7. Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott has garnered a reputation as a great filmmaker throughout the span of his career, though I can only really name a handful of truly great films:
Alien, Blade Runner, and maybe
Gladiator. And that's the problem I have with Ridley Scott in general: though his movies are never lacking for visual flair, he's always been relatively hit and miss. Luckily he made two of the best sci-fi pictures of all-time, so he's associated with them. But check his filmography. Scott has arguably made more mediocre films than good ones. And over the course of the 21st century, his career has continued with that notion of hit and miss. Now this isn't exactly his fault entirely, 'cause Scott isn't a writer and he's gone on to direct some films with questionable screenplays. But many people consider Ridley a "classic director," despite the fact that he hasn't really earned that accolade. Take away
Alien and
Blade Runner and what do you get? A great director with heaps of style, but a master filmmaker? I wouldn't say so.