The 20th century gave people cinematography, and film genres began to grow and expand thanks to the talented and young talents who sat in the director's chair. Many of them created a real cinema story, which was unfolding before the eyes of millions of viewers in different parts of the world. But only a few of them became legends during their lifetime and the real masters of their craft, on which their followers will be equal for many more years. The best directors of the world: who are they, what did they shoot and what awards did they manage to get?
10. James Cameron
A true hard worker and innovator who is not afraid of radical changes and dangerous experiments in the literal sense of the word. Cameron became the 3rd person in the world who dared to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, while not forgetting to shoot about this documentary - “Challenge to the Abyss”.
Hollywood producers are almost always ready to unfasten a considerable amount for the implementation of James's creative idea. And this is not surprising, because it was he who shot the 2 highest-grossing films in history - “Titanic” and “Avatar”. The success of the latter caused the rapid emergence of films in 3-D format. Total total profit from Cameron films amounted to 5.5 billion dollars.
James is known to the average viewer for the films Terminator, Aliens-2, Terminator-2, Titanic, and Avatar. Each of these films gathered an impressive box office, was nominated for a number of prestigious film awards and brought to Cameron world famous. To date, he rarely shoots, but aptly and exclusively for his pleasure. From 2020 to 2025, 4 more parts of the Avatar are expected to be released. Cameron has 3 Oscars and 4 Golden Globes in his piggy bank.
9. Ethan and Joel Cohen
The Coen Brothers always work in a creative tandem. Their film works can be recognized by their signature style - to make a real masterpiece out of a trifle story, without forgetting to spice it up with bright characters and references. Any of the movie stories could happen to almost every one of us, and its main characters are a collective image of the average American. But this would not be enough to be able to reach the heights that the brothers reached. Dialogues and non-standard thinking of the characters - this is the cherry on the cake of each film from famous filmmakers.
Coenas always write scripts for their stories themselves, for which they also have a reputation as one of the best screenwriters in Hollywood history. Watching their work is never boring, because even an ordinary episode from under their pen necessarily turns into a real full-fledged story segment. The brothers work no less on the images of secondary characters than on the images of the main characters.
“Big Lebowski”, “Fargo”, “Old men do not belong here”, “Burn after reading”, “Iron grip” - these are the best works of the Cohen brothers. For their film works, the brothers received 4 Oscars..
8. David Fincher
This maestro specializes in particular projects full of mysteries and cruelty. The main feature of all his film works is an extraordinary ending. He began his career with the filming of clips. The first full-length work “Aliens-3” ended in a serious scandal with the bosses of the studio “XX Century Fox”, because of which it was no longer necessary to shoot the ending of the picture Fincher and the tape did not go either to the audience or to the critics.
Thriller "Seven" was a real breakthrough for David. The standard story of a maniac that kills his victims according to the canons of Catholic sins, he managed to turn for the viewer into a real hassle until the last minute. This was followed by the thriller “Game” with Michael Douglas, in which the plot was twisted even cooler. And in 1999, Fight Club was released based on the novel of the same name by Palanik. The painting was quickly given the status of a cult movie: self-destruction of a hero and directorial irony did their job.
Among the director’s other works, one can distinguish the “Zodiac” - a detective thriller on real events about a maniac who wasn’t able to catch the police, the non-standard drama “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (10 Academy Award nominations), the biopic “Social Network” , detective "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", the thriller "Disappeared", as well as the series "House of Cards". For his work, Fincher received many awards, but he still could not get to the cherished Oscar statuette. The Golden Globe for Social Network is his highest achievement in terms of awards.
7. Ridley Scott
Success To scott brought such projects as Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator. In total, he has 27 directorial works. Ridley Scott cannot be called a true diamond of the film industry, since not all of his films were warmly received by critics and viewers. Rise to the top of the best directors in the world he was helped by 2 films that became cult - “Aliens” and “Blade Runner”.
