In your opinion who are the most influential directors of all time, and why?
The first two that come to mind for me are John Ford and Akira Kurosawa.
In my opinion John Ford was the pioneer of Western genre cinema. Have you ever heard of a movie called Stagecoach? It's a good film, but not amazing. However, it welcomed the most recognized "Cowboy" to the silver screen, Mr. John Wayne. Ford would capitalize on the beautiful landscape the United States had to offer by filming in such places as Monument Valley. Ford would go on to direct some of the most well regarded Westerns, and my personal favorites, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
In my opinion, Akira Kurosawa defined what it meant to create an action epic film. This is evident in his classic Seven Samurai. Have you ever seen the films The Hidden Fortress? The Magnificent Seven, or a Fistful of Dollars? The Hidden Fortress inspired Star Wars, Seven Samurai inspired the Magnificent Seven, and some say Sergio Leone plain ripped off Kurosawa with A Fistful of Dollars. You can thank Kurosawa for introducing America to the action epic.
I am sure there are several other directors who can make this list Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola, etc. However, these two men are at the top of my list.
How about you?
The first two that come to mind for me are John Ford and Akira Kurosawa.
In my opinion John Ford was the pioneer of Western genre cinema. Have you ever heard of a movie called Stagecoach? It's a good film, but not amazing. However, it welcomed the most recognized "Cowboy" to the silver screen, Mr. John Wayne. Ford would capitalize on the beautiful landscape the United States had to offer by filming in such places as Monument Valley. Ford would go on to direct some of the most well regarded Westerns, and my personal favorites, The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.
In my opinion, Akira Kurosawa defined what it meant to create an action epic film. This is evident in his classic Seven Samurai. Have you ever seen the films The Hidden Fortress? The Magnificent Seven, or a Fistful of Dollars? The Hidden Fortress inspired Star Wars, Seven Samurai inspired the Magnificent Seven, and some say Sergio Leone plain ripped off Kurosawa with A Fistful of Dollars. You can thank Kurosawa for introducing America to the action epic.
I am sure there are several other directors who can make this list Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola, etc. However, these two men are at the top of my list.
How about you?
