6. Stanley Kubrick
A visionary whose cinematic imagination and ambition inspired a generation of filmmakers and cinephiles, spawning the term “Kubrickan”, no artist in the last century has influenced his craft quite the way Kubrick has. His 2001: A Space Odyssey, the science-fiction philosophical masterpiece, is easily one of the most important pieces of cinematic art ever conceived. Rather than have the audience watch an experience, Kubrick invited them to be part of it.
Audiences were horrified by the violence entrenching “their” city in A Clockwork Orange, experienced the psychosis of desolation in The Shining and tasted the appeal of adultery in Eyes Wide Shut. Kubrick’s films are not voyeuristic: they’re all-sensory adventures. It would not be a stretch to say that we have Kubrick to thank the most for shaping the course of cinema with his vision and wisdom.
Image Source: NME.com