Great Directors

1. Lenny Abrahamson

Director | Room

Lenny Abrahamson was born in Dublin in 1966. He studied physics and philosophy at Trinity College Dublin. While at university he directed short videos with the Trinity Video Society, which he co-founded with Ed Guiney. He graduated in 1991 with first class honours (gold medal). His first short film...

2. Andrew Adamson

Director | Shrek 2

Andrew Adamson was born on December 1, 1966 in Auckland, New Zealand. He is a producer and director, known for Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek (2001) and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). He has been married to Michelle Jonas since 2018. He was previously married to ...

3. Ben Affleck

Producer | Argo

Benjamin Géza "Ben" Affleck-Boldt was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to mother Chris Anne (Boldt), a school teacher, and father Timothy Byers "Tim" Affleck, a social worker. Ben has a younger brother, actor Casey Affleck, who was born in 1975...

Gone Baby Gone (2007) The Town (2010) Argo (2012)

4. Robert Aldrich

Director | Emperor of the North Pole

Robert Aldrich entered the film industry in 1941 when he got a job as a production clerk at RKO Radio Pictures. He soon worked his way up to script clerk, then became an assistant director, a production manager and an associate producer. He began writing and directing for TV series in the early ...

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) The Flight of the Phoenix (1965) The Dirty Dozen (1968)

5. Tomas Alfredson

Director | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Tomas Alfredson was born on April 1, 1965 in Lidingö, Stockholms län, Sweden. He is a director, known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Let the Right One In (2008) and The Snowman (2017). He is married to Charlotte Alfredson. They have one child. He was previously married to Cissi Elwin.

6. Yves Allégret

Director | Les orgueilleux

Yves Allégret was born on October 13, 1905 in Asnières-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was a director and writer, known for The Proud and the Beautiful (1953), La meilleure part (1955) and Dédée d'Anvers (1948). He was married to Michèle Cordoue, Simone Signoret and Renée ...

7. Irwin Allen

Producer | The Towering Inferno

A graduate of New York's Columbia School of Journalism, Irwin Allen was a magazine editor, the producer/director of a radio show and the owner of an advertising agency before entering film production in the 1950s. His documentary, The Sea Around Us (1953), won an Academy Award. A successful TV ...

8. 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 ...

Annie Hall (1977) Interiors (1978) Manhattan (1979) Broadway Danny Rose (1984) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Radio Days (1987) Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Alice (1990) Husbands and Wives (1992) Bullets over Broadway (1994) Mighty Aphrodite (1995) Deconstructing Harry (1997) Sweet and Lowdown (1999) Match Point (2005) Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Midnight in Paris (2011) Blue Jasmine (2013)

9. 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 ...

Talk to Her (2002) Volver (2006) Pain and Glory (2019)

10. 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...

M*A*S*H (1970) McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) Nashville (1975) The Player (1992) Short Cuts (1993) Gosford Park (2001)

11. Lindsay Anderson

Director | If....

Lindsay was born in Bangalore, India but educated in England at Cheltenham College and Wadham College, Oxford where he was a classical scholar. He then spent 3 years war time service in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. His career in the theatre started at the Royal Court in the late 1950's where he was...

This Sporting Life (1963) The Whales of August (1987)

12. Michael Anderson

Director | Logan's Run

London-born Michael Anderson began his career in films as an office boy at Elstree studios. By 1938, he had progressed up the ladder to become assistant director for distinguished film makers Noël Coward, David Lean and Anthony Asquith. Shortly after, during wartime with the Royal Signals Corps (...

13. 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...

Boogie Nights (1997) Magnolia (1999) There Will Be Blood (2007) The Master (2012) Inherent Vice (2014) Phantom Thread (2017)

14. 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 ...

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Moonrise Kingdom (2012) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

15. Ken Annakin

Director | The Longest Day

A former salesman and journalist, Ken Annakin got into the film industry making documentary shorts. His feature debut, Holiday Camp (1947), was a comedy about a Cockney family on vacation. It was made for the Rank Organization and was a modest success, spawning three sequels, all of which he ...

