Hey Flex,
Sorry if my last post appeared to have a condescending tone; I don't think your list is a "bad" list, I actually think it’s pretty unique. What I was trying to say is that on a list of timeless directors, most of which have departed, Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, and Stanley Kubrick should most notably be included. That’s just my opinion though.
I'm aware of most of the directors you've listed, though I never fully submerged myself into their work to see what they're really all about, I know they're all very good. Welles and Lang are directors who may not have had the most consistent of careers, but they both have made movies that are considered timeless with earth shattering innovations. And as for Kubrick, well, he’s simply phenomenal; I shouldn’t have to go into the details on the consistency of his career.
Their movies not only had an impact within the motion picture community, but also had great social impact. As you may know, Welles' Citizen Kane was quite controversial, so much so that Hollywood “Blacklisted” him. Lang's Metropolis had to be made and distributed in secrecy because it was made in Germany at the time of Hitler's reign. If you were to show Metropolis along with any other movie that was being made in the U.S. at the same time, you’d see how unbelievably advanced Lang’s filmmaking really was. Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange was also quite controversial, forcing him to remove it from theaters and remained banned in the UK for 27 years. Aside from his most controversial work, Kubrick's most innovative work of art is 2001: A Space Odyssey.
These directors are timeless not just because of their groundbreaking advancements in cinema, but they're also just as timeless when considering the social impact they’ve had. As for more recent directors who I may think would deserve recognition for their contributions to cinema...I'd have to give it some serious thought, but right now I'd probably say:
Francis Ford Coppola
Martin Scorsese
Oliver Stone
Steven Spielberg
George Lucas
Ridley Scott
Terry Gilliam
David Lynch
Other recent filmmakers who I believe are worth recognizing:
Chris Cunningham
Paul Thomas Anderson
Wes Anderson
Sophia Coppola
Spike Jonze
Darren Aranovski
Guillermo Del Torro
M. Night Shyamalan
Tim Burton
Peter Jackson
Baz Luhrmann
Quentin Tarantino
Tarsem Singh
Chris Nolan
