Question: Which film has the director who was born first, Smokey And The Bandit Ii or The Mystic Masseur?

He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included director( and Merchant's longtime professional and domestic partner) James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Their films won six Academy Awards. Ismail Merchant( born Ismail Noor Muhammad Abdul Rahman; 25 December 1936 – 25 May 2005) was an Indian- born film producer and director. <SEP> The Mystic Masseur is a 2001 Merchant Ivory film based on the novel of the same name by V. S. Naipaul. The movie was the first film adaptation of a novel by Naipaul. It was filmed in Trinidad and Tobago and was released in 2001, to lukewarm response. It is one of relatively few films directed by Ismail Merchant, who is better known as the producer in the Merchant Ivory partnership, and addresses issues of Hindu subculture in Trinidad and Tobago. The screenplay is by Caryl Phillips. The film features performances by Om Puri and Aasif Mandvi, and original music by Zakir Hussain. <SEP> Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 is a 1983 American action comedy film and a sequel to" Smokey and the Bandit"( 1977) and" Smokey and the Bandit II"( 1980), starring Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Paul Williams, Pat McCormick, Mike Henry and Colleen Camp. The film also includes a cameo near the film's end by the original Bandit, Burt Reynolds. With the budget of a television movie, which was around twice the budget used for the first part, many action and comedic scenes are rehashes of scenes from the previous two" Smokey and the Bandit" films. The film received overwhelming negative reviews from critics and audiences alike. <SEP> Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 American action comedy film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams and Mike Henry. The film was the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham. The film follows Bo "Bandit" Darville (Reynolds) and Cledus "Snowman" Snow (Reed), two bootleggers, as they attempt to drive from Atlanta to Texarkana, pick up 400 cases of Coors beer, and illegally transport it back to Atlanta in 28 hours or less. While Snow drives the truck carrying the beer, the Bandit drives a Pontiac Trans Am to distract law enforcement and keep the attention off Snow. During their run, they are relentlessly pursued by Buford T. Justice (Gleason), a blusterous Texas county sheriff. "Smokey and the Bandit" was followed by two sequels: "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980) and "Smokey and the Bandit Part 3" (1983). "Smokey and the Bandit" was the second highest-grossing domestic film of 1977, second only to "Star Wars", the first film in the original "Star Wars" trilogy. <SEP> Hal Brett Needham( March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor and writer. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast cars, such as" Smokey and the BanditHooper The Cannonball Run" and" Stroker Ace". <SEP> The film is the sequel to the 1977 film" Smokey and the Bandit". Smokey and the Bandit II is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Hal Needham, and stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason and Dom DeLuise. The film was originally released in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and several other, mainly Commonwealth countries as Smokey and the Bandit Ride Again. Early video releases and TV broadcasts also used this title, but in more recent years most have reverted to the original U.S. title. It was followed by another sequel three years later," Smokey and the Bandit Part 3"( 1983), in which Reynolds only made a brief cameo appearance, and Sally Field did not appear. The plot centers on Bo" Bandit" Darville( Burt Reynolds) and Cledus" Snowman" Snow( Jerry Reed), transporting an elephant to the GOP National Convention, with Sheriff Buford T. Justice( Jackie Gleason) in hot pursuit once again.