Exceptional Artists - My Top Movie Directors

A Genius in arthouse film-making, Kubrick proved to be nothing more than a perfectionist attempting all different kinds of genres and excelling in each and every one of them leaving an unforgettable film in cinema history that even most of the modern viewers can easily watch and enjoy.

He obviously adored classical music which is dominant in almost all his films while his unique camera angles and ideas presented were almost always decades ahead of his times, which unfortunately prevented him to be appreciated while still alive.

No doubt that Stanley Kubrick deserves the Number One Position with nearly only great films of various genres in his resume.

---Favorite Films--- Paths of Glory, Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Barry Lyndon, The Killing

---Other Notable Films--- 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus, Full Metal Jacket, Lolita, Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Eyes Wide Shut, Killer's Kiss

Probably the most influential Asian Director. The realistic human drama, the poverty and the constant struggle between different social classes seeking moral justice, life improvement or mere survival are almost always a part of the main themes in his films.

---Favorite Films--- Dreams, Dersu Uzala, Seven Samurai, Ikiru, High and Low, Throne Of Blood, Rashomon, Stray Dog, Dodesukaden

---Other Notable Works--- Kagemusha, Ran, Red Beard, Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, The Bad Sleep Well, Drunken Angel, The Quiet Duel, The Lower Depths, Scandal, Madadayo, I Live in Fear: Record of a Living Being, One Wonderful Sunday, No Regrets for Our Youth

--The Master of Animation--

Reaching a peak in fantasy ideas unsurpassed by any other animation filmmaker at 2001 with Spirited Away, 2D hand-drawn detailed animation was always Miyazaki's forte.

Besides his trademark of breathtaking landscapes and his constant partnership with Joe Hisaishi's majestic classical music soundtracks, characters in Hayao's films are usually quite mature, heroic and full of hope despite the difficulties and odds they face, making them even more likeable and unforgettable by viewers of all ages. Studio Ghibli and Japanimation would never have flourished so much, without this Great Man who recently retired.

---Favorite & Landmark Works--- Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Nausica in the Valley of the Winds, Future Boy Conan (Series), On Your Mark (Short)

---Other Notable Works--- My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Laputa Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, The Wind Rises, Lupin the Castle of Cagliostro, Kiki's Delivery Service

A genius filmmaker ahead of his time and one of the original directors of film noir movies, Lang was instrumental to bringing this genre from Germany to the United States.

Delving into the deeps of human psyche, Lang's characters are usually self-struggling, battling their own wits or fate, while searching for a cure or redemption for their troubled souls.

---Favorite & Landmark Films--- Fury, M, The Big Heat, Metropolis, Die Nibelungen (2 parts), The Testament of Dr. Mabuse

---Other Notable Films--- Scarlet Street, The Woman in the Window, Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, Destiny, Spies, You Only Live Once, Hangmen Also Die!, Man Hunt, Journey to the Lost City, Woman in the Moon, Ministry of Fear, Human Desire, House by the River

--The Master of Suspense--

Fear, doubts, suspicions and attention to small details are Hitchcock's bread and butter to build atmosphere, creating excellent scenarios for suspenseful thrillers with great climaxes.

With a hugely successful filmography under his name, it is a real shame that even though he was nominated 5 times he could never win a single Academy Award.

---Favorite Films--- Psycho, Strangers on a Train, Rope, Vertigo, Notorious, Dial M for Murder

---Other Notable Films--- Rear Window, North by Northwest, The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, The Birds, The Man who Knew too Much, Lifeboat, The 39 Steps, Suspicion, To Catch A Thief, The Wrong Man, Foreign Correspondent, Spellbound, Frenzy

--The Master of Style in Korean Cinema--

A modern Korean Director with highly stylized cinematography and camera expertise, that left us in awe with the Vengeance Trilogy and even more particularly with Oldboy. His films rarely disappoint though some people might be disturbed by the somehow violent nature of some of his scenarios used.

---Favorite Films--- Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, J.S.A.: Joint Security Area

---Other Notable Works--- I'm a Cyborg but that's OK, Thirst, Moon is the Sun's Dream, Judgment, Stoker, 3 Extremes (segment "Cut"), If You Were Me

Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982). He did not win an individual Academy Award, but he did receive an Academy Honorary Award and 14 of his films were nominated for various Oscars, such as Network, which was nominated for ten, winning four.

