Director Ranking

1. 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 ...

Score: 9.13

Seen: Eyes Wide Shut Full Metal Jacket The Shining Barry Lyndon A Clockwork Orange 2001: A Space Odyssey Dr. Strangelove Lolita The Killing

2. 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, ...

Score: 8.73

Seen: Lincoln War Horse Adventures of Tintin Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull War of the Worlds The Terminal Minority Report A.I Saving Private Ryan The Lost World: Jurassic Park Schindler's List Jurassic Park Hook Always Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Twilight Zone: The Movie (Segment 2) E.T Raiders of the Lost Ark Close Encounters of the Third Kind Jaws Sugarland Express Duel Night Gallery: Make Me Laugh Night Gallery: Eyes Amazing Stories: Ghost Train

3. James Cameron

Writer | Avatar: The Way of Water

James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his ...

Score: 8.54

Seen: The Terminator Aliens Terminator 2: Judgement Day Titanic The Abyss Avatar

4. 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 ...

Score: 8.15

Seen: Mulholland Dr. Blue Velvet The Elephant Man Lost Highway Inland Empire The Straight Story Wind at Heart Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Twin Peaks Pilot Twin Peaks Episode 3 Twin Peaks Episode 9 Twin Peaks Episode 10 Twin Peaks Episode 15 Wild at Heart Eraserhead Rabbits

5. 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 ...

Score: 8.09

Seen: Goodfellas After Hours Age of Innocence Taxi Driver The Last Temptation of Christ Shutter Island Raging Bull The Departed King of Comedy Cape Fear

6. 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 ...

Score: 7.96

Seen: Love and Death Annie Hall Sleeper Midnight in Paris Purple Rose of Cairo Manhattan

7. Mel Brooks

Actor | Spaceballs

Mel Brooks was born Melvin Kaminsky on June 28, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. He served in WWII, and afterwards got a job playing the drums at nightclubs in the Catskills. Brooks eventually started a comedy act and also worked in radio and as Master Entertainer at Grossinger's Resort before going to ...

Score: 7.79

Seen: Young Frankenstein Blazing Saddles Spaceballs History of the World Part 1 Silent Movie The Producers

8. 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 ...

Score: 7.81

Seen: Psycho Vertigo North by Northwest Rear Window Rebecca Dial M for Murder Suspicion Shadow of a Doubt The Birds Rope

9. Brian De Palma

Director | Body Double

Brian De Palma is one of the well-known directors who spear-headed the new movement in Hollywood during the 1970s. He is known for his many films that go from violent pictures, to Hitchcock-like thrillers. Born on September 11, 1940, De Palma was born in Newark, New Jersey in an Italian-American ...

Score: 7.66

Seen: Mission Impossible Scarface The Untouchables Obsession Phantom of the Paradise Dressed to Kill Blow-Out Carrie Body Double Sisters Mission to Mars Greetings The Fury Passion The Black Dalhia Bonfire of the Vanities Snake Eyes Femme Fatale Raising Cain Casualties of War Wise Guys Redacted

10. 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 ...

Score: 7.66

Seen: Who Framed Roger Rabbit What Lies Beneath The Polar Express Cast Away Back to the Future Back to the Future II Back to the Future III Romancing the Stone Forrest Gump Contact Tales From the Crypt: And All Through the House Tales From the Crypt: You, Murderer Tales From the Crypt: Yellow

11. 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 ...

Score: 7.58

Seen: Following Memento Insomnia The Prestige The Dark Knight Batman Begins The Dark Knight Rises Inception

12. 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 ...

Score: 7.36

Seen: The Trial Citizen Kane Touch of Evil F for Fake The Lady From Shanghai The Magnificent Ambersons

13. Sam Raimi

Director | Spider-Man

Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...

Score: 7.33

Seen: Darkman Evil Dead Evil Dead II Army of Darkness Spider-Man Spider-Man 2 Spider-Man 3 Drag Me to Hell

14. Wes Craven

Writer | A Nightmare on Elm Street

Wes Craven has become synonymous with genre bending and innovative horror, challenging audiences with his bold vision.

