The Greatest Directors of All Time

Akira Kurosawa is famed as the only director to perfectly combine the greatest things about Eastern and Western cinema, and his legacy will never die. e.g. Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ikiru

As a bleak and remarkable innovative visual master, Stanley Kubrick turned out endless enormously watchable masterpieces, and his effect continues to resonate in cinema today. e.g. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr. Strangelove, Barry Lyndon

Referred to by many as the 'old Danish master', almost every art filmmaker has tried to capture his essence, but no one has succeeded in matching Dreyer's calm and gorgeous imagery. e.g. The Passion of Joan of Arc, Ordet, Gertrud

A master of thrills, Alfred Hithcock turned scary pulp into an art form, and a true heart of darkness rests just below the surface of every masterpiece. e.g. Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window

An auteur held back by the studios, Welles didn't just guide modern cinema: he created it. e.g. Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, The Magnificent Ambersons

With his calm and observational manner, Ozu captured humanity with grace and almost unbearable pathos, and is often considered the quintessential Japanese director. e.g. Tokyo Story, Late Spring, Floating Weeds

With a powerful legacy, Fritz Lang was one of the most prolific directors of all time, and rarely missed a beat, even as he shaped the future of cinema. e.g. Metropolis, M, The Big Heat

Combining humour, drama, romance and pathos with style (if not ease), Charlie Chaplin was a genius of cinema, and took filmmaking to new heights with his many masterpieces. e.g. The Gold Rush, City Lights, The Great Dictator

Luis Bunuel started as an angry French Surrealist and finished as a dry Mexican Realist, and his wide range of films have become some of the definitive works of artistic filmmaking. e.g. Viridiana, L'Age d'Or, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

From his brilliant and detailed character studies to his enthralling crime epics, Martin Scorsese has proved himself a milestone of popular cinema, taking what could have been trash and creating pure art. e.g. Raging Bull, GoodFellas, Taxi Driver

With his utterly bleak, brilliant and emotionless masterpieces of philosophy and beauty, Ingmar Bergman has always been a staple of underground filmmaking. e.g. Persona, Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal

It's been said that Renoir's films mirror his father's art, but Renoir also excels in brilliant choreography, so all his movies are like an intricately planned dance. e.g. La Regle du Jeu, La Grand Illusion, Partie de Campagne

Fellini's movies alternate between moody and whimsical, but always have a potent after-effect. e.g. Otto e Mezzo, La Dolce Vita, La Strada

A seminal member of the French New Wave, Godard's films are often madcap and slightly skewed, and always have an artistic sense of purpose. e.g. Breathless, Pierrot le Fou, Le Mepris

A Russian master of art and the long take, Tarkovsky will be remembered for his spectacular eye for unusual beauty. e.g. Andrei Rublev, Mirror, Solaris

Cinema's first real master, D.W. Griffith's experiments in cinema paved the way for all auteurs to come, and he gave us so many of our most basic techniques it's hard to know where to begin. e.g. The Birth of a Nation, Intolerance, Broken Blossoms

John Ford made Westerns (and indeed, most entertaining cinema) beautiful, one film at a time. e.g. The Searchers, The Grapes of Wrath, Stagecoach

In the seventies, something happened to Francis Coppola that led him to produce not just one, but three of the greatest movies ever made, and this alone will earn him an enduring reputation. e.g. The Godfather Parts I and II, Apocalypse Now

Another early pioneer, Murnau proved that it was possible for a film to be both entertaining and artistic, and led the way through German Expressionism and the beginning of modern film. e.g. Sunrise, The Last Laugh, Nosferatu

The films of Billy Wilder are endlessly entertaining and often hysterically funny, but have the feel of fine cinema. e.g. Some Like it Hot, Sunset Blvd., The Apartment

Eisenstein basically spearheaded Soviet Constructivism, and what should have been crappy propaganda films became some of the greatest movies ever made. e.g. Battleship Potemkin, Ivan the Terrible, Alexander Nevsky

David Lean's epics have a certain feel of utmost class and care: all his films are very clearly a labour of love, and they're a joy to watch. e.g. Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai, Brief Encounter

By creating affecting drama free of emotional cues, Robert Bresson proved himself to be one of the great enigmas of cinema. e.g. A Man Escaped, Au Hasard Balthazar, Pickpocket

Another master of the Nouvelle Vague, critic-turned-director Truffaut created some of cinema's most enduring masterworks. e.g. The 400 Blows, Jules et Jim, Shoot the Piano Player

Hopping through genres without the slightest slip, Howard Hawks proved himself a master of Westerns, screwball comedies, and even film-noir, basically depending on the mood he was in. e.g. Rio Bravo, Bringing Up Baby, The Big Sleep