rank a director

[AB537]

A rare director whose work falls into all of my categories. Some of these could probably use a rewatch, especially the films that are generally harder to follow.

Great

Twin Peaks (1990-1991) - first 1.5 seasons

Very Good

The Elephant Man (1980)

Good

Blue Velvet (1986)
Wild at Heart (1990)

Above Average

Dune (1984)
Twin Peaks (1991) - rest of season 2
The Straight Story (1999)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Twin Peaks: The Return (2017)

Okay

Eraserhead (1977)
Lost Highway (1997)
Inland Empire (2006)

Not Good

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

[Lonewolf2003]

One of the greats, #27 in my current top directors list. I'm only less a fan of his shorts

Masterpiece
1. Mulholland Drive (2001): 10!
2. Lost Highway (1997): 9.5
3. Twin Peaks (2017) - TV Series: 9.5
4. Inland Empire (2006): 9.5

Excellent
5. The Straight Story (1999): 9.0
6. The Elephant Man (1980): 9.0
7. Twin Peaks (1990) - TV Series: 8.8

Good
8. Blue Velvet (1986): 8.5
9. Dune (1984): 8.0

Fine
10.. Wild at Heart (1990): 7.5
11. Eraserhead (1977): 7.5
12. What Did Jack Do? (2017) - Short Film: 7.5

Okay
13. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992): 6.2

Mediocre
-

Poor
-

Bad
14. The Alphabet (1968) - Short Film: 3.0

Terrible
15. The Amputee (1974) - Short Film: 2.0
16. Six Figures Getting Sick (1966) - Short Film: 2.0

[Silga]

Seen 5 from David Lynch:

1. Wild at Heart - 10 (one of the best cinema going experiences ever!)
2. Mulholland Drive - 8
3. Blue Velvet - 7
4. Lost Highway - 4
5. Eraserhead - 2

[Cinepolis]

1. Mulholland Drive (2001) - 8/10
2. Eraserhead (1977) - 8/10
3. Wild at Heart (1990) - 8/10
4. Blue Velvet (1986) - 7/10
5. Rabbits (2002) - 7/10
6. Dune (1984) - 6/10
7. The Grandmother (1970) - 6/10
8. The Alphabet (1969) - 5/10
9. What Did Jack Do? (2017) - 4/10
10. Six Figures Getting Sick (1967) - 4/10

[Good_Will_Harding]

Some of these need a re-watch, mainly everything he made from '86 - '97.

10

The Straight Story
Mulholland Dr.

9

The Elephant Man
Eraserhead

8

Inland Empire
Blue Velvet
Lost Highway

7

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Wild at Heart

6



5

Dune

[blocho]

Lynch is a true original and a cinematic treasure. Somehow, I still haven't seen Inland Empire or Wild at Heart.

Superlative
Blue Velvet
Twin Peaks: The Return

Very Good
The Elephant Man
Twin Peaks (original series)
Lost Highway
Mulholland Dr.

Good
Eraserhead
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with me
The Straight Story

OK
Dune

Misfires

[Torgo]

Lynch

10ish
Eraserhead
Mulholland Drive
Lost Highway

9ish
Blue Velvet
The Elephant Man

8ish
Inland Empire
The Straight Story

Probably 7ish, but I dunno really, too long ago
Wild at Heart
Twin Peaks movie
Dune

[Brad]

Lynch

Greatest of All Time
1. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (the show as well)
2. Wild at Heart

Great
3. Inland Empire
4. Eraserhead
5. Mulholland Drive

Good
6. Dune
7. Blue Velvet
8. Lost Highway

Fine
9. The Straight Story
10. The Elephant Man

[beavis]

in a class of his own for sure!
for the ranking I kept it to his ten features only, with my ratings out of 5-stars

1 - 5 - Blue Velvet
2 - 5 - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me
3 - 5 - Mulholland Dr.
4 - 5 - Lost Highway
5 - 4,5 - Wild at Heart
6 - 4,5 - Eraserhead
7 - 4,5 - Inland Empire
8 - 4 - The Elephant Man
9 - 4 - The Straight Story
10 - 3,5 - Dune

[Fergenaprido]

1. 7.8 - Dune (1984) - needs a rewatch, saw it as a kid.

