Top 10 Directors – The 00’s

Article by Todd Plucknett

Posted - 3/25/10

This has been a great decade for film. Some directors have obviously dominated the decade. Who can really deny Clint Eastwood’s impact on cinema over the past 10 years? This list was made very subjectively. I am not going by public opinion on film; I am going by my opinion. I also created a couple rules to narrow this down for me. I am all about consistency in determining greatness. So, I made a rule that if there is a really bad film that a director made this decade, then that director is disqualified. So, this takes out otherwise favorites Ang Lee (­Hulk), Ron Howard (The Missing), Christopher Nolan (The Prestige), and Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain). Harsh, huh? Also, if a director made less than three feature films, that director does not qualify either. So, this takes out the otherwise obvious winner Todd Field, along with Alexander Payne, Sean Penn, Spike Jonze, and Paul Thomas Anderson. This leaves a select group of directors that made a fair amount of films and were the most consistent. It is still hard to judge whether a director who made three films that are amazing is better than a director who made ten films and five or six are top-level. That is what made this list the most difficult one so far. Also, it is obvious that I cannot judge a film that I have not seen, unless it is just a consensus failure or masterwork. So this is what I came up with:

Honorable mention: Richard Linklater, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

10. Paul Greengrass. This was a surprise inclusion on my list. It never really occurred to me to include Greengrass until I was really exploring the directors who made my favorite films of the decade. He only came out with four films, but all of them left their impact. He started the decade with Bloody Sunday, a film that I have yet to see but has almost unanimous critical acclaim. Then, he took over the Bourne franchise. The Bourne Supremacy is one of the most underrated and underappreciated films of the decade. The Bourne Ultimatum is simply one of the best films of the decade and one of the most intense experiences imaginable. Add in the absolute masterpiece United 93, and you have a remarkable resume. He really has developed his own style and an intensity that is unmatched by almost any director.

Best film of the decade: United 93

9. Wes Anderson. There is not a filmmaker whose films I fall in love with more than those of Wes Anderson. Everything he touches turns to gold, at least in my eyes. There are a lot of people who hate his films, calling them smug, pretentious, indulgent, or whatever. This is part of his charm. He made four films during the decade. Two of them are masterpieces, one is excellent, and the other is very good, and will only grow on you with time. His masterpieces are The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and the recent animation Fantastic Mr. Fox. Both of them have Anderson’s token quirky characters. However, both are so beautifully shot and written that it is impossible to not get caught up in the brilliant atmosphere. His other films were The Royal Tenenbaums (one of the best casts of the decade) and The Darjeeling Limited. He is really the most creative comedic mind out there, though I admit that he is an acquired taste. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Best film of the decade: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

8. Gus Van Sant. One thing I love about Gus Van Sant is that he never compromises. He does the films that he wants and directs them how he wants, no matter how unappealing it may be to mass audiences. He started off the decade with the underrated basketball picture Finding Forrester. He followed that up with his “death trilogy”. This included the mini-masterpiece Gerry, the hauntingly good Elephant, and a film that may test your patience but will undoubtedly shake you up, Last Days. Next, Van Sant made the unforgettable Paranoid Park, mastering his extreme low-budget style. Finally, he made Milk, the Oscar darling that is one of the most effective and affecting films to get released during the decade. Add in portions of the acclaimed collaborations 8 and the best part of Paris, je t’aime, and you have one of the best bunches of films during the ‘00s.

Best film of the decade: Gerry

7. Steven Soderbergh. One of the most unique voices of anyone in cinema belongs to Steven Soderbergh. His versatility is vast, and his consistency is incredible. He made 13 films during the decade. Four of these I have not seen, two of which are probably regarded as his weakest in that time. Those are Full Frontal and Solaris. I also have not seen the Che saga, but I almost know for a fact that I will just love it. His excellent films during the decade include the Best Picture-nominated Erin Brockovich, the indie masterpiece Bubble, and the hilarious dark comedy The Informant!. He also made one of the most successful trilogies ever: Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. Add in the lesser yet ambitious achievements of The Good German and The Girlfriend Experience, along with the best film of his career, Traffic, and you have an astonishing decade-long run.

Best film of the decade: Traffic

6. Jason Reitman. No director has suddenly become such a household name quite like Jason Reitman has. Being the son of a famous director is always a good way to get your name out there, but he almost immediately passed up his father in terms of talent and film quality. With Thank You for Smoking, Reitman had already gotten raves and Oscar buzz. Juno came out two years later, which swept everyone off their feet. Then came Up in the Air, a nearly flawless film that is arguably his finest achievement yet. A.O. Scott said of Reitman that in 50 years, we will look back on Reitman’s films the way we look back on Preston Sturges’s films of the 1930s, to know what life was like at that particular time. I could not agree more. I have to think that Reitman is nowhere near his potential, either. The guy is only 32. When he peaks, I can’t even imagine how good he will be.

