972) Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander) (1982) Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot’s) (1953) Scenes from a Marriage (1973) The Third Man (1949) The Bad Sleep Well (1960) Down by Law (1986) Source: Criterion.com (11/20/2008). “Rian Johnson’s Top 10” Stanley Kubrick In 1963, Kubrick submitted this top 10 list to Cinema magazine: I Vitelloni (1953) Wild Strawberries (1957) Citizen Kane (1941) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) City Lights (1931) Henry V (1944) La Notte (1961) The Bank Dick (1940) Roxie Hart (1942) Hell’s Angels (1930) Source: OpenCulture.com (7/30/2013). “Stanley Kubrick’s List of Top 10 Films…” Christopher Nolan The Hit (1984) 12 Angry Men (1957) The Thin Red Line (1998) The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) Bad Timing (1980) Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) For All Mankind (1989) Koyaanisqatsi (1983) The Complete Mr. Arkadin (1955) Greed (1924) Source: Criterion.com (1/29/2013). “Christopher Nolan’s Top 10” Paul Schrader Director, screenwriter, and film critic Paul Schrader submitted this unranked list to the 2012 Sight and Sound poll: Citizen Kane (1941) The Conformist (Il Conformista) (1970) In the Mood for Love (Dut Yeung Nin Wa) (2000) The Lady Eve (1941) Orpheus (Orphée) (1950) Pickpocket (1959) The Rules of the Game (La Règle du Jeu) (1939) Tokyo Story (Tôkyô Monogatari) (1953) Vertigo (1958) The Wild Bunch (1969) Source: The PendragonSociety.com (7/7/2019). “Paul Schrader’s Top Ten Favourite Films” Martin Scorsese Scorsese put this unranked list of his 12 favorite movies together for the 2012 Sight and Sound poll: Ashes and Diamonds (Popiól I Diament) (1958) Citizen Kane (1941) 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) (1963) Paisan (1946) The Red Shoes (1948) The River (1951) Salvatore Giuliano (1962) The Searchers (1956) Ugetsu (aka “Ugetsu Mongatari” or “Tales of a Pale Moon After the Rain”) (1953) Vertigo (1958) Source: OpenCulture.com (7/31/2013). “Martin Scorsese Reveals His 12 Favorite Movies” Steven Spielberg Steven Spielberg created this list of his 20 favorite movies, as published in Far Out magazine: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) The Godfather (1972) Fantasia (1940) A Guy Named Joe (1943) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) War of the Worlds (1953) Psycho (1960) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Untouchable (2011) The Dark Knight The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959) Day for Night (La Nuit Américaine) (1973) Citizen Kane (1941) Captain Courageous (1937) The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) The Searchers (1956) Tootsie (1982) The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954) Dumbo (1941) Source: Far Out Magazine (10/31/2022). “Steven Spielberg named his 20 favourite movies of all time” by Lee Thomas-Mason Quentin Taratino These are the 12 films Tarantino selected for the 2012 Sight and Sound poll: Apocalypse Now (1979) The Bad News Bears (1976) Carrie (1976) Dazed and Confused (1993) The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) The Great Escape (1963) His Girl Friday (1939) Jaws (1975) Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971) Rolling Thunder (1977) Sorcerer (1977) Taxi Driver (1976) Source: Flavorwire.com (7/31/2013). “10 Great Filmmakers’ Top 10 Favorite Movies: Quentin Tarantino” Orson Welles Director and actor Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) selected these as his top 10 favorite movies. There is no indication when this list was created. City Lights (1931) Greed (1924) Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) Nanook of the North (1922) Shoe Shine (1946) Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925) The Baker’s Wife (La Femme du Boulanger) (1938) Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion) (1937) Stagecoach (1939) Our Daily Bread (1934) Source: The PendragonSociety.com (8/3/2018). “Orson Welles’s Favourite Films” Edgar Wright An American Werewolf in London (1981) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Carrie (1976) Dames (1934) Don’t Look Now (1973) Duck Soup (1933) Psycho (1960) Raising Arizona (1987) Taxi Driver (1976) The Wild Bunch (1969) Source: Flavorwire.com (7/31/2013). “10 Great Filmmakers’ Top 10 Favorite Movies: Edgar Wright” Resources: Dave’s Movie Database: Movie Lists Dave’s Movie Database: “Critics’ Lists of Favorites” Originally posted 7/27/2019; last updated 6/9/2023.

