2nd edition of The Most Influential Directors of All-Time: The Results

You have waited long enough, here are the final results of the 2011 poll:

1. Alfred Hitchcock

176 pts

It's no surprise that the master of suspense wons again the first price of the Poll. He is listed as number one on nine lists out of twenty-five. 

2. Orson Welles

122 pts

The number 2 spot hasn't changed either this year, the director of Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Othello, and The Touch of Evil, just to name a few, diserved his place into this pantheon.

3. Stanley Kubrick (1up)

110 pts

First change this year, Kubrick gaining the bronze medal for his influence, his liberty and the amplitude of his whole oeuvre.

 4. Akira Kurosawa (1 down)

106 pts

If there are ups there are also downs and I'm torn between two of my favorite directors of all-time, Kubrick and Kurosawa. I'm happy for Stanley but I think I would prefer to see Akira stay at the third place because it would be more international and underground. Plus only four points separate one from another!

5. John Ford (1 up)

63 pts

The most respected American director of all-time, with four Academy awards as Best Director (he holds the record) gains one position and should be keeping the rythm through the years with his dense filmography. A director every cinephile should discover from A to Z.

6. Jean-Luc Godard (4 ups)

62 pts

Really close to John Ford, Godard a hated/loved director who did so many films, explored a multitude of narratives, and who digested the History of Cinema with his dense and meaningful Histoire(s) du Cinéma gained four positions. The biggest jump in the whole poll.

7. Martin Scorsese

57 pts

The second living director on this list and the first to still work today (Godard made his final film in 2010 with Film Socialisme). Even if his later films don't have the raw power of his 1970's and 1980's had they are still awaited by the movie-goers and create a certain expectation, especially for me. No move here for Marty, seventh last year and still seventh this year.

8. Ingmar Bergman (3 downs)

50 pts

Even if we haven't understood the whole importance and the message of his films, Bergman diserves his place here. Somewhat he took a drop of 3 positions since last year. His theatrical mise en scène and the fact that he directed foreign films may have affected the votes.

9. Charles Chaplin (6 ups)

The biggest break-up in this year's poll! Chaplin a personal favorite and my idol, gained six places. I think the fact that his films are immortals and that the legend that followed the man himself helped him to pass through time and the memories of the cinephiles.

10. Howard Hawks (1 up)

38 pts

This late entry on the final spot of the list is well deserved. Put into the spotlights by Les Cahiers du Cinéma as the perfect example of a true auteur, his print over genre films (Westerns, Gangsters, comedies) has earned him the respect he deserves. The man could be on the number one spot and I wouldn't even blink!

So that's it for this year! Spread the words that the lists of everyone who participated will be posted gradually on this blog with links and promotion for your blogs!