OK, so it certainly isn’t Michael Bay 😛

But seriously, what director do you feel makes you most proud to be an American, and who “gets” America better than any other director?

27 comments

  2. D. W. Griffith — I’m not proud of him of his work, but . . . he gets (got) America.

  7. Tough question – what makes a directors quintessentially American, A good director tells a good story, there are great American directors, but does that make them quintessentially American?

    I think, based on the idea of telling story and a slice of America I’m going to have to go with Robert Zemeckis.

    Forrest Gump captures the feel of America so well, the story itself is a retelling of a segment of American history.

    Same with Back to the Future.

    Dark Horse pick is Quentin Tarantino because of violence, profanity, Pulp Fiction, and feet stuff.

  8. John Ford, Elia Kazan, John Sayles, Stephen Spielberg

    I love Altman and Kubrick but they aren’t quintessentially American. I’m not even sure Kubrick is from Earth.

  9. It’s Terrence Malick. 100%

    ​

    Days of Heaven is my fav movie and it’s got it all.

  13. Sergio Leone. What could be more American than westerns?

    More seriously, John Ford. With films like *Stagecoach* (1939), *The Grapes of Wrath* (1940), *They Were Expendable* (1945), *My Darling Clementine* (1946), *Fort Apache* (1948), *She Wore a Yellow Ribbon* (1949), *The Searchers* (1956), and *The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance* (1962), Ford defined America for millions.

    Ford also served as head of the photographic unit for the Office of Strategic Services and made documentaries for the Navy Department during World War 2, during which he was wounded and cited for exceptional bravery as he filmed live war scenes during battles like Midway and D-Day. His D-Day footage was never released because it was too bloody.

  23. I don’t see how a director can make me proud to be an American. All I did to be American is to be born here. Pride in America comes from what America does (like putting people on the moon), not what movies do.

    But as for directors who make movies that represent America, consider Frank Capra, Preston Sturges, John Ford, maybe William Wyler and Francis Ford Coppola. There are other great American directors, but they don’t necessarily make films that depict America.

  26. Can I say Tony Scott? The man made Top Gun. Nothing more American than coming from another country and making a movie about the US Air Force to the tune of Kenny Loggins.

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