Directors Quest
by GuiF-A | created - 04 Sep 2011 | updated - 07 Apr 2022 | PublicThis list features all of the directors whose filmography I have broadly explored. At the top you will find the ones I really love and further down the ones I dislike the most. I still have many filmmakers to discover, so if one is missing it is simply because I haven't gotten around to see (most of) their films, and not because I don't like their work. For the filmographies I am currently working on see the bottom of the list. Only filmmakers who have made at least 3 full-length features or 6 shorts are added, unless they are no longer active.
Latest Updates:
∙ Albert Brooks - Several films
∙ Apichatpong Weerasethakul - Memoria
∙ Joachim Trier - Full Filmography
∙ Edgar Wright - Last Night in Soho
1. Andrei Tarkovsky
Writer | Offret
The most famous Soviet film-maker since Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky (the son of noted poet Arseniy Tarkovsky) studied music and Arabic in Moscow before enrolling in the Soviet film school VGIK. He shot to international attention with his first feature, Ivan's Childhood (1962), which won the...
(1979) Stalker - 10
(1975) The Mirror - 10
(1966) Andrey Rublyov - 10
(1986) The Sacrifice - 10
(1972) Solaris - 9.5
(1983) Nostalghia - 9.0
(1962) Ivan's Childhood - 8.5
(1961) The Steamroller & the Violin - 8
Average Score: 9.38
2. Werner Herzog
Director | Fitzcarraldo
Director. Writer. Producer. Actor. Poet. He studied history, literature and theatre for some time, but didn't finish it and founded instead his own film production company in 1963. Later in his life, Herzog also staged several operas in Bayreuth, Germany, and at the Milan Scala in Italy. Herzog has...
(1972) Aguirre, the Wrath of God - 10
(1992) Lessons of Darkness - 10
(1977) Stroszek - 10
(1982) Fitzcarraldo - 9.5
(1974) The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser - 9.5
(1979) Nosferatu, the Vampyre - 9.5
(2005) Grizzly Man - 9
(1974) The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner - 9
(1976) Heart of Glass - 9
(2007) Encounters at the End of the World - 9
(1971) Land of Silence and Darkness - 9
(1968) Signs of Life - 9
(1993) Bells From the Deep - 9
(1999) My Best Fiend - 9
(2020) Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds - 8.6
(2009) My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done - 8.5
(1977) La Soufriere - 8.5
(1987) Cobra Verde - 8.5
(2010) Cave of Forgotten Dreams - 8.5
(2009) Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - 8.5
(2005) The Wild Blue Yonder - 8.5
(2016) Into the Inferno - 8.5
(2011) Into the Abyss - 8.5
(2004) The White Diamond - 8.5
(1995) Death for Five Voices - 8.5
(2003) Wheel of Time - 8.5
(2012) On Death Row - 8.5
(1998) Little Dieter Needs to Fly - 8.5
(1985) The Dark Glow of the Mountains - 8.5
(2019) Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin - 8.4
(1970) Even Dwarfs Started Small - 8
(1971) Fata Morgana - 8
(1979) Woyzeck - 8
(1984) Where the Green Ants Dream - 8
(2000) Wings of Hope - 8
(1989) Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun - 8
(2001) Invincible - 8
(2011) Happy People: A Year in The Taiga - 8
(2006) Rescue Dawn - 8
(2016) Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World - 8
(2011) Ode to the Dawn of Man - 8
(2002) Ten Minutes Older: 10 Thousand Years Older - 8
(2013) From One Second to the Next - 8
(1983) God's Angry Man - 8
(2019) Family Romance, LLC - 6.7
(2001) Pilgrimage - 6.5
(2016) Salt and Fire - 6.3
(2015) Queen of the Desert - 5.4
Average Score: 8.62
3. Robert Bresson
Writer | Au hasard Balthazar
Robert Bresson trained as a painter before moving into films as a screenwriter, making a short film (atypically a comedy), Public Affairs (1934) in 1934. After spending more than a year as a German POW during World War II, he made his debut with Angels of Sin (1943) in 1943. His next film, The ...
(1966) Au Hasard Balthazar - 10
(1983) L'Argent - 10
(1956) A Man Escaped - 10
(1967) Mouchette - 9.5
(1951) Diary of a Country Priest - 9.5
(1974) Lancelot Du Lac - 9.5
(1959) Pickpocket - 9
(1962) The Trial of Joan of Arc - 8.5
(1943) Les Anges du Péché - 8.5
(1969) A Gentle Woman - 8
(1977) The Devil Probably - 7.5
(1945) Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne - 6
Average Score: 8.83
4. Ingmar Bergman
Writer | Smultronstället
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was born July 14, 1918, the son of a priest. The film and T.V. series, The Best Intentions (1992) is biographical and shows the early marriage of his parents. The film Sunday's Children (1992) depicts a bicycle journey with his father. In the miniseries Private Confessions (...
(1966) Persona - 10
(1982) Fanny And Alexander - 10
(1957) Wild Strawberries - 10
(1973) Scenes From A Marriage - 10
(1957) The Seventh Seal - 9.5
(1972) Cries And Whispers - 9
(1963) Winter Light - 9
(1963) The Silence - 9
(1961) Through a Glass Darkly - 9
(1968) Hour of The Wolf - 9
(1958) The Magician - 8.5
(1955) Smiles of a Summer Night - 8.5
(1968) Shame - 8
(1969) The Passion Of Anna - 8
(1980) From the Life of the Marionettes - 8
(1975) The Magic Flute - 8
(2003) Saraband - 8
(1951) Summer Interlude - 8
(1953) Summer With Monika - 8
(1978) Autumn Sonata - 7.5
(1960) The Virgin Spring - 7
(1953) Sawdust and Tinsel - 7
(1976) Face To Face - 5.5
Extra:
(1986) The Making of Fanny and Alexander - 9
Average Score: 8.46
5. Stanley Kubrick
Director | 2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would ...
(1968) 2001: A Space Odyssey - 10
(1971) A Clockwork Orange - 10
(1975) Barry Lyndon - 10
(1964) Dr. Strangelove - 9.5
(1980) The Shining - 9.5
(1999) Eyes Wide Shut - 9.2
(1957) Paths of Glory - 9
(1987) Full Metal Jacket - 9
(1956) The Killing - 8.5
(1962) Lolita - 8
(1960) Spartacus - 8
(1955) Killer's Kiss - 7.5
Average Score: 9.04
6. Terrence Malick
Writer | Days of Heaven
Terrence Malick was born in Ottawa, Illinois. His family subsequently lived in Oklahoma and he went to school in Austin, Texas. He did his undergraduate work at Harvard, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in philosophy in 1965.
A member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, he attended Magdalen ...
(2011) The Tree of Life - 10
(1974) Badlands - 10
(1998) The Thin Red Line - 9.5
(2005) The New World - 9.5
(2019) A Hidden Life - 9.2
(2017) Song to Song - 9.1
(1978) Days of Heaven - 9
(2016) Voyage of Time - 8.7
(2015) Knight of Cups - 8.5
(2013) To The Wonder - 8
Average Score: 9.20
7. Federico Fellini
Writer | Le notti di Cabiria
The women who both attracted and frightened him and an Italy dominated in his youth by Mussolini and Pope Pius XII - inspired the dreams that Fellini started recording in notebooks in the 1960s. Life and dreams were raw material for his films. His native Rimini and characters like Saraghina (the ...
(1960) La Dolce Vita - 10
(1963) 8½ - 10
(1957) Le Notti di Cabiria - 9.5
(1973) Amarcord - 9
(1954) La Strada - 9
(1965) Giulietta degli Spiriti - 8.5
(1953) I Vitelloni - 8.5
(1976) Il Casanova di Federico Fellini - 8.5
(1972) Roma - 8
(1983) E la Nave Va - 8
(1978) Prova d'Orchestra - 8
(1968) Toby Dammit (Spirits of the Dead segment) - 8
(1987) Intervista - 7.6
(1969) Satyricon - 7.5
(1986) Ginger e Fred - 7.5
(1955) Il Bidone - 7.5
(1980) La Città delle Donne - 7
(1950) Luci del Varietà - 7
(1952) Lo Sceicco Bianco - 7
(1970) I Clowns - [soon]
Average Score: 8.01
8. Billy Wilder
Writer | The Apartment
Originally planning to become a lawyer, Billy Wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city's largest tabloid. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many ...
