At Windsong, we’re all about sharing and learning new things about each other. We asked Byron, our creative director, to tell us his top five movie directors, check it out!
If you have never seen a Cassavetes movie – if you have the means – I highly recommend you do so immediately. He is a genius. “A Women Under The Influence” became my favorite film of all time when I previously thought that entire concept was stupid. It will make you realize how bad most movies really are.
Recommendation: “A Woman Under The Influence”
Malick challenges what you think a movie narrative should be. In his films, nature is a character as much as the actors themselves and the way he uses silence displays insane confidence. His later work has become more challenging but he always has something interesting to say and beautiful to see.
Recommendation: “Days of Heaven”
No other directors are as consistent as the Coen Brothers. Outside of basically “Ladykillers,” which we will just pretend does not exist for the sake of make believe, they have a perfect canon. Dancing between genres with ease, they write AND edit all of their films themselves, while making spilling blood an art form and the f-word into a piece of poetry.
Recommendation: “Barton Fink”
Spike is the youngest director on this list. He doesn’t have a ton of films under his belt but he has been directing music and skate videos for years. He has such a unique view on the world and his ideas always blow me away. His films are smart and so well crafted. The scene in “Being John Malkovich,” when Craig invites Maxine over to his house for the first time is b-b-b-brilliance.
Recommendation: “The Work of Director Spike Jonze”
Jim has done something no other director I know of has; he owns the negatives to all of his films but one. That is pretty amazing when you consider what it takes to get a movie sold and distributed. He crafts deliberate narratives that to an average movie goer seem slow, but to the careful observer contain more ideas in single scenes than an entire 2.5 hour Michael Bay movie.
Recommendation: “Down By Law”