Wesley Earl Craven was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Caroline (Miller) and Paul Eugene Craven. He had a midwestern suburban upbringing. His first feature film was The Last House on ...

Score: 7.28

Seen: Scream Scream 2 Scream 3 Scream 4 The People Under the Stairs Nightmare on Elm Street New Nightmare Red Eye Twilight Zone: Shatterday Twilight Zone: Peace and Quiet Twilight Zone: Wordplay Twilight Zone: Chameleon Twilight Zone: Road Less Traveled Twilight Zone: Dealers Choice

15. Peter Jackson

Producer | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Sir Peter Jackson made history with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, becoming the first person to direct three major feature films simultaneously. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were nominated for and collected a slew of awards from around the globe, with The ...

Score: 7.39

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Lord of the Rings: Return of the King King Kong Heavenly Creatures Dead Alive

16. 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...

Score: 7.41

Seen: Pulp Fiction Reservoir Dogs Kill Bill Vol. 1 Kill Bill Vol. 2 Death Proof Django Unchained

17. Richard Donner

Director | Superman

Richard Donner was born on April 24, 1930 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Superman (1978), Ladyhawke (1985) and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980). He was married to Lauren Shuler Donner. He died on July 5, 2021 in Los Angeles, ...

Score: 7.16

Seen: The Omen Superman The Goonies Maverick Lethal Weapon Lethal Weapon 2 Lethal Weapon 3 Lethal Weapon 4 Scrooged

18. 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 ...

Score: 7.14

Seen: The Godfather The Godfather Part II The Godfather Part III Dracula Jack The Conversation

19. George Lucas

Writer | Star Wars

George Walton Lucas, Jr. was raised on a walnut ranch in Modesto, California. His father was a stationery store owner and he had three siblings. During his late teen years, he went to Thomas Downey High School and was very much interested in drag racing. He planned to become a professional racecar ...

Score: 7.08

Score: Star Wars Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Star Wars: Attack of the Clones Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith THX 1138

20. 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 ...

Score: 7.03

Seen: Rosemary's Baby The Pianist The Tenant Death and the Maiden Carnage Chinatown Oliver Twist

21. Guillermo del Toro

Writer | El laberinto del fauno

Guillermo del Toro was born October 9, 1964 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Raised by his Catholic grandmother, del Toro developed an interest in filmmaking in his early teens. Later, he learned about makeup and effects from the legendary Dick Smith (The Exorcist (1973)) and worked on making his ...

Score: 6.88

Seen: Pan's Labyrinth Pacific Rim Cronos Mimic Hellboy

22. 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 ...

Score: 6.85

Seen: Pee Wee's Big Adventure Beetlejuice Batman Batman Returns Edward Scissorhands Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Alice in Wonderland Planet of the Apes Sleepy Hollow

23. Chris Columbus

Producer | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Ohio, Chris Columbus was first inspired to make movies after seeing "The Godfather" at age 15. After enrolling at NYU film school, he sold his first screenplay (never produced) while a sophomore there. After graduation Columbus tried to sell his fourth script, "...

Score: 6.79

Seen: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Adventures in Babysitting Mrs. Doubtfire Home Alone Home Alone 2

24. 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...

Score: 6.59

Seen: Zodiac Fight Club The Social Network Se7en Alien 3 (plummeted his score) The Game

25. 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 ...

Score: 6.36

Seen: Prometheus Blade Runner Alien Matchstick Men Hannibal Legend

26. David Cronenberg

Actor | The Fly

David Cronenberg, also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1943. His father, Milton Cronenberg, was a journalist and editor, and his mother, Esther (Sumberg), was a piano player. After showing an inclination for literature at an early...

Score: 6.25

Seen: Videodrome The Fly Dead Ringers The Dead Zone Eastern Promises A Dangerous Method Naked Lunch Cosmopolis

27. Ivan Reitman

Producer | Up in the Air

Canadian producer and director Ivan Reitman created many of American cinema's most successful and best loved feature film comedies and worked with Hollywood's acting elite. Reitman produced such hits as the ground-breaking sensation National Lampoon's National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), which ...

