Film director
A film director is a person who directs the
making of a film. Generally, a film director
controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects,
and visualizes the script while guiding the
technical crew and actors in the fulfillment
of that vision. The director has a key role
in choosing the cast members, production design,
and the creative aspects of filmmaking. In
some European countries, the director is viewed
as the author of the film.
Responsibilities
Film directors create an overall vision through
which a film eventually becomes realized.
Realizing this vision includes overseeing
the artistic and technical elements of film
production, as well as directing the shooting
timetable and meeting deadlines. This entails
organizing the film crew in such a way as
to achieve his or her vision of the film.
This requires skills of group leadership,
as well as the ability to maintain a singular
focus even in the stressful, fast-paced environment
of a film set. Moreover it is necessary to
have an artistic eye to frame shots and to
give precise feedback to cast and crew, thus,
excellent communication skills are a must.
Since the film director depends on the successful
cooperation of many different creative individuals
with possibly strongly contradicting artistic
ideals and visions, he or she also needs to
possess conflict resolution skills in order
to mediate whenever necessary. Thus the director
ensures that all individuals involved in the
film production are working towards an identical
vision for the completed film. The set of
varying challenges he or she has to tackle
has been described as "a multi-dimensional
jigsaw puzzle with egos and weather thrown
in for good measure". It adds to the pressure
that the success of a film can influence when
and how they will work again. Omnipresent
are the boundaries of the films budget. Additionally,
the director may also have to ensure an intended
age rating. Theoretically the sole superior
of a director is the studio that is financing
the film, however a poor working relationship
between a film director and an actor could
possibly result in the director being replaced
if the actor is a major film star. Even so,
it is arguable that the director spends more
time on a project than anyone else, considering
that the director is one of the few positions
that requires intimate involvement during
every stage of film production. Thus, the
position of film director is widely considered
to be a highly stressful and demanding one.
It has been said that "20-hour days are not
unusual".
Under European Union law, the film director
is considered the "author" or one of the authors
of a film, largely as a result of the influence
of auteur theory. Auteur theory is a film
criticism concept that holds that a film director's
film reflects the director's personal creative
vision, as if they were the primary "auteur"
(the French word for "author"). In spite of—and
sometimes even because of—the production
of the film as part of an industrial process,
the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough
to shine through studio interference and the
collective process.
Career pathways
Some film directors started as screenwriters,
film editors or actors. Other film directors
have attended a film school to "get formal
training and education in their craft". Film
students generally study the basic skills
utilized in making a film. This includes,
for example, preparation, shot lists and storyboards,
blocking, protocols of dealing with professional
actors, and reading scripts. Some film schools
are equipped with sound stages and post-production
facilities. Besides basic technical and logistical
skills, students also receive education on
the nature of professional relationships that
occur during film production. A full degree
course can be designed for up to five years
of studying. Future directors usually complete
short films during their enrolment. The National
Film School of Denmark has the student's final
projects presented on national TV. Some film
schools retain the rights for their students'
works. Many directors successfully prepared
for making feature films by working in television.
The German Film and Television Academy Berlin
consequently cooperates with the Berlin/Brandenburg
TV station RBB (Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting)
and ARTE.
A handful of top directors made from $13 M
to $257 M in 2011, such as James Cameron and
Steven Spielberg. The average movie director
makes a lot less. In May 2011, the average
US film director made $92,220.
Characteristics
Different directors can vary immensely amongst
themselves, under various characteristics.
Several examples are:
Those who outline a general plotline and let
the actors improvise dialogue. Notable examples
include Ingmar Bergman, Christopher Guest,
Wong Kar-wai, Spike Lee, Wim Wenders, Mike
Leigh, Barry Levinson, Jean-Luc Godard, Miklós
Jancsó, Gus Van Sant, Judd Apatow, Terrence
Malick, Jay and Mark Duplass, and occasionally
Robert Altman, Sergio Leone and Federico Fellini.
