Who is your favorite director of non-English films?

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They only allow 10 in the poll. If your favorite isn't in this list, please reply.

[ILA]

1. Hard to decide which director stands alone at the top.

Wong Kar Wai (In the mood for love, 2046), Zhang Yimou (Not One Less, The Road Home), Lukas Moodysson (Lilja 4-Ever, Fucking Åmål) are directors that stand out in my mind.

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5. I've never even heard of any of those...

[regnaD kciN]

2. Had to go with Bergman...

...because he was my favorite back in the '70s when I was a young, aspiring Cinematic Artiste. ;-) But there are several others on that list (Kurosawa, Truffaut, Renoir, Zefferelli) that I couldn't do without, as well as others not listed.

[Paladin]

18. Me Too

Seeing "The Virgin Spring" back in the 70's fundamentally changed me, for the better.

[querelle]

3. Almodovar Definitely

Funny sexy comedies that I love. Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown is still one of my favourite all time films.

Q

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Rainer Werner Fassbinder

"Fox and his Friends" "Veronika Voss" "Effie Briest" etc. Fassbinder was so depressing I found every day life to be uplifting in comparison!

Fassbinder died of an overdose in his thirties, as perfectly tragic as many of his films.

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6. The only one of his I have seen is "Fox and His Friends"

Which I liked, even though it was pretty depressing. Bresson's films are also relentlessly depressing, but I love his technique and style.

[ghostsofgiants]

7. Had to vote Bunuel, just because of my fondness for surrealism.

[momophile]

8. no Ang Lee yet?

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Eat Drink Man Woman," "Wedding Banquet"

[flvegan]

9. John Woo

His foreign stuff is CRAZY.

[Nevernose]

11. "Yojimbo" vs. "Hardboiled"

Tough call. I guess I'll just have to fire up the DVD pplayer this weekend and make a decision, won't I?

[jobycom]

14. Yeah, but his American stuff is so bad it almost negates it.

I wonder if it's a split between Chinese and American, or older and newer stuff. Either way, all the edge of Hardboiled turns into farce with MI2 or Face-Off.

[Twillig]

20. Because there was no Chow Yun Fat.

Now that's a Movie Star!

[khashka]

10. Almodovar.

Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown is simply brilliant.

My faves are What Did I Do To Deserve This, The Laws of Desire, and Matador.


A lot has to be said for the actors, too. Carmen Maura especially

[bigwillq]

19. Same here.

His films are fantastic.

[Robeson]

12. Other: Krzysztof Kielslowski....

...is probably my favorite. I also like Werner Herzog.

[smirkymonkey]

21. Kieslowski is also my favorite.

[jobycom]

13. Hayao Miyazaki should be on that list.

Animated or not, his stories and his way of telling them are original and fresh (Except Howl's Moving Castle, and even that was good).

On your list, I'd go with Kurosawa.

[mitchum]

15. The mighty Werner Herzog, but of those on your list, Bresson gets...

my vote

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17. I had Herzog on the list initially - damn this software for only 10 choices

A lot of would-be filmmakers today could learn a lot from Bresson's style - after watching Bresson's films then watching Hollywood films, the Hollywood films seem loaded down with unnecessary dialogue and wasted time.

[pork medley]

16. fellini is great

but nights of cabiria wouldnt have been possible without pier paolo pasolini

[FVZA_Colonel]

22. All Time: Kurosawa. Present Day: Takeshi Kitano,

better known as Beat Takeshi.