Best Directors - All Time (S&S 2012) [in progress]

1. Alfred Hitchcock

Director | Psycho

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and ...

390 Votes, 20 Titles

Vertigo (1958) [222 votes, 191 critics, 31 directors] Psycho (1960) [46 votes, 35 critics, 11 directors] Rear Window (1954) [39 votes, 28 critics, 11 directors] North by Northwest (1959) [34 votes, 28 critics, 6 directors] Notorious (1946) [12 votes, 10 critics, 2 directors] Marnie (1964) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] The Birds (1963) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] Shadow of a Doubt (1943) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Strangers on a Train (1951) [3 votes, 0 critics, 3 directors] The Lady Vanishes (1938) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Blackmail (1929) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Foreign Correspondent (1940) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Frenzy (1972) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Memory of the Camps (1984) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Rebecca (1940) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Rich and Strange (1931) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Rope (1948) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Spellbound (1945) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The 39 Steps (1935) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) [1 vote] The Wrong Man (1956) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

2. 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 ...

313 Votes, 29 Titles

À bout de souffle (1960) [84 votes ,57 critics, 27 directors] Le mépris (1963) [55 votes, 43 critics, 12 directors] Pierrot le fou (1965) [38 votes, 31 critics, 7 directors] Histoire(s) du cinéma (1989) [33 votes, Nan Critics, Nan Directors] Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux (1962) [21 votes, 12 critics, 9 directors] 2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle (1967) [19 votes, 16 critics, 3 directors] Nouvelle vague (1990) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 director] Alphaville: Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965) [6 votes, 1 critic, 5 directors] Numéro deux (1975) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] Week End (1967) [6 votes, 4 critics, 2 directors] Masculin féminin (1966) [5 votes, 4 critics, 1 director] Passion, le travail et l'amour: introduction à un scénario, ou Troisième état du scénario du film Passion (1982) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Sauve qui peut (la vie) (1980) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Bande à part (1964) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Une femme est une femme (1961) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Film socialisme (2010) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Ici et ailleurs (1976) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Allemagne année 90 neuf zéro (1991) [2 votes] Prénom Carmen (1983) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Dans le noir du temps (2002) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Éloge de l'amour (2001) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Je vous salue, Marie (1985) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Je vous salue, Sarajevo (1993) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] JLG/JLG - autoportrait de décembre (1994) [1 vote] King Lear (1987) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 critics] Les carabiniers (1963) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Notre musique (2004) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Passion (1982) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Six fois deux/Sur et sous la communication (1976) [1 vote] Puissance de la parole (1988) [1 vote]

3. 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 ...

299 votes, 10 titles

Citizen Kane (1941) [199 votes, 157 critics, 42 directors] Touch of Evil (1958) [41 votes, 25 critics, 16 directors] The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) [24 votes, 20 critics, 4 directors] Campanadas a medianoche (1965) [13 votes, 11 critics, 2 directors] F for Fake (1973) [9 votes, 7 critics, 2 directors] The Lady from Shanghai (1947) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 vote] Le procès (1962) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (1951) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Mr. Arkadin (1955) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Histoire immortelle (1968) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

4. 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 ...

252 votes, 10 titles

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [132 votes, 90 critics, 42 directors] Barry Lyndon (1975) [44 votes, 25 critics, 19 directors] Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) [20 votes, 14 critics, 6 directors] The Shining (1980) [19 votes, 11 critics, 8 directors] A Clockwork Orange (1971) [15 votes, 7 critics, 8 directors] Paths of Glory (1957) [10 votes, 4 critics, 6 directors] Eyes Wide Shut (1999) [5 votes, 4 critics, 1 director] The Killing (1956) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Full Metal Jacket (1987) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Lolita (1962) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director]

5. 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 ...

251 votes in total, 10 titles

Tôkyô monogatari (1953) [155 votes, 107 critics, 48 directors] Banshun (1949) [54 votes, 50 critics, 4 directors] Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo (1932) [10 votes, 9 critics, 1 director] Sanma no aji (1962) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Bakushû (1951) [7 votes, 4 critics, 3 directors] Higanbana (1958) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Hitori musuko (1936) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] Kohayagawa-ke no aki (1961) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Ohayô (1959) [3 votes, 2 critic, 1 director] Ukigusa (1959) [3 votes, 0 critics, 3 directors] Akibiyori (1960) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors]

6. Andrei Tarkovsky

Writer | Offret

The most famous Soviet film-maker since Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky (the son of noted poet Arseniy Tarkovsky) studied music and Arabic in Moscow before enrolling in the Soviet film school VGIK. He shot to international attention with his first feature, Ivan's Childhood (1962), which won the...

234 votes in total, 7 titles

Zerkalo (1975) [77 votes, 47 critics, 30 directors] Andrey Rublyov (1966) [66 votes, 41 critics, 25 directors] Stalker (1979) [53 votes, 39 critics, 14 directors] Solyaris (1972) [14 votes, 11 critics, 3 directors] Ivanovo detstvo (1962) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] Nostalghia (1983) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] Offret (1986) [6 votes, 3 critics, 3 directors]

7. 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 ...

227 votes in total, 7 titles

Apocalypse Now (1979) [86 votes, 53 critics, 33 directors] The Godfather (1972) [74 votes, 43 critics, 31 directors] The Godfather Part II (1974) [52 votes, 38 critics, 14 directors] The Conversation (1974) [12 votes, 9 critics, 2 directors] One from the Heart (1981) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] The Outsiders (1983) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Rainmaker (1997) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

8. 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 ...

226 votes in total, 9 titles

8½ (1963) [104 votes, 64 critics, 40 directors] La dolce vita (1960) [46 votes, 33 critics, 13 directors] Amarcord (1973) [28 votes, 14 critics, 14 directors] La strada (1954) [23 votes, 8 critics, 15 directors] Le notti di Cabiria (1957) [10 votes, 4 critics, 6 directors] Fellini - Satyricon (1969) [5 votes, 2 critics, 3 directors] I vitelloni (1953) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Roma (1972) [4 vote, 1 critic, 3 directors] Il bidone (1955) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Il Casanova di Federico Fellini (1976) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

9. 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 (...

224 votes in total, 15 movies

Persona (1966) [72 votes, 48 critics, 24 directors] Fanny och Alexander (1982) [43 votes, 19 critics, 24 directors] Det sjunde inseglet (1957) [25 votes, 17 critics, 8 directors] Smultronstället (1957) [25 votes, 24 critics, 1 director] Vargtimmen (1968) [14 votes, 3 critics, 11 directors] Viskningar och rop (1972) [14 votes, 11 critics, 3 directors] Scener ur ett äktenskap (1973) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] Tystnaden (1963) [6 votes, 1 critic, 5 directors] Nattvardsgästerna (1963) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] Jungfrukällan (1960) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] Fängelse (1949) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Skammen (1968) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Sommaren med Monika (1953) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Sommarnattens leende (1955) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Saraband (2003) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Sommarlek (1951) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

10. 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 ...

223 votes in total, 16 movies

La règle du jeu (1939) [117, 100 critics, 17 directors] La grande illusion (1937) [32 votes, 22 critics, 10 directors] Partie de campagne (1946) [20 votes, 18 critics, 2 directors] The River (1951) [19 votes, 13 critics, 6 directors] Boudu sauvé des eaux (1932) [7 votes, 3 critics, 4 directors] French Cancan (1955) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 director] Le crime de Monsieur Lange (1936) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] La bête humaine (1938) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] La nuit du carrefour (1932) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Le carrosse d'or (1952) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 directors] La chienne (1931) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] La Marseillaise (1938) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Le déjeuner sur l'herbe (1959) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Le testament du Docteur Cordelier (1959) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Nana (1926) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Toni (1935) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

11. Robert Bresson

Writer | Au hasard Balthazar

Robert Bresson trained as a painter before moving into films as a screenwriter, making a short film (atypically a comedy), Public Affairs (1934) in 1934. After spending more than a year as a German POW during World War II, he made his debut with Angels of Sin (1943) in 1943. His next film, The ...

