Quentin Tarantino: Pulp Fiction

My favourite director, Quentin Tarantino, has written and or directed eleven films to date, and picking a favourite is pretty tough due to the fact that so many of them are just so darned good. I’m going with Pulp Fiction because it was the first of his films I had to watch again and again, and even took the time to recut and splice it into chronological order. Not only are there a load of stories happening at the same time, but there are also so many great performances from most of the cast. Even the continuity flaws (which are, I’m sure, intended) don’t detract, in fact, they add to the joy of viewing. It is, in my opinion, the only film in which Samuel L. Jackson (who QT has cast in multiple roles and films) acts well, but that’s a different discussion. Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Tim Roth, Ving Rames, Uma Thurman, Eric Stoltz all shine, but the story is what carries this epic production to the top of my QT favourites. Played in chronological sequence, it starts where the original begins, and the finale is Butch and Fabienne’s scene, and it works just as well as the original.
Brian De Palma: Scarface
With thirty films to choose from, picking a Brian De Palma favourite should be difficult, but it isn’t. Scarface is by far my favourite film ever. I must have watched it more than 100 times, and at one point I was word perfect on the script. After filming The Godfather, this is Al Pacino in a role as far removed from his Michael Corleone portrayal as a gang boss could be. While there are certainly comparisons that could be drawn, Tony Montana, is nothing like the calm and calculating boss that Michael is. Tony is much more of a seat of his pants leader, while Michael is very calm about his decisions (barring the character transplant that all but trashes the franchise in GFIII), although both principals have self-consuming personalities that will ultimately become their downfall. Scarface has almost everything as far as I’m concerned; a great story, actors at the top of their game, a brilliant cast, superb dialogue and completely believable characters. The only downside is the score, and with Giorgio Moroder writing it, it should be a winner, but it isn’t.

Frances Ford Coppola: The Godfather (I & II

Ah! We’ve been here before and we’re only on number three. Al Pacino’s portrayal of Michael could be considered his crowning glory, and but for Tony Montana I would agree. He became something of a caricature in his later films, and the “Hooo-waaa” type of line delivery does nothing for him, other than morph the one character into another with seamless precision. You could almost take Johnny from Frankie and Johnny and stick him in Heat and we wouldn’t know the difference. Thankfully, roles such as Aldo Gucci in House of Gucci and Marvi Schwartz in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (QT again) have dragged his on screen presence to decent heights once again. But I digress. The Godfather garnered possibly the best cast list ever seen on film, from Brando and Pacino to De Niro (another actor who later became one dimensional) to Talia Shire, James Cann, John Cazale and Robert Duval, all put on brilliant performances and made us fall in love with the most detestable type of characters on the planet. The Godfather has to be seen as one whole film, and fortunately we can watch it in sequence without having to recut it ourselves too. When we consider the amount of excellent work FFC has brought to us, Apocalypse Now, Patton, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Gary Oldman), for The Godfather to stand head and shoulders above all those is something special.
Stephen Spielberg: Schindler's List
The genius of Spielberg makes this one of the most compelling films I’ve ever seen. It might be argued that having a black and white film show the horror of war and the vile ways it makes humans turn into animals could have been better demonstrated in colour. However, what Spielberg does with this film, is give it one tiny little splash of colour that fixates the audience at a small point early on in the film, and reminds us of it later. Josef Stalin is credited with saying that one death is a tragedy, but a million deaths is a statistic, and while, of course, we latch onto the main characters in Schindler’s List, it is the solitary little girl in the red coat that reminds us of that one tragic life, and makes us focus on the sadness and grief that war brings with the loss of innocent life. Liam Neeson is probably in his best role as Oscar Schindler, and barring the over the top ending, puts in a pretty good performance.

Martin Campbell: Casino Royale

The name’s Bond. James Bond. Possibly the most iconic lines ever delivered in a franchise, and instantly recognisable around the world. Sean Connery started the Bond series, and Daniel Craig revamped it with his portrayal of the super spy, or agent, as my missus keeps reminding me. I love James Bond, and I thought Craig was the best incarnation of the character, and Casino Royale, for me, is the best of all the Bond films. It’s got the best opening scene, it’s got without doubt, the two best ever Bond Girls in Eva Green and Caterina Milano, it’s got the DBS (which went on to enter the Guinness Book of Records) and the DB5 and it’s got possibly the best Bond baddie, in Mads Mikkelson’s Le Chiffre. Unfortunately, the end of the Craig era sawa writer/director partnership of Neil Purvis and Cary Joji Fukunaga, all but trash the whole Daniel Craig run with his woke crap (No Time To Die is worse even than the spoof Casino Royale – and that was truly awful). Too think that Purvis wrote seven Bond films, and put out this chickens**t, woke, PC pandering garbage as a finale is tragic. Casino Royale stands out as the best of all.
Christopher Nolan: The Dark Knight
After having another franchise all but ruined with terrible casting and poor scripts, Christopher Nolan brought Batman back to life with a massive kick in the goolies and slap in the face. As it happens, it also features one of the best actors of his generation in Christian Bale, who is possibly the most chameleon of actors after Gary Oldman, who also features in The Dark Knight. I remember watching Batman Begins way back in 2005 at an iMax in Manchester, and it blew me away. Brilliant action from start to finish, a great thread throughout and wonderfully shot footage all make for a top, top film. However, when Heath Ledger stepped into the frame he brought a whole new meaning to the malevolent baddie. Considering Batman is the main character, and Christian Bale, one of the most convincing actors ever to have lived, being outshone by Ledger’s Joker is nothing short of genius. That, and the story, of course, means that for me, it is The Dark Knight, released in 2008, that is Nolan’s crowning glory.

