The halls of the Outpost once more ring with the sound of spirited, friendly debate… and the cries of occasional violence. This time we have been thinking about directors. Some, more than a few, occupy a place firmly in pop culture.
From the greats of the past such as Kubrick, through those who built our own childhoods like Spielberg, to today’s uber-directors like Nolan. Others, however, seem to lurk under the radar despite their impressive body of work.
So who are these underrated directors, and who is perhaps the most underrated of all? Here is our contender.
He has a six-decade career in entertainment and has received two Academy Awards, four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013. He also has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to film and television.
Despite all of this, he seems to rarely get mentioned in the conversation when some of the greatest directors are discussed. He is, of course, Ron Howard.
How great? Well, look at his filmography.
Splash, Cocoon, Willow, Backdraft, The Paper, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, Apollo 13, Cinderella Man, Rush, In The Heart Of The Sea, Thirteen Lives. This record stands up against anyone’s.
Not only that, but he has shown a deft hand in children’s movies (How The Grinch Stole Christmas), comedy (Parenthood), documentaries (The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, Pavarotti, and We Feed People), and adapting best-selling novels (The Da Vinci Code).
He even almost singlehandily saved the creative train wreck that was Solo and turned in a movie that, while unloved by Star Wars fans, remains one of the most technically solid of all of Disney’s efforts in that franchise.
We think it is about time some respect was put on his name. Is he the most underrated director in Hollywood? Or do you think that title goes to somebody else?
The debate is on!
