Actors Are Cattle ... Voting open for the next ILX film poll of the Greatest Movie Directors of All Time! (DUE: Jan. 5, 2018)

https://cbsminnesota.files.wordpress.com/2017/12/giphy.gif

LIGHTS ... CAMERA ... NO CRYPT-KEEPER PUNS!

Just over 500 directors have been nominated, but of course you can feel free to vote for any you'd like. Campaign below for your choices, argue against any inclusions, just don't reveal your ballots.

Now accepting ballots for the ILX/ILF poll of the greatest movie directors of all time. Nominate up to and including 50 directors between now and the end of the year. You can also vote for a single worst director.

Ballots Due: The moment 2017 turns into 2018
Send Ballots To: ephender AT gmail daht cahhhm
Spreadsheet Of Nominated Directors: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_yiA3-iP3ZK9m6YC1iOthz_ZT2YiwjZ8lLOXYc-Nxf4/

The number of ballots will undoubtedly determine whether the rollout is 50 or 100 or 77.

ephender is the correct spelling and amp means ampersand?

wat i'm sorry, just clarify what's before the @

let the trolling begin

yep, ephender

I would entertain the idea of a "worst director" side poll.

Just one selection per ballot.

Most underappreciated great Hollywood director of the postwar era: Robert Aldrich

I didn't "campaign" per se in the horror poll. But that was then and this is now.

VOTE FOR BRIAN DE PALMA!

will there be a Most Mystifying Cult sidebar?

how many times will Swanberg get mentioned

Please, there's nothing mystifying about the cult of De Palma.

phaps, compared to Michael Mann's

n00bie question: Do I vote by sending you a copy of the spreadsheet, listing my selected 50 directors?

Also, might I suggest a Sacred Cows Gored Here feature, in which we take turns railing against directors we find overrated?

I figure some will use their "worst director" vote to slay a sacred cow. If not most.

Ballots should just be formatted as lists, with #1 representing your top choice.

1. Tommy Wiseau
2. Jane Campion
3. Rosa von Praunheim
etc. etc.

Would you like me to update the OP text to include the single worst director vote?

Please!

I would encourage the option of putting someone in top 50 AND worst (as one could defensibly do for Griffith, Riefenstahl, Oscar Micheaux, Ed Wood)...

...Woody Allen, Lina Wertmuller...

uh, no and no

You can all do better than that.

Are all ballots sent to Eric H webmail? I've hardly done any polls.

I've recently been enjoying De Palma a hell of a lot, which is surprising because I didn't think I'd ever care for his work.

Yup, just email to the address in the original post. (I can't remember if my ILX-associated email is the same, so don't send there.)

Zero ballots so far! Keep up the good work!

i pretty much had my top 3 worked out a month ago, it's the other 47 that might need some cogitation

Will definitely send a ballot.

i've narrowed it down to around 100.

Ha, I'm definitely going to make a ballot but I unfailingly send mine in at the last minute. Mind you, I probably won't be able to do it NYE so I'll pretend the deadline is Christmas or something.

I'm sure I'll extend it for a few days after the new year, as is customary with these polls.

it doesn't matter if you settle on a ballot with 25 or 37 or whatever odd number under 50, does it?

Nope ... I forgot to institute a minimum I guess, but my plan is to weight ballots.

uh, no and no

― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius)

What, that Allen and Wertmuller haven't made some of the best and worst films ever? You're mad.

it would by kinda helpful if the email address was clearer. what's the amp part? amp what? confusing.

amp = at

sure but already 3 or four people have asked for clarification and i've never heard of amp = at.

Is auteur mod gonna have to do 50 takes of the OP

amp = at is my new detrius

auteur mod is gonna at least do one more take of that OP.

Auteur mod is Ed. Wood

what's daht cahhhm?

1 ballot in!

daunting tasks in the worst month of the year are not quickly leapt to

are you ready, Norma

tfw BRIAN DE PALMA makes it into the top 10

http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/nov/Drinking-poison.jpg

Should be fun, will send ballot closer to New Year.

Are we doing the best of 2017 film run down? I've got a couple of 2016 films to put on that ballot.

DON'T, xyzzzz

Second ballot in, btw.

Doing some cramming with Kurosawa & Ozu before I submit my ballot.

Sent my ballot. I didn't think I'd vote more than 30 but 50 was easy. I wish I had nominated more Japanese directors and animators.

Firmed up my ballot too. Intersectionality takes a hit, tho I'd argue my #1 choice is the only most wokest director who ever lived.

