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Scene from Cinema Paradiso
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With the many lists and essays written on the subject of film, there has been one thing that The Oscar Buzz has tried to understand: Who is my favorite of the film world? For 10 weeks this summer, I will be exploring this with a countdown of the Top 50 names based on a numerical ranking of ratings from various sources, the following is a list of directors who rank above everyone else. With occasional upsets, this is intended as both a discussion opener as well as a better understanding of me as a film critic and fan. Please enjoy and leave any comments you have regarding the entry's selection.
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Years Active: 1959-present
Films as Director: 28
Oscar Wins: 4
- Best Director (Saving Private Ryan)
- Best Picture (Schindler's List)
- Best Director (Schindler's List)
- Irving G. Thalberg Award
Who: The most financially successful director of all time who helped to revolutionize the blockbuster and has since gone on to make a behemoth of films ranging from adventure films to sci-fi to historical dramas. His work remains some of the most iconic work, often with thanks to music by John Williams. By focusing on the common man, he manages to find extraordinary in everyday life and turn it into high strung, stylized drama that appeals to an almost universal audience. With an exhausting amount of Oscar nominations and more than four decades of qualified hits, there is no director quite as bankable and memorable in today's cinematic landscape than that of Spielberg. His work continues to remain timeless masterpieces that inspire new filmmakers many years his junior.
POINTS TALLY
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| Scene from Catch Me if You Can |
-- Jurassic Park (1993) --
Flickchart Ranking: #161 (750 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: None
Total: 810 points
-- Schindler's List (1993) --
Flickchart Ranking: #185 (750 points)
IMDb Rating: 7/10 (70 points)
Perks: None
Total: 820 points
-- Saving Private Ryan (1998) --
Flickchart Ranking: #211 (700 points)
IMDb Rating: 8/10 (80 points)
Perks: None
Total: 780 points
-- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) --
Flickchart Ranking: #224 (700 points)
IMDb Rating: 7/10 (70 points)
Perks: The Indiana Jones Trilogy (Overall 10 points)
Total: 770 points
-- 1941 (1979) --
Flickchart Ranking: #277 (650 points)
IMDb Rating: 5/10 (50 points)
Perks: None
Total: 700 points
-- Jaws (1975) --
Flickchart Ranking: #300 (600 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: None
Total: 660 points
-- Catch Me If You Can (2002) --
Flickchart Ranking: #367 (550 points)
IMDb Rating: 7/10 (70 points)
Perks: None
Total: 620 points
-- The Adventures of Tintin (2011) --
Flickchart Ranking: #587 (450 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: None
Total: 510 points
-- E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982) --
Flickchart Ranking: #669 (350 points)
IMDb Rating: 7/10 (70 points)
Perks: None
Total: 420 points
-- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) --
Flickchart Ranking: #690 (350 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: None
Total: 410 points
-- War Horse (2011) --
Flickchart Ranking: #695 (350 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: None
Total: 410 points
-- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) --
Flickchart Ranking: #699 (350 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: The Indiana Jones Trilogy (Overall 10 points)
Total: 410 points
-- The Terminal (2004) --
Flickchart Ranking: #775 (250 points)
IMDb Rating: 5/10 (50 points)
Perks: None
Total: 300 points
-- Hook (1991) --
Flickchart Ranking: #827 (200 points)
IMDb Rating: 5/10 (50 points)
Perks: None
Total: 250 points
-- Lincoln (2012) --
Flickchart Ranking: #909 (100 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: None
Total: 160 points
-- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) --
Flickchart Ranking: #910 (100 points)
IMDb Rating: 6/10 (60 points)
Perks: The Indiana Jones Trilogy (Overall 10 points)
Total: 170 points
OVERALL TOTAL: 8200 points
WHY DO I LOVE?
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| Scene from Saving Private Ryan |
While I cannot claim to love him as much as the numbers suggest, there is no denying that he has an incomparable impact on cinema and the world at large. While some can claim to not have seen a Spielberg film (who are you?), they know who he is. He is this big, boisterous figure whose filmography is almost enviably impenetrable. He continually tries to find subject matter that cuts to a core, sometimes with ounces of humor. He has made some phenomenal war films as well as character studies and knows how to use high caliber actors in small roles. He does so much that of every popular director out there, it is hard to find flack with him. He may make an occasional dud, but for over 40 years, he has made some of the biggest, most memorable movies that even younger audiences would know. In a way, he is cinema. He defines the grandest goals of the medium, even if he has a formula that at times feels a little cold. It is hard to entirely hate him, and as evident by this list, there's a lot of films that I feel have influenced my life in incomparable ways.
UP NEXT: New York's residential filmmaker who mixes gangsters and religion with some frequency.
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