(1950) Sunset Blvd. - 10
(1951) Ace In the Hole - 10
(1945) The Lost Weekend - 9.5
(1961) One, Two, Three - 9
(1959) Some Like It Hot - 9
(1960) The Apartment - 9
(1963) Irma La Douce - 8.5
(1944) Double Indemnity - 8
(1966) The Fortune Cookie - 8
(1954) Sabrina - 8
(1953) Stalag 17 - 8
(1943) Five Graves To Cairo - 8
(1957) Witness For the Prosecution - 7.5
(1955) The Seven Year Itch - 7
(1942) The Major and the Minor - [soon]
(1948) A Foreign Affair - [soon]
(1948) The Emperor Waltz - [soon]
(1964) Kiss Me, Stupid - [soon]
(1957) Love in the Afternoon - [soon]
(1957) The Spirit of St. Louis - [soon]
(1981) Buddy Buddy - [soon]
(1978) Fedora - [soon]
(1974) The Front Page - [soon]
(1972) Avanti! - [soon]
(1970) The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes - [soon]
Average Score: 8.54
9. Nicholas Ray
Director | Rebel Without a Cause
Nicholas Ray was born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle in 1911, in small-town Galesville, Wisconsin, to Lena (Toppen) and Raymond Joseph Kienzle, a contractor and builder. He was of German and Norwegian descent. Ray's early experience with film came with some radio broadcasting in high school. He left the ...
(1950) In a Lonely Place - 10
(1954) Johnny Guitar - 9.5
(1956) Bigger Than Life - 9.5
(1955) Rebel Without a Cause - 9.5
(1952) On Dangerous Ground - 8.5
(1949) They Live By Night - 8
(1955) Run for Cover - 8
(1958) Party Girl - 7.5
(1950) Born to be Bad - 6.5
Average Score: 8.56
10. Alain Resnais
Director | Hiroshima mon amour
Alain Resnais was born on June 3, 1922 in Vannes, Morbihan, France. He was a director and editor, known for Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), Same Old Song (1997) and My American Uncle (1980). He was married to Sabine Azéma and Florence Malraux. He died on March 1, 2014 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, ...
(1961) Last Year At Marienbad - 10
(1959) Hiroshima Mon Amour - 9.5
(1968) Je t'Aime Je t'Aime - 9.5
(1955) Night and Fog - 9.5
(1956) Toute la Mémoire du Monde - 9
(2009) Wild Grass - 9
(1977) Providence - 8.5
(1997) Same Old Song - 8.5
(1980) My American Uncle - 8
(2006) Private Fears In Public Places - 8
(1993) Smoking/No Smoking - 8
(1963) Muriel, or The Time of Return - 7.5
(1966) The War Is Over - 7.5
(1953) Statues Also Die - 7
(2012) You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet - 7
Average Score: 8.40
11. Buster Keaton
Actor | The General
Joseph Frank Keaton was born on October 4, 1895 in Piqua, Kansas, to Joe Keaton and Myra Keaton. Joe and Myra were Vaudevillian comedians with a popular, ever-changing variety act, giving Keaton an eclectic and interesting upbringing. In the earliest days on stage, they traveled with a medicine ...
(1926) The General - 10
(1924) Sherlock Jr. - 10
(1923) Our Hospitality - 9.5
(1920) One Week - 9.5
(1928) The Cameraman - 9
(1924) The Navigator - 9
(1925) Seven Chances - 8.5
(1928) Steamboat Bill Jr - 8.5
(1920) The Scarecrow - 8
(1920) Neighbors - 8
(1921) The Playhouse - 8
(1922) Cops - 8
(1922) The Electric House - 8
(1925) Battling Butler - 7.5
(1923) Three Ages - 7.5
(1922) Day Dreams - 7.5
(1921) The Haunted House - 7.5
(1921) The High Sign - 7.5
(1927) College - 7.5
(1921) The Goat - 7.5
(1929) Spite Marriage - 7
(1925) Go West - 7
(1921) Hard Luck - 7
(1921) The Boat - 6.5
(1922) The Paleface - 6.5
Average Score: 8.10
12. Jean-Pierre Melville
Writer | Le samouraï
The name "Melville" is not immediately associated with film. It conjures up images of white whales and crackbrained captains, of naysaying notaries and soup-spilling sailors. It is the countersign to a realm of men and their deeds, both heroic and villainous. It is the American novel, with its ...
(1969) L'Armée des Ombres - 10
(1967) Le Samouraï - 10
(1962) Le Doulos - 9
(1970) Le Cercle Rouge - 9
(1966) Le Deuxième Souffle - 8.5
(1956) Bob le Flambeur - 8
(1949) Le Silence de la Mer - 8
(1972) Un Flic - 8
(1961) Léon Morin, Pêtre - 7.5
(1950) Les Enfants Terribles - 7
Average Score: 8.50
13. Martin Scorsese
Producer | Killers of the Flower Moon
Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York City, to Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) and Charles Scorsese, who both worked in Manhattan's garment district, and whose families both came from Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later ...
(1976) Taxi Driver - 10
(1980) Raging Bull - 10
(1990) Goodfellas - 9.5
(1988) The Last Temptation of Christ - 9.5
(1993) The Age of Innocence - 9
(1973) Mean Streets - 9
(1983) The King of Comedy - 9
(1985) After Hours - 8.5
(2019) The Irishman - 8.2
(2016) Silence - 8.1
(1974) Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - 8
(1986) The Color of Money - 7.5
(1995) Casino - 7.5
(2013) The Wolf of Wall Street - 7.5
(2011) Hugo - 7
(2006) The Departed - 7
(2004) The Aviator - 6.5
(2021) Pretend It's a City - 6
(2010) Shutter Island - 5.5
(2002) Gangs of New York - 4
Average Score: 7.97
14. Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writer | Trois couleurs: Bleu
Krzysztof Kieslowski graduated from Lódz Film School in 1969, and became a documentary, TV and feature film director and scriptwriter. Before making his first film for TV, Przejscie podziemne (1974) (The Underground Passage), he made a number of short documentaries. His next TV title, Personnel (...
(1989) Dekalog - 10
(1991) The Double Life of Veronique - 9.5
(1993) Three Colors: Blue - 9.5
(1994) Three Colors: Red - 9
(1988) A Short Film About Love - 9
(1994) Three Colors: White - 8.5
Average Score: 9.25
15. Michael Haneke
Writer | Caché
A true master of his craft, Michael Haneke is one of the greatest film artists working today and one who challenges his viewers each year and work goes by, with films that reflect real portions of life in realistic, disturbing and unforgettable ways. One of the most genuine filmmakers of the world ...
(2009) The White Ribbon - 9.5
(2012) Amour - 9
(2001) La Pianiste - 9
(2005) Caché - 9
(1989) The Seventh Continent - 9
(2017) Happy End - 8.1
(1994) 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance - 8
(1997) Funny Games - 8
(2000) Code Unknown - 8
(2003) Le Temps du Loup - 7.4
Average Score: 8.50
16. Paul Thomas Anderson
Director | Punch-Drunk Love
Anderson was born in 1970. He was one of the first of the "video store" generation of film-makers. His father was the first man on his block to own a V.C.R., and from a very early age Anderson had an infinite number of titles available to him. While film-makers like Spielberg cut their teeth making...
(1999) Magnolia - 9.5
(2017) Phantom Thread - 9.2
(1997) Boogie Nights - 9
(2002) Punch-Drunk Love - 9
(2007) There Will Be Blood - 9
(2021) Licorice Pizza - 8.9
(2014) Inherent Vice - 8.7
(2012) The Master - 8.5
(1996) Hard Eight/Sydney - 8
(2019) Anima - 8
Average Score: 8.87
17. Robert Altman
Director | Gosford Park
Robert Altman was born on February 20th, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, to B.C. (an insurance salesman) and Helen Altman. He entered St. Peters Catholic school at the age six, and spent a short time at a Catholic high school. From there, he went to Rockhurst High School. It was then that he started...
(1975) Nashville - 10
(1992) The Player - 9.5
(1970) MASH - 9
(1973) The Long Goodbye - 9
(1993) Short Cuts - 9
(2001) Gosford Park - 9
(1971) McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8.5
(1977) 3 Women - 8.5
(1984) Secret Honor - 8
(2003) The Company - 8
(1974) Thieves Like Us - 7.5
(2006) A Prairie Home Companion - 7.5
(1999) Cookie's Fortune - 7.5
Average Score: 8.50
18. Mike Leigh
Director | Secrets & Lies
Mike Leigh is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design and the London School of Film Technique. He began his career as a theatre ...
