Do you have a film director whose movies you follow?

Joel and Ethan Coen. I’m a fan of dark humor and their films have never disappointed me. Fargo is at the top of my list of favorite movies.

Wes Anderson, Michel Gondry & Tim Burton.

I like these directors because I believe it’s hard to maintain that art school mind set. It’s easy to grow up and just do the adult thing and make money and satisfy the market. I feel these directors still approach their craft with somewhat of a naive sense of the Hollywood reality to sell sell sell. Or at least I don’t feel like they press enough to be persuaded to change their style totally.

I also like that they recycle the same actors/actresses :D

the Coens. Quentin Tarantino. Steven Spielberg. Woody Allen. Kevin Smith.
I used to see everything by Tim Burton, but he just got too odd for me. Boy, did Planet of the Apes suck

MIchael Haneke for the dark nights of the soul, and MIke Leigh for comic contrast.

Takashi Miike
If you need an explanation, just watch Audition.

Hayao Miyazaki

Tim Burton.

I used to follow Ang Lee but didn’t like his last few movies. I also follow Robert Zemeckis and Tim Burton, without question. For TV, I like Bruckheimer’s shows, but not his movies.

My new favorite is Tom Hooper (Les Miserables, The King’s Speech, etc.)

I tend to look at the director’s work just as much as I do the actors. The actors are often just instruments of the directors, making the movie more of a reflection of the directors’ visions than the actors’.

@uberbatman With regards to your answer, I’ve been wishing I could afford to get this. Also, after waiting so long for a Blu-Ray release of Totoro, which doesn’t seem to be forthcoming…I just discovered today that Amazon.uk has it-! So I ordered one and now just hoping it would play in my player. : )

In addition to most of those already mentioned (and including some TV directors): David Lynch, Shinichiro Watanabe, Tensai Okamura, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Bruce Timm, Alan Ball, Charlie Kaufman, Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Mamoru Oshii, Akira Kurosawa, Darren Aronofsky, Stanley Kubrick, Danny Boyle, & Julie Taymor. I follow directors way more than actors. Next on my list of all movies to finish: Hal Ashby.

What I like about each of them would take quite a while to tell in full detail, but I suppose the common factor is that what they create is always extremely weird in some way or another, and they can be counted on to make films with a lot of depth.

Tarantino can do no wrong, Spielbeg can & has, but is normally pretty reliable, Guy Richie churns out watchable larks, favourite Coen film by far is their first, Blood Simple…mighty fine movie.

I watch everything that Jim Jarmusch puts out. The first movie of his that I saw was Down By Law with Roberto Begnini, Tom Waits and John Lurie. I though it was so off kilter, original and truly laugh out loud funny that I have followed him ever since. Roberto Begnini wasn’t even famous back when that movie came out, at least not in the US. I like that he has these oddball characters and strange dialogs.

Then I like the Coen Brothers for sort of the same reasons. I suppose I like the idea that I am seeing a side of life that I would otherwise and it it has a sort of voyeuristic pleasure for me similar to observing people in real life only much more extreme. I love the film Miller’s Crossing.

I also like John Sayles because he has a sense of myth and wonder. He wants to get at the secret, profound essence of things. He is in a way, a classic storyteller. He doesn’t use Hollywood formulas. The Secret of Roan Inish is my favorite film of his. I actually have not seen all of his movies yet. I mean to watch more this year. I saw a review of Amigo and I really want to see it.

The flip side of my personality (the more normal side, lol) loves Merchant/Ivory costume dramas.

If you have access to Netflix streaming, you have to watch The Story of Film: An Odyssey

It’s 15 episodes of packed with fascinating info on the history of film, including about directors and examples of their work dating back to the dawn of film.

@Earthgirl Here’s a thumbs up for John Sayles. I love horror films and one of them he wrote. The Howling. Also, Amigo may not have been backed up by a major Hollywood studio but the character development and storytelling were solid and engaging.

@mazingerz88 That’s interesting. I didn’t know Sayles had done any horror movies. His heart seems to be in character development, not something you see a lot of in horror movies with a few exceptions. I haven’t seen Amigo yet, but I want to. I don’t think it got much attention when it came out so I only found out about it recently.

@Earthgirl The main reason why I liked The Howling, aside from having werewolves, was the characterization of the female lead. It sure made an impression on me as a teen in the 80’s. Her last scene was unforgettable.

Interesting thing is, the manner her character ended in the film shares an obvious similarity with the male lead character of another successful werewolf movie from exactly the same year The Howling was shown, 1981. Don’t know which script was written first but I really believe the way both plots were concluded contributed to their respective movie’s success.

Sayles, if I’m not mistaken also shares writing credits for the children’s movie, Spiderwick Chronicles, which I enjoyed as well.

Tim Burton. Is that predictable?

I love Orson Welles’ films—“The Trial” and “Touch of Evil” perhaps my favorites. His overlapping dialogue, noirish lighting and camera angles, weird characters…

Quentin Tarantino and that’s about it.

Also a John Sayles fan here. Yes, character development is his forte, but he also writes incredibly complex films, far beyond what the average moviegoer (or Hollywood suit) is used to. If there’s any one director I follow, it’s him. Have seen nearly all his movies. My favorite is “Lone Star.” A very underrated movie, I think.

@AngryWhiteMale Did you see Amigo?