Ranking my favorite directors

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 ...

01. Vertigo 9.5/10 02. Psycho 9.5/10 03. Rebecca 9.5/10 04. Rear Window 9.5/10 05. Notorious 8.5/10 06. Strangers on a Train 8.5/10 07. The Birds 8.5/10 08. Dial M for Murder 8.0/10 09. Suspiction 8.0/10 10. North By Northwest 8.0/10 11. Rope 7.5/10 12. To Catch a Thief 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Marnie 02. Shadow of a Doubt 03. The 39 Steps 04. The Lady Vanishes 05. The Man Who Knew Too Much 06. Foreign Correspondent 07. Frenzy 08. Spellbound 09. Lifeboat 10. Mr. And Mrs. Smith

2. 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 ...

01. 2001: A Space Odyssey 10/10 02. The Shining 9.5/10 03. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 9.5/10 04. A Clockwork Orange 9.0/10 05. Barry Lydon 9.0/10 06. The Killing 9.0/10 07. Paths of Glory 8.5/10 08. Lolita 8.5/10 09. Eyes Wide Shut 8.0/10 10. Full Metal Jacket 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Spartacus

3. 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 ...

01. Raging Bull 9.5/10 02. Goodfellas 9.5/10 03. Taxi Driver 9.5/10 04. Shutter Island 9.0/10 05. The Departed 8.5/10 06. The Aviator 8.0/10 07. Casino 8.0/10 08. The Wolf of Wall Street 7.5/10 09. Hugo 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Mean Streets 02. New York, New York 03. The King of Comedy 04. The Last Temptation of Christ 05. The Age of Innocence 06. Cape Fear 07. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 08. The Color of Money

4. 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 ...

01. La Dolce Vita 10/10 02. 8½ 9.5/10 03. Roma 9.5/10 04. Le notti di Cabiria 8.5/10 05. Amarcord 8.5/10 06. La Strada 8.0/10 07. Fellini - Satyricon 8.0/10 08. Il Casanova di Federico Fellini 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. I vitelloni 02. Giulietta degli spiriti

5. 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 ...

& Ethan Coen

01. Fargo 9.5/10 02. No Country for Old Men 9.0/10 03. Barton Fink 8.5/10 04. The Big Lebowski 8.0/10 05. Blood Simple. 8.0/10 06. Inside Llewyn Davis 8.0/10 07. Miller's Crossing 8.0/10 08. True Grit 7.5/10 09. Hail, Caesar! 09. Burn After Reading 7.5/10 10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Raising Arizona 02. A Serious Man 03. The Ladykillers 04. Intorelable Cruelty 05. The Hudsucker Proxy

6. 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...

01. There Will Be Blood 9.5/10 02. The Master 9.0/10 03. Inherent Vice 9.0/10 04. Magnolia 9.0/10 05. Boogie Nights 8.5/10 06. Sydney 7.5/10 07. Punch-Drunk Love 7.5/10

7. 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 ...

01. The Thin Red Line 10/10 02. The Tree of Life 9.5/10 03. Days of Heaven 8.5/10 04. The New World 8.0/10 05. Badlands 8.0/10 06. Knight of Cups 7.0/10 07. To the Wonder 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Voyage of Time 02. Untitled Terrence Malick Project

8. 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 ...

01. Modern Times 9.5/10 02. City Lights 9.5/10 03. The Great Dictator 9.0/10 04. The Kid 7.5/10 05. The Gold Rush 7.0/10 06. A King in NY 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Limelight 02. Monsieur Verdoux 03. A Women in Paris 04. The Circus

9. 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 ...

01. Some Like It Hot 9.5/10 02. Stalag 17 9.0/10 03. Sunset Blvd. 8.5/10 04. The Apartment 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Double Indemnity 02. Ace in the Hole 03. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes 04. One, Two, Three

10. 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 (...

01. Persona 9.5/10 02. Det sjunde inseglet 9.0/10 03. Sommarlek 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Fanny och Alexander 02. Smultronstället 03. Viskningar och rop 04. Stimulantia 05. Scener ur ett äktenskap 06. Tystnaden 07. Såsom i en spegel 08. Jungfrukällan 09. Sommarnattens leende 10. Gycklarnas afton 11. Aus dem Leben der Marionetten 12. Djävulens öga 13. För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor 14. Ansiktet

11. David Fincher

Director | Se7en

David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was 18 years old he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981-1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials...

