CinemaBowl II: The Directors (Round One: Red A & B)

[slipjig3]

Why? Because I'm an idiot, that's why.

Last year, I lost my sense of reason and presented a massive, 512-title bracket in an effort to determine the Greatest Movie Ever (Out of These Random Titles I've Selected); which lead to a decisive victory on the part of The Princess Bride. This year, in an effort to promote and encourage the quibbling and righteous indignation of my fellow movie snobs—because, let's face it, quibbling and righteous indignation are what make us movie snobs happy—I am presenting a new bracket of 256 names to determine the Greatest Director Ever. You're welcome.

Here's the rules and disclaimers:

1) For each pairing, choose the director you prefer, using whatever criteria you see fit. Be aware that you are voting strictly on the basis of directorial skill, and not on talent in acting, writing or other fields that the candidates might be involved in. The winner of each pairing will advance to round 2.

2) If any names are unfamiliar or if you need a reminder of what anyone has directed in the past, clicking on any name will open that director's IMDb page in a new window.

3) The list of names is totally arbitrary (I likely forgot a few, although I endeavored to at least get all the big ones and cover as many eras and genres as possible), and their placement in the brackets is completely random (i.e. the management is not responsible for pitting your two favorites against each other, so deal).

4) Important: When voting, please note that there are two separate polls, so be sure to click both "Submit" buttons. Thank you.

5) Feel free to pimp this out in your own journals, if you're so inclined. The more, the merrier.

Deadline for this round of voting is Tuesday, April 8 at 1 p.m.; any votes submitted after that time will not be counted. Enjoy! This poll is now closed, and votes have been recorded. Thank you!


Red Conference, Division A

[Poll #1167192]

Red Conference, Division B

[Poll #1167193]

Comments

[emilytheslayer.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but could I possibly trouble you for a cut? Long list is loong.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Sorry 'bout that. Cut added.

[emilytheslayer.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[tablesaw]

No cut! Leave it long!

Also, a clarification: when assessing "directorial skill" should we limit ourselves to film directing? I'm looking at Charles Crichton's IMDB page, and he has a lot of directing credits for TV shows.

[yendi]

That's a good question, and one that will continue to be important (in fact, it will be vital to how I evaluate someone like, say, Joss Whedon).

Another thing I'm curious about: How much should we (or can we) separate a writer-director like Tarantino into his or her individual parts? And what about the writer-director-star (Chaplin, Woody Allen)?

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

See response above re: TV work (in short, your call).

As for the other matter, if it's at all possible to separate direction from other matters, do so. This is especially important in cases where a talented director insists on filming his/her own less-than-stellar scripts (not naming any names [*cough*Gilliam*cough*]). In some cases, direction and writing are much more entangled with each other, so again, use your best judgment.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

That's entirely up to your own personal judgment. In some cases, considering TV work might be necessary to evaluate the director as a whole, not to mention (in some cases) shorts, music videos, and the like. It's entirely your call. (And yeah, Crichton was a last-minute fill-in, and perhaps not the best choice, but he is a multiple Oscar-nominee, so he seemed valid.)

[rubian77.livejournal.com]

Just so long as you don't forget Kubrick....

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Ohh, trust me, there's no forgetting Kubrick. I think his might have been the first name I wrote down.

[amalthya.livejournal.com]

Man, I'm having to click *all* these links! So many guys I don't know!

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I apologize for that. I swear I wasn't trying to go for über-obscure with this. Thank you so much for taking the time, though!

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Coens are definitely in, although I've listed just Joel Coen in the bracket, since Ethan usually fills in in other non-directorial capacities instead (recent Oscar notwithstanding). You're welcome to treat the two as a single unit, though, if you feel it appropriate.

[blimix.livejournal.com]

I think I'm going to have to sit this one out.

Well, I didn't answer a lot of the film ones, because I didn't know the films. But I answered what I could. This time, in the couple of cases where I knew the work of both in a pair of directors (sometimes with help from the IMDB), I couldn't decide between them!

