4 of the Top 100 in one picture: Martin Scorsese receiving his Oscar from three close friends: Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg
THIS LIST IS NOW SUPERSEDED BY THE 2.0 VERSION OF THE LIST, WHICH YOU CAN FIND HERE.
With only one director left to go (and if you haven’t figured out who it is, you’re not paying attention), this is a good time to throw up the complete list. I’ve gone ahead and provided links to all the directors, as well as listing what particular film I decided to focus on. It was not always necessarily their best film, but rather the one I wanted to write about.
The first thing is, if there is a director here you were expecting to see and didn’t see them, you can go back to my Introduction, where I mention various directors who didn’t make the list and why.
Second, I will probably do a revision of this list sometime after the Oscars. Because cumulative awards points are one of the categories I have used to make this list, I will re-calculate everyone after the awards season has concluded. Also, in December, TSPDT re-does their list (they do it annually) and I will also be changing some point totals based on those re-calculations.
Third, almost certainly at some point, some younger directors will start to make the list. Sofia Coppola finally has a fourth film in post-production, and unless it’s a complete disaster, she will be making a future version of the list. Several other directors who were mentioned in the Intro still haven’t made a fourth film and at least three of them have just come out with their third films this year, but they will probably make a future version (those include Joe Wright, Stephen Daldry, Rob Marshall and Spike Jonze). If I have someone who moves up the list, I will do an individual post for that director, with whatever rank they have acheived, and then will re-list all the ranks in the next February re-calculation.
But that’s it for now. Here’s the complete initial list: The 100 Greatest Directors of All-Time.
100. David Cronenberg (A History of Violence)
99. George Stevens (The Diary of Anne Frank)
98. Michael Mann (The Last of the Mohicans)
97. Werner Herzog (Aguirre, the Wrath of God)
96. Robert Redford (Quiz Show)
Uma Thurman, Robert Redford (#96), Meryl Streep (Actress #1), Mike Nichols (#45) and Amy Adams
95. Jean Cocteau (La belle et la bette)
94. Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor)
93. Gus Van Sant (Milk)
92. D.W. Griffith (The Birth of a Nation)
91. James Whale (The Invisible Man)
90. Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited)
89. Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride)
88. Richard Brooks (The Professionals)
87. Alejandro Amenabar (The Others)
86. Mike Leigh (Topsy-Turvy)
85. Krzysztof Kieslowski (Red)
84. Paul Greengrass (United 93)
83. John Schlesinger (Cold Comfort Farm)
82. Andrei Tarkovsky (Solyaris)
81. Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Cleopatra)
80. Satyajit Ray (The Chess Players)
79. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie)
78. Michael Powell (A Matter of Life and Death)
77. Tom Tykwer (Perfume)
76. Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch)
75. Louis Malle (May Fools)
74. Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs)
73. Sergio Leone (Once Upon a Time in the West)
72. James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment)
71. Michael Curtiz (Yankee Doodle Dandy)
70. John Sayles (Lone Star)
69. Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her)
Warren Beatty being directed by Robert Altman on the set of McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
68. Danny Boyle (Trainspotting)
67. Warren Beatty (Bulworth)
66. Alan J. Pakula (All the President’s Men)
65. Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban)
64. Alan Parker (The Commitments)
63. Tim Burton (Ed Wood)
62. Anthony Minghella (Truly, Madly, Deeply)
61. Jim Sheridan (In America)
Laurence Olivier being directed by William Wyler on the set of Carrie (1952)
60. Laurence Olivier (Hamlet)
59. George Cukor (The Philadelphia Story)
58. Ridley Scott (Kingdom of Heaven)
57. Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!)
56. Jean Renoir (The Grand Illusion)
55. Neil Jordan (The Crying Game)
54. Erich von Stroheim (Greed)
53. Bob Fosse (All That Jazz)
52. Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
51. George Lucas (Star Wars)
50. Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers)
49. Terrence Malick (Badlands)
48. Milos Forman (Amadeus)
47. Preston Sturges (The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek)
46. Fred Zinnemann (From Here to Eternity)
45. Mike Nichols (Angels in America)
44. John Boorman (Excalibur)
43. Stephen Frears (The Queen)
42. Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away)
41. F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu)
40. Federico Fellini (Nights of Cabiria)
39. Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight)
38. Frank Capra (It’s a Wonderful Life)
37. Kenneth Branagh (In the Bleak Midwinter)
36. Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous)
35. Oliver Stone (JFK)
34. Robert Altman (M*A*S*H)
33. Fritz Lang (M)
32. Howard Hawks (The Big Sleep)
Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut while working on their book
31. Francois Truffaut (Day for Night)
30. William Wyler (The Best Years of our Lives)
29. Luis Bunuel (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie)
28. Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia)
27. David Lynch (Mulholland Drive)
26. Sergei Eisenstein (The Battleship Potemkin)
25. Sam Mendes (American Beauty)
24. Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather)
23. Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times)
22. Christopher Nolan (The Prestige)
21. Elia Kazan (A Streetcar Named Desire)
20. Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society)
19. Sidney Lumet (Running on Empty)
18. Clint Eastwood (A Perfect World)
17. Quentin Tarantino (Jackie Brown)
16. Orson Welles (Touch of Evil)
15. John Ford (The Grapes of Wrath)
14. John Huston (The Maltese Falcon)
13. Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)
12. Roman Polanski (Chinatown)
Jack Nicholson and John Huston being directed by Roman Polanski on the set of Chinatown (1974)
11. Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings)
10. Woody Allen (Annie Hall)
9. Billy Wilder (Sunset Blvd.)
8. Joel and Ethan Coen (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
7. David Lean (The Bridge on the River Kwai)
6. Alfred Hitchcock (North by Northwest)
5. Ingmar Bergman (Smiles of a Summer Night)
4. Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange)
3. Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg on the "set" of the first Tintin film
2. Martin Scorsese (GoodFellas)
1. Akira Kurosawa (Ran)
6 November, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I admire and respect your work to this list. However I’m wondering if you lost something? I think Stephen Daldry and Innaritu deserve to have a place in the list instead of Baz Luhrman if you only mention his only 3 films since 2001. And I wonder if you admire film-art, there could be more europeans film-makers, just not someone classic like Ingmar Bergman – from my point of view, even the popular director Luc Besson has a place behind many others directors you mentionned (the big blue, leon,… are some of best films outhere).
