Some films are so deeply connected to their directors that it feels like nobody else could have made them. Or, if they did, the movies would not have resonated in the same way. Often, the directors also served as writers or producers, ensuring their vision seeped into every single frame as much as possible. But, even those who did not write the project will still make sure to create a cohesive and complete story that leaves audiences connected to the characters and touched by their lives.

It takes a genius to transform a simple idea into a compelling two-hour narrative that has viewers captivated from beginning to end. Similarly, a complicated and confusing idea could get completely lost in translation in the hands of a lesser director with a more limited vision. Or even just a different vision. Each movie fan will immediately have multiple тιтles come to mind, and no doubt have their own favorites. But, there are a few directors whose films would undoubtedly look and feel entirely different if it had been anyone else behind the camera.

8

The Shining (1980)

Directed By Stanley Kubrick

Horror is still an often underrated genre. It tends to get overlooked at award shows, is considered by some as too trivial, and has spawned enough low-quality films to almost give the whole category a bad name. But, The Shining is a shining example of how to make a horror film that has substance as well as scares. On paper, this could have been a classic haunted house story, with jump scares and unnecessary gore. At the time of its release, there had been many substandard B-movies that exploited such tenets of the genre.

Stanley Kubrick took Stephen King’s supernatural vision and delved more into the psychological aspects of the story, making it a thought-provoking exploration of the human mind. King famously disliked this adaptation when it came out, opposing the many changes made to the plot, but, if it had stuck to the book verbatim, the film might not have struck the chord that it did. It would be interesting to see the film remade in the original author’s vision, but, the fact that it has not actually happened speaks volumes about the impact Kubrick’s тιтle has had.

7

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Directed By Taika Waiтιтi

The theme of Jojo Rabbit is extremely tricky, and it would be hard to see any other director navigate it. A young boy coming of age in Nazi Germany and struggling with the propaganda he’s being fed at school against the empathy his mother tries to instill in him. That in and of itself sounds like a very serious topic that could easily have been explored as a straightforward historical drama. But what Taika Waiтιтi does breaks all the rules connected to this type of subject matter.

He creates a surreal comedy of sorts, complete with Hitler as Jojo’s imaginary friend, and a closing sequence that plays out like a farce. The amount of comedy versus poignancy is balanced out perfectly, and it is Waiтιтi’s vision that allows it to work. The moment when Jojo sees his mother’s shoes is heartbreaking, and the previous scene where the audience sees them is so joyful and sweet, it’s astounding that both are part of the same film. Waiтιтi won an Oscar for Adapted Screenplay, and it was clear that the marriage between vision and director was just right.

6

Barbie (2023)

Directed By Greta Gerwig

Some love it, some hate it, and then there are those who did not get it, but the truth is, somehow a film about a plastic doll created more discourse than anybody could have expected. Barbie had been in development for years and the story has seen many different iterations. Most notably, Amy Schumer was attached at one point and the plot was said to be much more linear, even cookie-cutter. It wasn’t until Greta Gerwig got involved that the idea shifted into something that was not just a straight-up comedy.

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling might have seemed like lazy choices for Barbie and Ken, but little did anybody know how much depth they were about to bring to the roles. Making the film start discussions about patriarchy, feminism, and how hard it can be for anybody to exist in the world made the film that much more meaningful. While other movies based on toys or games tend to just be entertaining and silly, and, let’s face it, sometimes not all that entertaining, Gerwig’s Barbie transcended just being about a toy. America Ferrera’s speech says it all.

5

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

​​​​​​​Directed By Michel Gondry

An entire generation of millennials remembers where they were when they first watched this movie. The heartache, the bargaining, and then the sudden realization of what’s happening are all ingrained in the collective mind of the audience. Told completely out of order, with multiple overlapping storylines, it would be a minefield to navigate. The mix of subtle sci-fi, melodramatic romance, and a number of interconnected vignettes, all of which hit hard emotionally, makes this unusual film what it is.

Along with Michel Gondry’s masterful direction, it is the cast that also feels irreplaceable. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet take the doomed love story to so many places emotionally, and the sub-plot between Kirsten Dunst and Mark Ruffalo is the twist audiences never saw coming. The director was able to take a delicate and sad story and make it very human and relatable. The dreamlike feeling throughout leaves viewers wondering what was real and what was not.

4

Get Out (2017)

​​​​​​​Directed By Jordan Peele

It’s extraordinary to be able to create a film that makes a huge number of audience members feel beyond uncomfortable, yet still savor every moment. Jordan Peele was able to do so with aplomb with Get Out. Having the story take so many unexpected turns is something that can be attributed to the fact that Peele also wrote the screenplay. From start to finish, expectations are subverted and viewers have no idea what’s around the corner.

Get Out combines mystery, horror, dark comedy, and social commentary in a way that not many films have done before. The director carved out a very coveted niche in the market, with a desire for more stories that address race issues, and has since added more quality films to his impressive filmography. But, this is where it all started, and it is clear that the story could not have been told by anybody else.

3

Taxi Driver (1976)

​​​​​​​Directed By Martin Scorsese

Taxi Driver seemingly is not about all that much. A troubled New York cab driver with PTSD as a war vet drives around the city, encountering many people from the darkest parts of its underbelly. But, in the hands of Martin Scorsese, it becomes the voice of a generation, a deep dive into the psyche of a disillusioned member of the working class, and the class system within a huge metropolis. Thus, Taxi Driver is dark and gritty, filled with themes that depict life at the time in a realistic and dirty way.

Many movies set in New York would glamorize it and show only the beautiful or romantic parts, but Taxi Driver goes to all the places that viewers don’t often see. Scorsese is also able to take the story, which does not have all that much action, and make it exciting and suspenseful. Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle is constantly on the edge, and the director conveys that in a way that the viewers feel it in every scene. And, the way the end of the shootout was filmed was spine-tingling.

2

Blue Velvet (1986)

​​​​​​​Directed By David Lynch

Something like Blue Velvet could only really have come from the mind of the late David Lynch. The mix of surrealism and subversion of expectations is what he was known for, and it is so evident in every frame of Blue Velvet. Lynch was able to make even the most disturbing scenes look ethereal and dreamy, and he brought a theatricality to the film that few others would be able to. The difference between the picture-perfect facade and the darkness that lies beneath was brought to life by Lynch’s deft direction.

Imagining the story itself in any other hands would change the film completely. Dennis Hopper’s revolting portrayal of Frank Booth came from a deep understanding of the disturbed character. Isabella Rossellini’s performance was also captured in a way that gave depth to her character and the tricky psychological situation she is in. There is a world where this film lacks the vision and trance-like qualities that Lynch embraced, and that is not a world viewers should want to be in.

1

Pulp Fiction (1994)

​​​​​​​Directed By Quentin Tarantino

Any Quentin Tarantino film tends to be one that could only be made by him. From the witty and self-referential writing to the quick cuts and specificity of his sH๏τs, most viewers would be able to tell that they were watching a film Tarantino was involved in. Like many of his movies, Pulp Fiction is told out of order, leaving the audience to put the pieces together and call back to what they saw earlier on in the story. This keeps people engaged throughout and has often been copied and referenced in cinema since.

Having scenes like the one in the car with Vincent and Jules, the whole Pumpkin and Honey Bunny vignette, and the iconic dance sequence between John Travolta and Uma Thurman would not exist if it were not for Tarantino’s clear and unusual vision. It is obvious how much of a movie buff he is, with the amount of references he makes, but they still appear as his own unique take. There are few films like this one that define their director as much as their director defines them.