The film industry is filled with talented directors who have made a significant impact in the world of cinema. However, not all directors receive recognition from the Academy Awards, despite their exceptional work. This article explores some of the most underrated directors who have never won an Oscar for their contributions to the industry.
These directors have created masterpieces that have inspired many and have left a lasting impact on the world of cinema. Despite their lack of recognition from the Oscars, their work continues to be celebrated by fans and film enthusiasts around the world. From their unique styles to their ground-breaking techniques, this article will delve into the cinematic styles of these talented directors who have left a lasting mark on the film industry.
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10 Jeff Nichols
Hydraulx Entertainment
Jeff Nichols was born on December 7, 1978, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He graduated in filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and made his directorial debut in 2007 with Shotgun Stories, which he directed, wrote, and co-produced. He went on to direct and write four more movies, including Take Shelter, Mud, and Midnight Special. Despite critical acclaim and his unique voice, Nichols has yet to receive the most coveted film award.
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Nichols is known for his distinctive style consisting in a superb mix of genres and an excellent capacity in creating complex characters. His movies are usually set in the South of the United States, and deal with themes related to relationships and family, always combined with a suspenseful atmosphere. Emotional and thought-provoking, Nichols’ cinematic vision remains a constant exercise in form and substance. Underrated by definition.
9 Alex Cox
Edge City Productions
Alex Cox was born in 1954 in Bebington, England, and attended the University of Bristol to study filmmaking. The British director made his debut in 1984 with Repo Man, an amazing blend of science fiction and black comedy and one of the greatest debut movies to date. He went on to direct and write exemplary films like Sid & Nancy, Straight to Hell, and Death and the Compass.
Best known for his eclectic cinematic vision, Cox made most of his movies with independent productions and explored a wide range of genres and topics throughout his career. With a punk voice similar to the characters in Repo Men, his uncompromising touch is mostly visible in the genre-bending screenplays he wrote and in the political undertone of his cinema accomplishments. At the same time, the director never shied away from eye-catching visuals.
8 Ben Wheatley
Warp X
Ben Wheatley was born on December 1972 in Billericay, Essex, England. Working first in advertising, the English director debuted on the big screen with the low-budget Down Terrace, which mixed comedy and crime. His impressive career continued with excellent achievements like Kill List, A Field in England, and High-Rise and cemented him as a champion of black comedy and horror.
Throughout his career, Wheatley refined his directing style, mastering unconventional and genre-bending storytelling with an astonishing visual style. At the same time, he has been able to craft, in connection with his screenwriter wife Amy Jump, slow-burning and tense atmospheres that pervade his entire filmography. One of the greatest directors coming out of Britain in the last 20 years, Ben Wheatley hasn’t missed a bit since his debut and has gifted us some of the most iconic post-modern horrors and thrillers.
7 Zhang Yimou
Xi'an Film Studio
Zhang Yimou was born on November 2, 1951, in Xi’an, China and debuted in 1988 with Red Sorghum, an historical drama set during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Chinese director’s filmography also features gems like Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers. Since the beginning, Yimou has delighted his viewers with stunning images and emotionally rich stories.
Zhang Yimou cinema features culturally rich incursions into Chinese history and screenplays that allow the full emotional range and expression of the characters. At the same time, it’s difficult to forget the flawless, beautifully crafted shots that the Chinese director has been known for and his effective visual esthetic. Few directors can compete with the shades of red present in his filmography. Quintessentially an aesthete of the seventh art and an analyst of human emotions, Yimou remains one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.
6 Lynne Ramsay
Film4 Productions
Lynne Ramsay was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1969 and, after graduating from Beaconsfield’s National Film and Television School, debuted on the big screen with Ratcatcher, in 1999. She then continued her brilliant career with the critically acclaimed Morvern Callar, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and You Were Never Really Here, with a fantastic Joaquin Phoenix. Her style blends together psychological thriller and arthouse sensibilities.
The Scottish filmmaker’s cinematic identity is defined by sharp and unbeatable screenplays, usually exploring in a nihilistic and gloomy vibe the psychological life of its characters. At the same time, Ramsay is meticulous and creative behind the camera, especially in her capacity of capturing the small details that elevate the depth of a movie. Another aspect that sets apart her idea of cinema is the constant tension that her movies convey: a tour de force in full effect.
