The Greatest Living Directors And Their Greatest Works

1. Martin Scorsese

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 ...

21-13. Masterpieces: A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, Raging Bull, The Last Waltz, My Voyage To Italy, Michael Jackson: Number Ones, The Departed, George Harrison: Living In The Material World, After Hours, The King Of Comedy, Mean Streets, The Key To Reserva, Public Speaking, Hugo, Feel Like Going Home, Casino, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, A Letter To Elia, The Last Temptation of Christ.

Noteworthy: The Aviator, Italianamerican, The Wolf Of Wall Street, Age Of Innocence, The Color Of Money, Shine A Light: Rolling Stones, Silence, American Boy: A Profile Of Steven Prince, Gangs Of New York.

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...

19-19. Masterpieces: Stroszek, Lessons Of Darkness, Aguirre Wrath Of God, Little Dieter Needs To Fly, The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser, Fitzcarraldo, Grizzly Man, The White Diamond, Nosferatu The Vampyre, Land Of Silence And Darkness, The Great Ecstasy Of The Sculptor Steiner, Encounters At The End Of The World, On Death Row, Wings Of Hope, Even Dwarfs Started Small, Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, La Soufriere - Warten Auf Eine Unauswichliche Katastrophe, My Best Fiend, The Dark Glow Of The Mountains.

Noteworthy: Bells From The Deep, Herdsmen Of the Sun, Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, Rescue Dawn, Into The Abyss, Happy People: A Year In The Taiga, Signs Of Life, Heart Of Glass, Wheel Of Time, Ballad Of The Little Soldier, Woyzeck, Lo And Behold - Reveries Of The Connected World, Into The Inferno.

3. 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 ...

15-12. Masterpieces: Annie Hall, Love And Death, Zelig, Manhattan, Hannah And Her Sisters, Husbands And Wives, Broadway Danny Rose, Crimes And Misdemeanors, Sleeper, Bullets Over Broadway, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Midnight In Paris, Purple Rose Of Cairo, Radio Days, Take The Money And Run.

Noteworthy: Blue Jasmine, Bananas, Interiors, Match Point, Sweet And Lowdown, Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask, Stardust Memories.

4. Steven Spielberg

Producer | Schindler's List

One of the most influential personalities in the history of cinema, Steven Spielberg is Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. He has an extraordinary number of commercially successful and critically acclaimed credits to his name, either as a director, ...

14-8. Masterpieces: Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Jaws, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Catch Me If You Can, ET, The Color Purple, Bridge Of Spies, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, Lincoln, Duel, Minority Report.

Noteworthy: Munich, Columbo: Murder By The Book, Empire Of The Sun.

5. Ken Loach

Director | I, Daniel Blake

Unlike virtually all his contemporaries, Ken Loach has never succumbed to the siren call of Hollywood, and it's virtually impossible to imagine his particular brand of British socialist realism translating well to that context.

After studying law at St. Peter's College, Oxford, he branched out into ...

13-10. Masterpieces: Kes, Raining Stones, Sweet Sixteen, Cathy Come Home, I Daniel Blake, Land And Freedom, The Navigators, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, My Name Is Joe, McLibel, Riff-Raff, Family Life, Which Side Are You On.

Noteworthy: Carla's Song, Ladybird Ladybird, Hidden Agenda, The Angels' Share, Looking For Eric, A Fond Kiss.

6. Hayao Miyazaki

Writer | Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi

Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking visuals in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan.

Miyazaki started his career in 1963 as an animator at the ...

13-1. Masterpieces: Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle In The Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, Porco Rosso, Lupin III: Castle Of Cagliostro, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, The Wind Rises, Future Boy Conan, Sherlock Hound.

Noteworthy: On Your Mark.

7. Jean-Luc Godard

Director | Bande à part

Jean-Luc Godard was born in Paris on December 3, 1930, the second of four children in a bourgeois Franco-Swiss family. His father was a doctor who owned a private clinic, and his mother came from a preeminent family of Swiss bankers. During World War II Godard became a naturalized citizen of ...

12-12. Masterpieces: Breathless, Vivre Sa Vie, Band Of Outsiders, Masculine Feminin, Contempt, Pierrot Le Fou, La Chinoise, Week End, Numero Deux, Alphaville, Le Petit Soldat, A Woman Is A Woman.

Noteworthy: Une Femme Mariee, Two Or Three Things I Know About Her, All The Boys Are Called Patrick, Germany Year 90 Nine Zero, Ro.Go.Pa.G., Here And Elsewhere.

8. Spike Lee

Director | Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from artistic, education-grounded background; his father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a schoolteacher. He attended ...

11-11. Masterpieces: When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts, 4 Little Girls, Do The Right Thing, Michael Jackson - Video Greatest Hits - History #2 On Film, A Huey P. Newton Story, Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown To Off The Wall, Passing Strange, Malcolm X, Lumiere And Company, Inside Man, Bad 25.

Noteworthy: Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, 25th Hour, The Original Kings Of Comedy, She's Gotta Have It, Get On The Bus, Crooklyn.