Those who control every aspect, and demand
that the actors and crew follow instructions
precisely. Notable examples include David
Lean, Akira Kurosawa, Steven Spielberg, Ridley
Scott, Victor Fleming, James Cameron, George
Lucas, Stanley Kubrick, Sidney Lumet, Christopher
Nolan, David Fincher, Guillermo del Toro and
Alfred Hitchcock.
Those who write their own screenplays. Notable
examples include Woody Allen, Werner Herzog,
Alejandro Jodorowsky, John Cassavetes, Ingmar
Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino,
James Cameron, George Lucas, J. F. Lawton,
David Cronenberg, Charlie Chaplin, Billy Wilder,
Ed Wood, David Lynch, the Coen brothers, Francis
Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Pier Paolo Pasolini,
Pedro Almodóvar, John Hughes, Nick Park,
Edward Burns, Kevin Smith, Todd Field, Cameron
Crowe, Terrence Malick, Oren Peli, Eli Roth,
Paul Thomas Anderson, Guillermo del Toro,
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Oliver Stone, John
Singleton, Spike Lee, Orson Welles, Akira
Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki, M. Night Shyamalan,
Paul Haggis, Billy Bob Thornton, James Wong,
Tyler Perry, Robert Rodriguez, Christopher
Nolan, George A. Romero, Sergio Leone, Satyajit
Ray, Joss Whedon and David O. Russell. Steven
Spielberg and Sidney J. Furie have written
screenplays for a small number of their films.
Those who collaborate on screenplays with
long-standing writing partners. Notable examples
include Alejandro González Iñárritu and
Guillermo Arriaga, Elia Kazan and Tennessee
Williams, Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown/Tony
Grisoni, Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson/Noah
Baumbach, Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, Martin
Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi/Paul Schrader/Jay
Cocks, Yasujirō Ozu and Kôgo Noda, Peter
Jackson and Fran Walsh, Alexander Payne and
Jim Taylor, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale,
Luis Buñuel and Jean-Claude Carrière/Luis
Alcoriza, Krzysztof Kieślowski/Krzysztof
Piesiewicz, Frank Capra/Robert Riskin, Michelangelo
Antonioni/Tonino Guerra, Billy Wilder/I.A.L.
Diamond, Sergio Leone and Sergio Donati, Guillermo
del Toro and Matthew Robbins, and Christopher
Nolan/Jonathan Nolan/David S. Goyer.
Those who edit and/or shoot their own films.
Notable examples include Nicolas Roeg, Akira
Kurosawa, Peter Hyams, Steven Soderbergh,
Josef von Sternberg, David Lean, Don Coscarelli,
Charlie Chaplin, Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron,
Ed Wood, Gaspar Noe, Tony Kaye, Takeshi Kitano,
Andy Warhol, Shinya Tsukamoto, Kenneth Anger,
the Coen brothers.
Those who appear in their films. Notable examples
include Clint Eastwood, Orson Welles, Mel
Gibson, Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson, John
Waters, John Carpenter, Spike Lee, Tyler Perry,
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kevin Costner, Kenneth
Anger, Woody Allen, Jon Favreau, Quentin Tarantino,
Eli Roth, Michael Bay, Mel Brooks, Ben Stiller,
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Charlie Chaplin, Terry
Jones, Edward Burns, Pier Paolo Pasolini,
Sam Raimi, Roman Polanski, Billy Bob Thornton,
Sylvester Stallone, M. Night Shyamalan, Harold
Ramis, Robert De Niro, John Woo, Kevin Smith,
Warren Beatty, Kenneth Branagh and Ed Wood.
Alfred Hitchcock, Abel Ferrara, Shawn Levy,
Edgar Wright and Spike Jonze made cameo appearances
in their films.
Those who compose the music score for their
films. Notable examples include Charlie Chaplin,
Clint Eastwood, David Lynch, Alejandro Jodorowsky,
John Carpenter, Alejandro Amenábar, Satyajit
Ray, Robert Rodriguez, Tom Tykwer and Vishal
Bhardwaj.
Another way to categorize directors is by
their membership in a "school" of filmmaking,
such as the French New Wave, the British New
Wave or the New Hollywood school of filmmakers.