The Longest Day (1962) Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)

16. David Anspaugh

Director | Hoosiers

Best known for the inspirational sports dramas Hoosiers (1986) and Rudy (1993), David Anspaugh has enjoyed a long career as a director and producer of film and television. Born in Decatur, Indiana in 1946 to Lawrence Anspaugh, a portrait photographer, and his wife, Marie, he was a member of his ...

17. Joseph Anthony

Director | The Rainmaker

Joseph Anthony made his Broadway debut in 1937, and in the years following he was the partner of dancer Agnes de Mille, was employed as a set designer on films and dabbled as a film actor. His main interest, however, was the stage, and he became one of Broadway's most accomplished directors. In ...

18. 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 ...

19. 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,...

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) Gorillas in the Mist (1987) Nell (1994)

20. Denys Arcand

Writer | Les invasions barbares

One of Québec's most politically aware filmmakers, Denys Arcand studied history at Université de Montréal, where he co-directed Seul ou avec d'autres (1962) with Denis Héroux and co-written with Stéphane Venne. He joined the National Film Board (NFB) in 1963, where his feature-length documentary on...

21. Gillian Armstrong

Director | My Brilliant Career

Gillian Armstrong was born on December 18, 1950 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is a director and producer, known for My Brilliant Career (1979), Not Fourteen Again (1996) and Little Women (1994). She is married to John Pleffer. They have two children.

22. Darren Aronofsky

Writer | Pi

Darren Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Darren was always artistic: he loved classic movies and, as a teenager, he even spent time doing graffiti art. After high school, Darren went to Harvard University to study film (both live-action and animation). He won ...

Requiem for a Dream (2000) The Wrestler (2008) Black Swan (2010)

23. Dorothy Arzner

Director | Christopher Strong

Dorothy Arzner, the only woman director during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood's studio system--from the 1920s to the early 1940s and the woman director with the largest oeuvre in Hollywood to this day--was born January 3, 1897 (some sources put the year as 1900), in San Francisco, California, to a ...

24. Hal Ashby

Editor | In the Heat of the Night

Hal Ashby was born the fourth and youngest child in a Mormon household, in Ogden, Utah, to Eileen Ireta (Hetzler) and James Thomas Ashby, on September 2, 1929. His father was a dairy farmer. After a rough childhood that included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide, his dropping out of ...

The Landlord (1970) The Last Detail (1973) Shampoo (1975) Bound for Glory (1976) Coming Home (1978) Being There (1979)

25. Ray Ashley

Writer | Little Fugitive

Ray Ashley was born on March 9, 1911 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Little Fugitive (1953). He was married to Evelyn Kurinski. He died on August 25, 1960 in Weston, Connecticut, USA.

26. Anthony Asquith

Director | The Browning Version

British film director Anthony Asquith was born on November 9, 1902, to H.H. Asquith, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and his second wife. A former home secretary and the future leader of the Liberal Party, H.H. Asquith served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1908-1916 and was ...

Pygmalion (1938) The V.I.P.s (1963)

27. Richard Attenborough

Actor | Jurassic Park

Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough of Richmond-upon-Thames, was born in Cambridge, England, the son of Mary (née Clegg), a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council, and Frederick Levi Attenborough, a scholar and academic administrator who was a don at Emmanuel College and wrote a ...

Young Winston (1972) Gandhi (1982) Cry Freedom (1987) Chaplin (1992) Shadowlands (1993)

28. Bille August

Director | The House of the Spirits

Bille August was born on November 9, 1948 in Brede, Denmark. He is a director and writer, known for The House of the Spirits (1993), Pelle the Conqueror (1987) and Les Misérables (1998). He is married to Sara-Marie Maltha. He was previously married to Pernilla August, Masja Dessau and Annie ...

