Five Filmmakers I Admire and Respect the Most

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I was originally going to to use the term ‘directors,’ but I opted to use filmmaker instead because I don’t want to exclude someone just because they were writing instead of directing. Anyway, I’m a huge movie buff and I often engage in debates with my friends about who is the best filmmaker of all time. However, I’ve learned that it’s mostly subjective. I think that we like playing games, reading books, and watching movies that can connect with us on a personal level.

This list enumerates the various filmmakers who have influenced the creative projects I’ve worked on. When I write a story, I look at their works for reference and inspiration. To give you a preview, I’ve noticed that it’s mostly a list of guys who have worked on films spanning from suspense, cerebral thrillers, mob movies, to the dystopian science fiction genre. Now that I think about it, I don’t think anyone here has ever made a comedy or a light movie!

Do you love them as much as I do? Let me know in the comments and we can rave together. If not, I’d love a good debate about why you don’t like their films. I’d also love suggestions too for filmmakers I should check out!

 1. Martin Scorsese

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This guy has made a lot of films even before I was a born. However, I’m thankful my dad exposed me to Scorsese’s film library at an early age so I was able to catch up a bit.  I love the grittiness of his films and I feel like he doesn’t need to dazzle me with twists or anything. My favorite films include Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Aviator, Goodfellas, The Departed, and Shutter Island. It was because of him I started writing mobster themed short stories since Goodfellas was the first film I ever saw from him. I’m also a fan of the Shutter Island and I know it had mixed reviews. However, I quite liked how he adapted the novel speaking as a reader of Dennis Lehane’s work

Can’t wait to see Wolf of Wall Street soon!

2. Christopher Nolan

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I love how this man challenges you to think during and after you watch his films. The first movie I saw from him was Memento and I knew he was going to be my idol right away. I loved the The Prestige and absolutely got floored with Inception. A lot of people say that he relies on grand twists and convoluted plots. My friend told me after he watched a Nolan movie that he just wanted a simple story. I personally love how Nolan makes his films so mind bending because it’s like he assumes that the audience aren’t just passively consuming his material. He wants us to think and analyze what we see. It’s also cool how he plants seemingly small and insignificant details early on in the film, only to be revealed as something near the end.

I’m a fan of his take on The Dark Knight. No offense to Joss Whedon, he’s great and all but I like to see a character film about a superhero instead of an action film. Man of Steel is my favorite movie adaptation of Superman so far. I’m really looking forward to seeing Interstellar where he is the director, producer, and writer. Although he is just the executive producer of Transcendence, I’m still curious to see it especially since Wally Pfister worked with Nolan on a lot of projects.

3. Ben Affleck

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This guy is in hot water right now because of the whole Batman casting. However, let’s step back for a second and take that out of perspective. He wrote Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon and that’s my go-to movie when I need inspiration. It’s not a cheesy uplifting film, but it’s raw and honest. Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo are amazing films he directed that are definitely a part of my all-time favorite movies list. He’s not the type of actor that can nail every character you give in, but he’s brilliant when he does. However, he does have a consistency of quality when it comes to the films he’s worked on behind the scenes.

Gone Baby Gone was adapted from a novel by Dennis Lehane. I’m excited to see his upcoming film as he tackles another Lehane novel called Live by Night.

4. Andrew Niccol

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I recently did a post on Andrew Niccol films I loved, so it’s no doubt I love this guy’s films. Gattaca is the best film I loved from him. David R pointed out that Niccol might be a better writer than a director. I think that David is correct. However, I admire him for bringing a number dystopian science fiction concepts to the big screen. That’s the kind of science fiction genre I love to read and watch. Execution could be better, but he always gives me a good film to enjoy and provides me with inspiration for writing stories of my own.

5. Darren Aronofsky

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Two of my favorite films from Aronofsky would have to be Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. These two movies are so dark that I feel so emotionally damaged by the time it ends. I also saw the film The Fountain. It’s not one of my favorites, but I do like it after watching it a few more times. I give him much respect and admiration for making movies that can touch on your emotions and mess with your head at times.

I wonder if he is going to make everyone suicidal in his upcoming film Noah. Just kidding, I’m definitely looking forward to see it.

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19 Comments

  1. Shoutout, what what.

    I suppose the appropriate thing to do here is to post our own lists… I could make an effort to get you to swap out Affleck for Clooney, but I suppose “to each his own” applies.

    David Cronenberg – For his intensity, his literacy, and the way that he seems to privately consider all the twisted and weird stuff he puts onscreen as mildly amusing. Insanely smart guy.

    Terry Gilliam – Because he has to fight for every single movie, and every single movie he makes is worth fighting for (Brothers Grimm doesn’t count, and is also not terrible either).

    Steven Spielberg – For obvious reasons. A far better filmmaker than his critics, and even many of his fans, give him credit for. And people give him credit for a lot. He might be the best visual storyteller in the history of the planet, and he also seems like a really nice, thoughtful guy.

