David Fincher

One of cinema's most dazzling visual stylists, whose dark view of human nature often overshadowed the stark images of his films, director David Fincher established himself in the world of commercials and music videos before becoming one of Hollywood's most respected talents. After an inauspicious debut with the critically maligned "Alien 3" (1992), Fincher made his mark with the unforgettable, "Se7en" (1995), a stunningly dark and morose thriller that contained perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching endings of modern filmmaking. With his bona fides set in stone, Fincher went on to direct another challenging - and brutally violent - film, "Fight Club" (1999), which allowed the director a full palette in which to display his stylish gifts. He occasionally settled back into standard thriller territory, as he did with "Panic Room" (2002), or saw an otherwise excellent film fail at the box office like with "Zodiac" (2007), but later emerged as a perennial Oscar contender with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2009) and "The Social Network" (2010), both of which were radical departures from his previous gritty and violent films. By the time he directed the highly anticipated adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2011), there was no disputing Fincher's ink black vision and refusal to believe in mankind's better nature marked him as a unique and refreshingly honest filmmaker worthy of considerable praise.