9. Wim Wenders

Director | Der Himmel über Berlin

Wim Wenders is an Oscar-nominated German filmmaker who was born Ernst Wilhelm Wenders on August 14, 1945 in Düsseldorf, which then was located in the British Occupation Zone of what became the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany, known colloquially as West Germany until ...

11-8. Masterpieces: Paris Texas, Alice In The Cities, Kings Of The Road, Wings Of Desire, The Salt Of The Earth, Buena Vista Social Club, Pina, Lumiere And Company, The American Friend, Until The End Of The World, Invisibles.

Noteworthy: Lisbon Story, Ten Minutes Older - The Trumpet, The Soul Of A Man, The State Of Things, Red Hot And Blue - A Tribute To Cole Porter, Cathedrals Of Culture.

10. Yimou Zhang

Director | Ying xiong

Yimou Zhang was born on November 14, 1951 in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. He is a director and writer, known for Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004) and Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). He has been married to Ting Chen since December 2011. They have three children. He was previously married to ...

11-5. Masterpieces: Raise The Red Lantern, To Live, Ju Dou, Hero, Not One Less, House Of Flying Daggers, The Road Home, The Story Of Qiu Ju, Coming Home, Lumiere And Company, Red Sorghum.

Noteworthy: Riding Alone For A Thousand Years, The Bright Red Lanterns Hung High, Shanghai Triad.

11. Mani Ratnam

Writer | Dil Se..

The man who revolutionized Tamil-language cinema, Mani Ratnam is the biggest director in south India and one of the most respected directors in all of India. Each of his films contain its own unique style, with beautifully photographed songs and unique back-lighting. However, his films contain ...

11-2. Masterpieces: Nayakan, Anjali, Waves, Thalapathi, A Peck On The Cheek, Mouna Ragam, Bombay, Roja, Gitanjali, Aayudha Exhuthu, Guru.

Noteworthy: Dil Se.

12. Michael Apted

Director | Amazing Grace

Michael Apted was born on February 10, 1941 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Amazing Grace (2006), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Rome (2005). He was married to Paige Simpson, Dana Stevens and Jo Apted. He died on January 7, 2021 in Los Angeles,...

10-7. Masterpieces: 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up, Coal Miner's Daughter, Incident At Oglala, 49 Up, 21 Up, 56 Up, 7 Plus 7, Me & Isaac Newton.

Noteworthy: Ptang Yang Kipperbang, Always Outnumbered, Thunderheart, Sting - Bring On The Night, Gorillas In The Mist.

13. Aki Kaurismäki

Producer | Le Havre

Aki Kaurismäki did a wide variety of jobs including postman, dish-washer and film critic, before forming a production and distribution company, Villealfa (in homage to Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville (1965)) with his older brother Mika Kaurismäki, also a film-maker. Both Aki and Mika are prolific ...

10-6. Masterpieces: The Drifting Clouds, The Man Without A Past, The Other Side Of Hope, Leningrad Cowboys Go America, The Bohemian Life, Le Havre, Ariel, Shadows In Paradise, The Match Factory Girl, I Hired A Contract Killer.

Noteworthy: Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, Calamari Union, Take Care Of Your Scarf Tatiana, Hamlet Goes Business, Crime And Punishment.

14. D.A. Pennebaker

Director | Dont Look Back

D.A. Pennebaker was born on July 15, 1925 in Evanston, Illinois, USA. He was a director and cinematographer, known for Don't Look Back (1967), The War Room (1993) and Unlocking the Cage (2016). He was married to Chris Hegedus, Kate Taylor and Sylvia Bell. He died on August 1, 2019 in Sag Harbor, ...

10-5. Masterpieces: 65 Revisited, Don't Look Back: Bob Dylan, Monterey Pop, Jimi Plays Monterey, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, Depeche Mode: The Videos 86-98, Depeche Mode: 101, Shake: Otis At Monterey, The War Room, Down From The Mountain.

Noteworthy: Town Bloody Hall, Unlocking The Cage

15. Hsiao-Hsien Hou

Producer | Cike Nie Yin Niang

Of the ten films that Hsiao-Hsien Hou directed between 1980 and 1989, seven received best film or best director awards from prestigious international films festivals in Venice, Berlin, Hawaii, and the Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes. In a 1988 worldwide critics' poll, Hou was championed ...

10-4. Masterpieces: A City Of Sadness, A Time To Live And A Time To Die, A Summer At Grandpa's, All The Youthful Days, The Puppetmaster, Dust In The Wind, The Sandwich Man, Flowers Of Shanghai, Café Lumiere, Goodbye South Goodbye.

Noteworthy: Three Times.

16. 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 ...

9-12. Masterpieces: The Outlaw Of Josey Wales, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Letters From Iwo Jima, High Plains Drifter, Mystic River, Pale Rider, Gran Torino, A Perfect World.

Noteworthy: Sully, Bridges Of Madison County, Bird, American Sniper, Heartbreak Ridge, Play Misty For Me.

17. Stephen Frears

Director | Dangerous Liaisons

Stephen started off in a career in the legal profession before switching to work as an assistant stage manager at London's Royal Court which led to work as an assistant director on films by Karel Reisz and Lindsay Anderson He directed his first short in 1967 and his feature debut, Gumshoe, in 1971....

