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Tarantino, Scorsese and Other Directors Reveal Their Top 10 Movies of All Time

There was plenty of discussion across the movie blogosphere following last week’s announcement that Vertigo had dethronedCitizen Kane as the greatest film of all time according to Sight & Sound’s decennial poll. In addition to revealing the top 50 as determined by critics, they also provided a top 10 based on a separate poll for directors only. In the print version of the magazine, they have taken it a step further by reprinting some of the individual top 10 lists from the filmmakers who participated, and we now have some of them here for your perusal.

Among them, we have lists from legends like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Quentin Tarantino, but there are also some unexpected newcomers who took part including Richard Ayoade (Submarine), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know) and Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene). Some of these lists aren’t all that surprising (both Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright have given versions of their top 10s before), but hey, who knew that Michael Mann liked both Avatar and Biutiful so much? There’s plenty to chew on here, so check out the lists after the jump and then tell us who is on point and who is simply off their rocker.

Woody Allen

• Bicycle Thieves (1948, dir. Vittorio De Sica)
• The Seventh Seal (1957, dir. Ingmar Bergman)
• Citizen Kane (1941, dir. Orson Welles)
• Amarcord (1973, dir. Federico Fellini)
• 8 1/2 (1963, dir. Federico Fellini)
• The 400 Blows (1959, dir. Francois Truffaut)
• Rashomon (1950, dir. Akira Kurosawa)
• La Grande Illusion (1937, dir. Jean Renoir)
• The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, dir. Luis Bunuel)
• Paths of Glory (1957, dir. Stanley Kubrick)

Richard Ayoade (Submarine)

• Persona (1966, dir. Ingmar Bergman)
• Le Mepris (1963, dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
• Raging Bull (1980, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Ordet (1955, dir. Carl theodor Dreyer)
• Barry Lyndon (1975, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989, dir. Woody Allen)
• The Apartment (1960, dir. Billy Wilder)
• Tokyo Story (1953, dir. Yasujiro Ozu)
• Make Way For Tomorrow (1937, dir. Leo McCarey)
• Badlands (1973, dir. Terrence Malick)

Bong Joon-Ho

• A City of Sadness (1989, dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien)
• Cure (1997, dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
• The Housemaid (1960, dir. Kim Ki-young)
• Fargo (1996, dir. the Coen Brothers)
• Psycho (1960, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• Raging Bull (1980, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Touch of Evil (1958, dir. Orson Welles)
• Vengeance Is Mine (1973, dir. Shohei Imamura)
• The Wages of Fear (1953, dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot)
• Zodiac (2007, dir. David Fincher)

Francis Ford Coppola

• Ashes and Diamonds (1958, dir. Andrzej Wajda)
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, dir William Wyler)
• I Vitteloni (1953, dir. Federico Fellini)
• The Bad Sleep Well (1960, dir. Akira Kurosawa)
• Yojimbo (1961, dir. Akira Kurosawa)
• Singin’ in the Rain (1952, dir. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly)
• The King of Comedy (1983, dir Martin Scorsese)
• Raging Bull (1980, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• The Apartment (1960s, dir. Billy Wilder)
• Sunrise (1927, dir. F.W. Murnau)

Guillermo Del Toro

• Frankenstein (1931, dir. James Whale)
• Freaks (1932, dir. Todd Browning)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• Greed (1925, dir. Erich Von Stroheim)
• Modern Times (1936, dir. Charlie Chaplin)
• La Belle Et La Bete (1946, dir. Jean Cocteau)
• Goodfellas (1990, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Los Olvidados (1950, dir. Luis Bunuel)
• Nosferatu (1922, dir. F.W. Murnau)
• 8 1/2 (1963, dir. Federico Fellini)

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike)

• Accatone (1961, dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini)
• The Big Heat (1953, dir. Fritz Lang)
• Dodes’ka-den (1970, dir. Akira Kurosawa)
• Germany Year Zero (1948, dir. Roberto Rossellini)
• Loulou (1980, dir. Maurice Pialat)
• Modern Times (1936, dir. Charlie Chaplin)
• The Searchers (1956, dir. John Ford)
• Shoah (1985, dir. Claude Lanzmann)
• Street of Shame (1956, dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)
• Sunrise (1927, dir. F.W. Murnau)

Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene)

• The Shining (1980, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• Rosemary’s Baby (1968, dir. Roman Polanski)
• Jaws (1975, dir. Steven Spielberg)
• 3 Women (1977, dir. Robert Altman)
• The Birds (1963, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• The Goonies (1985, dir. Richard Donner)
• The Piano Teacher (2001, dir. Michael Haneke)
• Persona (1966, dir. Ingmar Bergman)
• The Panic in Needle Park (1971, dir. Jerry Schatzberg)
• The Conformist (1970, dir. Bernardo Bertolucci)

