How many directors' top 3 films can we agree on?

[Dowdsy McDowds]

So I'm watching Gladiator, which, in the 'Film Revisionism' thread was referred to a few times as over-rated and it got me thinking; how many top directors' films could we agree make up their top 3 films?

For me, Gladiator would be included in Ridley Scott's holy tri-fecta along with Alien and Blade Runner but I'm sure others would disagree.

I then thought about Tarantino. For me, his top 3 are Dogs, Fiction and Kill Bill 1. Django and Basterds proved very popular on their release but I have to admit I was incredibly bored for the majority of both those films

Mann? Heat for sure. Manhunter seems to gain more traction with each passing year. Collateral gave Tom Cruise an opportunity to harness his inner bastard. Last of the Mohicans remains a great film. Yup, that's 4, see the dilemma?

So let's get the ball rolling. Of the above directors, what are their 3 best films?

Feel free to mention other directors I haven't mentioned too.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

So I'm watching Gladiator, which, in the 'Film Revisionism' thread was referred to a few times as over-rated and it got me thinking; how many top directors' films could we agree make up their top 3 films?

Let's give this a try...

For me, Gladiator would be included in Ridley Scott's holy tri-fecta along with Alien and Blade Runner but I'm sure others would disagree.

Everyone's going to say Gladiator but I think it's a terrible fucking movie. Since Aliens is better than Alien, I'm going to have to pass on that one as well. I'll go with Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, and Black Hawk Down. Mind you, I hate Thelma & Louise, but I think it's amazing that he was able to direct that film without a vagina between his legs.

I then thought about Tarantino. For me, his top 3 are Dogs, Fiction and Kill Bill 1. Django and Basterds proved very popular on their release but I have to admit I was incredibly bored for the majority of both those films

...must...resist...answering...

Mann? Heat for sure. Manhunter seems to gain more traction with each passing year. Collateral gave Tom Cruise an opportunity to harness his inner bastard. Last of the Mohicans remains a great film. Yup, that's 4, see the dilemma?

Heat is obviously his greatest film. I'll concur with Manhunter but include The Insider instead of either Collateral or Last of the Mohicans.

Feel free to mention other directors I haven't mentioned too.

Here's three more directors that should get your thread some attention:

Stanley Kubrick: 2001: A Space Odyssey is his masterpiece. I'll also go with Dr. Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket as his two other great films.

John Carpenter: My head says The Thing, my heart says Big Trouble in Little China. Why not just include them both and add Christine to boot? Yeah, we'll go that route, although I think Prince of Darkness is just as great a film as these other three (I can't ignore the masterful adaptation of a Stephen King novel, though).

Brian De Palma: Carrie is his most well-known, so we'll include it. However, I think the best film he ever made was Body Double, so that's definitely my pick for his magnum opus. And, of course we can's Scarface!

 

[JGlass]

I'm going to roll with my favorite director, Darren Aronofsky, to start things off. Now while I think all of Aronofsky's films are excellent, I think people can generally agree on what his best three are, and usually in order: Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler. Now I personally think that The Fountain is his best film, but I realize that makes me an outlier and I think most people can agree those three are his best.

David Fincher is a guy that you could probably pick the top 3 of fairly easily too. Obviously Fight Club is going to top that list, and the other two accompanying it are going to be The Social Network and Se7en.

Of course, these directors are fairly easy since they have a relatively small library compared to some more prolific directors. Martin Scorsese has a wildly impressive library, but if we had to choose his best three, I reckon Taxi Driver and Goodfellas is going to make most everyone's list, and I'm guessing the last spot would be frequently filled in by The Departed, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, or Gangs of New York.

Here's one guy with a pretty impressive catalog of films that we can pretty easily agree on a top 3 for: Francis Ford Coppola. The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and Apocalypse Now. Easy.

And after choosing all of these super serious directors, let's finish up with Mel Brooks. I think we can all agree that Blazing Saddles and Spaceballs are two of his best films, but I'd imagine there might be some debate on whether the third one is Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Young Frankenstein, or The Producers.

 

[lowandmighty]

I agree with 4/10's choices for Tarantino, although I've never seen dogs, I'd have to assume its better than Django, that was pretty boring.

I agree with Ridley Scott's top 3 and also never thought gladiator was overrated.

I disagree with the choices for Micheal Mann,my favourite movies by him were yes Heat, yes Collateral but I didn't like Manhunter or The Last of the Mohicans so my other top 3 movie from him is The Aviator, great movie.

I'd like to add another director who's movies I like. The Cohen brothers (Joel and Ethan).
From them my top 3 are The Big Lebowski, Oh Brother Where art Thou? and of course No Country For Old Men.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Ridley Scott (AKA The Most Overrated Director Out There): Alien. Blade Runner and Thelma & louise. Blade Runner and Alien are sci-fi classics and by a considerable margin the best films he's ever done. I think Gladiator looks better than Thelma & Louise, but it's so hollow. Also, while Thelma & Louise is a good film, nobody would be picking it if Scott had the films to back up his reputation.

