Movie Awards Redux's 5 Best Movies Directed By....

1. Martin Scorsese

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 ...

1.Goodfellas - 128 points 2.Taxi Driver - 119 points 3.The Wolf of Wall Street - 63 points 4.Raging Bull - 57 points 5.The Irishman - 42 points

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, ...

1.Jaws - 111 points 2.Schindler's List - 104 points 3.Jurassic Park - 70 points 4.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - 40 points 5.E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - 39 points.

3. Ron Howard

Producer | Arrested Development

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation's most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1983), he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films.

Howard ...

1.Apollo 13 - 68 points 2.A Beautiful Mind - 49 points 3.Frost/Nixon - 38 points 4.Cinderella Man - 28 points 5.Rush - 27 points

4. 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 ...

This counts for him and his brother.

1.No Country for Old Men - 105 points 2.Fargo - 97 points 3.Barton Fink - 54 points 4.The Big Lebowski - 46 points 5.Inside Llewyn Davis - 42 points

5. 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-...

1.TIE - Skyfall & Road to Perdition - 78 points each 3.American Beauty - 68 points 4.1917 - 64 points 5.Revolutionary Road - 27 points.

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 ...

1.Annie Hall - 68 points 2.Crimes and Misdemeanors - 55 points 3.Hannah and Her Sisters - 51 points 4.Manhattan - 45 points 5.Love and Death - 28 points

7. 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 ...

1.Back to the Future - 103 points 2.Who Framed Roger Rabbit - 83 points 3.Forrest Gump - 65 points 4.Cast Away - 34 points 5.Back to the Future Part II - 31 points

8. Ang Lee

Director | Wo hu cang long

Born in 1954 in Pingtung, Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of today's greatest contemporary filmmakers. Ang graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 and then came to the U.S. to receive a B.F.A. Degree in Theatre/Theater Direction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...

1.Brokeback Mountain - 93 points 2.Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 70 points 3.TIE - Life of Pi & Sense and Sensibility - 46 points 5.Lust, Caution - 41 points

9. Steven Soderbergh

Director | Sex, Lies, and Videotape

Steven Andrew Soderbergh was born on January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the second of six children of Mary Ann (Bernard) and Peter Soderbergh. His father was of Swedish and Irish descent, and his mother was of Italian ancestry. While he was still at a very young age, his family moved to ...

1.TIE - Traffic & Sex, Lies, and Videotape - 50 points 3.Out of Sight - 47 points 4.Ocean's Eleven - 44 points 5.Erin Brockovich - 27 points

10. 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 ...

1.Terminator 2 - 81 points 2.Aliens - 72 points 3.Titanic - 49 points 4.The Terminator - 37 points 5.TIE - The Abyss & True Lies - 24 points

11. 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...

1.Pulp Fiction - 124 points 2.Inglorious Basterds - 94 points 3.Jackie Brown - 62 points 4.Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - 42 points 5.TIE - Kill Bill Volume 1 & Reservoir Dogs - 40 points

12. 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 ...

1.Mulholland Dr. - 44 points 2.Eraserhead - 27 points 3.The Straight Story - 18 points 4.Blue Velvet - 17 points 5.The Elephant Man - 15 points

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. ...

1.Before Sunset - 45 points 2.Before Midnight - 32 points 3.Before Sunrise - 23 points 4.Boyhood - 21 points 5.TIE - School of Rock & A Scanner Darkly - 12 points

14. 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, ...

1.Good Will Hunting - 34 points 2.My Own Private Idaho - 33 points 3.To Die For - 30 points 4.Milk - 24 points 5.Elephant - 18 points

15. Michael Mann

Producer | The Insider

As a director, screenwriter, and producer, four-time Academy Award nominee Michael Mann has established himself as one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers in American cinema. After writing and directing the Primetime Emmy Award-winning television movie The Jericho Mile (1979), Mann ...