Asghar Farhadi (A Separation)

• Rashomon (1950, dir. Akira Kurosawa)
• La Strada (1954, dir. Federico Fellini)
• The Godfather (1972, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
• Tokyo Story (1953, dir. Yasujiro Ozu)
• The Apartment (1960, dir. Billy Wilder)
• Three Colors Red (1994, dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski)
• Take the Money and Run (1969, dir. Woody Allen)
• Scenes From a Marriage (1973, dir. Ingmar Bergman)
• Taxi Driver (1976, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Modern Times (1936, dir. Charlie Chaplin)

Michel Hazavanicius (The Artist)

• City Girl (1930, dir. F.W. Murnau)
• City Lights (1931, dir. Charlie Chaplin)
• To Be Or Not To Be (1942, dir. Ernst Lubitsch)
• Citizen Kane (1941, dir. Orson Welles)
• The Apartment (1960, dir. Billy Wilder)
• The Shining (1980, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• North By Northwest (1959, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• The Third Man (1949, dir. Carol Reed)
• Raging Bull (1980, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937, dir. Walt Disney)

Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know)

• Blind (1987, dir. Frederick Wiseman)
• Smooth Talk (1985, dir. Joyce Chopra)
• Vertigo (1958, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• After Life (1998, dir. Hirokazu Koreeda)
• Somewhere in Time (1980, dir. Jeannot Szwarc)
• Cheese (2007, dir. Mika Rottenberg)
• Punch Drunk Love (2002, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
• The Red Balloon (1956, dir. Albert Lamorisse)
• A Room With a View (1985, dir. James Ivory)
• Fish Tank (2009, dir. Andrea Arnold)

Mike Leigh

• American Madness (1932, dir. Frank Capra)
• Andrei Rublev (1966, dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
• I Am Cuba (1964, dir. Mikhai Kalatozov)
• The Emigrants (1971, dir. Jan Troell)
• How a Mosquito Operates (1912, dir. Winsor McCay)
• Jules Et Jim (1962, dir. Francois Truffaut)
• Radio Days (1987, dir. Woody Allen)
• Songs From the Second Floor (2000, dir. Roy Andersson)
• Tokyo Story (1953, dir. Yasujiro Ozu)

Michael Mann

• Apocalypse Now (1979, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
• Battleship Potemkin (1925, dir. Sergei Eisenstein)
• Citizen Kane (1941, dir. Orson Welles)
• Avatar (2009, dir. James Cameron)
• Dr. Strangelove (1964, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• Biutiful (2010, dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
• My Darling Clementine (1946, dir. John Ford)
• The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, dir. Carl theodor Dreyer)
• Raging Bull (1980, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• The Wild Bunch (1969, dir. Sam Peckinpah)

Steve McQueen (Shame)

• The Battle of Algiers (1966, dir. Gillo Pontecorvo)
• Zero de Conduite (1933, dir. Jean Vigo)
• La Regle du Jeu (1939, dir. Jean Renoir)
• Tokyo Story (1953, dir. Yasujiro Ozu)
• Couch (1964, dir. Andy Warhol)
• Le Mepris (1963, dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
• Beau Travail (1998, dir. Claire Denis)
• Once Upon a Time in America (1984, dir. Sergio Leone)
• The Wages of Fear (1953, dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot)
• Do the Right Thing (1989, dir. Spike Lee)

Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter)

• Cool Hand Luke (1967, dir. Stuart Rosenberg)
• Badlands (1973, dir. Terrence Malick)
• Hud (1963, dir. Martin Ritt)
• The Hustler (1961, dir. Robert Rossen)
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962, dir. David Lean)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, dir. George Roy Hill)
• Jaws (1975, dir. Steven Spielberg)
• North By Northwest (1959, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• Stagecoach (1939, dir. John Ford)
• Fletch (1985, dir. Michael Ritchie)

David O. Russell

• It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, dir. Frank Capra)
• Chinatown (1974, dir. Roman Polanski)
• Goodfellas (1990, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Vertigo (1958, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• Pulp Fiction (1994, dir. Quentin Tarantino)
• Raging Bull (1980, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• Young Frankenstein (1974, dir. Mel Brooks)
• The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972, dir. Luis Bunuel)
• The Godfather (1972, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
• Blue Velvet (1986, dir. David Lynch)
• Groundhog Day (1993, dir. Harold Ramis)

Martin Scorsese

• 8 1/2 (1963, dir. Federico Fellini)
• 2001: a Space Odyssey (1968, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• Ashes and Diamonds (1958, dir. Andrzej Wajda)
• Citizen Kane (1941, dir. Orson Welles)
• The Leopard (1963, dir. Luchino Visconti)
• Palsa (1946, dir. Roberto Rossellini)
• The Red Shoes (1948, dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger)
• The River (1951, dir. Jean Renoir)
• Salvatore Giuliano (1962, dir. Francesco Rosi)
• The Searchers (1956, dir. John Ford)
• Ugetsu Monogatari (1953, dir. Kenji Mizoguchi)
• Vertigo (1958, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)

