Directors
While many of these directors have had a lot of influence as producers, I'm only going to list credits where they directed. For the most part, I've left franchises with a single entry (rather than ranking and excluding films within that franchise).
Clint is simply amazing. I can't believe that he's still going. He was a good actor but as a director, he's sublime. I love his more recent work particularly as the stories don't always go where I expect them to go and somehow he manages to squeeze deep emotion out of every scene.
Favourite films: Gran Torino, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, Sully, The Mule, Space Cowboys, Sudden Impact, Absolute Power, Play Misty for Me, Firefox, Flags of our Fathers
James Cameron seems to be able to do no wrong. It used to be said that "No sequel is ever as good as the original unless James Cameron is involved". He's an incredible writer and director and for some reason, his best work apparently comes to him in dreams. I love that his films tend to favour blue. It's funny but everyone seems to doubt him until his films come out. It doesn't make sense to bet against Jim.
Favourite films: Terminator II, Aliens, Titanic, Avatar, Terminator, True Lies, The Abyss, Ghosts of the Abyss,
It's probably not fair to have George Lucas in this list because he's not always a "director", more of a creative force. Obviously I like Star Wars - All of them. I like the spin-offs (except for the holiday special) and I like THX-1138 and American Graffitti. His involvement with Indiana Jones was also pretty impressive. It's interesting that so many people were so horrible to him about the Star Wars prequels but as it turns out, Disney has completely mishandled the franchise.
Favourite films: Star Wars, THX-1138 (Director's Cut), American Graffiti
Steven Spielberg would be one of my favourite directors if he only kept to a few films (his best ones). Unfortunately, by being so prolific, he increases the likelihood of duds. His earlier films are much, much better than his later ones.
Favourite films: Indiana Jones, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Duel, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Saving Private Ryan, E.T., Schindler's List, A.I, Hook, War Horse.
I wonder how different Ridley's career would have been if he'd done Doctor Who instead of Alien (He was originally slated for Doctor Who but then Alien came along. I wonder if this would have had a positive or negative effect on Doctor Who? In any case, Ridley has had a string of great flicks, and some duds like 1492 but I feel he completely lost it with his most recent Alien flick.
Favourite films: Alien, Blade Runner, Prometheus, Kingdom of Heaven (Director's Cut), Gladiator, The Martian.
I'd never heard of Lars until I watched "Breaking the Waves" and the equally awesome "Dancer in the Dark". Both films are harrowing and you can't emerge from them unscathed. His work isn't universally great, certainly the Idiots didn't do a lot for me but one thing is for sure, you'll always find something that lingers on. Lars is one of the dark horses of cinema.
Favourite films: Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Anti-Christ, Dogville, Nymphomaniac, Melancholia, The Kingdom
Peter is one of those people who put out quite a bit of great work before anyone noticed him. For me, it was the Frighteners that made me take notice. Obviously Lord of the Rings is his unbeatable masterwork, though the Hobbit didn't measure up to those standards. King Kong and The Lovely Bones did little for me either but earlier works are great and his influence as a producer seems to stretch a long, long way.
Favourite films: Lord of the Rings, The Frighteners, The Hobbit, King Kong, Braindead, Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, Heavenly Creatures, The Lovely Bones
One of the biggest problems with Guillermo is that he gets himself attached to everything ... and then leaves it without completing the work. It's frustrating. That said, his work on the two Hellboy films is amazing, as was Pan's Labyrinth. I can't really say much about Crimson Peak but at least with Pacific Rim, he demonstrated the difference between a storytelling approach and Michael (explosion) Bay's approach. Still waiting for him to do the Mountains of Madness.
Favourite films: Pan's Labyrinth, The Shape of Water, The Devil's Backbone, Hellboy, Mimic, Pacific Rim, Blade II, Cronos, The Strain, Crimson Peak