If not for these films, then Scott would have remained a talented and promising film director. is he 4 times nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globebut never received the main awards. Now from the past glory of Ridley there is only an echo left, even his new works, which he is trying to build on his former success, are “Alien. Testament ”,“ Prometheus ”- they are not able to return it to him. However, all this does not negate his general directorial status and influence on cinema.
This is also understood by Scott, who himself increasingly gives up work on promising projects to young talents and rushes into the production channel. The Terror series, Blade Runner 2049, was released under his command.
6. Quentin Tarantino
Working in a video cassette rental showroom, young Quentin from time to time revised a variety of film works. He was especially pleased with films with a captivating plot, with colorful bandyuganchiki, brave samurai and cool cowboys. Then Tarantino firmly decided that he would make a movie, and no worse than what he saw in the video salon.
To take a full meter, you need money, and young Quentin did not have it. But there was a head and an ardent desire to create. Then he sells the script “True Love” written by him, but the money he earned was still not enough to shoot the full-length film “Raging Dogs”. Acquaintance with Harvey Keitel changes position, and he produces the tape. With minimal cost, the output, thanks to a good acting and a good script, manages to create a real masterpiece. This was followed by the cult "Pulp Fiction", the dilogy "Kill Bill", "Inglourious Basterds", "Django Unchained" and "The Abominable Eight."
Tarantino regularly receives significant awards for both directorial and screenwriting. To all his movie hits, he wrote scripts personally. In total, he won 37 awards in the piggy bank, among which there are 2 Oscars. Quentin's corporate identity is to weave together many characters, often collecting them in one place and at the same time, a non-linear plot, divided into story-chapters. His work makes laugh where it’s usually not accepted to laugh.
In 2019, in cinemas, Tarantino’s new work “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, the number of stars in which just rolls over (Pitt, DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell, etc.), will be released.
5. Christopher Nolan
Nolan one of those directors that makes you watch your films over and over again. And all because they are crammed with such riddles and cunning interpenetrating scenario layers that it is quite difficult to understand everything that he is broadcasting on the first try. Vivid examples of this are the paintings “Remember”, “Beginning” and “Interstellar”.
According to its profitable abilities, it is considered among movie bosses, along with Spielberg, a favorite. Why, because 10 of his films collected a total box office for box office rents of $ 5 billion.
Nolan began with low-budget, but promising projects - “Persecution,” “Remember,” and “Insomnia.” When their payback exceeded all studio expectations, Nolan was entrusted with the Dark Knight trilogy, which appeared in a canonical gloomy atmosphere. They also shot a thriller about magicians "Prestige" and beyond understanding for the first viewing of "Beginning". This was followed by the science fiction Interstellar and the military canvas Dunkirk.
None of these works were a failure, which secured the glory of Nolan one of the best directors in Hollywood. Christopher had 5 nominations for the Oscar, but so far he has not been able to get this award. Among his best works, critics distinguish The Dark Knight, Prestige, The Beginning, and Interstellar.
His signature style is scale and plot twisted to the limit. Producers willingly invest in Nolan’s work, knowing his reputation. Thus, the budget of "Nachala" amounted to 160 million dollars, "Interstellar" - 165, and "The Dark Knight." The revival of the legend ”was delayed by 250. And while the last work of Dunkirk radically differs from its previous films, she collected her stable half a billion at the box office.
4. Tim Burton
The main storyteller of the empire of dreams, Tim Burton, for many years gives both children and adults good and not very instructive stories with an exciting fantasy story. It is full of witches, ghosts, skeletons and ordinary people. This is a world woven on the verge of good and evil, where the earth borders on the afterlife. This is where Burton bases his stories.
His career began in the 80s, which hit the peak of family cinema. Burton was tired of primitive stories that went to theaters with enviable regularity, and he decided to give people his tales, not forgetting to transfer them to our world. The first feature film, “The Great Pi-Vie Great Adventure,” suddenly becomes commercially successful. After that, the bosses of the studio entrusted Burton with a larger project - The Beetlejuice. After the success of this film, Burton took the director's chair in the reincarnation of the immortal hero of the Batman comics - “Batman” and “Batman Returns” appear on the screens.