At last, sorry if I am a little hostile. I consider your work as very serious and helpful to my film viewing.
Thks and sorry for the bad english.
6 November, 2009 at 3:14 pm
and Lars von Trier, top 20 definitely :D
21 February, 2010 at 2:19 am
im liking your picks, but not the selection of movies next to them.
19 April, 2010 at 3:42 am
stanley kubrick number 1. period.
29 April, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Nice list very original!
I will use your list to make a poll of the 25 Most influential directors of all-time. http://cinephiliaque.blogspot.com/2010/04/25-most-influential-directors-of-all.html
22 May, 2010 at 3:24 pm
how the hell could you forget jean luc godard he has made at least 4 of the greatest films of all time(breathless,imy life to live,masuline-femine,band-a part),also why didn’t you include any african-american directors9spike lee,john singleton,gordon parks,etc.
24 July, 2010 at 2:48 pm
No Fellini? He’s easily made some of the greatest films ever made. Come on, La Strada, 8 1/2, Amarcord, La Dolce Vita! Easily top 10
24 July, 2010 at 6:55 pm
I assume by No Fellini, you mean No Fellini in the top 10, since he is clearly on the list at #40.
29 August, 2010 at 3:10 am
With all due respect to the list…Clearly by box office records…James Cameron is number 1 director of all time…having the #1 and #2 highest grossing films of all time…and by far…plus the terminator series…which has two more films in the top 20.
29 August, 2010 at 7:41 am
With due respect, that’s ridiculous. By that reasoning Michael Bay should be on the list. Cameron is a mediocre director who made two films that a lot of people watched. That doesn’t make him a great director. And besides, Spielberg’s films have outgrossed Cameron’s by quite a ways.
7 September, 2010 at 2:57 pm
how the f*** can you make a list othe greatst directors and not include the following cecil b demille,jean-luke goddard,edwin s. porter ,ozu,john waters,john hughs,roger cormen,mack sennet,g.w. paspst,king vidor,vincent minnilli,stanley donen,otto preminger,stanley kramer,and ida lupino
7 September, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Easy. None of them belonged on the list. And it’s hard to take your list seriously when you misspelled six of the names.
9 November, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Hello, RON HOWARD (American Graffitti; A Beautiful Mind; How the Grinch Stole Christmas; Apollo 13; Cinderella Man; The Da Vinci Code; Ransom; Angels & Demons; etc.) Enough said. I am very dissapointed he isn’t on the list.
10 November, 2010 at 12:17 am
Well, he didn’t direct American Graffiti and the Grinch, Ransom and Angels are terrible films. In fact, the only great films he’s ever directed are Cocoon and Cinderella Man.
16 November, 2010 at 4:49 am
Sergio Leone should be in atleast the top ten. Just mentioning the titles is just enough: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, Once Upon a Time in America…. The list keeps going!
16 November, 2010 at 8:42 am
Well, actually, that’s the problem. The list doesn’t keep going. Beyond those films he only made two others – both of which were relentlessly mediocre. I balanced the list in a way to account for people who didn’t make very many films, but when 28% of your film output is relentlessly mediocre that knocks you down a bit.
20 November, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Look guys the guy made a list, no it ain’t the best list of film directors that I’ve ever seen but thats just the thing, it’s his list his opinion. No need to trash him about it!
22 December, 2010 at 4:24 am
great list..you are a real professional and i seem (or am) an amateur. But still these are some thoughts or suggestions
i was hoping to see david fincher and darren aronofsky in the list. I dont think in they have put a foot wrong till now atleast. the only thing missing would probably be the awards. I think they should have found a place even if it is between 80 – 100. But i am sure these two will feature in future lists. Social Network and Black Swan are both looking like Oscar contenders.
Fincher is all about style, Aronofsky starting to look like Kubrick; all his moives are dfferent and bleak.
I would even give a nod to James Cameron, he is a techno brat but his films do have emotional content plus you have to admit they are entertaining ..but i am guessing you will keep a hard line on this and keep him off the list for as long as possible.
How about some of the horror directors like Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi…. Wont say too much on these because i think they will come second to most on the list; but just a thought.
22 December, 2010 at 9:08 am
Both Fincher and Aronofsky were close and they will probably make the first update, which is overdue because of other projects. Part of what kept them off is that they both made films that I feel are way overrated (Requiem for a Dream, Seven).
With Cameron, he was on my initial list of directors I watched. He is a very talented director. Part of what keeps him off is the overall quality of the films. I thought the directing on Titanic and Avatar were very good. But the scripts were so bad that the films overall weren’t that great. With two Avatar sequels next he might not make the list.
In terms of horror directors – they make good films (original Nightmare, original Halloween, much of Raimi’s work), but they also make a lot of complete crap. Part of what hurts them are the two external lists I use – their films don’t stack up well on all-time lists and they’ve never gotten much awards attention.
When I do my updated list, I will probably include a bunch of other notable directors and where they ended up.
25 December, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Please, please, please tell me what everyone sees in Quinton Tarantino. Seriously!!! Are that many people so infatuated with ignorant, so called artistic violence? I believe him to be the most overrated director ever.
29 December, 2010 at 10:39 am
I totally agree with Johnny 109,besides pulp fiction Quentin not done a decent film.Kill Bill is really a crap comparing with classics,its full of unreal fights and gimmicks.It would’ve been trashed if it was done by any other director.The main thing that makes his movie interesting is the dialogues in it.
