Akira Kurosawa: Few have captured the tragedy of the human condition on both a large and small scale, in forms both intimate and thoughtful (
Ikiru) and as mass entertainment (
Seven Samurai;
Yojimbo). His masterpiece, for me the definitive cinematic work of art, is 1985's
Ran, a visually awe-inspiring adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear which is simultaneously an intricate character study, a treatise on the corrupting influence of power, and the insignificance of such things against the chaotic, unknowable power of the natural world.
Sergio Leone: Like Kurosawa, Leone had a breathtaking talent for making films of great visual scale, yet where the real stories grow out of the humanity of its characters. Although he eventually grew tired of making Westerns, for those reasons the genre suited him perfectly and he brought a level of artistry to his shot compositions, editing and pacing, often perfectly in time to Ennio Morricone's iconic, subversive scores, which vastly exceeded anything else the genre had to offer. He didn't make many films but five of the six in his two defining trilogies are all-time greats, with only the underwhelming
Duck, You Sucker! (alternatively called
A Fistful Of Dynamite or
Once Upon A Time In The Revolution) failing to hit the mark.
David Lynch: While Lynch may be a master of technical filmmaking on par with anyone America has ever produced, what elevates him above his peers is the quasi-spiritual esotericism of his vision, eschewing literal interpretation for engagement on a more abstract, emotional level. While many of his films and television delve into the deepest recesses of human darkness, at their core is always a profound optimism in the power of good to shine through: what would be cloyingly sentimental in anyone else's hands becomes deeply moving in his - case in point:
Sandy describing her dream of robins in Blue Velvet. If other directors are acclaimed for their mastery in particular genres, Lynch's films are so distinctive as to be a de facto genre of their own. To call
Blue Velvet a noir thriller,
Twin Peaks a murder mystery, or
The Straight Story a dramatic road movie scarcely scratches the surface of their depths: only calling them David Lynch films tells you anything that matters about them, which also tells you everything you need to know about him.