214 votes in total, 11 movies

Au hasard Balthazar (1966) [67 votes, 49 critics, 18 directors] Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1956) [36 votes, 23 critics, 13 directors] Pickpocket (1959) [36 votes, Nan Critics, Nan Directors] L'argent (1983) [20 votes, 13 critics, 7 directors] Mouchette (1967) [20 votes, 14 critics, 6 directors] Journal d'un curé de campagne (1951) [14 votes, 12 critics, 2 directors] Le diable probablement (1977) [10 votes, 8 critics, 2 directors] Lancelot du Lac (1974) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Une femme douce (1969) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Les dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

12. Carl Theodor Dreyer

Writer | Gertrud

The illegitimate son of a Danish farmer and his Swedish housekeeper, Carl Theodor Dreyer was born in Copenhagen on the 3th of February, 1889. He spent his early years in various foster homes before being adopted by the Dreyers at the age of two. Contrary to popular belief (perhaps nourished by the ...

213 votes in total, 11 movies

La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) [78 votes, 65 critics, 13 directors] Ordet (1955) [61 votes, 42 critics, 19 directors] Gertrud (1964) [41 votes, 31 critics, 10 directors] Vampyr (1932) [15 votes, 11 critics, 4 directors] Vredens dag (1943) [12 votes, 9 critics, 3 directors] De nåede færgen (1948) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Die Gezeichneten (1922) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 vote] Glomdalsbruden (1926) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Michael (1924) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Prästänkan (1920) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Två människor (1945) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

13. John Ford

Director | The Quiet Man

John Ford came to Hollywood following one of his brothers, an actor. Asked what brought him to Hollywood, he replied "the train". He became one of the most respected directors in the business, in spite of being known for his westerns, which were not considered "serious" film. He won six Oscars, ...

201 votes in total, 19 movies

The Searchers (1956) [89 votes, 78 critics, 11 directors] The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) [19 votes, 14 critics, 5 directors] The Grapes of Wrath (1940) [13 votes, 9 critics, 4 directors] My Darling Clementine (1946) [12 votes, 7 critics, 5 directors] How Green Was My Valley (1941) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Stagecoach (1939) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] The Quiet Man (1952) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] Wagon Master (1950) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 director] Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] 7 Women (1965) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 diretors] Fort Apache (1948) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] The Sun Shines Bright (1953) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] The Wings of Eagles (1957) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] They Were Expendable (1945) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Cheyenne Autumn (1964) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Rio Grande (1950) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 director] She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Informer (1935) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] 3 Godfathers (1948) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Pilgrimage (1933) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Long Gray Line (1955) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Long Voyage Home (1940) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

14. 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...

198 votes in total, 13 movies

Shichinin no samurai (1954) [70 votes, 48 critics, 22 directors] Rashômon (1950) [63 votes, 42 critics, 21 directors] Ikiru (1952) [18 votes, 13 critics, 5 directors] Ran (1985) [9 votes, 4 critics, 5 directors] Kumonosu-jô (1957) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Tengoku to jigoku (1963) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] Dersu Uzala (1975) [5 votes, 1 critic, 4 directors] Kagemusha (1980) [5 votes, 2 critics, 3 directors] Dodesukaden (1970) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (1960) [4 votes, 1 critic, 3 directors] Yôjinbô (1961) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Akahige (1965) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Yume (1990) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

15. Martin Scorsese

Producer | Killers of the Flower Moon

Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York City, to Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) and Charles Scorsese, who both worked in Manhattan's garment district, and whose families both came from Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later ...

172 votes in total, 12 movies

Taxi Driver (1976) [72 votes, 38 critics, 34 directors] Raging Bull (1980) [54 votes, 28 critics, 26 directors] Goodfellas (1990) [21 votes, 10 critics, 11 directors] The King of Comedy (1982) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] Casino (1995) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] Hugo (2011) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Mean Streets (1973) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] New York, New York (1977) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Age of Innocence (1993) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Departed (2006) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

16. 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 ...

168 votes in total, 19 movies

Viridiana (1961) [28 votes, 15 critics, 13 directors] Un chien andalou (1929) [24 votes, 17 critics, 7 directors] L'âge d'or (1930) [21 votes, 15 critics, 6 directors] Los olvidados (1950) [15 votes, 15 critics, 0 directors] Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972) [14 votes, 9 critics, 5 directors] El ángel exterminador (1962) [13 votes, 8 critics, 5 directors] Belle de jour (1967) [12 votes, 7 critics, 5 directors] Él (1953) [6 votes, 4 critics, 2 directors] Cet obscur objet du désir (1977) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Las Hurdes (1933) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] Tristana (1970) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] Le fantôme de la liberté (1974) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Nazarín (1959) [4 votes, 1 critic, 3 directors] Simón del desierto (1965) [4 votes, 2 directors, 2 critics] La voie lactée (1969) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Ensayo de un crimen (1955) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Cela s'appelle l'aurore (1956) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] El gran calavera (1949) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Susana (1951) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

17. F.W. Murnau

Director | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

F.W. Murnau was a German film director. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at the age of 12, and became a friend of director Max Reinhardt. During World War I he served as a company commander at the eastern front and was in the German air ...

163 votes in total, 8 movies

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) [110 votes, 93 critics, 17 directors] Der letzte Mann (1924) [17 votes, 13 critics, 4 directors] Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) [16 votes, 14 critics, 2 directors] Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931) [12 votes, 10 critics, 2 directors] Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage (1926) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] City Girl (1930) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Die Finanzen des Großherzogs (1924) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Phantom (1922) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

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 ...

158 votes in total, 9 movies

L'avventura (1960) [57 votes, 43 critics, 14 directors] L'eclisse (1962) [33 votes, 22 critics, 11 directors] Blow-Up (1966) [22 votes, 12 critics, 10 directors] Professione: reporter (1975) [17 votes, 15 critics, 2 directors] La notte (1961) [10 votes, 4 critics, 6 directors] Il deserto rosso (1964) [8 votes, 8 critics, 0 directors] Il grido (1957) [7 votes, 4 critics, 3 directors] Zabriskie Point (1970) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Cronaca di un amore (1950) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

19. 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 ...

148 votes in total, 14 movies

City Lights (1931) [43 votes, 29 critics, 14 directors] Modern Times (1936) [41 votes, 24 critics, 17 directors] The Gold Rush (1925) [18 votes, 11 critics, 7 directors] The Great Dictator (1940) [16 votes, 12 critics, 4 directors] The Kid (1921) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] Monsieur Verdoux (1947) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (1923) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Limelight (1952) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] The Circus (1928) [3 votes, 2 critics 1 director] A Countess from Hong Kong (1967) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] A Dog's Life (1918) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] A King in New York (1957) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Immigrant (1917) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Rink (1916) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

20. 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 ...

121 votes, 11 movies

Mulholland Dr. (2001) [48 votes, 40 critics, 8 directors] Blue Velvet (1986) [33 votes, 23 critics, 10 directors] Eraserhead (1977) [12 votes, 9 critics, 3 directors] Inland Empire (2006) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 director] Lost Highway (1997) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] The Elephant Man (1980) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Twin Peaks (1990) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Wild at Heart (1990) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Dune (1984) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] The Straight Story (1999) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

21. 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 ...

