Top 80 screenwriters

1. Woody Allen

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 ...

Annie Hall, Manhattan, Zelig, The purple rose of Cairo, Hannah and her sisters, etc.

2. Luis Buñuel

Writer | Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie

The father of cinematic Surrealism and one of the most original directors in the history of the film medium, Luis Buñuel was given a strict Jesuit education (which sowed the seeds of his obsession with both religion and subversive behavior), and subsequently moved to Madrid to study at the ...

Los olvidados, Él, Nazarín, El ángel exterminador, El discreto encanto de la burguesía, etc

3. 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 (...

The seventh seal, Wild strawberries, Persona, Cries and whispers, Fanny and Alexander etc.

4. 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 ...

The lost weekend, Double idemnity, Sunset boulevard, Sabrina, The apartment, etc.

5. 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 ...

Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, Todo sobre mi madre, Hable con ella, Volver, Dolor y gloria, etc.

6. Akira Kurosawa

Writer | Kakushi-toride no san-akunin

After training as a painter (he storyboards his films as full-scale paintings), Kurosawa entered the film industry in 1936 as an assistant director, eventually making his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata (1943). Within a few years, Kurosawa had achieved sufficient stature to allow him greater...

Rashomon, To live, Seven Samurai, Red Beard, Ran, etc

7. Jean-Claude Carrière

Writer | The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Jean-Claude Carrière was born on September 17, 1931 in Colombières-sur-Orb, Hérault, France. He was a writer and actor, known for The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). He was married to Nicole Janin and Nahal Tajadod. ...

Belle de jour, Le discret charm du burguesie, That obscure object of desire, The return of Martin Guerre, The unbereable lightness of being, etc

8. François Truffaut

Writer | La nuit américaine

French director François Truffaut began to assiduously go to the movies at age seven. He was also a great reader but not a good pupil. He left school at 14 and started working. In 1947, aged 15, he founded a film club and met André Bazin, a French critic, who became his protector. Bazin helped the ...

Les 400 coups, Jules et Jim, Le sirene du Missisippi, Le nuit americane, La femme de a cote, etc.

9. 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 ...

Along with his brother Ethan Coen. Miller's crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, The man who wasn't there, No country for old men, etc.

10. Claude Chabrol

Director | Le beau Serge

Claude Chabrol was born on June 24, 1930 in Paris, France. He was a director and writer, known for Le Beau Serge (1958), La Cérémonie (1995) and Story of Women (1988). He was married to Aurore Chabrol, Stéphane Audran and Agnès Goute. He died on September 12, 2010 in Paris, France.

Que la beute mere, Le femme infidele, La rupture, Paulet au vinagre, La cermonie, etc

11. 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 ...

Open city, La strada, 8 and a half, La dolce vita, Amarcord, etc.

12. Ennio Flaiano

Writer | 8½

Ennio Flaiano was born on March 5, 1910 in Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy. He was a writer and actor, known for 8½ (1963), La Dolce Vita (1960) and Nights of Cabiria (1957). He was married to Rosetta Rota. He died on November 20, 1972 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

La strada, La notti di Cabiria, I vitelloni, El verdugo, etc.

13. Shinobu Hashimoto

Writer | Kakushi-toride no san-akunin

Shinobu Hashimoto was born on April 18, 1918 in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for The Hidden Fortress (1958), Harakiri (1962) and Ikiru (1952). He died on July 19, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.

Seven samurai, Rashomon, The hidden fortress, Harakiri, etc.

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 (...

Camera bluff, A short film about love, Bleau, Rouge, etc

15. Tonino Guerra

Writer | Amarcord

Legendary Italian screenwriter was born Antonio Guerra on the 16th of March 1920 in Sant'Arcangelo, Italy, south of Ravenna. He wrote several short stories, poetry and novels and in 1956 his first screenplay "Man and Wolves" (co-written by Elio Petri) was directed by Giuseppe De Santis. Three years...

Il deserto rosso, Blow up, Il caso Mattei, Cadaveri eccelenti, etc.

16. Hideo Oguni

Writer | Tengoku to jigoku

Hideo Oguni was born on July 9, 1904 in Aomori, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for High and Low (1963), Ikiru (1952) and Ran (1985). He died on February 5, 1996.

Seven samurai, Throne of blood, The bad sleep well, High and low etc.

17. 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...

Magnolia, There will be blood, Phantom thread and Licorice pizza.