Quentin Tarantino

• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966, dir. Sergio Leone)
• Apocalypse Now (1979, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
• The Bad News Bears (1976, dir. Michael Ritchie)
• Carrie (1976, dir. Brian DePalma)
• Dazed and Confused (1993, dir. Richard Linklater)
• The Great Escape (1963, dir. John Sturges)
• His Girl Friday (1940, dir. Howard Hawks)
• Jaws (1975, dir. Steven Spielberg)
• Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971, dir. Roger Vadim)
• Rolling Thunder (1977, dir. John Flynn)
• Sorcerer (1977, dir. William Friedkin)
• Taxi Driver (1976, dir. Martin Scorsese)

Bela Tarr (The Turin Horse)

• Man With a Movie Camera (1929, dir. Dziga Vertov)
• The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, dir. Carl theodor Dreyer)
• Alexander Nevsky (1938, dir. Sergei Eisenstein)
• M (1931, dir. Fritz Lang)
• Au hasard Balthazar (1966, dir. Robert Bresson)
• Vivre sa vie (1962, dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
• Frenzy (1972, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• Tokyo Story (1953, dir. Yasujiro Ozu)
• The Round-Up (1965, dir. Miklos Jancso)
• Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980, dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Edgar Wright

• 2001: a Space Odyssey (1968, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• An American Werewolf in London (1981, dir. John Landis)
• Carrie (1976, dir. Brian DePalma)
• Dames (1934, dir. Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley)
• Don’t Look Now (1973, dir. Nicolas Roeg)
• Duck Soup (1933, dir. Leo McCarey)
• Psycho (1960, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
• Raising Arizona (1987, dir. the Coen Brothers)
• Taxi Driver (1976, dir. Martin Scorsese)
• The Wild Bunch (1969, dir. Sam Peckinpah)

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives)

• Goodbye Dragon Inn (2003, dir. Ming-liang Tsai)
• A Brighter Summer Day (1991, dir. Edward Yang)
• Rain (1929, dir. Joris Ivens)
• Empire (1964, dir. Andy Warhol)
• Valentin de la Sierras (1971, dir. Bruce Baillie)
• The Conversation (1974, dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
• Full Metal Jacket (1987, dir. Stanley Kubrick)
• The Eighties (1983, dir. Chantal Akerman)
• The General (1926, dir. Buster Keaton)
• Satantango (1994, dir. Bela Tarr)

From: http://filmjunk.com/2012/08/06/tarantino-and-scorsese-and-other-directors-reveal-their-top-10-movies-of-all-time/

How To Create Compelling Character Arc

The most memorable characters in cinema have flaws and inner conflicts that are integrated into strong character arcs. Yet, character arc is the most misunderstood and ignored element of the screenplay. A strong character arc is the key to a compelling screenplay. Learn how to organically integrate character arc into your well-structured screenplay, while leaving open the door for spontaneity in your writing.

David Garrett has written feature films for Dreamworks, Universal and Paramount. Garrett has also written and produced pilots, series & specials for ABC, NBC, CBS, UPN, MTV, USA, Comedy Central, Showtime and Fox.

In this this 35-minute tutorial, he'll show you how to:

• How to create a compelling character arc
• How to use your log line to begin your arc
• How to distinguish the inner versus outer conflict
• How to choose distinct plot points to lay out the arc
• How the theme interacts with the character arc
• How make your characters interesting and identifiable
• What is character growth versus character change

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: http://tutorials.screenwritersuniversity.com/p-753-how-to-create-compelling-character-arc.aspx?utm_source=SWTV&utm_medium=NL&utm_campaign=SWTVKAHNL020814-topphoto&et_mid=659156&rid=240334337

- See more at: http://tutorials.screenwritersuniversity.com/p-753-how-to-create-compelling-character-arc.aspx?utm_source=SWTV&utm_medium=NL&utm_campaign=SWTVKAHNL020814-topphoto&et_mid=659156&rid=240334337#sthash.r4CGuMRc.dpuf

6-ways-directors-screw-sound-editors

You know what marks a film out as amateur more than anything else?  Shoddy, shoddy location sound.

I fully understand and have been guilty of this.  For a director sound is a difficult thing to get excited about. Every year the industry announces bigger and better cameras promising fantastic, breathtaking HD visuals.

Whilst advances in sound mean that it’s… slightly clearer?  Maybe… if you really listen…

However from the moment I became an editor I have been forced to amend my ways.  Now whenever I meet a director as they are about to embark on a shoot I drop to my knees and beg them to pour their resources into the sound.  Usually to no avail.

