Movies in the ’50s and ‘60swere tasked with living up to the Hollywood Golden Age. While many argue they can’t hold a candle to titles likeCitizen Kane(1941) andCasablanca(1940), the following directors advanced the medium like very few before them.
While films likeTwelve Angry Men(1957) andThe Graduate(1967) went down as some of the best and most popular of their respective decades, their directors didn’t create quite as many inspirational hits as those on the list. Here, filmmakers qualify if their works consistently pushed the boundaries of the medium and influenced future generations by dint of trademark styles of storytelling and creativity behind a camera.
10Elia Kazan
Known for eliciting impressive performances from A-list actors,Elia Kazanis credited with popularizing method acting in Hollywood thanks to classics likeA Streetcar Named Desire(1951) andOn the Waterfront(1954). Both of those films famouslyfeatured Marlon Brandoin perhaps his two most impressive performances.
Kazan also led James Dean to an Oscar nomination in 1955’sEast of Eden,and Natalie Wood was nominated forSplendor in the Grass(1961). His films were nominated for five Best Director awards, two of which won, but his legacy remains intact for his direction of outstanding performances.
Related:What is Method Acting
9Sergio Leone
This lauded Italian director is known for specializing in Spaghetti Westerns. That said, his directorial debut was a 1961 sword-and-sandal movie calledThe Colossus of Rhodes. It left little to write home about, frankly, and only became notable once Leone established himself with his next series of films.
Particularly, the “Dollars Trilogy” putSergio Leone—and Clint Eastwood— on the cinematic globe, not just the map.The Good, the Bad and the Uglyis perhaps the most famous western ever, and Eastwood’s Man With No Name would influence the rough-and-rowdy cowboys of westerns to come. Its innovative use of close-ups, too, holds great imapct in the industry today.
8Stanley Kubrick
Perhaps the most famous title ofStanley Kubrick’scareer came at the tail end of the sixties. And you can’t get much more influential than2001: A Space Odyssey(1968). Writing about it feels inconsequential at this point, which just provides room to discuss his other hits from this period.
From comedies likeLolita(1962) andDr. Strangelove(1964) to anti-war films likeFear and Desire(1952) andPaths of Glory(1956), Kubrick showcased his penchant for genre in these two decades. He might have ranked higher had some of his other films —A Clockwork Orange(1972) orThe Shining(1980) — released in either of these decades. Alas, the number eight spot must suffice.
7Federico Fellini
Throughout these twenty years,Federico Fellinireceived thirteen nominations at the Academy Awards and walked away with three golden statuettes: all for Best Foreign Language Film. The first to win the award wasLa Strada(1954), followed byNights of Cabirain 1957.
The final instance was the most influential entry of his entire career:8 ½from 1963. Many filmmakers today will tell you it’s the greatest movie ever made. And while this whole section could be dedicated to that one movie, it’d be criminal to omit La Dolce Vita (1960). It’s almost equally well regarded, and greatly overlooked today.
Related:Best Federico Fellini Films
6Billy Wilder
From 1950 to 1969,Billy Wilderreleased fourteen movies. What’s more impressive is that five of them have since been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry. To name a few:Sunset Boulevard(1950),Ace in the Hole(1951),Sabrina(1954), andSome Like It Hot(1959).
From star-studded casting choices to brilliant direction, Wilder masters every aspect of filmmaking in every project. Perhaps the most essential quality of his process, though, is his screenwriting. His scripts are regarded as some of the greatest of all time — and you can look no further thanThe Apartment(1960) for confirmation.
5Satyajit Ray
Regarded as one of cinema’s most illustrious auteurs,Satyajit Rayinspired dozens of decorated directors. Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, even Akira Kurosawa, who once said: “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.”
He didn’t start filmmaking until 1955, yet Ray directed nearly twenty films in these two decades alone. Films such asA Song of the Little Road(1955),The Unvanquished(1956), andThe World of Apu(1959) defined the simplistic style that Ray would be remembered for. And all three of those appeared in Time’s “All-Time 100 Movies”.
4Ingmar Bergman
This mad scientist of a director released a whopping twenty-five movies in these two decades alone. Among them were critical darlings such asPersona(1966),Wild Strawberries(1957), and most notably,The Seventh Seal(1957).
In the early sixties,Ingmar Bergmanearned back-to-back honors at the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film: once forThe Virgin Spring(1960) and again forThrough a Glass Darkly(1961). The iconic imagery created through his camerawork has inspired generations of cinematographers ever since, and it likely always will.
3Akira Kurosawa
WithoutAkira Kurosawa, people like Martin Scorsese and George Lucas might have never gotten into filmmaking.Seven Samurai(1954) launched Japan into the cinematic stratosphere, and it’s his most notable project throughout these two decades. However, he put out several others worth mentioning.
Rashomon(1950) started things off wonderfully, and afterSeven Samurai, he put outThrone of Bloodin 1957 andThe Hidden Fortressin 1958. He brief streak in the subsequent decade, though, is nearly on par in terms of influence.Yojimbo(1961),Sanjuro(1962) andHigh and Low(1963) — three perfect films that rounded Kurosawa’s career out to a tee.
2Alfred Hitchcock
These two decades were peakAlfred Hitchcock:Rear Windowreleased in 1954, followed byVertigoin 1958.North by Northwestcame next in 1959, and after that, he released the seminal movie of his career:Psycho(1960). Then, he topped off his streak withThe Birdsin 1963.
Filmmakers everywhere are still using tactics from those titles. He released plenty of others, too:Strangers on a Train(1951),Dial M for Murder(1954), andThe Man Who Knew Too Much(1956). You’d be hard-pressed to locate a more influential list of films released in such a short period of time as this luminary of suspense.
1Jean-Luc Godard
The champion of Avant Garde cinema,Jean-Luc Godardinfluenced cinema by tweaking the conventions thereof. His 1960 filmBreathlessis one of the best directorial debuts ever. And that renown is shared with the legacy of innovation that the movie left behind. Featuring jump-cuts, long takes, and character asides to break the fourth wall, Godard playedBreathlesslike a professional saxophonist hitting a solo and setting the tenor for an entire movement: the French New Wave of film.
Band of Outsiders(1964) continued his innovative trends, andWeek-end(1967) ended his career with the perfect crescendo. He inspired hundreds of future filmmakers like Coppola, Scorsese, and Tarantino — his resonance was heard worldwide.
