14. Frank Capra
Yet another director born overseas, Capra emigrated to the U.S at six years old and both his life and film career are representative of so many American ideals that it would wrong to leave him off a list of best American directors. He remains one of the most beloved of all filmmakers as he was both a great person and a great filmmaker. The 1930's and early 40's were dominated by Capra films. 1934's It Happened One Night helped invent the screwball comedy and was one of the most successful films of all-time at the Academy Awards. Classic such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Arsenic and Old Lace, and It's a Wonderful Life followed in the next decade as Capra put together one of the best filmographies of any of his contemporaries. Capra believed in his films being as "pure" as possible, he didn't like films that showed off fancy technical gimmicks and his movies were made in an as unobtrusive style as possible. His films are so simple, both in terms of technical development but also with story and characters, that they are often described by critics as cinematic fables of sorts. A list of directors directly influenced by Capra's style could go on for pages but would include such luminaries as Spielberg, Scorsese, Kurosawa, and Lynch. His influence on the film world extends beyond just the movies he personally directed. He also served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Directors Guild of America. His films were love letters to America, and were made with such artistry that they have pervaded not just the small circles of cinephiles and movie critics but remain popular with the general public even today, nearly eighty years after his peak.