The man that pioneered Italian neo-realism, perhaps the most important period in Italian cinema history (alongside the Spagehtti Western and the giallo horror periods). His most well known film Rome Open City is even written by Fredrico Fellini, so I have no excuse to have not seen it yet. A beloved and highly important historical icon.
4. Ben Wheatley
This filmmaker is currently dominating British independent cinema and from sheer reputation alone is set to be the definitive British filmmaker of the 2010's. I have a friend who has bombarded me an order to see A Field in England and so due to this, I will probably see a film from this director before any other on this list.
3. Yimou Zhang
It is surprising that Chinese cinema has so little representation on this blog. Zhang is perhaps the most enduring idol of Chinese cinema, outside of the legendary Jackie Chan and the also legendary John Woo. With a a vast and highly varied filmography, Zhang seems like yet another gem of world cinema which I have failed to pay my respects to as of now. And also, Raise the Red Lantern looks absolutely phenomenal from what I have seen of it.
2. Wim Wenders
In retrospect, this director was probably the most egregious snub from my last list. Wim Wenders stands with Werner Herzog as the most influential German director of the last several decades. His filmography is praised beyond rationality and I am honestly shocked that I was not made aware of this filmmaker before recently. When this list was originally sketched out, Wenders was #1. However then I began watching The Story of Film...
1. Carl Theodor Dreyer
Mark Cousins introduced me to so many filmmakers in the first few episodes of his documentary alone. This director, although I had some prior knowledge of The Passion of Joan of Arc, was by far the most fascinating. One of the most influential filmmakers in European history, hell, world history and with a career spanning several decades. Carl Theodor Dreyer was the obvious and indisputable choice to top this list, and I eagerly await tucking into his filmography.
By Jack D. Phillips
A Zoom Film List
Part 3 of 3
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