9-7. Masterpieces: The Snapper, The Queen, Fail Safe, High Fidelity, Philomena, Dirty Pretty Things, Prick Up Your Ears, Dangerous Liaisons, My Beautiful Laundrette.

Noteworthy: The Grifters, Sammy And Rosie Get Laid, The Hit.

18. 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 ...

9-3 Masterpieces: Yeah Right, Being John Malkovich, Her, The Work Of Director Spike Jonze, Video Days, I'm Here, Tenacious D - The Complete Masterworks, Adaptation, Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait Of Maurice Sendak.

Noteworthy: Pavement: Slow Century, Scenes From The Suburbs.

19. Jonathan Demme

Director | The Silence of the Lambs

Jonathan Demme was born on February 22, 1944 in Baldwin, Long Island, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Rachel Getting Married (2008) and Philadelphia (1993). He was married to Joanne Howard and Evelyn Purcell. He died on April 26, 2017 in ...

Today I found out that he died a week ago. This is very sad news. To pay tribute I will keep him on this list for awhile so people can get an idea of what his most important works are.

8-9. Masterpieces: Stop Making Sense, The Silence Of The Lambs, The Agronomist, Swimming To Cambodia, Neil Young: Heart Of Gold, Bruce Springsteen - The Complete Video Anthology 1978-2000, Neil Young Trunk Show, Justin Timberlake And The Tennessee Kids.

Noteworthy: Handle With Care, Storefront Hitchcock, Philadelphia.

20. 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 ...

8-5. Masterpieces: Fargo, No Country For Old Men, Blood Simple, True Grit, Inside Llewyn Davis, The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing.

Noteworthy: The Man Who Wasn't There, O Brother Where Art Thou, A Serious Man, Raising Arizona.

21. Peter Greenaway

Director | The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

Peter Greenaway trained as a painter and began working as a film editor for the Central Office of Information in 1965. Shortly afterwards he started to make his own films. He has produced a wealth of short and feature-length films, but also paintings, novels and other books. He has held several ...

8-5. Masterpieces: The Draughtsman's Contract, Drowning By Numbers, The Cook The Thief His Wife And Her Lover, Inside Rooms: 26 Bathrooms - London & Oxfordshire - 1985, Lumiere And Company, Rembrandt's J'Accuse, The Belly Of An Architect, The Falls.

Noteworthy: A Zed And Two Noughts, A Walk Through H: The Reincarnation Of An Ornithologist.

22. Kore-eda Hirokazu

Director | Manbiki kazoku

Born in Tokyo in 1962. Originally intended to be a novelist, but after graduating from Waseda University in 1987 went on to become an assistant director at T.V. Man Union. Snuck off set to film Mou hitotsu no kyouiku - Ina shogakkou haru gumi no kiroku (1991). His first feature, Maborosi (1995), ...

8-1. Masterpieces: Still Walking, Nobody Knows, Maborosi, After The Storm, After Life, I Wish, Like Father Like Son, Our Little Sister.

Noteworthy: Distance.

23. 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 ...

7-10. Masterpieces: Secrets And Lies, Life Is Sweet, High Hopes, Naked, Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy, Abigail's Party.

Noteworthy: Another Year, Mr. Turner, Career Girls, Meantime, Happy-Go-Lucky, All Or Nothing, Four Days In July, Grown Ups, Bleak Moments.

24. 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 ...

7-8. Masterpieces: All About My Mother, Talk To Her, Volver, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, The Law Of Desire, Bad Education, What Have I Done To Deserve This.

Noteworthy: Matador, Live Flesh, Labyrinth Of Passion, The Skin I Live In, The Flower Of My Secrets, Broken Embraces, Julieta.

25. John Sayles

Writer | Lone Star

A bright child, John Sayles began reading novels before age 9. A Williams College grad in 1972, he shunned a corporate career to work various blue-collar jobs, moving to east Boston to take a factory job. He wrote stories and submitted them to various magazines, and the Atlantic Monthly gave him ...

7-6. Masterpieces: Matewan, The Secret Of The Roan Inish, Passion Fish, Men With Guns, Bruce Springsteen: The Complete Video Anthology 1978-2000, City Of Hope, Lone Star.

Noteworthy: Eight Men Out, The Brother From Another Planet, Baby It's You.

26. Errol Morris

Director | The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

His documentaries helped spur a rebirth of non-fiction film in the 80s & garnered wide critical success. But until 2003's "The Fog of War," Morris was shunned by the Academy Awards.

Morris' first two films won much acclaim (Gates of Heaven (1978) and Vernon, Florida (1981)). In the second movie, ...

7-4. Masterpieces: The Fog Of War, The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Death: The Rise And Fall Or Fred Leuchter, Gates Of Heaven, Vernon Florida, Fast Cheap And Out Of Control, A Brief History Of Time.

