Best contemporary US director?

[Reno]

David Lynch.

Not sure how Michael Moore got on the list though... anyone?

It's a list that sprang to ska invita's mind as it says in the OP, not an official poll.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

No Jim Jarmusch.

Still no Jim Jarmusch.

 

[Dhimmi]

It's a list that sprang to ska invita's mind as it says in the OP, not an official poll.

Fair enough, just surprised, I'd not consider him for an instance. I'd rate Riefenstahl higher.

 

[kyser_soze]

Hudsucker Proxy is a great film, and even tho Intolerable Cruelty and Ladykillers weren't the best of the Coens, they still stood out from most other directors work...

Anyway, Coens, Anderson, Fincher or Linklater - the last for technical balls as much as anything else.

Brad Bird...hmm...did he do Cars, or was that Lassiter?

 

[Reno]

Fair enough, just surprised, I'd not consider him for an instance. I'd rate Riefenstahl higher.

Me too.

 

[Reno]

Brad Bird...hmm...did he do Cars, or was that Lassiter?

That was Lassiter and it's the worst of the Pixar films IMO.

Brad Bird did The Iron Giant and The Incredibles and a fantastic short called The Family Dog. He also took over direction on Ratatouille after the original director got fired, so unlike the others it's not a project he originated and not quite in the same league.

 

[kyser_soze]

I was SO let down by Cars - it wasn't just the homespun, petrol loving mom's apple pie stuff, cos there's a strong good-values streak through all the Pixar films, it's was just done SO badly...and where was the innovation in the animation as well? Shiny cars...well whopp-di-fucking-doo, I can get just as good looking cars on the intro to GT4...It's not just a bad Pixar film, it's actually a bad film all round...RUBBISH.

So then, Brad Bird and the list above...

 

[blueplume]

Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (for Little miss sunshine)
Edward Zwick (for Blood diamond)

 

[Reno]

I was SO let down by Cars - it wasn't just the homespun, petrol loving mom's apple pie stuff, cos there's a strong good-values streak through all the Pixar films, it's was just done SO badly...and where was the innovation in the animation as well? Shiny cars...well whopp-di-fucking-doo, I can get just as good looking cars on the intro to GT4...It's not just a bad Pixar film, it's actually a bad film all round...RUBBISH.

So then, Brad Bird and the list above...

I only made it 30 minutes through Cars, I just hated the way it looked, but yes, Bird is great and I think The Iron Giant is the beast American animated feature film ever made.

 

[Spion]

Lynch - best anywhere. No question