Ballot received RAG. So far, 4 are in.

Rosa von Praunheim? xp

yeah i'm working on mine and got the top 20 pretty solid but it's definitely going to be easy for me to get to 50. probably won't send mine in until boxing day, have a lot of stuff i need to watch. and rewatch. Todd Haynes rocketed up my list after i watched SAFE for the first time in 9 years yesterday.

Not that it's odd with only four ballots in yet, but only one director's on all four ballots and all four have different #1s.

John Waters has that kind of oeuvre.

safe is his only "great" movie though xp

no, Far from Heaven and Superstar. :)

(that joke doesn't scan, Alfred, no one's listing films)

I'm pleased you gave my joke further thought.

Carol is great

Ranked ballots only?

You can send ranked or unranked. Or a portion ranked and a portion unranked.

Five ballots in and now no director appears on everyone's ballot. However, nine directors do appear on four ballots.

Can I just send in my number 1? I can do randos for the rest.

Sure. I'll just assign the same number of points to the rest.

I have my 50 carved out and my top (several) ranked. Just a matter of deciding if I want to rank all 50.

I hope some of you are using your holiday breaks to work up a ballot.

No one wants to vote until they've seen Downsizing. They just want to be sure.

I loved it. Fuckin Matt Damon though. Please retire

Just kidding. Don't go drawing the ire of the Conseil des deux on to me.

XX-post: Ever been really glad to see a movie come out...because you don't have to see the trailer ever again?

ha, yes. Trumbo. The Shape of Water. but I didn't see any trailers for Downsizing

Six ballots in! Happy Christmas!

he's checking his emails
he's checking them twice

Directors I wished I nominated...

Marcell Jankovics
Nikolai Serebryakov
Tokuzo Tanaka
Nobuo Nakagawa
Sion Sono

I accept write-ins, if you want to redo your ballot.

I'm writing in Bill Morrison on mine.

I didn't realise we could vote people who hadn't been nominated. I might do it soon.

Jankovics and Serebryakov did some of my favourite animated films. Nakagawa for some of the most important ghost films. Sono for Love Exposure.
Tokuzo Tanaka for the brilliant and underseen Curse Of The Snow Witch and Haunted Castle, he did a ton of films in the 60s and I hope there's more surprises from him to discover.

switched my top 2 at the last second and voted before I can second-guess myself anymore

I'm totally writing in Sion Sono. Ranked pretty high, too.

ok i've got my list down to 77, just need to make the necessary cuts and put the lower ones into some kind of arbitrary order

probably no one who's career started after 1980 for me

submitted

Up to 10 ballots now.

Some directors getting just 1 or 2 votes at this point will shock and offend, well, Morbs anyway.

Just submitted my ballot. Will be astonished and amused if any of my nominees turn up in the top 100.

Not sure how to rank directors where I haven't seen the bulk of their output or only care for a few of their movies. e.g. Robert Aldrich made some great movies, but I've also seen some where I can't understand what the hell I'm watching.

i feel strongly about my top 15-20. others are somewhat arbitrary. i mean my #5 has only made 2 films

I am not a professional and therefore felt free to go with my feelings (especially for my lower 40).

sent my list in! It includes three write-ins (Nuri Bilge Celan, Carlos Reygadas, Lucrecia Martel)

*Ceylan

two ommissions i noticed are hollis frampton and hartmut bitomsky, surprised neither was nominated. Especially as McG was nominated.

I'll send tomorrow, Margo.

McG

sent

Gah, still nowhere near finalising mine and I've got to work on some EoY music poll thoughts too - I might just do a ranked top ten and then throw as many more as I can think of into an unranked pile.

i only did 33 and even then i wouldn't call a few of them "great"

left my draft list at home and now i'm at my mom's but then again i was always just gonna make a list of stuff i like with no overarching theory so

i have 5 so far... i’ll have, uh, something worked out soon.

The ballots now number 14. Good work so far!

BTW, my baby niece is in town until New Year's Day. I would expect the deadline to extend at least a day or two.

aw <3

This is she with her dad!

