Live Poll: IMDb Poll Board's Favorite Directors

@mariojacobs​ 

Added, thanks!

@mariojacobs​ 

Sam Peckinpah added as well.

@mariojacobs​ 

I read a book about western recently "Westerns" by Philip French. It mentioned Sam Peckinpah, and said basically that Straw Dogs (1971) "disastrous". I could not stop laughing, Straw Dogs is a film that I love, and it is quite revered. Similarly the author said that Pasolini's Teorema (1968) was a clumsy parable, that  Antonioni's Zabriskie Point (1970) was dull, that Z (1969) and The Battle of Algiers (1966) were child's versions of real political issues and that one gain nothing from them. All those films made by legendary directors are terribly acclaimed nowadays but it was not always the case.

@riverotter​ 

Added, thank you!

@cinephile​ 

Cool, I sort of expected Nolan. :)

@Jessica​ 

Michelangelo is been my favorite director since last year. His movies get an average of 9.33 from me. Furthermore, Nolan kind of diminished in my mind, I don't like him as much as in 2018.

My top 25 directors right now (not a definitive order)

1- Michelangelo Antonioni

2- Robert Bresson

3- Ingmar Bergman

4- François Truffaut

5- Federico Fellini

6- Orson Welles

7- Frantisek Vlacil

8- Jean Cocteau

9- Stanley Kubrick 

10- John Ford

11- Alfred Hitchcock

12- Terrence Malick

13- Michael Haneke

14- Jean Vigo

15- Luchino Visconti

16- Martin Scorsese

17- Agnès Varda

18- Krzysztof Kieslowski 

19- Francis Ford Coppola

20- Michael Powell/Pressburger

21- Carl Theodor Dreyer

22- Masaki Kobayashi

23- Jacques Demy

24- Andrei Tarkovsky

25- Christopher Nolan

@cinephile​ Impressive list. Right now, I have about six that I'm deciding between. Kieslowski and Truffaut are two of them. 

26. Miklos Jancso

My average rating of his films: 9/10. I have seen 5 of his films

Two 10/10

One 9/10

Two 8/10.

Statistically, Robert Bresson has now overtaken Michelangelo Antonioni. On 3 films, he gets an unbelievable average of 9.66/10 from me. 

Two 10/10 

One 9/10

If you count his book, Notes on the Cinematograph, this average gets even higher. 9.75/10. Bresson would have probably hated me rating his films out of ten. He would also hate being put on a list with "horrible" directors of disgusting movies of cinema. Anyway, I like his films so so so much. Once, I have seen them, I don't think I could live without them. No director's films are so evocative without needless symbolism, so simple and profound, so austere and heart wrenching at the same time. I hate when people say that he is "french new wave" (@Elmarucan82's review of Au hasard Bathalzar). Bresson is outside the history of cinema. A pure auteur. He built his films on strong principles, almost deontological, of what cinema ought to be as an art, and he codified this principles in Notes on the Cinematograph. For 30 years, he abided by these principles, and made films that are uniquely his. People have been inspired by Bresson, but no one has been Bresson since him. 

@cinephile​ 

Shall I replace Antonioni with Bresson?

@Jessica​ 

I'm torn.  For now, despite Bresson's statistical superiority, I'm going to stick with Michelangelo Antonioni. It does not mean that I prefer one to the other. From what I have seen they have perfect filmographies, their films are so good that when I see them I say to myself: "Why would I bother making films. I cannot even dream of having their talent and genius. They film things that I haven't even envisaged. There are films where I say to myself: "If it continues that way, it is a masterpiece, nothing can top that". With Bresson and Antonioni, it is different, when I think that a film is already a masterpiece and cannot get better, it gets better. Their films constantly challenge my idea of what is a 10/10 film. 

@cinephile​ 

I'm allowing a second pick, so I added Robert Bresson. Let me know if you want to change.

@Jessica​ 

Perfect. I saw L'argent yesterday, and I also gave it a 10/10. So, I was gonna ask Bresson to replace Antonioni anyway. But now that both are on the list, it is perfect.

My Bresson average is absolutely crazy:

Notes on the Cinematograph: 10/10

Mouchette: 10/10

Au hasard Bathalzar: 10/10

L'argent 10/10

Un homme s'est échappé 9/10

Average: 9.8/10

@TheOldJalapenoman​ 

Added, thanks.

@TheOldJalapenoman​ 

Added John Sturges as your second pick.

It's great to see you, Sara. Of course, there's no rush. :)

@rubyfruit76​ 

Just to let you know, I am now allowing two picks per user.

@jaf_ismael​ 

Added, thanks!

@jaf_ismael​ 

I'm allowing a second nomination, but Christopher Nolan was already picked by Brijesh. Do you have another second choice?

@Jessica​ So,  directing duos count as a single choice.

@urbanemovies​ 

Yes, directing duos count as one option. 

@jaf_ismael FYI, you still are entitled to a second pick, if you want to make a selection beyond the Russo Brothers (which counts as one).

@Brijesh​ 

Added, thanks!

I want to pick Kurosawa as my 2nd choice. 

@Brijesh​ 

Added, thanks!

@themoviesmith​ 

Added, thank you.

@Jessica​ Thank you!

@Pencho15​ 

Added, thanks!

@dibyayan_chakravorty​ 

I added David Fincher since Nolan and Spielberg were already picked. Thank you, Dibyayan. :)

@urbanemovies​ 

Robert Wise added, thanks! :)

@Jessica​ I am bit surprised Scorsese and Tarintino have not been picked yet.

@urbanemovies​ 

Yeah, me too. Rubyfruit has yet to make her choice, and I know she does like Scorsese...

@Jessica​

FYC, since you seem to have space and most everyone seemed to echo the sentiment that it was hard to choose just one, would you consider allowing a #2  pick? I see that you clearly stated "*1 pick per user". But, there seems to be a fair amount of notable directors not listed, as of now.

Otherwise, I feel the need to change my pick, as much I want to see Robert Wise get his due, it would be a bigger travesty if some other names din't make the final list. I just assumed someone else would pick them, but now I am not so sure.

@urbanemovies​ 

There are plenty of polls about directors. The point of a "poll board" poll is to showcase our favorites.

I am still expecting nominations from rubyfruit, Dan and maybe Tsar. I am pretty sure BonaFideBoss and Breumaster would also participate if they were around.

I wanted to try this the way we used to, with 1 pick per user, because I thought it was a fairly easy question to answer (even if one has several favorites). But I get what you are saying, and I will allow a second pick per user.

@Jessica​ Your call, just a thought, as there don't seem as many poll makers around as before too.

@urbanemovies​ 

No, I agree. It is better to have more options in the list than stick to the "1 per user" rule.

Yeah, it is sad there aren't as many users as before. I was just thinking about the first ever "poll board" poll I did. It got 35 options with 1 pick per user, so 35 different users. Don't think that is ever going to happen again.

@Jessica​ Please, give me a "heads up" when you are getting close to closing this poll suggestion out and I will make my second selection from the remaining deserving directors that belong on your list.

@urbanemovies​ 

Well, it would be nice with at least 20 options. I still haven't decided on my second pick.

@Jessica​ I agree that seems like a good target number. I am actually impressed by the sophistication of the some of the poll board picks. Yet, it is a double edge sword, as it has left some of the more obvious selections not picked, and as of now glaring omissions.

@urbanemovies​ 

I picked Alfred Hitchcock as my second choice.

@riverotter​ 

Added, thank you!

@dibyayan_chakravorty​ 

Added, thanks!

@Tsarstepan​ 

Both added, thanks. :)