25 January, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Johnny 109: Tarantino reaffirmed himself as one of the greats with Inglorious Basterds. There’s not much to say to someone if you don’t like a particular artists work. The only thing I can suggest is to look at the work from a craft angle objectively and it’ll become clear why he and others are considered esteemed. Tarantino’s “sandbox films” Kill Bill/Jackie Brown are a little fat and rough around the edges where Death Proof is tight, but overly indulgent are examples of an artist experimenting and growing. Reservoir Dogs/Pulp Fiction/Inglorious Basterds are pretty much perfectly executed utilizing his talent fully at the times they were created.
In re to original article and list:
James Cameron is easily one of the great directors falling into the Spielberg/Jackson category. Although you could say he’s a mediocre writer this isn’t a best writer list so I find it silly to keep him off on the basis that. Both Titanic & Avatar are very good films and structurally sound despite the broad dialogue and characterization that can be grating if you aren’t accepting of it. You have to admit it’s a conundrum, since it’s that perceived failing that lends his films to such box office success and broad appeal making it difficult for me to fault them for that aspect. And remember those are his PG films, his R rated films are better written and as a visual storyteller and innovator there are very few who can compete with him and why it ain’t luck the guys directed many of the biggest budgeted, most beloved and highest grossing films ever made.
You’ve addressed this, but it’s a crime that two of the most talented working directors, I’ll call them the ‘Sons of Kubrick,’ aren’t on this list: Fincher (Maybe the best & most efficient visual storyteller), and Aronofsky (the most visceral and highest quotient of raw talent of perhaps anyone considered). I don’t find it surprising that some would find Requiem for a dream overrated and despicable, but it is without a doubt a very well crafted & affecting film.
2 February, 2011 at 7:24 am
WHY ARENT ANY INDIAN DIRECTORS ON THE LIST ….
LIKE MANI RATNAM….
I BET HIS MOVIES CERTAINLY ARE WORLD CLASS…..HE’S SIMPLY THE BEST
2 February, 2011 at 8:11 am
Well, I haven’t watched that much Indian film.
But Satyajit Ray is on the list.
8 February, 2011 at 12:05 am
Why is it that nobody, even in the comments, mentioned the second best director this universe has ever seen and ever will see:
JOHN WATERS.
First is Quentin Tarantino
25 February, 2011 at 2:45 am
Why did you list O brother where art thou as the Coen Brothers best movie. I can think of several better choices. Fargo No country if you want to be obvious. If you want a lesser known film raising arizona the hudsucker proxy the big lebowski, but O brother where art thou. That makes no sense and im really interested what your reasoning on that one is.
25 February, 2011 at 8:44 am
You didn’t look closely enough. I didn’t choose it as their best film. I chose it as the film I wrote a review about. If you go to the actual page, you’ll see I have Fargo and No Country listed above it.
7 March, 2011 at 7:49 pm
I might not agree with all spots,but i totally agree with number 1
21 March, 2011 at 2:52 pm
Satyajit Ray has to be in top 20, if not top 10. Also the omission of Ozu & Godard are glaring.
9 April, 2011 at 1:54 pm
You basically nailed it. I wouldn’t picked some of the films you put them on here for, but i’m glad to see Kurosawa get some respect.
D.Fincher should be on here, Se7en is a little overrated, but Zodiac was stunning.
Danny Boyle
Bryan Singer
Pete Docter
No list is gonna perfect. I’m just glad to see one without Welles or Hitchcock at 1…
18 April, 2011 at 9:41 am
For me, it’s Stanley Kubrick at number one. Also, I think David Lynch should be higher, but have we missed out Andrei Tarkovsky!? Where is he?
24 April, 2011 at 1:38 am
Hats off for making the list but I stopped reading when I saw Werner Herzog sitting tight at #97…
To quote Mr. Truffaut(#31); Herzog is the “most important director alive”.
27 April, 2011 at 1:58 am
First of all: Great, great list!
Then: I’m aching to see the revised, renewed version of the list, which I think should definitely include Darren Aronofsky who I think is each day more in the path into becoming one of the best directors of all time, plus all the buzz and awards he got from Black Swan should help.
PS: Everything on the list i agree on, and personally I think you have a great eye and educated “sight” for movies, only thing I dont agree on is the comment in which you adressed Requiem for a dream as an overrated film, which I suggest you see again with an open mind, it might just surprise you!
3 May, 2011 at 1:26 pm
where is cecil b DeMille?
3 May, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Not on the list. I don’t think he’s that good of a director and I don’t think he ever made a very good film, let alone a great film.
15 May, 2011 at 12:43 am
Lewis Milestone not in top 100?
15 May, 2011 at 7:30 am
Not even close. All Quiet is one of the great films of all-time, but when you direct 33 films and only one of them is a **** film you won’t be making the list.
16 May, 2011 at 1:41 am
Fair enough, you are the professional. Though it should be noted the history of the academy awards would disagree. Not to mention the great actors which flocked to milestone. And let us not forget where steven soderbergh’s inspiration for a few of his best films came from.
19 May, 2011 at 9:22 am
where is william friedkin? he directed the best crime drama ever made,french connection and the best horror film ever made, exorcist and he made them back to back,never having made either genre before! think about that…and…where is sergei bondarchucks war and peace,easily the greatest movie ever made ,he adapted the book,directed the movie and had the starring role,what an accomplishment!if any one thinks that war and peace isnt the best film ever made, read eberts review and then watch it, only lawrence of arabia comes close to it,but only close…war and peace is hard to describe,a moving painting ,like you are really there,ive never seen war and peace in any great film books ,why????
19 May, 2011 at 9:28 am
probably because war and peace is russian and destroysany and all hollywood epics and does so without cgi, it won best foreign film oscar in 1968, but wether or not a movie won an academy award is no way to judge a great film
19 May, 2011 at 9:35 am
i think im gonna hear that friedkin and bondarchuck didnt make a lot of films and thats why they arent on the list ,this shouldnt matter,eisenstein didnt make a lot either but hes on the list
19 May, 2011 at 9:42 am
kurosawas best movie i think is easily dersu uzala, what a moving and beautiful epic thats vastly underated, didnt this film win best foreign oscar ,not just a nomination, as stated in his section?
