Five (Not So Easy) Pieces: Collecting Movie Classics’ Favorite Director Winning Streaks

09.30.11 | George D. Allen | Movie Buzz, Movie Buzz PodcastPrint this Post

Tags: , 

This is not as easy as it sounds, but it is fun. Think of your favorite movie directors: How many of them would you say have helmed not one, not two or three...but five great films in a row?

Sure, Steven Spielberg was on a roll with Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind...but in between Raiders of the Lost Ark and E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial came a little--well, not so little--bomb called 1941. (Though that movie does have a champion here at MovieFanFare!) As a preproduction exercise, I (as Movie Irv's producer) went through the list of some of my own favorite auteurs, and finding five in a row even from those directors I admire most proved tough going! As far as I'm concerned, Marty can do no wrong, but I have trouble voting The Color of Money (much as I enjoy the work of Tom Cruise) into the same stratosphere as Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, After Hours, and The Last Temptation of Christ (his sequel to The Hustler comes in at #4 in that sequence).

If I had a vote to be squeezed in at the end of the credits, I'd champion the great Werner Herzog (again), whose Aguirre the Wrath of God, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Heart of Glass, Stroszek, and Nosferatu the Vampyre all rank as bona-fide greats. Now, check out what Irv and Mark have to offer before you have your own say:

Think that was easy? Name your own favorite director's five-greats-in-a-row. They all have to be great (and all in a row, one right after the other), so no cheating!

 
Click Here to get MovieFanFare delivered to your inbox!

Share It!

Add to BuzzAdd to DelciousAdd to DiggAdd to FacebookAdd to GoogleAdd to RedditAdd to SquidooAdd to StumbleUponAdd to TechnoratiAdd to TwitterAdd to Yahoo!

Leave a Reply

  • Jim

    How about Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove, 2001, Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining) and David Lean (Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, Ryan's Daughter, Passage to India)? You're right that this is harder than it seems... I thought Hitchcock was sure to have directed five great ones in a row, but the closest I could find was four (Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds... followed, alas, by Marnie).

  • tomr

    How about Frank Capra Mr. Deeds Goes To Town, Lost Horizon, You Cant Take It With You, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, and Meet John Doe.

    Preston Sturges The Lady Eve, Sullivan's Travels, The Palm Beach Story, The Miracle At Morgans Creek, and Hail The Conquering Hero.

  • tony

    What about 6 in a row?? The incomparable Frank Capra run.
    * Lady for a Day - 1933 (AA nomination)
    * It happened one night - 1934 (AA)
    * Mr Deeds goes to Town - 1936 (AA)
    * The Lost Horizon - 1935
    * You can't take it with you - 1938 (AA)
    * Mr Smith goes to Washington - 1938 (AA nomination)

    That's 6 in a row. You could finish off with No. 7 with Meet John Doe.

    There are not many other directors who can boast 5 -6 classics in a row and be honoured by the Academy like Frank - apart from the other Master, Willie Wyler.

  • Quasiblu

    I give you ROMAN POLANSKI:

    REPULSION
    KNIFE IN THE WATER
    ROSEMARY'S BABY
    CHINATOWN
    THE PIANIST

  • JIM RICK

    ANY FIVE HITCHCOCK FILMS.......

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    The Dude cannot abide all this cheating! :)

    Tony, I love the Capra pick -- but Capra apparently has the film "Broadway Bill" in between "It Happened..." and "Mr. Deeds..." So would it make your list?

    And Quasiblu, you are really really cheating. You are skipping over many, many Polanskis. This is about getting 5 greats in a row, one right after the other.

    I agree on almost all those pix being great--tho I was not a fan of "The Pianist" much at all. For Polanski, maybe you wanna make the case for
    1. Repulsion
    2. Cul-de-sac (which just came out on Criterion Blu, by the way: http://www.moviesunlimited.com/musite/product.asp?sku=B11490)
    3. The Fearless Vampire Killers
    4. Rosemary's Baby, and
    5. Macbeth?

  • Quasiblu

    George, even if I'm being non-chronological and (inadvertently) cheating, the 5 from your list are all great films! Yes, even Fearless Vampire Killers and Macbeth! Box office bombs but brilliant movies in their own right.....

  • Quasiblu

    OK, i'll give this another shot:

    BILLY WILDER:

    Sunset Blvd
    Ace in the Hole
    Stalag 17
    Sabrina
    Seven Year Itch

    (I feel queasy about Sabrina, which I just despise, but others seems to think it's a good film.)