115 votes in total, 8 movies

Some Like It Hot (1959) [44 votes, 31 critics, 13 directors] Sunset Blvd. (1950) [33 votes, 24 critics, 9 directors] The Apartment (1960) [25 votes, 13 critics, 12 directors] Double Indemnity (1944) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 director] One, Two, Three (1961) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Love in the Afternoon (1957) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] The Front Page (1974) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

22. 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 ...

114 votes in total, 12 movies

Viaggio in Italia (1954) [41 votes, 32 critics, 9 directors] Roma città aperta (1945) [14 votes, 9 critics, 5 directors] Germania anno zero (1948) [13 votes, 8 critics, 5 directors] Paisà (1946) [11 votes, 8 critics, 3 directors] La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV (1966) [8 votes, 6 critics, 2 directors] Stromboli (Terra di Dio) (1950) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Europa '51 (1952) [6 votes, 4 critics, 2 directors] Francesco, giullare di Dio (1950) [6 votes, 3 critics, 3 directors] India: Matri Bhumi (1959) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Atti degli apostoli (1969) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Blaise Pascal (1972) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] L'età di Cosimo de Medici (1972) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

23. 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. ...

113 votes in total, 16 movies

Metropolis (1927) [39 votes, 34 critics, 5 directors] M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder (1931) [35 votes, 27 critics, 8 directors] Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (1933) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler (1922) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] Der Tiger von Eschnapur (1959) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] Moonfleet (1955) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] Spione (1928) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] The Big Heat (1953) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Clash by Night (1952) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Die 1000 Augen des Dr. Mabuse (1960) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 director] Der müde Tod (1921) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Ministry of Fear (1944) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Blue Gardenia (1953) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] You Only Live Once (1937) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

24. Kenji Mizoguchi

Director | Ugetsu monogatari

Coming from a lower class family Mizoguchi entered the production company Nikkatsu as an actor specialized in female roles. Later he became an assistant director and made his first film in 1922. Although he filmed almost 90 movies in the silent era, only his last 12 productions are really known ...

108 votes in total, 15 movies

Ugetsu monogatari (1953) [38 votes, 29 critics, 9 directors] Sanshô dayû (1954) [28 votes, 25 critics, 3 directors] Saikaku ichidai onna (1952) [12 votes, 8 critics, 4 directors] Zangiku monogatari (1939) [12 votes, 9 critics, 3 directors] Genroku chûshingura (1941) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Aien kyo (1937) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Akasen chitai (1956) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Oyû-sama (1951) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Naniwa erejî (1936) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Chikamatsu monogatari (1954) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Gion bayashi (1953) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Shin Heike monogatari (1955) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Yôkihi (1955) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Yoru no onnatachi (1948) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Yuki fujin ezu (1950) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

25. Sergei Eisenstein

Director | Ivan Groznyy

The son of an affluent architect, Eisenstein attended the Institute of Civil Engineering in Petrograd as a young man. With the fall of the tsar in 1917, he worked as an engineer for the Red Army. In the following years, Eisenstein joined up with the Moscow Proletkult Theater as a set designer and ...

103 votes in total, 6 movies

Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925) [71 votes, 63 critics, 8 directors] Ivan Groznyy (1944) [18 votes, 16 critics, 2 directors] Oktyabr (1927) [8 votes, 6 critics, 2 directors] Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Stachka (1925) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Ivan Groznyy. Skaz vtoroy: Boyarskiy zagovor (1958) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

26. Howard Hawks

Director | Red River

What do the classic films Scarface (1932), Twentieth Century (1934), Bringing Up Baby (1938), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), His Girl Friday (1940), Sergeant York (1941), To Have and Have Not (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Red River (1948) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) and Rio Bravo (1959) have in...

101 votes in total, 11 movies

Rio Bravo (1959) [29 votes, 24 critics, 5 directors] Bringing Up Baby (1938) [16 votes, 15 critics, 1 director] Only Angels Have Wings (1939) [12 votes, 11 critics, 1 director] His Girl Friday (1940) [11 votes, 10 critics, 1 director] Red River (1948) [10 votes, 7 critics, 3 directors] The Big Sleep (1946) [10 votes, 8 critics, 2 directors] Hatari! (1962) [5 votes, 5 critic, 0 directors] To Have and Have Not (1944) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] El Dorado (1966) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Man's Favorite Sport? (1964) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Scarface (1932) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

27. Michael Powell

Director | Peeping Tom

The son of Thomas William Powell and Mabel (nee Corbett). Michael Powell was always a self-confessed movie addict. He was brought up partly in Canterbury ("The Garden of England") and partly in the south of France (where his parents ran a hotel). Educated at Kings School, Canterbury and Dulwich ...

101 votes in total, 7 movies

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) [21 votes, 17 critics, 4 directors] A Matter of Life and Death (1946) [20 votes, 18 critics, 2 directors] Black Narcissus (1947) [16 votes, 11 critics, 5 directors] The Red Shoes (1948) [16 votes, 14 critics, 2 directors] A Canterbury Tale (1944) [15 votes, 14 critics, 1 director] I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) [9 votes, 9 critics, 0 directors] Peeping Tom (1960) [4 votes, 1 critic, 3 directors]

28. Emeric Pressburger

Writer | The Red Shoes

Educated at the Universities of Prague and Stuttgart, Emeric Pressburger worked as a journalist in Hungary and Germany and an author and scriptwriter in Berlin and Paris. He was a Hungarian Jew, chased around Europe (he worked on films for UFA in Berlin and Paris) before World War II, finally ...

97 votes in total, 6 movies

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) [21 votes, 17 critics, 4 directors] A Matter of Life and Death (1946) [20 votes, 18 critics, 2 directors] Black Narcissus (1947) [16 votes, 11 critics, 5 directors] The Red Shoes (1948) [16 votes, 14 critics, 2 directors] A Canterbury Tale (1944) [15 votes, 14 critics, 1 director] I Know Where I'm Going! (1945) [9 votes, 9 critics, 0 directors]

29. 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 ...

92 votes in total, 11 movies

Les quatre cents coups (1959) [58 votes, 33 critics, 25 directors] Jules et Jim (1962) [19 votes, 13 critics, 6 directors] Tirez sur le pianiste (1960) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Baisers volés (1968) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] La femme d'à côté (1981) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 directors] La nuit américaine (1973) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Les deux Anglaises et le continent (1971) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] L'enfant sauvage (1970) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] La mariée était en noir (1968) [1 vote, 1 critics, 0 directors] Le dernier métro (1980) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] L'argent de poche (1976) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

30. 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). ...

91 votes in total, 9 movies

A Woman Under the Influence (1974) [22 votes, 12 critics, 10 directors] Faces (1968) [15 votes, 9 critics, 6 directors] Husbands (1970) [15 votes, 7 critics, 8 directors] Love Streams (1984) [11 votes, 8 critics, 3 votes] Opening Night (1977) [11 votes, 4 critics, 7 directors] The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) [11 votes, 4 critics, 7 directors] Shadows (1958) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Gloria (1980) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

31. Abbas Kiarostami

Writer | Copie conforme

Abbas Kiarostami was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1940. He graduated from university with a degree in fine arts before starting work as a graphic designer. He then joined the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where he started a film section, and this started his career ...

89 votes in total, 11 movies

Nema-ye Nazdik (1990) [44 votes, 31 critics, 13 directors] Khane-ye doust kodjast? (1987) [10 votes, 7 critics, 3 directors] Zire darakhatan zeyton (1994) [10 votes, 6 critics, 4 directors] Bad ma ra khahad bord (1999) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Ta'm e guilass (1997) [8 votes, 6 critics, 2 directors] Dah (2002) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Copie conforme (2010) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Gozaresh (1977) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Lebassi Baraye Arossi (1976) [1 vote] Shirin (2008) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Zendegi va digar hich (1992) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

32. 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 ...