19 May, 2011 at 9:48 am
Bondarchuk is a very good director, but doesn’t quite make the list. Freidkin made lots of films. The problem is, outside of French Connection and The Exorcist, a lot of them are mediocre or even bad films. That’s what brings the totals down.
19 May, 2011 at 9:48 am
Dersu Uzala did win the Oscar. And I think it is very good, but nowhere near the level of his best works.
19 May, 2011 at 1:47 pm
did you ever see war and peace ? its such a monumental acheivement for sergei to have co adapted the screenplay from the book,directed the movie and act in the lead role,its original length is 507 minutes thats 8hrs 27 min,150,000 non cgi extras,and cost,100 million dollars in the 1960s thats equivalent to 700 million dollars now, say around equal to three titanics,i do not see this cinematic work of art in any best films books or lists! why? because it puts any and all other hollywood epics to utter shame,only david lean, whos my favorite director, ever could begin to compare, with lawrence of arabia and doctor zhivago,how? the heck! did sound of music beat out doctor zhivago for best picture and best director! doctor zhivago demolishes sound of music, theres no comparison at all , none,if doctor zhivago did win best director and picture, david lean would have had three films made back to back all win these awards, he already had two and he should have had three,the only other director that i can think of that had two films made back to back win oscars for best picture and best director is william wyler with mrs miniver and best years of our lives.lean was a master ,look at brief encounter and lawrence of arabia for instance ,totally different movies made by the same person, wether or not a film won an academy award or not is no way to judge a great film,alfred hitchcock,my other favorite director, didnt win any for directing ! whatever! his two best films to me are vertigo and north by northwest with rear window a close third , i think that maybe they all won none!…i had a chance to meet steve carrell last christmas time and after saying hi, the first thing i asked him was which film did he think was better, vertigo or north by northwest,he chose north by northwest…i should have asked him if he saw the russian version of war and peace but i didnt, oh well…….
19 May, 2011 at 2:41 pm
As evidence by the fact that I have reviewed it (http://nighthawknews.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/top-100-novels-61-war-and-peace/), yes, I have seen it. I think it’s a very very good film, but not at the level that you think it is.
20 May, 2011 at 4:45 am
I think that Peter Jackson is highly over-rated as a director. Most of his horror films don’t really appeal to me, and I liked neither King Kong nor The Lovely Bones. I have high hopes for The Hobbit, but would prefer Guillermo del Toro over him, really.
I simply adore Kubrick, but I understand his lower than #1 placement, and approve most resoundingly of your Top Ten. I would make a comment about poor Jean-Luc being absent, but others have already spoken of it and I don’t wish to reiterate a tired point.
I would, however, like to criticize the omission of David Lynch. I find your reasons for disliking his movies unsatisfying, and believe that he is a strong, beautiful filmmaker with a powerful style. I don’t agree that Benjamin Button lacked punch, nor do I agree that Zodiac was his best film (I think it’s Fight Club, feel free to judge me for it).
I further would like to say that I have a fairly powerful hatred for David Lynch, as well as a significantly smaller but nonetheless strong dislike of Paul Thomas Anderson. Their styles annoy me, though for different reasons (except Magnolia, three guesses why).
Finally, the most conspicuously absent director that I love you for not including is Darren Aronofsky. The only film of his I enjoyed was The Wrestler, and though he shows great talent he squanders it by being dark and gory for the simple sake of being dark and gory. His films disgust me, and I feel they often cross a very important line from art to sick, twisted nightmares. No film is more apparent in this than Requiem for a Dream. I get it, Darren, drugs are bad! I don’t want to watch Harry inject himself into an open goddam wound! I don’t want to see Marion sleep with her psychiatrist for drugs! I don’t want this film to exist! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! HELPHELPHELPHELPHELPHELP DEAr LorD WiLl iT neVEr ENd!
Sincerely,
Yishai
P.S. I think most of Polanski’s films are overrated, but I love Chinatown so much I don’t really care
20 May, 2011 at 7:34 am
Well, now I think Social Network is by far Fincher’s best film (that was obviously who you meant to say). And he will be on the updated list.
It’s quite possible that Kubrick will end up #1 on the new list, because I have revised how I give out points for a couple of categories.
Aronofsky actually will make the new list, but I am with you on Requiem.
21 May, 2011 at 7:10 pm
I actually have significant vitriol for The Social Network. No, really. I have since I saw it opening night. I walked out of the theater and could not stop bitching to my friends how much I had hated the protagonist. I really hate Jesse Eisenberg, but I hated his Mark Zuckerberg more than any of his other roles, and considering Holy Rollers, that’s saying something.
I really hated the wall-to-wall dialogue, always have. Sorkin is the most overrated screenwriter today. I despise not being given a single moment to breathe in a movie about facebook, where people don’t goddamn talk!
I further think that the opportunity for social commentary regarding facebook was a serious misstep. In the scene with Eduardo Saverin and his crazy girlfriend (the “I don’t know how to change my relationship status scene”) was a great moment to really comment on the way facebook has changed modern communication, whether for the better or the worse. Instead all we get is a scene where they get excited (well, Eduardo gets excited) that “facebook me” is a thing.
I also hate the message. For that matter, was there a message? The deposition scenes seemed to be pushing that Zuckerberg was deserving of the credit, and he as the protagonist purports this throughout the movie. However, the movie builds the premise that no, it was not all him, and that other people deserve the credit. This leads to the final scene where, instead of coming to this realization, we receive the weakest payoff ever in the form of… a payoff. An offscreen payoff. Wow.
What would have been a better ending? If, after refreshing the page a few times, he stopped, mumbled that this was so impersonal, and called someone. We would assume he was calling Rooney Mara’s character, but he would actually be calling Eduardo. He would start a regular conversation, then quietly apologize for everything. Cut to black with the information that he gave Eduardo and the Winklevoss twins their due. End.
See, that not only allows for a bit of social commentary, but also redeems the character and provides a more satisfying ending. And it would have made the movie leagues better.
Also, I, like you, am very excited for the Tintin film. Let’s cross our fingers that it’s no Lost World!