The Encyclopedia of Hollywood states that Lumet was one of the most prolific directors of the modern era, making more than one movie per year on average since his directorial debut in 1957. He was noted by Turner Classic Movies for his "strong direction of actors", "vigorous storytelling" and the "social realism" in his best work. Film critic Roger Ebert described him as having been "one of the finest craftsmen and warmest humanitarians among all film directors." Lumet was also known as an "actor's director," having worked with the best of them during his career, probably more than "any other director." Sean Connery, who acted in five of his films, considered him one of his favorite directors, and a director who had that "vision thing."

---Favorite Films--- 12 Angry Men, Serpico, Network, Dog Day Afternoon

---Other Notable Films--- The Verdict, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express, Fail-safe, The Hill, The Pawnbroker, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Prince of the City, Running on Empty, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Deathtrap

Austrian Director Billy Wilder who emigrated to US before WW2 won no less then 6(!) Academy Awards.

He was an oldschool film-noir and comedy director that cannot be forgotten due to the too many classics he managed to bring to the big screen. Most of his films can be easily watched enjoyably even today and some are still considered masterpieces in their genres.

---Favorite Films--- Sunset Boulevard, Witness for the Prosecution, Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole

---Other Notable Films--- Stalag 17, Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, The Lost Weekend, One Two Three, Sabrina, The Front Page

--The Master of Choreography and Colorful Cinema--

A Chinese genius of choreography and photography, Zhang Yimou is a member of the "Fifth Generation" of Chinese filmmakers, those who began working after the Cultural Revolution and dealt with Chinese society in a more open and artistic away than was permitted at the height of Maoism.

Exploring human morals and tragedy is common in his films which stand out even more due to their exceptional art direction, absorbing cinematography and ever so colorful palettes.

---Favorite Films--- Hero, To Live, Curse of the Golden Flowers, The Road Home, Not One Less

---Other Notable Films--- Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, House of Flying Daggers, The Story of Qiu Ju, Red Sorghum, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Happy Times, Shanghai Triad, Keep Cool, Under the Hawthorn Tree, A Simple Noodle Story

--Surrealism & Mystery at it's best--

Quite controversial in his own way, he is either loved or hated for his usually strange films, though some of them can be easily enjoyed even by people who don't really watch such movies. He generally avoids explaining his movies in depth in order to challenge the audience interpretations, which was very effective for some of his uniquely strange works.

---Favorite Films--- The Elephant Man, Mulholland Dr., The Straight Story, Wild at Heart

---Other Notable Works--- Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Twin Peaks (TV Series and Film)

One of the most controversial modern filmmakers in Europe, he is mostly known for beginning the Dogma movement which is prominent in most of his films, using the handheld camera, mostly environmental sounds etc. His films are truly original but at times may be shocking or too depressive. He has however given us some exceptionally unique, dark and emotional drama scenarios.

---Favorite Films--- Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves, Dogville

---Other Notable Works--- Manderlay, The Idiots, Europa, Nymphomaniac, The Element of Crime, Epidemic, Riget Mini-series

Highly stylish in his films besides the violence and influenced mostly by Japanese filmmakers and Westerns, Tarantino usually strives to get great cast picks and chooses existing fitting music tracks on his own for his films. His characters are almost always with unique flaws and quirks making them quite unpredictable at times and love to build tension through dialogue, which is a point that makes his films even more enjoyable.

---Favorite Films--- Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, Sin City (special guest direction)

---Other Notable Films--- Kill Bill (two films), Inglorious Basterds, Grindhouse (Death Proof), Jackie Brown

---Favorite Film--- Persona, Seventh Seal, Fanny & Alexander

---Other Notable Films--- Cries and Whispers, Wild Strawberries, Virgin Spring, Autumn Sonata, Hour of the Wolf, Through a Glass Darkly, The Silence, Shame, Winter Light, Smiles of a Summer Night, The Passion of Anna, The Best Intentions, The Magician, Sawdust and Tinsel, Face to Face

A hugely talented American that gave us some really great and memorable quality films.

---Favorite Films--- Apocalypse Now Redux, The Godfather, Dracula

---Other Notable Films--- The Godfather (Part II and III), The Conversation, The Rainmaker, Rumble Fish, Tucker the Man and his Dream

Fast-cut montage and pace, beautiful cinematography with some pretty amazing soundtracks and some phenomenal main lead performances gave result to some truly unforgettable and quite realistic in their own way action films.

---Favorite Films--- The Last of The Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Manhunter

---Other Notable Works--- Collateral, Thief, Ali, Public Enemies, Miami Vice

A classical Western Actor and Director, that happened to rediscover his huge talent after his 60s, by directing some deeply humanistic social drama films.

