I'm excited for this one. I think Nolan and Scott match up pretty well. And considering how DSII went, I am hoping for a much more balanced tournament this time around.

Based on the Round 1 matchups, I'm sure it will be.

Previous results:
DSI - Cameron defeats Fincher
DSII - Spielberg destroys Tarantino

Round 1:
1. The Dark Knight vs 8. Prometheus
2. Inception vs 7. American Gangster
3. Dunkirk vs 6. Black Hawk Down
4. Interstellar vs 5. Thelma & Louise
5. Memento vs 4. The Martian
6. The Prestige vs 3. Blade Runner
7. Batman Begins vs 2. Alien
8. The Dark Knight Rises vs 1. Gladiator

Vote now!

Interesting matchups here. Abstained on Memento vs The Martian as I have not seen the latter. (Ironically though that is what I'm reading right now.)

And in a shock to myself, I took The Prestige over Blade Runner. I recently rewatched Blade Runner and actually didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered. Still a groundbreaking visual fest that I much respect though. Have The Prestige in my queue for wife to watch since she's never seen it.

Three matchups are 50/50 or separated by 1 vote.

I voted for Scott 5 times. Easily the closest of the director matchups so far.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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Three matchups are 50/50 or separated by 1 vote.

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38 votes in and still all three are 51/49.

(And another is fairly contested at 58/42.)

This round is gonna be a photo finish.

I wouldn't rank it as Nolan's second best film myself, but I do love it. And its IMDb ranking is really high (I want to say top 10), which means most people love it. So definitely in the minority on that one.

Personally I think I'd put Interstellar and possibly Dunkirk ahead of it.

It just didn't click for me I guess; it's easily my least favorite Nolan film. Although I can see why most think it's among his best.

I went Nolan, 6-2

My personal ranking, I'd switch Insomnia for Interstellar and White Squall and Black Rain for American Gangster and Thelma and Louise.

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I might even like it more than Gladiator.....ok, not "might", I do.

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Granted, I've never seen the director's cut, but this is insanity.

4-4 for me, though I just about flipped a coin on Memento vs Martian.

Agreed that Prometheus got a tough seed.

Brian Earl Spilner said:

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I might even like it more than Gladiator.....ok, not "might", I do.

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Granted, I've never seen the director's cut, but this is insanity.

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I know, I'm certainly in the minority. The directors cut of KoH is just that damn good to me. Don't get it twisted, Gladiator is greatness though.

Prometheus is easily the worst movie of the 8. Not a tough seed imo

Agreed. For every Gladiator he's got a KoH. For every Prometheus he's got an Alien: Covenant.

That's really his biggest weakness, although it's not easy to see from these tournaments. That's probably the one of the big factors that's hard to take into consideration. Cause to be fair to Quentin Tarantino, he has very few stinkers. And Spielberg has a lot. Taking just their top 8 is a big handicap for guys like QT and Nolan.

Interesting seeding with Dark Knight at number 8. I think that would be a lot of people's number one, me included. And Gladiator would've been my number two.

HummingbirdSaltalamacchia said:

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Scott won 5-3 for me. And I would argue one of his best wasn't included: Kingdom if Heaven (at least the directors cut). Such an epic film. Too many people wanted it to be Gladiator 2.0, and it's a completely different and more nuanced, film. I might even like it more than Gladiator.....ok, not "might", I do.

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I completely agree about Kingdom of Heaven. Such an underrated movie and one I enjoy turning on on a rainy day.

HummingbirdSaltalamacchia said:

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Brian Earl Spilner said:

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I might even like it more than Gladiator.....ok, not "might", I do.

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Granted, I've never seen the director's cut, but this is insanity.

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I know, I'm certainly in the minority. The directors cut of KoH is just that damn good to me. Don't get it twisted, Gladiator is greatness though.

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I'm not willing to call it better than Gladiator, but the directors cut of KoH is an entirely different film and massive improvement over the original.

And on that topic, the directors cut of Gladiator is also an improvement. It clears up some character motivations and adds in details that make the senate subplot make much more sense in terms of the overall story.

Wow, I was really not paying attention I read Dark Knight Rises as Dark Knight and voted for that over Gladiator. Dumb.

Just voted two times for Gladiator and nothing else, which hopefully cancels out my previous vote and adds a vote for Gladiator.

I'm a huge Nolan fan. His work is just right up my alley. His only L was to Martian, one of my favorite movies.

That move was essentially like tossing a sword over to Maximus to help him after he's already stabbed Commodus through the neck.

It's the thought that counts.

Will have to check out directors cut of Kingdom of Heaven. I don't remember theatrical version so will truly be new experience for me.

I liked KoH

Bump for the morning crowd.

Almost 100 votes in and still some incredibly tight races. I'll let this one go till midday.

HummingbirdSaltalamacchia said:

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Scott won 5-3 for me. And I would argue one of his best wasn't included: Kingdom if Heaven (at least the directors cut). Such an epic film. Too many people wanted it to be Gladiator 2.0, and it's a completely different and more nuanced, film. I might even like it more than Gladiator.....ok, not "might", I do.

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Kingdom of Heaven is one of my favorites. A fantastic film