-Yishai
22 May, 2011 at 12:43 pm
did anyone think of king vidor,his very first movie , the big parade,is a high water mark of silent movies,and war films in general,and,the crowd,another great movie,his second film, as well as, show people, street scene, the champ,our daily bread,duel in the sun,war and peace,solomon and sheeba
22 May, 2011 at 12:59 pm
I think Vidor is vastly over-rated and The Crowd is very over-rated. The Big Parade is very good as is Show People and Our Daily Bread. But Duel in the Sun and War and Peace are just messes.
22 May, 2011 at 2:35 pm
ok, what would the world be like if everyone saw things the same way, but vidors ,the crowd to me was a really good movie.i think that quality is more vital of an attribute than quantity,i would rather have one mercedes than ten escorts,therefor i must mention john boormans point blank,hell in the pacific,deliverance,excalibur, the emerald forest… as well as ,josef von sternbergs the last command,docks of new york,the blue angel.not forgetting the tragically short career of jean vigo, taken in a car crash at 29 with his ,latalante…neorealism 15 years ahead of time,and zero for conduct, vigo and murnau are the morrison and hendrix of movies
22 May, 2011 at 3:01 pm
i thought of more, g w pabst,three penny opera,pandoras box, diary of a lost girl…and…rob reiner makes the list but carl dreyer does not?….leaves from satans book,passion of joan of ark,vampyr,day of wrath,ordet…he would certainly be in my list and abel gance practically fortold every innovation that was to be in cinema with napoleon, he directed another 51 movies as well…
22 May, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Outside of Vampyr I find Dreyer’s work to be overrated. Vigo is out because I did set a minimum limit of 4 films.
29 May, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Check out my list of favorite directors of all time!
http://thismovieguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/favorites-directors.html
30 May, 2011 at 2:49 pm
this movie guy, i tried to comment on your page but found it near impossible to do so, never the less…david lean is missing from your list, he’s my number 1, but he certainly is in the top 5 or 10, there’s no doubt about it!
2 June, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Mizoguchi, Ozu, Godard?
The Coen brothers over Orson Welles??
Lucas over Renoir???
Tarantino over Fellini????
Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
In my opinion, this is preposterous.
10 June, 2011 at 9:55 am
impossible to do so, never the less…david lean is missing from your list,
10 June, 2011 at 11:35 am
No he’s not. Look again. Look closely at #7.
12 June, 2011 at 3:05 pm
No Godard? really?
21 June, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Andrei Tarkovsky
The best russian director of all time. his movies are very powerful at least top 20.
21 June, 2011 at 5:55 pm
Tarkovsky is great and I wish he had directed more. But you lost me on “the best russian director of all time.” With all due respect to Tarkovsky, I will take Eisenstein any day.
22 June, 2011 at 2:14 pm
Though i agree Kurosawa is a great director, # 1 is a little high. John-luc Godard should be on here, as well as Fritz Lang. David Lynch should be higher than he is, and so should P.T. Anderson. Wes Anderson shouldn’t even be on this list, and Spike Lee should take his place. Do the Right Thing, is one of the greatest movies of all time. I feel as you low-balled Orson Welles, I know he’s not the first on anybody’s list, but when you make a film as good as ‘Citizen Kane’, that deserves a top 10 spot. But all in all, this is one of the better lists I’ve seen for best directors. Oh and thanks for not giving Terrence Malick too much credit, yes he is a great director, but his movies just can not keep my interest.
22 June, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Fritz Lang is on the list. Wes Anderson actually won’t make the next version, but Spike Lee won’t either.
23 June, 2011 at 1:01 am
Stan Brakhage
27 June, 2011 at 6:40 pm
Excuse my French, but where the fuck is Godard?
27 June, 2011 at 7:21 pm
So, by my count that makes 8 comments asking where Godard is. Since you all obviously found your way here without finding the intro first, where I explain this, I’ll say it again. I have seen many of Godard’s films because of my thing for watching all the Criterion films. I think he is vastly over-rated. I know you all seem to love him. I am not a believer that you just because what you are doing is new and different that it is good. I believe in some narrative coherence, not just a mess of images. To me, Godard is a film version of the McSweeney’s esque writers who seem incapable of not showing off – just showing what they can do with style and not remembering to have anything to have a style about. I think Breathless is very good – but not the end-all be-all that so many others think and I think Contempt, Band of Outsiders and Alphaville are strong, but I don’t think any of them are great. So, no Godard.
But I appreciate everyone who comments, so this is not a brush off. Just a response.
2 July, 2011 at 9:05 pm
I am impressed with the thoroughness of both your greatest directors list, as well as your introduction page where you explain the calculations, as well as the justifications for leaving specific directors off of your current list. Of course you will never find someone to agree 100% with everything, but I admire the effort you put into this.
I am using your list of directors as a starting point for which films I should expose myself to. There are numerous films and directors from this list I have heard of, but just never got around to watching them as of yet.
I did try browsing and searching your website in attempt to also find lists for the greatest actors and greatest actresses of all time. Have you compiled those lists and if not, do you plan to in the future?
Also, I noticed in your intro for directors that you factor in your list of 1000 greatest films of all time. Is this a list you have available?
Thanks again for sharing your insight and efforts!
2 July, 2011 at 10:29 pm
I don’t have my Top 1000 available – partially because it fluctuates. But I might do one at the end of the Year in Film series.
I have not done lists of actors and actresses, though I did list Paul Newman as #4 when I wrote about him after he died. I can’t really do a list in the same way I did for directors, but I might do a Top 10 at some point.
4 July, 2011 at 9:03 am
First off I’d like to say that I really enjoyed this list. I’m curious though about why you ranked Fellini so low (Peter Jackson is better? Really?). I mean, from a directorial standpoint I think 8 1/2, Juliet of the Spirits, and Roma constitute far greater accomplishments then a lot of the films that directors you gave higher ranks ever made.
I mean, take The Maltese Falcon for example. I think it’s a really great film but I don’t think its much of an accomplishment directorial wise: at least it made no memorable impression on me as such. Indeed, a lot of films I think can be very good but not because of particularly good direction. I would argue that a decent director can make a classic movie if only they get excellent preformances from their actors and have an excellent script.