(1996) Secrets & Lies - 9.5
(1993) Naked - 9.5
(2014) Mr. Turner - 9
(2002) All or Nothing - 9
(2008) Happy-go-lucky - 9
(2010) Another Year - 9
(2004) Vera Drake - 8.5
(1999) Topsy-Turvy - 8
(2012) A Running Jump - 7
(1990) Life is Sweet - 7
Average Score: 8.63
19. Jean Renoir
Writer | La règle du jeu
Son of the famous Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste, he had a happy childhood. Pierre Renoir was his brother, and Claude Renoir was his nephew. After the end of World War I, where he won the Croix de Guerre, he moved from scriptwriting to filmmaking. He married Catherine Hessling, for whom he ...
(1939) The Rules of the Game - 10
(1932) Boudu Saved from Drowning - 9
(1936) Partie de Campagne - 9
(1937) La Grande Illusion - 8.5
(1938) La Bete Humaine - 8.5
(1956) Elena et les Hommes - 7.7
(1954) French Cancan - 7.3
(1936) The Lower Depths - 7
(1947) The River - 6
Average Score: 8.22
20. Agnès Varda
Director | Cléo de 5 à 7
Agnès Varda was born on May 30, 1928 in Ixelles, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), Vagabond (1985) and Faces Places (2017). She was married to Jacques Demy. She died on March 29, 2019 in Paris, France.
(2008) Les Plages d'Agnès - 9.5
(2019) Varda par Agnès - 9.3
(1965) Le Bonheur - 9
(1962) Clèo de 5 à 7 - 9
(2017) Visages Villages - 9
(2000) Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse - 9
(1985) Sans Toit ni Loi - 8.5
(1991) Jacquot de Nantes - 8.5
(1958) L'Opèra Mouffe - 8.5
(1966) Elsa la Rose - 8.5
(2004) Ydessa, Les Ours et etc. - 8.5
(1982) Ulysse - 8.5
(2011) Agnès de ci, de là Varda - 8.5
(1955) La Pointe-Courte - 8
(1984) Les Dites Cariatides - 8
(1967) Oncle Yanco - 8
(1963) Salut Les Cubains - 8
(1976) Daguerreotypes - 8
(1961) Les Fiancés du Pont Macdonald - 8
(1986) T'as de Beaux Escaliers Tu Sais... - 8
(1958) Du côté de la côte - 7.5
(1968) Black Panthers - 7
(1984) 7p., cuis., s. de b., … à saisir - 7
Average Score: 8.57
21. Víctor Erice
Director | Cerrar los ojos
Víctor Erice was born on June 30, 1940 in Karrantza, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain. He is a director and writer, known for Close Your Eyes (2023), El Sur (1983) and The Spirit of the Beehive (1973).
(1983) El Sur - 9.3
(1973) El Espíritu de la Colmena - 9.2
(2002) Ten Minutes Older: Lifeline - 9.0
(1992) El Sol del Membrillo - 8.8
(2006) La Morte Rouge - 6.0
Average Score: 8.70
22. Joel Coen
Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Joel Daniel Coen is an American filmmaker who regularly collaborates with his younger brother Ethan. They made Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail Caesar and other projects. Joel ...
& Ethan Coen
(1996) Fargo - 9.5
(1998) The Big Lebowski - 9.5
(2007) No Country For Old Men - 9
(2001) The Man Who Wasn't There - 9
(2013) Inside Llewyn Davis - 8.5
(1990) Miller's Crossing - 8.5
(2009) A Serious Man - 8.5
(2018) The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - 8.3
(1991) Barton Fink - 8
(2010) True Grit - 8
(1987) Raising Arizona - 8
(2008) Burn After Reading - 8
(2000) O Brother Where Art Thou - 8
(2016) Hail, Cesar! - 7.8
(1984) Blood Simple. - 7.5
(2003) Intolerable Cruelty - 7.5
(2004) The Ladykillers - 7
(1994) The Hudsucker Proxy - 7
Average Score: 8.20
23. Luchino Visconti
Writer | Il gattopardo
Born in his ancestral palazzo, situated in the same Milanese square as both the opera house La Scala and the Milan Cathedral, Luchino Visconti (1906 - 1976) was raised under the auspices of aristocratic privilege, theater and Catholicism. This triangulation of monuments would create an equally ...
(1963) Il Gattopardo - 9.6
(1948) La Terra Trema: Episodio del Mare - 8.9
(1957) Le Notti Bianche - 8.8
(1960) Rocco e i Suoi Fratelli - 8.7
(1971) Morte a Venezia - 8.4
(1954) Senso - 8.0
(1952) Bellissima - 8.0
(1972) Ludwig - 7.9
(1976) L'Innocente - 7.8
(1965) Vaghe Stelle Dell'Orsa... - 7.7
(1969) La Caduta Degli Dei - 7.7
(1974) Gruppo di Famiglia in un Interno - 7.6
(1943) Ossessione - 7.6
(1967) Lo Straniero - 6.5
Extra:
(1970) Alla Ricerca di Tadzio - 6.0
Average Score: 8.09
24. Alfred Hitchcock
Director | Psycho
Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and ...
(1954) Rear Window - 9.6
(1960) Psycho - 9.1
(1958) Vertigo - 9.0
(1951) Strangers on a Train - 8.8
(1959) North by Northwest - 8.7
(1948) Rope - 8.6
(1940) Rebecca - 8.5
(1956) The Wrong Man - 8.3
(1954) Dial M for Murder - 8.3
(1945) Spellbound - 8.2
(1938) The Lady Vanishes - 8.1
(1946) Notorious - 7.9
(1943) Shadow of a Doubt - 7.8
(1955) To Catch a Thief - 7.7
(1963) The Birds - 7.6
(1976) Family Plot - 7.6
(1956) The Man Who Knew Too Much - 7.5
(1972) Frenzy - 7.5
(1941) Suspicion - 7.5
(1935) The 39 Steps - 7.4
(1944) Lifeboat - 7.3
(1927) The Lodger - 7.3
(1940) Foreign Correspondent - 7.1
(1953) I Confess - 7.0
(1934) The Man Who Knew Too Much - 6.9
(1950) Stage Fright - 6.8
(1955) The Trouble With Harry - 6.6
(1942) Saboteur - 6.6
(1936) Sabotage - 6.3
(1964) Marnie - 6.2
(1969) Topaz - 5.9
(1966) Torn Curtain - 5.8
Average Score: 7.73
25. Woody Allen
Writer | Annie Hall
Woody Allen was born on November 30, 1935, as Allen Konigsberg, in The Bronx, NY, the son of Martin Konigsberg and Nettie Konigsberg. He has one younger sister, Letty Aronson. As a young boy, he became intrigued with magic tricks and playing the clarinet, two hobbies that he continues today.
Allen ...
(1977) Annie Hall - 9.5
(1986) Hannah and Her Sisters - 9.5
(1989) Crimes and Misdemeanors - 9.5
(1975) Love and Death - 8.5
(1994) Bullets Over Broadway - 8.5
(1993) Manhattan Murder Mystery - 8.5
(1985) The Purple Rose of Cairo - 8.5
(1983) Zelig - 8.5
(1979) Manhattan - 8.5
(2013) Blue Jasmine - 8.5
(1978) Interiors - 8.5
(2011) Midnight in Paris - 8
(2005) Match Point - 8
(2008) Vicky Cristina Barcelona - 8
(1999) Sweet and Lowdown - 8
(1992) Husbands and Wives - 8
(1984) Broadway Danny Rose - 8
(2014) Magic in the Moonlight - 7.5
(1997) Deconstructing Harry - 7.5
(2017) Wonder Wheel - 7.1
(1990) Alice - 7
(2000) Small Time Crooks - 7
(2015) Irrational Man - 6.7
(2016) Crisis in Six Scenes - 6.7
(2012) To Rome, With Love - 6.5
(1987) Radio Days - 6.5
(2016) Café Society - 5.9
(2019) A Rainy Day in New York - 5.1
Average Score: 7.82
26. Jane Campion
Writer | Bright Star
Jane Campion was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and now lives in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Having graduated with a BA in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington in 1975, and a BA, with a painting major, at Sydney College of the Arts in 1979, she began filmmaking in the early...