29. John G. Avildsen

Director | Rocky

John G. Avildsen was born on December 21, 1935 in Oak Park, Illinois, USA. He was a director and editor, known for Rocky (1976), The Karate Kid Part III (1989) and Rocky V (1990). He was married to Tracy Brooks Swope and Marie Olga Maturevich. He died on June 16, 2017 in Los Angeles, California, ...

Joe (1970) Save the Tiger (1973) Rocky (1976) The Karate Kid (1984)

30. Jon Avnet

Producer | Fried Green Tomatoes

Jon Avnet has directed, written, and produced more than 80 motion pictures, television movies, series and Broadway plays. He directed the Oscar-nominated performance of Jessica Tandy and the three Emmy-winning performances of Margo Martindale, Colleen Dewhurst and Judy Davis. He received an ...

31. Hector Babenco

Director | Carandiru

Hector Babenco was born on February 7, 1946 in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a director and writer, known for Carandiru (2003), Pixote (1980) and Foolish Heart (1998). He was married to Bárbara Paz, Xuxa Lopes and Raquel Arnaud. He died on July 13, 2016 in São Paulo, São Paulo, ...

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) Ironweed (1987)

32. Lloyd Bacon

Director | Wonder Bar

One of the workhorses in Warner Brothers' stable of directors in the 1930s, Lloyd Bacon didn't have a career as loaded with classic films as many of his more famous contemporaries. What few "classics" he had his hand in (42nd Street (1933), Footlight Parade (1933)) are so overshadowed by the ...

42nd Street (1933) Here Comes the Navy (1934) Action in the North Atlantic (1943) The Sullivans (1944) It Happens Every Spring (1949) The Frogmen (1951)

33. John Badham

Director | WarGames

English-born "Army brat" John Badham is the son of English actress Mary Hewitt and the stepson of an American Army general. Raised in Alabama and schooled at Yale, he cut his teeth producing and directing for TV before making his feature debut with The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor ...

Saturday Night Fever (1977) WarGames (1983)

34. Sean Baker

Writer | Red Rocket

Sean Baker is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He is an award-winning writer/director/producer known for Take Out (2004), Prince of Broadway (2008), Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), and The Florida Project (2017). Sean's latest feature, Red Rocket, premiered at Cannes on July 14, 2021...

35. Burt Balaban

Producer | Murder, Inc.

Burt Balaban was born on March 6, 1922 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a producer and director, known for Murder, Inc. (1960), The Venusian (1954) and High Hell (1958). He died on October 14, 1965.

36. Carroll Ballard

Director | Fly Away Home

Carroll Ballard was born on October 14, 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a director and cinematographer, known for Fly Away Home (1996), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and The Black Stallion (1979).

37. Lionel Barrymore

Actor | You Can't Take It with You

Famed actor, composer, artist, author and director. His talents extended to the authoring of the novel "Mr. Cartonwine: A Moral Tale" as well as his autobiography. In 1944, he joined ASCAP, and composed "Russian Dances", "Partita", "Ballet Viennois", "The Woodman and the Elves", "Behind the Horizon...

Madame X (1929) The Rogue Song (1930)

38. 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, ...

The Squid and the Whale (2005) Marriage Story (2019)

39. J.A. Bayona

Director | La sociedad de la nieve

Juan Antonio García Bayona is a Spanish film director. He directed the 2007 horror film The Orphanage, the 2012 drama film The Impossible, and the 2016 fantasy drama film A Monster Calls. Bayona's latest film is the 2018 science fiction adventure film Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the fifth ...

40. Warren Beatty

Actor | Heaven Can Wait

Since starring in his first film, Splendor in the Grass (1961), Warren Beatty has been said to have demonstrated a greater longevity in movies than any actor of his generation. Few people have taken so many responsibilities for all phases of the production of films as producer, director, writer, ...

Heaven Can Wait (1978) Reds (1981) Dick Tracy (1990) Bulworth (1998)

41. William Beaudine

Director | The Ape Man

William Beaudine, the director of nearly 350 known films (nearly one for every day of the year; some listings of his work put his output at 500 movies and hundreds of TV episodes) and scores of television episodes, enjoyed a directing career that stretched across seven decades from the 'Teens to ...

