Cuarón and Hitchcock and Scorsese, Oh My! The Greatest Directors Of All-Time
28. Spike Lee
Image Source: Variety
Skeptics may scoff that he is too current to make the cut, and they’d have a point if Spike Lee weren’t the first director to nail so many black experiences with a consistently rich narrative style. Lee’s movies have examined race relations, colorism in the black community, urban crime, poverty, and other political issues. The first African American director to become a household name, he burst onto the 1980s indie scene with his debut full-length feature, She’s Gotta Have It (1986).
With Do the Right Thing, following in 1989, he became a filmmaker of international fame — seen as the figurehead of the new black cinema. He has been making movies for more than 30 years now, racking up some two dozen feature credits (most notably Malcom X, 25th Hour). He is of the most important filmmakers of the current generation and one of the very few directors who uses the medium of cinema not just as an artistic expression but also as an instrument for social change.