    George, what say ye??

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    I say ye should click "Play" on the video and see that one of our participants agrees with exactly that list :)

  • Quasiblu

    Wow, I'm more of a film buff heavy than I thought!
    Woo-hoo!

  • masterofoneinchpunch

    So many directors have great outputs but are hurt by a film in the middle which prevents the “connect five” like Battling Butler (which is a good film but not a great one) for Buster Keaton, Shanhai Triad for Zhang Yimou, Porco Rosso for Hayao Miyazaki or just because I have not seen it like Magnet of Doom (which unfortunately also has a bad reputation) for Jean-Pierre Melville or Il Bidone for Federico Fellini. There is also the fact like with John Ford he has made so many films (and he has some mediocre output as well; his career also reminds me a bit of Chang Cheh in that way as well; prolific filmmakers with great four in a row but not five also include Johnnie To).

    Here is what I’ve come up with so far:

    Akira Kurosawa (The Bad Sleep Well,Yojimbo, Sanjuro, High and Low, Red Beard): Sanjuro may be the weak piece out of these five, but it is still quite a good film. He’s a director that has so many great films, but occasionally a lesser film like I live In Fear or The Idiot that hurts the five in a row. This is seriously one of the greatest streaks for a filmmaker.

    Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story, Early Spring, Tokyo Twilight, Equinox Flower, Good Morning … to the end of his career): Ozu one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time has such a strong streak in the latter half of his career that he was not only commercially successful but remains one of the most popular director among critics (like David Bordwell and Roger Ebert).

    Luis Buñuel (Viridiana, The Exterminating Angel, Diary of a Chambermaid, Simon of the Desert, Belle de Jour): With a lineup this strong what else can you say. His next film The Milky Way is certainly interesting but not as strong (unless you are completely into theology) as this lineup (luckily this is five in a row).

    Jackie Chan (Project A, Police Story, Project AII, Armour of God, Police Story Part II): One action masterpiece after another. I really don’t think he gets his due as a director, but regardless if you are an action fan then you already know what I’m writing about here.

    Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together, In The Mood For Love, Eros, 2046): While technically Ashes of Time was released after Chungking Express it was filmed before (and then there is a rerelease with a different edit). But this is a very good string of movies that ended well with his American release.

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    MOIIP, that could be a whole other category: "Movies That Messed Up the Streak"!

    I actually like Sanjuro a lot--I forgive much just for that climactic, completely insane confrontation.

    I couldn't say off the top of my head, but I wonder what kind of Ozu string I could connect w/"Late Spring" falling somewhere -- one of my favorite Ozus.

    And I love the Jackie mention. I could watch the original Police Story about 1000 times maybe, and then watch it again. (Tho I came to him late like a lot of Americans, seeing him really for the first time when I bought my tix for "Rumble in the Bronx.")

  • kent gravett

    Where does The Hidden Fortress come in with Kurasawa? As for Ford, I am extremely prejudiced here so much as to ask if one can find a mediocre film anywhere. But if you take his cavalry trilogy as a starting point and the roll in Wagonmaster and others you can have quite a streak, with his modern films of the fifties creeping right in, and his war films of the 40's hangin in there. Good starting point for anyone in an argument. To make it even more, his films of the 30's which become a kind of homage to America at its beginnings and struggles. Open the discussion someone!

  • masterofoneinchpunch

    Late Spring is one of my favorite Ozu (nice Criterion release), but here is the rub it is surrounded by "A Hen in the Wind" and "The Munekata Sisters" both of which I have not seen.

    Of course a big rub is that you have to have seen a lot of films from a director and you guys already picked some of the easier ones :D like Chaplin (I'm one film away from seeing everything he has directed, I have already finished everything he is an actor in) and Wilder.

    RE: HK, I could connect Jackie easily, but I couldn't quite do it with Sammo Hung, John Woo, Chang Cheh or Lau Kar-leung.

    Dang Clint Eastwood is pretty close as well too; same with Peckinpah. I'm thinking of newer directors but even with Fincher, Burton and Nolan I can't put five in a row :) .