18. Tullio Pinelli

Writer | La dolce vita

Tullio Pinelli was born on June 24, 1908 in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. He was a writer, known for La Dolce Vita (1960), The Road (1954) and 8½ (1963). He was married to Madeleine Lebeau. He died on March 7, 2009 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

La strada, I vitelloni, La dolce vita, 8 and a half, etc

19. 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 ...

Life is sweet, Secrets and lies, Happy-go-lucky, Another year, etc.

20. Preston Sturges

Writer | Sullivan's Travels

Preston Sturges' own life is as unlikely as some of the plots of his best work. He was born into a wealthy family. As a boy he helped out on stage productions for his mother's friend, Isadora Duncan (the scarf that strangled her was made by his mother's company, Maison Desti). He served in the U.S....

The lady Eve, The Sullivan travels, The Palm Beach story, The miracle of Morgan's creek, etc.

21. Suso Cecchi D'Amico

Writer | Ladri di biciclette

Suso Cecchi D'Amico was born on July 21, 1914 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was a writer and actress, known for Bicycle Thieves (1948), The Leopard (1963) and Rocco and His Brothers (1960). She was married to Fidele d'Amico. She died on July 31, 2010 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Bicycle thieves, Bellisima, Rocco and his brothers, Il gatopardo, etc.

22. 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 ...

The piano teacher, Caché, The white ribbon and Amour.

23. Roberto Rossellini

Writer | Roma città aperta

The master filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, as one of the creators of neo-realism, is one of the most influential directors of all time. His neo-realist films influenced France's nouvelle vague movement in the 1950s and '60s that changed the face of international cinema. He also influenced American ...

Roma, Geramny year zero, Paisa, Il generale della Rovere, etc.

24. Furio Scarpelli

Writer | Il postino

Furio Scarpelli was born on December 16, 1919 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for The Postman (1994), The Family (1987) and Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958). He was married to Cora Conti. He died on April 28, 2010 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Along with Agenore Incrocci: Il soliti sogni, La grande guerra, The good, the bad and the ugly, C'eramo tanto amati, etc.

25. 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 ...

The killers, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A space odyssey, A clockwork orange, etc.

26. Rafael Azcona

Writer | Belle Epoque

Rafael Azcona was born on October 24, 1926 in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. He was a writer and actor, known for Belle Epoque (1992), Peppermint Frappé (1967) and The Executioner (1963). He was married to Susan Youdelman. He died on March 24, 2008 in Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Plácido, El verdugo, Pepermint frappé and El bosque animado.

27. 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 ...

The gold rush, City lights, Modern times and The great dictator.

28. Charles Brackett

Writer | Sunset Blvd.

Charles Brackett, born in Saratoga Springs, New York, of Scottish ancestry, followed in his attorney-father's footsteps and graduated with a law degree from Harvard University in 1920. He practised law for several years, before commencing work as drama critic for The New Yorker (1925-29), in ...

Ninotchka, Ball of fire, The lost weekend, Sunset boulevard,etc.

29. 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 ...

Bellisima, White nights, Rocco and his brothers and The damned.

30. Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Writer | Krótki film o milosci

Born in 1945 in Warsaw. In 1970, graduated in law from Warsaw University. Articled as a judge and as a barrister. In legal practice since 1973. Is mainly a criminal defence lawyer, but has also specialised in family law and in protection of personal goods and chattels. During Martial Law, acted as ...

No end, A short film about killing, Bleau and Rouge.

31. Enrico Medioli

Writer | Il gattopardo

Enrico Medioli was born on March 17, 1925 in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was a writer, known for The Leopard (1963), Rocco and His Brothers (1960) and The Damned (1969). He died on April 21, 2017 in Orvieto, Umbria, Italy.

Rocco and his brothers, Il gatopardo, The damned and Once upon a time in America.

32. Andrew Stanton

Writer | WALL·E

Andrew Stanton has been a major creative force at Pixar Animation Studios since 1990, when he became the second animator and ninth employee to join the company's elite group of computer animation pioneers. As Vice President, Creative he currently oversees all shorts and feature projects at the ...

Toy story, Finding Nemo and Wall-E.

33. Gérard Brach

Writer | Jean de Florette

Gérard Brach was born on July 23, 1927 in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was a writer and director, known for Jean de Florette (1986), The Name of the Rose (1986) and Frantic (1988). He died on September 9, 2006 in Paris, France.

Repulsion, Le vieil homme et l'enfant, Jean de florette and The name of the rose.

