This was originally posted on my blog on the date below, enjoy.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004 Top Ten: Directors
This week is a Top Ten list of directors that I would give the benefit of the doubt in seeing their films. They may not be the most talented director's, but they have impressed me enough with previous works to get me to see a film by them even if it doesn't interest me. I am restricting this list to directors who are currently still producing films, discounting favorites like Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and Akira Kurosawa. I also kept this list limited to directors who have a decent back catalog, this discounts promising rookies like Lucky McKee and Eli Roth.
1. Tim Burton: This guy has given amazing films time after time. Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks, Big Fish. Even the slight misstep of Planet of the Apes was good. His style, dark, gothic, bizarre is great. I will always look forward to a Burton movie.
2. Quentin Tarantino: I was introduced to this madman with Pulp Fiction, then going back to Resovoir Dogs, and then to Jackie Brown, his films have a style all their own. His movies exude cool, plus they tend to give new life to actors who may be fading, the best example would have to be John Travolta. His latest masterpiece Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2 take his style and great writing skills to another level. I only wish he was a bit more prolific.
3. Sam Raimi: Who new that after giving us the Evil Dead films, he would go on to helm what is becoming the biggest franchise in history? If you told me that ten years ago I wouldn't have believed it. He has given us some amazing films besides Evil Dead, there is the dark superhero Darkman and the suspenseful A Simple Plan. Rare is the indie director who survives the transition to Hollywood, style intact.
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