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/26060218_10100399955159043_3461388020425520222_o.jpg?oh=b79063077cce176367fb165ba80bc127&oe=5AF85DC0

awwwwwww

i've seen a lot of happy babbies this week

:D

sent my list in! It includes three write-ins (Nuri Bilge Celan, Carlos Reygadas, Lucrecia Martel)

― Dan S, Thursday, 28 December 2017 22:38 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Surprised Ceylan and Martel weren't nominated. Will be throwing them both a vote too to hopefully make up for it. Loved Reygadas Post Tenebras Lux too, the opening scene in particular

Gutted Jonathan Glazer wasn't nommed, will be writing one in for him

you guys are fulfilling my indifference

I'll just fabricate your ballot.

all pre-1950 now

can't believe you've left out McG

Someone's gotta rep for the comedy two-reeler hacks.

well sure, the Hitchcock-imitator hack is... never mind

specifically who nominated mcG?

McG was the second director nominated:

The Total Filmmaker ... Nominations open for the next ILX film poll of the Greatest Movie Directors of All Time!

In case anyone else is looking, Tsai is on the list, but backwards. Under M, not T.

i'm almost 100% certain that McG was not a wholly serious nomination

xp oops, I'll fix that.

Meaning alphabetization of TML, not removal of McG.

i think a few of the east asian directors are inconsistently listed, some western style and some not

I tried to go with however Wikipedia had it listed whenever I could.

remove! remove!

http://clipground.com/images/remove-clipart-19.jpg

xxp i didn't find it a problem, can't see how it will be

is Joseph Cornell a movie director? i dont think it's fair to pit him against McG.

I better see Kiarostami on a few ballots.

not my favorite Iranian filmmaker as it happens

(or at least it's a contest)

Also: better see some Kaurismäki.

Whew! Got mine sent.

man this ballot is daunting

i feel self conscious abt my cheesy pedestrian commercial tastes suddenly

Would work on this but might turn out the same way as the VU poll, in which instance I just couldn’t narrow down in time for submission.

Sent my revised ballot.

I did keep Morbs' 'no one who's career started after 1980' declaration in mind when voting...still ended up with 15-20 younger directors on my list. I'm interested in which contemporary directors ILX thinks are worthy additions to the canon

also, the list is a reminder of just how much women have been excluded from the film industry at the director level.

it's hard for me to find women to vote for because so few have an extensive filmography (or, as in the case of Elaine May, three fine to great films).

Yeah, I made a real effort to include women, and ended up with only nine. (Some without extensive filmographies, I have to admit.)

Okay, I'm done. Ended up ranking 15 slots and throwing in the rest unranked, and overall I feel like it was a bit carelessly cobbled together, but it'll do.

Didn't count up how many women were on my ballot but it'll be less than nine, I think. Mind you, two of them are in my top 5. Exclusionary practices/institutional sexism does mean that there a fewer to choose from even when you want to be more representative. I did find a few reminders of women whose work I should check out, though. I also really need to watch more films by directors who aren't white Eurodudes.

*there ARE fewer

I sent mine before Christmas. The only non-nominated director I would have voted for (had I known it was allowed) would have been Masaki Kobayashi.

You can revise your list, I did.

only voted five women

I only voted one woman, I think. I just wasn’t familiar with many of them.

apropos or something's comment above, I think Under The Skin is one of the most amazing movies I've seen from the 21st century

just sent one, Eric. You only need to respond if you don't my hotmail email with dowd in its address.

*get* my hotmail

I did find a few reminders of women whose work I should check out, though.

Everyone should watch all the Akerman, Varda, and Denis!

yes! ^

looked at my ballot again and rated akerman wayyyy too low

sent!

Thanks for the ballots thus far! I am about a half dozen or so behind in tallying, but I'll catch up over the course of the next couple days.

I should def see more Akerman bit tbh she'd have a place high on my ballot for Jeanne Dielman alone

Is the 'poll extended due to insanely cuet niece' still in place? I'll ruffle up a ballot tomorrow!

How about a formal extension, so I can spend the waning hours of the year watching Phantom Thread and not deciding whether Ernst Lubitsch is "better" than Ousmane Sembene?

Decide over a mimosa.

Eric, I should send in the next few hours.

It's 15 fucking degrees here, my lips would stick to the glass. (also i am not a Brunchie)

Nor am I, and don't understand the mimosa.

this sounds like Lubitsch 2017

Deadline OFFICIALLY extended to the end of this week.

Meaning by midnight (CST) Friday, Jan. 5.

woohoo extension!

any timeline on the rollout?

There is probably going to be a week in between as I'm on the road. Aiming for the 15th to start.

Sweet!

I drunkenly rushed my ballot last night, thinking I was going to miss the deadline. I've only done 25, so might send a pt 2 before the 5th if you don't object.

I don't mind redoing ballots or editing. Just remember two things: include your ILX username and also cite a worst director if you have one.