Professional organizations
In the United States, directors usually belong
to the Directors Guild of America. The Canadian
equivalent is the Directors Guild of Canada.
In the UK, directors usually belong to Directors
UK or the Directors Guild of Great Britain.
In Europe, FERA, the Federation of European
Film Directors, represents 37 national directors'
guilds in 30 countries.
Notable individuals
For each director, one notable film that they
directed is given as an example of their work.
The chosen film may be their film which won
the highest awards or it may be one of their
best-known movies.
J.J. Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness - 2013)
Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone - 2007)
Woody Allen (Annie Hall - 1977)
Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother - 1999)
Robert Altman (MASH - 1970)
Lindsay Anderson (if.... - 1968)
Michael Anderson (The Dam Busters - 1955)
Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights - 1997)
Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums - 2001)
Theodoros Angelopoulos (Eternity and a Day
- 1998)
Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose
- 1986)
Sathyan Anthikad (Rasathanthram - 2006)
Michelangelo Antonioni (L'Avventura - 1960)
Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin - 2005)
Andrea Arnold (Red Road - 2006)
Dario Argento (Inferno - 1980)
Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream - 2000)
Dorothy Arzner (The Bride Wore Red - 1937)
Richard Attenborough (Gandhi - 1982)
Mario Bava (Lisa and the Devil - 1972)
Michael Bay (Armageddon - 1998)
Ingmar Bergman (Wild Strawberries - 1957)
Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris - 1972)
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker - 2008)
Brad Bird (Ratatouille - 2007)
John Boorman (Deliverance - 1972)
Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire - 2008)
Catherine Breillat (A Real Young Girl - 1976)(banned
until 1999)
Robert Bresson (Au Hasard Balthazar - 1966)
Mel Brooks (Spaceballs - 1987)
Tod Browning (Dracula - 1931)
Luis Buñuel (Un Chien Andalou) - 1929)
Tim Burton (Beetlejuice) - 1988)
James Cameron (Titanic) - 1997)
Jane Campion (The Piano - 1993)
Frank Capra (It Happened One Night - 1934)
John Carpenter (Halloween) - 1978)
John Cassavetes (A Woman Under the Influence
- 1974)
Liliana Cavani (The Night Porter - 1974)
Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Three Monkeys - 2008)
Claude Chabrol (Madame Bovary - 1991)
Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times - 1936)
Michael Cimino (Heaven's Gate - 1980)
Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear - 1953)
Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo - 1996)
Chris Columbus (Home Alone - 1990)
Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather - 1972)
Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation - 2006)
Roger Corman (Attack of the Crab Monsters
- 1967)
Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street - 1984)
David Cronenberg (The Fly - 1986)
Cameron Crowe (Jerry McGuire - 1996)
Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity - 2013)
Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot - 2000)
Joe Dante (Gremlins - 1984)
Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption - 1994)
Dardenne Brothers (Rosetta - 1999)
Julie Dashm (Daughters of the Dust - 1992)(The
first theatrically-released film in the US
by an African-American woman)
Andrew Davis (The Fugitive - 1993)
Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs - 1991)
Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth - 2006)
Brian De Palma (The Untouchables - 1987)
Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves - 1948)
Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse
James by the Coward Robert Ford - 2007)
Stanley Donen (Singin' in the Rain - 1952)
Carl Theodor Dreyer (The Passion of Joan of
Arc - 1928)
Guru Dutt (Pyaasa - 1957)
Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven - 1992)
Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin - 1925)
Roland Emmerich (Independence Day (1996 film)
- 1996)
Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle - 1993)
Víctor Erice (The Quince Tree Sun - 1992)
William Eubank (Love (2011 film) - 2011)
Asghar Farhadi (A Separation - 2011)
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (The Marriage of
Maria Braun - 1979)