  • masterofoneinchpunch

    I'm a huge fan of Ford but most critics tend to point out his early silent output like Bucking Broadway (1917) and Just Pals (I have seen both) as a bit too much Griffith influenced and The Wings of Eagles as one of his worst films. There is always a film like Mary of Scotland (while good is not great) or When Willie Comes Marching Home that, for me (my opinion), messes up the streak. I'm not a big fan of Tobacco Road, but mainly because the Dude is one of the most annoying characters in cinema.

    The Hidden Fortress for Kurosawa comes in between The Lower Depths and The Bad Sleep Well. While I like The Lower Depths it does not have as big of a critical fanbase and much of his other output.

  • Sancho

    I'm surprised to see no mention of Charlie Chaplin:

    The Gold Rush
    The Circus
    City Lights
    Modern Times
    The Great Dictator

  • Sancho

    Here's another one. Anyone who's not a horror fan may disagree, but

    David Cronenberg:

    Scanners
    Videodrome
    The Dead Zone
    The Fly
    Dead Ringers

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    Irv, of course, picked Chaplin first in the video, so probably others don't wanna just piggyback on his choice. (And the sequence he picked was exactly yours, with which I'd also agree) The challenge is -- can you come up with a director not yet mentioned that you'd submit?

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    OK, so my 1st response got beat in the queue w/your Cronenberg addition -- so, if I were picking the Cronenberg Five, I'd probably start w/Videodrome & go forward to Naked Lunch. Scanners might be more of a "successful" movie overall, granted, but I like how far he was swinging w/Lunch even if it may be popularly seen as flawed.

  • Sancho

    Ummm. I guess I should've watched the video first...

  • masterofoneinchpunch

    Actually Buster Keaton was easier than I thought: Our Hospitality, Sherlock Jr. The Navigator, Seven Chances, Go West. I was trying to connect The General earlier and was too focused with the good but not great Battling Butler. Sherlock Jr. is one of my top 10 films of all time and is often on many top critics lists (that and The General) but rewatching much of The Navigator (on TCM last night) that is quite a film as well (it also has its fans with Jim Emerson and Roger Ebert). I think Go West is a stronger film than the earlier Three Ages (the Griffith spoof) that Buster directed, but just by a little bit.

  • OZ, Rob

    How about Robert Bresson...
    1..Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne,44
    2..Diary of a Country Priest,50
    3..A Man Escaped,56
    4..Pickpocket,59
    5..The Trial of Joan of arc,62

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    I've never seen Bresson's Joan film. As a devotee of the story, I'd be real curious to see the contrast between it & the Dreyer movie (which I like, and which Bresson apparently disdained). Hello...Criterion? Why stop at "Au Hasard Balthazar," "Les Dames Du Bois De Boulogne," "Mouchette," and "Pickpocket"?

  • Justin Ray

    William Wyler:

    The Heiress
    Detective Story
    Carrie
    Roman Holiday
    The Desperate Hours

  • Justin Ray

    George Cukor:

    Dinner at Eight
    Little Women
    David Copperfield
    Sylvia Scarlett
    Romeo and Juliet

  • Justin Ray

    Stanley Donen:

    The Grass is Greener
    Charade
    Arabesque
    Two for the Road
    Bedazzled

  • Dana Rich

    I have always loved "1941". I think it has one of the greatest dance/fight sequences ever filmed in it. So, as far as I am concerned, Steven Spielberg still has 5 in a row.

  • Tamazon

    Oh come on, people!
    Hitchcock:
    The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1956
    Vertigo, 1958
    North By Northwest, 1959
    Psycho, 1960
    The Birds, 1963

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    That's a nice Hitch list, but not 5-in-a-row, strictly speaking, by the omission of "The Wrong Man," also from 1956 (or '57, depending on when you want to exactly peg the release date).

    Not that "The Birds" would get my vote anyway. My own favored picks for the five Hitchcock "greats"--"The 39 Steps," "Notorious," "Rear Window," "Vertigo," and "Psycho" (I'd put "Rope" as my closest favorite 6th) are spread out, with all of his "just really good" entries coming in between them.

  • Laura B.

    John Schlesinger:

    A Kind of Loving
    Billy Liar
    Darling
    Far from the Madding Crowd
    Midnight Cowboy
    Sunday Bloody Sunday

    John Frankenheimer:

    The Young Savages
    All Fall Down
    Birdman of Alcatraz
    The Manchurian Candidate
    Seven Days in May

    Robert Mulligan:

    To Kill a Mockingbird
    Love with the Proper Stranger
    Baby, The Rain must Fall
    Inside Daisy Clover
    Up the Down Staircase

    I think a case could be made for James Ivory too.