Noteworthy: Tabloid, The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography, Standard Operating Procedure,

27. Kevin Macdonald

Director | The Last King of Scotland

Kevin Macdonald was born on October 28, 1967 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is a director and producer, known for The Last King of Scotland (2006), The Mauritanian (2021) and How I Live Now (2013). He has been married to Tatiana Macdonald since July 2, 1999. They have three children.

7-2. Masterpieces: One Day In September, Touching The Void, Marley, Sky Ladder: The Art Of Cai Guo-Qiang, The Last King Of Scotland, My Enemy's Enemy, Oasis.

28. Jafar Panahi

Director | Taxi

Jafar Panahi (Born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, commonly identified with the Iranian New Wave film movement. After several years of making short films and working as an assistant director for fellow Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami, Panahi achieved ...

7-1. Masterpieces: The Mirror, Taxi, The Circle, This Is Not A Film, The White Balloon, Offside, Crimson Gold.

Noteworthy: Closed Curtain.

29. Peter Bogdanovich

Director | The Last Picture Show

Peter Bogdanovich was conceived in Europe but born in Kingston, New York. He is the son of immigrants fleeing the Nazis, Herma (Robinson) and Borislav Bogdanovich, a painter and pianist. His father was a Serbian Orthodox Christian, and his mother was from a wealthy Austrian Jewish family. Peter ...

7-1. Masterpieces: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down A Dream, The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon, Whats Up Doc, Mask, Targets, Directed By John Ford.

30. 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 ...

6-10. Masterpieces: The Pianist, Chinatown, Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, Knife In The Water, The Tenant.

Noteworthy: Cul-De-Sac, Tess, Tragedy of Macbeth, Death And The Maiden, The Ghost Writer, Venus In Fur.

31. Stanley Donen

Director | Charade

Inspired by Fred Astaire's dancing in Flying Down to Rio (1933), Stanley Donen (pronounced 'Dawn-en') attended dance classes from the age of ten. He later recalled that the only thing he wanted to be was a tap dancer.

He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, to Helen Pauline (Cohen) and Mordecai ...

6-7. He has not directed a movie in 18 years and is currently 93 years old, most likely will not direct again. But he is still alive, god bless him. So I have to stay true to this list and keep him on it!

Masterpieces: Singin' In The Rain, Charade, On The Town, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, It's Always Fair Weather, Two For The Road.

Noteworthy: Funny Face, Indiscreet, The Grass Is Greener, Royal Wedding, Bedazzled.

32. Richard Linklater

Director | Waking Life

Self-taught writer-director Richard Stuart Linklater was born in Houston, Texas, to Diane Margaret (Krieger), who taught at a university, and Charles W. Linklater III. Richard was among the first and most successful talents to emerge during the American independent film renaissance of the 1990s. ...

6-7. Masterpieces: Boyhood, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, Before Sunrise, Dazed And Confused, Waking Life.

Noteworthy: The School Of Rock, Everybody Wants Some, Bernie, Slacker.

33. Christopher Nolan

Writer | Tenet

Best known for his cerebral, often nonlinear, storytelling, acclaimed Academy Award winner writer/director/producer Sir Christopher Nolan CBE was born in London, England. Over the course of more than 25 years of filmmaking, Nolan has gone from low-budget independent films to working on some of the ...

6-5. Masterpieces: The Dark Knight, Memento, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Quay, Batman Begins.

Noteworthy: The Prestige, Insomnia, Interstellar.

34. David Lynch

Writer | Twin Peaks

Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood being shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future ...

6-5. Masterpieces: The Elephant Man, The Straight Story, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, Lumiere And Company.

Noteworthy: The Short Films Of David Lynch.

35. Peter Weir

Director | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Peter Weir was born on August 21, 1944 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), The Way Back (2010) and Witness (1985). He has been married to Wendy Stites since 1966. They have two children.

6-4. Masterpieces: The Truman Show, Picnic At Hanging Rock, Dead Poets Society, The Last Wave, Witness, Master And Commander.

Noteworthy: Fearless, Gallipoli, The Year Of Living Dangerously.

36. Quentin Tarantino

Writer | Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.

In January of...

6-4. Masterpieces: Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Django Unchained, Kill Bill: Volume Two, Inglourious Basterds, Grindhouse.

Noteworthy: Kill Bill, Jackie Brown, Sin City.

37. Ang Lee

Director | Wo hu cang long

Born in 1954 in Pingtung, Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of today's greatest contemporary filmmakers. Ang graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 and then came to the U.S. to receive a B.F.A. Degree in Theatre/Theater Direction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...

6-4. Masterpieces: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense And Sensibility, Wedding Banquet, Brokeback Mountain, Life Of Pi.

Noteworthy: The Ice Storm, Pushing Hands.

38. Ron Howard

Producer | Arrested Development

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation's most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1983), he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films.

Howard ...

6-4. Masterpieces: Frost/Nixon, Apollo 13, The Beatles: Eight Days A Week-The Touring Years, Rush, A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man.

Noteworthy: Parenthood.

39. Ridley Scott

Producer | The Martian

Described by film producer Michael Deeley as "the very best eye in the business", director Ridley Scott was born on November 30, 1937 in South Shields, Tyne and Wear. His father was an officer in the Royal Engineers and the family followed him as his career posted him throughout the United Kingdom ...