42. Harry Beaumont

Director | The Broadway Melody

Born in Abilene, KS, in 1888, Harry Beaumont started his show-business career early--he quit school to become an actor in a traveling stock company, and eventually made his way to the New York stage. In 1912 he began working as a film actor for Edison studios--which was headquartered across the ...

The Broadway Melody (1929) Our Dancing Daughters (1929)

43. Laslo Benedek

Director | Death of a Salesman

Laslo Benedek was brought to Hollywood from Hungary--where he had been a writer, editor and photographer--by MGM, and his first few films were undistinguished programmers. His third, however, was quite a bit better: Death of a Salesman (1951), the screen version of Arthur Miller's classic play. ...

44. Roberto Benigni

Actor | La vita è bella

Roberto Benigni was born on October 27, 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for Life Is Beautiful (1997), The Tiger and the Snow (2005) and Down by Law (1986). He has been married to Nicoletta Braschi since December 26, 1991.

45. Richard Benjamin

Actor | Westworld

Although his actress wife Paula Prentiss became a star by the early 1960s, it took Richard Benjamin almost fifteen years to establish his screen persona, but the wait was rewarding. After extensive work in theatre as actor and director, and his participation in the cult TV series He & She (1967)...

46. Compton Bennett

Writer | How to Undress in Public Without Undue Embarrassment

Compton Bennett started out as a bandleader and then became a commercial artist. He turned out a few amateur films that caught the attention of producer Alexander Korda's London Films, and they hired him in 1932 as a film editor. During World War II he directed a few instructional films for the ...

The Seventh Veil (1946) King Solomon's Mines (1950)

47. Robert Benton

Writer | Kramer vs. Kramer

Robert Douglas Benton is an American screenwriter and filmmaker from Waxahachie, Texas who is known for screenwriting Bonnie & Clyde, Kramer vs. Kramer and Superman. He won two Academy Awards for writing and directing Kramer vs. Kramer. He directed other feature films including Twilight, Bad ...

The Late Show (1977) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Places in the Heart (1984) Nobody's Fool (1994)

48. Bruce Beresford

Director | Driving Miss Daisy

Bruce Beresford was born in Australia and graduated from Sydney University in 1962. He served as Film Officer for the British Film Institute Production Board from 1966-1971 and as a Film Advisor to the Arts Council of Great Britain. Beresford has also directed several operas including Girl Of The ...

Breaker Morant (1980) Tender Mercies (1983) Crimes of the Heart (1986) Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

49. 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 (...

Wild Strawberries (1959) Through a Glass Darkly (1962) Cries and Whispers (1973) Face to Face (1976) Autumn Sonata (1978) Fanny & Alexander (1983)

50. Busby Berkeley

Director | Gold Diggers of 1935

Busby Berkeley was one of the greatest choreographers of the US movie musical. He started his career in the US Army in 1918, as a lieutenant in the artillery conducting and directing parades. After the World War I cease-fire he was ordered to stage camp shows for the soldiers. Back in the US he ...

51. Shari Springer Berman

Director | American Splendor

Shari Springer Berman was born on July 13, 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a director and writer, known for American Splendor (2003), Things Heard & Seen (2021) and The Nanny Diaries (2007). She has been married to Robert Pulcini since 1994.

52. Curtis Bernhardt

Director | Kisses for My President

If Curtis Bernhardt is a relative unknown, it's because he didn't direct his first Hollywood feature until 1940 at the age of 41. Bernhardt worked for years in Germany until his Jewish heritage made living there impossible by 1933-- he was arrested by the Gestapo and made a harrowing underground ...

Possessed (1947) The Blue Veil (1951) Interrupted Melody (1955)

53. John Berry

Director | Ça va barder

John Berry was born on September 6, 1917 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Ça va barder (1955), À tout casser (1968) and A Captive in the Land (1990). He was married to Myriam Boyer and Gladys Cole. He died on November 29, 1999 in Paris, France.

54. 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 (...