Quesntin Tarantino: Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown & Inglorious Basterds. The problem with every Tarantino film is that they're over-long and self-indulgent. I like all his films...to a point. All would benefit from a tighter edit. I've given up hope that people will agree with me that Jackie Brown is his best film.

Michael Mann: Heat, Manhunter & Collateral. I would've liked to have voted for something like Ali or The Insider over the overrated Collateral and the most dated film of all time, Manhunter. But both bore me to tears. Like a lot of Mann films actually.

Stanley Kubrick: The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey & A Clockwork Orange. I have nothing much to say about them. 2001 is pretentious crap, but I really like it. Or more accurately, I love one third of it.

John Carpenter: The Thing, Christine & Escape From New York. Another director who lives off his reputation because he's made a couple of stone cold classics.

Brian De Palma: Blow Out, Carrie & Carlito's Way. I didn't realise I was such a fan until I tried to pick a top three. De Palma is very good at making enjoyable rubbish.

And now I'm bored. I might do more another time.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I'm going to roll with my favorite director, Darren Aronofsky, to start things off. Now while I think all of Aronofsky's films are excellent, I think people can generally agree on what his best three are, and usually in order: Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler. Now I personally think that The Fountain is his best film, but I realize that makes me an outlier and I think most people can agree those three are his best.

Requiem and Wrestler are, dare I say the easy choices as one announced him as a cult director to keep an eye on and the other was his first step into more widespread recognition. They also happen to be 2 of the most emotionally draining films I've ever seen.
His 3rd film is where I have more of a struggle. Black Swan is good but it never felt as 'Aronofsky-esque' as his other films. Pi is a bit of a mindfuck but was a great debut that showed what he was possible of doing in his later films with the quick repeated edits. I would concur that Fountain is in my top 3 and a big part of that is down to the soundtrack which just reinforced the sense of awe, confusion and wonder in the film.

David Fincher is a guy that you could probably pick the top 3 of fairly easily too. Obviously Fight Club is going to top that list, and the other two accompanying it are going to be The Social Network and Se7en.

Like Black Swan, I think Social Network is a good film, even a great film. His other historical film, Zodiac, would edge it out for me as the story of people's lives being consumed in the pursuit of solving a mystery was far more gripping than a rich kid losing some friends and making money.

Of course, these directors are fairly easy since they have a relatively small library compared to some more prolific directors. Martin Scorsese has a wildly impressive library, but if we had to choose his best three, I reckon Taxi Driver and Goodfellas is going to make most everyone's list, and I'm guessing the last spot would be frequently filled in by The Departed, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, or Gangs of New York.

Just to add to the mess of 3rd options, I would consider adding Mean Streets ahead of Gangs and Departed, but I would have a tough time deciding between it and Raging Bull. I'd also add that I love Casino but I recognise it is a bit of a crowd splitter, but Pesci and Sharon Stone are brilliant in it, whilst De Niro's repetition of "Can I trust you?" in 3 different ways is a mini master class in acting.

Daron's post brought another director to mind - James Cameron. Aliens, T2 and...?

I'll get back to the other choices a bit later, typing this on a tablet with a hungover was as wise a choice as milk on a hot day.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

James Cameron[/B]. Aliens, T2 and...?

The original Terminator or The Abyss? Hard to choose between the two. I agree with Terminator 2 and Aliens, and my gut is leaning towards Terminator, but I'm thinking if you add Terminator that undermines a lot of the value you place on T2.

As far as The Abyss goes, the slow pacing and the runtime (I think it's near three hours or something like that, but 95% of Cameron's films feel like three our four hours no matter what) might feel tiresome to some, but it's hard to ignore the breathtaking special effects. Plus, as far as sci-fi thrillers go, you have to consider The Abyss as one of the all-time greats, and the film itself survived the test of time.

I know others might nominate Avatar or Titanic for the third spot, but I still believe both films are horribly overrated.

Robert Zemeckis is another curious case. The original Back To The Future is a must, but the other two? I'd put Flight up there. Denzel was fantastic as usual (John Goodman was hilarious also), but without Zemeckis work behind the camera, Flight doesn't receive the same amount of attention or praise. But I'm not 100% sure about Cast Away, because I think Tom Hanks and his brilliant performance deserve most of the credit for that film's success. To this day, I still despise the Who Framed Roger Rabbit? film, because I hate the Roger Rabbit character so much (not just now, I couldn't stand him as a kid either).

I'm torn between Romancing The Stone and Back To The Future II. I'm not the biggest fan of Forrest Gump, and Contact is pretty good until the horrific ending.

For Wes Craven I would go with A Nightmare On Elm Street, the original Scream, and Wes Craven's New Nightmare. A shame Wes Craven had to direct that piece of trash My Soul To Take a few years ago. Scream 4 was surprisingly good, but My Soul To Take is pure dogshit.