---Favorite Films--- Mystic River, Unforgiven

---Other Notable Films--- Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, Bird, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, The Outlaw Josey Wales

A pretty talented man that redefined the sci-fi genre with two amazing classics. The atmosphere in those films has not been surpassed in their genre till this day. Too bad no other film he made since then can hold a candle to those masterpieces.

---Favorite & Landmark Films--- Blade Runner, Alien

---Other Notable Films--- Gladiator, The Duellists, Black Hawk Down, American Gangster, Prometheus

Mostly known for directing some of Robert De Niro's best performances, Scorsese has established himself in American cinema, with quite a decent variety in film genres and concepts during his filmography. He rarely disappoints but some of his films are unnecessarily near the 3hour mark duration.

---Favorite Films--- Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, The Color of Money

---Other Notable Films--- Raging Bull, Casino, The Last Waltz, Shutter Island, The King of Comedy, After Hours, The Departed, Mean Streets, My Voyage to Italy, The Last Temptation of Christ, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Hugo, The Age of Innocence, The Wolf of Wall Street

--The Balkan Master of Magical Realism--

The humanistic drama and struggle for survival during war transition periods are present in most of his films as well as witty humor and at times some surrealistic or magical touches. Another great of his points are the exceptional soundtracks that can not leave your head for a while, nor his unique characters and stage sets.

---Favorite Films--- Time of the Gypsies, Underground

---Other Notable Films--- Black Cat White Cat, Arizona Dream, Do You Remember Dolly Bell?, When Father Was Away on Business, Life is a Miracle, All the Invisible Children

A Masterful Japanese Genius of human drama and ethics and a true perfectionist in stage sets and atmosphere.

---Favorite Films--- Seppuku (Harakiri), Kaidan

---Other Notable Works--- Samurai Rebellion, The Human Condition (Trilogy), The Fossil, Tokyo Trial, The Inheritance, At the Risk of My Life (Inn of Evil), Black River, The Thick-Walled Room

The Master of Spaghetti Westerns, with some of Ennio Morricone's best works.

---Favorite Films--- For a Few Dollars More, The Good the Bad and the Ugly

---Other Notable Films--- A Fistful of Dollars, Once upon a time in the West, Once upon a time in America, Duck you Sucker, My Name is Nobody

--The Master of Adventuring--

High-budget blockbusters, fantasy or sci-fi elements are common in his mostly mainstream films. Huge filmography with many ups and downs as a whole but with an overall positive result and a few unforgettable greats.

---Favorite Films--- Shindler's List, Minority Report, Raiders of the Lost Arc, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Catch me if you Can

---Other Notable Films--- Saving Private Ryan, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, E. T. The Extraterrestrial, The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Munich, Lincoln, Artificial Intelligence, Closed Encounters of the Third Kind

The mere fact that Warner Bros trusted this talented man to direct and screenwrite "The Maltese Falcon (1941)", the movie classic that made a superstar out of Humphrey Bogart and is still considered by critics and audiences alike--- 65 years after the fact--- to be the greatest detective film ever made, is more than enough to be remembered by, along with his 10time oscar nominations.

---Favorite Films--- The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

---Other Notable Films--- Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, The Man who would be King, The Night of the Iguana, Moby Dick, The Misfits, Moulin Rouge, Prizzi's Honor

--The Asian Camera Visionary--

Awe inspiring camera shots, art direction and audiovisual poetry are trademarks in his films, but his peculiar concepts and surreal at times style in some of his films are either hard to grasp and enjoy or too shocking to easily recommend to anyone.

---Favorite Film--- Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

---Other Notable Films--- Samaritan Girl, 3-Iron, Pieta, The Bow, Address Unknown, Time, Moebius

--The Belgian Dardenne Brothers--

A talented Duo when it comes to pure human drama, they mostly specialize in the hardships of the age of adolescence.

---Favorite Films--- La Promesse, Rosetta, The Kid with a Bike

---Other Notable Films--- The Son, The Child, Lorna's Silence, Two Days and one Night

--England's pride and joy of Realistic slice of life Dramas--

Most of his films can get quite depressing or even raw but they never feel cheap or unreal. His characters are always humanely flawed, though they do struggle for better conditions despite the harsh odds they face and their mistakes.

---Favorite Films--- Raining Stones, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, My Name is Joe, Sweet Sixteen

---Other Notable Films--- Kes, Ladybird Ladybird, Family Life, Land and Freedom, The Angel's Share

--The Master of Theatrical Comedy--

Specializes in theatrical sets and roles often based on dialogue scenarios and expressions. This French Comedy Director should be checked out by all who want to laugh their hearts out.

---Favorite Films--- The Dinner Game, Tais-Toi!

