The best filmmakers Classic & Contemporary

Probably the best filmmaker to ever live. He presented stories that made you think whether you loved them or hated them. His visual style is one of a kind, creating a sense of cinematic escape with his long take style for visuals, beautiful compositions, choice of music, color, and sound.

Definitely the most thought-provoking filmmaker.

Who else but the master of American cinema storytelling. Kubrick was a prodigy in his own right, never doing the same movie twice, and always giving each of his films a certain feel that every director after him has tried to achieve and failed. A perfectionist by reputation, but would you blame him for the stories he tells?

The American Andrei Tarkovsky. This man has had nothing but success in delivering poetic journeys about the human condition within metaphysical and philosophical boundaries. Another man that doesn't do the same movie twice. He works under his own world and rules, and succeeds in telling stories that are all uplifting, thought-provoking, and cinematic.

This is a man that knows no boundaries and holds nothing back in his stories. Leone was a virtuoso of style and wit. He made being a loner and anti-social behavior badass with his Man with No Name trilogy along with Once Upon A Time in the West. Truly a classic inspiration.

No other filmmaker living today has matched the technical prowess of storytelling than David Fincher. This man knows how to make a movie. A true perfectionist in every right, he get's what he wants from his cast and crew and demands the audiences attention. He's a man that's interested in telling the darker stories of an individual, shedding light on their flaws and insecurities. His work is always a privilege to see.

When a filmmaker is capable of writing and directing a film like Magnolia, you are without a doubt a storyteller who not only loves film and storytelling, you're a man that loves to have fun. PTA is as innovative in his technique as every man before him. His character studies are genius and dynamic.

Beyond his ability to write like a novelist and present recycled stories in a fresh and dynamic light, Tarantino's encyclopedic knowledge of film is what astounds me. The man knows pretty much everything. And whether you love him or hate him, you have to admire his passion for his craft and for movies in general.

In my eyes is the best and most successful creator of both television and cinematic material. His original shows are genius and his films bring a nostalgia to everyone that sees them. He's a man that doesn't care about style, he just wants to serve the story and tell it the way it is meant to be told. He's the Spielberg of the new generation, and could very well be the superior filmmaker.

If I had to choose the new Kubrick it would be Mark Romanek. A man of true cinematic art. He's a man that cares about character and presentation. He tells his stories carefully, and though there's only 3 films under his belt, each one is different than the other. I expect great things from him in the future.

Two movies... Moon and Source Code. That's all you need to know. Jones is a force to look out for. His blend of blockbuster and meditative journeys about man, conscience, and spirituality make for awesome entertainment. He takes Tarkovsky and mixes it with Kubrick and blends it with JJ Abrams. Can't wait for his future work.

This is a man who wants to be the next Stanley Kubrick. I don't blame him and he could very much be. I admire how Nolan wants to tell character driven and philosophical stories in blockbuster formats. Genius if you ask me. He loves his camera and the camera loves what it shoots when he's behind it.

Reeves is slowly becoming one of my top 5 favorite filmmakers of today. He just truly cares about telling a good story with good characters. He makes the material very personal and I think that gives him an edge when making the film because that speaks to audience when it is personal. It's an intimate relationship with him and filmmaking, and that will take him far whether it's big like Cloverfield or small like Let Me In.

If darkness had a name it would be this man. I can't say more than I just love this man's work and how he made darkness and horror beautiful and poetic. He truly embraces a genre that embraces him back. You can't argue with a man that just wants to make these kinds of films. He presents each film with a type of magic in how he moves the camera and lights his films and especially designs them. An inspiration indeed.

Cuaron knows story and structure and depth and emotion - and that is why his films are successful stories. He is a revolutionary in storytelling, always developing new ways to tell the story with the camera, music, lighting, effects, and characters. His Harry Potter film is the best in the series and Children of Men is a marvel. Gravity will be his masterpiece.

This man was old school and if he were still alive would still be old school. He made the original Scarface and many other classics that it is hard to deny his storytelling abilities.

Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed, Waking up the Dead, Taxi Driver... The list goes on. This man is a symbol and a technician and will always be a fantastic filmmaker. He knows what it takes to tell a story effectively when it comes to visuals, ratio, movement, music, colors, just wow.

Cronenberg rarely disappoints me. And it's not like I ever hated his old films, because I love them - but ever since he started taking himself seriously, I have been captivated and inspired by his work. Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, and Spider are works of art disguised in entertainment. This is a man that knows where to put the camera and leave it there and let the story unfold.

The rebel of Hollywood. No other man has ever gone against the form and formula of filmmaking than John Carpenter. Embracing realistic and anti-hero endings, this man paved the way for villains to be cheered for. No other word described Carpenter other than badass.