89 votes in total, 7 movies

Fa yeung nin wah (2000) [51 votes, 42 critics, 9 directors] Chung Hing sam lam (1994) [15 votes, Nan critics, Nan directors] Chun gwong ja sit (1997) [9 votes, Nan critics, Nan directors] Ah fei jing juen (1990) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 director] 2046 (2004) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] Dung che sai duk (1994) [2 votes, Nan critics, Nan directors] Wong Gok ka moon (1988) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

33. Jean Vigo

Writer | Zéro de conduite : Jeunes diables au collège

Jean Vigo had bad health since he was a child. Son of anarchist militant Miguel Almareyda, he also never really recovered from his father's mysterious death in jail when he was 12. Abandoned by his mother, he passed from boarding school to boarding school. Aged 23, through meetings with people ...

87 votes in total, 2 movies

L'Atalante (1934) [75 votes, 58 critics, 17 directors] Zéro de conduite : Jeunes diables au collège (1933) [12 votes, 5 critics, 7 directors]

34. Buster Keaton

Actor | The General

Joseph Frank Keaton was born on October 4, 1895 in Piqua, Kansas, to Joe Keaton and Myra Keaton. Joe and Myra were Vaudevillian comedians with a popular, ever-changing variety act, giving Keaton an eclectic and interesting upbringing. In the earliest days on stage, they traveled with a medicine ...

86 votes in total, 8 movies

The General (1926) [43 votes, 35 critics, 8 directors] Sherlock Jr. (1924) [26 votes, 25 critics, 1 director] Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] The Cameraman (1928) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] Our Hospitality (1923) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Seven Chances (1925) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Navigator (1924) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Cops (1922) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

35. Dziga Vertov

Director | Chelovek s kino-apparatom

Dziga Vertov was born on January 2, 1896 in Bialystok, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire [now Podlaskie, Poland]. He was a director and writer, known for Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Three Songs About Lenin (1934) and The Sixth Part of the World (1926). He was married to Elizaveta Svilova. He ...

84 votes in total, 5 movies

Chelovek s kino-apparatom (1929) [79 votes, 68 critics, 11 directors] Entuziazm (Simfoniya Donbassa) (1930) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Shestaya chast mira (1926) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Kino-pravda no. 1 (1922) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Tri pesni o Lenine (1934) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

36. Vittorio De Sica

Director | Ladri di biciclette

Vittorio De Sica grew up in Naples, and started out as an office clerk in order to raise money to support his poor family. He was increasingly drawn towards acting, and made his screen debut while still in his teens, joining a stage company in 1923. By the late 1920s he was a successful matinee ...

81 votes in total, 4 movies

Ladri di biciclette (1948) [66 votes, 37 critics, 29 directors] Umberto D. (1952) [11 votes, 7 critics, 4 directors] Miracolo a Milano (1951) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Sciuscià (1946) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

37. Chris Marker

Writer | 12 Monkeys

Chris Marker was born on July 29, 1921 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was a writer and director, known for 12 Monkeys (1995), Sans Soleil (1983) and Third Side of the Coin (1960). He died on July 29, 2012 in Paris, France.

76 votes in total, 6 movies

La jetée (1962) [33 votes, 29 critics, 4 directors] Sans soleil (1983) [30 votes, Nan critics, Nan directors] Le tombeau d'Alexandre (1993) [6 votes, 4 critics, 2 directors] Le fond de l'air est rouge (1977) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] Les statues meurent aussi (1953) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Level Five (1997) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

38. Terrence Malick

Writer | Days of Heaven

Terrence Malick was born in Ottawa, Illinois. His family subsequently lived in Oklahoma and he went to school in Austin, Texas. He did his undergraduate work at Harvard, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in philosophy in 1965.

A member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, he attended Magdalen ...

73 votes in total, 5 movies

The Tree of Life (2011) [21 votes, 16 critics, 5 directors] Days of Heaven (1978) [19 vote, 14 critics, 5 directors] Badlands (1973) [17 votes, 8 critics, 9 directors] The Thin Red Line (1998) (14 votes, 9 critics, 5 directors) The New World (2005) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director]

39. Satyajit Ray

Writer | Pather Panchali

Satyajit Ray was born in Calcutta on May 2, 1921. His father, Late Sukumar Ray was an eminent poet and writer in the history of Bengali literature. In 1940, after receiving his degree in science and economics from Calcutta University, he attended Tagore's Viswa-Bharati University. His first movie ...

73 votes in total, 8 movies

Pather Panchali (1955) [43 votes, 32 critics, 11 directors] Jalsaghar (1958) [11 votes, 9 critics, 2 directors] Apur Sansar (1959) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Charulata (1964) [6 votes, 6 critics, 0 directors] Aparajito (1956) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Ashani Sanket (1973) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Pratidwandi (1970) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

40. 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 ...

72 votes in total, 13 movies

Il gattopardo (1963) [30 votes, 26 critics, 4 directors] Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960) [13 votes, 7 critics, 6 directors] Morte a Venezia (1971) [9 votes, 7 critics, 2 directors] La terra trema (1948) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 directors] La caduta degli dei (Götterdämmerung) (1969) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Ludwig (1973) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Ossessione (1943) [3 votes] Gruppo di famiglia in un interno (1974) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Bellissima (1951) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Appunti su un fatto di cronaca (1953) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] L'innocente (1976) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Le notti bianche (1957) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Senso (1954) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

41. Alain Resnais

Director | Hiroshima mon amour

Alain Resnais was born on June 3, 1922 in Vannes, Morbihan, France. He was a director and editor, known for Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), Same Old Song (1997) and My American Uncle (1980). He was married to Sabine Azéma and Florence Malraux. He died on March 1, 2014 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, ...

70 votes in total, 10 movies

L'année dernière à Marienbad (1961) [23 votes, 16 critics, 7 directors] Hiroshima mon amour (1959) [17 votes, 13 critics, 4 directors] Nuit et brouillard (1956) [10 votes, 6 critics, 4 directors] Muriel ou le temps d'un retour (1963) [6 votes, 4 critics, 2 directors] Providence (1977) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Mon oncle d'Amérique (1980) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Les statues meurent aussi (1953) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Les herbes folles (2009) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Stavisky... (1974) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Toute la mémoire du monde (1956) [1 vote]

42. 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 ...

68 votes in total, 15 movies

Annie Hall (1977) [18 votes, 13 critics, 5 directors] Manhattan (1979) [14 votes, 8 critics, 6 directors] Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) [10 votes, 4 critics, 6 directors] Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] Stardust Memories (1980) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Zelig (1983) [3 votes, 2 critic, 1 director] Take the Money and Run (1969) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Another Woman (1988) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Broadway Danny Rose (1984) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Everyone Says I Love You (1996) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Husbands and Wives (1992) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Interiors (1978) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Match Point (2005) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Radio Days (1987) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

43. 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.

68 votes in total, 3 movies

Sátántangó (1994) [40 votes, 34 critics, 6 directors] Werckmeister harmóniák (2000) [15 votes, 10 critics, 5 directors] A torinói ló (2011) [13 votes, Nan critics, Nan directors]

44. Sergio Leone

Writer | Once Upon a Time in America

Sergio Leone was virtually born into the cinema - he was the son of Roberto Roberti (A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone), one of Italy's cinema pioneers, and actress Bice Valerian. Leone entered films in his late teens, working as an assistant director to both Italian directors and U.S. directors working in ...