Here is a challenge I suspect others may be confronting too -- what to do with obviously great directors whom you have only seen one or two movies by? Like, I'm happy to stipulate Kon Ichikawa's greatness on the basis of Fires on the Plain, but not sure how to rank him vis a vis people who I've seen multiple great movies by.

I'll er, try to start doing this now before I go out for a few NY eve drinks..

i might need to redo mine as I realised I forgot to but in a definite top five contender

Here is a challenge I suspect others may be confronting too -- what to do with obviously great directors whom you have only seen one or two movies by?

A bigger problem for me was what to do with obviously great directors whose two/three/four films you love are surrounded by many you were indifferent to or flat-out disliked.

I should def see more Akerman bit tbh she'd have a place high on my ballot for Jeanne Dielman alone

― i know kore-eda (or something), Sunday, 31 December 2017 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Seen loads so she's near the top for me.

What pains is ppl who have one film that I love as much as my life. Like I want to rank Pontecorvo very high rn, but I don't think I can..

shit forgot to nominate Don Levy. Maybe its for the best

To quantify my last post, of the dozen or so films I've seen by my #1 director, there was one I didn't like at all; two from my #2 I don't like (out of 13); and by the time you get to #3 and #4 (I only ranked four directors, left the rest unranked), there are many of their films I wouldn't consider seeing a second time. I make a very poor auteurist.

what to do with obviously great directors whom you have only seen one or two movies by?

I may have done this all wrong, but I'm not even close to thinking my list is "the best" directors. I made a list of the directors I admire most, some of whom I've seen everything by, some of whom just three or four. In ranking them I tried to give a little weight to history, reputation, and stuff like gender. But, mostly these are my personal favorites.

yeah i am not trying to create a list of what i think should be a canon, just a list of people whose work affects me the most

Same here, but how do you aggregate plusses and minuses into a ranking? How do you reconcile four films by somebody that literally helped shape the person you are with almost three decades of mediocrity and worse? (Big mystery as to who that might be.)

My solution was simply not to rank most of my ballot.

ranking is mostly arbitrary to me especially the lower you go down the list but it's part of the game i guess

i think on the whole if somebody's done work i love and work i'm indifferent to the love is likely to outweigh the ambivalence unless some of it's really bad

Weirdly enough, I do exactly that when it comes to music. Neil Young's career stretches from 1967 to 1975; Bob Dylan forever lives in 1965 and 1966; the Who stopped making records in 1968, the Rolling Stones packed it in in 1972. (A few stray songs sneak in.) I have a harder time doing that with films, beginning the mere fact of engaging--I won't buy the next Bob Dylan album, but I'll almost certainly see the next film by any living director on my list.

"beginning with"

Here is a challenge I suspect others may be confronting too -- what to do with obviously great directors whom you have only seen one or two movies by? Like, I'm happy to stipulate Kon Ichikawa's greatness on the basis of Fires on the Plain, but not sure how to rank him vis a vis people who I've seen multiple great movies by.

maybe ease off the spoilers guys

😳woops!😳

Couldn’t do Kaufman, even though I love BJM. Can’t forgive him for his other sins.

Go on...

I don’t want to offend!

21 ballots received, if not yet recorded.

i ranked a few directors pretty high based on 1 or 2 films out of their larger catalog

Please, there's nothing mystifying about the cult of De Palma.

― Fred Klinkenberg (Eric H.), Thursday, December 7, 2017 8:03 PM (three weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

phaps, compared to Michael Mann's

― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Thursday, December 7, 2017 8:04 PM (three weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

They fought it out for the 50th spot on my ballot.

(Though now that I'm second-guessing myself, that spot should have gone to Todd Haynes. Oh well.)

I've whittled it down to a list of 64, pretty sure I've seen at least 5 features by all of them (save for one or two who didn't make features). Can't in good conscience vote for Kon Ichikawa or Jean Vigo even though they both made an all-time great.

Sent one in with an addendum which I hope wasn't too late

I could drop Ichikawa but Vigo is tough, he is historically important

Deadline officially extended in thread title.

I'm assembling now. The trick for me is omitting decent filmmakers (i.e. Joseph L. Mankiewicz) who made only one great film.

ie A Letter to Three Wives?

Five Fingers is pretty good too.

Good films, yes.

decent director, better writer.

24 ballots in and I'm still surprised by some of the directors just getting their first vote.