01. Se7en 9.5/10 02. Zodiac 8.5/10 03. Fight Club 8.0/10 04. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 7.5/10 05. The Game 7.5/10 06. The Social Network 6.5/10 07. Gone Girl 6.5/10 08. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Panic Room

12. 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...

01. Pulp Fiction 9.5/10 02. Inglorious Basterds 8.5/10 03. Reservoir Dogs 8.0/10 04. Jackie Brown 7.5/10 05. The Hateful Eight 7.0/10 06. Django Unchained 6.5/10 07. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Death Proof

13. Richard Linklater

Director | Waking Life

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

01. Before Midnight 8.5/10 02. Boyhood 8.5/10 03. Before Sunset 8.5/10 04. Dazed and Confused 7.5/10 05. Before Sunrise 7.5/10 06. Fast Food Nation 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. That's What I'm Talking About 02. Bernie 03. Me and Orson Welles 04. The School of Rock 05. Tape 06. Walking Life 07. Slacker

14. Peter Greenaway

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

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

01. The Draughtman's Contract 8.5/10 02. The Belly of an Architect 8.5/10 03. Drowning by Numbers 8.0/10 04. The Cook, The Thief, Her Wife & Her Lover 7.5/10 05. The Pillow Book 5.5/10

Watchlist: 01. The Falls 02. A Zed & Two Noughs

15. 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 (...

01. Trois couleurs: Bleu 8.5/10 02. Trois couleurs: Rouge 8.5/10 03. La double vie de Veronique 8.0/10 04. Trois couleurs: Blanc 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Dekalog 02. A Short Film about killing

16. Spike Jonze

Producer | Her

Spike Jonze made up one-third (along with Andy Jenkins and Mark Lewman) of the triumvirate of genius minds behind Dirt Magazine, the brother publication of the much lamented ground-breaking Sassy Magazine. These three uncommon characters were all editors for Grand Royal Magazine as well, under the ...

01. Adaptation. 8.0/10 02. Being John Malkovich 8.0/10 03. Her 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Where the Wild Things Are

17. 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 ...

01. Tôkyô monogatari 10/10 02. Banshun 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Otona no miru ehon - Umarete wa mita keredo 02. Sanma no aji 03. Bakushû 04. Kohayagawa-ke no aki 05. Ukikusa 06. Higanbana 07. Hitori musuko 08. Akibiyori

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 ...

01. L'Avventura 10/10 02. La notte 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Blow-Up 02. L'eclisse 03. Professione: reporter 04. Il deserto rosso 05. Il grido 06. Zabriskie Point

19. 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 ...

01. The Godfather 9.5/10 02. Apocalypse Now 9.0/10

Watchlist: 01. The Godfather Part II 02. The Conversation

20. 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 ...

01. Fa yeung nin wa 9.0/10 02. Ah fei zing zyun 8.5/10 03. Chun gwong cha sit 7.5/10 04. Chung Hing sam lam 7.5/10 05. Do lok tin si 7.5/10 06. 2046 7.0/10 07. Yi dai zong shi 6.5/10 08. My Blueberry Nights 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Dung che sai duk

21. 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 ...

01. Requiem for a Dream 9.5/10 02. Black Swan 8.5/10 03. The Wrestler 7.5/10 04. Pi 7.5/10 05. The Fountain 7.0/10

22. 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 ...

01. Nóz w wodzie 9.5/10 02. Rosemary's Baby 8.5/10 03. The Ghost Writer 7.5/10 04. La Vénus a la fourrure 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. The Pianist 02. Chinatown 03. The Tenant 04. Repulsion 05. Cul-De-Sac

23. 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...

01. Fitzcarraldo 9.5/10 02. Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes 8.5/10 03. Rescue Dawn 7.5/10 04. Grizzly Man 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle 02. Lektionen in Finsternis 03. Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit 04. Encounters at the End of the World 05. Cave of Forgotten Dreams 06. Queen of the Desert 07. Into the Abyss 08. Happy People: A Year in the Taiga 09. The White Diamond 10. Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski 11. Little Dieter Needs to Fly 12. Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht 13. Stroszek

24. 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 ...