---Other Notable Films--- The Valet, The Closet, The Toy, The Goat, Les compères, Fugitives

--German Art house Filmmaking--

A critically acclaimed art house director often linked with the new wave of German cinema, Werner Herzog's long visionary career is marked by features with oddly fascinating subjects and characters -- for example, Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) is set in a prison populated entirely by dwarves and midgets -- but he's also well-known for his documentaries.

My Best Friend (1999) explored the director's often tumultuous relationship with German actor Klaus Kinski, who starred in the Herzog masterworks Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) and Fitzcarraldo (1982). The documentary Grizzly Man (2005) also generated significant buzz by relaying the unimaginable fate of a grizzly bear activist who was killed by the same animals he worked his whole life to protect.

---Favorite Films--- Grizzly Man, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night, Aguirre the Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steine

---Other Notable Films--- Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Lessons of Darkness, Stroszek, Encounters at the End of the World, My Best Fiend - Klaus Kinski, Land of Silence and Darkness, La soufrière, Happy People: A Year in the Taiga, The White Diamond, Rescue Dawn, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Even Dwarfs Started Small, Into the Abyss, Signs of Life

---Favorite Films--- Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil

---Other Notable Works--- The Magnificent Ambersons, Campanadas a medianoche, The Trial, F for Fake, Othello, The Stranger, Macbeth, London, Mr. Arkadin

---Favorite Films--- Twelve Monkeys, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brazil

---Other Notable Films--- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Meaning of Life, Time Bandits, The Fisher King

---Favorite Films--- Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist

---Other Notable Films--- Chinatown, The Tenant, Repulsion, Knife in the Water, Venus in Fur, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Dance of the Vampires

---Favorite Films--- Zatoichi, Fireworks

---Other Notable Films--- Kikujiro, Sonatine, Kids Return, Violent Cop, A Scene at the Sea, Achilles and the Tortoise, Brother, Outrage

--The Coen Brothers--

Quite controversial in their style, the Coen brothers often offer unique black humor, unpredictability and strangely unique and even dumb characters in their films, that offer plots that can easily get out of hand in no time.

---Favorite Films--- Barton Fink, Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, Inside Llewyn Davis

---Other Notable Films--- The Big Lebowski, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, The Man who Wasn't There, True Grit, Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy, Burn After Reading

---Favorite Film--- A Man Escaped, Pickpocket

---Other Notable Films--- Diary of a Country Priest, Balthazar, Mouchette, A Gentle Woman, The Trial of Joan of Arc, Four Nights of a Dreamer

Amazing modern cinema direction and montage from this talented Canadian prodigy. Should be watched closely for his seemingly unlimited potential. Enemy is reminiscent of Lynch's best works.

---Favorite Films--- Incendies, Prisoners, Enemy

---Other Notable Works--- Polytechnique, Maelström, August 32nd on Earth, Next Floor, Cosmos, Sicario

---Favorite Films--- Black Book, Total Recall

---Other Notable Films--- Soldier of Orange, All Things Pass, Turkish Delight, RoboCop, Starship Troopers, The Fourth Man, Basic Instict

--The Master of Stop-motion Live Animation--

---Favorite Works--- Darkness Light Darkness, Food, Faust

---Other Notable Works--- Conspirators of Pleasure, Alice, Dimensions of Dialogue, The Flat, Down to the Cellar, The Pit the Pendulum and Hope, Little Otik, Virile Games, Lunacy, Meat Love, Punch and Judy

The Independent Spanish Director Pedro is known mostly for the significant role the women play in all of his films and the fact that plots rely heavily on unusual or at times even "shocking" relationships and sex taboos. The rarely explored themes of gay or bisexuality are often presented in his full of vividness colorful films.

---Favorite Films--- Talk to Her, All About my Mother

---Other Notable Films--- Volver, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Bad Education, The Skin I Live in, Live Flesh, High Heels, Matador, Kika, Broken Embraces, What Have I Done to Deserve This?

--The Master Comedian of the Silent Filming Era--

Chaplin was an admirable man with witty humor and ideas way ahead of his time that are presented in most of his films, promoting liberty rights and hard work. He was obviously troubled by what the future modern times and industrialization will bring. He always made ALL stunts in his films by himself, which was not a small feat at all, seeing what he did pull off in so many of his works.

---Favorite Films--- The Great Dictator, Modern Times

---Other Notable Films--- City Lights, The Kid, The Gold Rush, The Circus, Limelight

--The Miracle of Iranian Cinema--

One the most influential Persian figures, "Magid Magidi" is an international acclaimed filmmaker, who also happens to have many documentaries and shorts in his resume. His works have a simple yet poetic feel to them.