6-3. Masterpieces: Blade Runner, Alien, The Martian, The Duellists, Thelma & Louise, American Gangster.

Noteworthy: Black Hawk Down, Gladiator.

40. Brian De Palma

Director | Body Double

Brian De Palma is one of the well-known directors who spear-headed the new movement in Hollywood during the 1970s. He is known for his many films that go from violent pictures, to Hitchcock-like thrillers. Born on September 11, 1940, De Palma was born in Newark, New Jersey in an Italian-American ...

6-3. Masterpieces: Carlito's Way, Phantom Of The Paradise, The Untouchables, Blow Out, Carrie, Scarface.

Noteworthy: Casualties Of War, Dressed To Kill.

41. Milos Forman

Director | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Milos Forman was born Jan Tomas Forman in Caslav, Czechoslovakia, to Anna (Svabova), who ran a summer hotel, and Rudolf Forman, a professor. During World War II, his parents were taken away by the Nazis, after being accused of participating in the underground resistance. His father died in ...

6-3. Masterpieces: Amadeus, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Taking Off, Loves Of A Blonde, The Firemen's Ball, Hair.

Noteworthy: The People Vs. Larry Flynt.

42. 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...

6-2. Masterpieces: The Social Network, Gone Girl, Fight Club, Seven, The Girl With Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac.

Noteworthy: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.

43. Emir Kusturica

Director | Underground

A Serbian film director. Born in 1954 in Sarajevo. Graduated in film directing at the prestigious Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague in 1978. During his studies, he was awarded several times for his short movies including Guernica (1978), which took first prize at the Student's Film ...

6-2. Masterpieces: Time Of The Gypsies, When Father Was Away On Business, Underground, Do You Remember Dolly Bell, Black Cat White Cat, Arizona Dream.

Noteworthy: Life Is A Miracle.

44. 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...

6-1. Masterpieces: A Separation, About Elly, The Salesman, Fireworks Wednesday, The Past, Beautiful City.

45. Bertrand Tavernier

Director | Un dimanche à la campagne

Bertrand Tavernier was the son of Geneviève (Dumond) and René Tavernier, who was a publicist, writer, and president of the French PEN club. He was a law student that preferred write film criticisms. He also wrote a few books about American movies. Then his first film won a few awards in France and ...

5-7. Masterpieces: Round Midnight, A Sunday In The Country, The Clockmaker Of St. Paul, Coup De Torchon, Life And Nothing But.

Noteworthy: Daddy Nostalgia, L.627, It All Starts Today, Captain Conan, Safe Conduct.

46. Jim Jarmusch

Director | Paterson

Moved to New York City at the age of seventeen from Akron, Ohio. Graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in English, class of '75. Without any prior film experience, he was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts, New York.

5-6. Masterpieces: Down By Law, Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery Train, Paterson, Night On Earth.

Noteworthy: Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, Only Lovers Left Alive, Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai, Broken Flowers, Gimme Danger.

47. Norman Jewison

Director | Jesus Christ Superstar

Norman Jewison was an award-winning, internationally acclaimed filmmaker who produced and directed some of the world's most memorable, entertaining and socially important films, exploring controversial and complicated subjects and giving them a universal accessibility. Some of his most well-known ...

5-6. Masterpieces: In The Heat Of The Night, Fiddler On The Roof, Moonstruck, A Soldier's Story, The Hurricane.

Noteworthy: The Cincinnati Kid, 40 Pounds Of Trouble, And Justice For All, The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming, The Thrill Of It All.

48. Peter Jackson

Producer | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Sir Peter Jackson made history with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, becoming the first person to direct three major feature films simultaneously. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were nominated for and collected a slew of awards from around the globe, with The ...

5-6. Masterpieces: Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, Forgotten Silver, Heavenly Creatures.

Noteworthy: Dead Alive, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug.

49. Barry Levinson

Director | Rain Man

Barry Lee Levinson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Violet (Krichinsky) and Irvin Levinson, who worked in furniture and appliance. He is of Russian Jewish descent. Levinson graduated from high school in 1960, attended college at American University in Washington, DC. He did well, but decided he ...

5-5. Masterpieces: Diner, Good Morning Vietnam, The Natural, Rain Man, You Don't Know Jack.

Noteworthy: Avalon, Liberty Heights, Wag The Dog.

50. 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...

5-5. Masterpieces: The Heart Of The World, Cowards Bend The Knee Or The Blue Hands, Brand Upon The Brain, My Winnipeg, My Dad Is 100 Years Old.

Noteworthy: Careful, Dracula: Pages From A Virgin's Diary, The Saddest Music In The World.

51. Danny Boyle

Director | 127 Hours

Daniel Francis Boyle is a British filmmaker, producer and writer from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester. He is known for directing 28 Days Later, 127 Hours, Trainspotting, T2 Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire, Millions, Shallow Grave, The Beach, Yesterday, and Steve Jobs. He won many awards for ...

5-5. Masterpieces: National Theatre Live: Frankenstein, Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later.

