Top Directors of The 80s
by AlirezaGhorbani | created - 11 Jul 2016 | updated - 6 months ago | PublicThe list refers only to directors who have begun their work in the cinema since the eighties.
1. 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 ...
His First Movie: Thief (1981)
2. Lawrence Kasdan
Writer | The Big Chill
Lawrence Kasdan is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. He directed Body Heat, Grand Canyon, The Big Chill, Silverado and Dreamcatcher. He wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Bodyguard, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He is ...
His First Movie: Body Heat (1981)
3. Frank Henenlotter
Director | Bad Biology
Writer/director Frank Henenlotter was born August 29, 1950, in New York City. He gleefully "misspent" his youth watching a large array of blithely cheap'n'cheesy low-budget exploitation flicks in various seedy grindhouse theaters on Mahattan's 42nd St. He began making 8mm films as a teenager. His ...
His First Movie: Basket Case (1982)
4. Neil Jordan
Writer | The Crying Game
Neil Jordan was born on February 25, 1950 in Sligo, Ireland. He is a writer and producer, known for The Crying Game (1992), Greta (2018) and Breakfast on Pluto (2005). He has been married to Brenda Rawn since June 30, 2004. They have two children. He was previously married to Vivienne Shields.
His First Movie: Angel (1982)
5. Garry Marshall
Actor | A League of Their Own
Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 - July 19, 2016) was an American actor and filmmaker. He started his career in the 1960s writing for The Lucy Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show before he developed Neil Simon's 1965 play The Odd Couple for television in 1970. He gained fame for creating Happy ...
His First Movie: Young Doctors in Love (1982)
6. Alex Cox
Director | Repo Man
Throughout his years in the industry, Alex Cox, an English writer-director, has not only proven his loyalty and integrity to cult cinema, but also his love for it. This all began in 1977, when Cox dropped out of Oxford University to study Radio, Film & TV at Bristol until graduating in 1977. Seeing...
His First Movie: Repo Man (1984)
7. 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 ...
His First Long Movie: Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
8. Stuart Gordon
Writer | Re-Animator
Stuart Gordon started his film directing career in 1985. After graduating from Lane Technical High School, Gordon worked as a commercial artist apprentice prior to enrolling at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Unable to get into the film classes, he enrolled in an acting class and ended up ...
His First Movie: Re-Animator (1985)
9. Tom Holland
Writer | Fright Night
Tom Holland is an American director and screenwriter of horror and thriller films. His early writing projects include Class of 1984 (1982) and the Robert Bloch- inspired Psycho II (1983), the latter starring Anthony Perkins as the menacing psychopath, Norman Bates.
Tom gained more notoriety, however...
His First Movie: Fright Night (1985)
10. John McNaughton
Director | Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
John McNaughton was born on January 13, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), Wild Things (1998) and The Borrower (1991).
His First Movie: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
11. John McTiernan
Director | Die Hard
John McTiernan was born on January 8, 1951 in Albany, New York, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Die Hard (1988), Rollerball (2002) and Last Action Hero (1993). He has been married to Gail Sistrunk since 2012. He was previously married to Kate Harrington, Donna Dubrow and Carol Land.
His First Movie: Nomads (1986)
12. Robert Harmon
Director | The Hitcher
Robert Harmon attended film school at Boston University and worked for many years as a still photographer prior to embarking on a film career. Harmon worked as a still photographer on the movies "Roller Boogie," "Fade to Black," and "Hell Night." He was a second unit camera operator on "They Call ...
His First Movie: The Hitcher (1986)
13. Gregg Araki
Writer | Mysterious Skin
Gregg Araki was born on December 17, 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Mysterious Skin (2004), White Bird in a Blizzard (2014) and Kaboom (2010).
His First Movie: Three Bewildered People in the Night (1987)
14. 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 ...
His First Movie: Bad Taste (1987)
15. Chuck Russell
Director | The Scorpion King
Graduating from the University of Illinois, Russell left Chicago to begin work in film production in Los Angeles. He worked his way up, assistant directing and production managing independent films while writing screenplays. Russell made his directorial debut in 1987 with A Nightmare on Elm Street ...
His First Movie: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
16. Bill Condon
Director | Dreamgirls
Bill Condon was born on October 22, 1955 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Dreamgirls (2006), Gods and Monsters (1998) and Kinsey (2004).
His First Movie: Sister, Sister (1987)
17. Clive Barker
Writer | Nightbreed
Born in Liverpool, England, UK, Clive Barker is an English writer, director, and visual artist, best known for his works in the genres of horror and dark fantasy. His mother Joan Ruby (née Revill) was a painter and school welfare officer and his father Leonard Barker was a personnel director for an...
His First Movie: Hellraiser (1987)
18. Eric Red
Writer | 100 Feet
Writer/director Eric Red was born as Eric Joseph Durdaller on February 16, 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was raised in Manhattan. He specializes in hard, edgy pictures that have tough, no-nonsense tones and frequently address the darker aspects of human nature. Red attended the AFI ...
His First Movie: Cohen and Tate (1988)
19. Brian Yuzna
Producer | Beyond Re-Animator
Brian Yuzna was born on August 30, 1949 in Manila, Philippines. He is a writer and producer, known for Beyond Re-Animator (2003), The Dentist (1996) and Faust (2000). He is married to Cathy Yuzna. They have four children.
His First Movie: Society (1989)
20. John Dahl
Director | The Last Seduction
John Dahl was born on June 15, 1956 in Billings, Montana, USA. He is a director and writer, known for The Last Seduction (1994), Kill Me Again (1989) and Rounders (1998). He is married to Beth Jana Friedberg. They have four children.
His First Movie: Kill Me Again (1989)
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