If you are new to this man's work go see his new movie I Saw the Devil and be blown away. Korean filmmakers just know how to make visually beautiful films, it's in their blood. They tell stories like no one's business and they are relentless. Kim is a special kind, he tells stories with deep emotionality to them and presents them beautifully with visuals that make would make painters cry.

Definitely the Scorsese of our generation. Wes knows quirky and dry and emotion and wraps into a big ball and mixes it in a dumpster and bam, we have works of art. His stories about relationships define a generation.

When you can make movies, short films, music videos, and commercials - and still entertain the hell out of us with all them while making the most mundane situations and scenarios dynamic and provoking and most of all fun, wow, speechless. Jonze likes to have fun and it shows in his films, though they may be a little edgy and on the darker side of light, he knows the boundaries and keeps it entertaining for us all, kids and big kids (adults).

A master of craft and story of other worldly proportions. Jeunet makes Tim Burton look amateur if you ask me. His stories, though off and odd, are as effective and relatable to the ordinary individuals who watch them. When you come out of a Jeunet picture you know you had an experience.

Jeezus Crist Danny Boyle, probably the coolest dude ever. I don't know how that man's imagination functions but lord it is pretty. This is man who does what ever he wants. He's always interested in telling a story differently with new ways to move the camera and angle things up. I mean he's the master of the dutch, no man can shoot dutch angles better than Boyle. Enough of the Brit, he's too good.

Mr Van Sant, what a quiet inspiration you are. His films are about as inspiring and provoking as anyone on this list. Definitely a Kubrick fanatic with the way he moves the camera to follow characters. He's also a great character person always getting to the core of emotion of each character. His stories are always captivating, from Elephant to Milk, Good Will Hunting to Last Days.

Okay, I know he did the Pirates trilogy, but did anyone see The Weather Man? That film is *beep* amazing, and it showed great technical skill on his part in telling a story that is ultimately depressing and leaves you with a guilty smile on your face, it's genius. I personally have always liked the way Verbinski shot his films, that richness in bold colors and dynamic compositions in angles and movement just intrigues me. Mouse Hunt was awesome too, you can't deny that.

The man does it all... enough said.

My personal favorite is Black Hawk Down, but I think all his work is quite nice. This man is fancy for telling big stories on a big canvas which suits his storytelling technique which is simply, epic.

You don't know what you are missing if you haven't seen The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Ali, The Insider, or Collateral. This man gets stories right and shoots them right, always presenting a similar aesthetic in each one and making seem new every time. And the only man to get Al Pacino and Robert De Niro to go head to head, and do it right, not Righteous Kill.

He will soon be a master... Take my word. Go see The Road and The Proposition, you will know what I mean.

The Usual Suspects and X-Men, that's all you need to know.

How can you deny the master of suspense? Scream, A Nightmare on Elmstreet, and The Serpent and The Rainbow. Craven knows what scares the hell out us and executes the stories he tells oh so well with his old school technique.

If you had to choose a filmmaker that invented epic, it would be Kurosawa. His stories were exactly that. He shot them big and presented them big. No other man comes close to taking his mantle.

The man pumps out like 4 films a year, and though 3 of them might suck, that one that's good is really *beep* good. This man just loves to shoot and shoot, he's a director of motion photography simply because I think he just loves to photograph things moving. But every time he hits that one great him, he makes a huge impact, go see 13 Assassins...

I am most impressed with the story this man presented in Leon The Professional. What an emotional and engaging story about love and loss and discovery. The films he does speak for himself and he just wants to push it to the next level each time he steps behind the camera.

Crimson Rivers and La Haine are *beep* amazing and he needs to make more films...

Weird and Weird... Lynch crafted one of the best cinematic experiences ever with Mulholland Drive. He also experimented in the weird world of Rabbits and a Boat. Do they make sense? Hell no. Do I care? Nope. Should we care? No, just enjoy the ride, let your mind go and be immersed in a new world. Watch Eraserhead and then you'll know.

This man can do no wrong whether it's a feature film or documentary. He's funny as hell and his stories speak to the heart.

Battle Royale... that is all

I am not a LOTR fan but I commend Jackson on his achievements for The Frighteners and King Kong. Now here is a filmmakers that looks at every detail of the story and makes sure that every detail is filmed. He's a filmmaker's filmmaker, embracing stories that we all can love and cherish and always trying to be innovative.

I don't think I have to say anything, you know the man...

He's been hit or miss as of late, but the man made Jurassic Park for crying out loud. Jaws, Catch Me If You Can, the list goes on. I hope he comes back to form.