34. Ryûzô Kikushima

Writer | Tengoku to jigoku

Ryûzô Kikushima was born on January 28, 1914 in Japan. He was a writer and producer, known for High and Low (1963), Yojimbo (1961) and The Hidden Fortress (1958). He died on March 18, 1989 in Japan.

Throne of blood, The hidden fortress, The bad sleep well and High and low.

35. Éric Rohmer

Director | Ma nuit chez Maud

Admirers have always had difficulty explaining Éric Rohmer's "Je ne sais quoi." Part of the challenge stems from the fact that, despite his place in French Nouvelle Vague (i.e., New Wave), his work is unlike that of his colleagues. While this may be due to the auteur's unwillingness to conform, ...

My night at Maud's, The aviator's wife, Pauline at the beach and Le rayon vert.

36. Ben Hecht

Writer | Notorious

Ben Hecht, one of Hollywood's and Broadway's greatest writers, won an Oscar for best original story for Underworld (1927) at the first Academy Awards in 1929 and had a hand in the writing of many classic films. He was nominated five more times for the best writing Oscar, winning (along with writing...

Design for living, Nothing sacred, Wuthering heights, Notorious, etc.

37. 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 ...

La chienne, Le crime du Monsieur Lange, Le grand illusion, The rules of the game, etc.

38. Pete Docter

Writer | Up

Pete Docter is the Oscar®-winning director of "Monsters, Inc.," "Up," and "Inside Out," and Chief Creative Officer at Pixar Animation Studios. He is currently directing Pixar's feature film "Soul" with producer Dana Murray, which is set to release June 19, 2020.

Starting at Pixar in 1990 as the ...

Toy story, Wall E, Up, Inside out, etc.

39. John Huston

Director | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

An eccentric rebel of epic proportions, this Hollywood titan reigned supreme as director, screenwriter and character actor in a career that endured over five decades. The ten-time Oscar-nominated legend was born John Marcellus Huston in Nevada, Missouri, on August 5, 1906. His ancestry was English,...

The Maltese falcon, The treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African queen, The man who would be king, etc.

40. Dudley Nichols

Writer | Sister Kenny

Dudley Nichols was born on April 6, 1895 in Wapakoneta, Ohio, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Sister Kenny (1946), The Informer (1935) and Stagecoach (1939). He was married to Esther "Esta" Varez. He died on January 4, 1960 in Hollywood, California, USA.

The informer, Bringing up baby, Stagecoach, This land is mine, etc.

41. Jean Gruault

Writer | Mon oncle d'Amérique

Jean Gruault was born on August 3, 1924 in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Val-de-Marne, Île-de-France, France. He was a writer and actor, known for My American Uncle (1980), Jules and Jim (1962) and The Story of Adele H (1975). He was married to Ginette Geslot. He died on June 8, 2015 in Paris, France.

Jules et Ji, Deux anglais et le continent and Mon oncle d'amerique.

42. Jean Aurenche

Writer | Le juge et l'assassin

Jean Aurenche was born on September 11, 1904 in Pierrelatte, Drôme, France. He was a writer and director, known for The Judge and the Assassin (1976), L'étoile du Nord (1982) and Let Joy Reign Supreme (1975). He died on September 29, 1992 in Bandol, Var, France.

Forbidden games, Gervaise and Coup de torchon.

43. 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...

Pulp fiction, Inglorious basterds and Once upon a time in Hollywood.

44. 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 ...

Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

45. 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...

Election, Sideways and The descendants.

46. Henri-Georges Clouzot

Writer | Le salaire de la peur

Beginning his film career as a screenwriter, Henri-Georges Clouzot switched over to directing and in 1943 had the distinction of having his film The Raven (1943) banned by both the German forces occupying France and the Free French forces fighting them, but for different reasons. He shot to ...

Quai des orfevres, Le salarie de peur and Les diaboliques.

47. 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 ...

Il grido, L'avventura and Blow up.

48. Sergio Amidei

Writer | Roma città aperta

Sergio Amidei was born on October 3, 1904 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. He was a writer and producer, known for Rome, Open City (1945), Un borghese piccolo piccolo (1977) and General Della Rovere (1959). He died on April 14, 1981 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Open city, Shoe-shine and Paisá.

49. Richard Brooks

Writer | In Cold Blood

Richard Brooks was an Academy Award-winning film writer who also earned six Oscar nominations and achieved success as a film director and producer.

He was born Reuben Sax on May 18, 1912, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants. He graduated from West Philadelphia ...

