I set my co-reviewer the daunting yet enjoyable task of naming his favorite film directors. Ten only. Tough. But credit to him, It's a BLOODY good list. In no particular order. Enjoy.
WOODY ALLEN
Making a film a year since 1977 (and a few before that) in a variety of styles, Woody Allen has made a career out of effortlessly mixing comedy and drama. Moved from slapstick comedy to witty comedy, to drama with funny bits to straight out drama and back to comedy again.
Check out: The beautiful black and white of Manhattan or Annie Hall, the best relationship film ever?
PEDRO ALMODOVAR
Flamboyant Spanish director who graduated from the screwball sex comedies of his youth into gripping Hitchcockian dramas, known for his glossy visuals, high-concept storylines and for not being above the odd fart joke.
Check out: The superb melodrama of All About My Mother or the melancholic ode to communication Talk To Her.
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON
With a mere six films under his belt P.T. Anderson has already established himself as one of the best filmmakers working today. He’s a terrific storyteller who makes films that are both technically brilliant and emotionally charged, whilst always drawing brilliant performances from his actors. Somewhat depressingly he made both Boogie Nights and Magnolia before he was 30.
Check out: Magnolia, still by far the best of those multi-character films and the sheer intensity and power of There Will Be Blood.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
The ‘Master of Suspense’ indeed. Maker of some of the most nail-biting thrillers ever, Hitchcock’s motto was “Make the audience suffer as much as possible.”, and few directors have his mastery of tension, although he doesn’t get enough credit for the dark wit in his films. Watch Rear Window again, it’s practically a comedy.
Check out: So many to choose from, but Psycho and Vertigo show the master at his most manipulative.
STANLEY KUBRICK
A masterful visual and audio stylist with a dark streak of humour, Kubrick’s films are always technically stunning slow moving masterpieces that demand full attention. Few directors use music better (with the possible exception of the man directly below.)
Check out: The sheer atmosphere of 2001 or the brilliantly staged and unsettling The Shining.
SERGIO LEONE
Italian genius who literally started from the bottom up (he was an assistant director on Ben-Hur) before reinventing the Western in style. Best known for using beautifully composed extreme widescreen shots and for often incorporating natural sound on the soundtrack.
Check out: His two epic state-of-America tone poems, Once Upon A Time In The West and Once Upon A Time In America.
DAVID LYNCH
Master of surrealism whose unique visions of twisted Americana have inspired endless “what does it all mean?” debates, often leaving the audience to work out the details. Has made some of the scariest sequences in non horror films, and also some of the most strangely beautiful.
Check out: Mulholland Drive, Lynch’s surrealism at its best or for something completely different try the poetic The Straight Story
MARTIN SCORSESE
Where to start? Hugely influential filmmaker with a wide variety of brilliant output. Whether he’s making one of his cherished gangster epics, or a musical, or a sports movie, or a period drama, or a kids film, you can count on a combination of cool visuals, strong performances and a terrific soundtrack. And half a century after he started he’s still going strong.
Check out: Taxi Driver and GoodFellas between them contain a number of cinema’s most iconic moments.
STEVEN SPIELBERG
Because his films literally defined the childhood of a generation. Made several of the best blockbusters in film history – recognising that you need a heart to go with the thrills – and then moved into more serious stuff. Can be guilty of the odd lapse into over-sentimentality but there has never been such a skilled executer of set pieces.
Check out: Personal faves are E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark but let’s be honest you’ve probably already seen the lot.
WONG KAR-WAI
Asian cinema’s Mr. Cool. Wong’s films are undoubtedly made from the same ingredients – loneliness and romance against a neon background with retro pop on the soundtrack with the odd natural background thrown in – but every time he comes up with a beautifully atmospheric film that seems to be both melancholic and uplifting at the same time.
Check out: Chungking Express – a film so cool Quentin Tarantino paid for it to be released in the West – and Happy Together, the best end-of-a-relationship film ever made.
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