His Master’s Voice | Emmanuel Lubezki
Emmanuel Lubezki Morgenstern, A.S.C., A.M.C. (1964 – present)
He sometimes goes by the nickname Chivo, which means “goat” in Spanish
Mexican Cinematographer
Lubezki has worked with many acclaimed directors, including Mike Nichols, Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Joel and Ethan Coen, and frequent collaborators Terrence Malick, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Lubezki is known for achieving many groundbreaking cinematography techniques, and his work has been praised by audiences and critics alike, earning him multiple awards, including eight Academy Award nominations for Best Cinematography. He won in this category three times, becoming the first person to do so in three consecutive years, Gravity (2013), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), and The Revenant (2015).
Films of Note: Sólo Con Tu Pareja (1991), Como agua para chocolate (1992), A Little Princess (1995), The Birdcage (1996), Meet Joe Black (1998), Great Expectations (1998), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Y Tu Mamá También (2001), Ali (2001), Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The New World (2005), Children of Men (2006), The Tree of Life (2011), Gravity (2013), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), The Revenant (2015)
His Master’s Voice | Morgan Freeman
Catherine Deneuve (born Catherine Fabienne Dorléac) – 1943-present
French actress, singer, model and film producer
She gained recognition for her portrayal of aloof, mysterious beauties for various directors, including Luis Buñuel and Roman Polanski. In 1985, she was chosen as the official face of Marianne, France’s national symbol of liberty. A 14-time César Award nominee, she won for her performances in François Truffaut‘s The Last Metro (1980) and Régis Wargnier‘s Indochine (1992). She is also noted for her support for a variety of liberal causes.
Films of note: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), Repulsion (1965), Belle de Jour (1967), The April Fools (1969), Tristana (1970), Hustle (1975), The Hunger (1983), Scene of the Crime (1986), My Favourite Season (1993), Place Vendôme (1998), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Potiche(2010), The Brand New Testament (2015), Standing Tall (2015)
His Master’s Voice | Paolo Sorrentino
Paolo Sorrentino (1970 – present)
Italian film director and screenwriter
Sorrentino is considered among the most audacious contemporary filmmakers today. His work has been critically acclaimed across international film festivals and the global film community. The themes he depicts in his cinema have led him to be compared to Frederico Fellini, Ettore Scola and Michaelangelo Antonioni.
His film The Great Beauty scored a hat-trick, when in 2014 it won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film, BAFTA award for Best Film Not in the English Language, and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, after being nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
Films of Note: One Man Up (2001), The Consequences of Love (2004), The Family Friend (2006), Il Divo (2008), This Must be the Place (2011/English), The Great Beauty (2013), Youth (2015/English)
His Master’s Voice | Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa (1910 – 1998)
Japanese painter, sriptwriter and filmmaker
Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years. His last few films were made using his paintings as storyboards after he had lost his eyesight.
Entered the Japanese film industry in 1936, following a brief stint as a painter. He most frequently collaborated with actor Toshiro Mifune with whom he has made 15 films. His film , Rashomon, was first to open up Western film markets for Japanese films, leading to the popularity of many Japanese filmmakers.
In 1990, Kurosawa accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement. Posthumously, he was named “Asian of the Century” in the “Arts, Literature, and Culture” category by AsianWeek magazine and CNN, cited as “one of the [five] people who contributed most to the betterment of Asia in the past 100 years”.
Films of Note: Sanshiro Sugata (1943), Drunken Angel (1948), The Quiet Duel (1949), Stray Dog (1949), Rashomon (1950), Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Record of a Living Being (1954), Throne of Blood (1957), The Lower Depths (1957), The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961), Sanjuro (1962), High and Low (1963), Red Beard(1965), Dersu Uzala (1975), Kagemusha (1980), Ran (1985)
His Master’s Voice | Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman (1937 – present)
American actor and film director, with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960.
Hoffman has been known for his versatile portrayals of anti-heroes and vulnerable characters. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1980 for Kramer vs. Kramer, and in 1988 for Rain Man. Widely considered one of the finest actors in history, Hoffman first drew critical praise for starring in the play, Eh?, for which he won a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award. This achievement was soon followed by his breakthrough 1967 film role as Benjamin Braddock, the title character in The Graduate. Since that time, Hoffman’s career has largely been focused on the cinema, with sporadic returns to television and to the stage.
Along with 2 Academy Award wins, Hoffman has been nominated for 5 additional Academy Awards, and he was nominated for 13 Golden Globes, winning 6 (including an honorary award). He has won 4 BAFTAs, 3 Drama Desk Awards, a Genie Award, and an Emmy Award.
