NOTE: I tried to avoid clips with spoilers but when it's a scene from the movie it makes it a little harder. No major story points are revealed in any of the clips, that I can assure you of.
10. Darren Aronofsky
I have actually met Aronofsky and he seems like a pretty cool guy. He brings to American cinema a gritty realism that seems to be a bit spotty throughout the country's history. Aronofsky seems to have more in common with current European directors than Hollywood ones, which is a good thing. The only problem I have with him is how his recent pictures, such as Black Swan, have entered into the "mainstream." The man needs to make a living, I understand that, I just don't like annoying film-goers saying Black Swan is the weirdest movie ever when it's actually pretty straight forward. Pi on the other hand...
Favorite Film: Requiem for a Dream
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9. Gaspar Noe
Here is a man who has changed how I look at movies, not only visually but emotionally. I have seen two of his three feature films and they have both shaken me like few other works of art. After watching Irreversible I felt like the only appropriate reaction was to burst into tears (unfortunately, I didn't, so I instead chose to feel miserable for a few hours). While watching Enter the Void in the theater I was shaking in my seat the whole time. His films strike you in the gut and contour your emotions in a way that most filmmakers can't come close to.
Favorite Film: Irreversible
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8. John Hughes
Even though he had not directed a film in years his death (at age 59) was still too soon. Many artists are called "generation definers" but I find that few are as appropriately given the title as John Hughes. His films are essentially the archetype of the 80's teen comedy. The movies he writes and directs are often recognizable from the music he selected for them and some songs are even synonymous with the film they were featured in. His combination of comedy with tragedy is irresistible. He has the wonderful ability to make you really feel for the characters in his films and by the story's end he will have you sitting with a huge grin on your face.
Favorite Film: Toss up between The Breakfast Club and Planes, Trains and Automobiles
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7. James Whale
As stated in another post, I love Monster Movies from the 1930's through the mid 50's, and James Whale turned out some of the best of these movies. The influence of German Expressionism lends a pleasantly distinct look to his films. He also had some balls for being openly gay in the middle of the 20th century. Many have found gay undertones in his films, mainly in The Bride of Frankenstein, and whether or not these undertones are intentional, the theme of isolation is definitely present. Unfortunately, I have only seen Whale's monster movies and none of his other films such as Journey's End.
Favorite Film: Frankenstein
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6. Godfrey Reggio
I almost love hearing Godfrey Reggio talk about his films as much as actually watching them. Although, he is not the first to make non-narrative films, by any means, he has certainly made some of the best, in my opinion. His films are not, what some refer to experimental films as, "bull shit," for the meaning is entirely determined by the viewer. His synthesis of music and image, with the assistance of the genius, Philip Glass, is something that few directors can even come close to achieving. His films are like watching a poem being imagined right before your eyes. They transcend narrative and strive for something far more.
Favorite Film: Koyaanisqatsi
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5. Sergio Leone
Anyone who has seen a movie by Quentin Tarantino should be able to recognize the style of Leone. He is pretty much, unarguably the best director of the Spaghetti Western genre, but his films are also some of the greatest ever made, regardless of genre. Most of the time when someone thinks of a staple of a western he or she is thinking of a scene from The Good the Bad and the Ugly. When I first saw Once Upon a Time in the West I was finally able to see what is meant by a director having control over his filmmaking. His sense of pacing is impeccable and he is one of the best directors when it comes to building a climax and then releasing it in a satisfying way.
Favorite Film: Once Upon a Time in the West
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4. Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa is often times hailed as one of the greatest directors of all time, a distinction I wholeheartedly agree with. His use of extreme weather in his films is probably my favorite aesthetic aspect of his work, especially the use of rain in Rashomon and Seven Samurai. I love his combination of humor and severity, most often with his number one leading man, Toshiro Mifune. His characters are rarely black and white, but rather are shades of gray, making them infinitely more interesting than those who merely possess one of the former.
Favorite Film: Seven Samurai
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3. David Lynch
This guy is nuts. Many of his films require a solid amount of patience while viewing, but the end results is pure satisfaction. Lynch's films are good examples of, what can be seen as, films, which are difficult to watch, but in the end, totally worth it. I love his distinct narrative technique, where the viewer constantly has a feeling of discomfort, and one usually has little idea as to what is actually going on. I particularity enjoy how characters in his films interact and exchange dialogue. Not only that, but visually, Lynch is in another league compared to most filmmakers.
Favorite Film: Eraserhead
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2. Ingmar Bergman
Throughout my childhood I searched for a celebrity who has the same birthday as I. My efforts, for a time, appeared fruitless; but then I cam across a gentleman by the name of Ingmar Bergman. A fellow Bastille Day baby, Bergman is an example of filmmaking at its greatest excellence. His films strike a tone that I have rarely seen equaled. The existential questions of morality, loneliness and faith he raises always leave me in a state of thought after viewing each of his films. Bergman's films never end once the credits roll, because you are pressed to think about what you have just watched, and even better, hopefully, discuss it with someone else.
Favorite Film: Persona
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1. Stanley Kubrick
I would argue either that Stanley Kubrick or Orson Welles is the greatest director in American history. His films possess such a "wow" factor that anyone from a Joe Schmoe film-goer to a snobby film student can come away from one of his movies and understand that what he or she saw was something special. I always enjoyed his body of work but once I finally saw 2001 my entire opinion of Kubrick changed. That's not to say that Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, or The Shining aren't masterpieces of their respective genres, because they are. The thing about 2001, though, is that it is without question one of the greatest movies ever made. It is, in my opinion, the greatest example of sound editing in a film, from the classical music soundtrack, to Hal's voice, to the breathing within the space suits. In fact, all of his films have great sound editing. In A Clockwork Orange he juxtaposes classical music with violence brilliantly, and even though numerous others have copied this technique, none of them have the same effect as Kubrick's work. The distinct look of his films also makes my mouth water. The trenches of Paths of Glory, the twins in The Shining, or the camera zooms in Full Metal Jacket, are all striking to the eye and the senses. Kubrick does not give the viewer answers in his films, but instead asks us questions, and the answers are never simple. Many of the auteurs listed share that quality, and that is one of the primary reasons why I enjoy their work. Ultimately, but not always, of course, when I watch a movie I want to be challenged and to think. I love how Stanley Kubrick goes about doing this more so than any other director and his movies are great because he directed them; if anyone else had done so, they would have been worse.
Favorite Film: 2001: A Space Odyssey
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Couldn't agree more with #10 and #9. :)
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