Good direction on the other hand is I think established by special ambition and creativity. To me this is best represented in very specific kinds of films, ones that are both great logistical and great artistic accomplishments: not just one or the other. A movie like Avatar for example would constitute one of the former where as a movie like Pi would constitute one of the latter.
The very best directors I think combine these two accomplishments simultaneously in each of their films. By this criteria the very highest caliber of film would for me be represented by films like the aforementioned Fellini ones, all of Malick’s films, Kurosawa’s obviously, or something like say Cuaron’s Children of Men (I especially appreciated your including him in your list) and others of this type…
Personally I would go Malick, Fellini, Kubrick, Kurosawa, Miyazaki, and then from that point I don’t think I could establish any particular order.
Also, can I presume that your are familiar with the work of Satochi Kon? I expect you are, after all, many of the directors you listed are unknown to me and more obscure than Kon. I’d be interested in knowing what you think of Paprika. In my opinion its as good a film (directorial wise and in every other way for that matter) as any I have ever seen.
Again, great list. But just to quibble a little more (It’s fun!) I have to say: Peter Jackson has never made a great film in his life. The Lord of the Rings films were hopelessly melodramatic (And I’m a big fan of Tolkien’s fiction) and what else is there? Heavenly Creatures? No. No no no. Please feel free to expunge him from your list entirely thank you.
4 July, 2011 at 9:57 am
Well, I disagree with you drastically on Jackson. And I find it interesting that you would list Avatar as a logistical accomplishment but diminish the directing jobs by Jackson.
As for Fellini, I think great direction is only part of the program. Part of it is the film as a whole. I, much, I am sure to Woody Allen’s annoyance, do find Fellini to be extremely self-indulgent. I find a lot of his films to be a mess – Satyricon and Casanova being the prime examples. The same with Malick – his films tend to drag on so long and have weaknesses in the script. Thus, I have one of the categories that is a subjective 100 point scale on what I think of them as a director – in that both Fellini and Malick rank high. But I also judge them on the results – on the overall results. Though, you’ll be happy to know that in my reconfiguration for the update, Fellini does go up by several spots.
Or take for example The Maltese Falcon. I find that to be an incredible directing job. Huston didn’t just write the script – he storyboarded it exactly – knowing how he wanted every shot to look and that is what makes it, for me, the ultimate example of film noir.
As for Kon, he gets caught on the bubble. He’s only made 4 films and only one of them – Tokyo Godfathers – gets ****. The other three I give ***.5 stars to – I think Paprika is fascinating and very good in some of the same offbeat, surrealistic ways that Perfect Blue was.
It’s tricky with the animation directors. Miyazaki is really a special case. But, because they aren’t nominated for Best Director in awards groups, that basically wipes out an entire 10th of their score right there. And, for the most part, their films don’t appear in the Top 1000 list (the external one) and that wipes out another category. So Kon and John Lassetter (though Cars 2 might knock him out anyway) are in a tricky spot – as will be Andrew Stanton and Brad Bird when they make their fourth films.
4 July, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Ah, I appreciate your response immensely. It sheds a great deal of light on how you weight the different aspects of film, which of course is essential in knowing why someone values one thing over another. For me I guess I rank Fellini and Malick so highly precisely because their works are so personal: their philosophical self exploration appeals to me I suppose because the same search predominates in my own life. The same with Kon I guess: the investigation of dreams (one of his central preoccupations) seems relevant to my own life.
I will concede though that they are solipsistic in the Wittgensteinian (whose influence on Malick is in fact a matter of record) sense of the term: that is to say, viewing the world as one’s own world, or one’s own perceptual limits as the limits of the only world one can meaningfully speak about. But since the world is fundamentally the world as interpreted through the experiences of an individual I think this viewpoint should in fact be granted the most emphasis and therefore filmakers who deal with it are in fact addressing the most fundamental concern for every person.
As for Jackson, certainly the Lord of the Rings is a great accomplishment from a logistical standpoint: equal to Avatar or anything else. However, that’s exactly my point. I wouldn’t include James Cameron among the great directors and him and Jackson seem to me fairly comparable. Like Cameron, Jackson’s films for me can be quite enjoyable but never seem to effect me in a way where I feel personally invested in the lives of their characters. I didn’t really care when Gandalf died (or seemed to) just as I didn’t really care when the Titanic sank because all the dialog and character development had up until that point felt really contrived. Of course I haven’t seen really any of his other movies. Any recommendations? I mean, I wrote George Lucas off as a serious director until I saw American Graffiti (I thought THX1138 was a fluke) so maybe I could change my mind.
Lastly, I can’t firmly criticize The Maltese Falcon’s directing: it’s been long enough that I don’t remember it in detail. But the impression I got was that it was comprised of mostly standard indoor style shots: the type you might see in a well done television drama. Of course I could be completely wrong on this but normally if a film is distinctive in any respect I remember. I would still adhere to the general argument though that a really great film can be made without any particularly talented directing. I was going to throw out Howard’s End as an example of what I mean but I just checked and James Ivory won best picture for it so… I don’t know. I can’t think of a definitive example at the moment. Good Night and Good Luck?
Also I would definitely agree with you about the difficulty with comparing animated films to live action ones. Animation just doesn’t have the same limitations of live film and so the director’s vision is less burdened by having to compromise between imagination and fiscal reality.
p.s. sorry about the long post but any serious discussion about the nature of film tends to lead me towards being verbose.
6 July, 2011 at 2:33 pm
Where is Ernst Lubitsch? He is one of the pioneers of great comedies. Woody Allen wouldn’t even be on this list if it wasn’t for him.
6 July, 2011 at 2:48 pm
Well, I don’t agree. And I am not all that fond of Lubitsch.
7 July, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Wim Wenders not good enough or forgotten ?
7 July, 2011 at 9:01 pm
and Lars von Trier censored?
