Greatest contemporary film director?

[smurphy]

After recently watching "Inception" it occured to me that Christopher Nolan, pound for pound, could give any director from any era a run for their money when it comes to making near perfect films(Batman Begins, The Prestige, Memento etc). In my opinion "The Dark Knight" is the greatest movie out of Hollywood in the last twenty years.

Despite this, any way I look at it hes not my favourite director. If you look around Hollywood you have got the likes of Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Anderson and Sam Mendes.

If you go even further afield you get the likes of Danny Boyle. Go to Japan, and you get my personal favourite, Takashi Miike.(Audition, Ichi the killer, Dead or Alive, Crows Zero). Theres even Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano who are still making great movies. And in Korea you get Park Chan Wook( the Vengeance trilogy) and Jo Ho Bong.

So I ask you these questions. Is world cinema currently having a golden era in regards to the amount of quality directors behind the camera? Are there any omissions from my list that should get more recognition? Who is your personal
favourite and who do you consider the best if you dont consider the two synomynous?

[Hyzenthlay]

There are quite a few directors that I consider great. One that springs to mind is James McTeigue. V for Vendetta, in my opinion, is one of the greatest films ever made. It's certainly the best made from a graphic novel or comic. His command of sequences in that film are awe inspiring. He also creates raw emotion that is difficult to convey in an action scene. The Matrix is also undeniably a landmark film. Shame about the sequels really.

Ridley Scott has also created some amazing films. He challenged gender stereotypes with Alien in the 70's and shot a powerful female lead. I don't think many people would say that Alien wasn't a great film. If he'd directed Aliens he'd be even better. Then there's Gladiator which was amazing, and Blade Runner... And... Well, we can forgive him for Kingdom of Heaven.

I also agree that Christopher Nolan is an amazing director. I thought Insomnia was very good as well as the ones you've mentioned. I loved that Robin Williams shook off the comedy coat he so often wears. He makes a great creep.

Hyz.

[Taco-Calamitous]

Surprised no one's mentioned Martin Scorsese. He's directed some great flicks throughout the years... and not all of them have been about mobsters. Taxi Driver was a great character study, as was Raging Bull (though those are both at least 30 years old now, I think...) More recently, he did Gangs of New York, which was epic. Still haven't seen The Departed, but I want to.

On the same note as Hayao Miyazaki, what about his Pixar counterparts, like Brad Bird, Bob Peterson, Peter Docter, Lee Unkrich, and John Lasseter? They have routinely put out great family movies (not just kids' movies.) Brad Bird also did The Iron Giant, which is a children's classic.

I've also enjoyed everything I've ever seen by Terry Gilliam (Time Bandits, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.) I know a lot of his stuff is a little too out there for a lot of people, but I eat that shit up. Very imaginative, and often very funny, too. Still need to see Brazil.

I really don't follow specific directors, usually. Could list Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino, but I don't know if they're necessarily "great" directors. Also Peter Jackson, if just for the Lord of the Rings movies and his version of King Kong, though I know a lot of people discount those movies. Drawing a blank for a lot of others. Actually, say what you want about him, but James Cameron has directed some great movies (how about Aliens and the first two Terminators, to name a couple?) Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Polk]

Paul Anderson

I really hope you mean Paul THOMAS Anderson. Otherwise you and I will have to fight.

How has nobody mentioned the Coen Brothers yet? No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, Burn After Reading, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, god I could keep going on.

I'd go with Tarantino as one of the best as well. Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown, the Kill Bill's, and Inglourious Basterds are all great. His only real miss, in my opinion was Death Proof, but we don't talk about Death Proof.

And Telegraph, go see Brazil RIGHT NOW. It's fantastic.

[Xanatos]

The big ones have been already mentioned, I would also add Sam Raimi who's far from the top but did made some great films, Spiderman series, Evil Dead, The Quick and the dead, just to name few. Maybe even Steven Soderbergh (what, you though I was gonna say Spielberg), Traffic, Ocean's Eleven (and the rest of the series). Speaking of Spielberg, I'm surprised no one mentioned him, he made some amazing movies, Jurasic Park series, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List...

With that being said I have to second/third Christhoper Nolan and Ridley Scott, those two made some of my favorite movies, "The Prestige" being my favorite and "American Gangster" as second one.

[Sinister]

Sam Raimi's fantastic. He's a greater director by far than most mentioned. He took cheap magic tricks that cost a dime, threw them in front of the camera and made a grossing movie. But he was too irreverant about his art for me. He never took himself seriously and this was reflected in the majority of his work.

All Quentin Tarrantino seems to be able to do is copy, homage or mock film genres. He does this infamously well, but he's too much of a one-trick pony for my tastes. He accomplishes the same thing jumping from genre to genre, like he's marking off targets on a hit list.

Christopher Nolan and the Cohen brothers are the closest anyone's come to greatest contemporary film directors in this thread. They aren't one trick ponies and they grip the audience. But they're both so hollywood it hurts, these days. Christopher got his start with great indie film-noir homage pieces that belong in any collection. But if you've seen The Dark Knight, you'd know it has enough hollywood unoriginality in it's shots to be suspect. It cleverly mixes these cliches with some original ideas, but you can see the director Nolan is...slowly dying. The same cannot be said of the Cohen brothers, but they are the wild cards and rebels of this era...you never know what effect they will have on you. That can be an issue if you're in the mood for something specific.


My problem with all of these directors? Consistency. Sam Raimi is the only remotely consistent director I've listed and as I've said, his films aren't very serious...unless you count his Spider-Man works.(which I like to ignore)


No, imho, the greatest contemporary director would be...

Dario Argento (contemporary because he still makes movies, not because they're good) He rates high in my list of greatest directors of all time. He's consistent to a fault and yet he always surprises and delights viewers within the expected genre and tone. His shots are gruesomely angled and prepared and he has a flare for picking the right script. I can only imagine he starts to visualize movies from the second he thumbs through a script.

EDIT: Also I must shame you all that I'm the first person to name-drop Danny Boyle...SHAME!
EDIT: EDIT: I recant, I didn't see Danny's name in the OP until just now. Kudos. Long live Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, A Life Less Ordinary and Slumdog Millionaire.

-Sin

[Confession]

As stated above, majority of the amazing directors have been said. And since I agree with them all, I'm not going to restate what every one else has said, but add another one that I believe creates absolutely amazing movies.

This is, Guy Ritchie.

With movies under his belt such as.

Snatch (One of my all time personal favorites)
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
And the newish Sherlock Holmes movie.

He has shown a very distinct taste in his filming, and can create intensity so well, in parts that would be really drawn out otherwise.