I love seeing juxtapositions on that spreadsheet as startling as "Eddie Murphy" between Murnau and Naruse.

i have at least one long-careered director who i'm probably going to give a place to on the strength of one film i love

one film i love that i've only ever seen once

24 ballots in and I'm still surprised by some of the directors just getting their first vote.

― Fred Klinkenberg (Eric H.), T

how many times did Chris Columbus make ballots?

xpost: FWIW my John Ford ranking is heavily based on The Whole Town's Talking.

26 ballots in and counted. Tomorrow's the REAL deadline, so don't delay!

:D

i am excite

There were some ballots that I didn't know whose they were, so I just wrote their name or whatever the email suggested it might be. Also, if you haven't gotten a response back from me saying that your ballot's recorded, that means I didn't get your ballot and you should re-submit.

hmm i sent my ballot on xmas eve but didn't get a response, just sent you another email

Received!

i am excite
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl)

Sly tribute to Tommy Wiseau.

sent, dammit

needed 55-60

Sent!

ok i'm in

Sent!

No Hollis Frampton - I suggest we stop this now.

i never made the mistake of looking at the nominees' list

still i mostly went for canonical narrative directors

Yeah just sent this

Oh I looked at the list - can't believe I didn't nominate Frampton, he's my favourite canon experimental filmmaker.

tfw you haven't included Ray or Kurosawa in your final 50.

http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/nov/Drinking-poison.jpg

Man Ray, Nick Ray or Satyajit?

I haven't included any Rays though I was talking about Satyajit.

Making me ill rn but there was some modern shit I wanted to include.

Also, if you haven't gotten a response back from me saying that your ballot's recorded, that means I didn't get your ballot and you should re-submit.

― Fred Klinkenberg (Eric H.), Friday, January 5, 2018 2:28 AM (seventeen hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Does this apply to today as well? Not had a response yet.

me neither, but Eric hasn't posted here either tbf

True, don't want to seem pushy, just legitimately concerned my #1 vote Michael Bay won't make the cut.

(I jest)

Today's ballots haven't been counted yet.

I don't want to give anything away other than to say that the top dozen or so have really started to firm up their leads and positions, but for a little while there, we were looking at a truly "Deeper and Deeper" at #3 on the Madonna poll situation. (I've said too much.)

Also, I WILL say this: If you're on the fence about voting, fully the entire bottom half of the list could be radically altered with just one or two votes.

Yeah, get voting people!

The process took me an hour and a half, and the longlist was 110 directors... It was too hard so basically filled 20-50 in 5 minutes (which is probably the right way to go for me).

Only regret was not nominating Claude Lelouch and reading one could do a write in only after I submitted, but such is life.

Only get voting if you vote for the same things as me! Otherwise go away!

Otm.

this could be a pretty weird list

we were looking at a truly "Deeper and Deeper" at #3 on the Madonna poll situation. (I've said too much.)

that's Greek to me!

Only one person has voted for one specific director that made me want to make like Mr. McAllister with those two Tracy Flick ballots.

...one person so far

xp just my way of saying that one awesomely left-field director choice was making major headway to finish in the top 3 ... and could still tbh, since I haven't counted today's ballots yet

this could be a pretty weird awesome list

FTFM.

agree!

my bowels are uneasy

lol

I think we all know this is going to be bad for your dyspepsia Morbs

I'm probably going to laugh myself sick when I see the final tallies, but right now I'm excited. And Fred, I hope you'll reveal to us later some of these portentous hints you've started dropping.

Just sent my ballot in, excited for the roll-out. My top 10 or so feels fairly canonical, but it was hard for me to justify putting some of my current favorites above the people who really shaped the medium.

All different approaches to a mammoth task like this are equally viable imo, though I steered away from those "having shaped the medium" in favor of directors I think r cool. But it's all good, which is what will make this poll one of the greatest on here, I'm sure.

yeah, i mean, they were also formative directors for me when i was younger. Also when i do watch movies by one of those directors, i usually think " this is one of the greatest things ever made," even if i spend more time watching stuff from the 70s nowadays

anyway, probably boring to discuss before the roll-out, i'm really interested to see how things shake out

Still maybe a little time to get a ballot in, fwiw.

Wait for meeeee

Submitted, hopefully in time. I bumped Spielberg for Hellman but I promise I didn't feel great about it

No Hollis Frampton - I suggest we stop this now.

― xyzzzz__, Friday, 5 January 2018 19:00 (yesterday)

voted HF on a right in

but yeah, weird omission, nostalgia is a key film at the very least. also so many mediocre filmmakers nominated.

