Top 10 Most Influential Directors of All Time

What did you think of the list? Do you disagree with any of our picks? Feel like we left out or mis-represented any of directors? Who do you think are the best new directors out there? Who do you think are the most underrated directors? Who are the most overrated?

What other topics would you like to see us cover in future editions of CineFix Movie Lists?

Let us know in the comments!

THE LIST

Technological Innovation - The Lumiere Brothers
It doesn’t get much more innovative then 2 of the guys who invented filmmaking.

Minority Filmmaking - Spike Lee
He tackles race issues without fear.

Creating the Epic - Steven Spielberg
Summers have never been quite the same since Spielberg made going to the movies feel like an event.

Bringing Foreign Film to the World - Akira Kurosawa
Using film to successfully blend traditional Samurai stories and Japanese film with the American Western.

Innovations in Film Theorie & Technique - Sergei Eisenstein
The man who really defined montage in film.

Independent Cinema - Jean Luc Godard
His indie films break all the rules and make us think differently about how we see film.

Perfecting Technique - Alfred Hitchcock
He used his deep understanding of his audience to manipulate them at every turn.

Inspiring Generations pt1 - Orson Welles
Took all the best parts of film and meshed them together with an unmatched brilliance.

Inspiring Generations pt 2 - John Ford
He’s a man who influenced the influencers with his filmmaking.

Early Film Pioneer - DW Griffith
He is why people realized you could use film to tell a whole story.

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[rfuaonl]

lol "Mr Ford... How did you shoot that?" "With a camera" what a troll answer

[JohnSpawn]

If I'm not mistaken, Chaplin wasn't mentioned. Fellini once called him "a sort of Adam from whom we all descended". But then again, influence is way too hard to determine and your arguments for your picks always sound reasonable, so another interesting list. Keep on making these lists.

[sarvajeetmukherjee]

Any list without Andrei Tarkovsky is incomplete ! Bergman spoke of him as being the greatest director ever . He was a Poet, The Poet of Modern Cinema . He was not merely a director, he was a theorist who introduced new grammatical rules into film making and took film making into an entirely different dimension . Cinema, as he defined, was a 'mosaic in time' . And if Tarkovsky has not influenced film making, who has ! He influenced the likes of Lars Von Triers .

[caseyhofses]

people... the list says "most influential" NOT "best of all time" chill

[nicobozzo]

Charlie Chaplin impactful, innovative, original in silent and talkies

[AidanIsThisGuy]

You mentioned Tyler Perry, but you didn't pick Kubrick.
*You mentioned Tyler Perry, but you didn't pick Kubrick.*
*YOU MENTIONED TYLER PERRY, BUT YOU DIDN'T PICK KUBRICK.*

[NATESOR]

I for one think it's entirely reasonable to elevate tom hanks to an element of cinema.

[MikeydeLaraCovers]

"2001: A Space Odyssey" inspires Lucas, Spielberg, Coppola, Scorsese, and a bunch of other directors to blow away what the perceived limits of storytelling in the form of motion pictures.

"The Shining" horrifies audiences to this day and is considered on of the top 3 all time films in its genre.

"Full Metal Jacket" is one of the top war movies that's ever filmed.

All of his movies continue to go deeper with every viewing and he is considered to be one of the most underrated, under appreciated directors during his lifetime and after it.

So, yeah... I think Stanley Kubrick's influence on the form should have cracked the top 10 of people who have ever done the gig... What was he, 11?

[vonage]

Hey John, how did you shoot that? - "with a camera." haha that's gangsta

[AyinVillagra]

Walt Disney. I don't know if he counts as a "director" but he's by far one of the most influencial filmmakers of all time.

[satcousin]

You should have at least given a mention to Andrei Tarkovsky.

[PriyankaSadhukhan]

"Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the Sun or the Moon"
~ Kurosawa on Satyajit Ray

[joshuafry]

Love how you start the list talking about diversity with Spike Lee, and then end it with the guy who directed Birth of a Nation.

[mjanderson]

I love that you guys put D.W. Griffith on the list. People always point out how offensive his films are instead of realizing how many directors use the techniques that he discovered over 100 years ago.

[antonk]

*Interviewer:* "But surely, monsieur Goddard, you believe a film must at least have a beginning, middle and end?"





*Goddard:* "Yes, but not necessarily in that order."

[tify]

how about a top 10 best/influential films by country? heres a few to start off with: french, italian, spanish, german, chinese, japanese and brazillian

[iTzAtaXi]

Could you do top 10 BEST directors of all time

Cause I'm missing

[RiddLs]

I love Kubrick, he's one of the bests of all time and I expected him to be on this list, but god his fanboys can be incredibly annoying

[crozraven]

I love they don't do mainstream choice and I can honestly say I don't exactly know the directors in half of this list

[alexfrachetta]

I miss Sergio Leone. He's truly inspiring for almost all the best directors of today.