Thriller Task- Industry Research

Thriller Directors

As you can see I have used IMDB and Wikipedia mostly during my research period. Although Wikipedia is known for being inaccurate as anyone can access and edit the information. I believe that the basis of the information that I have required from this website is correct. IMDB is the largest Internet based database for information on directors, actors, celebrity stories, films and reviews. (http://www.imdb.com/genre/thriller). The main role of a director is to over look the artistic vision of the film and watch actors performances. Most of the time directors prefer to hand over most of these responsibilities to other members of their film crews. The director is always selected by the producer.

This website gave me the the current most popular thrillers and their directors which are:

1. The Wolfman (2010) Director: Joe Johnston, Genre: Horror/Thriller
2. Edge of Darkness (2010) Director: Martin Campbell, Genre: Drama/Thriller
3. From Paris With Love (2010) Director: Pierre Morel, Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
4. The Hurt Locker (2008) Director: Kathryn Bigelow, Genre: Action/Drama/War/Thriller
5. Shutter Island (2010) Director: Martin Scorsese, Genre: Drama/Mystery/Thriller
6. Daybreakers (2009) Director:Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig, Genre: Action/Drama/Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller
7. The Book of Eli (2010) Director: The Hughes Brothers, Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller
8. Sherlock Holmes (2009) Director: Guy Ritchie, Genre: Action/Adventure/Crime/Mystery/Thriller
9. The Collector (2009) Director: Marcus Dunstan, Genre: Crime/Horror/Thriller
10. Inglourious Basterds (2009) Director: Quentin Tarantino, Genre: Drama/War/Thriller

According to their research at: (http://www.toptenreviews.com/movies/directors/list_thriller_director.htm), I have found a table which shows the top 10 thriller movie directors.

As you can see that Alfred Hitchcock is the top thriller director according to the top ten reviews, he also came first in a 2007 poll by film critics in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper which said,''Unquestionably the greatest filmmaker to emerge from these islands, Hitchcock did more than any director to shape modern cinema, which would be utterly different without him. His flair was for narrative, cruelly withholding crucial information (from his characters and from us) and engaging the emotions of the audience like no one else.'' He has directed some memorable films like, Rear Window (1954), Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958), Shadow of a Doubt (1943).

Steven Spielberg is the second top thriller director claimed by this website, he has won the Academy Award for Best Director for Schindler's List (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). Three of Spielberg's films Jaws (1975), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Jurassic Park (1993) achieved box office records, each becoming the highest grossing film made at the time. His films have grossed a total of more than $3.5 billion. All of Spielberg's films have been successful box office success this may be because Steven Spielberg is a well known director and producer.

I have found that all these directors have their own unique style when directing thriller films this may be a reason why their films and themselves are so popular and successful. Directors like Hitchcock and Spielberg's career have spanned over a few decades in which they have built up their creditability. Hitchcock's films have their own signature theme where sometimes the characters are struggling in their relationships with their mothers or the heroines are lovely cool blonds.

There are many other great thriller directors as well for example:

Peter Jackson who has many films that are well known and are highly profitable like, King Kong (2005), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Frighteners (1996). His films have grossed more than $1.269 billion.

James Cameron is another well known director and is third for the top ten thriller directors of all time. His films include: Titanic (1997), Aliens (1986) and Terminator (1984). His films have grossed over $1.152 billion.