01. Melancholia 9.5/10 02. Breaking the Waves 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Dogville 02. Idioterne 03. Dancer in the Dark 04. Nymphomaniac 05. Antichrist

25. Charlie Kaufman

Writer | I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Avid reader Charlie Kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student. He moved from Massapequa, New York to West Hartford, Connecticut in 1972 where he attended high school. As a comedic actor, he performed in school plays and, after graduation, he enrolled at Boston University but soon ...

01. Anomalisa 9.5/10 02. Synecdoche, New York 8.5/10

26. Paolo Sorrentino

Writer | È stata la mano di Dio

Director and screenwriter Paolo Sorrentino was born in Naples in 1970, and and became an orphan when he lost both of his parents at the age of 16. At the age of 25, after studying for a few years at the Faculty of Economics and Business in University of Naples Federico II, he decided to work in the...

01. La Grande Bellezza 9.5/10 02. Youth 8.0/10 03. Il divo: La spettacolare vita di Giulio Andreotti 7.5/10 04. This Must Be the Place 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Rio, eu te amo 02. Le conseguenze dell'amore

27. Errol Morris

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

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

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

01. The Thin Blue Line 9.0/10 02. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons by Robert McNamara 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Standard Operating Procedure 02. Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. 03. A Brief History of Time

28. Sam Mendes

Producer | 1917

Samuel Alexander Mendes was born on August 1, 1965 in Reading, England, UK to parents James Peter Mendes, a retired university lecturer, and Valerie Helene Mendes, an author who writes children's books. Their marriage didn't last long, James divorced Sam's mother in 1970 when Sam was just 5-...

01. American Beauty 9.0/10 02. Road to Perdition 8.0/10 03. Revolutionary Road 7.5/10 04. Skyfall 7.0/10 05. Spectre 7.0/10 06. Jarhead 6.5/10

29. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Director | Un long dimanche de fiançailles

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

01. Un long dimanche de fiançailles 9.0/10 02. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. L'extravagant voyage du jeune et prodigieux T.S. Spivet

30. 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 ...

01. Mononoke-hime 8.5/10 02. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi 8.5/10 03. Kaze tachinu 7.5/10 04. Kurenai no buta 7.5/10 05. Tonari no Totoro 7.5/10 06. Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro 7.5/10 07. Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta 7.5/10 08. Majo no takkyûbin 7.0/10 09. Hauru no ugoku shiro 7.0/10 10. Kaze no tani no Naushika 7.0/10 11. Gake no ue no Ponyo 6.5/10

31. Terry Gilliam

Writer | Brazil

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

01. Brazil 8.5/10 02. Twelve Monkeys 8.5/10 03. Fear and Lothing in Las Vegas 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

32. 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 ...

01. Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo 8.5/10 02. Once Upon a Time in America 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Per un pugno di dollari 02. Per qualche dollaro in più 03. C'era una volta il West

33. 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 ...

01. Amour 8.5/10 02. Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Funny Games 02. Caché 03. La pianiste

34. 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 ...

01. Annie Hall 8.5/10 02. Manhattan 8.0/10 03. Midnight in Paris 7.5/10 04. Blue Jasmine 7.0/10 05. Irrational Man 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Crime and Misdemeanors 02. Hannah and her Sisters 03. The Purple Rose of Cairo 04. The Fallen Idol 05. Zelig 06. Stardust Memories 07. Broadway Danny Rose

35. 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 ...

01. Il gattopardo 8.5/10 02. Morte a Venezia 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Rocco e i suoi fratelli 02. Senso 03. La terra trema: Episodio del mare 04. La caduta degli Dei 05. Ossessione 06. Ludwig

36. 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 ...

01. Moonrise Kingdom 8.0/10 02. Rushmore 8.0/10 03. The Grand Budapest Hotel 7.5/10 04. The Royal Tenenbaums 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. The Darjeeling Limited 02. Fantastic Mr. Fox

37. Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Director | Biutiful

Alejandro González Iñárritu (ih-nyar-ee-too), born August 15th, 1963, is a Mexican film director.

