We talk often about the great directors of today and tomorrow, but rarely about those of the past, those who influenced the greats we so love today. SO who were the great directors of the classical period in Hollywood, when the studio system made it difficult for them to be artists and individuals, but they found a way? I am talking the period 1920-1960, four decades of filmmaking that is quickly being forgotten, which to me is shameful In no order, here are the ten most important directors working in America during the years 1920-1960 and a brief reason or two why. Consider that many of them went through the war years as volunteers for the United States War Department, often documenting the war for the various divisions of the military. What they saw changed them, made their work darker, with an anger permeating through. With each director is some of their best work. If you have not seen many of them films, get busy, every film you have not seen is a new film, a new experience, and one worth taking. CHARLIE CHAPLIN...Along with Griffith, he was responsible for forging the art of directing, understanding the power of the image more than anyone of his time. Creating a character that only he could play, one that would persevere despite terrible circumstances and bring both joy and pathos to the screen. Chaplin believed audiences would find his message through laughter and tears. He was right in every way. Best work, The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1924), his masterpiece City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936) and The Great Dictator (1940). FRANK CAPRA...The first director to make his actors part of the artistic process, Capra believed films should have a message about the inherent decency he believed existed within mankind. Love thy neighbour was often the main theme in his films, and while they may have aged and are often called Capra-corn, the performances within manage to hold up. He did not handle the years after the war very well, making only one great film, though it is one of the finest ever made, Its A Wonderful Life (1946). Other great ones included It Happened One Night (1934), the haunting lost Horizon (1937) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). BILLY WILDER...Came to the United States before Hitler began conquering Europe and by 1944 was among the finest working in the studios. He moved from genre to genre with apparent ease, though was at his finest with sardonic and dark films with an edge and twisted bit of comedy to them. HIs great gift was finding the nasty humour in the darkest of situations and coaching brilliant work from his actors. Actors with limited ability often did Oscar calibre work for him, trusting him, allowing him to guide them. Double Indemnity (1944), the viciously black Ace in the Hole (1951), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960) and his masterful work of art Sunset Boulevard (1950) are among his finest. JOHN HUSTON...Loved literature and great theatre, so it makes sense that almost all of his works were adapted from other sources. He made a few original films, but preferred adapting great works from the masters. Initially a screenwriter, cutting his teeth through the thirties, he broke through in the forties with the superb film noir The Maltese Falcon (1941) and never looked back. Much more than a director, he was a born adventurer, boxing with Hemingway, going on safari, trekking down the Amazon...he lived larger than life. The man was also a fine actor, with an instantly recognizable voice, brilliant as the villain in Chinatown (1974). In an extraordinary career that spanned more than fifty years, here are some of his best. His masterpiece, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), The Red Badge of Courage (1950), The African Queen (1951), Moby Dick (1956), The Misfits (1960), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), and Prizzis Honor (1985). WILLIAM WYLER...Another man comfortable in any genre, and who could direct, it seemed anything. His stories were real and powerful works, often intimate, though he possessed the ability to make films massive in scope. Understanding both the image and role of actors in his work, he was among the finest of his day and admired and respected by all who knew him. He was among the first American directors to be hailed as an auteur by the French critics and the New Wave. Still the most nominated director of all time with the Academy, with three wins for Best Director. His best, Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Detective Story (1950), Ben Hur (1959), his greatest film, and The Collector (1965). JOHN FORD...He is arguably the greatest American director of this time, known as a poet of the cinema. Four times he won the Oscar as Best director, a feat still not equalled. Ford could do more with an image than most could do with pages of dialogue. Best known for his westerns, he often introduced himself as Name is Ford, I make westerns and loved telling the stories of the American west. Yet he could also make terrific films set in modern day (of that time) or the more recent past. Ford understood life, and portrayed that very thing on the screen. His long friendship with John Wayne brought out the best in each of them. His work during the war was highly respected by the American government, the film he shot often classified as it was so brutally realistic. Though he saw mankind at its worst, he brought both their finest and worst to the screen. So many great films including, Stagecoach (1939), How Green Was My Valley (1941), They Were Expendable (1944), My Darling Clementine (1946), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), The Quiet Man (1952), The Searchers (1956), his greatest film and among the finest westerns ever made, and his last great picture, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). ELIA KAZAN...Brought social realism to the screen, celebrating method acting, bringing to the attention of movie goers talents such as Marlon Brando, James Dean and Karl Malden. Kazan was known as a bi-coastal director, as comfortable directing a film as he was a play, and some of the plays he directed were among the finest of the 20th century. Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams adored the man until his troubles in the fifties, as did actors who understood Kazan could make them better than they had ever been. For a short time he shone so brightly, changing the landscape of American films in the fifties and beyond, and though many see him as having betrayed so many others, no one can deny he was an artist of the highest order. Boomerang (1948), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Viva Zapata! (1952), his masterpiece, On the Waterfront (1954), East of Eden (1955), Baby Doll (1956), A Face in the Crowd (1957) and America, America (1963) are among his very best. HOWARD HAWKS...Like so many of the greats of the past he was comfortable directing any genre, though seemed at his best with westerns and social drama, with the odd comedy thrown in for good measure. Though not recognized as a great artist until the latter half of his career, he remains among the finest directors not to have won an Oscar for Best Director. Again, well liked by actors and the studio chiefs, he was known for being an absolute gentleman on set, gently bringing the best out of his actors. His best, Bringing Up Baby (1937), His Girl Friday (1940), Sgt. York (1941), To Have and Have Not (1944), Red River (1948), possibly his greatest film, and Rio Bravo (1959). ORSON WELLES...Though he made just two truly important films in the years he was directing, one of them changed everything about how films were made, changed the look of films forevermore, and brought to the art so many innovations we still marvel at it today, while the other was a B movie that he elevated to A list status with his direction and fine performance. That is often forgotten about Welles, was just how fine an actor he really was. He was twenty four years old when he directed his first feature film, which remains one of the greatest films ever made, and though his career was a shambles afterwards, no one ever doubted his talents. His best? Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) and Touch of Evil (1958). No doubt I have missed some, no doubt there will be howls of protest that Hitchcock is not among the directors listed, or David Lean, who did his best work in the sixties. Talk to me....
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 12:35:28 +0000
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