Top 10 All Time Favourite Film Directors

So an even more important role than a distributor, studio, actors and actresses is no doubt the directors. They are the people that get the ball rolling in making films. They are the ones that are willing to show the world their work and its up to them on how things should play out. In other words, they are in charge of it all. Obviously they would report to the producers who have a much higher role than them (which I will list my favourites of another time), but otherwise, they are the ones that make the films and work the hardest out of everyone involved and these are my top 10 favourites. For this list, the directors are ones that I have seen the works of and for the most part, do a pretty decent job of it and have had more success than failures. Even some of their films may have made it onto my all time favourite films list. So let's list them down:

10 - Edgar Wright (Three Flavour Cornetto Trilogy, Scott Pilgrim VS The World etc.)

For those of you who don't know, Edgar Wright was the guy whom without him, we wouldn't have got the hugely successful Three Flavour Cornetto Trilogy. This guy is able to make what would be quite boring things, into something quite epic and action packed. He likes doing fast shots of things and is generally able to make anything great. He may not be the biggest or most well known of the directors on this list, but he has had much success with his films which aren't perfect, but a lot of people do enjoy them. This is one guy who's work you need your eyes on all the time because once you blink, it all ends. That's how many people found it difficult to find cameos in his films such as Peter Jackson in Hot Fuzz (the Santa Claus dressed thief). And speaking of Jackson...

9 - Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong (2005) etc.)

Since doing the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson has gone on to be more than just a director. He's a producer, a writer and helped put New Zealand on the map as a top place to go as seen in the Middle-Earth films that he has done. But its only those films that he has done as he also did the Univseral King Kong remake, the original of which was the film that got him thinking about making films for a living. While the majority of his films are quite long, unlike Michael Bay, there is always a reason for it. Lord of the Rings were all very long books so the films had to reflect that while also allowing Jackson to make them his own. The Hobbit may have been just one short book, but Jackson made the 3 long films to have them connect to the Lord of the Rings films while also expanding upon much of Tolkien's work because that was the last adaptation that he was offered to do. And as for King Kong, that I will say you could've made shorter, but I will let it pass because its just one of the most visually impressive films that we have had in recent years even if it was only set out to be a stand alone film. But he has also done other work too, like setting up his company Weta Workshop and setting up a place in New Zealand for up and coming film makers to work on their films. This man is one very busy man, I have to say and I respect him for all he has given to the world.

8 - Tim Burton (Batman (1989), The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow etc.)

A bit of a hit and miss is Tim Burton. Many of his films have had a mixed response with just how weird and odd that they are, not to mention that some of his films look a bit messed up too. Often collaborating with his now divorced wife Helena Bonham Carter (from what Wikipedia is telling me) and best friend Johnny Depp, he has made films like Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Alice in Wonderland (most recent live action Disney one), Corpse Bride, Peewee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, the first 2 Batman films of the original trilogy, Mars Attacks! and of course, the Nightmare Before Christmas (which despite his name being all over it, he didn't direct it). Some of his films are great, others not so much. But when you want someone to create a dark and twisted fantasy film, he's your guy. Just don't expect the film to be a great film.

7 - James Cameron (Terminator, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar etc.)

Better known to many as the guy who has given us a number of big and very successful films, James Cameron has managed to make great use of the technology available to him to make great films. He started the Terminator films (which were always intended to be only 2 films and never into the franchise that it is today) and he also made Titanic and Avatar which both were great films in their own rights and helped the way we see films today. Avatar was among the first of the films to use the current 3D technology and as such, is mostly viewed by many as an experience and a great way to be introduced to 3D films. He also did his own take in the Alien film Aliens and has contributed to the Rambo and Piranha films too. He has experienced many things as a film maker and has made great films that many of us could see as nothing more than just a breakthrough in technology and the way films can be made.

6 - Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception etc.)