1.Heat - 80 points 2.The Insider - 79 points 3.Collateral - 57 points 4.Last of the Mohicans - 39 points 5.Thief - 38 points

16. Spike Lee

Director | Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee was born Shelton Jackson Lee on March 20, 1957, in Atlanta, Georgia. At a very young age, he moved from pre-civil rights Georgia, to Brooklyn, New York. Lee came from artistic, education-grounded background; his father was a jazz musician, and his mother, a schoolteacher. He attended ...

1.Do the Right Thing - 64 points 2.25th Hour - 43 points 3.Malcolm X - 41 points 4.TIE - Inside Man & He Got Game - 18 points

17. Todd Phillips

Producer | Joker

Todd Phillips is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter.

Growing up on Long Island, New York, Todd Phillips fell in love with feature film teen comedies made in the 1980s, and claims they were his biggest influence in becoming a filmmaker. While studying film at New York University, ...

1.The Hangover - 27 points 2.Old School - 21 points 3.Joker - 14 points 4.Starsky & Hutch - 13 points 5.Road Trip - 8 points

18. Norman Jewison

Director | Jesus Christ Superstar

Norman Jewison was an award-winning, internationally acclaimed filmmaker who produced and directed some of the world's most memorable, entertaining and socially important films, exploring controversial and complicated subjects and giving them a universal accessibility. Some of his most well-known ...

1.In the Heat of the Night - 28 points 2.Fiddler on the Roof - 19 points 3.Moonstruck - 15 points 4....And Justice for All - 12 points 5.The Cincinnati Kid - 10 points

19. 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 ...

1.Rear Window - 77 points 2.Vertigo - 72 points 3.Psycho - 61 points 4.Rebecca - 52 points 5.TIE - Notorious & North by Northwest - 29 points

20. Denis Villeneuve

Director | Dune

Denis Villeneuve is a French Canadian film director and writer. He was born in 1967, in Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada. He started his career as a filmmaker at the National Film Board of Canada. He is best known for his feature films Arrival (2016), Sicario (2015), Prisoners (2013), Enemy (2013), ...

1.Blade Runner 2049 - 66 points 2.Arrival - 61 points 3.Dune - 44 points 4.Sicario - 42 points 5.Prisoners - 36 points

21. Edward Zwick

Producer | Thirtysomething

Zwick moves deftly between the roles of writer, director and producer. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the 1989 critically acclaimed Civil War drama, Glory. He received his second Golden Globe nomination as a director for Legends of the Fall. Zwick received an Academy Award...

1.Glory - 46 points 2.The Last Samurai - 25 points 3.Blood Diamond - 24 points 4.Legends of the Fall - 14 points 5.Defiance - 9 points

22. Rob Reiner

Actor | All in the Family

Robert Reiner was born in New York City, to Estelle Reiner (née Lebost) and Emmy-winning actor, comedian, writer, and producer Carl Reiner.

As a child, his father was his role model, as Carl Reiner created and starred in The Dick Van Dyke Show. Estelle was also an inspiration for him to become a ...

1.The Princess Bride - 60 points 2.Stand by Me - 38 points 3.Misery - 37 points 4.A Few Good Men - 36 points 5.When Harry Met Sally - 33 points

23. Peter Farrelly

Producer | Green Book

Peter Farrelly was born on December 17, 1956 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Green Book (2018), There's Something About Mary (1998) and Dumb and Dumber (1994). He has been married to Melinda Farrelly since December 31, 1996. They have two children.

This counts for his solo features and films he directed with his brother Bobby.

1.TIE - Dumb and Dumber & There's Something About Mary - 36 points 3.Kingpin - 30 points 4.Green Book - 25 points 5.Fever Pitch - 11 points.

24. 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 ...

1.Ed Wood - 66 points 2.Edward Scissorhands - 44 points 3.Big Fish - 41 points 4.Beetlejuice - 37 points 5.Batman Returns - 31 points

25. 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 ...