Directors, these are the things that make me hate you.

1. Unclean Dialogue

My heart always sinks when I’m sat with a director, looking through rushes in the edit suite and I see something along the lines of the following:
Characters talking in front of traffic, running water, music, crowds and the list goes on.

You can just edit that stuff out right?

Umm. No.

But aren’t there filters?  Ah yes.  Filters.  Sure, in some cases you may be able to clean it up a little but it still won’t sound good. Just a different ever so slightly lesser kind of terrible.

And don’t ever say, “We’ll just ADR it”.  ADR, unless you have access to the right facilities or really know what you’re doing, should always be an absolute last resort. It’s not just about having the actor spout their lines in time with the picture. You need to get the right sound perspective, you need the right microphone and it needs to match the other elements that you’re not adr-ing.  And who are you kidding?  You’ll probably be too broke for that stuff anyway come postproduction.

2. Overlapping Sound Effects

Footsteps (high heels in particular) and any objects that your characters may be messing with throughout a scene cause endless headaches in the edit.

You might think that footsteps are ok.  You’re going to need the footsteps there eventually anyway, right?  So what’s the harm in leaving them in?  The harm is, it reduces options. With everything you leave in, it reduces what you are able to do with the mix in post.  Artfully applied sponges can be a quick fix here, or laying down a carpet depending where and what you’re shooting.  If possible have your actors switch to a different, softer set of shoes for the close ups.  If you’re inside it’s as simple as just having your actors remove their shoes.

This same rule applies to all other actions in a scene.  If you’re character is doing something out of frame that makes noise, such as making tea, fiddling with a lock or typing on a computer then have them mime it.  If I can’t see it, I don’t want to hear it.

On your typical Hollywood movie (and say what you will about them, they always sound awesome) all these sound effects will be added in post.  Why?  Because maybe you don’t want the door to make that particular kind of creak.  Maybe you want the villain’s footsteps to have a more ominous quality.  Every sound has a certain character or mood to it.  Clever use of sound effects can open up a whole new dimension of creative possibilities and it’s something that new filmmakers often overlook.

3. No Atmos / Wild Tracks

The more your location sound sucks, the more I need this.  And unfortunately the more your location sound sucks, the less likely it is that you recorded one.

Usually this results in me foraging around for the tiny bits of ambience I can lift from in between dialogue.  Fun stuff.

What’s an atmos track you ask?  Some people call it room tone.  It’s a recording of the ambient sound (the Atmosphere) of the location.  In editing it is used to patch up gaps in the sound or to hide any undesirable noise.

4. No Forward Planning

Sound is such an after thought for so many filmmakers. Get a sound guy on board early on. Show them your locations. Figure out what the problems might be and start coming up with solutions. They need to be kept in the loop as they will need to know what gear they’re going to need in order to deal with the challenges of a particular location.  They’ll be able to flag up any potential problems and you may be able to alter your plan to get better results.

And even if you’re not working with a professional, make sure you have someone whose sole concern is the sound from the get go.  Don’t just thrust a boom pole toward whoever isn’t doing anything on the day.

5. Loud Locations

People tend to choose locations based entirely on looks.  Which is fine for the most part.  However, you really need to spend a little time in any location you plan to spend a decent amount of time shooting in.  Just go there for maybe 10-20 minutes and listen.  Planes, wind, traffic, nearby fire station, next door neighbour’s rowdy dog.  You need to know what you’re going to be dealing with.
Planes and wind noise are a particular problem as they can be there in one shot and gone the next.

6. Not Respecting the Sound Guy

The amount of times I see ads asking for experienced sound guys with their own kit to show up unpaid on a shoot… oh and by the way, we’re shooting tomorrow…
You have to ask yourself exactly what they get from it.  Unlike your DoP or your cast they aren’t going to be getting showreel material from it. Whilst your DoP is presenting finished pictures and your cast their whole performance, the sound recordists work is the first stage of a long process.  It’s more like getting a clean green screen shot for effects in post.  It’ll be stunning eventually, but right now we just need it as clear and plain as possible.
Too much of the sound editors job in the low budget world is damage limitation rather than making your film sound the very best it can.  Make their job easier and they can put their time to far better use.

Here at Raindance we have the unique perspective that comes from being one of the UK’s foremost film training providers and Europe’s largest independent film festival.  We see filmmakers when they’re just starting out and we see their debuts up on the screen. And you know what strikes me about the shorts and features that make it? They all sound pretty damn good.  Put simply:

SOUND IS VERY IMPORTANT

It cannot be stressed enough…. that…

You’re not listening to me are you?  You’re looking at that Red camera…

From: http://www.raindance.org/6-ways-directors-screw-sound-editors/