66 votes in total, 5 movies

C'era una volta il West (1968) [33 votes, 21 critics, 12 directors] Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966) [16 votes, 6 critics, 10 directors] Once Upon a Time in America (1984) [15 votes, 11 critics, 4 directors] Per un pugno di dollari (1964) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Giù la testa (1971) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

45. Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writer | Faustrecht der Freiheit

Above all, Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a rebel whose life and art was marked by gross contradiction. Openly homosexual, he married twice; one of his wives acted in his films and the other served as his editor. Accused variously by detractors of being anticommunist, male chauvinist, antiSemitic and...

65 votes in total, 14 movies

Angst essen Seele auf (1974) [25 votes, 17 critics, 8 directors] Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) [11 votes, 8 critics, 3 directors] In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden (1978) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss (1982) [4 votes, 0 critics, 4 directors] Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant (1972) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1979) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Querelle (1982) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte (1971) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Die dritte Generation (1979) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Fontane Effi Briest (1974) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Faustrecht der Freiheit (1975) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Ich will doch nur, daß ihr mich liebt (1976) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Katzelmacher (1969) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel (1975) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

46. Pier Paolo Pasolini

Writer | Il Decameron

Pier Paolo Pasolini achieved fame and notoriety long before he entered the film industry. A published poet at 19, he had already written numerous novels and essays before his first screenplay in 1954. His first film Accattone (1961) was based on his own novel and its violent depiction of the life ...

61 votes in total, 13 movies

Il vangelo secondo Matteo (1964) [21 votes, 7 critics, 14 directors] Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975) [16 votes, 8 critics, 8 directors] Teorema (1968) [5 votes, 1 critic, 4 directors] Accattone (1961) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Edipo Re (1967) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Il fiore delle mille e una notte (1974) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Uccellacci e uccellini (1966) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Mamma Roma (1962) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Capriccio all'italiana (1968) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Medea (1969) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Appunti per un'Orestiade africana (1970) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Porcile (1969) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

47. 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 ...

58 votes in total, 4 movies

Singin' in the Rain (1952) [55 votes, 46 critics, 9 directors] It's Always Fair Weather (1955) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] On the Town (1949) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Two for the Road (1967) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

48. Gene Kelly

Soundtrack | Singin' in the Rain

Eugene Curran Kelly was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the third son of Harriet Catherine (Curran) and James Patrick Joseph Kelly, a phonograph salesman. His father was of Irish descent and his mother was of Irish and German ancestry.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was the largest and most powerful studio in...

57 votes in total, 3 movies

Singin' in the Rain (1952) [55 votes, 46 critics, 9 directors] It's Always Fair Weather (1955) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] On the Town (1949) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

49. Ernst Lubitsch

Director | To Be or Not to Be

From Ernst Lubitsch's experiences in Sophien Gymnasium (high school) theater, he decided to leave school at the age of 16 and pursue a career on the stage. He had to compromise with his father and keep the account books for the family tailor business while he acted in cabarets and music halls at ...

59 votes in total, 11 movies

Trouble in Paradise (1932) [19 votes, 14 critics, 5 directors] To Be or Not to Be (1942) [17 votes, 12 critics, 5 directors] The Shop Around the Corner (1940) [10 votes, 8 critics, 2 directors] Angel (1937) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Cluny Brown (1946) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Lady Windermere's Fan (1925) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 critics] The Merry Widow (1934) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Broken Lullaby (1932) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Marriage Circle (1924) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg (1927) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

50. David Lean

Director | Lawrence of Arabia

An important British filmmaker, David Lean was born in Croydon on March 25, 1908 and brought up in a strict Quaker family (ironically, as a child he wasn't allowed to go to the movies). During the 1920s, he briefly considered the possibility of becoming an accountant like his father before finding ...

55 votes in total, 7 movies

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) [31 votes, 20 critics, 11 directors] Brief Encounter (1945) [14 votes, 11 critics, 3 directors] Great Expectations (1946) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Ryan's Daughter (1970) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Doctor Zhivago (1965) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] A Passage to India (1984) [1 vote, 1 critics, 0 directors] The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

51. 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...

55 votes in total, 13 movies

Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) [28 votes, 18 critics, 10 directors] Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle (1974) [8 votes, 3 critics, 5 directors] Fitzcarraldo (1982) [5 votes, 2 critics, 3 directors] Die große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner (1974) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (1970) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Fata Morgana (1971) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Grizzly Man (2005) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Herz aus Glas (1976) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Lebenszeichen (1968) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Lektionen in Finsternis (1992) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Letzte Worte (1968) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

52. Lars von Trier

Writer | Dancer in the Dark

Probably the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmaker to emerge from Denmark since Carl Theodor Dreyer over 60 years earlier, Lars von Trier studied film at the Danish Film School and attracted international attention with his very first feature, The Element of Crime (1984). A highly ...

55 votes in total, 11 movies

Breaking the Waves (1996) [15 votes, 9 critics, 6 directors] Melancholia (2011) [12 votes, 7 critics, 5 directors] Dogville (2003) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] Idioterne (1998) [7 votes, 4 critics, 3 directors] Dancer in the Dark (2000) [4 votes, 0 critics, 4 directors] Europa (1991) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Riget (1994) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Antichrist (2009) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Epidemic (1987) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Manderlay (2005) [1 vote, 0 critics, 0 directors] De fem benspænd (2003) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

53. 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 (...

53 votes in total, 9 movies

Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993) [16 votes, 13 critics, 3 directors] Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994) [10 votes, 7 critics, 3 directors] La double vie de Véronique (1991) [9 votes, 7 critics, 2 directors] Dekalog (1989) [7 votes, 6 critics, 1 director] Krótki film o zabijaniu (1988) [6 votes, 1 critic, 5 directors] Krótki film o milosci (1988) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Amator (1979) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Bez konca (1985) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Przypadek (1987) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

54. 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 ...

53 votes in total, 6 movies

Chinatown (1974) [28 votes, 21 critics, 7 directors] Rosemary's Baby (1968) [10 votes, 6 critics, 4 directors] Le locataire (1976) [6 votes, 2 critics, 4 directors] Cul-de-sac (1966) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Repulsion (1965) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] Nóz w wodzie (1962) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

55. Jacques Tati

Writer | Playtime

The comic genius Jacques Tati was born Taticheff, descended from a noble Russian family. His grandfather, Count Dimitri, had been a general in the Imperial Army and had served as military attaché to the Russian Embassy in Paris. His father, Emmanuel Taticheff, was a well-to-do picture framer who ...

53 votes in total, 4 movies

Playtime (1967) [44 votes, 31 critics, 13 directors] Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Mon oncle (1958) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Trafic (1971) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors]

56. Nicolas Roeg

Director | Don't Look Now

When he made his directorial debut in 1970, Nicolas Roeg was already a 23-year veteran of the British film industry, starting out in 1947 as an editing apprentice and working his way up to cinematographer twelve years later. He first came to attention as part of the second unit on David Lean's ...

51 votes in total, 5 movies

Don't Look Now (1973) [20 votes, 13 critics, 7 directors] Performance (1970) [19 votes, 15 critics, 4 directors] Walkabout (1971) [8 votes, 4 critics, 4 directors] Bad Timing (1980) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Eureka (1983) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

57. Chantal Akerman

Director | Les rendez-vous d'Anna

Chantal Akerman was born on June 6, 1950 in Brussels, Belgium. She was a director and writer, known for The Meetings of Anna (1978), I, You, He, She (1974) and A Couch in New York (1996). She was married to Sonia Wieder-Atherton. She died on October 5, 2015 in Paris, France.

