[toyg]

No mention of Orson Welles? Citizen Kane is the first thing you'll be asked to watch in any half-decent film course. Also you can't think of the evolution of cinema without mentioning Stanley Kubrick, Fritz Lang, Friedrich Murnau, Dziga Vertov ("Man with a Movie Camera")...

And it's quite debatable whether Kieslowski belongs to this list, something you're clearly aware of... or you wouldn't have put a note in to justify yourself ;)

[smrtinsert]

After watching 2001 I believe Stanley Kubrick is a filmmakers filmmaker. I think he is to Spielberg as Spielberg is to Abrams (or any other modern promising director)