1.Young Frankenstein - 40 points 2.Blazing Saddles - 39 points 3.The Producers - 36 points 4.Spaceballs - 27 points 5.History of the World: Part 1 - 15 points

26. John Musker

Writer | Hercules

John Musker is an American animated film director who collaborates with Ron Clements. They directed various Disney animated films including The Great Mouse Detective, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules, Treasure Planet, The Princess and the Frog and Moana. The Little Mermaid and Aladdin are ...

This counts for him and his longtime directing partner Ron Clements.

1.Aladdin - 34 points 2.The Little Mermaid - 22 points 3.The Great Mouse Detective - 18 points 4.Hercules - 16 points 5.Moana - 15 points

27. 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, "...

1.Home Alone - 32 points 2.Mrs. Doubtfire - 28 points 3.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - 27 points 4.Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - 25 points 5.Home Alone 2: Lost in New York - 11 points

28. James Mangold

Producer | Logan

James Mangold is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer. Films he has directed include Girl, Interrupted (1999), Walk the Line (2005), which he also co-wrote, the 2007 remake 3:10 to Yuma (2007), The Wolverine (2013), and Logan (2017).

Mangold also wrote and directed Cop...

1.Logan - 46 points 2.3:10 to Yuma - 43 points 3.Ford v Ferrari - 36 points 4.Walk the Line - 23 points 5.Girl, Interrupted - 20 points

29. 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 ...

1.Spirited Away - 63 points 2.My Neighbor Totoro - 37 points 3.Princess Mononoke - 35 points 4.TIE - Kiki's Delivery Service & The Wind Rises - 23 points

30. Shawn Levy

Producer | Free Guy

Shawn Levy was born on July 23, 1968 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is a producer and director, known for Stranger Things (2016), Real Steel (2011), and the Night at the Museum franchise. He is the founder and principal of 21 Laps Entertainment. He is married to Serena Levy and they have four ...

1.Real Steel - 17 points 2.Free Guy - 15 points 3.Night at the Museum - 13 points 4.Stranger Things: Dear Billy - 10 points 5.This Is Where I Leave You - 8 points

31. 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 ...

1.Spider-Man 2 - 56 points 2.Evil Dead II - 47 points 3.A Simple Plan - 39 points 4.Spider-Man - 30 points 5.The Evil Dead - 26 points

32. Jon Favreau

Producer | Chef

Initially an indie film favorite, actor Jon Favreau has progressed to strong mainstream visibility into the millennium and, after nearly two decades in the business, is still enjoying character stardom as well as earning notice as a writer/producer/director.

The amiable, husky-framed actor with the ...

1.Iron Man - 32 points 2.Elf - 25 points 3.Chef - 12 points 4.The Jungle Book - 8 points 5.TIE - Iron Man 2 & Zathura: A Space Adventure - 7 points

33. 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 ...

1.Blow Out - 58 points 2.Carrie - 40 points 3.Carlito's Way - 25 points 4.Dressed to Kill - 23 points 5.The Untouchables - 18 points

34. 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...

1.The Fly - 44 points 2.Dead Ringers - 33 points 3.A History of Violence - 31 points 4.Eastern Promises - 25 points 5.Videodrome - 24 points

35. John Hughes

Writer | Planes, Trains & Automobiles

John Hughes was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter. He was credited for creating some of the most memorable comedy films of the 1980s and the 1990s, when he was at the height of his career. He had a talent for writing coming-of-age stories, and for depicting fairly realistic...

1.The Breakfast Club - 34 points 2.Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - 33 points 3.Ferris Bueller's Day Off - 28 points 4.Uncle Buck - 12 points 5.Sixteen Candles - 10 points

36. Amy Heckerling

Writer | Clueless

Amy Heckerling studied Film and TV at New York University and got a Masters Degree in Film from The American Film Institute. Despite this education she couldn't get a break in Hollywood. However, in 1982, she made Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), and people started to take notice. In 1985, ...