50 years ago: Touch of Evil released

Touch of Evil Released: April 23, 1958 Studio: Universal Genre: thriller/gangster/film noir Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 2.20 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: ? Worldwide: ?

Directing: Orson Welles Screenwriting: Orson Welles Starring: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia Review: “Welles’s last Hollywood film” PM is “proof that post-Kane Welles was not a downward spiral.” T98 It is “considered one of the finest classics-era film noir” MSN as well as “a technical masterpiece.” VD It is a “tightly directed and brilliantly scripted film.” A07 which “is remarkably idiosyncratic, from its legendary opening crane shot to the strangely angled setups and crosscut plotlines.” PM This is “an off-beat, twisted, dark and sweaty…thriller, with murder, police corruption, kidnapping, betrayal, perversion and more” FS “in a seedy border town.” VD Hank Quinlan (Welles) is a “a big, fat, corrupt cop” ML “tracking down some thugs that murdered a wealthy crime lord.” VD He “habitually fabricates evidence to convict the guilty (even though his instincts are usually correct) and frames a young Mexican for the murder.” FS This puts him in conflict with the “self-righteous” FS Mike Vargas (Heston), a Mexican narcotics agent. Through “persistent, perilous efforts with the cooperation of Quinlan’s long-time partner Sgt. Pete Menzies (Calleia),” FS Vargas is able to bring down Quinlan. The movie opens with “cinema’s most exhilarating and complex opening-shot ever” T98 and ends “with the explosive, car-bomb murder of an American businessman on the American side of the border.” FS Sources: FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” ML Movieline (Dec. 1995). “100 Best Movies Ever Made” by Virginia Campbell and Edward Margulies MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud PM Premiere Magazine (Oct. 1998). “100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made” T98 Time Out (1998). “Readers’ Top 100 Films” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 0 Other Lists/Honors: First posted 5/22/2023; last updated 6/3/2023.

The Third Man released 50 years ago today

The Third Man Released: September 1, 1949 Studio: British Lion Film Corporation (UK), Selznick (US) Genre: mystery/film noir Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 1.07 Worldwide: 1.52 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: ? Worldwide: ?

Directing: Carol Reed Screenwriting: Graham Greene Starring: Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard Review: The Third Man is “a bona fide British classic: rich on atmosphere, strong on suspense and blessed with quite wonderful performances.” BFI In “a true collaboration between director Carol Reed and screenwriter Graham Greene,” BFI the latter created “this cool, perfect adaptation” T98 of his own novel. “Mercury Theatre collaborators Welles and Cotten play a chilling game of cat and mouse” A07 “set in corrupt and desperate post-WWII Vienna during the Cold War” FS in this tale “of a supposed dead man and the old friend who wants to get to the bottom of the mystery.” A07 Cotton is Holly Martins, an American pulp fiction writer who travels to Vienna for a job promised him by his friend, Harry Lime, “a black-market drug dealer of the sleaziest nature.” VD played by “a never-better Orson Welles.” RS Martins finds out Lime was supposedly killed in an accident. In his sleuthing to find the truth, he becomes infatuated with Lime’s girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Valli) and is “drawn into the decadent and corrupt world in which Lime existed.” BFI “The rotting streets of postwar Vienna are a metaphor for the paranoia in this bleak film noir.” A07 It is “beautifully shot by cinematographer Robert Krasker.” BFI It is “so brilliantly black, it’s like a one-film negation of Victory in Europe.” ML It is “full of sequences that linger in the mind,” BFI such as “the dramatic scene atop a ferris wheel” FS an d“the underground sewer scene at the end of the film [which] is considered by some to be a masterpiece.” VD There’s also “the acclaimed zither rendition of ‘The Harry Lime Theme’ by Anton Karas helps to create a rare, haunting movie atmosphere.” BFI Sources: A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” BFI British Film Institute (1999) “The BFI 100: A Selection of the Favourite British Films of the 20th Century” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” ML Movieline (Dec. 1995). “100 Best Movies Ever Made” by Virginia Campbell and Edward Margulies RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years” T98 Time Out (1998). “Readers’ Top 100 Films” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 1 – Best Cinematography: Black & White Nominations: 3 – including Best Director, Best Film Editing Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Roger Ebert Leslie Halliwell/John Walker Rian Johnson First posted 9/12/2019; last updated 6/4/2023.