González Iñárritu is the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and by the Directors Guild of America for Best Director. He is also the first Mexican-born ...

01. Birdman 8.0/10 02. Biutiful 8.0/10 03. The Revenant 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Babel 02. Amores perros

38. Jim Jarmusch

Director | Paterson

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

01. Dead Man 8.0/10 02. Night on Earth 8.0/10 03. Only Lovers Left Alive 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Stranger Than Paradise 02. Down By Law

39. 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, ...

01. Schindler's List 9.5/10 02. Jaws 7.5/10 03. Catch Me If You Can 7.5/10 04. Artificial Intelligence: AI 7.0/10 05. Close Encouters of the Third Kind 7.0/10 06. Lincoln 7.0/10 07. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 7.0/10 08. Bridge of Spies 7.0/10 09. Minority Report 6.5/10 10. Raiders of the Lost Ark 6.5/10 11. The Terminal 6.5/10 12. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 6.0/10 13. War of Worlds 4/10

Watchlist: 01. The Color Purple 02. Empire of the Sun 03. Saving Private Ryan 04. Munich 05. Duel

40. Christopher Nolan

Writer | Tenet

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

01. Memento 9.5/10 02. Inception 7.5/10 03. Interstellar 7.0/10 04. Batman Begins 7.0/10 05. The Dark Knight 7.0/10 06. Insomnia 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. The Prestige

41. 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 (...

01. The Last Emperor 9.5/10 02. The Dreamers 7.5/10 03. Stealing Beauty 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Il conformista 02. Novecento 03. Ultimo tango a Parigi

42. 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 ...

01. Mulholland Dr. 9.5/10 02. Eraserhead 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. The Elephant Man 02. Blue Velvet 03. The Straight Story 04. Inland Empire

43. 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. ...

01. M 9.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Metropolis 02. Fury 03. Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse 04. The Big Heat 05. Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit 06. Der Tiger von Eschnapur 07. Moonfleet 08. Spione 09. Der müde Tod 10. You Only Live Once

44. 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...

01. Solyaris 9.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Andrey Rublyov 02. Zerkalo 03. Stalker 04. Offret 05. Nostalghia 06. Ivanovo detstvo

45. Sidney Lumet

Director | 12 Angry Men

Sidney Lumet was a master of cinema, best known for his technical knowledge and his skill at getting first-rate performances from his actors -- and for shooting most of his films in his beloved New York. He made over 40 movies, often complex and emotional, but seldom overly sentimental. Although ...

01. 12 Angry Man 9.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Network 02. Dog Day Afternoon 03. Before the Devil Knows You're Death 04. Running on Empty

46. 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 ...

01. Citizen Kane 9.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Touch of Evil 02. The Magnificent Amersons

47. Raúl Ruiz

Director | La Telenovela Errante

Chilean director Raúl, or Raoul, Ruiz (1941-2011) was one of the most exciting and innovative filmmakers to emerge from 1960s World Cinema, providing more intellectual fun and artistic experimentation, shot for shot, than any filmmaker since Jean-Luc Godard. A guerrilla who uncompromisingly ...

Mistérios de Lisboa 9.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Le temps retrouvé, d'après l'oeuvre de Marcel Proust 02. La noche de enfrente

48. 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 ...

01. Gandhi 9.5/10

Watchlist: 01. A Bridge Too Far

49. Mathieu Kassovitz

Actor | Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

Mathieu Kassovitz was born on August 3, 1967 in Paris, France. He is an actor and director, known for Amélie (2001), La haine (1995) and The Fifth Element (1997).

01. La haine 9.5/10

50. 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 ...

01. Trainspotting 9.0/10 02. Steve Jobs 7.5/10 03. Slumdog Millionaire 7.0/10 04. 127 Hours 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Millions 02. Porno

51. 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...

01. Beau Travail 9.0/10 02. Chocolat 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. L'intrus 02. 35 rhums 03. White Material

52. Milos Forman

Director | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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

01. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 9.0/10 02. Goya's Ghosts 5.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Amadeus 02. The People vs. Larry Flynt 03. Man on the Moon 04. Lásky jedné plavovlásky 05. Horí, má panenko

53. 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 ...

