I love watching films. Perhaps even more so than anime (Eechk! There I've said it..) So much so that I majored in Film Studies at Uni for 4 years along with Japanese. Here are a couple of my favorite directors (listed in no particular order), followed by the film(s) of theirs I would recommend the most. Feel free to add comment, recommend films etc. I'm always up for a discussion when in comes to my favorite artform
Wong Kar Wai (Chungking Express):
In short my favourite director to come out of Hong Kong. Developing a wildly original (while esoteric) style, he, and his Australian (yay!) cinematographer Chris Doyle and almost single-handedly recaptured the West's interest in Hong Kong film in the nineties with hits such as Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels, Happy Together and In the Mood for Love.
Luc Besson (Le Dernier Combat ):
People only ever really seem to go on about Besson's American films, Leon and The Fifth Element, but it is the films he made before travelling to America that are the real masterpieces in my opinion - Le Dernier Combat, Subway, Nikita and of course The Big Blue - simply awesome.
Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove):
I could pretty much talk for days on end about how great Kubrick is... He basically tackled every subject matter - and managed to make some of the most horrifying (Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining), intriguing (2001: A Space Odyssey, Eyes Wide Shut), beautiful (Barry Lyndon), funny (Dr. Strangelove), epic (Spatacus) controversial (Lolita) and thrilling (The Killing, Killer's Kiss, Paths of Glory). A must see director.
Alfred Hitchcock (Rear Window):
One of the greatest directors of all time, with over 50 films to his name. God, even his silent films kick ass! (Try seeing The Lodger if you don't know what I mean). Man so many films - I don't which one I'd recommend first - hire one out one for yourself, dim the lights and let this master director thrill your senses!!
Brian DePalma (Blowout):
Awesome film director, similar to Hitchcock in many ways. At least check out, Blowout, Sisters, Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface and of more recent times, Femme Fatale.
John Woo (Hard Boiled):
Gee what can I say? Pretty much invented the bullet ballet genre by himself!! Bullet in the Head, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard Boiled - without a doubt action classics!
John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off):
This guy's films made such an impression on me growing up, going through the high school warzone that I just had to include him. Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck and of course, The Breakfast Club. A little low-brow compared to some of the other directors on this list, but still I can highly recommend this director's works.
David Cronenberg (Videodrome)
What can I say about this guy – INSANE, SIMPLY INSANE. Master of the cult film – Videodrome, The Fly, Crash, Scanners etc. Rent one of his films out and prepare to watch one of the most fucked up things you’re ever likely to see. “Long live the New Flesh!!”
David Lynch (Eraserhead)
Fucked up in the same way that Cronenberg is. Personally I prefer Cronenberg, but Lynch at his best can still conjure up some of the most amazing things you’re ever likely to see – Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive – pure awesome.
Atom Egoyan (Exotica)
I have to admit I have still only seen Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter but I was totally blown away with the imagery used in these films! All I can say is a big WOW! Check these out!
Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon)
Here’s a man who needs no introduction to all you Japanophiles out there. Calling him Japan’s Hitchcock still doesn’t really give him the credit. If you have some kind of phobia of black and white films (god bless you, you poor thing) then it’s time to get over it and start watching some of his classics… NOW!
Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing):
Arguably the most influential African-American filmmaker of all time. Worth checking out because of that alone.
Ridley Scott (Alien):
Sure he knows how to make a shit film (Black Hawk Down) but damn does know how to make a good one as well (Alien, Blade Runner).
James Cameron (Aliens):
Again a bit of a hit and miss director for me: I loved The Terminator and Aliens, The Abyss was okay I guess, Titanic?... ahem, take my advice- don’t touch it with a ten-foot pole.
Zhang Yimou (Red Sorgham):
Leader of the so-called ‘fifth generation’ of Chinese cinema and an amazing director in his own right. His earlier films made with Gong Li (Shanghai Triads, Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, To Live etc.) are so gut wrenchingly stark that I wouldn’t recommend it for the light hearted film watcher – try starting with his films featuring Zhang Ziyi, The Road Home, Not One Less or Hero before tackling these earlier works. Once your hooked however, there is no turning back…:)
Martin Scorcese (Taxi Driver):
Another director that needs no introduction. While I loved and can rave on and on about his earlier works (Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, After Hours etc.) I’m not much of a fan of his latter works – Gangs of New York and The Aviator. Bringing Out the Dead was his last great film in my opinion.
Cohen Brothers (Fargo):
Good damn awesome filmmakers (to use the parlance of our times :) If you like noir thrillers, or dark comedy, then this is the place to get it. While I do prefer their films that use imagery to tell the story (Barton Fink) rather than just relying on dialogue (The Ladykillers), there is plenty to be had from just about any Cohen Brothers film.
Takeshi Kitano (Hanabi)
For me, the Japanese director of the late 80’s, early nineties. Makes some shit films (Brother), but his great films are really great (Hanabi, Violent Cop, Sonatine).
John Carpenter (Halloween)
Another personal favorite director of mine, his early works in particular have got to seen to be believed: Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, Starman, The Thing (remake of the Howard Hawks’ classic), Dark Star etc.
Sergio Leone (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly)
Arguably the GOD of the western film, the films that he made with Clint Eastwood are classics that you must see at least once in your lifetime. A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once upon a Time in the West – gold, pure gold…
Sam Raimi (Evil Dead)
Two words. Evil Dead. God yes.
OTHER DIRECTORS WORTH MENTIONING HERE:
Stephen Spielbelg (for early films – Jaws, Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List – his later films such as A.I and Minority Report, The Terminal suck so very, very badly…)
Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas), Jean Luc Goddard (Breathless, Alphaville ), Abbas Kiarostami (have only seen A Taste of Cherry – need to see more of this guy’s films!), Mario Bava (Black Sunday), Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven), Chen Kaige (Yellow Earth, Fareware, My Concubine), Stephen Chow (awesome director of comedy, everyone goes on about Shaolin Soccer, but his earlier works are much, much funnier), Francis Ford Coppola (The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather), Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2 ), John Ford (Stagecoach), Howard Hawks (The Thing), Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog), Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch), Roman Polanski (Chinatown), Oliver Stone (Platoon, Wall Street), Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo), François Truffaut (The 400 Blows), Dario Argento (Suspiria), George Romero (Night of the Living Dead), Fruit Chan (Made in Hong Kong), Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China) etc.