1.Fast Times at Ridgemont High - 26 points 2.Clueless - 20 points 3.Johnny Dangerously - 15 points 4.Look Who's Talking - 12 points 5.I Could Never Be Your Woman - 7 points

37. Kevin Smith

Producer | Clerks

Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank but grew up in Highlands, New Jersey, the son of Grace (Schultz) and Donald E. Smith, a postal worker. He is very proud of his native state; this fact can be seen in all of his movies. Kevin is of mostly German, with some Irish and English, ancestry.

His ...

1.Chasing Amy - 27 points 2.Dogma - 23 points 3.Clerks - 21 points 4.Clerks II - 13 points 5.Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 8 points

38. Harold Ramis

Writer | Ghostbusters

Born on November 21, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, Harold Allen Ramis got his start in comedy as Playboy magazine's joke editor and reviewer. In 1969, he joined Chicago's Second City's Improvisational Theatre Troupe before moving to New York to help write and perform in "The National Lampoon Show" ...

1.Groundhog Day - 20 points 2.Vacation - 15 points 3.Caddyshack - 10 points 4.Analyze This - 7 points 5.Bedazzled - 5 points

39. Joe Wright

Director | Pride & Prejudice

Joe Wright is an English film director. He is best known for Pride & Prejudice (2005), Atonement (2007), Anna Karenina (2012), and Darkest Hour (2017).

Wright always had an interest in the arts, especially painting. He would also make films on his Super 8 camera as well as spend time in the evenings...

1.Atonement - 33 points 2.Pride & Prejudice - 30 points 3.Hanna - 21 points 4.Anna Karenina - 14 points 5.Darkest Hour - 13 points

40. Craig Gillespie

Producer | I, Tonya

Craig Gillespie is an Australian film director, best known for his films Lars and the Real Girl (2007), I, Tonya (2017) and Cruella (2021). Born and raised in Sydney, Gillespie moved to New York City at the age of nineteen to study illustration, graphic design and advertising at Manhattan's School ...

1.Lars and the Real Girl - 11 points 2.I, Tonya - 10 points 3.TIE - Fright Night & Cruella - 8 points 5.The Finest Hours - 4 points

41. 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 ...

1.Pan's Labyrinth - 66 points 2.The Shape of Water - 31 points 3.Nightmare Alley - 25 points 4.Hellboy II: The Golden Army - 24 points 5.The Devil's Backbone - 21 points

42. 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 ...

1.JFK - 61 points 2.Platoon - 47 points 3.Born on the Fourth of July - 23 points 4.TIE - Salvador & Talk Radio - 20 points each

43. 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 ...

1.Rain Man - 25 points 2.The Natural - 21 points 3.Avalon - 19 points 4.Diner - 17 points 5.Wag the Dog - 15 points

44. 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 ...

1.The Godfather - 83 points 2.The Godfather: Part II - 75 points 3.Apocalypse Now - 55 points 4.The Conversation - 49 points 5.Dracula - 21 points

45. 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 ...

1.Fellowship of the Ring - 42 points 2.Return of the King - 34 points 3.Two Towers - 24 points 4.Heavenly Creatures - 20 points 5.Dead Alive - 17 points

46. 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 ...

1.Unforgiven - 65 points 2.A Perfect World - 24 points 3.Letters from Iwo Jima - 22 points 4.TIE - Mystic River & The Outlaw Josey Wales - 21 points each

47. Mike Nichols

Director | The Graduate

He, along with the other members of the "Compass Players" including Elaine May, Paul Sills, Byrne Piven, Joyce Hiller Piven and Edward Asner helped start the famed "Second City Improv" company. They used the games taught to them by fellow cast mate, Paul Sills 's mother, Viola Spolin. He later ...

1.The Graduate - 38 points 2.Carnal Knowledge - 32 points 3.Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - 30 points 4.The Birdcage - 13 points 5.Silkwood - 12 points

48. 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...

