I watched Fitzcarraldo last night again. It’s great but not as great as Aguirre, which is an unequalled masterpiece.
Very few directors are solid throughout their catalogue. Herzog however, for the wealth of work he has, hasn’t put a foot wrong yet (I’m familiar with 19 of his films).
Kubrick, for me, also deserves the highest accolade in filmmaking. He was a genius. Some may not find his films exciting but the man had an immaculate eye for detail and his delivery was unmatched. Can never decide which of his films I love more but it’s usually a toss up between Dr. Strangelove, 2001, A Clockwork Orange or The Shining. A.I.'s relative lameness cannot be fairly blamed on him. It takes a great director to manage a film like that; when a run-of-the-mill director takes over it falls away. I still like Ministry’s appearance though.
Lynch is brilliant as well. He has some weak (or weaker) films but Mulholland Drive is the most sumptuously erotic yet twisted film I’ve seen. Eraserhead is also essential. Lost Highway and Blue Velvet are cool and very enjoyable but not in the same league as the aforementioned.
Ingmar Bergman is/was maybe the greatest European director there’s been. Persona, The Seventh Seal, Fanny & Alexander are sublime.
Tarkovsky was a great filmmaker too but not as great as he’s often made out to be. His films could have benefited from better editing.
Malick made Days of Heaven. That’s all you need to know. That’s all you need. But he also made Badlands and his new one ‘Tree of Life’ is supposed to be amazing.
Kurosawa came before these guys. There’s a tendency to look at American or European directors for the greats and the truth is Kurosawa is probably better them all (or at least most of them). He has been copied and ripped off countless times but his versions are usually better.
Sergio Leone? It took a non-American to make the best westerns. He did more with The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly than Ford managed with all of his attempts.
Cronenberg is one of the smartest dudes in the business. He’s not the best actor-director but his films are more important than the performances. Who else has concepts like Shivers, Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly? Spider is a sadly ignored gem.
Michael Mann, despite stuff like Miami Vice, can make some brilliant crime films. Heat is still maybe the best crime film that was not called The Godfather.
John Carpenter was great late 70s/early80s but then went crap.
Coens are hit and miss. No Country for Old Men is an undisptued American classic but then you have borefests like Burn After Reading. A Serious Man was really good and I need to see it again but haven’t had the opportunity.