2. 7.4 - Mulholland Dr. (2001)

3. 6.0 - Inland Empire (2006)

I'm most interested in seeing The Straight Story and The Elephant Man, but I've also got Eraserhead and Blue Velvet on hand so may give those a go eventually. He's not a director whose style I connect with so far, so he's not one I've prioritized.

[prodigalgodson]

What a fucking legend.

Twin Peaks: The Return 10
Inland Empire
Mulholland Dr. 9
Lost Highway
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me 8
Wild at Heart
Eraserhead 7
Blue Velvet
The Straight Story 6
The Elephant Man
Dune 4

Love the original Twin Peaks too, but that's more classical episodic TV and a team effort anyway.

[Perception de Ambiguity]

On a long enough timeline every Lynch film will become a 10.

[Caracortada]

1. Mulholland Dr. 10
2. The Elephant Man 9
3. Blue Velvet 8
4. Wild at Heart 7
5. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 6
6. The Straight Story 6
7. Lost Highway 5
8. Inland Empire 5
9. Rabbits 5
10. Eraserhead 4
11. Dune 4

[Y U M E]

This week the 52nd edition of the International Filmfestval Rotterdam (IFFR) has started! My 33rd edition (with visits every year since 1991). I kicked off with 'Showing Up' by Kelly Reichardt. A Rotterdam regular. Her breakthrough film Old Joy screened in the Tiger Award competition (for debuts and second films) in 2006. So to celebrate this occasion (and the festival is live again after two online-editions after lockdown COVID ...) I suggest we rank Kelly Reichardt next!

Kelly Reichardt

★★★¾ | 8.0
01. First Cow
02. Meek's Cutoff

★★★½ | 7.6
03. Showing Up
04. Old Joy

★★★¼ | 7.2
05. Wendy and Lucy

★★★ | 6.8
06. Certain Women

★★¼ | 5.5
07. Night Moves

[Torgo]

I was a pretty big fan of Wendy and Lucy back in the day. Meek's Cutoff ranks a bit behind that for me and First Cow another bit. Didn't feel the buzz qualities of the latter

[pitchorneirda]

1. Wendy and Lucy
2. Old Joy
3. Meek's Cutoff
4. Night Moves
5. Certain Women
6. First Cow

[AB537]

Sorry to say I haven't really connected with her work yet.

Great

Very Good

Good

Above Average

Wendy and Lucy (2008)
Night Moves (2013)
Certain Women (2016)

Okay

River of Grass (1994)
Old Joy (2006)
First Cow (2019)

Not Good

Don't Remember Enough to Rate

Meek's Cutoff (2010)

[Silga]

1. Certain Women - 9
2. First Cow - 7
3. Night Moves - 6

[GruesomeTwosome]

Kelly Reichardt rocks! Her new film Showing Up is one of my most highly anticipated of the year.

EXCELLENT

1. Meek’s Cutoff
2. Certain Women
3. Wendy and Lucy

GREAT

4. First Cow

GOOD TO VERY GOOD

5. Night Moves

SOLID/DECENT

6. Old Joy
7. River of Grass

[Onderhond]

01. 0.5* - Old Joy

[Fergenaprido]

Haven't seen any of her films, though I've been meaning to. Maybe this year.

[OldAle1]

Oooh I've gotten behind. Catch up -

Kelly Reichardt

*cinema

PLATINUM
-

GOLD
1. First Cow
2. Wendy and Lucy*
3. Certain Women*
4. Meek's Cutoff*

SILVER
5. Old Joy

As you can see, remarkably consistent from my POV, but nothing quite jumps out as "great" yet. Also haven't seen any of these more than once.


David Lynch

Spoiler

cinema* multiple viewings+

PLATINUM
1. Eraserhead*+
2. Inland Empire*+
3. Mulholland Dr.*+
4. Blue Velvet*+
5. his segment from Lumière et compagne*+

GOLD
6. Lost Highway*+
7. The Elephant Man*
8. The Straight Story*
9. The Grandmother

SILVER
10. The Alphabet

BRONZE
11. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me*+

COPPER
12. Interpol: I Touch a Red Button

ALUMINUM
13. Dune*+
14. Wild at Heart*+
15. Six Men Getting Sick

Pretty sure there are some other shorts that I've seen, long ago, and forgotten. I don't know how to rate Twin Peaks and I still haven't seen season 3 (!!!!). But if it qualified on the basis of the first two seasons it'd be either #2 or 3.