50 votes in total, 6 movies

Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) [40 votes, 34 critics, 6 directors] D'Est (1993) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Les années 80 (1983) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] News from Home (1976) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Golden Eighties (1986) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Nuit et jour (1991) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

58. Claude Lanzmann

Director | Shoah

Claude Lanzmann was born on November 27, 1925 in Bois-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was a director and writer, known for Shoah (1985), The Four Sisters (2018) and Israel, Why (1973). He was married to Dominique Lanzmann-Petithory, Angelika Schrobsdorff and Judith Magre. He died on July 5, ...

50 votes in total, 1 movie

Shoah (1985) [50 votes, 39 critics, 11 directors]

59. Max Ophüls

Director | La ronde

Director Max Ophüls was born Max Oppenheimer in Saarbrücken, Germany. He began his career as a stage actor and director in the golden twenties. He worked in cities such as Stuttgart, Dortmund, Wuppertal, Vienna, Frankfurt, Breslau and Berlin. In 1929 his son Marcel Ophüls was born in Frankfurt, ...

48 votes in total, 8 movies

Madame de... (1953) [18 votes, 17 critics, 1 director] Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) [17 votes, 11 critics, 6 directors] Le plaisir (1952) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] Lola Montès (1955) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] Hôtel Terminus (1988) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] La signora di tutti (1934) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Liebelei (1933) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Die verkaufte Braut (1932) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] La ronde (1950) [1 vote, 1 critics, 0 directors] The Reckless Moment (1949) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

60. 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 ...

48 votes in total, 10 movies

Bei qing cheng shi (1989) [16 votes, 14 critics, 2 directors] Xi meng ren sheng (1993) [10 votes, 7 critics, 3 directors] Hai shang hua (1998) [7 votes, 7 critics, 0 directors] Tóngnián wangshì (1985) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Liàn liàn fengchén (1986) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Qian xi man bo (2001) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Kôhî jikô (2003) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Feng gui lai de ren (1983) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Hao nan hao nu (1995) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Nan guo zai jian, nan guo (1996) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

61. Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Director | Memoria

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (b. 1970, Bangkok) grew up in Khon Kaen, a city in the north east of Thailand. He has a degree in Architecture from Khon Kaen University and a Master of Fine Arts in Filmmaking from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has been making films and videos since the ...

48 votes in total, 6 movies

Sud pralad (2004) [18 votes, 13 critics, 5 directors] Loong Boonmee raleuk chat (2010) [13 votes, 8 critics, 5 directors] Sud sanaeha (2002) [10 votes, 7 critics, 3 directors] Sang sattawat (2006) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Dokfa nai meuman (2000) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Anthem (2006) [1 vote]

62. Edward Yang

Writer | Yi yi

Born on November 6, 1947 in Shanghai, China, Edward Yang has become one of the most talented international filmmakers of his generation. Along with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Tsai Ming-Liang, Yang ranks among the leading artists of the Taiwanese New Wave, and one of the world's most brilliant auteurs. ...

48 votes in total, 3 movies

Guling jie shaonian sharen shijian (1991) [25 votes, 19 critics, 6 directors] Yi yi (2000) [20 votes, 17 critics, 3 directors] Qing mei zhu ma (1985) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director]

63. 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 ...

47 votes in total, 8 movies

Caché (2005) [19 votes, 11 critics, 8 directors] Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009) [10 votes, 7 critics, 3 directors] Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (2000) [6 votes, 2 critics, 4 directors] Funny Games (1997) [4 votes, 1 critic, 3 directors] La pianiste (2001) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Amour (2012) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Der siebente Kontinent (1989) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 directors] 71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls (1994) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

64. 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...

46 votes in total, 5 movies

Nashville (1975) [27 votes, 22 critics, 5 directors] McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] Short Cuts (1993) [5 votes, 4 critics, 1 director] The Long Goodbye (1973) [5 votes, 4 critics, 1 director] 3 Women (1977) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director]

65. Gillo Pontecorvo

Director | La battaglia di Algeri

Gillo Pontecorvo was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for his 1966 masterpiece, The Battle of Algiers, widely viewed as one of the finest films of its genre: realistic though fictionalized documentary. Its portrayal of the Algerian resistance during the Algerian War uses the neorealist style ...

46 votes, 2 movies

La battaglia di Algeri (1966) [45 votes, 30 critics, 15 directors] Queimada (1969) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

66. D.W. Griffith

Director | The Birth of a Nation

David Wark Griffith was born in rural Kentucky to Jacob "Roaring Jake" Griffith, a former Confederate Army colonel and Civil War veteran. Young Griffith grew up with his father's romantic war stories and melodramatic nineteenth-century literature that were to eventually shape his movies. In 1897 ...

44 votes in total, 11 movies

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) [20 votes, 17 critics, 3 directors] Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 directors] The Birth of a Nation (1915) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] True Heart Susie (1919) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Isn't Life Wonderful (1924) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Country Doctor (1909) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] A Corner in Wheat (1909) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Dream Street (1921) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Mothering Heart (1913) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Painted Lady (1912) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

67. 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, ...

44 votes in total, 9 movies

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) [15 votes, 9 critics, 6 directors] Jaws (1975) [13 votes, 5 critics, 8 directors] Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 director] Duel (1971) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Minority Report (2002) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Schindler's List (1993) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

68. 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 ...

43 votes in total, 4 movies

Blade Runner (1982) [32 votes, 23 critics, 9 directors] Alien (1979) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] Gladiator (2000) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Thelma & Louise (1991) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

69. Claire Denis

Director | High Life

The films of Claire Denis frequently explore the fragile connections between people and the ways in which the most seemingly inconsequential relationship can have life-changing effects. At the heart of Denis' cinema is a fascination with the delights and difficulties of belonging and otherness, the...

41 votes, 7 movies

Beau travail (1999) [28 votes, 21 critics, 7 directors] L'intrus (2004) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] White Material (2009) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] 35 rhums (2008) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Trouble Every Day (2001) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] US Go Home (1994) [1 vote] Vendredi soir (2002) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

70. Charles Laughton

Actor | Witness for the Prosecution

Charles Laughton was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, to Eliza (Conlon) and Robert Laughton, hotel keepers of Irish and English descent, respectively. He was educated at Stonyhurst (a highly esteemed Jesuit college in England) and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (received gold medal). ...

39 votes in total, 1 movie

The Night of the Hunter (1955) [39 votes, 24 critics, 15 directors]

71. Jean Eustache

Editor | La maman et la putain

Jean Eustache was born on November 30, 1938 in Pessac, Gironde, France. He was an editor and director, known for The Mother and the Whore (1973), My Little Loves (1974) and Les photos d'Alix (1982). He died on November 3, 1981 in Paris, France.

38 votes in total, 6 movies

La maman et la putain (1973) [32 votes] Mes petites amoureuses (1974) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors] Le cochon (1970) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Numéro zéro (1971) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Les photos d'Alix (1982) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Une sale histoire (1977) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

72. Nicholas Ray

Director | Rebel Without a Cause

Nicholas Ray was born Raymond Nicholas Kienzle in 1911, in small-town Galesville, Wisconsin, to Lena (Toppen) and Raymond Joseph Kienzle, a contractor and builder. He was of German and Norwegian descent. Ray's early experience with film came with some radio broadcasting in high school. He left the ...

38 votes in total, 9 movies

In a Lonely Place (1950) [12 votes, 11 critics, 1 director] Johnny Guitar (1954) [8 votes, 6 critics, 2 directors] The Lusty Men (1952) [5 votes, 5 critics, 0 directors] They Live by Night (1948) [5 votes, 2 critics, 3 directors] Bigger Than Life (1956) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Party Girl (1958) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Bitter Victory (1957) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] On Dangerous Ground (1951) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Wind Across the Everglades (1958) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

73. 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 ...