Cat on a hot tin roof, In cold blood and Looking for Mr. Goodbar.

50. Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer | All About Eve

Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on February 11, 1909, Joseph Leo Mankiewicz first worked for the movies as a translator of intertitles, employed by Paramount in Berlin, the UFA's American distributor at the time (1928). He became a dialoguist, then a screenwriter on numerous Paramount ...

A letter to three wives, All about Eve and The barefoot contessa.

51. 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 ...

The godfather, The conversation and Apocalypse now!

52. Adolfo Aristarain

Writer | Martín (Hache)

Adolfo Aristarain began working on a regular basis in the film industry in 1965, as second assistant director. Before shooting his first film in 1978, he worked as an assistant director in more than thirty feature films, in different parts of the world, such as Sergio Leone's _Erase un vez en el ...

Tiempo de revancha, Un lugar en el mundo and Martín (Hache)

53. Louis Malle

Director | Au revoir les enfants

Louis Malle, the descendant of a French nobleman who made a fortune in beet sugar during the Napoleonic Wars, created films that explored life and its meaning. Malle's family discouraged his early interest in film but, in 1950, allowed him to enter the Institute of Advanced Cinematographic Studies ...

Elevator to the gallows, Lacombre Lucien and Au revoir les enfants.

54. Aaron Sorkin

Writer | The West Wing

Aaron Sorkin grew up in Scarsdale, a suburb of New York City where he was very involved in his high school drama and theater club. After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater, Sorkin intended to pursue a career in acting. It took him only a short time to ...

The social network, Steve Jobs and Molly's game.

55. Yasujirô Ozu

Writer | Tôkyô monogatari

Tokyo-born Yasujiro Ozu was a movie buff from childhood, often playing hooky from school in order to see Hollywood movies in his local theatre. In 1923 he landed a job as a camera assistant at Shochiku Studios in Tokyo. Three years later, he was made an assistant director and directed his first ...

Early Summer, Tokyo monogatari and Late Autumn.

56. 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 ...

The elephant man, Blue velvet and Mulholland drive.

57. 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...

About Elly, A separation and A hero.

58. 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...

Aguirre the wrath of God, The enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Fitzcarraldo.

59. James Schamus

Producer | Wo hu cang long

James Schamus is an American film producer, director and screenwriter who is known for his collaborations with Taiwanese film director Ang Lee. He wrote the award winning wuxia film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Eat Drink Man Woman, Pushing Hands, The Ice Storm, the cult classic Marvel film Hulk,...

The wedding banquet, The ice storm and Crouching tiger hidden dragon

60. John Cassavetes

Actor | Rosemary's Baby

John Cassavetes was a Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is considered a pioneer of American independent film, as he often financed his own films.

Cassavetes was born in New York City in 1929 to Nicholas John Cassavetes (1893-1979) and his wife, Katherine Demetre (1906-1983). ...

Faces, Husbands and Opening night.

61. 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 ...

Repulsion, Rosemary's baby and The ghost writer.

62. 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. ...

Before sunset, BEfore midnight and Boyhood.

63. Ettore Scola

Writer | Una giornata particolare

Ettore Scola was born on May 10, 1931 in Trevico, Campania, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for A Special Day (1977), The Family (1987) and Passion of Love (1981). He was married to Gigliola. He died on January 19, 2016 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

C'eramo tanto amati, Brutti sporchi e cattivi and A special day.

64. Fritz Lang

Actor | Le mépris

Fritz Lang was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1890. His father managed a construction company. His mother, Pauline Schlesinger, was Jewish but converted to Catholicism when Lang was ten. After high school, he enrolled briefly at the Technische Hochschule Wien and then started to train as a painter. ...

M, Dr. Mabuse and Fury.

65. Juan Antonio Bardem

Writer | Calle Mayor

Juan Antonio Bardem was born on June 2, 1922 in Madrid, Spain. He was a writer and director, known for Main Street (1956), Los inocentes (1963) and Vengeance (1958). He was married to María Aguado Barbado. He died on October 30, 2002 in Madrid, Spain.

Bienvenido Mr. Marshall, Muerte de un ciclista and Calle mayor.

66. Paul Gégauff

Writer | Plein soleil

Paul Gégauff was born on August 10, 1922 in Blotzheim, Haut-Rhin, France. He was a writer and actor, known for Purple Noon (1960), Frankenstein 90 (1984) and This Man Must Die (1969). He was married to Danièle Gégauff. He died on December 24, 1983 in Gjovik, Norway.