  • Gary Vidmar

    There always seems to be some stinkers in between, but I'll give it a try:

    Fritz Lang:
    METROPOLIS
    SPIONE
    FRAU IM MOND
    M
    THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE

    Federico Fellini:
    LA STRADA
    NIGHTS OF CABIRIA
    LA DOLCE VITA
    8 1/2
    JULIET OF THE SPIRITS
    and add to it:
    FELLINI SATYRICON

    Michelangelo Antonioni:
    L'AVVENTURA
    LA NOTTE
    ECLIPSE
    RED DESERT
    BLOW-UP

    Elia Kazan:
    ON THE WATERFRONT
    EAST OF EDEN
    BABY DOLL
    A FACE IN THE CROWD
    WILD RIVER

    Woody Allen:
    BANANAS
    PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM
    EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX
    SLEEPER
    LOVE AND DEATH

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    Laura B, nice lists -- if you haven't yet clicked the video to watch, Mark starts his Frankenheimer list at "Birdman..."--

    Gary, love the Lang 5 (I've never seen "Spies," but I take your word for it) -- Woody, however, did not direct "Play It Again, Sam" -- as Mark mentions during his own Woody segment (that also starts w/Bananas), that was Herbert Ross.

  • ed

    val lewton period. weather they made money or not all classics by today standrds. rodger corman period. his movies never lost a dime his book his book title

  • Jim

    I think the key word in the original posting is "great." A lot of these lists include films that were good, some very good, but not great. That's why I didn't include Chaplin or Keaton: I don't think "The Circus" is a great film (good, not great), nor is "The Great Dictator." And "Our Hospitality" and "Go West," while both very good, are not great. Likewise with Hitchcock: the remake of "Man Who Knew Too Much" isn't a great film.

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    "Great," of course, as ever being in the eye of the beholder. I agree with your Kubrick list, but I know there are plenty of people who still think "The Shining" was a debacle. (Not me.)

    And while I agree w/your "Circus" ranking for Chaplin, "Dictator" I place at the very top of his achievements. It's actually my favorite film of his and the one I revisit most often, despite how I "should" think about these sorts of lists, by say, placing a silent classic like "City Lights" or "Modern Times" at the top of my list.

  • Maggie Correa

    One of my favorites directors of all times,his movies were nominated or the actors were:
    Joseph L. Mankiewicks
    1. House of Strangers (1949)
    2. A Letter to Three Wives (1949)
    3. All About Eve (1950)
    4. No Way Out (1950)
    5. People Will Talk (1951)
    6. 5 Fingers (1952)
    7. Julius Caesar (1953)
    8. The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
    9. Guys and Dolls (1955)
    10. The Quiet America (1958)
    11. Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
    10. Cleopatra (1963)

  • Maggie Correa

    Michael Powell should also be mentioned:
    1. A Canterbury Tale (1944)
    2. I Know Where I'm Going (1945)
    3. Stairway to Heaven (1946)
    4. Black Narcissus (1947)
    5. The Red Shoes (1948)
    6. Hour of Glory (1949)

  • Maggie Correa

    Michael Curtiz, all in 1938:
    1. Angels with Dirty Faces
    2. Four Daughters
    3. Four's a Crowd
    4. The Adventures of Robin Hood
    5. Gold is Where You find It

  • Maggie Correa

    Also Michael Curtiz with Oscar Nominations:
    1. The Unsuspected (1947)
    2. Life with Father (1947)
    3. Night and Day (1946)
    4. Mildred Pierce (1945)
    5. Roughly Speaking (1945)
    6. Janie (1944)

  • Maggie Correa

    Although not always recognized, James Ivory should be considered:
    1. Jefferson in Paris (1995)
    2. The Remains of the Day (1993)
    3. Howards End (1992)
    4. Mr. and Mrs. Bridge (1990)
    5. Slaves of New York (1989)
    6. Maurice (1987)
    7. A Room with a View (1985)
    8. The Bostonians (1984)
    9. Heat and Dust (1983)
    10. Quartet (1981)

  • Fred Smith

    John Ford with:

    Stagecoach
    Young Mr. Lincoln
    Drums Along The Mohawk
    The Grapes Of Wrath
    The Long Voyage Home (a good but not officially great film. Grapes Of Wrath, however, is great enough to pick up its slack)

  • Bill C.