BTW, it would be useful to add "#director" to your IMDB links.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*nods* no worries. I kinda knew this was going to be a handful. (Thanks for the tip on the links!)

[akfirefly76.livejournal.com]

huston v hitchcock in round 1????
so unfair

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I know! That's the one that's killing me. That and Figgis v. Pollack, two names I would love to see make round 2. I hate my randomization methods.

[yendi]

Jesus fuck. You're asking me already to choose between Waters and Mamet?

(Not that this was a tough one -- Waters is fun, but Mamet is Mamet. But it's still painful.)

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*nods* Stupid randomizer.

[yendi]

Also, in at least a few cases, I was actively voting against a director -- I'm sorry, but you can never, never, ever make up for something like Super Mario Brothers or Pay it Forward (in fact, how, exactly, did Leder even make this list? Surely there are at least 256 better directors than her?).

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Mimi was a last-minute add. I was running short on women, and it was either her or Leni Reifenstahl, which would have sent this whole thing into Godwin's Law territory.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Also, considering that Ed Wood, Ray Dennis Steckler and Uwe Bohl are all in the running, Mimi Leder is hardly egregious.

[yendi]

*blink*

Christopher Motherfucking Columbus has seven votes? What the fuck, people? They show The Bicentennial Man to the prisoners at Gitmo.

The last sign of talent he showed in 1987, when he debuted with Adventures in Babysitting.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I don't write the results. I just report 'em.

[supremegoddess1.livejournal.com]

Don't go dissin' Bicentennial Man! I love that movie!

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

At last! Some love for Adventures in Babysitting! (Though I hear that his Only the Lonely was good, too.) I ran into an edited version of Adventures in Babysitting on cable recently, and even in edited form (i.e. a redubbed "Don't FUCK with the babysitter!") I thought it holds up.

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Gilliam...?

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

On his way. *grin* I forget which round, but he's in the bracket.

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

What, no Steven Spielberg? For Close Encounters and Schindler's List alone he deserves to be on the list. And what about Woody Allen, ferchrissakes? Or are they coming later on?

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Patience, comrade! These are just the first two divisions out of 16, and the first 32 names out of 256. Matter of fact, I believe Spielberg will be appearing tomorrow, if memory serves.

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

This is hard to admit, but A-5 for me is a washout. I know so little of these two directors I feel I really shouldn't have voted. And Nick Park vs Ang Lee?! *flail* You KNOW Nick Park is gonna tough to vote against unless you hate hate HATE claymation!

And about Miike- There needs to be a site with better title translations. I have seen maybe 5 of his films and they were all horrific or brutal. He is well known for provoking , and has stated publicly that one of his targets are the japanese censors.

And I agree, the Waters vs Mamet was tough.:D

Part of why the last bowl was so fun was the commentary full of screaming, flailing, roaring and assorted laughter. It's good to know that some folks are as puzzled by these unknown directors as me.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

I figured there'd be plenty of washouts for most people, as there were for last year's CinemaBowl. Every person on the list is a "known name" among critics and hardcore fanatics, but that doesn't make them household names among the rest of us. Figure that the truly obscure stuff will get voted off early, and that remaining votes will be more recognizable as a whole; in the meantime, skip any pairing you feel you don't have a grip on.

Miike was included in the interest of covering a wide variety of styles and genres, and because he does have a solid following (especially where Audition is concerned). That said, I personally ain't a-goin' there. *shudder*

Glad you're enjoying this!

[akfirefly76.livejournal.com]

I think I'm doing pretty good. (not my heart... my heart is breaking because a talentless quack like Tarantino is beating Chaplin.) I've only had to click a few and then within reading a couple movie titles I am familiar enough to vote with confidence. Maybe it is because I'm a director. hee. I can't wait to see who your randomizer pairs jane campion against. or mira nair. I may have to kill your randomizer.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

*blink* Oh, right, Mira Nair. Um. *hurriedly edits bracket*

Dammit, I knew I was missing someone. (Jane made it, though, of course. Do you really wanna know who she's up against?)