The power of cinema is able to transcend audiences in magical ways and there’s still so much reverence that’s held towards movies and the experience of cinema. It’s exciting to see how the medium has evolved over the past few decades and what trends have been able to push filmmakers forward or shine a light on gems of classic cinema.
Many new directors have come forward as ambitious visionaries that want to help cinema evolve in addition to just making quality movies. Some of these directors find their niche and never leave it, but it’s even more impressive when filmmakers attack a more diverse filmography that illustrates just how accomplished they are.
10 Danny Boyle Has Tackled Everything From Horror To Musical Fantasies
Danny Boyle has become one of the most unpredictable working filmmakers, yet also a director that consistently garners Academy Award attention for his cinematic contributions. One of Boyle's most popular works is his iconic contribution to the zombie genre, 28 Days Later and, yet his raw meditation on drugs in Trainspotting hits even harder.
Boyle continually proves his versatility through projects like Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Steve Jobs, and the bizarre Beatles pastiche picture, Yesterday. All of these movies are tonally unique and show that Boyle is fearless when it comes to genre.
9 Ridley Scott Is Far More Than Just A Sci-Fi Savant
Ridley Scott gets reduced to just an important science fiction filmmaker due to how he kicked off the prolific Alien franchise, only to return to it decades later, as well as his work on Blade Runner. These movies solidify Scott's status as a sci-fi legend, but he's directed over 50 movies that really cover the whole spectrum.
Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Black Hawk Down are more aggressive action territory, whereas Matchstick Men is a con artist masterpiece and Hannibal is a disturbing character study. He’s a director that’s driven by story and not afraid of what genre it necessitates.
8 Ang Lee Is Fearless When It Comes to Genre & The Medium Of Film
Ang Lee is such an important name because nearly all of his movies subscribe to different genres. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a formative martial arts movie, but it couldn't be more different than Sense and Sensibility or Ride With the Devil. Hulk has Ang Lee attack a heady superhero movie before they were the norm, while movies like Brokeback Mountain and Lust, Caution are incendiary love stories.
Lee's most recent work shows his fascination with the technological advancements in film, with Gemini Man and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk explicitly experimenting with frame rate.
7 Each Of Stanley Kubrick’s Films Masters A Different Type Of Cinema
There are few directors, living or deceased, that have as sterling of a reputation as Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick's filmography is limited to around only a dozen movies, but it's remarkable how each one is a unique masterpiece.
The Shining and 2001: A Space Odyssey are two of Kubrick's biggest triumphs and still considered to be top sci-fi and horror films, respectively. Full Metal Jacket is an unflinching war film that approaches the subject matter entirely differently than the satirical Dr. Strangelove. Eyes Wide Shut and Lolita both unpack romance and relationships, but they also couldn't be more unique.
6 P.T. Anderson Chronicles Broken Figures, Regardless Of Genre
The movies of P.T. Anderson embody a similar intensity, but they still cover incredibly different subject matter. Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love couldn't be more different, both in tone and style. The later films in Anderson's career have only become more grandiose, like There Will Be Blood and The Master.
That being said, Inherent Vice is a borderline romp and leans into Anderson's more comedic sensibilities. The one common factor between Anderson’s movies is his meticulousness as a filmmaker, and his tendency to focus on flawed characters who don’t realize the extent of their pain and helplessness.
5 Denis Villeneuve Is A Major Talent Who’s Reinventing Genre Staples
Denis Villeneuve is a director who has only really popped over the past decade, but it's amazing how much content he's put out in this time and the major opportunities that he's earned for himself. The gritty nature of Prisoners and Sicario helped define the beginning of Villeneuve's career, but he increasingly shows that unusual and visually challenging stories are where his passions lie.
Villeneuve has definitely carved out a corner in the science fiction genre for himself with Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and the upcoming Dune. However, these are all markedly different interpretations of sci-fi.
4 Edgar Wright’s Eclectic Film Career Is Only Getting Started
Edgar Wright is one of the newer names on this list and his directorial credits aren’t as robust as some of these other filmmakers, but each one of Wright’s movies highlight a different genre of film. Very pointedly, Wright’s “Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy” tackles three different genres— horror, action, and science fiction— all to stylistic perfection.
Wright’s Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is a stunning comic book adaptation that also doubles as a love letter to video games. Baby Driver only continues this level of creativity and his upcoming Last Night in Soho displays even more freshness from Wright.
3 Martin Scorsese Cut His Teeth With Crime Films, But Is Far More Than That
Martin Scorsese is a name that's practically synonymous with film and he's a director that's earned this reputation. The earlier films from Scorsese's career establish him as an excellent director of crime and gangster movies. Scorsese routinely returns to this genre, but it's by no means all that he's capable of doing.
After Hours is an absurdist comedy. Hugo is a sprawling fantasy epic for children in stunning 3D. Raging Bull is a formative sports movie. Add to this movies like The Color of Money, his remake of Cape Fear, and the Aviator, and it's a career that's hard to top.
2 Steven Spielberg’s Reputation Has Let Him Master Many Genres
With over 50 films under his belt, Steven Spielberg is a name that's indispensable to the film industry. If anything, Spielberg's sentimental Amblin attitude defines many of his movies more than a particular genre. Spielberg's more recent films have lost a bit of their edge, but movies like The Post and Bridge of Spies highlight that he's still serious.
The Indiana Jones series, War of the Worlds, Minority Report, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Jaws, The Color Purple, and Hook could not be more different, yet they only represent only a fraction of Spielberg's cinematic contributions.
1 Takashi Miike Has Directed Over 100 Movies & Tackled Every Genre Imaginable
The film output of Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike is almost impossible to contemplate. Miike has directed over 100 features and there’s still no end in sight for him. Miike is most commonly known for his ultra-gory horror films like Audition or Ichi the Killer. Miike loves to play in this exaggerated zone, but he’s also made just as many films for children and families.
Miike is also one of the few directors that can successfully adapt anime and manga into faithful live-action movies. Horror, science fiction, romance, westerns. Miike has done it all, even managing to pull off a live-action movie based on the over-the-top Phoenix Wright series of video games.