Mary Hannon: American Psycho

There seem to be a number of connections running through this thread, and Christian Bale is the join in this one. When I read Brett Easton Ellis’ American Psycho I couldn’t see how it could possibly transfer from the page to the screen, and when I heard Leonardo DiCaprio was going to be cast, I thought, Nah! Then the role went to Bale, who was relatively unknown at the time, and I couldn’t have been more knocked out by his portrayal of Patrick Bateman, the ultimate pretentious plonker who we all know, we all hate and we all want to beat the crap out of. The only female director on the list sees Mary Harron in only her second feature film director role. She’d done some telly prior to that, but to be trusted with such a bucketful of violence after a few episodes from a couple of TV series shows true faith from the producers, and that faith paid off in spades. As bloodthirsty as it is, it still retains the humour of the book, and is the best book to film adaptation I’ve ever seen. I adore it.
David Fincher: Fight Club
What a top, top film this is. I have to admit though, that I think Ed Norton was miscast, as he is about as believable as a hard (or threatening) character as Hillary Clinton is to an honest, hardworking man – I mean woman. Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden was at his usual best, with a decent performance from Helena Bonham Carter as Marla Singer, and another good effort from the mighty Meatloaf. I loved the idea of having a fight club (and I’m certain a number of them have sprung up since the film was released, and I love the twist and the message about corporate greed having to go down the pan. This is another great book to film adaptation, and Chuck Palahniuk’s book actually sold fewer copies than my first book about Manchester United did (available here), however, his is definitely better than mine and has since sold a shedload more. If only… Anyway, of all David Fincher’s great films; Alien 3, Se7ven and The Game prior to FC, and Panic Room, Zodiac and even The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Daniel Craig again), Fight Club comes out on top.

Jonathan Demme: Silence of the Lambs

Anthony Hopkins at his most terrifying and understated best. His portrayal of Hannibal Lecter will possibly go down in cinematic history as the best villain of them all. His performance says much for the fact that the audience is actually rooting for Dr Lecter by the end of the film, and are happy to see him about to kidnap his old prison governor so that he can eat him. Cannibalism is one of the most horrifying crimes a human can commit, yet we’re happy to see Lecter do so. This film is a great tale of forbidden love (Clarice Starling and Hannibal), tension, murder, detective work and ultimately, escape. Silence of the Lambs was Jonathan Demme’s eleventh film, and he went on to make blockbusters such as Beloved, Philadelphia and the Manchurian Candidate (amongst others) afterward, though for me, Silence of the Lambs will always be best.
Stanley Kubrick: A Clockwork Orange
I guess you could say there’s something of a theme running through my list of top ten directors and their best films, and it is one of violence. Until I’d come to the last director and film, I hadn’t realised it. Kubrick actually got the film pulled due to the outbreaks of violence it was supposed to have encouraged, but where there’s a will and all that, I managed to catch this before its re-release, and the quality was terrible, so when the proper cut got unblocked, I had to catch it again. A Clockwork Orange really does mirror today’s violent cabbages too. Here’s how it goes: violent criminal gets imprisoned for rape and murder. Prisoner agrees to get treated. Treatment makes him feel suicidal. Violent criminal sues the Government. Violent criminal wins his case. Violent criminal is still violent, though now, thanks to scummy human rights lawyers, is very rich. It’s almost as though it is a true reflection of the UK’s modern day society. The victims are buried while the criminals sue the government. It would be hilarious were it not so truly tragic. Anyway, of the 13 films he did, which include Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut, Spartacus, Lolita, Dr Strangelove and The Shining, ACO is still Kubrick’s best, and still one of my favourite films.

Some would think that for Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Katherine Bigalow or Clint Eastwood not even making the cut is ridiculous, but that’s how good I think the combination of these directors and their films are.