Last time I compared 15 pairs of classic films on this blog,this time I decide to go one step further with a director poll,another 15 matchups are carefully chosen and wait for your votes.The longer you stuck here,the more struggles you have,the happier I am,it proves that the pairing works.As usual,I am the first person to accept the torture,below are my choices and reasons:
1.F.W.Murnau vs Fritz Lang
I hate to start the line-up with such a tough one,both are giants of German Expressionism and even more successful after they went to Hollywood.I will give my vote to Murnau because he and his cameramen had a larger impact on subsequent filmmakers,you can see the influence in almost every film made afterwards.
2.Charlie Chaplin vs Jacques Tati
I will go with “French Chaplin” for this one,Tati had the talent to discover tiny funny things in life and turn them into gags in his films,also his irony subject on modern technology and brilliant use of space is so unique among all comedy directors.
3.Billy Wilder vs Frank Capra
Billy Wilder,Billy Wilder and Billy Wilder,No.1 story-teller of all time,Capra is not far behind.
4.Stanley Kubrick vs Orson Welles
Anyone who has been a regular reader of my blog knows what a big Kubrick fan I am,but believe me,this one is not easy,Welles is a genius too.
5.Michael Powell vs Douglas Sirk
I love both two because they both made the most beautiful color films and first-class melodrama,Powell has the slightest edge here.
6.Kenji Mizoguchi vs Mikio Naruse
Two directors I have tremendous respect for,for their life-long dedication of feminine themes.I’m obsessed with the gorgeous long shots in Mizoguchi’s films,so he is the one to win here.
7.Alfred Hitchcock vs Henri-Georges Clouzot
Two best suspense masters ever,if you ask me to compare their 3 peak films,I would say they are even,but Hitch’s personality wins me over here,what a lovely fat man.
8.Akira Kurosawa vs David Lean
There is one thing in common between these two,the great ability to tackle both grand and small film projects,Kurosawa is my choice here,I find more humanity concerns in his films.
9.Francis Ford Coppola vs Martin Scorsese
Scorsese is great,he is still great now,but Coppola’s four films in 1970s are really impeccable,I think he has more auteur quality than Scorsese,also,he has a very strong daughter.
10.Krzysztof Kieslowski vs Andrei Tarkovski
Both did not make a large quantity of films but each one is breathtakingly beautiful,I admit I still watch enough of their works to make a verdict,so I will go with Kieslowski for now,because his three colors are the films I watched most times,this may change though as I finish my Tarkovski marathon next month.
11.Wong Karwai vs Jean Luc Godard
Both are so good at Mise en scène,and invent one’s own aesthetic system,as a guy from Orient,I will surely pick Wong as the winner.
12.Hou Hsiao-hsien vs Abbas Kiarostami
Simplicity and countryside landscape are the two things come to my mind when I think of these two directors,their ways of expressing subject matter are so simple yet so profound, Abbas is my man here,his films have more philosophical sense to me.
13.Jia Zhangke vs Dardenne Brothers
Two(or three) rare directors who focus cameras on ordinary people in a consistent basis,as a guy who was born and raised in China,Jia’s films mean so much to me and its greatness is just too obvious.
14.Roman Polanski vs David Cronenberg
Both like quirky themes during early career but become more serious these days,my vote goes to Cronenberg because I did not enjoy Repulsion and Cul-de-sac that much but I did enjoy every Cronenberg film I saw.
15.Jim Jarmusch vs Wes Anderson
Two independent filmmakers who got great treatment from CC,one’s B&W films are so cool and one’s color films are so lively,ok,Jarmusch it is for its accurate portrait of distant human relations.
As always,the complete list:
1.F.W.Murnau vs Fritz Lang
2.Charlie Chaplin vs Jacques Tati
3.Billy Wilder vs Frank Capra
4.Stanley Kubrick vs Orson Welles
5.Michael Powell vs Douglas Sirk
6.Kenji Mizoguchi vs Mikio Naruse
7.Alfred Hitchcock vs Henri-Georges Clouzot
8.Akira Kurosawa vs David Lean
9.Francis Ford Coppola vs Martin Scorsese
10.Krzysztof Kieslowski vs Andrei Tarkovski
11.Wong Karwai vs Jean Luc Godard
12.Hou Hsiao-hsien vs Abbas Kiarostami
13.Jia Zhangke vs Dardenne Brothers
14.Roman Polanski vs David Cronenberg
15.Jim Jarmusch vs Wes Anderson
I’m already torn to pieces after finishing this,now your turn,guys!!You don’t need to have watched every single films of these directors to vote,just some major ones will suffice,Also,I’d love to hear your general opinions on these masters.A shout out to your friends is appreciated.