(1990) An Angel at My Table - 9.5
(1993) The Piano - 9
(2009) Bright Star - 9
(2013) Top of the Lake - 9 (Mini-Series)
(2021) The Power of the Dog - 8.8
(2006) The Water Diary - 8.5
(1989) Sweetie - 8
(1982) An Exercise in Discipline, Peel - 7.5
(1996) The Portrait of a Lady - 7
Average Score: 8.42
27. Jacques Tati
Writer | Playtime
The comic genius Jacques Tati was born Taticheff, descended from a noble Russian family. His grandfather, Count Dimitri, had been a general in the Imperial Army and had served as military attaché to the Russian Embassy in Paris. His father, Emmanuel Taticheff, was a well-to-do picture framer who ...
(1967) Play Time - 9.5
(1958) Mon Oncle - 9
(1953) Mr. Hulot's Holidays - 8.5
(1971) Trafic - 8
(1949) Jour de Fete - 7.5
Average Score: 8.50
28. Béla Tarr
Producer | Werckmeister harmóniák
Béla Tarr was born on July 21, 1955 in Pécs, Hungary. He is a producer and director, known for Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), The Turin Horse (2011) and Satantango (1994). He is married to Ágnes Hranitzky.
(2000) Werckmeister Harmonies - 9
(1994) Satantango - 9
(2011) The Turin Horse - 9
(2004) Prologue - 8.5
(2007) The Man from London - 8
(1988) Damnation - 7.5
Average Score: 8.50
29. Roman Polanski
Director | Chinatown
Roman Polanski is a Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few truly international filmmakers. Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933.
His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years ...
(1974) Chinatown - 9.5
(1968) Rosemary's Baby - 9
(1965) Repulsion - 9
(1966) Cul-de-Sac - 9
(1962) Knife in the Water - 9
(1979) Tess - 8.5
(2010) The Ghost Writer - 8.5
(2002) The Pianist - 8
(1976) The Tenant - 7.5
(2005) Oliver Twist - 7
(2011) Carnage - 7
Average Score: 8.37
30. Abbas Kiarostami
Writer | Copie conforme
Abbas Kiarostami was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1940. He graduated from university with a degree in fine arts before starting work as a graphic designer. He then joined the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where he started a film section, and this started his career ...
(1994) Through the Olive Trees - 9
(2010) Certified Copy - 9
(2012) Like Someone in Love - 9
(1997) Taste of Cherry - 9
(1987) Where is My Friend's House - 8.5
(1990) Close-Up - 8.5
(1999) The Wind Will Carry Us - 8
(1992) Life and Nothing More... - 7
(2002) Ten - 6.5
Average Score: 8.28
31. Michelangelo Antonioni
Writer | Blow-Up
Together with Fellini, Bergman and Kurosawa, Michelangelo Antonioni is credited with defining the modern art film. And yet Antonioni's cinema is also recognized today for defying any easy categorization, with his films ultimately seeming to belong to their own distinctive genre. Indeed, the ...
(1960) L'Avventura - 9.1
(1961) La Notte - 8.9
(1964) Il Deserto Rosso - 8.9
(1966) Blowup - 8.6
(1957) Il Grido - 8.3
(1975) Professione: Reporter - 8.1
(1962) L'Eclisse - 7.9
(1982) Identificazione di una Donna - 7.7
(1972) Chung Kuo, Cina - 7.6
(1950) Cronaca di un Amore - 7.5
(1953) I Vinti - 7.3
(1955) Le Amiche - 7.1
(1947) Gente del Po - 7.0
(1970) Zabriskie Point - 6.9
(1995) Al di Là delle Nuvole - 6.6
(1980) Il Mistero di Oberwald - 6.4
(1953) La Signora Senza Camelie - 6.3
Average Score: 7.89
32. Mike Nichols
Director | The Graduate
He, along with the other members of the "Compass Players" including Elaine May, Paul Sills, Byrne Piven, Joyce Hiller Piven and Edward Asner helped start the famed "Second City Improv" company. They used the games taught to them by fellow cast mate, Paul Sills 's mother, Viola Spolin. He later ...
(2003) Angels In America - 9.5
(1966) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - 9.5
(1967) The Graduate - 8.5
(2001) Wit - 8
(2004) Closer - 7.5
(1986) Heartburn - 7.3
(2007) Charlie Wilson's War - 7
(1990) Postcards From the Edge - 7
Average Score: 8.04
33. Pedro Almodóvar
Writer | Hable con ella
The most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel was born in a small town (Calzada de Calatrava) in the impoverished Spanish region of La Mancha. He arrived in Madrid in 1968, and survived by selling used items in the flea-market called El Rastro. Almodóvar couldn't study ...
(2002) Talk To Her - 9
(2006) Volver - 9
(2011) The Skin I Live In - 8.5
(2009) Broken Embraces - 8.5
(1999) All About My Mother - 8.5
(1988) Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - 8.5
(2004) Bad Education - 8.5
(2021) Madres Paralelas - 8.0
(2019) Pain and Glory - 7.8
(2016) Julieta - 7.6
(1997) Live Flesh - 7.5
(2020) The Human Voice - 7.0
Average Score: 8.34
34. Jean Cocteau
Writer | La Belle et la Bête
Jean Cocteau was one of the most multi-talented artists of the 20th century. In addition to being a director, he was a poet, novelist, painter, playwright, set designer, and actor. He began writing at 10 and was a published poet by age 16. He collaborated with the "Russian Ballet" company of Sergei...
(1950) Orpheus - 9.5
(1946) Beauty and the Beast - 9
(1932) Blood of a Poet - 8.5
(1960) Testament of Orpheus - 8
Average Score: 8.75
35. Jean Vigo
Writer | Zéro de conduite : Jeunes diables au collège
Jean Vigo had bad health since he was a child. Son of anarchist militant Miguel Almareyda, he also never really recovered from his father's mysterious death in jail when he was 12. Abandoned by his mother, he passed from boarding school to boarding school. Aged 23, through meetings with people ...
(1934) L'Atalante - 9.5
(1933) Zéro de Conduite - 8.5
(1931) Taris, Roi de L'Eau - 8
(1930) À Propos de Nice - 8
Average Score: 8.70
36. Yuri Norstein
Animation_department | Skazka skazok
Born to Jewish parents and raised in a Moscow suburb, Yuri Norstein painted as a hobby and trained as a carpenter before studying animation. He directed his first film in 1968 and made a series of short films notable for their attention to atmosphere and fine detail, using a multiplane camera to ...
Note: All of these films are shorts.
(1979) Tale of Tales - 9.5
(1975) The Hedgehog in the Fog - 9
(1971) The Battle of Kerzhenets - 8.5
(1973) The Fox and the Hare - 8.5
(1974) The Heron and the Crane - 8
(1969) Seasons - 8
(1968) 25th October, The First Day - 7
Average Score: 8.36
37. Charles Chaplin
Writer | The Great Dictator
Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the ...
(1936) Modern Times - 9
(1931) City Lights - 9
(1921) The Kid - 8.5
(1928) The Circus - 8
(1925) The Gold Rush - 8
(1940) The Great Dictator - 8
(1947) Monsieur Verdoux - 7
(1952) Limelight - 6.5
Average Score: 8.00
38. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Director | Memoria
Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b. 1970, Bangkok) grew up in Khon Kaen, a city in the north east of Thailand. He has a degree in Architecture from Khon Kaen University and a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been making films and videos since the ...
(2009) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - 9
(2004) Tropical Malady - 9
(2021) Memoria - 8.7
(2015) Cemetery of Splendor - 8.2
(2006) Syndromes And A Century - 8
(2000) Mysterious Object at Noon - 8
(2009) A Letter to Uncle Boonmee - 8
(2009) Phantoms of Nabua - 8
(2002) Blissfully Yours - 7.5
Average Score: 8.24
39. Wes Anderson
Director | Fantastic Mr. Fox
Wesley Wales Anderson was born in Houston, Texas. His mother, Texas Ann (Burroughs), is an archaeologist turned real estate agent, and his father, Melver Leonard Anderson, worked in advertising and PR. He has two brothers, Eric and Mel. Anderson's parents divorced when he was a young child, an ...
