Unexpectedly Influential Directors, 4-8

These directors in the '60s shaped the look and feel of many later-day films, from low-budget to gore to classic war flick.

4. Robert Aldrich

Though highly influential in the development of the contemporary Gothic thriller (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, 1962) and the war film (The Dirty Dozen, 1967), Aldrich's most penetrating influence comes from his 1955 adaptation of Mickey Spillane's crime novel Kiss Me Deadly. With disorienting camera angles, grotesque violence, and a bleak portrayal of a world out of control, it knocked audiences back in their seats and made a tremendous impression on Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, and other important young directors of the French "New Wave" of the late 1950s.

5. Roger Corman

Roger Corman, the legendary "King of the Bs," directed scores of films in just over 15 years (sometimes six or seven a year), and became not just a busy director, but Hollywood's most successful and prolific independent producer. From Westerns to Gothic horror, science fiction, crime, juvenile delinquent, and hot rod flicks -- Corman made them all with a sense of fun, and continues to sponsor and inspire low- and no-budget filmmakers today.

6. Russ Meyer

When he was unable to crack the Hollywood unions, this robust, perpetually grinning cameraman and glamour photographer became an independent filmmaker. Meyer's first feature, The Immoral Mr. Teas (1959) brought humor, color film stock, and even a shred of plot to the "peekaboo" genre. Teas was a boisterous financial success and led to other Meyer films including Lorna (1964), Mudhoney (1965), Vixen! (1968), and the highly regarded Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965). In 1970, 20th Century Fox financed and released Meyer's most elaborate production, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (with a script by film critic Roger Ebert). Adult movies became drearily explicit in the late 1970s, and Meyer lost interest in pursuing his career, but before that happened, he inspired hundreds of films by other, lesser directors.

7. Herschell Gordon Lewis

This Chicago ad exec and direct-mail marketer partnered with financier Dave Friedman to invent the "gore" genre in 1963 with the ineptly made Blood Feast. Lewis elaborated on his no-holds-barred approach to violence with Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964), Color Me Blood Red (1965), and many others. He earned the dubious title "Godfather of Gore" and helped create the climate that made possible latter-day gore fests such as Saw (2004).

8. Richard Lester

British director Richard Lester's freewheeling approach to The Beatles' first two films, A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), gave swingin' London a visual style marked by handheld cameras, flip humor, and breakneck pacing. Every other director who worked with a Brit pop group followed Lester's lead, including the talented John Boorman, who guided the Dave Clark 5 through Having a Wild Weekend in 1965. On a broader level, Lester's influence was felt in a variety of British films that were made in the mid-to late 1960s, such as John Schlesinger's Darling (1965).

On the next page, uncover the influence film directors of the 1970s brought to the art of filmmaking.