Noteworthy: Steve Jobs, Millions, T2 Trainspotting.

52. Mamoru Oshii

Director | Kôkaku kidôtai

Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and screenwriter. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of popular anime, including Urusei Yatsura (1981-1984), Angel's Egg (1985), Patlabor: The Movie (1989), Ghost in the Shell (1995), and Ghost in ...

5-5. Masterpieces: Ghost In The Shell 2.0, Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, Ghost In The Shell, Angel's Egg, Patlabor 2.

Noteworthy: Patlabor, Urusei Yatsura: Only You.

53. Nikita Mikhalkov

Actor | 12

Nikita Mikhalkov is the son of the famous communist poet Sergey Mikhalkov, who wrote the lyrics of the Soviet national anthem and had strong connections to the Communist Party. Nikita Mikhalkov's mother, Natalya Petrovna Konchalovskaya, was also a poet and daughter of famous painter Pyotr Petrovich...

5-5?

54. James Cameron

Writer | Avatar: The Way of Water

James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his ...

5-4. Masterpieces: Aliens, The Terminator, Terminator 2, James Cameron's Expedition: Bismarck, Avatar.

Noteworthy: The Abyss, Titanic.

55. John Woo

Director | Ying hung boon sik

Born in southern China, John Woo grew up in Hong Kong, where he began his film career as an assistant director in 1969, working for Shaw Brothers Studios. He directed his first feature in 1973 and has been a prolific director ever since, working in a wide variety of genres before A Better Tomorrow ...

5-4?

56. Costa-Gavras

Director | Z

Costa-Gavras was born on February 12, 1933 in Loutra-Iraias, Greece. He is a director and writer, known for Z (1969), Missing (1982) and Amen. (2002). He has been married to Michèle Ray-Gavras since 1968. They have two children.

5-4?

57. 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.

5-3?

58. Rob Reiner

Actor | All in the Family

Robert Reiner was born in New York City, to Estelle Reiner (née Lebost) and Emmy-winning actor, comedian, writer, and producer Carl Reiner.

As a child, his father was his role model, as Carl Reiner created and starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show. Estelle was also an inspiration for him to become a ...

5-3. Masterpieces: Stand By Me, This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, Misery, When Harry Met Sally.

Noteworthy: The Sure Thing, A Few Good Men, The American President.

59. Kar-Wai Wong

Director | Yi dai zong shi

Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1956) is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylised, emotionally resonant work, including Ah fei zing zyun (1990), Dung che sai duk (1994), Chung Hing sam lam (1994), Do lok tin si (1995), Chun gwong ...

5-3?

60. Chris Hegedus

Director | Startup.com

Chris has directed, shot, and edited documentaries for over forty years including the Oscar-nominated film The War Room. She received a DGA Award for Startup.com, Emmy awards for Elaine Stritch at Liberty, and an Emmy-nomination for Unlocking the Cage. Other feature credits include Moon Over ...

5-3?

61. Terry Gilliam

Writer | Brazil

Terry Gilliam was born near Medicine Lake, Minnesota. When he was 12 his family moved to Los Angeles where he became a fan of MAD magazine. In his early twenties he was often stopped by the police who suspected him of being a drug addict and Gilliam had to explain that he worked in advertising. In ...

5-3. Masterpieces: Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Brazil, The Crimson Permanent Assurance, The Meaning Of Life, Twelve Monkeys.

Noteworthy: Time Bandits, The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King.

62. 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 ...

5-3. Masterpieces: The Grand Budapest Hotel, Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums.

Noteworthy: Bottle Rocket.

63. Fatih Akin

Director | Aus dem Nichts

Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg of Turkish parentage. He began studying Visual Communications at Hamburg's College of Fine Arts in 1994. His collaboration with Wueste Film also dates from this time. In 1995, he wrote and directed his first short feature, "Sensin - You're The One!" ("Sensin -...

5-2?

64. 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.

5-2?

65. Michael Mann

Producer | The Insider

As a director, screenwriter, and producer, four-time Academy Award nominee Michael Mann has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in American cinema. After writing and directing the Primetime Emmy Award-winning television movie The Jericho Mile (1979), Mann ...

5-2. Masterpieces: The Insider, Heat, The Last Of The Mohicans, Thief, Manhunter.

Noteworthy: Collateral, The Jericho Mile.

66. Nick Park

Writer | The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

Nick Park was born on December 6, 1958 in Preston, Lancashire, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005), Chicken Run (2000) and Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993).

5-2.

67. Nick Morris

Director | The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

Nick Morris is known for The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011), Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary (2010) and Alegria: Cirque du Soleil (2001).

5-1. Masterpieces: The Phantom Of The Opera At The Royal Albert Hall, Les Miserables In Concert: The 25th Anniversary, The Mighty Boosh Live, Cirque Du Soleil: Varekai, Cat Stevens: Majikat.

Noteworthy: Shaolin: Wheel Of Life.

68. Julien Temple

Director | Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan

Julien Temple was born on November 26, 1953 in London, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020), Vigo (1998) and Earth Girls Are Easy (1988).

5-1?