7 July, 2011 at 9:04 pm
Alejandro González Iñárritu one of my fav
7 July, 2011 at 9:12 pm
Jim Jarmusch is the 101. ?
7 July, 2011 at 9:13 pm
and the 102. : Brian De Palma
7 July, 2011 at 9:15 pm
We’re definitely not on the same page. Outside of Wings of Desire, I find Wenders to be boring. von Trier I think is rather awful – Breaking the Waves being the exception. Gonzalez Inarritu has now made 4 films and will be in the update. Jarmusch isn’t even 201. I can’t stand him.
By the way people, do what I say in the opening piece and read the introduction, which is linked there. Just about every director that everyone has commented on asking about them is listed in my introduction with a short explanation of why they aren’t here.
7 July, 2011 at 9:23 pm
Pasolini is history
9 July, 2011 at 1:16 am
when is the new list?
9 July, 2011 at 6:57 am
Hopefully sometime in August.
10 July, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Though Akira Kuroswa is world famous- he is not really a director to recon.
16 July, 2011 at 7:26 pm
Where the f*** is DAVID FINCHER?!
16 July, 2011 at 7:43 pm
He’ll be on the next version.
21 July, 2011 at 1:29 am
how does clint eastwood beat out Christopher Nolan. Tell me that
21 July, 2011 at 6:51 am
Well, because several of the categories require you to have a solid film career. And Nolan is brilliant, but six films (Inception hadn’t been released yet) isn’t enough to get you up the list that high. Given the way the list is designed, Nolan and PT Anderson are as high as they can be for the number of films they’ve made.
23 July, 2011 at 7:58 am
M. Night Shyamalan??
23 July, 2011 at 4:29 pm
I hope you’re kidding.
25 July, 2011 at 4:47 am
Interesting, although the order would be quite different, if you swapped out Allen for Ford we’d have the same directors in our top ten.
1. Spielberg
2. Ford
3. Wilder
4. Lean
5. Hitchcock
6. Kurosawa
7. Kubrick
8. Coens
9. Bergman
10. Scorsese
Although it’s entirely possible that my 11th & 12th, Miyazaki and Ozu, might shuffle into the top ten from time to time.
I like that you’re bold enough to leave off Godard. Brilliant take down of him, mcsweeneys. Exactly.
26 July, 2011 at 12:15 am
can you do a top film list?
9 August, 2011 at 11:52 am
Godard…a favorite of the dilettantes! Look at my movie collection. Do you see all my art house films. His movies do not stand the test of time as well as Truffaut’s.
10 August, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Antonioni, Godard, Ozu, Rohmer, Rivette, Tarkovsky? I’m not a Godard fan, although I do enjoy some of his films, but to deny his importance in the history if cinema is pure ignorance. Would you exclude Joyce and Proust from a list of the top 100 novelists or Stravinsky from a list of the top 100 composers?
10 August, 2011 at 2:21 pm
I haven’t denied his place in history. This isn’t a list of the 100 most important directors or 100 most influential directors. It’s my list of the 100 greatest directors and I don’t think he’s that great. And Tarkovsky is on the list.
11 August, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Some of my thoughts:
- Coppola’s kind of an interesting case because of the new wave of auteurs who redefined Hollywood in the 70s, his star shone the earliest, some would argue it shone the brightest (not me, personally, but many do; he also has five Oscars to Spielberg’s 3, Scorsese’s 1, and Lucas’s 0), and ultimately burned out the quickest. The most productive period of his career was over while the rest of them were just getting started; Spielberg and Scorsese went the distance and are still powerful creative forces 30 years after the 70s ended, Lucas lasted until the mid-80s before letting his skills spectacularly atrophy.
- Kubrick is a director I’ve never been able to decide how I feel about. I’ve seen a number of of his films, but his whole detached approach just doesn’t do much for me (“Spartacus”, the borderline director-for-hire film he did to help Kirk Douglas, is the only one of them that I really love, because it allows real investment in the characters). I don’t care about anything that’s happening onscreen, but by the same token, I know Kubrick doesn’t want me to care. I can intellectually appreciate the craft and many of the points he’s making, and how influential many of his works have been but, ehhh. Like I said, conflicted.
- Scorsese’s another great, but, perhaps as a matter of hype, I found all three of his ‘classic’ films very underwhelming when I finally saw them; particularly “Raging Bull”, which I found distinctly ordinary. “Taxi Driver” was fantastic until the very ending, which I thought undermined everything that came before (still a great film, though). My favourite Scorsese film is probably “The Departed” (which people often mistakenly call his consolation Oscar, but half a decade on it’s still the most acclaimed film of that year, both from critics and audiences; none of the other nominees are much remembered at all).
- Spielberg’s a great, and I think, to a lot of people, embodies what Hollywood is (or should) be all about, even if he’s been a bit more low-profile as a director this decade. But he’s got another of his one-two punches coming up this December, and it looks like “Lincoln” is finally going to get off the ground (though I’m disappointed that it won’t be Liam Neeson in the lead role; but when the replacement is Daniel Day-Lewis, you can’t complain too much).
12 September, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Nicolas Winding Refn? Oh, and Clint Eastwood beats out Nolan every time for whoever made that comment.
18 September, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Awesome
27 September, 2011 at 6:44 am
Hi,
I was hoping to see the nighthawk top 10 movies for the year 2010.
I was just curious to know your choices.
Post a link or email if possible.
Thanks in advance.
And oh i just keep coming back to this page to refresh my memory……
i want to know when the updated list is out….
Waiting to see where David Fincher and Darren Aronofsky stand….
2 October, 2011 at 5:14 pm
I love the Idea of putting Akira Kurosawa at first. Ofcourse everyone has his own 100 favorite but some names cannot be ignored, neither objectively nore subjectively. The only great name that I noticed you have missed was indeed Buster Keaton.
21 December, 2011 at 4:14 pm
raj kapoor the great man from india – kindly add him n chuck someone out of d so called list.