The Conformist (1971) Last Tango in Paris (1973) The Last Emperor (1987)

55. Kathryn Bigelow

Director | The Hurt Locker

A very talented painter, Kathryn spent two years at the San Francisco Art Institute. At 20, she won a scholarship to the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program. She was given a studio in a former Offtrack Betting building, literally in an old bank vault, where she made art and waited to be ...

56. Steve Binder

Producer | The Barry Manilow Special

Steve Binder was born on December 12, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is a producer and director, known for The Barry Manilow Special (1977), Diana Ross Live from Central Park (1983) and Shields and Yarnell (1977).

57. Brad Bird

Writer | The Incredibles

Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird is an American director, screenwriter, animator, producer and occasional voice actor, known for both animated and live-action films. Bird was born in Kalispell, Montana, the youngest of four children of Marjorie A. (née Cross) and Philip Cullen Bird. His father worked in...

The Incredibles (2004) Ratatouille (2007)

58. Neill Blomkamp

Director | District 9

Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director and screenwriter who is known for the science fiction films District 9, Elysium and Chappie. He also directed the supernatural horror film Demonic and the 2007 short film Halo: Landfall, based on the Microsoft science fiction video game ...

59. Budd Boetticher

Director | Bullfighter and the Lady

Brilliant, distinguished American director, particularly of Westerns, whose simple, bleak style disguises a complex artistic temperament. The adopted son of a wealthy hardware retailer, Boetticher attended Culver Military Academy and Ohio State University, where he excelled in football and boxing.

...

60. Yurek Bogayevicz

Director | Anna

Yurek Bogayevicz was born on June 2, 1949 in Poznan, Wielkopolskie, Poland. He is a director and actor, known for Anna (1987), Edges of the Lord (2001) and Exit in Red (1996).

61. 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 ...

The Last Picture Show (1971) Paper Moon (1973)

62. Richard Boleslawski

Director | Theodora Goes Wild

Inventing a stage name "Boleslawski" (later spelled also "Boleslavsky"), young Pole Boleslaw Ryszard Srzednicki left his second home (Odessa, Russian Empire) to study theatre and train as an actor at the world-famous Moscow Art Theatre before and during WW I. He also acted in a few early Russian ...

Rasputin and the Empress (1933) Les Miserables (1935) Theodora Goes Wild (1936)

63. 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 ...

64. John Boorman

Producer | Hope and Glory

John Boorman attended Catholic school (Salesian Order) although his family was not, in fact, Roman Catholic. His first job was for a dry-cleaner. Later, he worked as a critic for a women's journal and for a radio station until he entered the television business, working for the BBC in Bristol. ...

Deliverance (1972) Hope and Glory (1987)

65. Frank Borzage

Director | Bad Girl

Frank Borzage was born on April 23, 1894 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Bad Girl (1931), 7th Heaven (1927) and No Greater Glory (1934). He was married to Juanita Scott, Edna Skelton and Rena Rogers. He died on June 19, 1962 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, ...

7th Heaven (1928) Street Angel (1928) Bad Girl (1932) A Farewell to Arms (1933) Flirtation Walk (1934) Three Comrades (1938)

66. John Boulting

Director | I'm All Right Jack

John Boulting was born on December 21, 1913 in Bray, Berkshire, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for I'm All Right Jack (1959), Seven Days to Noon (1950) and Private's Progress (1956). He was married to Anne Josephine Flynn, Ann Marion Ware, Jacqueline Helen Duncan and Veronica ...

67. Roy Boulting

Director | Seven Days to Noon

Roy Boulting was born on December 21, 1913 in Bray, Berkshire, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Seven Days to Noon (1950), A French Mistress (1960) and The Family Way (1966). He was married to Sandra Payne, Hayley Mills, Enid Munnik, Jean Capon and Marian Angela Warnock. He died...

68. Serge Bourguignon

Director | Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray

Serge Bourguignon was born on September 3, 1928 in Maignelay-Montigny, Oise, Picardie, France. He is a director and writer, known for Sundays and Cybèle (1962), Le sourire (1960) and Two Weeks in September (1967).