(2014) The Grand Budapest Hotel - 9.5
(2012) Moonrise Kingdom - 9
(2018) Isle of Dogs - 8.6
(2009) Fantastic Mr. Fox - 8.5
(2007) The Darjeeling Limited - 8
(2004) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - 8
(2001) The Royal Tenenbaums - 8
(2007) Hotel Chevalier - 8
(2021) The French Dispatch - 7.6
(1998) Rushmore - 7
(1996) Bottle Rocket - 6
Average Score: 8.00
40. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Producer | Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da
Nuri Bilge Ceylan was born in Istanbul on January 26th, 1959. In 1976, he began studying chemical engineering at Istanbul Technical University, in a context of strong student unrest, boycotts and political polarization. In 1978, he switched courses to Electrical Engineering at Bogazici University. ...
(2011) Once Upon A Time In Anatolia - 9.5
(2014) Winter Sleep - 9.3
(2008) Three Monkeys - 8.5
(1999) Clouds of May - 8.3
(2018) The Wild Pear Tree - 8.0
(1995) Koza - 8
(2006) Climates - 8
(2002) Distant - 7.5
(1997) Kasaba - 6.5
Average Score: 8.20
41. Guy Maddin
Director | The Heart of the World
Guy Maddin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Herdis Maddin (a hair-dresser) and Charles "Chas" Maddin (grain clerk and general manager of the Maroons, a Winnipeg hockey team). Maddin studied economics at the University of Winnipeg, working as a bank manager, house painter, and photographic...
(2000) The Heart of the World - 10
(2007) My Winnipeg - 9
(2006) Brand Upon the Brain! - 9
(2003) The Saddest Music in the World - 8.5
(2003) Cowards Bend the Knee - 8.5
(2011) Keyhole - 8
(2009) Night Mayor - 8
(1992) Careful - 8
(1995) Odilon Redon (or T.E.L.A.S.B.M.T.I.) - 8
(2002) Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary - 7.5
(2005) My Dad is 100 Years Old - 7.5
(1991) Archangel - 7
(1995) Sissy-Boy Slap-Party - 7
(1989) Tales from the Gimli Hospital - 6
(2004) A Trip to the Orphanage - 5.5
(2004) Sombra Dolorosa - 5
Average Score: 7.76
42. Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Producer | Deux jours, une nuit
After studying drama in the arts institute, Jean Pierre Dardenne and his brother Luc made some videos about the rough life in blue-collar small towns in the Wallonie. After their meeting with filmmaker Armad Gatti and cinematographer Ned Burgess, they decided to enter in the movie business.
In 1978 ...
& Luc Dardenne
(2005) L'Enfant - 9
(2002) Le Fils - 8.5
(2014) Deux Jours, Une Nuit - 8.5
(2011) Le Gamin au Vélo - 8.5
(1996) La Promesse - 8.4
(1999) Rosetta - 8
(2016) La Fille Inconnue - 7.6
(2008) Le Silence de Lorna - 7.5
(2019) Le Jeune Ahmed - 6.1
Average Score: 8.01
43. Kelly Reichardt
Director | Wendy and Lucy
Kelly Reichardt was born and raised in Miami-Dade Country, Florida, to a family of police officers. She had an interest in photography from a very young age. She started by using her father's camera, which he used for photographing crime scenes. She went to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in ...
(2019) First Cow - 9.2
(2016) Certain Women - 8.6
(2013) Night Moves - 8.6
(2010) Meek's Cutoff - 8.5
(2006) Old Joy - 8.5
(2008) Wendy and Lucy - 8.5
Average Score: 8.65
44. Gus Van Sant
Director | Elephant
Gus Green Van Sant Jr. is an American filmmaker, painter, screenwriter, photographer and musician from Louisville, Kentucky who is known for directing films such as Good Will Hunting, the 1998 remake of Psycho, Gerry, Elephant, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Milk, Last Days, Finding Forrester, ...
(2005) Last Days - 9
(2003) Elephant - 9
(1991) My Own Private Idaho - 8.5
(2007) Paranoid Park - 8.5
(2008) Milk - 8.5
(2002) Gerry - 8
(1989) Drugstore Cowboy - 7.5
(2011) Restless - 7
(1995) To Die For - 7
(2018) Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot - 6.9
(1997) Good Will Hunting - 6.5
(2012) Promised Land - 6
(2016) The Sea of Trees - 5.7
Average Score: 7.60
45. Clint Eastwood
Actor | Million Dollar Baby
Clinton Eastwood Jr. was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margaret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took ...
(1992) Unforgiven - 9
(1973) High Plains Drifter - 9
(2006) Letters From Iwo Jima - 8.5
(2004) Million Dollar Baby - 8
(2008) Gran Torino - 8
(1988) Bird - 8
(2010) Hereafter - 8
(1995) The Bridges of Madison County - 7.5
(2003) Mystic River - 7.5
(1976) The Outlaw Josey Wales - 7.5
(2016) Sully - 7.5
(1985) Pale Rider - 7.5
(2009) Invictus - 7
(2014) Jersey Boys - 6.6
(2006) Flags of Our Fathers - 6.5
(2008) Changeling - 6.5
(2018) The Mule - 6.2
(2019) Richard Jewell - 6.1
(2011) J. Edgar - 6
(2014) American Sniper - 3.5
Average Score: 7.28
46. Xavier Dolan
Actor | J'ai tué ma mère
Xavier Dolan was born on March 20, 1989 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for I Killed My Mother (2009), Tom at the Farm (2013) and Heartbeats (2010).
(2014) Mommy - 9
(2012) Laurence Anyways - 9
(2016) Juste la Fin du Monde - 8.8
(2010) Les Amours Imaginaires - 8.5
(2009) J'ai Tué Ma Mère - 8.5
(2013) Tom à la Ferme - 8
(2019) Matthias & Maxime - 7.7
(2018) The Death & Life of John F. Donovan - 5.6
Average Score: 8.20
47. Andrey Zvyagintsev
Director | Nelyubov
Director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev is the winner of the Venice Film Festival (2003) and the Cannes Film Festival (2011, 2014, 2017). Two-time the Academy Awards and the BAFTA Awards nominee. Winner or the Golden Globe Awards (2015) for his film "Leviathan". In 2018, his latest work "...
(2003) Vozvrashchenie - 8.9
(2017) Nelyubov - 8.9
(2014) Leviafan - 8.8
(2011) Elena - 8.5
(2007) Izgnanie - 8.4
Average Score: 8.70
48. Sofia Coppola
Actress | The Godfather Part III
Sofia Coppola was born on May 14, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA as Sofia Carmina Coppola. She is a director, known for Somewhere (2010), Lost in Translation (2003), and Marie Antoinette (2006). She has been married to Thomas Mars since August 27, 2011. They have two daughters, Romy and ...
(2003) Lost In Translation - 9
(2006) Marie Antoinette - 8.6
(2017) The Beguiled - 8.6
(2010) Somewhere - 8.5
(1999) The Virgin Suicides - 7
(2020) On The Rocks - 6.6
(2013) The Bling Ring - 6.5
(2015) A Very Murray Christmas - 5.9
Average Score: 7.59
49. Jacques Audiard
Writer | De rouille et d'os
Born in Paris, France, in 1952. Jacques Audiard's family has always been involved in movie business. His father, Michel, was a popular screenwriter and director and his uncle a producer. But in his teens he refused that world and wanted to be a teacher. He studied literature and philosophy at the ...
(2009) A Prophet - 9
(2012) Rust And Bone - 8.5
(2001) Read My Lips - 8.5
(2015) Dheepan - 8.1
(2005) The Beat My Heart Skipped - 8
(1996) Un Héros Très Discret - 8
(2018) The Sisters Brothers - 7.6
Average Score: 8.24
50. Alexander Payne
Director | Nebraska
Director, producer and screenwriter Alexander Payne was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents, Peggy (Constantine) and George Payne, ran a Greek restaurant. His father is of Greek and German ancestry, and his mother is of Greek descent; the family name was originally Papadopoulos. He is the youngest...
(2011) The Descendants - 9
(2004) Sideways - 9
(2013) Nebraska - 8
(2002) About Schmidt - 8
(1999) Election - 7.5
Average Score: 8.30
51. Spike Jonze
Producer | Her
Spike Jonze made up one-third (along with Andy Jenkins and Mark Lewman) of the triumvirate of genius minds behind Dirt Magazine, the brother publication of the much lamented ground-breaking Sassy Magazine. These three uncommon characters were all editors for Grand Royal Magazine as well, under the ...