Think the results thread will be a lot of arguments about poptimistic votes

I wrote in one director whose omission seems p egregious to me and, looking upthread, see at least one other I prob would have voted for if they'd been on the list

(Which is kinda the argument for nominating all those mediocre filmmakers, it is useful to work from a list of all the filmmakers that are at all notable - I know I nominated ppl I had no intention of voting for but others might, & it's easy to forget even fave faves when throwing a list together)

I realised yesterday that I had forgotten to vote for Joe Dante in favour of putting in "important" & "arty" directors. But then I couldn't decide who to replace so figured I should just stick with what I sent in. But Gremlins tho.

again, I voted for one a/g director cuz c'mon, unless i've just seen something by one of em i can't remember who did what. Cinematic spinach, gimme The Iron Horse.

I agree insofar as spinach is good and full of iron

I kind of feel a bit lousy for not putting Spielberg on my ballot but I haven't liked a movie of his since "Catch Me If You Can" tbh

I regret nothing

...and i still hate eating it xxp

never considered a David Lynch vote bcz i know this crowd (also TV doesn't count)

so who's the equiv of roasted Brussels sprouts -- Sembène?

Entirely possible we mean different things when we say "a/g" of course but the stuff I'd be voting for is about bathing in texture like my aunts pozole

TV counts obv

the hell is "a/g"?

I guessed avantgarde?

TV counts obv

check the thread title, mate

and i will slap down anyone who points to DL's "18-hour movie" quote

bcz what is the Mary Tyler Moore Show besides a 90-hour expansion of Jeanne Dielman?

think I regretfully left the Lynch out because 50 I loved more

"Movie" means moving picture and applies to duel, reget, fanny & alexander, dekalog, berlin alexanderplatz, twin peaks and my ongoing youtube series where I give wedgies to people who are absurdly tightassed about whether things are filed correctly

when do we shoot? :)

TV that shows in cinemas in other countries, that's different.

Lynch didn't need TPTR to still be included in my 50. No Spielberg tho.

no Jerry Lewis OR Frank Tashlin for me tho :(

Voted for Lynch on the basis of the films, didn't actually factor in his TV work.

Everyone is entitled to their arbitrary criteria obv 🙂

as far as tetched, sui generis visionaries go, I came a lot closer to including Guy Maddin (who I'd say, like Lynch, has made two great films).

(and a bunch more that could have been made by no one else)

Yeah, I try not to buy into auteur theory too much, but distinctiveness was definitely a factor for me.

Certain of my nominations were for the lulz and/or putting enough names on the spreadsheet to get this poll underway. I never did take auteur theory seriously...until I saw the silent Hitchcocks.

I was considering voting some people who had done internet video clips.

Recently been watching some iterations of Movie-Movie: The Movie and Movie-Movie: The TV Show and I'm kind of amazed that for all the passionate detailed dissection of these things by intelligent people, how sloppy, constantly irritating and poorly directed they are.

Voted for Lynch on the basis of the films, didn't actually factor in his TV work.

I'm with the Dr, Maddin was higher on my list I think

Love your determined idiosyncrasy Robert Adam Gilmour

i look fwd to the DW Griffith fights we'll have

Noodle Vague- for the internet videos?

For all of it!

Griffith lumped in with Leni R in my "technically great but fuck you" filr

Love your determined idiosyncrasy Robert Adam Gilmour

Eric, did you get my ballot? Haven't received a confirmation yet, but also i know the voting period just ended

NV, how many Griffith films have you seen besides YOU KNOW? Equating him with Riefenstahl doesn't really make historical sense.

Sorry I was being deliberately silly. I did leave them both off on the grounds of not loving their work enough tho

Intolerance is kinda wrecked for me by the weight of its support tho

Intolerance is amazing but DWG didn't make my ballot. Nor Leni

xp was Intolerance supported by the KKK et al? Genuinely curious, I don't know the history behind that movie, or much about DWG other than what I learned in high school.

(i.e. The Birth of a Nation and its intentions/support)

sorry, i didn't mean in terms of bad people loving it, i just meant i can see it's importance but not feel personally moved

ah ok, I thought maybe DWG had the funding of the KKK or something.

save this argument for the results thread but there is nobody working in silent Hollywood who i don't respect less than the Germans from the same era

always loved this poster- i have a copy hung up in my hallway

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Intolerance_%28film%29.jpg/1200px-Intolerance_%28film%29.jpg

Way down east

OK, 35 ballots were submitted and have been counted. If you didn't get a reply, shoot me your ballot again.

