Tim Burton

My all time favorite director is Tim Burton. There is just something quite genuine about each and every one of his films. I think it really embodies how we all are - sometimes generic, sometimes dark. I can't pinpoint exactly which film of his is my favorite because they all speak to me in a similar, yet unique way. He also symbolizes the anti-Hollywood Hollywood icon. It is almost like his work comes purely from his own creative soul and is not warped by the Hollywood machine. It is also giving some of us who have our hidden dark sides a chance to see this nature presented outward and at its most raw form (and to have it accepted).

Tim Burton Filmography: The Fox and the Hound (1984) - animator The Black Cauldron (1985) - animator Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985) - director Beetlejuice (1988) - director Batman (1989) - director Edward Scissorhands (1990) - director, producer, and story Batman Returns (1992) - director, producer Cabin Boy (1993) - producer Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - producer, story Ed Wood (1994) - director, producer Batman Forever (1995) - producer James And The Giant Peach (1996) - producer Mars Attacks! (1996) - director, producer Sleepy Hollow (1999) - director, producer Planet of the Apes (2001) - director, producer *This list courtesy of http://www.rit.edu/~elnppr/faqs/tbfaq.html

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most amazing and talented directors. His films are classics in its purest form. It is no wonder he is the Master of Suspense. His formula of mystery and suspense is consistent in all his films and yet each film still capture the audience with its shocks and surprises. That is what I believe is a true auteur - one who can give the audience what they expect to see but yet can keep the audience guessing.

Alfred Hitchcock's Filmography The Pleasure Garden (1925) Virginia Valli, Carmelita Geraghty The Mountain Eagle (1926) Bernard Goetzke, Nita Naldi The Lodger (1926)Ivor Novello, June, Marie Ault Downhill (1927) Ivor Novello, Ben Webster, Robin Irvine Easy Virtue (1927) Isabel Jeans, Franklin Dyall The Ring (1927) Carl Brisson, Lilian Hall Davis The Farmer's Wife (1928)Lilian Hall Davis, Jameson Thomas Champagne (1928) Betty Balfour, Gordon Harker, Theo von Alten The Manxman (1929) Carl Brission, Malcolm Keen, Blackmail (1929)Anny Ondra, Sara Allgood, John Longden Juno and the Paycock (1930) Sara Allgood, Edward Chapman Murder (1930) Herbert Marshall, Nora Baring The Skin Game (1931) Edmund Gwenn, Jill Esmond Rich and Strange (1932) Henry Kendall, Joan Barry Number Seventeen (1932) Leon M. Lion, Anne Grey Waltzes from Vienna (1933) Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Leslie Banks, Edna Best The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935) Madeleine Carroll, Robert Donat Secret Agent(1936) Madeleine Carroll, John Gielgud Sabotage (1936) Sylvia Sidney, Oscar Homolka, John Loder Young and Innocent (1937) Derrick de Marney, Nova Pilbeam The Lady Vanishes (1938) Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave Jamaica Inn (1939)Charles Laughton, Leslie Banks, Marie Ney Rebecca (1940) Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson Foreign Correspondent (1940) Joel McCrea, Laraine Day Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) Carole Lombard, Robert Montgomery Suspicion (1941) Joan Fontaine, Cary Grant, Cedric Hardwicke Saboteur (1942) Robert Cummings, Pricilla Lane, Otto Kruger Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright Lifeboat (1943) Tellulah Bankhead, William Bendix Spellbound (1945) Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck Notorious (1946) Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Claude Rains The Paradine Case (1947) Gregory Peck, Ann Todd Rope (1948) James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger Under Capricorn (1949) Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten Stage Fright (1950) Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman Strangers on a Train (1951) Robert Walker, Farley Granger I Confess (1952) Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden Dial M for Murder (1953) Ray Milland, Grace Kelly Rear Window (1954) James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey To Catch a Thief (1955) Cary Grant, Grace Kelly The Trouble with Harry (1956) Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) James Stewart, Doria Day The Wrong Man (1957) Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle Vertigo (1958) James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel North by Northwest (1959) Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint Psycho (1960) Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles The Birds (1963) Tippi Hendren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy Marnie (1964) Tippi hendren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker Torn Curtain (1966) Paul Newman, Julie Andrews Topaz (1969) Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin Frenzy (1972) Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt Family Plot(1976) Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris *This list courtesy of http://users.netreach.net/treyl/hitchcock.htm

Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann's films are incredible. It is not a surprise that there are fansites everywhere devoted to the obsession of his films. I think the reason his films touch me personally is because it really speaks to my generation. All the cuts in the film are fast (MTV style) and can capture our "Attention Deficit" attention span. There is also a raw passion in his characters that make us cynical ones believe in love once again.

Another thing I love about Baz Luhrmann's directing style is that he believes music to be a very important part of the movie (just like Hitchcock with Bernard Hermann and Tim Burton with Danny Elfman). He takes it a step further than many directors, though, to incorporate today's music with classic stories and visualizations. Yet, the imagery in his film is inventive and current, but his characters feel timeless. It is truly a perfect blend of today's spinning world with yesterday's conventional ideas. It is the idea that things are always changing ever so constantly but yet some things like the feeling of falling in love will always remain. It is this dicotomy that he presents that I love the most.

Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam is an awesome director. I remember watching Brazil in my film class and just loving it. It was very surreal, an auteuristic signature of Terry Gilliam. Other greats directed by him include 12 Monkeys , Fisher King ,Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and many others.

NEW addition I have to mention is David Fincher. His movies have been consistently great. They're not only exciting and entertaining but also pose deeper questions for those of us that like to look beyond the surface meanings for the more obscure answers. His filmography includes Seven , The Game , Fight Club and Panic Room.