Top Ten German Film Directors
Director of some of the most important German Expressionist films of all time, including "M", "The Testament of Dr. Mabuse", and "Metropolis", much of Lang's visual style, which relied upon heavy shadow and innovative angles over the more absurd distortion of his contemporaries, would provide the basis for the distinctive film noir style in Hollywood.
He later fled to America from the Nazis and made the seminal American noir films "The Big Heat" and "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt".
The author of the superb futuristic movie that tries to mediate the differences between man, Metropolis (1927), and M (1931).
Perhaps the most well-known internationally of the German New Wave directors, Herzog has one of the most eclectic filmographies of any director, ranging from drama to documentary.
His early film "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" is considered one of the greatest films ever made and was the first of many collaborations with actor Klaus Kinski. These collaborations include "Fitzcarraldo", "Nosferatu the Vampyre" (a remake of Murnau's horror classic), and "Cobra Verde". Other equally lauded works from this early period include "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser".
He began to focus on documentary work with films like "Grizzly Man", "Cave of Forgotten Dreams", "My Best Fiend", and "Encounters at the End of the World". During the 2000s, he found a return to form with fiction as well, making films like "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" starring Nicolas Cage, "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done" starring Michael Shannon and produced by David Lynch, and "Rescue Dawn" starring Christian Bale.
He is currently working on the upcoming "Queen of the Desert" starring James Franco and Nicole Kidman.
Fassbinder is one of the key pillars of the German New Wave movement of the post-war generation. He made over a film a year for much of his busy, illustrious career.
His best-known works include "Despair", "Fear Eats the Soul", "Chinese Roulette", and "The Marriage of Maria Braun". Fassbinder is equally known for his highly maverick style of filmmaking as well as his aggressively libertine and wild lifestyle, which led to his unfortunate demise at age 37.
Petersen is best known for his work on the film "Das Boot" as well as the German-produced, English-language fantasy "The NeverEnding Story". These two films for a moment made him the German equivalent to Steven Spielberg.
He later moved to Hollywood and worked on films such as "In the Line of Fire", "Troy", "Air Force One", and "The Perfect Storm".
Director of "Run Lola Run", "Cloud Atlas", "The International", and "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer", Twyker is famous for his technical innovation and rapid, innovative editing style, which challenges the standard linear continuity of Hollywood storytelling.
Akin is best known for the acclaimed "Soul Kitchen" as well as a variety of other lesser-known comedies and work on the ensemble short film collection "New York: I Love You".
Akin is one of the best present directors in giving comedy movies with some message.
Murnau began his career in Germany as one of the premier directors of the silent film era, making films such as "Nosferatu", which would be the first horror film, vampire film, and film to feature Dracula as a main character.
"Faust" starred Emil Jannings as the devil, and "Tartuffe" are shining examples of the German Expressionist film aesthetic that he helped pioneer. This would be one of the dominant early film movements alongside French Impressionism and Soviet Montage.
Murnau, like many premier German directors, would later flee to Hollywood, where he made "Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans", which was recently ranked the 5th best film of all time in the most recent Sight and Sound poll. His film "4 Girls" is regarded as one of his best films, but it has unfortunately been lost. However, there is hope for a restoration as films such as Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" have also been considered lost for a time.
Riefenstahl is best known for her work making propaganda for the Nazis, most famously "Triumph of the Will", which painted Hitler as a messianic figure. However, her follow-up, "Olympia", which focused on the 1936 Berlin Olympics, shows a dedication to authenticity and beauty that transcends its Nazi roots, as the film spends much of its time glorifying Jesse Owens and his gold medal race.
In spite of her protesting any true Nazi affinity (Riefenstahl was reportedly angry at her work being used as propaganda and claimed to have been on bad terms with Goebbels), her third film "Tiefland" would not see release until ten years after its completion. Her final film, a documentary titled "Underwater Impressions", was released in 2002. It was filmed over 30 years and released just after her 100th birthday.
Hirschbiegel's best-known work is the film "Downfall", which detailed the last days of Hitler and the Third Reich. His other work includes the 2007 American box office bomb "The Invasion" and the independent Princess Diana biopic "Diana".