Also, I'm not unveiling the results next week because I'm out of town, so if you didn't send me a ballot already, um, send me a ballot, because there's still time.

Just submitted it again, as I've had no reply...do acknowledge.

I didn't get a bounce back either.

Ah, first one went to my spam folder for some reason. Will count!

who knew xyzzzz had an email account called cheapcialis4you?

lol

haha dude I'll have you all know my account is based on a 'pun' on the Grateful Dead, lol @ 20 year old me.

but yeah, weird omission, nostalgia is a key film at the very least. also so many mediocre filmmakers nominated.

― plax (ico), Saturday, 6 January 2018 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, its a thing of beauty for me. The omission wouldn't have happened if I spent a good afternoon at this. I would have also nominated Carolee Schneemann too, and a few other experimental filmmakers but it would never make the top 50.

I'm thinking of more and more directors that should've been nominated but weren't, Walerian Borowczyk the most notable perhaps.

I was consistently surprised not only by the directors I had to write in, but by the names I was logging first votes for even in the last rush of ballots.

yeah i think i wrote in 2 (technically 3) that didn't make the nominations sheet

Thanks Eric, just got your email.

OK, 36 ballots total ... solid turnout for a niche poll. Because I'll need time to find images and get the BBcode stuff all pre-drafted, I'm calling it OFFICIALLY CLOSED to new ballots. However, if anyone who has already submitted a ballot has any minor tweaks, I'll probably accept those for a few days here.

Too kind, I will send a slightly changed ballot tonight (I wasn't aware of the possibility of write ins).

I do reserve the right to make judgement calls on what constitutes a "minor tweak."

psyched for this!! i appreciate all the work you're putting into it, eric. genuinely curious & clueless to how this will all turn out...

Intrigued about images...Hoping film stills rather than images of the directors themselves, as obvious as that might be. I can see an argument for the latter, though.

of my top 10 choices, 4 appeared in some of their own films, so...

OK, locked and loaded and basically ready to unveil the list next week! No more edits, please.

:D

TOO LOW

lol

Yes :D

I might preview worst director votes here today though. Participation in that portion was pretty sparse. Only two directors got more than one vote.

yeah didn't realise before voting it existed. might have voted nicholas roeg.

or mcg

in retrospect I might have had a pick if it had been "most overrated" or something. Dunking on Coleman Francis or even Chris Columbus or whoever doesn't really appeal, and I don't hold any of my challops dearly enough to call someone of any real stature the "worst director"

Oh hell yeah, I feel very strongly about my worst director pick.

yeah didn't realise before voting it existed. might have voted nicholas roeg.

― plax (ico), Friday, January 12, 2018 1:47 PM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

omg...

I was JUST going to say "Flappy in 3,2,1..." :D

I skipped worst director because a) I'd only vote for an accomplished director whose reputation puzzled me (i.e., I wouldn't vote for a legitimately terrible director), and b) from the former group, I almost always like at least one film--I'd be hard-pressed to think of an acclaimed director whose work I uniformly dislike.

mine has one movie i think is *good*, but i loathe the rest

xp -- that was my thinking behind my worst-director vote, which got a "Bold!" from Eric. Looking forward to the rollout.

Alright, here are the directors who all received one vote for worst director. They are in a 16-way tie for third place.

Michael Bay
Stephen Daldry
Dennis Dugan
Federico Fellini
Veit Harlan
John Landis
Baz Luhrmann
David Mamet
Oscar Micheaux
Gaspar Noé
Brett Ratner
Guy Ritchie
M. Night Shyamalan
Steven Spielberg
Quentin Tarantino
Edgar Wright

I didn't know about the worst director bit, but +1 on Michael Bay. Sometimes the obvious answers are the correct ones.

now that I'm actually thinking about this I'd like to belatedly vote for Lars Von Trier

Felini in there is some nice challops to start the weekend with

loooool love the worst runner up list

Fellini 😀

Xp

I didn't know about the worst director bit, but +1 on Michael Bay. Sometimes the obvious answers are the correct ones.

― mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, January 12, 2018 7:39 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Michael Bay was my vote. Him and his ilk (Joel Schumacher etc) are a disgrace to film. Abusers.

I didn't know I could vote for best director; otherwise, Sean Baker would've gotten 10 votes.

Fellini was my vote.

My vote was for Micheaux (historical significance yes, but everything I've seen from him was excruciating to watch). I considered Tom Ford, who in my opinion is batting .000, but wasn't sure two features was a sufficiently large body of work.

so this means the one I voted for got more than one vote!

