Directors

by veres_balazs | created - 7 months ago | updated - 11 hours ago | Public

1. Darren Aronofsky

Writer | Pi

Darren Aronofsky was born February 12, 1969, in Brooklyn, New York. Growing up, Darren was always artistic: he loved classic movies and, as a teenager, he even spent time doing graffiti art. After high school, Darren went to Harvard University to study film (both live-action and animation). He won ...

Pi (1998) - 6 Requiem for a Dream (2000) - 9* The Fountain (2006) - 6 The Wrestler (2008) - 9* Black Swan (2010) - 9* Noah (2014) - 6 Mother! (2017) - 4 The Whale (2022) - 9*

2. Scott Cooper

Director | Crazy Heart

Scott Cooper was born on April 20, 1970 in Abingdon, Virginia, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Crazy Heart (2009), Hostiles (2017) and Out of the Furnace (2013).

Crazy Heart (2009) - 7 Out of the Furnace (2013) - 8 Black Mass (2015) - 8* Hostiles (2017) - 7 The Pale Blue Eye (2022) - 6

3. Ryan Coogler

Director | Black Panther

Ryan Kyle Coogler is an African-American filmmaker and producer who is from Oakland, California. He is known for directing the Black Panther film series, Creed, a Rocky spin-off and Fruitvale Station. He frequently casts Michael B. Jordan in his works. He produced the Creed sequels, Judas and the ...

Fruitvale Station (2013) - 8 Creed (2015) - 9 Black Panther (2018) - 8* Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) - 5

4. Damien Chazelle

Writer | La La Land

Damien Sayre Chazelle is an American director and screenwriter. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His mother, Celia Sayre (Martin) Chazelle, is an American-Canadian writer and professor of history at The College of New Jersey. His father, Bernard Chazelle, is a French-American Eugene Higgins...

Whiplash (2015) - 5 La La Land (2016) - 8 First Man (2018) - 9* Babylon (2022) - 4

5. Guy Ritchie

Director | Sherlock Holmes

Guy Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK on September 10, 1968. After watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) as a child, Guy realized that what he wanted to do was make films. He never attended film school, saying that the work of film school graduates was boring and ...

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) - 8* Snatch (2000) - 10* Revolver (2005) - 6 RocknRolla (2008) - 6 Sherlock Holmes (2009) - 10* Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) - 10* The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) - 7 King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) - 3 Aladdin (2019) - 6 The Gentlemen (2019) - 8* Wrath of Man (2021) - 7 Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023) - 7 The Covenant (2023) - 8

6. 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-...

American Beauty (1999) - 10* Road to Perdition (2002) - 9* Jarhead (2005) - 8* Revolutionary Road (2008) - 8 Away We Go (2006) - 6 Skyfall (2012) - 10* Spectre (2015) - 8* 1917 (2019) - 10* Empire of Light (2022) - 5

7. Florian Zeller

Writer | The Father

Florian Zeller is a French writer and director. He is, according to the Times, "the most exciting playwright of our time." He has written more than 10 plays, which have been staged in more than 45 countries. His black-comedy play "The Father" is one of the outstanding hits of recent years. It has ...

The Father (2020) - 9* The Son (2022) - 8

8. Peyton Reed

Director | Ant-Man

Peyton Reed is an American film director, screenwriter and producer who is known for directing Bring It On, Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He also directed Yes Man, Down with Love and The Break-Up. He directed episodes of The Mandalorian and Back to the Future.

Yes Man (2008) - 7 Ant-Man (2015) - 7* Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) - 7* Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) - 7*

9. David F. Sandberg

Director | Shazam!

David F. Sandberg is a Swedish film director from Jönköping who is known for directing the superhero comedy film Shazam and the horror films Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. He lives on the autism spectrum. He also provided the voice of Mister Mind at the end of Shazam and made several short ...

Shazam! (2019) - 7 Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023) - 3

10. Chad Stahelski

Producer | John Wick: Chapter 4

He came from a kick-boxing background; he entered the film field as a stunt performer at the age of 24. Before that, he worked as an instructor at the Inosanto Martial Arts Academy in California, teaching Jeet Kune Do/Jun Fan. After doing numerous roles in low budget martial art movies like Mission...

John Wick (2014) - 6 John Wick 2 (2017) - 7 John Wick 3 (2019) - 7 John Wick 4 (2023) - 7

11. Ari Aster

Director | Hereditary

Ari Aster is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for writing and directing the A24 horror films Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019). Aster was born into a Jewish family in New York City on July 15, 1986, the son of a poet mother and musician father. He has a ...

Hereditary (2018) - 7 Midsommar (2019) - 7 Beau Is Afraid (2023) - 7

12. 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 ...

