Howard Hawks - Legacy

Legacy

His directorial style and the use of natural, conversational dialogue in his films were cited a major influence on many noted filmmakers, including Robert Altman, John Carpenter, and Quentin Tarantino. His work is admired by many notable directors including Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, François Truffaut, Michael Mann and Jacques Rivette.

Brian De Palma dedicated his version of Scarface to Hawks and Ben Hecht.

Although his work was not initially taken seriously by British critics of the Sight and Sound circle, he was venerated by French critics associated with Cahiers du cinéma, who intellectualized his work in a way Hawks himself was moderately amused by, and he was also admired by more independent British writers such as Robin Wood. Wood named the Hawks directed Rio Bravo as his top film of all time.

Jean-Luc Godard called Hawks "the greatest American artist".

Critic Leonard Maltin labeled Hawks "the greatest American director who is not a household name," noting that, while his work may not be as well known as Ford, Welles, or DeMille, he is no less a talented filmmaker.

Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968 included Hawks in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.

In the 2012 Sight & Sound's Greatest Film Poll, Howard Hawks had six films he directed in the Critic's Top 250 Films: Rio Bravo (number 63), Bringing Up Baby (number 110), Only Angels Have Wings (number 154), His Girl Friday (number 171), The Big Sleep (number 202) and Red River (number 235)

Hawks was nicknamed "The Gray Fox" by members of the Hollywood community.