Federico Fellini (Satyricon - 1969)
Todd Field (Little Children (film) - 2006)
David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button (film) - 2008)
Victor Fleming (Gone With the Wind (film)
- 1939)
John Ford (How Green Was My Valley (film)
- 1941)
Miloš Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's
Nest (film) - 1975)
John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate
(1962 film) - 1962)
William Friedkin (The French Connection (film)
- 1971)
Lucio Fulci (City of the Living Dead - 1980)
Samuel Fuller (The Naked Kiss - 1964)
Ritwik Ghatak (Jukti Takko Aar Gappo - 1974)
Lewis Gilbert (Educating Rita (film) - 1983)
Terry Gilliam (Brazil (film) - 1985)
Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless (1960 film) - 1960)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Swayamvaram - 1972)
D. W. Griffith (The Birth of a Nation - 1915)
Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon - 2009)
Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight (2008 film)
- 2008)
Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2 - 1990)
Hal Hartley (Henry Fool - 1997)
Howard Hawks (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - 1953)
Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High
- 1982)
Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo - 1982)
George Roy Hill (Slaughterhouse-Five - 1972)
Walter Hill (48 Hrs. - 1982)
Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho (1960 film) - 1960)
Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 1974)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech - 2010)
Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind - 2001)
John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 1986)
John Huston (The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
- 1941)
Kon Ichikawa (Fires on the Plain - 1959)
Miklós Jancsó (The Red and the White - 1967)
Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings (film
series) - 2001-2003)
Jim Jarmusch (Down by Law (film) - 1986)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie - 2001)
Norman Jewison (Fiddler on the Roof - 1971)
Rian Johnson (Brick (film) - 2005)
Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - 1989)
Chuck Jones (Gay Purr-ee - 1962)(an animated
film)
Neil Jordan (The Crying Game - 1992)
Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express - 1994)
Elia Kazan (A Streetcar Named Desire (film)
- 1951)
Buster Keaton (Sidewalks of New York - 1931)
Abbas Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry - 1997)
Krzysztof Kieślowski (The Three Colors Trilogy
- 1993-1994)
Masaki Kobayashi (The Human Condition (film
series) - 1959-1961)
Stanley Kramer (Judgment at Nuremberg - 1961)
Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey - 1968)
Akira Kurosawa (Drunken Angel - 1948)
Emir Kusturica (When Father Was Away on Business
- 1985)
Fritz Lang (Metropolis (1927 film) - 1927)
John Lasseter (Toy Story 2 - 1999)
David Lean (Lawrence of Arabia (film) - 1962)
Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain - 2005)
Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing - 1990)
Sergio Leone (A Fistful of Dollars - 1964)
Barry Levinson (Rain Man - 1988)
Ken Loach (Riff-Raff - 1991)
Joseph Losey (Monsieur Klein - 1976)
George Lucas (Star Wars - 1977)
Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon - 1975)
Ernst Lubitsch (Heaven Can Wait - 1943)
David Lynch (Mulholland Dr. - 2001)
Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland
(film) - 2006)
Maria Maggenti (Puccini for Beginners - 2006)
Samira Makhmalbaf (At Five in the Afternoon
- 2003)
Terrence Malick (Badlands - 1973)
Louis Malle (Au Revoir, les Enfants - 1987)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Guys and Dolls (film)
- 1955)
Michael Mann (Miami Vice (film) - 2006)
Rob Marshall (Chicago (2002 film) - 2002)
Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave - 2013)
Deepa Mehta (Midnight's Children (film) - 2012)
Georges Méliès (A Trip to the Moon - 1902)
Sam Mendes (American Beauty - 1999)
Márta Mészáros (Diary for my Children - 1984)
Anthony Minghella (The English Patient (film)
- 1996)
Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away - 2001)
Kenji Mizoguchi (Ugetsu - 1953)
Mario Monicelli (Rossini! Rossini! - 1991)
Michael Moore (Fahrenheit 9/11 - 2004)
F. W. Murnau (4 Devils - 1928)
Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay! - 1988)