36 votes in total, 8 movies

The Big Lebowski (1998) [12 votes, 7 critics, 5 directors] Fargo (1996) [8 votes, 3 critics, 5 directors] Barton Fink (1991) [5 votes, 4 critics, 1 director] No Country for Old Men (2007) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Raising Arizona (1987) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Miller's Crossing (1990) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] A Serious Man (2009) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Blood Simple (1984) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

74. Ethan Coen

Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The younger brother of Joel, Ethan Coen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning writer, producer and director coming from small independent films to big profile Hollywood films. He was born on September 21, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In some films of the brothers- Ethan & Joel wrote, Joel...

36 votes in total, 8 movies

The Big Lebowski (1998) [12 votes, 7 critics, 5 directors] Fargo (1996) [8 votes, 3 critics, 5 directors] Barton Fink (1991) [5 votes, 4 critics, 1 director] No Country for Old Men (2007) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Raising Arizona (1987) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Miller's Crossing (1990) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] A Serious Man (2009) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Blood Simple (1984) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

75. Víctor Erice

Director | Cerrar los ojos

Víctor Erice was born on June 30, 1940 in Karrantza, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain. He is a director and writer, known for Close Your Eyes (2023), El Sur (1983) and The Spirit of the Beehive (1973).

36 votes in total, 3 movies

El espíritu de la colmena (1973) [26 votes, 20 critics, 6 directors] El sol del membrillo (1992) [8 votes, 6 critics, 2 directors] La morte rouge (2006) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors]

76. Vincente Minnelli

Director | An American in Paris

Born Lester Anthony Minnelli in Chicago on February 28 1903, his father Vincent was a musical conductor of the Minnelli Brothers' Tent Theater. Wanting to pursue an artistic career, Minelli worked in the costume department of the Chicago Theater, then on Broadway during the depression as a set ...

36 votes in total, 9 movies

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) [15 votes, 13 critics, 2 directors] The Band Wagon (1953) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Some Came Running (1958) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] An American in Paris (1951) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Brigadoon (1954) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Clock (1945) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] A Matter of Time (1976) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Home from the Hill (1960) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

77. Douglas Sirk

Director | Schlußakkord

Film director Douglas Sirk, whose reputation blossomed in the generation after his 1959 retirement from Hollywood filmmaking, was born Hans Detlef Sierck on April 26, 1897, in Hamburg, Germany, to a journalist. Both of his parents were Danish, and the future director would make movies in German, ...

36 votes in total, 6 movies

Imitation of Life (1959) [20 votes, 17 critics, 3 directors] All That Heaven Allows (1955) [7 votes, 7 critic, 0 directors] Written on the Wind (1956) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Magnificent Obsession (1954) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Tarnished Angels (1957) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

78. Jean-Marie Straub

Director | Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach

Jean-Marie Straub was born on January 8, 1933 in Metz, Moselle, Lorraine, France. He was a director and editor, known for The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968), Sicily! (1999) and Class Relations (1984). He was married to Danièle Huillet. He died on November 20, 2022 in Rolle, Switzerland.

36 votes in total, 15 movies

Sicilia! (1999) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Dalla nube alla resistenza (1979) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (1968) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt, wo Gewalt herrscht (1965) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Trop tôt/Trop tard (1981) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Cézanne - Dialogue avec Joachim Gasquet (Les éditions Bernheim-Jeune) (1990) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Geschichtsunterricht (1972) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Les yeux ne veulent pas en tout temps se fermer, ou Peut-être qu'un jour Rome se permettra de choisir à son tour (1970) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Die Antigone des Sophokles nach der Hölderlinschen Übertragung für die Bühne bearbeitet von Brecht 1948 (Suhrkamp Verlag) (1992) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Einleitung zu Arnold Schoenbergs Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene (1973) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Fortini/Cani (1976) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Le genou d'Artémide (2008) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Moses und Aron (1975) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Quei loro incontri (2006) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Une visite au Louvre (2004) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

79. 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 ...

35 votes, 5 movies

Les enfants du paradis (1945) [25 votes, 22 critics, 3 directors] Le quai des brumes (1938) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Le jour se lève (1939) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Hôtel du Nord (1938) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Trois chambres à Manhattan (1965) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

80. Danièle Huillet

Director | Sicilia!

Danièle Huillet was born on May 1, 1936 in Paris, France. She was a director and editor, known for Sicily! (1999), Class Relations (1984) and The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968). She was married to Jean-Marie Straub. She died on October 9, 2006 in Cholet, Maine-et-Loire, France.

35 votes in total, 14 movies

Sicilia! (1999) [8 votes, 7 critics, 1 director] Dalla nube alla resistenza (1979) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach (1968) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Nicht versöhnt oder Es hilft nur Gewalt, wo Gewalt herrscht (1965) [3 votes, 1 critic, 2 directors] Trop tôt/Trop tard (1981) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Cézanne - Dialogue avec Joachim Gasquet (Les éditions Bernheim-Jeune) (1990) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Geschichtsunterricht (1972) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Les yeux ne veulent pas en tout temps se fermer, ou Peut-être qu'un jour Rome se permettra de choisir à son tour (1970) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Die Antigone des Sophokles nach der Hölderlinschen Übertragung für die Bühne bearbeitet von Brecht 1948 (Suhrkamp Verlag) (1992) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Einleitung zu Arnold Schoenbergs Begleitmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene (1973) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Fortini/Cani (1976) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Moses und Aron (1975) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Quei loro incontri (2006) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Une visite au Louvre (2004) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

81. Jean-Pierre Melville

Writer | Le samouraï

The name "Melville" is not immediately associated with film. It conjures up images of white whales and crackbrained captains, of naysaying notaries and soup-spilling sailors. It is the countersign to a realm of men and their deeds, both heroic and villainous. It is the American novel, with its ...

35 votes in total, 7 movies

Le samouraï (1967) [14 votes, 7 critics, 7 directors] L'armée des ombres (1969) [10 votes, 8 critics, 2 directors] Le cercle rouge (1970) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Le deuxième souffle (1966) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Bob le flambeur (1956) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] L'aîné des Ferchaux (1963) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Le silence de la mer (1949) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

82. 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 (...

34 votes in total, 4 movies

Il conformista (1970) [26 votes, 16 critics, 10 directors] Novecento (1976) [4 votes, 1 critic, 3 directors] Ultimo tango a Parigi (1972) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] La luna (1979) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] The Last Emperor (1987) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

83. Sam Peckinpah

Writer | The Wild Bunch

"If they move", commands stern-eyed William Holden, "kill 'em". So begins The Wild Bunch (1969), Sam Peckinpah's bloody, high-body-count eulogy to the mythologized Old West. "Pouring new wine into the bottle of the Western, Peckinpah explodes the bottle", observed critic Pauline Kael. That ...

34 votes in total, 4 movies

The Wild Bunch (1969) [27 votes, 19 critics, 8 directors] Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) [5 votes, 3 critics, 2 directors] Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] The Killer Elite (1975) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

84. 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 ...

34 votes in total, 6 movies

Der Himmel über Berlin (1987) [10 votes, 6 critics, 4 directors] Im Lauf der Zeit (1976) [9 votes, 8 critics, 1 director] Paris, Texas (1984) [9 votes, 9 critics, 0 directors] Alice in den Städten (1974) [4 votes, 2 critics, 2 directors] Buena Vista Social Club (1999) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Tokyo-Ga (1985) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

85. Jacques Rivette

Director | La Belle Noiseuse

Although François Truffaut has written that the New Wave began "thanks to Rivette," the films of this masterful French director are not well known. Rivette, like his "Cahiers du Cinéma" colleagues Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Éric Rohmer, did graduate to filmmaking but, like Rohmer...

