Welcome to the quarterfinals of Face/Off: Battle Royale! For the next three weeks we will be pitting two directors who won their round three matches against each other and letting YOU, the commenters, decide on who reigns supreme!
You have to decide which director is better than the other? Various factors could play into your decision from who takes the biggest risks to who has the more distinctive style. Remember, it isn’t so much about which director has made the most money at the box office or won the most awards, but, in your mind, which director simply makes better films.
Let’s analyze the filmography of today’s challengers.
Martin Scorsese
Who He Beat in Round Three: Sergio Leone (17 to 3)
1960s to 1980s Directorial Features: Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967), Boxcar Bertha (1972), Mean Streets (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), After Hours (1985), The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
1990s to 2010s Directorial Features: Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995), Kundun (1995), Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shutter Island (2010), Hugo (2011), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Silence (2016), The Irishman (2019)
Clint Eastwood
Who He Beat in Round Three: Richard Donner (14 to 11)
1970s & 1980s Directorial Features: Play Misty for Me (1971), High Plains Drifter (1973), Breezy (1973), The Eiger Sanction (1975), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), The Gauntlet (1977), Bronco Billy (1980), Firefox (1982), Honkytonk Man (1982), Sudden Impact (1983), Pale Rider (1985), Heartbreak Ridge (1986), Bird (1988)
1990s Directorial Features: White Hunter Black Heart (1990), The Rookie (1990), Unforgiven (1992), A Perfect World (1993), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Absolute Power (1997), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), True Crime (1999),
2000s & 2010s Directorial Features: Space Cowboys (2000), Blood Work (2002), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), Changeling (2008), Gran Torino (2008), Invictus (2009), Hereafter (2010), J. Edgar (2011), Jersey Boys (2014), American Sniper (2014), Sully (2016), The 15:17 to Paris (2018), The Mule (2018), Richard Jewell (2019)
Only one can advance to the next stage of the Battle Royale. Let the Face/Off begin!
Discuss in the comments below your favorite films from each director and who should advance to the semifinals.