Many critics note the strong influence of muses on the themes of Burton's work. So the actress, and his first wife, Lisa Mary inspired Tim to such projects as “Edward Scissorhands”, “Sleepy Hollow”. Helena Bonham Carter encouraged Burton to Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse of the Bride, and Alice in Wonderland. In these works, his signature style is most noticeable.
According to Burton, he never chased prestigious film awards and awards, therefore, the absence of an Oscar on its shelf, although it was nominated 2 times, does not attach much attention.
3. Peter Jackson
The genius of the last director’s wave, Peter Jacksonlike no one else knows what the viewer wants and how to give it to him. His specialization is large-scale blockbusters, shot with a soul and elaborated plot. He doesn’t shoot as often as many viewers want, but his every work brings a lot of noise and brings a big profit to the film studio.
Most viewers know him for the film adaptation of the legendary Tolkien trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”, as well as the slightly less legendary “The Hobbit”. The last part of The Lord of the Rings and the first part of The Hobbit have grossed over $ 1 billion each worldwide. For all this action he was awarded 3 Oscars.
Before Peter was entrusted with the implementation of the Lord of the Rings movie, a grandiose-sized movie saga, he had to interrupt with low-grade projects, but Jackson put his soul into each of them. This could not pass by Robert Zemeckis, who was going to shoot "Scary" with a serious budget for that time and was looking for fresh blood for the implementation of his project. This "fresh blood" just turned out to be Jackson. The tape came out very worthy and received flattering reviews from critics.
Having gained experience and reputation, Jackson implemented the main project of his life - the trilogy “Lord of the Rings”. After which he takes on “The Hobbit” and stretches 100 page history for 9 hours of screen time, adding many branches from the original Tolkien story. Jackson also filmed a new interpretation of King Kong and the drama Cute Bones.
2. Martin Scorsese
This is an old school classic. Almost every second movie Scorsese, and they were shot 56, received favorable reviews. The master, a real living master, from whom you can still have time to learn. His corporate identity is stories about the confrontation of charismatic personalities, often biographical in nature. The heroes of his tapes often became gangsters and asocial personalities. There are a lot of aggression and cruelty in the films, which are shown with frightening realism. During his career, he received 105 prizes at various film festivals. Among the awards is an Oscar and 5 Golden Globes.
The debut in the big movie began with the drama “Evil Streets” and “Alice Doesn't Live Here Any More”. In all its glory, Scorsese’s talent was revealed to the audience after the film “Taxi Driver”, which instantly became a cult: it was dismantled into quotes, adopted the philosophy of the protagonist. "Raging Bull" and "Nice Guys" - complemented the picture of talent.
Almost every next year, Scorsese releases a film. In the 90s, the most significant work was Casino, and since the 2000s, a number of biographical dramas have been followed - Aviator, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones. New York Gangs and Isle of the Damned pleasantly surprised critics and spectators, although Scorsese was shot in genres unusual for him.
In 2013, “The Wolf of Wall Street” was released, which, due to odiousness, was swept past 5 Oscar nominations.
1. Steven Spielberg
It is unlikely that there will be a person who would not watch a single tape of this outstanding figure in the film industry. The best directors of our time unanimously call it in unison Spielberg the most sought after and profitable.
His 20 films, according to Wikipedia, collected at the global box office in the amount of over 10 billion dollarsthat today is absolute record. In addition to monetary recognition, he also has critics' recognition in the form of 4 Oscar figurines.
Here are just his most iconic films: Jaws, Alien, Indiana Jones, Schindler's List, Save Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Catch Me If You Can.
It was Spielberg with his “Jaws” who introduced the concept of “summer blockbuster” into cinematic life. It was he who calculated that the summer premieres filmed with scale and pathos will bring maximum profit.
Spielberg's uniqueness lies in the fact that he is an absolutely universal director, capable of shooting well both thrashy horror or tear drama, as well as clever science fiction and family cinema.