Plein soleil, Les biches and Que la bete meure.

67. 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...

Without anesthesia, Angry harvest, Europa Europa, etc.

68. Pierre Bost

Writer | Jeux interdits

Pierre Bost was born on September 3, 1901 in Lasalle, Gard, France. He was a writer, known for Forbidden Games (1952), Gervaise (1956) and The Glass Castle (1950). He died on December 10, 1975 in Paris, France.

Forbidden games, Gervaise, La traversee de Paris, etc.

69. Orson Welles

Actor | Citizen Kane

His father, Richard Head Welles, was a well-to-do inventor, his mother, Beatrice (Ives) Welles, a beautiful concert pianist; Orson Welles was gifted in many arts (magic, piano, painting) as a child. When his mother died in 1924 (when he was nine) he traveled the world with his father. He was ...

Citizen Kane, The lady from Shanghai and Touch of evil.

70. Paul Schrader

Writer | First Reformed

Although his name is often linked to that of the "movie brat" generation (Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian De Palma, etc.) Paul Schrader's background couldn't have been more different than theirs. His strict Calvinist parents refused to allow him to see a...

Taxi driver, Raging bull and First reformed.

71. Bernardo Bertolucci

Writer | Il conformista

Bernardo Bertolucci, the Italian director whose films were known for their colorful visual style, was born in Parma, Italy. He attended Rome University and became famous as a poet. He served as assistant director for Pier Paolo Pasolini in the film Accattone (1961) and directed The Grim Reaper (...

Last tango in Paris, Novecento, The last emperor, etc.

72. Michael Wilson

Writer | Lawrence of Arabia

Michael Wilson was born on July 1, 1914 in McAlester, Oklahoma, USA. He was a writer, known for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and 5 Fingers (1952). He was married to Zelma Wilson. He died on April 9, 1978 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.

A place in the Sun, Salt of the Earth, The bridge on the river Kwai, etc.

73. 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 ...

Coup de torchon, A Sunday in the country, Ca comence aujourd hui, etc.

74. Steven Zaillian

Writer | Searching for Bobby Fischer

Steven Zaillian was born on January 30, 1953 in Fresno, California, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), The Irishman (2019) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011). He is married to Elizabeth Zaillian. They have two children.

Schindler's list, The girl with the dragon tattoo, The Irishman, etc.

75. Julio Alejandro

Writer | Feliz año, amor mío

Julio Alejandro was born in 1906 in Huesca, Arágon, Spain. He was a writer and director, known for Feliz año, amor mío (1957), Viridiana (1961) and El gran autor (1954). He died in 1995 in Javea, Valencia, Spain.

Nazarín, Viridiana, Simón del desierto, etc.

76. Cesare Zavattini

Writer | Ladri di biciclette

Cesare Zavattini was born on September 20, 1902 in Luzzara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for Bicycle Thieves (1948), Umberto D. (1952) and It's Forever Springtime (1950). He was married to Olga Berni. He died on October 13, 1989 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Shoe-shine, Bycicle thieves, Umberto D, etc.

77. Luis García Berlanga

Writer | El verdugo

Berlanga commenced his studies in Valencia in1928, although in 1929 his family sent him and his brother Fernando (due to a lung disease) to the Beau-soleil hospital school in Switzerland. In 1930, he returned to the San José School in Valencia where he stayed until 1931, the year in which the ...

Bienvenido Mr. Marshall, Plácido, El verdugo, tec.

78. Ruggero Maccari

Writer | La famiglia

Ruggero Maccari was born on June 28, 1919 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for The Family (1987), A Special Day (1977) and I Knew Her Well (1965). He died on May 8, 1989 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Il sorprasso, Scent of a woman, A special day, etc.

79. Francesco Rosi

Writer | Cadaveri eccellenti

His father was a shipowner. After school, Rosi initially began studying law, which he soon dropped out to work as a broadcast journalist and book illustrator in Naples. From 1944 to 1945 he worked for "Radio Napoli". In the immediate post-war years, Rosi moved to Rome, where he came into contact ...

La sfida, Il caso Matei, Cadaveri eccellenti, etc.

80. Ernest Lehman

Writer | North by Northwest

One of the most critically and commercially successful screenwriters in Hollywood history, Lehman grew up on Long Island, graduated from NY's City College. One of his first jobs was as a copywriter for a Broadway publicist. This experience would later be reflected in his novel and screenplay, "...

Sweet smell of success, North by northwest, Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?, etc