69. 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 ...

Trainspotting (1996) Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 127 Hours (2010) Steve Jobs (2015)

70. 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 ...

Henry V (1989) Hamlet (1996)

71. Herbert Brenon

Director | Beau Geste

Herbert Brenon was born on January 13, 1880 in Dublin, Ireland, UK [now Republic of Ireland]. He was a director and writer, known for Beau Geste (1926), Ivanhoe (1913) and Sorrell and Son (1927). He was married to Mrs. Herbert Brenon. He died on June 21, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

72. Martin Brest

Director | Scent of a Woman

Martin Brest was born on August 8, 1951 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Scent of a Woman (1992), Midnight Run (1988) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984).

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Scent of a Woman (1992)

73. Craig Brewer

Director | Hustle & Flow

Father, Walter D. Brewer worked in a number of high-level corporate positions for Matson Navigation Company, culminating in the position of director of corporate development from 1990-1998, when he died. His work caused the family to move from Vallejo, California (where Craig attended elementary ...

74. James Bridges

Writer | The China Syndrome

James Bridges was born on February 3, 1936 in Paris, Arkansas, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The China Syndrome (1979), Perfect (1985) and The Paper Chase (1973). He died on June 6, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The Paper Chase (1973) The China Syndrome (1979)

75. James L. Brooks

Writer | Broadcast News

James L. Brooks was born on May 9, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Broadcast News (1987), As Good as It Gets (1997) and Terms of Endearment (1983). He was previously married to Holly Holmberg Brooks and Marianne Catherine Morrissey.

Terms of Endearment (1983) Broadcast News (1987) As Good as it Gets (1997)

76. 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 ...

The Producers (1968) Blazing Saddles (1974) Young Frankenstein (1974)

77. 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 ...

Take the High Ground (1953) Blackboard Jungle (1955) The Brothers Karamazov (1958) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Elmer Gantry (1960) Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) The Professionals (1966) In Cold Blood (1967) The Happy Ending (1969) Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)

78. Clarence Brown

Director | Anna Karenina

Clarence Leon Brown was the son of Larkin Harry and Catherine Ann (Gaw) Brown of Clinton, Massachusetts. His family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, when he was 12 years old. He graduated from Knoxville High School in 1905 and from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in mechanical and electrical ...

A Woman of Affairs (1929) Wonder of Women (1929) Anna Christie (1930) Romance (1930) A Free Soul (1931) Emma (1932) The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) Conquest (1937) Of Human Hearts (1938) Edison, the Man (1940) The Human Comedy (1943) National Velvet (1945) The Yearling (1946)

79. Harold S. Bucquet

Director | The Adventures of Tartu

After serving in the US Army during World War I, British-born Harold S. Bucquet entered the film business, first as an extra and then as a set designer. He became an assistant to director Allen Holubar, and later was hired as an assistant director at MGM--a studio where he was to spend the rest of ...

The War against Ms. Hadley (1942) Dragon Seed (1944)

80. 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 ...

Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1954) The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)

81. Stuart Burge

Director | Drama 61-67

Stuart Burge was born on January 15, 1918 in Brentwood, Essex, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Drama 61-67 (1961), Talking Heads 2 (1998) and Secret Agent (1964). He was married to Josephine Parker. He died on January 24, 2002 in Lymington, Hampshire, England, UK.

82. 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 ...

Ed Wood (1994) Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

83. David Butler

Director | You'll Find Out

David Butler was born on December 17, 1894 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was a director and actor, known for You'll Find Out (1940), Look for the Silver Lining (1949) and If I Had My Way (1940). He was married to Elshie H Schulte. He died on June 14, 1979 in Arcadia, California, USA.

Pigskin Parade (1936) Kentucky (1938) Road to Morocco (1942)

84. Michael Cacoyannis

Director | Alexis Zorbas

Michael Cacoyannis was born on June 11, 1922 in Limassol, Cyprus. He was a director and writer, known for Zorba the Greek (1964), Electra (1962) and Eroika (1960). He died on July 25, 2011 in Athens, Greece.