Though his films seem relatively low budgeted, rarely is poverty and struggling for the bare necessities of life so realistically and humanely portrayed. Emotions flow naturally like a streaming river in this daring man's works of hope.

---Favorite Films--- Children of Heaven, The Color of Paradise

---Other Notable Films--- Rain, The Song of Sparrows, The Father, The Willow Tree, Barefoot to Herat

---Favorite Film--- Les diaboliques (The Devils), The Wages of Fear

---Other Notable Films--- Le Corbeau: The Raven, Quay of the Goldsmiths, The Mystery of Picasso, The Murderer Lives at Number 21, Inferno

Made some of the most creative thriller scenarios in filming in his early days, but has unfortunately ceased to amaze with just mediocre or decent films long since.

---Favorite & Landmark Films--- Fight Club, Se7en, The Game

---Other Notable Films--- The Social Network, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Girl Gone

An exceptional Italian Director whose film concepts are often of artistic style in nature, Tornatore usually strives for cinematography perfection and emotional breakdowns. Made a good comeback with Best Offer recently. Ennio Morricone is a typical choice for some amazing music in most of his works.

---Favorite Films--- Cinema Paradiso, The Best Offer, Malena

---Other Notable Films--- The Legend of 1900, A Pure Formality, Everybody's Fine, The Unknown Woman

A talented man and a modern film perfectionist, exploring mostly dark sides of the human nature in many of his films.

---Favorite Films--- Requiem for a Dream, Pi

---Other Notable Films--- Black Swan, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Protozoa

--A Guilty Pleasure action filmmaker--

Very young and talented, Nolan proved that blockbuster action films can be intelligent in scenarios and twists with a little help of unconventional narrative. He almost never fails to deliver, especially to fans of action and suspense. Nothing will be the same in the genre of comic hero films, after watching the Dark Knight. With Hanz Zimmer present on most of his works the audiovisual experience is even further improved.

---Favorite Films--- Memento, The Dark Knight, Interstellar

---Other Notable Films--- Inception, The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, Following

A highly talented modern director in terms of pure atmosphere and suspense. High rewatch value for the thriller genre is very rare and the eerie soundtracks make for some truly unforgettable experiences.

---Favorite Films--- 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire

---Other Notable Films--- Trainspotting, 127 Hours, Shallow Grave

---Favorite Films--- Life of Pi, Eat Man Drink Woman

---Other Notable Films--- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain, The Ice Storm, The Wedding Banquet, Lust Caution, Pushing Hands

Often known for his enormously huge budgets in his films, his films are usually quite enjoyable especially for the action fans out there.

---Favorite Films--- Aliens, Avatar

---Other Notable Films--- The Abyss, The Terminator, Terminator 2:The Judgment Day, Titanic

He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the psychological is typically intertwined with the physical. In the first half of his career, he explored these themes mostly through horror and science fiction, although his work has since expanded beyond these genres. He has been called "the most audacious and challenging narrative director in the English-speaking world."

---Favorite Film--- The Fly, Dead Ringers

---Other Notable Films--- Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, Videodrome, The Dead Zone, Naked Lunch, Existenz, Cosmopolis, Scanners, Crash, Shivers, A Dangerous Method, Spider, The Brood

--Atmosphere Cult American Horror--

Most of his films are often low budgeted, but the fact that he makes his own music contributes to the atmosphere immensely along with his directional style.

---Favorite Film--- The Thing

---Other Notable Films--- Escape from New York, Halloween, Assault on Precinct 13, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Revenge of the Colossal Beasts, Starman, The Fog, Prince of Darkness, Dark Star, Christine, The Ward

A cult-fan movie low budget director with many similarities to Tarantino's stylish filming and use of unique characters, his amazing Sin City is often cited as the best Comic Adaptation ever done for the Big Screen.

---Favorite Films--- Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn

---Other Notable Films--- Planet Terror, Grindhouse (Machete), Desperado, El Mariachi, Once upon a Time in Mexico

---Favorite Films--- The Big Sleep, Rio Bravo

---Other Notable Films--- Scarface, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, To Have and Have Not, Sergeant York, Red River, Ball of Fire, Twentieth Century, Only Angels Have Wings, El Dorado

-- Genius Stuntman & Inventor--

---Favorites--- Sherlock Jr. , The General

---Other Notable Works--- The Cameraman, The Navigator, Steamboat Bill Jr. , Seven Chances, Our Hospitality, One Week, The Scarecrow, Cops, Neighbors, The Play House, The Goat, The "High" Sign, The Electric House, The Boat, The Haunted House, The Blacksmith, The Paleface