David Lynch is the world’s “most important filmmaker of the current era.” So say experts for
London’s Guardian newspaper, who rated the world’s 40 best directors on the basis of five
categories: substance, look, craft, originality and intelligence. Martin Scorsese followed so closely
at No. 2 in the ranking — he scored 88 points to Lynch’s 89, out of a possible 100 — he should
lodge a protest with the track stewards.
Steven Spielberg didn’t make the list at all. Neither did Clint Eastwood, Mike Nichols, Robert
Altman, Spike Lee, Roman Polanski, Peter Weir, Francis Ford Coppola, nor the other usual
suspects. Rounding out the top five were Joel and Ethan Coen (3rd), Steven Soderbergh (4th)
and, if you can believe it, Terrence Malick (5th). Errol Morris made the top ten (7th). So did
David Cronenberg (9th).
Other favored darlings who made the cut were Pedro Almodovar (15th), Todd Haynes (16th)
and Quentin Tarantino (17th), along with Paul Thomas Anderson (21st), Alexander Payne (24th),
Spike Jonze (25), Ang Lee (27th), Michael Moore (28th), Wes Anderson (29th), Richard
Linklater (31st), David O Russell (34th), Larry and Andy Wachowski (35th), David Fincher
(39th) and Gus Van Sant (40th). Needless to say, “the current era” has a few kinks.
