One of, in any case. Wim Wenders, Milos Forman. There are great Korean films and directors, of which I know almost nothing

oh i was replying to a 2008 post ! (so before LOT & OLLA)
I wonder if OP have still the same opinion now

I agree with aftermik. Limits of Control, in particular, is just embarrassing.

he totally lost what made him one of the very best director of the 80's & 90's.
what he did then was art (Dead Man, Ghost Dog, Down by Law). smart, beautiful, touching, UNTEMPORAL (like without the need to be modern, attached to an era : it was about universal human feelings & questions about existence & how to be, painting characters with smart words & situations rather than make-up & some ramble about tesla). His cinematography then was much more sober, the stories he was telling deeper (stranger than paradise !) & the character multi-layered, and you would observe those layers unfolding as the movie was progressing.
his "art" now is dead, empty, a waste of films & money.
OLLA or Limit of Control are two pieces of rubbish with no substance whatsoever except for a few ok tunes or maybe for that now grown up twilight egocentric generation.
does anyone know if JJ has children ?

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I prefer his work over David Lynch and Paul Thomas Anderson.

He is most certainly part of the movie industry and if he could he would definitely want to be as successful as the Coens and Tarantino, neither of whom are in it "to make as much money in as little time as possible from his films". They both make films because they love film and also happen to be very good at it, while still being able to explore interesting, controversial ideas AND entertain those who watch their films.

You picked some very systemic directors to compare Jarmusch to. I doubt Jarmusch can be compared to these people because he may be using his art to reach a wide audience but not as a means to an end. He's not in to make as much money in as little time as possible from his films and he's not part of the movie industry like the people you have mentioned. That is probably why he makes a film every 3 or 4 years.

he's always stayed true to his art
Which is kind of euphemism for "one trick pony."
Jarmusch was groundbreaking as an American indie filmmaker in the early to mid-80s, defying any kind of American expectations of what a "movie" was and attracting widespread interest in a pre-Internet era of art houses, film society screenings at the dawn of "indie" cinema in the US.
My problem with him is that he doesn't seem to have grown or changed since then and he hasn't really produced many films that are both "true to his art" and accessible to a more mainstream audience.
I think the kind of arty, inaccessible films he's famous for are good, but I also think it's a pretty narrow artistic space in which to operate and if you stay there you kind of make the same film over and over again. You begin to seem limited, not cutting edge.
Christopher Nolan, Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino all managed to make movies with lots of indie cred, but they all also managed to climb out of that slot and make accessible movies with more diverse themes.

1. Jon Jost
2. Takeshi Kitano
3. Aki Kaurismaki
4. Ryan Trecartin
5. Damon Packard
   something like that.
   LIMITS OF CONTROL is one of the best films of the last decade though.

pretentious: characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.

Lars von Trier is another favorite of mine.

One of the best for sure.
My vote history
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=45131431

He definitely deserves a cookie and a pat on the head for Coffee And Cigarettes..
Death By DVD, every Friday night at 11 PM Eastern!

Paul Thomas Anderson

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If we're talking modern, as in current time, I wouldn't put him at the top of my list of best directors, but he'd be on the list of best directors, if we're talking Modern, as in Modernist directors, he would be at the top of my list of any Modernist movement in story telling.

Wait a minute there Maverick. What about the Holy Trinity of modern-day directors. That's right, Uwe Boll, Paul WS Anderson and Michael Bay. Simply the best. Just like Rick Astley.
Why do you have that on your head? Chris Knight: Because if I wear it anywhere else it chafes.

I would have to say the best modern director is F Gary Gray.
"Welcome to Errf" - Will Smith

Yeah, well name me a theatre in the U.S. that also plays movies by the Dardene brothers, Cox or Denis?
"I didn't know they made bastard's as sexy as you!"

Jarmusch is good, I think Wes Anderson is a hard pill to swallow.
But there are hundreds of great directors still making great work Rodrigo Garcia, Paul Cox, Michael Haneke, Wong Kar-Wai, Claire Denis, Catherine Breillat, Todd Haynes, the Dardenne brothers, Ken Loach, Vincent Gallo, Mike Leigh, Gus Van Sant, Billy Ray, Richard Linklater, Michael Winterbottom, Gregg Araki, John Cameron Mitchell, Danny Boyle, etc etc.
Then there are all the Kiarostamis, Hous, Rivettes, etc that never actually play in theaters.

he is top 15, but of the young crowd, I mean if you are throw in martin, speilberg, who can still make a good movie no, but if you mean the young crowd he is

he is top 15, but of the young crowd, I mean if you are throw in martin, speilberg, who can still make a good movie no, but if you mean the young crowd he is

Jarmusch isn't even in my top 30 of living directors, never mind all time.
He is interesting, I appreciate his choices and the way he sticks to his artistic instincts, but for what it's worth it doesn't translate into entertainment or introspection for me.
To each their own.