69. Majid Majidi

Writer | Bacheha-Ye aseman

Majid Majidi was born on April 17, 1959 in Tehran, Iran to a middle class family. He started acting in amateur theater groups at the age of fourteen. After receiving his high school diploma, he started studying art at the Institute of Dramatic Art in Tehran. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, ...

5-1?

70. William Friedkin

Director | To Live and Die in L.A.

Friedkin's mother was an operating room nurse. His father was a merchant seaman, semi-pro softball player and ultimately sold clothes in a men's discount chain. Ultimately, his father never earned more than $50/week in his whole life and died indigent. Eventually young Will became infatuated with ...

5-1?

71. Alfonso Cuarón

Producer | Gravity

Alfonso Cuarón Orozco was born on November 28th 1961 in Mexico City, Mexico. From an early age, he yearned to be either a film director or an astronaut. However, he did not want to enter the army, so he settled for directing. He didn't receive his first camera until his twelfth birthday, and then ...

5-1. Masterpieces: Gravity, Y Tu Mama Tambien, A Little Princess, Children Of Men, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban.

72. Steve James

Director | Hoop Dreams

Steve James was born in Hampton, Virginia, USA. He has been based in Chicago, Illinois, USA for his entire career. He is known for the documentary films Hoop Dreams (1994), Stevie (2002), The Interrupters (2011), Life Itself (2014) and Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016). His documentary series ...

5-0?

73. Paul Greengrass

Director | United 93

Paul Greengrass started his filmmaking career with a super 8 camera he found in his art room in secondary school. Those short movies were animation horror films he made using old dolls, artist dummies, and the general art room clutter.

After studying in Cambridge University he got into Granada ...

5-0. Masterpieces: The Bourne Ultimatum, Bloody Sunday, Captain Phillips, United 93, The Bourne Supremacy.

74. Tim Burton

Producer | Edward Scissorhands

Timothy Walter Burton was born in Burbank, California, to Jean Rae (Erickson), who owned a cat-themed gift shop, and William Reed Burton, who worked for the Burbank Park and Recreation Department. He spent most of his childhood as a recluse, drawing cartoons, and watching old movies (he was ...

4-11. Masterpieces: Vincent, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sweeney Todd.

Noteworthy: Corpse Bride, The World Of Stainboy, Beetlejuice, Big Fish, Batman, Frankenweenie (2012).

75. Sammo Kam-Bo Hung

Stunts | Ip Man

Born in Hong Kong, Sammo Hung's acting career began while he was training in acrobatics, martial arts and dance as a child at the China Drama Academy, and he received acclaim for his performance with a troupe called "The Seven Little Fortunes." He made his feature film debut as an actor at the age ...

4-9?

76. Steven Soderbergh

Director | Sex, Lies, and Videotape

Steven Andrew Soderbergh was born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age, his family moved to ...

4-8?

77. Aleksandr Sokurov

Director | Russkiy kovcheg

He was born with a disability because of an anatomic defect of his leg, in 1951 in Podorvikha village in Siberian Russia. His father was a Red Army veteran of WW2. One of most important contemporary filmmakers, Sokurov worked extensively in television and later graduated from the prestigious film ...

4-8?

78. Johnnie To

Director | Hak se wooi

With over thirty directing and producing credits to his name, Johnnie To enjoyed international breakthroughs with Election (2005), Election 2 (2006) (aka "Triad Election") and Exiled (2006); those films enjoyed multiple international film festival appearances and were separately sold to more than ...

4-8?

79. Robert Zemeckis

Writer | Back to the Future

A whiz-kid with special effects, Robert is from the Spielberg camp of film-making (Steven Spielberg produced many of his films). Usually working with writing partner Bob Gale, Robert's earlier films show he has a talent for zany comedy (Romancing the Stone (1984), 1941 (1979)) and special effect ...

4-7. Masterpieces: Back To The Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump, Cast Away.

Noteworthy: The Walk, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Flight, Romancing The Stone.

80. Alan Parker

Director | Evita

The son of Elsie Ellen, a dressmaker, and William Leslie Parker, a house painter, Alan Parker was a London advertising copywriter in the 1960s and early 1970s with Collett Dickenson Pearce (CDP), an ad agency. He formed a partnership with David Puttnam as his producer (Puttnam had been a ...

4-6. Masterpieces: Midnight Express, The Commitments, Birdy, Mississippi Burning.

Noteworthy: Pink Floyd - The Wall, Shoot The Moon, Angel Heart, Bugsy Malone.

81. Alex Gibney

Producer | Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Alex Gibney was born on October 23, 1953 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005), Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) and The Looming Tower (2018). He has been married to Anne Gibney since August 14, 1982. They have three ...

4-6.

82. Francis Ford Coppola

Producer | Apocalypse Now

Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, but grew up in a New York suburb in a creative, supportive Italian-American family. His father, Carmine Coppola, was a composer and musician. His mother, Italia Coppola (née Pennino), had been an actress. Francis Ford Coppola graduated ...

4-6?