(1999) Being John Malkovich - 9
(2013) Her - 8.5
(2009) Where the Wild Things Are - 8.5
(2002) Adaptation. - 8
(2010) I'm Here - 7.5
(2011) Scenes from the Suburbs - 6
Average Score: 8.15
52. Noah Baumbach
Writer | The Squid and the Whale
Born in Brooklyn in 1969 Noah Baumbach is the son of two film critics, Georgia Brown and Jonathan Baumbach (also a writer). His studies at Vassar College were the subject of his first film (made as he was 26 years old), Kicking and Screaming (1995). His second major picture, made ten years later, ...
(2019) Marriage Story - 9.0
(2013) Frances Ha - 9
(2017) The Meyerowitz Stories - 8.4
(2015) Mistress America - 8.3
(2010) Greenberg - 8
(2005) The Squid and the Whale - 8
(1995) Kicking and Screaming - 8
(2007) Margot at the Wedding - 8
(2015) While We're Young - 7.7
Average Score: 8.18
53. Paolo Sorrentino
Writer | È stata la mano di Dio
Director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino was born in Naples in 1970, and and became an orphan when he lost both of his parents at the age of 16. At the age of 25, after studying for a few years at the Faculty of Economics and Business in University of Naples Federico II, he decided to work in the...
(2013) La Grande Bellezza - 9
(2008) Il Divo - 8.5
(2021) È Stata la Mano di Dio - 8.1
(2004) La Conseguenze Dell'Amore - 8
(2015) Youth - 7.7
(2011) This Must be the Place - 7.5
(2001) L'Uomo in Più - 7
(2006) L'Amico di Famiglia - 6.5
Average Score: 7.74
54. Michael Winterbottom
Director | A Mighty Heart
Michael took an English degree at Oxford then trained in film at Bristol and London breaking into television via the cutting room at Thames Television. He made his directorial debut with two documentaries on Ingmar Bergman His production of Love Lies Bleeding won the Silver Award at the 1993 New ...
(2005) A Cock And Bull Story - 9
(2002) 24 Hour Part People - 9
(2000) The Claim - 8
(2007) A Mighty Heart - 7.5
(2010) The Trip - 7.5
(2014) The Trip to Italy - 7.1
(2012) Everyday - 6.7
(2003) Code 46 - 6.5
Average Score: 7.66
55. Arnaud Desplechin
Director | Rois et reine
Arnaud Desplechin was born on October 31, 1960 in Roubaix, Nord, France. He is a director and writer, known for Kings & Queen (2004), The Sentinel (1992) and La vie des morts (1991).
(2008) Un Conte de Noël - 9
(2004) Rois et Reine - 9
(2015) Trois Souvenirs de Ma Jeunesse - 7.9
(2013) Jimmy P. - 7.5
(2017) Les Fantômes D'Ismaël - 6.9
(2019) Roubaix, une Lumière - 5.9
(1996) Comment Je Me Suis Disputé... - [soon]
Average Score: 7.70
56. Lars von Trier
Writer | Dancer in the Dark
Probably the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmaker to emerge from Denmark since Carl Theodor Dreyer over 60 years earlier, Lars von Trier studied film at the Danish Film School and attracted international attention with his very first feature, The Element of Crime (1984). A highly ...
(2011) Melancholia - 8.5
(2000) Dancer In the Dark - 8
(1996) Breaking the Waves - 7.5
(2009) Antichrist - 7.5
(1991) Europa - 7
(1984) The Element of Crime - 6.5
(2003) Dogville - 6.5
(2005) Manderlay - 5.5
(2018) The House That Jack Built - 5.1
Average Score: 6.88
57. Don Hertzfeldt
Director | World of Tomorrow
Don Hertzfeldt was born on August 1, 1976 in Fremont, California, USA. He is a director and writer, known for World of Tomorrow (2015), It's Such a Beautiful Day (2011) and The Simpsons (1989).
(2012) It's Such a Beautiful Day - 10
(2005) The Meaning of Life - 9.5
(2015) World of Tomorrow - 9.5
(2000) Rejected - 9
(2017) World of Tomorrow Episode Two - 8
(1995) Ah, L'Amour - 8
(1997) Lily and Jim - 8
(1996) Genre - 8
(2003) The Animation Show - 7.5
(1998) Billy's Balloon - 7
(2010) Wisdom Teeth - Unratable
Average Score: 8.65
58. Denis Villeneuve
Director | Dune
Denis Villeneuve is a French Canadian film director and writer. He was born in 1967, in Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada. He started his career as a filmmaker at the National Film Board of Canada. He is best known for his feature films Arrival (2016), Sicario (2015), Prisoners (2013), Enemy (2013), ...
(2010) Incendies - 9
(2016) Arrival - 8.6
(2013) Enemy - 8.5
(2015) Sicario - 8.4
(2013) Prisoners - 8
(2008) Next Floor - 8
(2009) Polytechnique - 8
(2000) Maelström - 7
Average Score: 8.14
59. Yorgos Lanthimos
Director | The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos was born in Athens, Greece. He studied directing for Film and Television at the Stavrakos Film School in Athens. He has directed a number of dance videos in collaboration with Greek choreographers, in addition to TV commercials, music videos, short films and theater plays. Kinetta,...
(2018) The Favourite - 9.4
(2009) Dogtooth - 8.8
(2015) The Lobster - 8.6
(2017) The Killing of a Sacred Deer - 7.7
(2011) Alps - 7.7
Average Score: 8.44
60. Jean Vigo
Writer | Zéro de conduite : Jeunes diables au collège
Jean Vigo had bad health since he was a child. Son of anarchist militant Miguel Almareyda, he also never really recovered from his father's mysterious death in jail when he was 12. Abandoned by his mother, he passed from boarding school to boarding school. Aged 23, through meetings with people ...
(1934) L'Atalante - 9
(1933) Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège - 8
(1931) Taris, roi de l'eau - 8
(1930) À propos de Nice - 8
Average Score: 8.40
61. Luca Guadagnino
Director | Call Me by Your Name
Luca Guadagnino was born on August 10, 1971 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. He is a director and producer, known for Call Me by Your Name (2017), Suspiria (2018) and Bones and All (2022).
(2017) Call Me By Your Name - 9.1
(2009) Io Sono L'Amore - 8.6
(2015) A Bigger Splash - 8.3
(2020) We Are Who We Are - 7.0
Average Score: 8.25
62. Djibril Diop Mambéty
Director | Touki bouki
Born the son of a Muslim cleric in Colobane, near Dakar, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty received no formal training in filmmaking. He experimented with theater, but in 1968, he was asked to leave an avant-garde theater group. Shortly thereafter, he made his first film short called Badou Boy (1970), ...
(1973) Touki Bouki - 8.9
(1970) Badou Boy - 8.2
(1999) La Petite Vendeuse de Soleil - 8.1
(1969) Contras' City - 8
(1994) Le Franc - 7.7
(1992) Hyènes - 7.5
Average Score: 8.07
63. Peter Strickland
Director | Katalin Varga
Peter Strickland was born in 1973 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Katalin Varga (2009), In Fabric (2018) and Berberian Sound Studio (2012).
(2014) The Duke of Burgundy - 8.8
(2014) Björk: Biophilia Live - 8.5
(2018) In Fabric - 8.3
(2009) Katalin Varga - 8.0
(2012) Berberian Sound Studio - 7.5
Average Score: 8.22
64. David Fincher
Director | Se7en
David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was 18 years old he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981-1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials...
(1995) Se7en - 8.5
(2014) Gone Girl - 8.5
(2010) The Social Network - 8
(2007) Zodiac - 8
(1997) The Game - 7.5
(2002) Panic Room - 7.5
(1999) Fight Club - 7
(2008) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 6.5
(2020) Mank - 6.1
Average Score: 7.51
65. Sarah Polley
Actress | My Life Without Me
Sarah Polley is an actress and director renowned in her native Canada for her political activism. Blessed with an extremely expressive face that enables directors to minimize dialog due to her uncanny ability to suggest a character's thoughts, Polley has become a favorite of critics for her ...
(2011) Take This Waltz - 8.5
(2012) Stories We Tell - 8.5
(2006) Away from Her - 8
Average Score: 8.33
66. René Laloux
Writer | La planète sauvage
René Laloux was born on July 13, 1929 in Paris, France. He was a writer and director, known for Fantastic Planet (1973), Time Masters (1982) and Les escargots (1966). He died on March 14, 2004 in Angoulême, Charente, France.