01. La Grande Illusion 9.0/10

Watchlist: 01. La règle du jeu 02. Partie de Campagne 03. The River 04. Le crime de Monsieur Lange 05. French Cancan 06. Boudu sauvé des eaux 07. Le carrosse d'or 08. La bête humaine 09. La nuit du carrefour 10. La chienne 11. Toni

54. 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 ...

01. Ladri di Biciclette 9.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Umberto D. 02. Miracolo a Milano 03. Sciuscià (Ragazzi)

55. Fernando Meirelles

Director | The Constant Gardener

Fernando Meirelles was born in a middle class family in São Paulo City, Brazil.

He studied architecture at the university of São Paulo. At the same time he developed an interest in filmmaking. With a group of friends he started producing experimental videos and video art. They won a huge number of ...

01. Cidade de Deus 9.0/10

Watchlist: 01. The Constant Gardener 8.5/10 02. Rio, eu te amo

56. 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 ...

01. La battaglia di Algeri 9.0/10

57. 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 ...

01. Chelovek s kino-apparatom 9.0/10

58. László Nemes

Director | Saul fia

László Nemes was born on 18th Feb. 1977 in Budapest, Hungary. He moved to France at 12 with his mother. He grew up in Paris, where he studied History, International Relations and Political Science at the Institut d'Études Politiques, because he couldn't go to film school. After that he started ...

Saul fia 9/.0/10

59. Isao Takahata

Director | Hotaru no haka

Isao Takahata was born on October 29, 1935 in Ise, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Pom Poko (1994) and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013). He died on April 5, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan.

01. Hotaru no haka 8.5/10 02. Omohide poro poro 7.5/10 03. Kaguyahime no monogatari 7.5/10 04. Heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko 7.5/10 05. Hôhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Taiyou no ouji Horusu no daibouken 02. Jarinko Chie 03. Sero hiki no Gôshu 04. Fuyu no hi 05. Akage no An: Gurîn Gêburuzu e no michi

60. 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 ...

01. Blade Runner 8.5/10 02. Black Hawk Down 7.5/10 03. Gladiator 7.5/10 04. Alien 7.0/10 05. The Martian 6.0/10 06. Robin Hood 5.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Thelma & Louise 02. American Gangster 03. Prometheus 04. Exodus

61. 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 ...

01. Nema-ye Nazdik 8.5/10 02. Copie Conforme 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Where is the friend's home? 02. Through the Olive Trees 03. A Taste of Cherry 04. The Wind Will Carry Us 05. And Life Goes On.. 06. Ten

62. Andrew Haigh

Director | All of Us Strangers

Andrew Haigh is a writer and director. His film work includes Weekend, which premiered at SXSW and won the audience award. 45 Years, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, won 2 Silver Bears, and received an Academy Award nomination for lead actress Charlotte Rampling. Lean on Pete premiered in ...

01. 45 Years 8.5/10 02. Weekend 7.5/10

63. 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 ...

01. It's a Wonderful Life 8.5/10 02. Mr. Dees Goes to Town 7.0/10 03. It Happened One Night 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Arsenic and Old Lace 02. You Can't Take It with You 03. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

64. Peter Weir

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

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

01. Picnic at Hanging Rock 8.5/10 02. The Truman Show 7.0/10 03. The Way Back 6.0/10 04. The Mosquito Coast 5.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Witness 02. Dead Poets Society 03. The Last Wave 04. Gallipoli 05. The Year of Living Dangerously 06. Fearless 07. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

65. Anthony Minghella

Writer | The Talented Mr. Ripley

Anthony Minghella was the son of immigrants from Italy, who own an ice-cream factory on the Isle of Wight, where Anthony was born on January 6, 1954. He and his two siblings, Edana Minghella and Dominic Minghella, grew up there, a popular British holiday spot. After graduating from the University of...

01. The English Patient 8.5/10 02. Cold Mountain 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. The Talented Mr. Ripley

66. Curtis Hanson

Director | L.A. Confidential

After small films like The Bedroom Window (1987) and Sweet Kill (1972), Curtis Hanson went on to direct major features including The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The River Wild (1994) and the Academy Award-winning L.A. Confidential (1997). Setting his sights on another city, Hanson was ...

