Films are generally the work of a large group of people (sometimes) working together, with the director just a cog in the machine. Once in a while a director will come along who will stand out with the way in which they tell stories through narrative and visuals. Here’s my Top 10 directors.
David Cronenberg. Cronenberg tackles subjects like no other. He’s willing to push the boundaries and sometimes the audience will go with him. Notable works: ‘Crash’ (1996), ‘The Fly’ (1986), ‘Naked Lunch’ (1991).
Wes Anderson. After his first film Anderson found a visual style like no other. His use of flat angles, central framing and hyper-real models has given his filmography a distinctive style which is at the forefront of his storytelling. Notable works: ‘Rushmore’ (1998), ‘The Royal Tanenbaums’ (2001), The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014).
Martin Scorsese. Scorsese has created some of the most enduring pieces of cinema and Hollywood don’t want anything to do with him. After the early success of ‘Mean Streets’ (1973), ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976), film studios were too wary of what he would be capable of and if audiences would pay for a ticket. That story of Travis Bickle in ‘Taxi Driver’ was so real, so hard hitting, that if Hollywood spent too much money on his films and he went more extreme they would never recoup their money. Scorsese would find independent funding and continue to direct movies which would become favorites for millions around the world. Notable works: ‘Taxi Driver’ (1976), ‘Raging Bull’ (1980), ‘After Hours’ (1985).
Jan Svankmajer. For the most part Svankmajer is known for his short animated films. However, his feature length films are like nothing you will see anywhere else. Extreme caution is advised for anything he produced after 1994’s ‘Faust’, as the term ‘extreme cinema’ is very often used. His films utilize a fairytale notion of storytelling, but also a very deep political/social angle which came from living under the Iron Curtain for so many years. Notable works: ‘Faust’ (1994), ‘Little Otik’ (2000), ‘Surviving Life’ (2010).
Kar-Wai Wong. Wong’s 90’s films regularly stand beside Tarantino’s in lists for ‘best of the decade’. ‘Chungking Express’, while using exciting handheld cameras, was a retelling of ‘Three Sisters’ by Chekhov. ‘In The Mood For Love’ and ‘2046’ were an amazing experiment into how far audiences could be pushed into new narrative techniques, while still caring for the characters. Notable works: ‘Chungking Express’ (1994), ‘In The Mood For Love’ (2000), ‘2046’ (2004).
Stanley Kubrick. So what makes Kubrick such an important director? Each film he produced will give you a different answer, there’s everything from: the first ‘grown up’ science fiction film (2001: A Space Odyssey), a film which challenges thoughts on high and low brow art (Clockwork Orange), and a film which challenges our thoughts of military training (Full Metal Jacket). The extent that detailed preparation is required in movie production and how a visual language will grip your audience are keys to the longevity and success of these films. Notable works: ‘Paths Of Glory’ (1957), ‘Barry Lyndon’ (1975), ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (1999).
Maya Deren. Beginning in avant-garde and experimental cinema, Deren would eventually move into ethnographic film. Notable works: ‘At Land’ (1944), ‘Ritual In Transfigured Time’ (1946), ‘Meditation On Violence’ (1948).
Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Jeunet creates a visual world that’s once seen, never forgotten. But why create worlds like this? Why spend that money? Well, what it affords him is the creative space to tell stories which would seem unnatural and impossible in a real-world setting. Notable works: ‘Delicatessen’ (1991), ‘City Of Lost Children’ (1995), ‘Amelie’ (2001).
David Lynch. Lynch can be a little difficult to follow if you’re not dialed into his way of thinking. That thinking is a rejection of solely linear narratives and the utilization of surrealism. This surrealism allows Lynch to turn plots and characters into whatever notions are interesting him at that point of the production (meaning, if when writing the script, filming or editing Lynch wants to add something which interests him, even if it has nothing to do with the film, his style allows the introduction of new elements or the changing of current characters or plot points). Notable works: ‘Eraserhead’ (1977), ‘The Elephant Man’ (1980), ‘Blue Velvet’ (1986), ‘Inland Empire’ (2006), ‘Twin Peaks’ (1990-2017).
Terry Gilliam. Starting off animating on ‘Monty Pythons Flying Circus’, Gilliam has gone on to direct some of the most ambitious films to come out of North America. There have been a few box office successes, such as ‘Twelve Monkeys’, but Hollywood is a much more boring place when studios don’t put their backing into people like Gilliam. Notable works: ‘Brazil: The Directors Cut’ (1985), ‘The Fisher King’ (1991), ‘Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas’ (1998), ‘The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus’ (2009), ‘Zero Theorem’ (2013).