When was the last time someone told you a story? The heart of the art of every good director is how they tell a story. It could be a tale recycled for thousands of years, and yet the uniqueness of how each storyteller wove the tale can create something new like never heard before.
Imagine the story of Jack and Jill going up the hill. But not from Jack or Jill’s perspective but an all-seeing narrator, or maybe from a spectator’s point of view of a spectator, or maybe from the memoirs of a speaking hill, could be from Jack and Jill’s reminiscing children or grandchildren. These are only but little creative examples of how a visionary director would think in a revolutionary way.
There are many ways to tell a story these days. Still, only a handful can catch an audience’s full attention, let alone dominate the box office and receive critics’ praises. Nowadays, these stories are told through extraordinary means like producing films in a virtual studio.
If you’re looking to make a mark in the world of filmmaking, here are some groundbreaking directors who have paved the way for this art form:
Victor Flemming
In the 1930s, cinema was relatively young and experimental. Flemming directed an almost 4-hour long film, yet “Gone with the Wind” felt like no hours at all. You know you’ve made it as a director when people are still willing to watch your 4-hour film, even more than a century later.
Orson Welles
Have you ever figured out what “rosebud” really meant? In “Citizen Kane,” which has a definite score of 100% for any film critic, Welles managed to entertain viewers with a glimpse of what it would be like to be ridiculously wealthy. He also successfully left a mystery hanging at the end of the film.
Mystery usually is the plot of a film. This genre or technique keeps the audience attentive. However, “Citizen Kane” was not a mystery movie at all; it’s a poignant rags-to-riches film about heartbreaks and family. Yet it ended with a mystery, hanging, longing. That little peculiarity left the audience bewildered and stapled “Citizen Kane” as one of the best films in history.
William Wyler
“The Best Years of Our Lives” of 1946 is a tale that showcases soldiers who are no longer fighting a physical war but of life’s ordinary, mundane day-to-day struggles. The film is somewhat an anticlimactic reality for veterans who come home after winning a war for their country. Only someone who empathizes, understands, and who’s been through the muck can tell this unique directing perspective. After all, Wyler himself was a WWII veteran.
Some of his notable works include “Roman Holiday,” featuring Audry Hepburn; “Ben Hur”; “Wuthering Heights”; and “Mrs. Miniver”; to name a few. A director who holds a record of 39 Oscar awards, William Wyler must be doing something right.
Christopher Nolan
“The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Inception,” “Interstellar,” “The Prestige,” and “Dunkirk” are just a few of the films to mention, and that itself is an impressive résumé for any director.
Christopher Nolan’s films are equivalent to what it’s like to be soaked under the rain, cold and damp. Yet you get to observe the life surrounding you, appreciate the growth that that rain provides, and experience the realities of life. After experiencing his films, somehow, you feel thankful to be alive.
“Memento” is what put Nolan on the map in which he purposely rearranged the storyboard and disoriented the chronology of the timeline. However, he could still send a clear, logical message that the story made sense to the audience. It leaves the viewer perplexed at first, and then everything falls into place just towards the end. This unique experience would make any ordinary viewer search for the director’s name.
Martin Scorsese
Scorsese offers a fluid and flexible repertoire of movies, from mafia narratives to kid-friendly legendary stories—indeed, a director for toddlers and adults, respectively. His impressive filmography that resonates with adults includes “Taxi Driver,” “Goodfellas,” “The Irishman,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “The Departed,” “Shutter Island,” and “The Aviator.” And then he goes on to make “Shark Tale,” “Hugo,” “The Age of Innocence.”
A completely renowned and celebrated director of our century, Martin Scorsese is a name that’s synonymous with a well-rounded movie experience.
Steven Spielberg
Indeed a crowd favorite who needs no introduction at all. Suppose you need manifestations of Spielberg’s natural talent and eye for storytelling. In that case, these films might help: “E.T.,” “Jaws,” the “Jurassic Park” franchise, “Schindler’s List,” “West Side Story,” the “Indiana Jones” franchise, “Catch Me If You Can,” “Back to the Future,” “Artificial Intelligence,” and the list goes on.
He reminds his audience of the childlike wonder they once had, magic that they once truly believed. And for just a few hours, children and adults alike can believe again.
Quentin Tarantino
Here’s a director that effortlessly and almost as if accidentally sprinkles candid comedy to a rather dark and bloody story. Satisfaction guaranteed; if you want your steak raw with a hint of blood, they might as well get your Tarantino craving fixed.
He will challenge morals and norms, put in some unforgettable drug-fuelled dance sequences, and craft scenes of oddly violent mood swings that end in pure elation and catharsis. He once had the audience’s curiosity, but now he has the world’s undivided attention.
Most consider cinema a widely accepted form of escape; though it can be pretty addictive, it is safe. People owe this remarkable escape to the storytellers who, in their eyes, create an abundance for a cinematic fix. They are geniuses who take us on a trip to their picture palace, entertaining, raw, and unforgivably phenomenal. The world needs more storytellers, for everyone has—and, quite frankly, is—a spectacular story to tell.