01. L.A. Confidential 8.5/10 02. 8 Mile 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Wonder Boys

67. Nicolas Winding Refn

Writer | The Neon Demon

Writer, director, and producer Nicolas Winding Refn was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1970, to Anders Refn, a film director and editor, and Vibeke Winding (née Tuxen), a cinematographer. Just before he turned 11, in 1981, he moved to New York with his parents, where he lived out his teen years. ...

01. Drive 8.5/10 02. Only God Forgives 5.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Bronson

68. 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 ...

Un Chien D'Andalou 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Virdiana 02. Los Olvidados 03. L'Age D'Or 04. El ángel exterminador 05. Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie 06. Belle de Jour 07. El 08. Tristana 09. Cet obscur objet du désir 10. Le fantôme de la liberté 11. Las Hurdes 12. Nazarin 13. Simón del desierto 14. Ensayo de un crimen

69. 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 ...

01. Paris, Texas 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Der Himmel über Berlin 02. Im Lauf der Zeit 03. Alice in den Städten 04. Der amerikanische Freund 05. Pina

70. Todd Haynes

Director | Far from Heaven

Todd Haynes was always interested in art, and made amateur movies and painted while he was still a child. He attended Brown university and majored in art and semiotics. After he graduated he moved to New York City and made the controversial short film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987). ...

01. Carol 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Safe 02. Far From Heaven 03. I'm Not There 04. Untitled Peggy Lee Project

71. 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.

01. A Turinói Ió 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Werckmeister harmóniák 02. Sátántangó

72. Michael Curtiz

Director | Casablanca

Curtiz began acting in and then directing films in his native Hungary in 1912. After WWI, he continued his filmmaking career in Austria and Germany and into the early 1920s when he directed films in other countries in Europe. Moving to the US in 1926, he started making films in Hollywood for Warner...

01. Casablanca 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. The Adventures of Robin Hood 02. Mildred Pierce

73. 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...

01. The Piano 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. An Angel at my table 02. Bright Star

74. Pawel Pawlikowski

Director | Zimna wojna

A literature and philosophy graduate, with extensive post-graduate work at Oxford on German literature, Polish-born Pawel Pawlikowski started as a documentary filmmaker in British television.

His second feature, Last Resort (2000), earned him international critical acclaim at numerous festivals, ...

01. Ida 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. My Summer of Love 02. Last Resort

75. Giuseppe Tornatore

Director | La migliore offerta

Giuseppe Tornatore was born on May 27, 1956 in Bagheria, Sicily, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for The Best Offer (2013), Cinema Paradiso (1988) and The Legend of 1900 (1998). He is married to Roberta Pacetti.

01. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano 02. La corrispondenza

76. Laura Poitras

Producer | Citizenfour

Laura Poitras was born on February 2, 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. She is a producer and director, known for Citizenfour (2014), The Oath (2010) and My Country, My Country (2006).

01. Citizenfour 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. The Oath 02. Flag Wars

77. Michael Cimino

Director | The Deer Hunter

Michael Cimino studied architecture and dramatic arts; later he filmed advertisements and documentaries and also wrote scripts until the actor, producer and director Clint Eastwood gave him the opportunity to direct the thriller Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). But his biggest success was The Deer...

01. The Deer Hunter 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Heaven's Gate

78. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Director | Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Alfonso was born and raised in Laredo, Texas on the US/Mexico border. He received his BFA from NYU and his MFA from AFI. He began his career as personal assistant to Martin Scorsese, Nora Ephron, Robert De Niro and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. He has gone on to direct second unit for Ms. Ephron, ...

01. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl 8.5/10

Watchlist: 01. The Current War

79. Robert Zemeckis

Writer | Back to the Future

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

01. Forrest Gump 8.0/10 02. Cast Away 7.5/10 03. Back to the Future 7.5/10 04. Back to the Future Part II 6.5/10 05. Back to the Future Part III 6.5/10 06. The Polar Express 6.5/10 07. The Walk 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

80. William Wyler

Director | The Best Years of Our Lives

William Wyler was an American filmmaker who, at the time of his death in 1981, was considered by his peers as second only to John Ford as a master craftsman of cinema. The winner of three Best Director Academy Awards, second again only to Ford's four, Wyler's reputation has unfairly suffered as the...