Hoffman received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1999, and the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 2012.
Films of Note: The Graduate (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969), John and Mary (1969), Little Big Man (1970), Straw Dogs (1971), Papillon (1973), Lenny (1974), All the President’s Men (1976), Marathon Man (1976), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Tootsie (1982), Rain Man (1988), Hook (1991), Outbreak (1995) and Wag the Dog (1997), Meet the Fockers (2004), Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), Kung Fu Panda 1, 2 and 3 (2008, 2011 and 2016/voice of Master Shifu)
His Master’s Voice | Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook (1963 – present)
South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic
One of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers in his native country, Chan-wook’s films are noted for their immaculate framing, black humour and often brutal subject matter. Park said his films are about the utter futility of vengeance and how it wreaks havoc on the lives of everyone involved. His films have a massive audience worldwide, having done spectacular business and won close to 25 awards across several international film festivals. Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino considers Chan-wook’s films to be one of his biggest sources of inspiration.
Films of Note: Joint Security Area (2000), Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005), I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2007), Thirst (2009), Night Fishing (2011), Stoker (2013)
His Master’s Voice | Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman (1918 – 2007)
Swedish director, writer and producer who worked in film, television, and theatre.
Recognised as one of the most accomplished and influential auteurs of all time, having directed over sixty films and documentaries for cinematic release and for television, most of which he also wrote. He also directed over 170 plays. His work often dealt with death, illness, faith, betrayal, bleakness and insanity.
From 1953 he forged a powerful creative partnership with his full-time cinematographer Sven Nykvist. Among his company of actors were Harriet and Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Gunnar Björnstrand, Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin and Max von Sydow. Most of his films were set in Sweden, and numerous films from Through a Glass Darkly (1961) onward were filmed on the island of Fårö.
Films of Note: Smiles of a Summer Night (1953), Wild Strawberries (1957), The Seventh Seal (1957) The Magician (1958), Brink of Life (1958), The Virgin Spring (1960), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), The Silence (1963), Shame (1968), Cries and Whispers (1972), Scenes from a Marriage (1973), The Magic Flute (1975), Face to Face (1976), Autumn Sonata (1978) Fanny and Alexander (1982), The Best Intentions (1992), Saraband (2003)
His Master’s Voice | Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke (1942 – present)
Austrian film director and screenwriter
His work often examines social issues, and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society.
Has worked in television‚theatre and cinema. Besides working as a filmmaker, Haneke also teaches film direction at the Film Academy Vienna.
His films have been appreciated worldwide and awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globe and Academy Award, among others. He is the only Austrian director and the seventh in the world to have received the Palme d’Or twice. In 2013 Haneke won the Prince of Asturias Award for the arts.
Films of Note: The Seventh Continent (1989), Benny’s Video (1992), Code Unknown (2000), The Piano Teacher (2001), Cache (2005), Funny Games (2007), The White Ribbon (2009), Amour (2012)
His Master’s Voice | Tim Burton
Timothy Walter “Tim” Burton (1958 – present)
American film director, producer, artist, writer and animator.
He is known for dark, gothic and quirky fantasy films, which have become his signature. He has also made animated musicals, biopics, horror fantasies, adventure comedies, superhero films, science fiction and adaptations of classic English literature.
Burton has often cast certain actors in multiple directing projects. This includes Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Danny DeVito, Conchata Ferrell, Albert Finney, Michael Gough, Michael Keaton, Martin Landau, Christopher Lee, Lisa Marie, Catherine O’Hara, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michelle Pfeiffer, Alan Rickman, Deep Roy, Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Timothy Spall and Christopher Walken.
Burton also often works with certain crew members in multiple directing projects. This includes composer Danny Elfman, screenwriters Caroline Thompson, John August, and Seth Grahame-Smith, producers Denise Di Novi, Allison Abbate, and Richard D. Zanuck, costume designer Colleen Atwood, production designers Bo Welch, Alex McDowell, andRick Heinrichs, cinematographers Philippe Rousselot and Dariusz Wolski, and editor/executive producer Chris Lebenzon.
Films of Note: Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Dark Shadows (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Planet of the Apes (2001), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)
His Master’s Voice | Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (1963 – present)
French independent film director, screenwriter and producer, he is noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. He is well known for his music video collaborations with The Chemical Brothers, Björk and The White Stripes.
He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), which is often ranked one of the greatest films of the 2000s.
Films of Note: Human Nature (2001), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), The Science of Sleep (2006), The Green Hornet (2011), The We and the I (2012), Mood Indigo (2013), Microbe & Gasoline (2015)
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