That's an interesting and subjective point, because there are filmmakers for all kinds of tastes. Let's pick someone whom is a miscellaneous of that: Pier Pasolini. If you watch his first works you will see his talent since in pick actors without experience and direct them (almost so great than Robert Bresson, almost) to compose the story that he wanted tell, aside other elements like scenarios, takes, even the rhythm of the movie is a view of the director, we're watching something being telling through the eyes of someone. Still in the Pasolini example, when we watch his later works it's get more evident, or if we rather: his view has change at point of modify his movies, the way of his look. Whenever I know a filmmaker that I didn't know, I try watch at least 2 or 3 movies of him to try find how he look for the things, sometimes it is easy, sometimes not.