1. Steven Spielberg
Things I loved as a kid: sharks, aliens, dinosaurs, whip-cracking adventure and above all, movies. From the age of 6, Spielberg was my childhood hero, and I'm not sure that many children tend to idolise filmmakers. Of course, his films continued to resonate as a teenager and an adult most of all, among others, Schindler's List, a truly remarkable picture and the high water mark of his artistry, and Saving Private Ryan, which equally demonstrates his unique talents. One of his earlier films that has only grown in power as I've gotten older is Close Encounters, an alien film that taps into feelings of awe and wonderment instead of the usual fear. Though his oeuvre isn't without its flaws - notably Hook and 1941, it is also one which masterfully touches upon a number of genres and styles and constantly straddles huge commercial appeal with artistic integrity. Basically, the Beatles of cinema.
2. Stanley Kubrick
Stanley. Fucking. Kubrick. If not for my huge personal affinity for my number 1 choice, surely he would sit atop this list. He divided opinion like no other, neither a critical darling nor a huge commercial success, he is more the filmmakers director and certainly one of the greatest of all time.
3. Martin Scorsese
Watch Mean Streets. Then watch Taxi Driver. Then watch Raging Bull. Of course then there are his bigger more recent films, Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York and The Departed, which finally won him an Oscar. But then there is a wealth of brilliance in his lesser-known pictures as well, The King of Comedy, The Last Temptation of Christ, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Bringing Out the Dead. That's not forgetting his music documentaries...
4. John Cassavetes
The godfather of American independent cinema. Funded his independent pictures (Shadows, Faces, Opening Night, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Woman Under the Influence) through his acting day-job and it is these, aided by a cast of regulars that include his wife Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzarra, Seymour Cassel, and Peter Falk, that stand out today as his absolute best. Always pushing the limits of cinema (see the shaky, often sped-up Shadows and the unfalteringly uncomfortable closeups in Faces) , he moved against the grain of Hollywood, choosing to shoot scenes in order as opposed to whichever was cheapest, using a skeleton crew, writing all his films and editing them in his house. Check out his appearance with Gazzara and Falk on the Dick Cavett show on youtube, it's hiiiiiiilarious.
5.Paul Thomas Anderson
With only 5 films under his belt, Paul Thomas Anderson is a newcomer to cinema compared to the veterans listed above. However, he has had what can only be described as an astonishing career so far. He is a master with actors, often surrounding himself with a cast of regulars including Julianne Moore, John. C Reilly, Luis Guzman, Philip Baker Hall, and of course the always brilliant Philip Seymour Hoffman. In Magnolia he used Tom Cruise's fame and screen presence to great effect as a pitiful sex guru, whilst in Punch-Drunk Love he played with the Adam Sandler screen-persona. He would not be on this list however, if not for his latest picture There Will Be Blood, which I consider to be a career-best and one of the greatest films I have seen in a very long time. I can't wait to see what he is going to next.
Honourable mentions go to Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, Francis Ford Coppola, Orson Welles, David Lean, Terrence Mallick, Woody Allen and Joel and Ethan Coen.
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