    ROB REINER (Surprised?)

    Stand By Me
    The Princess Bride
    When Harry Met Sally...
    Misery
    A Few Good Men

    If not for the thoroughly mediocre "The Sure Thing," Reiner's streak would've stretched back to "This Is Spinal Tap" (1984)

  • Luis V

    I am going with Clint Eastwood's current run which I think is about to be extended when J.Edgar comes out. Flags of our Fathers is probably the weaklink there...but removing that still leaves him with a 5 movie streak.

    2011 J. Edgar (completed)

    2010 Hereafter

    2009 Invictus

    2008 Gran Torino

    2008 Changeling

    2006 Letters from Iwo Jima

    2006 Flags of Our Fathers

    2004 Million Dollar Baby

  • Luis V

    I'll second the Rob Reiner vote as well. If you throw out the awful "North" then the "American President" would have made the streak 6 on the other side.

    1992 A Few Good Men

    1990 Misery

    1989 When Harry Met Sally...

    1987 The Princess Bride

    1986 Stand by Me

    1985 The Sure Thing

    1984 This Is Spinal Tap

  • Luis V

    Ron Howard had a pretty impressive streak with either Far and Away or Backdraft the weakest.

    1996 Ransom

    1995 Apollo 13

    1994 The Paper

    1992 Far and Away

    1991 Backdraft

    1989 Parenthood

  • Luis V

    And if Brian DePalma had stayed away from comedies I think he would have made this list...

    1987 The Untouchables

    1986 Wise Guys

    1984 Body Double

    1983 Scarface

    1981 Blow Out

    1980 Dressed to Kill

    1980 Home Movies

    1978 The Fury (as Brian DePalma)

    1976 Carrie

  • Luis V

    And a pretty nice run for Mike Nichols (although not all my personal favorites...and I confess a weak spot in my heart for "Wolf"). Probably more good than great movies.

    1996 The Birdcage

    1994 Wolf

    1991 Regarding Henry

    1990 Postcards from the Edge

    1988 Working Girl

    1988 Biloxi Blues

    1986 Heartburn

    1983 Silkwood

  • Luis V

    And while Woody is not for every taste, this here is a pretty impressive run:

    1986 Hannah and Her Sisters

    1985 The Purple Rose of Cairo

    1984 Broadway Danny Rose

    1983 Zelig

    1982 A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

    1980 Stardust Memories

    1979 Manhattan

    1978 Interiors

    1977 Annie Hall

  • Luis V

    I think these are also defensible Woody Allen streaks...

    2011 Midnight in Paris

    2010 You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

    2009 Whatever Works

    2008 Vicky Cristina Barcelona

    2007 Cassandra's Dream

    *************************************

    1994 Bullets Over Broadway

    1993 Manhattan Murder Mystery

    1992 Husbands and Wives

    1991 Shadows and Fog

    1990 Alice

    1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors

  • Luis V

    Laurence Olivier only directed 5 films. Here is his streak:

    1970 Three Sisters

    1957 The Prince and the Showgirl

    1955 Richard III

    1948 Hamlet

    1944 Henry V

  • Michael Klossner

    We should remember Walt Disney -- Snow White,
    Pinocchio, Fantasy, Dumbo, Bambi. He was not a
    director, but he was a very hands-on studio chief.

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    Maggie, like the Michael Powell mention! (But of course let's not leave out Emeric Pressburger)

    Bill C, that Reiner streak is right on the money. (And wow, his notable bomb "North" was next.)

    Luis V, you made choices aplenty ---

    The Eastwood streak I would differ, but not in the same place. To me "Changeling" was solid, but not as great as the other 4 starting w/Baby. Hereafter I confess I really disliked, more for its overall conceit than anything else (so maybe I should blame that on scripter Peter Morgan, but I blame it on Clint for famously shooting the first draft more or less intact).

    And yes, Woody has multiple runs that can be reasonably defended. I like your one starting w/Crimes & Misdemeanors the best. (Hmmm, or maybe the one starting w/Annie Hall. Can't decide)

    Michael K....maybe we should do producers next. Disney, Selznick...Dino...

