10 Times a director went against their original style of filmmaking 

Each director has a signature style and a certain way of telling his or her stories, whether it's Spielberg's sense of awe, Tarantino's violent dialogue, or Nolan's complex storytelling. Expectations are built up in the audience for certain things in their movies, so when a director breaks out of what they know and do, the surprise is all the greater. Occasionally, this break is an experiment; occasionally, it's a need to break into new ways of doing things creatively.

Certain directors experiment with completely different genres, such as horror directors doing sincere dramas. Others jettison their standard storytelling methodologies in favor of more minimalist or unorthodox ones.

From Christopher Nolan's lean and mean war movie Dunkirk to Martin Scorsese's charming family picture Hugo, these sequences demonstrate the lesser-seen aspects of cinema's most acclaimed directors. Regardless of whether these endeavors succeeded or failed, they made clear that even veteran directors had a surprise in store. Following are ten occasions on which a director challenged audience perceptions and subverted their traditional mode of filmmaking to provide something utterly unforeseen.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinion. Reader's discretion is advised.

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1. Steven Spielberg – Munich (2005)

Steven Spielberg established his legacy mostly on enthralling blockbusters like Jaws and E.T., yet Munich was a drastic tonal shift. The film thriller of a political nature concerning Israel's response to the Munich massacre of 1972 was devoid of Spielberg's usual sentimentality. It moved toward a gritty, morally ambiguous narrative that left the audience feeling disturbed. Unlike his usual crowd-pleasing films, Munich was centered on espionage, paranoia, and the psychological tolls of revenge. Though lacking the broad optimism of Schindler's List, it demonstrated that Spielberg could fashion a drama filled with suspense and emotional rawness that blurred the lines between heroism and vengeance. One of his most haunting works of art, indeed.

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2. Quentin Tarantino – Jackie Brown (1997)

Tarantino was on a roll after Pulp Fiction, a film famous for its snappy dialogue, hyper-violence, and non-linear narrative. However, Jackie Brown took fans by surprise with its minimalist, character-driven style. Based on Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch, Tarantino himself reined in his typical excesses to offer a slow-burning heist movie with an older protagonist. Pam Grier's understated performance brought maturity to the role, a change from Tarantino's typical young energy. The emphasis of the film on feeling and patience over shock helped make it an anomalous standout in his filmography.

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3. Christopher Nolan – Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk, the minimalist war movie with next to no dialogue, truly caught audiences unprepared since he is known for cerebral thrillers with elaborate narratives such as Inception and The Dark Knight. Instead of heavily relying on exposition, Nolan took an immersion route with practical effects and IMAX cinematography that would provide an overwhelming feeling of tension. While the nonlinear structure was always Nelson's signature, it was the combination of no backstories for the characters with an easy-to-follow plot that differentiated Dunkirk. It was an intense sensory experience; Nolan was able to leave his mark with no brain-wrenching concepts whatsoever, simply raw emotion and brilliant filmmaking.

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4. Martin Scorsese – Hugo (2011)

Scorsese, who has made a name for himself with crime drama masterpieces such as Goodfellas and The Departed, diverged from his usual muck into family-friendly fare with Hugo. This fantasy adventure mixed historical fiction with sentimental storytelling, a testament to early cinema pioneer Georges Méliès. It was also Scorsese's first venture into 3D, employing the technology not for its flash, but to deepen the film's emotional resonance. A departure from his gritty, profane films, Hugo presented a softer, more sentimental side.

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5. David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

Fincher had built his reputation on dark, atmospheric thrillers such as Se7en and Fight Club, so The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a bold departure. The gloomy fantasy romance about a man reversing through adulthood addressed issues of love and heartbreak. Far from Fincher's typical concise, edited-to-the-bone storytelling, the film adopted a dreamy, slow-build approach. Its heart-tugging tone and sweeping visual effects seemed a world away from his typical gritty, nihilistic worldview. While polarizing critics, it received several Oscar nominations, demonstrating that Fincher could tell an emotionally dense story without resorting to his usual darkness. It is his most idiosyncratic experiment.

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6. Wes Craven – Music of the Heart (1999)

Wes Craven, the genius behind A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, made a surprise detour with Music of the Heart, a drama about a violin teacher in an inner city. Swapping slasher frights for a heartwarming, true-story film, Craven surprised viewers with his skill at working with deeply human material. Meryl Streep's commanding performance sustained the film, but Craven's direction was just as important in conveying emotional truth. Although it didn't redefine his career, it showed he wasn't limited to horror. The film is an oddity in his body of work, a reminder of his versatility outside the genre that defined him.

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7. Ridley Scott – A Good Year (2006)

Ridley Scott is known for epic science fiction works (Blade Runner) and historical drama (Gladiator), so A Good Year is a comedianly light romantic comedy. Featuring Russell Crowe in one of the rare comic roles in his career, the film followed a cynical businessman rediscovering those pleasures of life in a French vineyard. Unlike Scott's big fellows, A Good Year was intimate and whimsical. It got mixed reviews, but no one questioned Scott's ability to explore the tonal nuances of storytelling. He then went back to his blockbuster spectacle-driven movie-making: this diversion into romance now seems a delightful, if underappreciated, sidetrack.

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8. Taika Waititi – Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Taika Waititi has made offbeat comedies such as What We Do in the Shadows and Thor: Ragnarok, so a satirical Nazi-era dramedy would have been a gamble. Jojo Rabbit mixed absurd humor with heartbreaking emotion as it told the tale of a Hitler Youth boy who doubts his faith. The film kept Waititi's wit but added an element of poignancy not often found in his other work. Winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Jojo Rabbit demonstrated Waititi was capable of handling extremely sensitive subject matter while continuing to utilize his quirkily charming approach to storytelling.

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9. Danny Boyle – Yesterday (2019)

Danny Boyle founded his career on dark, kinetic movies such as Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, so Yesterday a sunny musical romance is an unexpected shift. The film projected a fantasy in which everybody forgot The Beatles except one guy, embracing the fantasies of this wish-fulfillment romp over Boyle's typical hard-scrabbed social commentaries. In holding onto his hyperactive visual sense, however, the optimistic, mawkish tone was the opposite of his darkly intense past. While some fans were missing his more edgy style, Yesterday demonstrated that Boyle was able to do feel-good without sacrificing his directorial style.

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10. Sam Raimi – For Love of the Game (1999)

Sam Raimi responded to horror with the all-new Evil Dead and spearheaded the superhero genre with Spider-Man, so helming a sentimental baseball saga. But For Love of the Game was about a pitcher. And he was reminiscing about all his years pitching. And his all-consuming love affairs. The movie eschewed all his contemporary kinetic camera moves and all supernatural happenings in favor of a simple, emotional storyline. The only action. Although not a career-changing hit, it proved Raimi capable of managing tear-jerker material. He eventually revisited horror and superheroes, thus this diversion standing as an odd but intriguing sidebar in his cinematic canon.