So since I watched the Dark Knight Trilogy, the only thing I have to say is that Nolan is a great film maker. He may not have been a true film maker like Peter Jackson and James Cameron, but his commitment to the film industry has made him to be quite the experimenter. This has shown in films like Inception where he explores the idea of having a dream in a dream in a dream, The Dark Knight Trilogy where he takes Batman to a whole new level and makes him modern and more recently Interstellar which asks the question "Is there more than one Earth?". I like that in a film maker. Its makes them unique and makes people interested in what they do and what ideas they choose to explore. Why can't all film makers be like this? It would make films so much better, especially those made by the Bay.

5 - Joss Whedon (Serinity, Avengers Assemble etc.)

So unlike many film makers, Joss Whedon somehow has the ability to make all the characters that are in his films and TV shows, interesting and unique while also giving us great entertainment to go with it. Its the reason why so many of his shows and films are successful (well most of them anyway) and I think when Firefly got cancelled, that was a real bummer to a lot of us, but over the years, Joss Whedon has shown that even if things don't look good, he will always make things successful in whatever form of media that he does. Its why shows like Buffy, Angel and Firefly were successful as were his films Serinity and the contributions he has done for the Marvel Cinematic Universe which he in turn, helped shape up.

4 - Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Pacific Rim etc.)

Known for his dark fantasy films as well as his contributions to nerd culture, this Mexican film maker knows how to make nerds everywhere, have a good time. He is actually also quite creative in his films in the sense that he has a close connection with fairy tales and horror and he also sees monsters as beings of great power. That creativity goes into the films he makes and the films he makes, are all great. Some of his most notable works include Hellboy and its sequel, Pacific Rim and Pan's Labyrinth while he has also been a producer for many of the DreamWorks Animation films and also played a part in the creation of the Hobbit film trilogy. He is one guy with a mind full of imagination and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

3 - Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Dail M for Murder, Lifeboat etc.)

Now we come to a director who is long dead, but has left a long legacy behind. The master of suspense is Alfred Hitchcock here as he has made over 50 films spanning over 6 decades and in that time, he has made a huge number of suspense and psychological films, all of which have made him one of the greatest British film makers that ever lived. Among his many films, the notable ones that I personally would like to mention are Psycho, Dial M for Murder, Lifeboat and Vertigo which are among the ones that he is best known for making. His legacy will live on and he is without a doubt as everyone has said, The Master of Suspense.

2 - Stanley Kubrick (The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey etc.)

One of the most influential directors that ever lived, Stanley Kubrick is one film maker who likes to perfect things and make all his films visionary. He is a genius at what he does and many of us will know him for bringing us 2001: A Space Odyssey, his take on The Shining, his contribution to A.I. Artificial Intelligence, the controversial A Clockwork Orange and the overly sexual Eyes Wide Shut. He is one visionary director who knows his stuff and has left behind a legacy that would change the way films are today.

A few special mentions to Quentin Tarantino who I haven't seen any films of his but have heard good things about this master of dialogue, George Lucas who despite being too much of a perfectionist is still a pretty good film maker (even if the Star Wars prequels mostly sucked) and Zach Snyder who's films I enjoy but do find his visionary style to be questionable. Now onto my number one choice and believe me, its was going to be him one way or the other.

1 - Stephen Spielberg (Jurassic Park, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, Jaws etc.)

Mr. Spielberg here is one of the reasons why I love watching films. He is the one that was a pioneer in Hollywood film making and the industry wouldn't be where it is today without the help of this great film maker (as well as those that I've mentioned before). Tackling a series of genres, making films for over 4 decades and oversaw the golden age of cartoons, this man has been involved in a lot of things. Among the notable works he has done, there's Jurassic Park, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, Jaws, Animaniacs, Indiana Jones (collaboration with George Lucas), Hook, Schneider's List, Saving Private Ryan and has worked with other people on their projects which include Back to the Future (with Robert Zemeckis), the horrible Transformers (with the Bay), Gremlins (with Joe Dante) and The Goonies (with Richard Donner). He's a big name in the industry and everyone likes him and his work and while some of his work isn't perfect, he does manage to capture what is the magic of film making and all of that, makes him my number one all time favourite director.