The Widdershins

I’m still youtube hobbled, so today we’ll celebrate the best directors.  They can be American, foreign, film, stage or whatever you like.  Over the past century, directors have had an increasing impact on shaping artistic ventures – some have redefined their chosen area.  Some have actually become iconic.  However, I was stunned to see that some of my favorite films were directed by people of whom I’ve never heard.  That’s the way it seems to be with directors – they appear to have a huge impact, or none whatsoever.  Here are my favorite five, in no particular order.

(1) Alfred Hitchcock (1889-1980):  Dubbed “The master of suspense”, Hitchcock had a way of getting people to his films, then keeping them on the edge of their seats.  He is a true icon, and is credited with such nightmarish classics as North by Northwest, Rear Window, and The Birds.

(2) Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999):  Oh, my God.  Clockwork Orange was a masterpiece.  Then there was The Shining, and Eyes Wide Shut.  With a Kubrick film, all senses are on deck.

(3) Martin Scorsese (1942-):  Much of his work is in the gangster genre, and he manages to almost beautify violence, if such a thing is possible.  Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas will be discussed for decades.

(4) Steven Spielberg (1946- ):  This fabulous director gave us Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Duel, and The Sugarland Express.  He is deft, elegant, and can pull off practically anything.

(5) Billy Wilder (1906-2002):  Billy Wilder had a positive talent for transforming characters that were, on a good day, losers into people who audiences loved.  His male leads spent most of the film digging themselves out of self-imposed impossible situations.  The Lost Weekend, Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, and The Apartment are some of my favorites.

Let’s hear it for the directors in this otherwise open thread.