Where do you rank Stephen Soderbergh among his contemporaries?

I love his penchant for making independent movies almost directly along side much larger budget films and rank him in the second tier of directors working today.

I have Scorsese, The Coens, Ridley Scott, Fincher, Nolan, Tarantino, Spielberg, De Palma, and Coppola in the top tier.

I have Soderbergh in the next tier below them with guys like Cameron, Villeneuve, and Eastwood.

Just a fun conversation in my opinion.

What say you?

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NoDisintegrationz t1_ixxkqbp wrote on November 27, 2022 at 4:01 AM

#700,677

He’s certainly one of the most prolific directors of his era. I’m always interested to check out his movies, but they rarely blow me away. I like his style, but sometimes the scripts aren’t at the same level.

HortonHearsTheWho t1_ixxkvtn wrote on November 27, 2022 at 4:03 AM

#700,699

Cameron and Villenueve I think are top tier. Definitely Cameron at least.

As for Soderberg, he’s an extremely capable craftsman and has some real achievements to his name, but he takes risks which means a lot of misses too. Second Tier seems right.

yearsreeling t1_ixz0ump wrote on November 27, 2022 at 2:32 PM

#707,297

He’s my favorite director. His run of movies from Out of Sight through the Ocean’s trilogy is amazing. Nominated for best director for two different movies in the same year was a historic achievement.

He is easily top tier imo and I think you’re kind of under rating him and over rating some directors on your list. I think he is easily a better director than De Palma. I still like the movies he makes. De Palma had a pretty big drop in quality over the years. If you like Soderbergh’s caper flicks. I definitely recommend checking out books by Donald Westlake, where he definitely got a lot of his inspiration for the tone of those movies.

inmyelement87 t1_ixzdnq8 wrote on November 27, 2022 at 4:11 PM

#709,302

Some of his movies run a little flat. However I’d say Traffic is his Magnum Opus.

doitcloot t1_iy031xl wrote on November 27, 2022 at 7:03 PM

#713,228

his movies are my comfort food. he's so prolific and i enjoy so much of his work that when a new movie of his comes out i just tuck it away until some rainy day vibes come around so i can dust off a new soderbergh

mdmnl t1_iy154hd wrote on November 27, 2022 at 11:21 PM

#718,878

Hard question to answer.

I think, based on age/years active, his contemporaries probably only include Cameron, Fincher and the Coens.

Scorsese, Coppola and Spielberg are much older and Nolan and Villeneuve younger.

I don't think Soderbergh can quite match the Coens or Fincher, in terms of their high artistry.

But The Limey, Out of Sight and the Ocean's movies are terrific. I should rewatch Logan Lucky too. I may be the biggest fan of Haywire anywhere - it's not perfect, but is damned entertaining.