My guess for worst on ilx would be Vincent Gallo

Stephen Daldry was my vote. He's not quite .000, though I haven't seen Billy Elliot in a long while so maybe I will revise that opinion.

ffs if I voted for Gaspar Noe instead, I could have at least put him in 2nd place.

I honestly don't know who the top/bottom 2 are gonna be

(I voted Ritchie, not v inspired but my whole ballot was kinda thrown together & I forgot about the worst thing till the last second)

Agree about tom ford btw

LVT has those eurotroll tendencies that are The Worst but he has done stuff I like/love, noé I just cannot take seriously

Noé, Tarantino, Spielberg, Ford, Landis, Shyamalan all good calls tbf

I heard some damning material on UK film hacks on the R4 movie show the other day: First an in-depth examination of Baby Driver's soundtrack. Followed by an interview with the artist behind 3 Billboards explaining his art. Would have voted for either of them after listening to that nightmare.

haven't see Baby Driver yet and know nothing about it, but more than one person has told me they thought I would like it because of the soundtrack

How very "Blueshammer defense."

Fellini was indeed my reflexive answer for "worst." But that just means his temperament is not mine. Most everything I've seen--seven or eight films--left me cold, including a few attempts at 8-1/2. I did like La Dolce Vita the one time I saw it.

xxp

yeah didn't realise before voting it existed. might have voted nicholas roeg.
― plax (ico), Friday, January 12, 2018 1:47 PM (eight minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
omg...
― flappy bird, Friday, January 12, 2018 6:56 PM (fifty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

reminds me that when I was in college I told a friend who was the head of the film society how much I liked Don’t Look Now. He said that he thought the 10 worst movies of all time were Don’t Look Now and any 9 Godard films

i voted brett ratner

X-Men 3 is on par with the first two tbh

How very "Blueshammer defense."

― Fred Klinkenberg (Eric H.), Friday, January 12, 2018 7:55 PM (twenty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol

And, with a robust two votes each, here are the directors tied as ILX's worst:

Terrence Malick

https://78.media.tumblr.com/07dc99a51470b52d06a49c08bbd81ace/tumblr_mt9ay1kzOB1s0t6o2o1_500.gif

Christopher Nolan

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BleakYellowGonolek-size_restricted.gif

Tune in next week to see which places any of those 18 directors earn in the actual list!

Oh yeah. I guess those two are unsurprising but yawn

Those aren't the two worst directors.

great gif choices

I voted for John "Lower, lower" Landis, whose direction was so bad that it killed people.

I pity the Spielberg voter btw

I went with M Shamanalahahlayaya. I support everyone’s decision on worst director though.

Not that anyone was worried, but I assure you, none of these votes factor in as negative votes in the main poll.

ie Oscar Micheaux in the top 10

(better than every blaxploitation director ever btw)

I pity the Spielberg voter btw

― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Friday, 12 January 2018 22:17 (thirty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Aye. And the Malick voters tho I guess they have each other for company

ok i was one of the Nolans fuck him he is the worst

Nolan was my vote too. Can’t say it was anything other than an emotional response. There are plenty of directors make overwrought films that I really like, but he is not one of them

I was one of the Malick votes. Surprised he got more than one! and fwiw the one film of his I sorta like is Days of Heaven.

xp
I have to say though, I did see Dunkirk since I voted, and it was the first film of his that I kind of liked

Days of Heaven is one of my favorite movies of all time

My knowledge of blaxsploitation is anything but comprehensive, but I do not remember ever experiencing 1) cringing or 2) boredom while watching any such title. For what that's worth.

when I was in college I told a friend who was the head of the film society how much I liked Don’t Look Now. He said that he thought the 10 worst movies of all time were Don’t Look Now and any 9 Godard films― Dan S, Friday, 12 January 2018 19:58 (yesterday)Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Don't look now is Roeg's one good film

how could anyone dislike Bad Timing, a movie about an extremely healthy relationship between two people with good opinions and habits?

yeah plax, Bad Timing and Man Who Fell are fine with me

Is bad timing the one with art Garfunkel and a tracheostomy scar? Awful

lol

I pity the Spielberg voter btw

― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Friday, 12 January 2018 22:17 (thirty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Aye. And the Malick voters tho I guess they have each other for company

― i know kore-eda (or something), Friday, 12 January 2018 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Here for your pity.

Realizing I probably should've linked this here: All Right, Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready For My Close-Up ... It's The ILXOR's Top 101 Director Poll Results Thread