16. Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah brought movie violence into the modern age with modern classics like The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, and many others. Along with directors like Coppola, Spielberg, Scorsese, Lucas, and other young directors of the time, Peckinpah helped bring a sense of sophistication and artistry to American films in the late 60's and throughout the 70's that resulted in some of the all-time best Hollywood films. His films are remembered for their cynical approach to human nature, often viewing society as constantly becoming more and more corrupt. His work commonly depicts a culture in flux, as movies like The Wild Bunch take place as The Old West is being replaced by a new, industrialized America, and he depicted them with violence more realistic than anything to appear in a major Hollywood film up to that time. Peckinpah's unstable personality, marked by drug use and alcoholism, led to his early death in 1984 at only 59. He had done enough by that time to merit his reputation as one of America's greatest directors.