01. Wuthering Hights 8.0/10 02. The Big Country 7.5/10 03. The Letter 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Ben-Hur 02. The Best Years of Our Lives 03. Roman Holiday 04. Funny Girl

81. Clint Eastwood

Actor | Million Dollar Baby

Clint Eastwood was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took interest in ...

01. Gran Torino 8.0/10 02. Unforgiven 7.5/10 03. Million Dollar Baby 7.5/10 04. Mystic River 7.0/10 05. American Sniper 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. The Outlaw Josey Wales 02. J. Edgar 03. Invictus 04. Letters from Iwo Jima 05. Flags of Our Fathers 06. Jersey Boys

82. Gus Van Sant

Director | Elephant

Gus Green Van Sant Jr. is an American filmmaker, painter, screenwriter, photographer and musician from Louisville, Kentucky who is known for directing films such as Good Will Hunting, the 1998 remake of Psycho, Gerry, Elephant, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Milk, Last Days, Finding Forrester, ...

01. Elephant 8.0/10 02. Milk 7.5/10 03. Good Will Hunting 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. My Own Private Idaho 02. Paris, je t'aime 03. Paranoid Park 04. Gerry 05. Last Days 06. The Sea of Trees

83. Fred Zinnemann

Director | A Man for All Seasons

Initially grew up wanting to be a violinist, but while at the University of Vienna decided to study law. While doing so, he became increasingly interested in American film and decided that was what he wanted to do. He became involved in European filmaking for a short time before going to America to...

01. From Here to Eternity 8.0/10 02. The Day of the Jackal 7.5/10 03. High Noon 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. A Man for All Seasons 02. The Search

84. Alexander Payne

Director | Nebraska

Director, producer and screenwriter Alexander Payne was born in Omaha, Nebraska. His parents, Peggy (Constantine) and George Payne, ran a Greek restaurant. His father is of Greek and German ancestry, and his mother is of Greek descent; the family name was originally Papadopoulos. He is the youngest...

01. Sideways 8.0/10 02. Nebraska 7.5/10 03. The Descendants 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Downsizing 02. About Schmidt 03. Election

85. Oliver Stone

Director | JFK

Oliver Stone has become known as a master of controversial subjects and a legendary film maker. His films are filled with a variety of film angles and styles, he pushes his actors to give Oscar-worthy performances, and despite his failures, has always returned to success.

William Oliver Stone was ...

01. Platoon 8.0/10 02. JFK 7.5/10 03. World Trade Center 5.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Natural Born Killers 02. The Doors 03. Born on the Fourth of July

86. Yorgos Lanthimos

Director | The Lobster

Yorgos Lanthimos was born in Athens, Greece. He studied directing for Film and Television at the Stavrakos Film School in Athens. He has directed a number of dance videos in collaboration with Greek choreographers, in addition to TV commercials, music videos, short films and theater plays. Kinetta,...

01. Kynodontas 8.0/10 02. The Lobster 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Alpeis

87. Paul Verhoeven

Director | RoboCop

Paul Verhoeven graduated from the University of Leiden, with a degree in math and physics. He entered the Royal Netherlands Navy, where he began his film career by making documentaries for the Navy and later for TV. In 1969, he directed the popular Dutch TV series, Floris (1969), about a medieval ...

01. De Vierde Man 8.0/10 02. Turks Fruit 7.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Starship Troopers

88. Paul Greengrass

Director | United 93

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

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

01. Bloody Sunday 8.0/10 02. Captain Philips 7.0/10 03. The Bourne Ultimatum 7.0/10 04. United 93 6.0/10

89. 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 ...

01. Big Fish 8.0/10 02. Batman 7.0/10 03. Big Eyes 6.5/10 04. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 5.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Edward Scissorhands 8.0/10 02. Ed Wood

90. Cameron Crowe

Writer | Almost Famous

Certainly idiosyncratic as a writer, Cameron Crowe has created a series of scripts that, while liked by the critics, were considered offbeat and difficult to market.

Cameron Bruce Crowe was born in Palm Springs, California, to Alice Marie Crowe (née George), a teacher and activist, and James A. ...

