Is Paul Thomas Anderson Still The Current ‘Master’ of Cinema?

Every generation has a cinematic “master:” a director who stands above the rest in terms of artistry and groundbreaking works. This director tends to be the one who everyone else tries to catch up to. With every generation, there usually are only a few that can have the title of ‘master.’

The following is as clear a timeline as I could come up with of the designated titular “masters.” This starts as the conception of auteur-driven cinema was being invented, or starting to take shape, in 1950s France by the Cahiers du Cinema editorial board.

Akira Kurosawa: 1950-1958 (Rashomon, Ikiru, Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress)

Alfred Hitchcock: 1958 to 1960 (Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Vertigo)

Michelangelo Antonioni: 1960-1966 (L’Avventura, L’Eclisse, La Notte, Blow-Up)

Jean-Luc Godard: 1960-1964 (Breathless, A Woman is a Woman, My Life to Live, Contempt, Band of Outsiders)

Stanley Kubrick: 1963 to 1975 (Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon)

Francis Ford Coppola: 1972-1979 (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now)

Martin Scorsese: 1976-1990 (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, After Hours, Goodfellas)

Paul Thomas Anderson is most definitely the one to have taken that throne with his staggering output these last 15 years. Hot on his trail have been the likes of Cuaron, Lynch and Coen. However, Anderson’s streak of films, since 1997’s “Boogie Nights,” has been unparalleled — his style, an indelible mix of Influences ranging from Altman, Kubrick and Demme.

This is how I see the current state of cinema. It’s obviously very much my opinion and thoroughly up for debate. Counter-opinions should be made about this list and, because cinema is such an evolving medium, with some films aging better than others, it is almost a certainty that the reputation of these filmmakers will either blossom or stumble in the years to come. The current ten best and most influential working directors:

Paul Thomas Anderson
Alfonso Cuarón
Joel and Ethan Coen
Martin Scorsese
David Lynch
Quentin Tarantino
David Fincher
Wes Anderson
Steve McQueen
Christopher Nolan

After “There Will Be Blood” and “The Master,” PTA had the crown all to himself, but by the time “Inherent Vice” was released in 2014, it divided critics and sowed enough doubt as to whether PTA was still the best working director alive.

However, with 2017’s “Phantom Thread,” he reestablished himself as the current “great one” — ‘Phantom’ ended up being named the 8th best film of the last decade in my Critics Poll of the 2010s (“The Master” finished 6th, “Inherent Vice” 36th). “There Will Be Blood” finished at #2 in our Critics Poll of the 2000s. “Magnolia” was #7 and “Boogie Nights” #8 in our Critics Poll of the 1990s.

All of this to say, PTA will have to hit another home run with “Licorice Pizza,” or else cinephiles will again start to question whether he is the current “great one.”

Do you agree? Is Paul Thomas Anderson truly the best working director? I look forward to your comments!