5 John Carpenter
The Turman-Foster Company
Born on January 16, 1948, in Carthage, New York, John Carpenter began his filmmaking journey in the mid-70s with his student project Dark Star, which progressively became a full feature and mixed efficiently science fiction and comedy. He would go on crafting some of the most recognizable and genre-defining movies of the following two decades, including Halloween, The Thing, and They Live.
In his 40 years career, Carpenter became synonym with horror and science fiction, while at the same time cultivating a distinctive style made of bold directing, breathtaking cinematic shots, and brilliant tension building techniques. Simultaneously, the masterful director composed some of the most recognizable and effective soundtracks to date, highly recognizable by their rich use of synths. Lastly, his movies never lacked a social consciousness and often critically analyzed American society and its excesses. Cult filmmaker.
4 Yorgos Lanthimos
Boo Productions
Yorgos Lanthimos was born in Athens, Greece in 1973 and, after studying directing at the Hellenic Cinema and Television School Stavrakos, he debuted in 2001 with the comedy My Best Friend. His artistic vision will come to life later with unforgettable milestones like Dogtooth, The Lobster, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which forever marked his name in the history of the seventh art.
Lanthimos cinema is deeply unique and trailblazing, with his ability to perfectly mix dark comedic touches with dramatic scenarios. At the same time, his screenplays are usually characterized by surreal developments and a sapient use of absurdist imaginary. As unconventional as it gets, the Greek director is also able to produce exquisitely crafted shots featuring a large use of high and low angles. Yorgos Lanthimos approaches fuses beauty and terror like few others.
3 John Singleton
Columbia Pictures
Despite being the youngest filmmaker to be nominated for Best Director, John Singleton never won an Oscar. Born in Los Angeles, California in 1968, Singleton made his stunning and impressive debut in 1991, with the coming-of-age drama Boyz n the Hood. He continued his career with movies like Poetic Justice, Higher Learning, and Shaft, and the critically acclaimed crime series Snowfall, about the 1980s CIA’s involvement in the emergence of crack in Los Angeles.
A storyteller at heart, Singleton perfected his cinematic vision thanks to a gritty and realistic portrayal of the multiple African American experiences throughout history. At the same time, he championed a strong and solid directing style, characterized by a sapient use of hand-held camera and long takes. Lastly, the Californian director was able to merge genre sensibilities with a piercing political commentary about racism, class differences and redemption in America.
2 David Lynch
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
David Lynch was born in Missoula, Montana, in 1946 and made his debut with the highly influential and extremely surreal masterpiece Eraserhead, released in 1977. The director continued his filmography with more flawless movies like Blue Velvet, Wild at Heat, and Mullholland Drive, while simultaneously changing television forever with the serial Twin Peaks. With more than 40 years under his belt, the American filmmaker has secured himself a unique spot in cinema history.
David Lynch’s vision is so specific and particular that it is common to use the term “Lynchian” to describe works that pay homage or recuperate aspects of the filmmaker’s cinematic mind. His movies are characterized by strong touches of surrealism and dream-like atmospheres, firm brushstrokes of nightmarish elements and imagination for days. Lynch can be thought-provocking, poetic, frightening, tense all at the same time. Visionary.
1 Agnès Varda
Ciné-tamaris
Agnès Varda was born in Ixelles, Belgium, in 1928, and was one of the pioneering voices of the French New Wave. Her directorial debut was in 1955 with the drama La Pointe Courte, and she went on to gift us with extraordinary movies such as Cléo de 5 à 7 and Le Bonheur, as well as piercing documentaries like Black Panthers.
The Belgian-born French director is mostly known for her experimental and poetic style, which simultaneously contains social and political commentary. Style and substance to the highest degree, her cinematic point of view pushed the boundaries of cinema and explored themes related to women’s issues and social inequality. Furthermore, Varda kept her voice intact and original, always trying to make her viewers think. An inspiration to multiple generations of filmmakers worldwide, Agnès Varda’s legacy lives on in her monumental filmography.