83. Volker Schlöndorff

Director | Die Blechtrommel

Has studied economy and political sciences as well as at the Institut des Hautes Etudes Cinematographique (IDHEC) in Paris, France. Worked as an assistant director with Louis Malle, Jean-Pierre Melville and Alain Resnais. Founded his own production company Bioskop Film together with Reinhard Hauff ...

4-5?

84. Hark Tsui

Producer | Di Renjie zhi Tongtian diguo

Tsui Hark recently became the fourth Chinese film director to join the board of judges for the 57th Cannes Film Festival in the feature films category this year.

An internationally acclaimed visionary director, Tsui started making experimental movies with 8mm film when he was only 13. After ...

4-5?

85. 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...

4-4. Masterpieces: There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Junun.

Noteworthy: Hard Eight, Punch-Drunk Love, The Master.

86. Agnieszka Holland

Director | Pokot

Having graduated from FAMU in Prague film (1971), Agnieszka Holland returned to Poland and began her film career working with Krzysztof Zanussi as assistant director, and Andrzej Wajda as her mentor. Her first feature film was PROVINCIAL ACTORS (1978), one of the flagship pictures of the "cinema of...

4-4?

87. Richard Lester

Director | A Hard Day's Night

Richard Lester was one of the most influential directors of the 1960s, and continued his career into the 1970s and early '80s. He is best remembered for the two films he helmed starring The Beatles: A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), the frenetic cutting style of which was seen by many as ...

4-4?

88. Tom Hooper

Director | Cats

Tom Hooper was educated at one of England's most prestigious schools, Westminster. His first film, Runaway Dog, was made when he was 13 years old and shot on a Clockwork 16mm Bolex camera, using 100 feet of film. At age 18, he wrote, directed and produced the short film Painted Faces (1992), which ...

4-3?

89. Jirí Menzel

Director | Ostrzhe sledované vlaky

Jirí Menzel was born on February 23, 1938 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor and director, known for Closely Watched Trains (1966), I Served the King of England (2006) and Larks on a String (1969). He was married to Olga Menzelová-Kelymanová. He died on September 5, ...

4-3?

90. Sam Raimi

Director | Spider-Man

Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...

4-3. Masterpieces: Evil Dead II, Spider-Man 2, A Simple Plan, The Evil Dead.

Noteworthy: Drag Me To Hell, Spider-Man.

91. 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...

4-3. Masterpieces: Sideways, Nebraska, Election, The Descendants.

Noteworthy: About Schmidt, Paris Je T'Aime.

92. 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), ...

4-3. Masterpieces: Incendies, Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners.

93. Kenneth Branagh

Actor | Henry V

Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to parents William Branagh, a plumber and carpenter, and Frances (Harper), both born in 1930. He has two siblings, William Branagh, Jr. (born 1955) and Joyce Branagh (born 1970). When he was nine, his family ...

4-3?

94. Philip Kaufman

Writer | The Right Stuff

Director and screenwriter Philip Kaufman was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended the University of Chicago and later Harvard Law School. He won the Prix de la Nouvelle Critique at Cannes in 1965 for his film Goldstein (1964). He was the screenwriter for The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) and was to ...

4-2. Masterpieces: The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Wanderers, The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.

Noteworthy: The White Dawn, Quills.

95. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Director | Un long dimanche de fiançailles

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a self-taught director who was very quickly interested by cinema, with a predilection for a fantastic cinema where form is as important as the subject. Thus he started directing TV commercials and video clips (such as Julien Clerc in 1984). At the same time he met designer/...

4-2. Masterpieces: Amelie, Things I Like Things I Don't Like, Delicatessen, The City Of Lost Children.

Noteworthy: A Very Long Engagement.

96. James Ivory

Writer | Call Me by Your Name

The main part of his few movies were filmed in the quarter of a century in which he worked closely together with the Indian producer Ismail Merchant and the German writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. His first films are all set in India and are very much influenced by the style of Satyajit Ray and Jean ...

4-2.

97. Rolf de Heer

Producer | Bad Boy Bubby

Rolf de Heer was born on May 4, 1951 in Heemskerk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He is a producer and director, known for Bad Boy Bubby (1993), Ten Canoes (2006) and Charlie's Country (2013).

4-2?

98. Franco Zeffirelli

Director | Romeo and Juliet

Franco Zeffirelli is an Italian director and producer of operas, films and television. He was also a senator from 1994 until 2001 for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party. Some of his operatic designs and productions have become worldwide classics.

He was known for several of the movies he ...

4-2?

99. Bong Joon Ho

Writer | Snowpiercer

Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the ...

4-2. Masterpieces: Memories Of Murder, Mother, Snowpiercer, The Host.

100. Bahman Ghobadi

Director | Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand

Bahman Ghobadi was born in 1969 in Baneh, in the province of Iranian Kurdistan, near the Iran-Iraq border. Shortly after graduating from the National Audiovisual School, he made his first short, immediately acclaimed by the local critics. One of these short films, "Life in Fog" (1999) is even ...

4-1. Masterpieces: Turtles Can Fly, Marooned In Iraq, A Time For Drunken Horses, Half Moon.

Noteworthy: No One Knows About Persian Cats.