1.They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - 35 points 2.Three Days of the Condor - 32 points 3.Tootsie - 20 points 4.The Firm - 16 points 5.The Yakuza - 11 points

49. 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 ...

1.TIE - It Happened One Night & Arsenic and Old Lace - 21 points 2.It's a Wonderful Life - 19 points 4.TIE - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington & You Can't Take It With You - 8 points

50. 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, ...

1.The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - 29 points 2.The Searchers - 26 points 3.The Grapes of Wrath - 21 points 4.The Quiet Man - 17 points 5.Stagecoach - 13 points

51. 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...

1.High and Low - 52 points 2.Rashomon - 38 points 3.Seven Samurai - 35 points 4.Ran - 34 points 5.Ikiru - 31 points

52. 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...

1.There Will Be Blood - 100 points 2.Phantom Thread - 79 points 3.Boogie Nights - 69 points 4.The Master - 65 points 5.Punch-Drunk Love - 35 points

53. 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 ...

1.The White Ribbon - 38 points 2.Cache - 36 points 3.The Piano Teacher - 30 points 4.Amour - 28 points 5.Funny Games (Original) - 21 points

54. Rob Marshall

Director | Mary Poppins Returns

Rob Marshall was born on October 17, 1960 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. He is a director and producer, known for Mary Poppins Returns (2018), Chicago (2002) and Into the Woods (2014).

1.Chicago - 17 points 2.Mary Poppins Returns - 13 points 3.Into the Woods - 12 points 4.Memoirs of a Geisha - 7 points 5.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 6 points

55. Pedro Almodóvar

Writer | Hable con ella

The most internationally acclaimed Spanish filmmaker since Luis Buñuel was born in a small town (Calzada de Calatrava) in the impoverished Spanish region of La Mancha. He arrived in Madrid in 1968, and survived by selling used items in the flea-market called El Rastro. Almodóvar couldn't study ...

1.Talk to Her - 28 points 2.The Skin I Live In - 24 points 3.Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - 21 points 4.Pain and Glory - 19 points 5.Volver - 15 points

56. 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 ...

1.Captain Phillips - 32 points 2.United 93 - 29 points 3.The Bourne Ultimatum - 28 points 4.The Bourne Supremacy - 16 points 5.News of the World - 12 points

57. 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 ...

1.The Grand Budapest Hotel - 55 points 2.The Royal Tenenbaums - 50 points 3.Moonrise Kingdom - 33 points 4.Fantastic Mr. Fox - 27 points 5.Rushmore - 24 points

58. Thomas Vinterberg

Director | Jagten

With Sidste omgang (1993) (Last Round), his graduation short from The National Film School of Denmark, Thomas Vinterberg got an early taste of critical success. He received the Jury's and Producers' Awards at the International Student Film Fest in Munich and won the 1st Prize at the Tel Aviv Film ...

1.Festen - 26 points 2.The Hunt - 23 points 3.Another Round - 20 points 4.Far from the Madding Crowd - 11 points 5.Submarino - 6 points

59. 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 ...

1.Memento - 68 points 2.The Dark Knight - 64 points 3.Oppenheimer - 52 points 4.Inception - 44 points 5.Dunkirk - 38 points

60. Kenneth Branagh

Actor | Henry V

Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to parents William Branagh, a plumber and carpenter, and Frances (Harper), both born in 1930. He has two siblings, William Branagh, Jr. (born 1955) and Joyce Branagh (born 1970). When he was nine, his family ...

1.Hamlet - 29 points 2.Henry V - 24 points 3.Much Ado About Nothing - 17 points 4.Dead Again - 13 points 5.Belfast - 10 points

61. 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...

1.TIE - Sideways & The Holdovers - 45 points each 3.Election - 36 points 4.Nebraska - 29 points 5.The Descendants - 23 points