(1965) Les Temps Morts - 9
(1973) La Planète Sauvage - 8.5
(1987) Comment Wang-Fo Fut Sauvé - 8
(1982) Les Maîtres du Temps - 7.5
(1966) Les Escargots - 7.5
(1960) Les Dents du Singe - 7.5
(1988) Gandahar - 7
(1988) La Prisonnière - 7
Average Score: 7.73
67. Pablo Larraín
Producer | No
Pablo Larraín was born in Santiago, Chile. He is a director, writer and producer, known for Spencer (2021), Jackie (2016), El Club (2015), NO (2012), among others. Together with his brother Juan de Dios Larraín, they founded Fabula in 2004, one of the most prolific production companies in Latin ...
(2016) Jackie - 8.6
(2016) Neruda - 8.5
(2015) El Club - 8.3
(2012) No - 8
(2021) Spencer - 7.7
(2010) Post Mortem - 7.5
(2008) Tony Manero - 7
(2019) Ema - 6.5
Average Score: 7.77
68. Kenneth Lonergan
Writer | Manchester by the Sea
Kenneth Lonergan is a playwright, screenwriter and director. His film, You Can Count on Me (2000), which he wrote and directed, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, won the Sundance 2000 Grand Jury Prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, the NY Film Critics Circle, LA Film ...
(2016) Manchester by the Sea - 8.4
(2011) Margaret - 8.2 (Theatrical Cut)
(2000) You Can Count on Me - 8.3
Average Score: 8.20
69. Sylvain Chomet
Director | Les triplettes de Belleville
Sylvain Chomet was born on November 10, 1963 in Maisons-Laffitte, Seine-et-Oise [now Yvelines, Île-de-France], France. He is a director and writer, known for The Triplets of Belleville (2003), The Illusionist (2010) and Paris, I Love You (2006).
(2003) Les Triplettes de Belleville - 9
(2010) L'Illusionniste - 8.5
(1997) La Vieille Dame et les Pigeons - 8
(2013) Attila Marcel - 7.5
Average Score: 8.29
70. Andrew Haigh
Director | All of Us Strangers
Andrew Haigh is a writer and director. His film work includes Weekend, which premiered at SXSW and won the audience award. 45 Years, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, won 2 Silver Bears, and received an Academy Award nomination for lead actress Charlotte Rampling. Lean on Pete premiered in ...
(2015) 45 Years - 8.7
(2011) Weekend - 8.5
(2017) Lean on Pete - 8.0
Average Score: 8.40
71. Kleber Mendonça Filho
Director | Bacurau
Kleber Mendonça Filho is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter, producer, and critic. With a degree in journalism from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Kleber Mendonça Filho began his career as a film critic and journalist. He wrote for newspapers such as Jornal do Commercio and Folha DE S. ...
(2016) Aquarius - 8.8
(2019) Bacurau - 8.2
(2012) Neighboring Sounds - 8
Average Score: 8.33
72. Nanni Moretti
Producer | La stanza del figlio
Nanni Moretti was born on the 19th of August, 1953. He lives in Rome, where since he was a kid he devotes himself to his two passions: cinema and water-polo. In 1970 he also played in water-polo first division in Italy, and in the junior National team. In those years he was also very committed in ...
(2011) We Have A Pope - 8.5
(2001) The Son's Room - 8.5
(1993) Caro Diaro - 8
(2015) Mia Madre - 7.6
(2006) The Caiman - 7
(1998) Aprile - 6
(1984) Bianca - 6
Average Score: 7.37
73. Alice Rohrwacher
Director | Lazzaro felice
Alice Rohrwacher was born on December 29, 1981 in Fiesole, Tuscany, Italy. She is a director and writer, known for Happy as Lazzaro (2018), La Chimera (2023) and The Wonders (2014).
(2018) Lazzaro Felice - 9.1
(2014) Le Meraviglie - 8.4
(2011) Corpo Celeste - 6.6
Average Score: 8.03
74. Lucrecia Martel
Director | La mujer sin cabeza
Born in 1966 in Salta in the North of Argentina,Lucrecia Martel settled down in Buenos Aires where she attended the ENERC (National Film School). She started by directing a few shorts among which Historias Breves I: Rey muerto (1995), which garnered several awards in the international film festival...
(2008) La Mujer Sin Cabeza - 9.0
(2001) La Ciénaga - 8.4
(2004) La Niña Santa - 8.4
(2017) Zama - 7.7
(2011) Muta - 7.0
(1995) Rey Muerto - 5.0
Average Score: 7.90
75. Céline Sciamma
Writer | Portrait de la jeune fille en feu
Céline Sciamma was born on November 12, 1978 in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise, France. She is a writer and director, known for Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), Petite Maman (2021) and Tomboy (2011).
(2019) Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu - 9.3
(2021) Petite Maman - 8.7
(2011) Tomboy - 8.6
(2014) Bande de Filles - 7.9
(2007) Naissance des Pieuvres - 7.5
Average Score: 8.40
76. Charlie Kaufman
Writer | I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Avid reader Charlie Kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student. He moved from Massapequa, New York to West Hartford, Connecticut in 1972 where he attended high school. As a comedic actor, he performed in school plays and, after graduation, he enrolled at Boston University but soon ...
(2008) Synecdoche, New York - 9.5
(2015) Anomalisa - 9.1
(2020) I'm Thinking of Ending Things - 7.6
Average Score: 8.73
77. Phil Mulloy
Director | Intolerance II: The Invasion
Phil Mulloy was born in 1948 in Wallasey, Merseyside, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Intolerance II: The Invasion (2001), Intolerance III: The Final Solution (2004) and Mark Gertler: Fragments of a Biography (1981).
Note: All of these films are shorts.
(2000) Intolerance I - 9
(2004) Intolerance III - 9
(1996) The Wind of Changes - 9
(1992) The Sound of Music - 8.5
(2001) Intolerance II - 8
(1994) The Ten Commandments Series - 8
(1997) The Chain - 7.5
Average Score: 8.43
78. Andrea Arnold
Director | American Honey
Andrea Arnold was born on April 5, 1961 in Dartford, Kent, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for American Honey (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Red Road (2006).
(2009) Fish Tank - 8.3
(2011) Wuthering Heights - 8.2
(2016) American Honey - 8.0
(2006) Red Road - 8.0
(2003) Wasp - 7.5
(1998) Milk - 7.5
Average Score: 8.00
79. Jeff Nichols
Writer | Take Shelter
Jeff Nichols was born on December 7, 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016).
(2011) Take Shelter - 8.5
(2012) Mud - 8.5
(2916) Midnight Special - 7.6
(2016) Loving - 7.6
(2007) Shotgun Stories - 7
Average Score: 7.84
80. Lynne Ramsay
Director | You Were Never Really Here
Lynne Ramsay was born on December 5, 1969 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. She is a director and writer, known for You Were Never Really Here (2017), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Ratcatcher (1999). She was previously married to Rory Stewart Kinnear.
(2002) Morvern Callar - 8.5
(2017) You Were Never Really Here - 8.1
(1999) Ratcatcher - 8
(2011) We Need to Talk About Kevin - 8
Average Score: 8.15
81. Asghar Farhadi
Writer | Forooshande
Asghar Farhadi was born in 1972 in Iran. He became interested in cinema in his teenage years and started his filmmaking education by joining the Youth Cinema Society of Esfahan in 1986 where he made 8mm and 16mm short films. He received his Bachelors in Theater from University of Tehran's School of...
(2011) A Separation - 8.5
(2016) The Salesman - 8.2
(2013) Le Passé - 7.5
(2018) Todos Lo Saben - 6.7
Average Score: 7.73
82. Pawel Pawlikowski
Director | Zimna wojna
A literature and philosophy graduate, with extensive post-graduate work at Oxford on German literature, Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski started as a documentary filmmaker in British television.
His second feature, Last Resort (2000), earned him international critical acclaim at numerous festivals, ...
(2013) Ida - 8.5
(2018) Cold War - 8.3
(2000) Last Resort - 7.5
(2011) La Femme du Vème - 7.3
(2004) My Summer of Love - 6.0
Average Score: 7.52
83. Bennett Miller
Director | Foxcatcher
Bennett Miller is an American film director, best known for Capote (2005), Moneyball (2011), and Foxcatcher (2014). He began his film career directing the 1998 documentary The Cruise.
In 2006 Miller directed the Bob Dylan music video "When the Deal Goes Down" starring Scarlett Johansson.