01. Vanilla Sky 8.0/10 02. Almost Famous 7.0/10 03. Jerry Maguire 6.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Say Anything... 02. Untitled Cameron Crowe Project

91. Luc Besson

Writer | Le Cinquième Élément

Luc Besson spent the first years of his life following his parents, scuba diving instructors, around the world. His early life was entirely aquatic. He already showed amazing creativity as a youth, writing early drafts of The Big Blue (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997), as an adolescent bored in ...

01. Léon 8.0/10 02. Nikita 7.0/10 03. The Fifth Element 5.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Subway 02. Le Grand Bleu 03. Joan of Arc 04. Lucy

92. Derek Cianfrance

Writer | Blue Valentine

Derek Cianfrance began making movies at age 13. He later attended The University of Colorado where he studied under avant-garde film legends Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon. His first three films, 'Five O'clock Shadow', 'Raw Footage', and Brother Tied (1998), won consecutive Goldfarb Awards for best...

01. Blue Valentine 8.0/10 02. The Place Beyond the Pines 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Metalhead

93. 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).

01. Scent of a Women 8.0/10 02. Meet Joe Black 7.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Midnight Run

94. Sydney Pollack

Director | Tootsie

Sydney Pollack was an Academy Award-winning director, producer, actor, writer and public figure, who directed and produced over 40 films.

Sydney Irwin Pollack was born July 1, 1934 in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, to Rebecca (Miller), a homemaker, and David Pollack, a professional boxer turned pharmacist...

01. Out of Africa 8.0/10 02. The Firm 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Tootsie 02. Three Days of the Condor 03. The Way We Were 04. Jeremiah Johnson 05. They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

95. Sofia Coppola

Actress | The Godfather Part III

Sofia Coppola was born on May 14, 1971 in New York City, New York, USA as Sofia Carmina Coppola. She is a director, known for Somewhere (2010), Lost in Translation (2003), and Marie Antoinette (2006). She has been married to Thomas Mars since August 27, 2011. They have two daughters, Romy and ...

01. Lost in Translation 8.0/10 02. Marie Antoinette 6.5/10

Watchlist: 01. Somewhere 02. The Virgin Suicides 03. The Bling Ring

96. 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 ...

01. Nie yin niang 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Bei qing cheng shi 02. Tong nien wang shi 03. Xi meng ren sheng 04. Hai shang hua 05. Ni luo he nu er 06. Nan guo zai jian, nan guo 07. Le voyage du ballon rouge 08. Kôhî jikô 09. Zui hao de shi guang 10. Qian xi man po

97. George Cukor

Director | My Fair Lady

George Cukor was an American film director of Hungarian-Jewish descent, better known for directing comedies and literary adaptations. He once won the Academy Award for Best Director, and was nominated other four times for the same Award.

In 1899, George Dewey Cukor was born on the Lower East Side of...

01. The Philadelphia Story 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. A Star is Born 02. Holiday 03. My Fair Lady 04. Adam's Rib

98. Andrey Zvyagintsev

Director | Nelyubov

Director and screenwriter Andrey Zvyagintsev is the winner of the Venice Film Festival (2003) and the Cannes Film Festival (2011, 2014, 2017). Two-time the Academy Awards and the BAFTA Awards nominee. Winner or the Golden Globe Awards (2015) for his film "Leviathan". In 2018, his latest work "...

01. Leviafan 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Vozvrashchenie 02. Izgnanie 03. Elena

99. Matteo Garrone

Director | Dogman

Matteo Garrone was born in Rome in 1968. He is the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone, and a photographer. In 1996 he won the Sacher d'Oro, an award sponsored by Nanni Moretti, with the short film Silhouette (1996), that became one of the three episodes of his first feature film Land in Between ...

01. Gomorra 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Il racconto dei racconti 02. Reality 03. L'imbalsamatore

100. Christian Petzold

Director | Barbara

Christian Petzold was born in Hilden in 1960. After studying German and Drama at the Freie Universität Berlin, he enrolled in Berlin's German Academy for Film and Television (DFFB). There he studied film direction while at same time working as an assistant director to Harun Farocki and Hartmut ...

01. Phoenix 8.0/10

Watchlist: 01. Barbara 02. Jerichow 03. Yella