Score: 6.11

Seen: Ghostbusters Ghostbusters 2 Kindergarten Cop Twins Junior Stripes

28. Bobby Farrelly

Producer | There's Something About Mary

Bobby Farrelly was born on June 17, 1958 in Cumberland, Rhode Island, USA. He is a producer and director, known for There's Something About Mary (1998), Osmosis Jones (2001) and Me, Myself & Irene (2000). He has been married to Nancy Farrelly since 1990. They have two children.

Score: 6.06

Seen: Dumb and Dumber There's Something About Mary Kingpin Stuck on You Osmosis Jones Fever Pitch Shallow Hal

29. Tom Shadyac

Director | The Nutty Professor

Tom Shadyac moved to Los Angeles in 1983 and, at age 24, became the youngest staff joke writer ever for comedian Bob Hope. Shadyac received his master's degree in film from UCLA in 1989 after completing the critically acclaimed short, Tom, Dick and Harry. He then worked on movies-of-the-week, ...

Score: 5.96

Seen: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Liar Liar Bruce Almighty Patch Adams The Nutty Professor

30. Jay Roach

Director | Trumbo

Jay Roach was born on June 14, 1957 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. He is a producer and director, known for Trumbo (2015), Bombshell (2019) and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997). He has been married to Susanna Hoffs since April 17, 1993. They have two children.

Score: 5.92

Seen: Meet The Parents Meet the Fockers Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Austin Powers: Goldmember

31. Barry Levinson

Director | Rain Man

Barry Lee Levinson was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Violet (Krichinsky) and Irvin Levinson, who worked in furniture and appliance. He is of Russian Jewish descent. Levinson graduated from high school in 1960, attended college at American University in Washington, DC. He did well, but decided he ...

Score: 5.42

Seen: Good Morning, Vietnam Rain Man Envy Man of the Year The Natural

32. Peter Segal

Director | Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

Peter Segal was born in 1962. He is a director and producer, known for Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), Get Smart (2008) and Second Act (2018). He is married to Linda Segal. They have three children.

Score: 5.25

Seen: Tommy Boy 50 First Dates The Longest Yard Anger Management Get Smart

Director Ranking

1. Stanley Kubrick

2. Steven Spielberg

3. James Cameron

4. David Lynch

5. Martin Scorsese

6. Woody Allen

7. Mel Brooks

8. Alfred Hitchcock

9. Brian De Palma

10. Robert Zemeckis

11. Christopher Nolan

12. Orson Welles

13. Sam Raimi

14. Wes Craven

15. Peter Jackson

16. Quentin Tarantino

17. Richard Donner

18. Francis Ford Coppola

19. George Lucas

20. Roman Polanski

21. Guillermo del Toro

22. Tim Burton

23. Chris Columbus

24. David Fincher

25. Ridley Scott

26. David Cronenberg

27. Ivan Reitman

28. Bobby Farrelly

29. Tom Shadyac

30. Jay Roach

31. Barry Levinson

32. Peter Segal

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Director Ranking

1. Stanley Kubrick

2. Steven Spielberg

3. James Cameron

4. David Lynch

5. Martin Scorsese

6. Woody Allen

7. Mel Brooks

8. Alfred Hitchcock

9. Brian De Palma

10. Robert Zemeckis

11. Christopher Nolan

12. Orson Welles

13. Sam Raimi

14. Wes Craven

15. Peter Jackson

16. Quentin Tarantino

17. Richard Donner

18. Francis Ford Coppola

19. George Lucas

20. Roman Polanski

21. Guillermo del Toro

22. Tim Burton

23. Chris Columbus

24. David Fincher

25. Ridley Scott

26. David Cronenberg

27. Ivan Reitman

28. Bobby Farrelly

29. Tom Shadyac

30. Jay Roach

31. Barry Levinson

32. Peter Segal

List Activity

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