Charles Chaplin

Spoiler

These are *very* sketchy, many of these I've not seen since the late 80s. In fact I'll just rank the first 5, after that it's alpha within ratings

PLATINUM
1. Monsieur Verdoux
2. City Lights
3. The Gold Rush
4. Modern Times
5. The Kid

GOLD
6. The Cure
6. A Day's Pleasure
6. A Dog's Life
6. Easy Street
6. The Great Dictator
6. The Immigrant
6. One A.M.
6. Sunnyside
6. The Vagabond

SILVER

15. The Adventurer
15. Behind the Screen
15. A Burlesque on Carmen
15. By the Sea
15. The Circus
15. The Count
15. The Idle Class
15. Limelight
15. The Pawnshop
15. Pay Day
15. Police
15. The Rink
15. Shoulder Arms
15. The Tramp
15. A Woman

BRONZE

30. The Bank
30. The Fireman
30. The Floorwalker
30. His New Job
30. A King in New York
30. The Masquerader
30. A Night in the Show
30. The Pilgrim
30. The Rounders

COPPER

39. The Champion
39. A Woman of Paris

[Lonewolf2003]

I’m with OldAle; consistently good and for that she deserved a place in my directors list, but nothing great/all time fav level yet.

Masterpiece
-

Excellent
-

Good
1. Old Joy (2006): 8.0
2. Meek's Cutoff (2010) : 8.0
3. First Cow (2020) : 8.0
4. Wendy and Lucy (2008) : 8.0

Fine
5. Certain Women (2016): 7.5

Okay
-

Mediocre
-

Poor
-

Bad
-

Terrible
-

[blocho]

Reichardt

Superlative

Very Good

Good

OK

Misfires
Wendy and Lucy

[Good_Will_Harding]

Very talented, and someone who I can see my appreciation for their work grow more over time.

10

First Cow

9

Certain Women

8

Wendy and Lucy
Meek's Cutoff

7

Night Moves
Old Joy

[Caracortada]

Kelly Reichardt

1. Wendy and Lucy 7
2. Night Moves 6
3. Certain Women 6
4. Meek's Cutoff 5

[beavis]

not much consensus it seems, interesting. For me there is one movie that hit me very strongly, the others I mostly liked a lot and might like even better on a rewatch. In memory all these movies are very pleasant.

1. - 5 - Old Joy (2006)
2. - 4 - Certain Women (2016)
3. - 4 - First Cow (2019)
4. - 4 - Meek's Cutoff (2010)
5. - 3,5 - Wendy and Lucy (2008)
6. - 3 - Night Moves (2013)

ratings out of 5

[Torgo]

not much consensus it seems, interesting.

I feel like seeing First Cow and Wendy most often in the upper tier or at the top in these lists

[Good_Will_Harding]

Let's go with a director whose work I typically enjoy, but don't consider or dwell upon as often as I probably should - Robert Altman.

10

Images

9

Kansas City
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
3 Women
The Player

8

Nashville
M*A*S*H
Gosford Park

7

The Long Goodbye
Short Cuts
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
A Prairie Home Companion

6

Popeye

Haven't seen nearly as much as I feel like I should've by this point, and it's been years since I've watched any of these after my top three picks (actually just rewatched my top pick tonight, which inspired this posting), which is probably why I have them ranked so highly. I'd love to get around to watching some more of his lesser known works and also re-watching much of what I've already seen, but I've found a decent chunk of his filmography to be oddly hard to track down lately.

[prodigalgodson]

McCabe and Mrs. Miller 10
The Long Goodbye
Nashville
California Split 8
Short Cuts
Quintet
M*A*S*H 6
A Prairie Home Companion 5
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmie Dean, Jimmie Dean

needs rewatch
The Player

Wow, I didn't realize I'd seen so few, those top two especially have made an outsize impression.

[blocho]

I have mixed feelings about Bob Altman. His signature style just doesn't agree with me. The overlapping and inaudible dialogue, while a refreshing gesture in the direction of realism, provides an uncomfortable cinematic experience. I need subtitles when I watch an Altman movie. I'm also not a fan of his jarring editing and episodic pacing. On the other hand, he's responsible for several wonderful movies that I deeply love.

