3. Frederico Fellini
With a career spanning over 50 years and owner of a massive collection of awards, Fellini redefined cinema during his heyday in the 60's and 70's. Initially a screenwriter, Fellini began directing and producing in the 1950's with his first major accomplishment being 1954's La Strada. With La Dolce Vita in 1960, Fellini became an international superstar and embarked on a string of acclaimed films throughout the 60's and 70's. Fellini brought an almost an almost hallucinatory feel to his films as he incorporated dreams and fantasy in extravagant ways. Fellini owns the record for most films to win Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and some of his movies, such as 8 1/2 and La Dolce Vita are considered among the greatest ever made. Fellini's films were often critiques of modern living, especially in film such as La Dolce Vita, about a journalists search for meaning in Rome, and 8 1/2, which deals with living in the fragmented modern world. Fellini influenced the films of later directors such as Woody Allen and David Lynch among others. His fantastical and unique cinematic vision made him a giant in the international film scene in his time and he remains one of the world's most studied directors.
Defining Films: La Strada (1954), Nights of Cabiria (1957), La Dolce Vita (1960), 8 1/2 (1963), Juliet of the Spirits (1965), Satyricon (1969), Amarcord (1974)