Miller has ...
(2005) Capote - 9
(2011) Foxcatcher - 7.6
(1998) The Cruise - 7.6
(2014) Moneyball - 7.5
Average Score: 7.93
84. Jonathan Glazer
Director | Under the Skin
Jonathan first found fame for his revolutionary work on Radiohead's 'Street Spirit' and Jamiroquai's multi-MTV award winning 'Virtual Insanity' video.
In 1999 he directed the ground-breaking Guinness 'Surfer', which picked up 2 D&AD Black Pencils and the top spot at most of the other awards ...
(2013) Under the Skin - 9
(2004) Birth - 7.4
(2000) Sexy Beast - 7
Average Score: 7.80
85. Elaine May
Actress | Small Time Crooks
Elaine May (born under the name Elaine Iva Berlin) is an American actress, comedian, film director, playwright, and screenwriter from Philadelphia. Her professional career started in the 1950s and is still ongoing. She has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. She ...
(1971) A New Leaf - 9.0
(1972) The Heartbreak Kid - 8.1
(1976) Mikey and Nicky - 7.1
(1987) Ishtar - 6.2
Average Score: 7.60
86. Mel Brooks
Actor | Spaceballs
Mel Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. He served in WWII, and afterwards got a job playing the drums at nightclubs in the Catskills. Brooks eventually started a comedy act and also worked in radio and as Master Entertainer at Grossinger's Resort before going to ...
(1974) Young Frankenstein - 8.0
(1967) The Producers - 7.9
(1976) Silent Movie - 7.6
(1974) Blazing Saddles - 7.5
(1981) History of the World: Part I - 7.2
(1977) High Anxiety - 6.8
(1987) Spaceballs - 6.7
(1970) The Twelve Chairs - 6.6
(1993) Robin Hood: Men in Tights - 6.3
(1991) Life Stinks - 5.1
Average Score: 6.97
87. Whit Stillman
Director | Love & Friendship
Whit Stillman was born in 1952 and raised in Cornwall in upstate New York, the son of a impoverished debutante from Philadelphia and a Democratic politician from Washington D.C. Stillman graduated from Harvard in 1973 and started out as a journalist in Manhattan, New York City.
In 1980 he met and ...
(2016) Love & Friendship - 8.4
(1990) Metropolitan - 8.3
(1998) The Last Days of Disco - 7.7
(2011) Damsels in Distress - 7.1
(1994) Barcelona - 6.7
Average Score: 7.64
88. Mia Hansen-Løve
Director | L'avenir
Cinema came into Mia Hansen-Løve's life when she was seventeen, as Olivier Assayas made her start as an actress in Late August, Early September (1998). Two years later, he gave her the part of "Aline" in his Les Destinées (2000). Their artistic collaboration was coupled by a union in real ...
(2016) L'Avenir - 8.4
(2011) Un Amour de Jeunesse - 8
(2009) Le Père de Mes Enfants - 8
(2014) Eden - 7.4
(2021) Bergman Island - 6.0
(2018) Maya - 5.8
Average Score: 7.27
89. Ida Lupino
Actress | High Sierra
Ida was born in London to a show business family. In 1932, her mother took Ida with her to an audition and Ida got the part her mother wanted. The picture was Her First Affaire (1932). Ida, a bleached blonde, went to Hollywood in 1934 playing small, insignificant parts. Peter Ibbetson (1935) was ...
(1966) The Trouble With Angels - 8.5
(1951) On Dangerous Ground - 8.5
(1949) Not Wanted - 7.6
(1953) The Bigamist - 7.5
(1950) Outrage - 6.9
(1953) The Hitch-Hiker - 6.8
Average Score: 7.63
90. Mike Mills
Director | Beginners
Mike Mills was born in 1966, Berkeley, California. He graduated from Cooper Union, 1989.
He works as a filmmaker, graphic designer and artist. As a filmmaker, Mike has completed a number of music videos, commercials, short films, documentaries, and the feature film Thumbsucker (2005). Architecture ...
(2016) 20th Century Women - 8.5
(2021) C'mon C'mon - 8.2
(2010) Beginners - 8.0
(2005) Thumbsucker - 7.0
(2019) I Am Easy to Find - 7.0
Average Score: 7.83
91. Joachim Trier
Director | Thelma
Joachim Trier is a Norwegian writer and director. He is known for Reprise (2006), Oslo, August 31st (2011), Louder Than Bombs (2015) and Thelma (2017).
Trier also directed three short films, Pietà (2000), Still (2001) and Procter (2002).
His father, Jacob Trier, was the sound technician of The ...
(2021) The Worst Person in the World - 8.4 (2017) Thelma - 8.1 (2011) Oslo, August 31st - 8 (2006) Reprise - 8 (2015) Louder Than Bombs - 7.7
92. James Gray
Director | The Immigrant
Writer/director James Gray made his first film Little Odessa (1994) at the age of twenty-five. The film, which starred Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Vanessa Redgrave and Maximilian Schell, received critical acclaim and was the winner of the Venice Film Festival's prestigious Silver Lion Award in 1994.
...
(2019) Ad Astra - 8.2
(2016) Lost City of Z - 8.2
(2008) Two Lovers - 8.1
(2013) The Immigrant - 7.7
(2007) We Own the Night - 7.0
(2000) The Yards - [soon]
Average Score: 7.84
93. Quentin Dupieux
Writer | Rubber
Quentin Dupieux was born on April 14, 1974 in Clamart, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is a writer and director, known for Rubber (2010), Le daim (2019) and Reality (2014).
(2019) Le Daim - 8.5
(2012) Wrong - 8
(2014) Réalité - 7.0
(2010) Rubber - 7
Average Score: 7.63
94. Alex Ross Perry
Director | Golden Exits
Alex Ross Perry is known for Golden Exits (2017), Her Smell (2018) and Impolex (2009).
(2015) Queen of Earth - 8.8
(2019) Her Smell - 8.2
(2017) Golden Exits - 7.2
(2014) Listen Up Philip - 6.9
(2011) The Color Wheel - 5.4
Average Score: 7.30
95. Alex Garland
Writer | Ex Machina
Alex Garland is an English novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director. He is best known for the films Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018).
Garland's others works as a writer includes The Beach (2000), 28 Days Later (2002), Sunshine (2007), Never Let Me Go (2011) and Dredd (2012).
He is ...
(2014) Ex Machina - 8.4
(2018) Annihilation - 7.7
(2020) Devs - 7.0
Average Score: 7.70
96. Martin McDonagh
Writer | In Bruges
Martin McDonagh was born on March 26, 1970 in Camberwell, London, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).
(2008) In Bruges - 8.8
(2017) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - 7.5
(2012) Seven Psychopaths - 5.0
Average Score: 7.10
97. Cary Joji Fukunaga
Producer | Beasts of No Nation
Cary Joji Fukunaga is a Japanese-American film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and producer from Oakland, California who is known for directing the James Bond film No Time to Die, Kofi, Beasts of No Nation, Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre. He co-wrote the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King ...
(2011) Jane Eyre - 8
(2015) Beasts of No Nation - 7.7
(2009) Sin Nombre - 7.6
Average Score: 7.77
98. Tom McCarthy
Writer | The Station Agent
Tom McCarthy is an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for direct and write The Station Agent (2003), The Visitor (2007), Win Win (2011), and Spotlight (2015), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Director.
McCarthy...
(2015) Spotlight - 8.1
(2003) The Station Agent - 8
(2007) The Visitor - 8
(2011) Win Win - 7
Average Score: 7.78
99. Ruben Östlund
Director | Triangle of Sadness
Ruben Östlund was born on April 13, 1974 in Styrsö, Västra Götalands län, Sweden. He is a director and editor, known for Triangle of Sadness (2022), Force Majeure (2014) and The Square (2017). He was previously married to Andrea Östlund.
(2017) The Square - 8.3
(2014) Force Majeure - 8.0
(2011) Play - 6.9
(2008) De Ofrivilliga - [soon]
Average Score: 7.73
100. Armando Iannucci
Writer | The Death of Stalin
Armando Iannucci was born on November 28, 1963 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for The Death of Stalin (2017), In the Loop (2009) and Veep (2012). He has been married to Rachel Jones since August 25, 1990. They have two children.
(2019) The Personal History of David Copperfield - 8.1
(2009) In the Loop - 8
(2017) The Death of Stalin - 7.2
Average Score: 7.77
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