Superlative
MASH

Very Good
California Split
Gosford Park

Good
The Long Goodbye

OK
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

Misfires
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson
The Player

[beavis]

Have still got some beloved titles to see and a lot of what I did see was so long ago that I do not have a clear memory of how I rated them... so this is a very premature ranking for me Somehow I seem to haven't quite clicked with Altman yet, although I kinda did when watching Nashville, there it was very clear for me that he did something special and was an influence for many other filmmakers. (ratings out of 5)

1. 4,5 - Nashville (1975)
2. 4 - The Long Goodbye (1973)
3. 4 - 3 Women (1977)
4. 3,5 - The Player (1992)
5. 3,5 - Short Cuts (1993)
6. 3,5 - McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
7. 3,5 - Brewster McCloud (1970)
8. 3,5 - Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
9. 3,5 - Cookie's Fortune (1999)
10. 3,5 - MASH (1970)
11. 3,5 - A Wedding (1978)
12. 3,5 - Aria (1987)
13. 3 - The Company (2003)
14. 2,5 - Gosford Park (2001)
15. 2,5 - Popeye (1980)

[Silga]

Only 2 films from Altman:

1. McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 10/10
2. Images - 5/10

[GruesomeTwosome]

Haven’t seen a whole lot from Altman, including some of his best-known ones. Out of six seen:

1. Short Cuts - 10
2. 3 Women - 9
3. The Long Goodbye - 8
4. Images - 7
5. McCabe &. Mrs. Miller - 7
6. Countdown - 5

[Torgo]

Kinda hit and miss with me, obviously I loved McCabe and used to be impressed by Short Cuts - 20 years ago ..

[Fergenaprido]

1. 8.6 - Gosford Park (2001) - I was enamoured by this when I first saw it, but I don't know if it will hold up upon rewatch. Been meaning to check out more from him for years now, but never seem to prioritize him.

[Onderhond]

Not a fan, but I was happily surprised when I watched The Long Goodbye.

1. 3.0* - The Long Goodbye (1973)
2. 2.0* - The Gingerbread Man (1998)
3. 2.0* - Short Cuts (1993)
4. 1.5* - Nashville (1975)
5. 1.5* - McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
6. 0.5* - Gosford Park (2001)
7. 0.5* - MASH [M*A*S*H] (1970)

[AB537]

Not really a favourite of mine, although a couple of films stand out. Also a couple I consider very overhyped.
Great

Very Good

The Player (1992)

Good

The Long Goodbye (1973)

Above Average

McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
California Split (1974)
Thieves Like Us (1974)
3 Women (1977)
Short Cuts (1993)
Gosford Park (2001) ... surprising I don't like this more given Julian Fellows' involvement

Okay

M*A*S*H (1970)
Images (1972)
Nashville (1975)
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)
A Prairie Home Companion (2006) ... Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly saved this from the bottom category

Not Good

[Y U M E]

Robert Altman

Ranked #11 in my list of "Greatest Number of Films You've Seen by One Director"
Ranked #40 in my list of favourite directors.

★★★★¾ | 9.6
01. Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean

★★★★½ | 9.2
02. Short Cuts
03. Brewster McCloud

★★★★¼ | 8.8
04. The Player

★★★★ | 8.4
05. Images
06. 3 Women

★★★¾ | 8.0
07. Nashville
08. The Long Goodbye

★★★½ | 7.6
09. Vincent & Theo
10. Gosford Park
11. Popeye
12. Streamers

★★★¼ | 7.2
13. California Split
14. That Cold Day in the Park
15. Cookie's Fortune
16. A Perfect Couple
17. Thieves Like Us

★★★ | 6.8
18. Secret Honor
19. The Company
20. MASH
21. A Prairie Home Companion

★★¾ | 6.4
22. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
23. A Wedding
24. Countdown
25. Fool for Love
26. Beyond Therapy

★★½ | 6.0
27. Quintet

★★¼ | 5.5
28. Pret-a-Porter

★★ | 5.0
29. The Gingerbread Man

★½ | 4.0
30. Kansas City

★¼ | 3.5
31. Dr. T & the Women

★ | 3.0
32. O.C. and Stiggs

½ | 2.0
33. Buffalo Bill and the Indians or: Sitting Bull's History Lesson

N/R
Les Boréades segment from "Aria"-anthology
The James Dean Story documentary

[Torgo]

Looks like everyone has some rating fluctuation within Altman's filmography, even his admirers