8. Sergio Leone
Filmography:
The Colossus of Rhodes, A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon A Time in the West, Duck, You Sucker, Once Upon A Time in America. The legendary director made his name directing westerns and though he borrowed very heavily from another director who appears later on this list, that does not diminish his achievements or films, as each one of them are fantastic. He frequently collaborated with Clint Eastwood, most notably on the Dollars Trilogy - A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - before finishing his career with his monumental crime epic, Once Upon A Time in America. The iconic Italian popularised the sub-genre "spaghetti western" with his ultra-violent and gripping movies which have lived on long after his death and are as popular with men today as they were when they were released. Leone's films have always been closely associated with music - perhaps more so than any other - the Ennio Morricone scores are immediately recognisable from their first chord. His low-budget classics continue to influence directors today, most notably Quentin Tarantino, especially his latest offering, Django Unchained. Leone's cinematic legacy is up there with any other director, his movies are the benchmark of cinema to men of a certain age and it's not hard to see why. Leone seduces you into his films, with a mixture of beautiful music and hypnotising long shots. His final film, Once Upon A Time in America has a running time of 269 minutes and boasts a cast of Robert De Niro, James Woods, Joe Pesci and Burt Young. It wasn't loved by everyone - due to it's running time - but with some patience you'll find one of the greatest movies ever made and it is my personal Leone favourite. It was big, bold and extravagant, covering themes such as greed and violence - what a way to go out.