Ranking films by Director: Part 2

It's been a few weeks since I last made a post. I must apologize, as I've been quite busy with my own film and work at the theatre. I haven't made a feature in five years, so I've been extremely busy with all aspects of production. I didn't originally intend on being the producer for my film, which is called NICOTINE, so it's been quite an experience with that particular position. 

A few weeks back I ranked films of Stanley Kubrick, Steven Soderbergh,  Andrei Tarkovsky and Terrence Malick. This week I’ll focus on Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Robert Altman and Michelangelo Antonioni. 

Will I explain my reasoning for the rankings? Not right now. My choices were made mostly on a gut level. I can say, without a doubt, that Paul Thomas Anderson is a god to me. Ever since Magnolia came out, I saw films in a different way. The shooting script was also my screenplay bible for the longest time. I tried to read screenwriting books, but honestly, they teach you everything about making a standard A to Z Hollywood screenplay.

So, what would I suggest if you really want to write a screenplay? Watch movies, a lot of movies, then read the screenplay for one of your favorite films, then read another one, and another, and suddenly you have a cornucopia of information to go from. Far better than Robert Mckee telling you to do this or do that. Of course some folks like learning the strict lessons of constructing a screenplay, so if that’s your thing, go ahead. It’s not how I “learned.” Then again, maybe I write crap screenplays. 

Down to the point of this blog: Anderson, Anderson, Altman and Antonioni. There are still a few Altman and Antonioni films I haven’t seen, so these lists are based off of what I have seen. 


Paul Thomas Anderson
1. Magnolia
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Punch Drunk Love
4. Boogie Nights
5. Hard Eight (I'm not gonna be that snob and call this film Sydney, which is what it was originally titled. It's always been Hard Eight to me. That was the title of the film when I first saw it on IFC)

Wes Anderson
1. Rushmore
2. Fantastic Mr. Fox
3. Royal  Tenenbaums
4. Bottle Rocket
5. Darjeeling Limited
6. Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou 

Robert Altman
1. The Long Goodbye
2. Nashville
3. California Split
4. Short Cuts
5. 3 Women
6. Theives Like Us
7. McCabe and Ms. Miller
8. Gosford Park
9. The Player
10. Secret Honor
11. A Wedding
12. A Prairie Home Companion
13. Tanner on Tanner
14. The Company
15. Streamers
16. Images
17. Popeye
18. Quintet
19. MASH
20. Gingerbread Man

Michelangelo Antonioni 
1. L’Eclisse
2. The Passenger
3. L’Avventura 
4. Red Desert 
5. Blow-Up
6. Il Grido
7. La Notte
8. Story of a Love Affair 

That's the list. Hopefully I'll return next week with four other filmmakers.