  • Justin

    Reposting my listings :)

    William Wyler:

    The Heiress
    Detective Story
    Carrie
    Roman Holiday
    The Desperate Hours

    George Cukor:

    Dinner at Eight
    Little Women
    David Copperfield
    Sylvia Scarlett
    Romeo and Juliet

    Stanley Donen:

    The Grass is Greener
    Charade
    Arabesque
    Two for the Road
    Bedazzled

  • Ron

    Those were all great directors, but my favorite is Howard Hawks. How about 9 from 1944 to 1953? After Sergeant York and Air Force and before Rio Bravo came:

    To Have and Have Not
    The Big Sleep
    A Song is Born
    I Was a Male War Bride
    The Thing
    The Big Sky
    O'Henry's Full House
    Monkey Business
    Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

  • Michael T

    Depalma definitely made the list.

    Sisters [1973]
    Phantom of the Paradise [1974]
    Obsession [1975]
    Carrie [1976]
    The Fury [1978]

    He almost made it again in the early 80's.

    Dressed to Kill [1980]
    Blow Out [1981]
    Scarface [1983]
    Body Double [1984]

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    Justin, I'd pick your Donen streak out of those choices; Ron, I can't vouch for every movie on the Hawks list (I missed quite a few of those, outside of To Have and Have Not & Big Sleep & The Thing), but it looks good to me; and Michael T, it's a tough choice to go for either the "5" DePalma streak or the "4." I'm such a Phantom of the Paradise and Body Double fan, I have to go with both :)

  • OZ, Rob

    Enjoyed this Forum..will have another post..
    The Great Anthony Mann..
    Film Noir
    1..Railroaded.47
    2..T.Men.47
    3..Raw Deal.48
    4..Black Book.49
    5..Border Incident.49
    Westerns
    1..The Furies.50
    2..Winchester 73.50
    3..The Tall Target.51
    4..Bend of the River.51
    5..The Naked Spur.52

  • Alfred Dreher

    My Hitchcock list starts earlier:

    1951 Strangers on a Train
    1953 I Confess
    1954 Dial M For Murder
    1954 Rear Window
    1955 To Catch a Thief
    1956 The Man Who Knew Too Much
    1956 The Wrong Man (I know, I know!)
    1956 The Trouble with Harry
    1957 Vertigo
    1959 North by Northwest
    1960 Psycho

    That is pretty impressive, even though a couple of those may not be considered among his best. Personally I like I Confess and The Trouble with Harry.

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    I confess "I Confess" is one of those Hitches I never caught up with, but always wanted to. Where does the time go...

  • Bill Dunphy

    David Lean
    1 - Hobson's Choice
    2 - Summertime
    3 - Bridge on the River Kwai
    4 - Lawrence of Arabia
    5 - Greatest story ever told
    6 - Dr Zhivago
    7 - Ryans Daughter

    Fred Zinnerman
    1 - High Noon
    2 - Member of the Wedding
    3 - From here to Eternity
    4 - Oklahoma
    5 - A hatful of rain

  • GUNNY KOON USMC Ret

    THE FIVE BEST ARE, THE D.I., THE D.I., THE D.I., THE D.I. AND OF COURSE, WHO COULD FORGET, THE D.I. WITH JACK WEBB! PS JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU GEORGE, THAT ALL MY FILM PICKS BRING A TEAR TO MY EYES EVERY TIME I SEE THEM, NOW GET DOWN AND GIVE ME 50 PUSH UPS!!!!!!! SEMPER FI!!!!

  • http://www.moviesunlimited.com George D. Allen

    Who am I to argue with that? Before there was Gny. Sgt. Hartman, before there was "Gunny" Highway, there was Gunnery Sgt. Jim Moore:

    "YOU PEOPLE ARE TOO SLOW!"

    "YOU BURR-HEADED IDIOTS DO NOT APPRECIATE MY CHEERFUL GOOD MORNING!"

    "I AM NOT YOUR MOTHER. I WILL NOT WAKE YOU UP LIKE YOUR MOTHER DOES!"

    "CENTER YOURSELF IN THE HATCH!"

    Who doesn't love "The D.I."?

  • Clark

    what about Billy wilder = love in the Afternoon,the spirit Of st Louis, Witness for The Prosecution, Some Like It hot , The Apartment. there are even 5 more before that one that are great as well , so this is my favorate Director.

  • nikos ikonomidis

    John Carpenter unmentioned yet?
    Assault on preceint K13
    Halloween
    The fog
    Escape from New York
    The thing

Read More Posts From…

Movie Buzz

Posts by George D. Allen