Best film of the decade: Up in the Air

5. Judd Apatow. Perhaps I can include Apatow in that same vein as Reitman. In 50 years, I can totally see people looking back on Apatow’s films during the ‘00s to see what it was like to live at that time. Obviously, these films take it from another angle, a completely different demographic. However, they are as realistic about portraying life as any film during the decade. When you start off a career with The 40 Year Old Virgin, you know that the filmmaker is a special one. Follow that up with Knocked Up, and you not only have the top two comedies of the decade, but you also have two of the top films of the decade. Then, he goes outside of his box to make the misunderstood and amazing Funny People. Those films will be around for a long time. Perhaps in the coming years people will give Funny People the props it deserves. His impact on cinema has sprouted dozens of wannabe Apatow-esque films, while his crew has spit out some of the other most memorable comedies of the decade, including Pineapple Express, Walk Hard, and Superbad. I cannot wait to see how he follows up his first three incredible films.

Best film of the decade: Knocked Up

4. Yimou Zhang. It was an amazing decade for foreign film. I had to include one of these filmmakers on my list. Yimou Zhang is my personal favorite and a director whose films have been far more mass appealing than is common for a foreign director. He made five films during the decade. He started off with the only one I have not seen, Happy Times. It is a film that has been hailed as one of his best independent features. Next, he made Hero, a film that is adored by everyone who has seen it. That was released in America the same year as the brilliant House of Flying Daggers. He followed that up by making the nearly perfect and heartfelt drama Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles. Then he made the gorgeous Curse of the Golden Flower. Add in a portion of To Each His Own Cinema and the breathtaking opening to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and you have one of the best directors in the industry.

Best film of the decade: Riding Along for Thousands of Miles

3. Martin Scorsese. How could I possibly ignore my favorite director of all time? Scorsese’s decade included something that no one else’s did. He made three feature films. All three of them were nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars. He began with Gangs of New York, a film that is somehow criminally underrated. Following this, he made the masterful biopic The Aviator. Then, he finally got his Oscar for the masterpiece The Departed. Three of the best films of the decade? I think so. In addition, he made musical documentaries Shine a Light and the Emmy-winning No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. Also, he really made Shutter Island to be released in 2009, and I know that it will be just terrific. His decade is undoubtedly as good as any decade that he has ever had, which is saying a great deal.

Best film of the decade: The Departed

2. Clint Eastwood. Ok, I cannot argue if someone puts Eastwood number one for the decade. What he accomplished was something of epic proportions. He released nine films, at least eight of which were astounding. I haven’t seen Space Cowboys, so I can’t really comment there. Even the film regarded as his worst of the decade, Blood Work, is a brilliant film. I actually think it is better than the widely popular Gran Torino. He made the inspiring rugby/Nelson Mandela picture Invictus. He made the breathtaking Changeling. Add in his Best Picture-winning boxing masterpiece Million Dollar Baby, his astonishing World War II collection of Letters from Iwo Jima and the even better Flags of Our Fathers, and his best film Mystic River, and you have the most complete, diverse, and consistent decade imaginable. He keeps reinventing himself and shooting out one of two movies seemingly every year, always in the Best Picture and Best Director discussion. I don’t know how he does it at age 80. I hope it continues because he is as good of a director as we have ever seen.

Best film of the decade: Mystic River

1. Quentin Tarantino. Now, many people will roll their eyes at seeing Tarantino at the top of my list, but just hear me out. Basically, he made four films during the decade. Three of which are masterpieces, and the other was half of possibly the most satisfying movie-going experience ever. To recap, his films are of course Inglourious Basterds, the Kill Bill saga, and Death Proof, which was part of the Grindhouse film collaboration with Robert Rodriguez. Inglourious Basterds may well be his masterpiece and passion. Kill Bill is one of the best things I have ever seen, and Death Proof is just vintage Tarantino with its extended dialogue and homage to films of the past. All of these are top notch achievements. Just think about this, though. In 50 years, who will be most remembered for this decade? Do we think back on the 1940s and 1950s as being ruled by John Ford and William Wyler, who were nominated for and won everything? No. We think of it as the age of Orson Welles, a director who always broke new ground and made his films much more scarcely. Does that not sound like Tarantino? Do the first two not sound like Eastwood? I just know that in 50 years, Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds will be just as relevant as ever, and people will look no further than Tarantino when searching for the defining filmmaker of the past 10 years. Maybe Christopher Nolan can be in that same sentence, whose extremely weak The Prestige is still well-received by most people. But it was Tarantino’s decade, as was the ‘90s. At the current time, it has gotten beyond simply making better movies than everyone else (which he does). Throughout the decade, his icon status in the industry has gotten to a level superior to any director. It has gotten to the point where when a rumor surfaces about one of his many planned projects, all of the movie blogs and movie buffs are chatting about it. In 2009, when he released his top 20 films of the past 17 years, immediately all of those films had long waiting lists on Netflix. When he released his top 10 of 2009, it was suddenly one of the top new stories on IMDb. All of his films get hyped out of this world and yet are still able to reach or exceed expectations and surprise and thoroughly satisfy wide audiences. It took him six years to come out with Kill Bill, and look what happened. It took him five years to finally produce Inglourious Basterds, and look what happened. Everything he touches becomes an instant classic. I hear the argument for Eastwood, but I cannot say with a clear conscience that he left a bigger impact or created a greater legacy during the last decade of film than QT.

Best film of the decade: Kill Bill Volume 2