    George Lucas – Fearless. Bold. Rebellious. To dismiss this man as a money-grubbing scam artist is to miss the point by a mile. You may not agree with his decisions but they are most certainly ones that make an impact.

    Joss Whedon – Because I struggle to think of someone with more obvious love and reverence for his material and — more importantly — the people he works with.

  2. @Nick –

    Can’t speak for Benny, but personally it’s hard for me to put Kubrick in lists like this because he’s almost not even a filmmaker. He’s like an institution or something.

  3. If I were to include Kubrick, Tarantino, and everyone else here then I might have just made a “Greatest filmmakers of all time list” lol.

    This is more of a personal list of filmmakers who have made films that have influenced me. My favorite films from Kubrick include 2001: A Space Odyssey and Eyes Wide Shut (guilty pleasure I know). Tarantino was going to be a part of his list. I enjoy his films, but I don’t really take inspiration from him regularly.

    Steven Spielberg is an ‘institution’ as well. His works don’t really impact me, but that’s a personal thing.

    Bonus: (Rising directors I feel would make an impact)

    Shane Carruth (Notable for Primer and Upstream Color)
    Duncan Jones (Notable for Moon and Source Code)

  4. I gotcha. Now that I look at the title, I see it didn’t say the best or even ones you admire respect the most, so my bad. Eyes Wide Shut shouldn’t be a guilty pleasure movie. It’s arguably the best and most interesting exploration of monogamy on film, but so many dopes can’t get past the whole cult orgy thing it’s depressing.

  5. Absolutely disgusting. What a pleb-fucking shit of a list. Where is Kubrick? Where is PTA? How about Lumet or Bergman? Or Refn or Lynch?

    And the fact that you put that hack Nolan on there makes me just want to fucking vomit. An outright pleb like yourself has absolutely no right to talk about movies.

  6. Sorry for blowing up your thread, but a few more things:

    Scorcese actually has directed a couple of lighter, even comedic movies. Not as well-known, obviously.

    A list of people who seem like they could be on here, but aren’t and you should check them out extensively if you haven’t or have only seen a couple:
    -Michael Mann (Nolan owes this guy a huge debt, especially and explicitly for Heat)
    -George Clooney (mentioned him already, but man the guy is a good, thoughtful, classical filmmaker)
    -Henri-Georges Clouzot (Holy crap Diabolique is brilliant. The French, and in my opinion superior, version of Hitchcock)
    -Polanski
    -Brian de Palma (ESPECIALLY Blow Out)
    -Also check out Touch of Evil, Army of Shadows, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and the BBC series The Prisoner if you haven’t.

    1. Ooh, I definitely enjoyed Heat. That was such a tense and enjoyable movie. I don’t remember Mann’s other films but I will definitely check them out. Which Clooney film (not as an actor) do you recommend? Enjoyed a couple of Brian de Palma movies too. Untouchables is on my weekend watch list.

      Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll definitely add that to my list!

  7. @Benny
    Heat was great, but he also did Collateral (probably my favorite film of his). He kind of struck out on Miami Vice, but meh, Whedon also had a hand in Alien Resurrection, so I think Mann gets a pass too.

  8. Good grief. Sorry, but this is an awful list, especially given the fact that it’s so short. Look, I can certainly understand how you might respect a particular filmmaker regarding a particular film, but, at least, try to choose someone who isn’t all fanboycentric and expand your horizons.

    That said, I’ll challenge you to invest your time in a little Johnny To.

  9. @Dagny T

    I’ve seen most of his film, but not really a big fan of them. I surprisingly thought I, Robot was meh even if was under my genre of choice. I can understand why other people like Proyas though.

    Totally cool username btw! (that nod to Altas Shrugged)

    @Deke

    I’ve been trying to find some time to watch Collateral. I’ve only seen bits and pieces off it!

    Oh God, Alien Resurrection…

  10. (I, Robot IS meh. Dark City, on the other hand… an all-time favorite for me. Also Alien Resurrection is a blast but I grit my teeth and understand why people think otherwise.)

    Collateral is great; The Insider is better. And Miami Vice is an interesting tone experiment that I don’t expect anybody but myself to really get with, but you can’t win ’em all I suppose.

    George Clooney’s been so freakin’ reliable so far that I would just say pick the one that sounds most interesting to you. Blindly, I’d probably suggest Ides of March, but my personal favorite is the cool, crisp Good Night and Good Luck.

    Also, you’ve seen Scorsese’s Cape Fear, right? That’s a hell of a movie. My favorite of his is Shutter Island, though. Mixed reviews be damned.

  11. Yup Cape Fear was great! I agree with you on Miami Vice.

    Alright, I’ll check Clooney out.

    Wait, you like Shutter Island? That’s one of my favorites. I appreciated the film more too when I read the book. You should read it if you haven’t.

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