33 votes in total, 6 movies

Céline et Julie vont en bateau: Phantom Ladies Over Paris (1974) [15 votes, 13 critics, 2 directors] Out 1, noli me tangere (1971) [13 votes, 13 critics, 0 directors] La Belle Noiseuse (1991) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] L'amour fou (1969) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Le pont du Nord (1981) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Out 1: Spectre (1972) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

85. Carol Reed

Director | The Third Man

Carol Reed was the second son of stage actor, dramatics teacher and impresario founder of the Royal School of Dramatic Art Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree. Reed was one of Tree's six illegitimate children with Beatrice Mae Pinney, who Tree established in a second household apart from his married life. ...

32 votes in total, 4 movies

The Third Man (1949) [28 votes, 22 critic, 6 directors] The Fallen Idol (1948) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Odd Man Out (1947) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Outcast of the Islands (1951) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

86. Erich von Stroheim

Actor | Sunset Blvd.

Erich von Stroheim was born Erich Oswald Stroheim in 1885, in Vienna, Austria, to Johanna (Bondy), from Prague, and Benno Stroheim, a hatter from Gleiwitz, Germany (now Gliwice, Poland). His family was Jewish.

After spending some time working in his father's hat factory, he emigrated to America ...

31 votes in total, 5 movies

Greed (1924) [21 votes, 19 critics, 2 directors] The Wedding March (1928) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Foolish Wives (1922) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Merry Widow (1925) [2 votes 1 critic, 1 director] Queen Kelly (1932) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors]

87. 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....

31 votes in total, 4 movies

The Lady Eve (1941) [19 votes, 15 critics, 4 directors] Sullivan's Travels (1941) [7 votes, 7 critics, 0 directors] The Palm Beach Story (1942) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director]

88. 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...

30 votes in total, 4 movies

There Will Be Blood (2007) [16 votes, 8 critics, 8 directors] Magnolia (1999) [8 votes, 5 critics, 3 directors] Punch-Drunk Love (2002) [4 votes, 1 critic, 3 directors] Boogie Nights (1997) [2 votes, 0 critics, 2 directors]

89. Theodoros Angelopoulos

Director | Mia aioniotita kai mia mera

Theo Angelopoulos began to study law in Athens but broke up his studies to go to the Sorbonne in Paris in order to study literature. When he had finished his studies, he wanted to attend the School of Cinema at Paris but decided instead to go back to Greece. There he worked as a journalist and ...

30 votes in total, 4 movies

O thiasos (1975) [21 votes, 16 critics, 5 directors] Topio stin omihli (1988) [7 votes, 4 critics, 3 directors] To vlemma tou Odyssea (1995) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Trilogia: To livadi pou dakryzei (2004) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

90. Leo McCarey

Director | An Affair to Remember

Leo McCarey was born on October 3, 1896 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was a director and writer, known for An Affair to Remember (1957), Going My Way (1944) and Love Affair (1939). He was married to Virginia Stella Martin. He died on July 5, 1969 in Santa Monica, California, USA.

30 votes in total, 6 movies

Duck Soup (1933) [9 votes, 8 critics, 1 director] Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] An Affair to Remember (1957) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] The Awful Truth (1937) [5 votes, 4 critics, 1 director] Ruggles of Red Gap (1935) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

91. 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 ...

30 votes in total, 4 movies

Tonari no Totoro (1988) [14 votes, 11 critics, 3 directors] Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) [11 votes, 8 critics, 3 directors] Mononoke-hime (1997) [4 votes, 4 critics, 0 directors] Kaze no tani no Naushika (1984) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

92. Sergei Parajanov

Director | Tini zabutykh predkiv

One of the 20th century's greatest masters of cinema Sergei Parajanov was born in Georgia to Armenian parents and it was always unlikely that his work would conform to the strict socialist realism that Soviet authorities preferred. After studying film and music, Parajanov became an assistant ...

30 votes in total, 2 movies

Sayat Nova (1969) [22 votes, 19 critics, 3 directors] Tini zabutykh predkiv (1965) [8 votes, 6 critics, 2 directors]

93. 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...

30 votes in total, 6 movies

Pulp Fiction (1994) [19 votes, 14 critics, 5 directors] Reservoir Dogs (1992) [6 votes, 2 critics, 4 directors] Inglourious Basterds (2009) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Death Proof (2007) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Jackie Brown (1997) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director] Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

94. Jacques Demy

Soundtrack | Les parapluies de Cherbourg

Jacques Demy was born on June 5, 1931 in Pontchâteau, Loire-Atlantique, France. He was a director and writer, known for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) and A Room in Town (1982). He was married to Agnès Varda. He died on October 27, 1990 in Paris, France.

29 votes in total, 4 movies

Les parapluies de Cherbourg (1964) [15 votes, 10 critics, 5 directors] Les demoiselles de Rochefort (1967) [7 votes, 7 critics, 0 directors] Lola (1961) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] Peau d'âne (1970) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

95. 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 ...

28 votes in total, 8 movies

Russkiy kovcheg (2002) [11 votes, 8 critics, 3 directors] Mat i syn (1997) [6 votes, 5 critics, 1 director] Krug vtoroy (1990) [3 votes, 2 critics, 1 director] Dukhovnye golosa. Iz dnevnikov voyny. Povestvovanie v pyati chastyakh (1995) [3 votes, 3 critics, 0 directors] Solntse (2005) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Dni zatmeniya (1988) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Kamen (1992) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors] Tikhie stranitsy (1994) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

96. Djibril Diop Mambéty

Director | Touki bouki

Born the son of a Muslim cleric in Colobane, near Dakar, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty received no formal training in filmmaking. He experimented with theater, but in 1968, he was asked to leave an avant-garde theater group. Shortly thereafter, he made his first film short called Badou Boy (1970), ...

27 votes in total, 3 movies

Touki bouki (1973) (22 votes, 17 critics, 5 directors) Hyènes (1992) [4 votes, 3 critics, 1 director] La Petite Vendeuse de soleil (1999) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

97. 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, ...

27 votes in total, 7 movies

Ma nuit chez Maud (1969) [10 votes, 6 critics, 4 directors] Le rayon vert (1986) [9 votes, 6 critics, 3 directors] La collectionneuse (1967) [2 votes, 1 critic, 1 director] Le genou de Claire (1970) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] Les nuits de la pleine lune (1984) [2 votes, 2 critics, 0 directors] L'amour l'après-midi (1972) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 directors] Perceval le Gallois (1978) [1 vote, 0 critics, 1 director]

98. Michael Snow

Director | Wavelength

Central figure of the American avant-garde. An artist who made an isolated animated short, A to Z (1956), Snow concentrated on his painting career until moving to New York in 1963. After attending avant-garde film screenings organized by critic-filmmaker Jonas Mekas and turning out a second film, ...

27 votes in total, 3 movies

Wavelength (1967) [19 votes, 16 critics, 3 directors] La région centrale (1971) [7 votes, 5 critics, 2 directors] Presents (1981) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]

99. Elem Klimov

Director | Idi i smotri

Elem Klimov was born on July 9, 1933 in Stalingrad, Nizhne-Volzhskiy kray, RSFSR, USSR [now Volgograd, Volgogradskaya oblast, Russia]. He was a director and actor, known for Come and See (1985), Rasputin (1981) and Pokhozhdeniya zubnogo vracha (1965). He was married to Larisa Shepitko. He died on ...

26 votes in total, 2 movies

Idi i smotri (1985) [25 votes, 11 critics, 14 directors] Dobro pozhalovat, ili Postoronnim vkhod vospreshchen (1964) [1 vote, 1 critic, 0 directors]