So Entertainment Weekly continues to move toward its inevitable fusion with Us Weekly with this column: 25 Greatest Active Film Directors.
Not to belittle anyone on the list – they’ve all done their share of great work – but do you think Jon Favreau would tell you he thinks Elf stands above Chinatown? You think Zack Snyder would say 300 kicks Blue Velvet’s ass?
Granted, these lists are always for crap. But this one is especially sloppy – Peter Jackson above Martin Scorsese? James Cameron above the Coen Brothers?
But heck – why not put my money where my mouth is? At least I’d know I have some money.
Here’s my own top 25 – based on everything they’ve ever done.
25 Greatest Active Film Directors:
1. Francis Ford Coppola
2. Joel and Ethan Coen
3. David Lynch
4. Martin Scorsese
5. Woody Allen
6. Steven Spielberg
7. Roman Polanski
8. Sydney Lumet
9. David Cronenberg
10. Werner Herzog
11. Paul Thomas Anderson
12. Wes Anderson
13. Terrence Malick
14. Ridley Scott
15. George A. Romero
16. Spike Jonze
17. Michael Mann
18. Takeshi Miike
19. Clint Eastwood
20. Sofia Coppola
21. Danny Boyle
22. Jonathan Demme
23. Milos Forman
24. Quentin Tarantino
25. Darren Aronofsky
Alright – better or worse?
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Dude – where is Kubrick? He would be in my top 5. I’d also have Christopher Nolan in there. And François Truffaut. But that’s just me. And Jarmusch! I would have him in my top ten.
Also, if we are looking at their entire body of work, then “Jack” knocks F. Coppola down two notches.
Not that I’m knocking your list, because I don’t even know if I could make one. My brain starts to explode just thinking about it, and I know that I would inevitably leave off several great directors.
Crap. I just read the word “active.” It is a very important word.
But I would still have Nolan and Jarmusch. And since a couple of dead guys I like are now gone, I’d have Brad Anderson.
Jarmusch I agree with. He should probably have a home here. Nolan – he’s maybe in the next 25 for me. He’s good, but I just can’t see putting him before anyone else here.
Then again, I wrote this list in about 10 minutes.