Christopher Nolan (Memento - 2000)
Frank Oz (Little Shop of Horrors (film) - 1986)
Yasujirō Ozu (Tokyo Story - 1953)
Padmarajan (Aparan - 1988)
Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy - 2003)
Sergei Parajanov (The Color of Pomegranates
- 1968)
Alan Parker (Midnight Express (film) - 1978)
Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch - 1969)
Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde (film) - 1967)
Dadasaheb Phalke (Gangavataran - 1937)
Roman Polanski (Chinatown (1974 film) - 1974)
Sally Potter (The Man Who Cried - 2000)
Otto Preminger (Anatomy of a Murder - 1959)
Powell and Pressburger (The Red Shoes (1948
film) - 1948)
Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead (franchise) - 1978-2014)
Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day (film) - 1993)
Mani Ratnam (Nayakan (1987 film) - 1987)
Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause - 1955)
Satyajit Ray (The Apu Trilogy - 1955-1959)
Rob Reiner (A Few Good Men (film) - 1992)
Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters - 1984)
Jason Reitman (Up in the Air (2009 film) - 2009)
Jean Renoir (La Grand Illusion - 1937)
Alain Resnais (Last Year at Marienbad - 1961)
Leni Riefenstahl (Triumph of the Will - 1935)
Éric Rohmer (Pauline at the Beach - 1983)
George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead
- 1968)
Roberto Rossellini (Rome, Open City - 1945)
Eli Roth (Hostel (2005 film) - 2005)
Bimal Roy (Do Bigha Zamin - 1953)
John Sayles (The Secret of Roan Inish - 1994)
Franklin J. Schaffner (Patton (film) - 1970)
Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum (film) - 1979)
Ettore Scola (Le Bal (film) - 1983)
Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver - 1976)
Ridley Scott (Blade Runner - 1982)
Tony Scott (Top Gun - 1986)
Shankar (Indian (1996 film) - 1996)
V. Shantaram (Do Aankhen Barah Haath - 1958)
M. Night Shyamalan (Signs (film) - 2002)
Don Siegel (Dirty Harry - 1971)
Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects - 1995)
Robert Siodmak (The Killers (1946 film) - 1946)
Kevin Smith (Clerks - 1994)
John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood - 1991)
Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich - 2000)
Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo (film) - 2008)
Steven Spielberg (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- 1982)
Sylvester Stallone (Rocky II - 1979)
George Stevens (Giant (1956 film) - 1956)
Oliver Stone (Platoon (film) - 1986)
John Sturges (The Great Escape (film) - 1963)
Preston Sturges (The Great McGinty - 1940)
István Szabó (Mephisto (1981 film) - 1981)
Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction - 1994)
Andrei Tarkovsky (Solaris (1972 film) - 1972)
Bela Tarr (Satantango - 1994)
Jiří Trnka (Old Czech Legends - 1953)
Giuseppe Tornatore (The Legend of 1900 - 1998)
Jacques Tourneur (Cat People (1942 film) - 1942)
François Truffaut (The 400 Blows - 1959)
Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure (film) - 2004)
Agnès Varda (The Beaches of Agnes - 2008)
Gore Verbinski (Rango (2011 film) - 2011)
Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct - 1992)
King Vidor (The Champ (1931 film) - 1931)
Luchino Visconti (The Leopard (1963 film)
- 1963)
Lars von Trier (Dancer in the Dark - 2000)
The Wachowskis (The Matrix - 1999)
James Wan (Saw (2004 film) - 2004)
Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man (2012 film)
- 2012)
Peter Weir (Master and Commander: The Far
Side of the World - 2003)
Orson Welles (Citizen Kane - 1941)
Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas (film) - 1984)
James Whale (Frankenstein (1931 film) - 1931)
Joss Whedon (The Avengers (2012 film) - 2012)
Robert Wiene (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
- 1920)
Billy Wilder (The Apartment - 1960)
Robert Wise (West Side Story (film) - 1961)
Ed Wood (Plan 9 From Outer Space - 1959)
Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead - 2004)
Joe Wright (Atonement (film) - 2007)
William Wyler (Ben-Hur - 1959)
David Yates (Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix (film) - 2007)
Peter Yates (Bullitt - 1968)
Zhang Yimou (To Live (film) - 1994)
Karel Zeman (The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
- 1961)
Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future - 1985)
Mai Zetterling (Loving Couples (1964 film)
- 1964)
Fred Zinnemann (From Here to Eternity - 1953)
