Ten Notes on my Latest Directors Progress Report

In the manner of Dear Data, I keep track of how many films I’ve seen by each director of whom I’ve seen at least four of their films.

Here’s my first update since 2018 with new additions in Bold and my two favorites in italics.

Some notes:

1. Among the big names, that haven’t made my list: Francis Ford Coppola, David Fincher, Otto Preminger, Danny Boyle, Brian de Palma, Alfonso Cuaron, and Guillermo del Toro (though if I ever watch the second half of Hellboy, I’ll have that nailed down). It’s ok: I don’t mind my blind spots at all. Don’t try to shame me for not watching the first two Godfathers or On the Waterfront! I can do that to myself just fine, thank you. Besides in a case like Elia Kazan, even if I haven’t seen his two most famous films, I have watched quite a bit of the periphery of his filmography and I enjoy doing that.

2. This is not a measure of how much I enjoy a certain film director. Woody Allen is #3 but I’ve only seen one films of his in the past decade (even though I believe his #metoo case is demonstrably false) and I wouldn’t equate him with brilliance. His films are just easy to digest and there’s a comfort to knowing what to expect.

3. Additionally, there’s a lot of buyer’s remorse with someone like Stephen Soderbergh. I admire his fan base because it’s compromised of more well-rounded cinephiles than the casual fan bases (usually, a calling card of masculinity) that emanate around, say, Tarantino or…