85. 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 ...

Aliens (1986) Titanic (1997) Avatar (2009)

86. 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...

The Piano (1993) The Portrait of a Lady (1996)

87. Frank Capra

Director | It's a Wonderful Life

One of seven children, Frank Capra was born on May 18, 1897, in Bisacquino, Sicily. On May 10, 1903, his family left for America aboard the ship Germania, arriving in New York on May 23rd. "There's no ventilation, and it stinks like hell. They're all miserable. It's the most degrading place you ...

Lady of a Day (1933) It Happened One Night (1934) Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) Lost Horizon (1937) You Can't Take It with You (1938) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Meet John Doe (1941) It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Here Comes the Groom (1951) Pocketful of Miracles (1961)

88. Jack Cardiff

Cinematographer | Black Narcissus

Almost universally considered one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, Jack Cardiff was also a notable director. He described his childhood as very happy and his parents as quite loving. They performed in music hall as comedians, so he grew up with the fun that came with their theatrical ...

89. Lewis John Carlino

Writer | The Great Santini

Lewis John Carlino was born on January 1, 1932 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Great Santini (1979), The Mechanic (2011) and Mechanic: Resurrection (2016). He was married to Jill Denise Chadwick and Natelle Lamkin. He died on June 17, 2020 in Whidbey ...

90. Marcel Carné

Director | Le quai des brumes

Marcel Carné, the son of a cabinet maker, entered the movies as the assistant of Jacques Feyder. At the age of 25 he directed his first movie Jenny (1936). Colaborating with the writer Jacques Prévert, the decorator Alexandre Trauner, the musician and composer Maurice Jaubert and the actor Jean ...

91. Niki Caro

Director | Whale Rider

Niki Caro is a New Zealand film director and screenwriter, born in 1967. Caro was born in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. She was educated first at the Kadimah College in Auckland, and then the Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland. The School is a private girls' school, and ranks ...

Whale Rider (2003) North Country (2005)

92. John Carpenter

Writer | The Fog

John Howard Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, to mother Milton Jean (Carter) and father Howard Ralph Carpenter. His family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his father, a professor, was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University. He attended Western Kentucky ...

93. 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 (1968) A Woman under the Influence (1974) Gloria (1980)

94. Gilbert Cates

Producer | I Never Sang for My Father

Gilbert Cates was born on June 6, 1934 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and director, known for I Never Sang for My Father (1970), Absolute Strangers (1991) and Dragonfly (1976). He was married to Dr. Judith Reichman and Jane Betty Dubin. He died on October 31, 2011 in Los Angeles...

I Never Sang for My Father (1970) Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)

95. Michael Caton-Jones

Director | Memphis Belle

Michael Caton-Jones was born on October 15, 1957 in Broxburn, West Lothian, Scotland, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Memphis Belle (1990), Basic Instinct 2 (2006) and City by the Sea (2002).

96. Peter Cattaneo

Director | The Full Monty

Peter Cattaneo was born on July 1, 1964 in Twickenham, London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for The Full Monty (1997), Opal Dream (2006) and The Rocker (2008).

97. J.C. Chandor

Producer | A Most Violent Year

J.C. Chandor is known for A Most Violent Year (2014), Margin Call (2011) and All Is Lost (2013). He has been married to Mary Cameron Goodyear since 2004. They have two children.

98. 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 Circus (1928) The Great Dictator (1940) Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

99. Larry Charles

Producer | Seinfeld

Larry Charles was born on December 1, 1956 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Seinfeld (1989), The Dictator (2012) and Brüno (2009).

100. Damien Chazelle

Writer | La La Land

Damien Sayre Chazelle is an American director and screenwriter. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His mother, Celia Sayre (Martin) Chazelle, is an American-Canadian writer and professor of history at The College of New Jersey. His father, Bernard Chazelle, is a French-American Eugene Higgins...

Whiplash (2014) La La Land (2016)