29 December, 2011 at 9:55 pm
N°1/ STANLEY KUBRICK (FULL METAL JACKET, SHINING, 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY, ORANGE MECANIQUE, L’ULTIME RAZZIA, LOLITA, BARRY LYNDON, DR FOLAMOU)
N°2/STEVEN SPIELBERG (LES DENTS DE LA MER, RENCONTRES DU TROISI7ME TYPE, SAGA INDIANA JONES, E.T L’EXTRATERESTTRE, JURASSIC PARK, LA LISTE DE SHINDLER, IL FAUT SAUVER LE SOLDATS RYAN, MINORYTY REPORT, LA GUERRE DES MONDES, MUNICH, TINTIN, LINCOLN)
N°3/ MARTIN SCORSESE (MEAN STREET, TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL, LA DERNIERE TENTATION DU CHRIST, LES AFFRANCHIS, CASINO, LES INFILTRE, GANGS OF NEW YORK)
N°4/ FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA (SAGA LE PARRAIN, APOCALYPSE NOW, DRACULA)
N°5/ ALFRED HITCHKOCK (PSYCHOSE, LES OISEAUX, LA MORT AU TROUSSE, FENETRE SUR COUR)
N°6/BRIAN DE PALMA (SCARFACE, LES INCORRUPTIBLES, L’IMPASSE, MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE)
N°7/ORSON WELLES (CITIZEN KANE, MACHKBET, LA SPLENDEUR DES ANBERSON, LA SOIF DU MAL)
N°8/ QUENTIN TARENTINO (RESEVOIR DOGS, PULP FICTION, KILL BILL, INGLORIOUS BASTARDS)
N°9/JAMES CAMERON (TERMINATOR, ALIENS, ABYSS, TRUE LIES, TITANIC, AVATAR)
N°10/ SERGIO LEONE (LE BON LA BRUTE ET LE TRUAND, IL ETAIT UNE FOIS DANS L’OUEST, IL ETAIT UNE FOIS LA REVOLUTION, IL ETAIT UNE FOIS L’AMERIQUE)
N°11/HOWARD HAWKS (SCARFACE, RIO BRAVO)
N°12/ AKIRA KUROSAWA(LE GARDE DU CORPS, LES SEPTS SAMOURAIS)
N°13/ DAVID LEAN (LE PONT DE LA RIVIERE KAII, DOCTEUR JIVAGO, LAWRENCE D’ARABIE)
N°14/ CHRISTOPHER NOLAN (MEMENTO, THE DARK KHIGHT, INCEPTION)
N°15/ RIDLEY SCOTT (ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER, THELMA ET LOUISE, GLADIATOR, HANNIBAL, AMERICAN GANGSTERS)
N°16/ SERGEI M. EISENSTEIN (LE CUIRASSE POTEMKINE, IVAN LE TERRIBLE, ALEXANDRE NEVSKI)
N°17/JOHN FORD (LA CHEVAUCHE FANTASTIQUE, LA CHARGE HEROIQUE, LA PRISONI7RE DU DESERT, RIO GRANDE)
N°18/ GEORGE LUCAS (SAGA STAR WARS, AMERICAN GRAFFITI, THX 1138)
N°19/ DAVID FINCHER (ALIEN 3, SEVEN, THE GAME, FIGHT CLUB, PANIC ROOM, ZODIAC, L’ETRANGE HISTOIRE DE BENJAMIN BUTTON)
N°20/ ROBERT ZEMESKIS (RETOUR VERS LE FUTUR, QUI VEUT LA PEAU DE ROGER RABBIT, FORESST GUMP)
7 January, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Christopher Nolan should be in top 10!!!!
28 January, 2012 at 5:49 pm
Good list . I list it that way.
1. Steven Spielberg
2.Stanley Cubrick
2 March, 2012 at 10:35 am
I’m missing Edward Zwich and Tarsem Singh…
2 March, 2012 at 11:05 am
Zwick came close. Singh? Not so much.
2 April, 2012 at 10:01 am
Ozu, Mizoguchi, Fassbinder, Wenders, Godard, Dreyer, Tarr, Keaton, Vertov, Kalatozov, Angelopoulos, Mellville, Rohmer, Antonioni, Loach, Pasolini, Haneke, Aronofsky, Kitano and Jarmusch deserve to be there as well for me.. good list though..
3 April, 2012 at 10:56 pm
Steven Spielberg at #3 I realised this was not a list of serious directors. I am surprised the list did not include Ed Wood.
8 May, 2012 at 10:17 am
I cannot… NO! Spielberg over Ingmar Bergman! Heck Anyone over Bergman who is Not Tarkovsky, Fellini, Godard (Despite your dislike of him), Kubrick, Scorsese, Coppola, DESICA!!!! and some others is a Sin, in my opinion, I’m not Bashing anyone… And even then I’d Put Bergman over those… You don’t seem to like Euro cinema as much as Hollywood… Meh… At least you made a list…
11 May, 2012 at 4:51 pm
What about Alejandro Jodorowsky ?
11 May, 2012 at 5:43 pm
Since the only film I’ve seen by him is Santa Sangre which I thought was absolutely terrible, I’m gonna go with no.
10 July, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I’m SO happy to see Kurosawa up top. I’ve seen most of his many films and I adore every one of them. He’s just perfect! A truly wise soul. My very favorite director, my number two is Kubrick.
11 July, 2012 at 12:31 am
Hitchcock #6? I have at my #1.
26 July, 2012 at 11:42 pm
Peter Jackson is 11th and Federico fucking Fellini is 40th? Your list gave me cancer.
20 November, 2012 at 7:20 am
This is a good list with a well defined methodology. Thank you. List can be understood and used better after reading the introduction. But it is still quite swayed to the one side of the hemisphere. I suggest you to see and evaluate the films of some other less known, but maybe more important (than the most of your top 100) directors. I may propose some important names (mostly from Turkey) (the are not in your complete list in the introduction): Yilmaz Guney, Metin Erksan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Semih Kaplanoglu, Fatih Akin, Ferzan Ozpetek. All of them are contemporary, but Yilmaz Guney and Metin Erksan. Just search for them and try to find their movies. You will probably need to put them at least for your evaluation list.