Bottle Rocket (1996) - 8 Rushmore (1998) - 9* The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - 9* The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) - 8 The Darjeeling Limited (2007) - 9* Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) - 8* Moonrise Kingdom (2012) - 9* The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - 8* Isle of Dogs (2018) - 8* The French Dispatch (2021) - 8* Asteroid City (2023) - 7

13. Andy Muschietti

Director | Mama

Andy Muschietti was born on August 26, 1973 in Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina. He is a producer and director, known for Mama (2013), It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019).

It (2017) - 8* It 2 (2019) - 6 The Flash (2023) - 5

14. Christopher McQuarrie

Writer | The Usual Suspects

Christopher McQuarrie is an acclaimed producer, director and an Academy Award® winning writer. McQuarrie grew up in Princeton Junction, New Jersey and in lieu of college, he spent the first five years out of school traveling and working at a detective agency. He later moved to Los Angeles to pursue...

The Way of the Gun (2000) - 4 Jack Reacher (2012) - 7 Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - 8* Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - 8* Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning (2023) - 8*

15. 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 ...

Following (1998) - 9* Memento (2000) - 8* Insomnia (2002) - 6 Batman Begins (2005) - 9* The Prestige (2006) - 9* The Dark Knight (2008) - 10* Inception (2010) - 10* The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - 9* Interstellar (2014) - 10* Dunkirk (2017) - 10* Tenet (2020) - 9* Oppenheimer (2023) - 10*

16. 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 ...

Nóz w wodzie (1962) - 5 Repulsion (1965) - 8* Cul-de-sac (1966) - 7 Dance of the Vampires (1967) - 6 Rosemary's Baby (1968) - 8* The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971) - 8* Chinatown (1974) - 9* The Tenant (1976) - 7 Tess (1979) - 7 Pirates (1986) - 5 Frantic (1988) - 6 Bitter Moon (1992) - 8* Death and the Maiden (1994) - 7 The Ninth Gate (1999) - 4 The Pianist (2002) - 10* Oliver Twist (2005) - 8* The Ghost Writer (2010) - 8* Carnage (2011) - 6 La Vénus à la fourrure (2013) - 6 J'accuse (2019) - 8

17. Neill Blomkamp

Director | District 9

Neill Blomkamp is a South African-Canadian film director and screenwriter who is known for the science fiction films District 9, Elysium and Chappie. He also directed the supernatural horror film Demonic and the 2007 short film Halo: Landfall, based on the Microsoft science fiction video game ...

District 9 (2009) - 9* Elysium (2013) - 8* Chappie (2015) - 5 Gran Turismo (2023) - 7

18. Antoine Fuqua

Producer | The Magnificent Seven

Antoine Fuqua is an American film director, known for his work in the film Training Day as well as The Replacement Killers, Tears of the Sun, King Arthur, Shooter, Brooklyn's Finest, Olympus Has Fallen and The Equalizer.

He has directed music videos for such artists as Arrested Development, Prince, ...

Training Day (2001) - 8* Tears of the Sun (2003) - 5 King Arthur (2004) - 8* Shooter (2007) - 6 Brooklyn's Finest (2009) - 6 Olympus Has Fallen (2013) - 6 The Equalizer (2014) - 5 Southpaw (2015) - 8* The Magnificent Seven (2016) - 5 The Equalizer 2 (2018) - 6 Emancipation (2022) - 8 The Equalizer 3 (2023) - 7

19. 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 ...

Henry V (1989) - 7 Dead Again (1991) - 6 Peter's Friends (1992) - 7 Much Ado About Nothing (1993) - 7 Frankenstein (1994) - 6 Hamlet (1996) - 7 Thor (2011) - 7* Murder on the Orient Express (2017) - 5 Belfast (2021) - 7 Death on the Nile (2022) - 7 A Haunting in Venice (2023) - 5

20. 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 ...

I Call First (1967) - 6 Mean Streets (1973) - 7 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) - 7 Taxi Driver (1976) - 8* Raging Bull (1980) - 8* The King of Comedy (1982) - 8 After Hours (1985) - 7 The Color of Money (1986) - 7 The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) - 6 Goodfellas (1990) - 9* Cape Fear (1991) - 7 The Age of Innocence (1993) - 7 Casino (1995) - 9* Kundun (1997) - 8 Bringing Out the Dead (1999) - 6 Gangs of New York (2002) - 9* The Aviator (2004) - 8* The Departed (2006) - 9* Shutter Island (2010) - 9* Hugo (2011) - 9* The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) - 9* Silence (2016) - 9* The Irishman (2019) - 9* Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) - 9*

21. Taika Waititi

Producer | What We Do in the Shadows

Taika Waititi, also known as Taika Cohen, hails from the Raukokore region of the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, and is the son of Robin (Cohen), a teacher, and Taika Waititi, an artist and farmer. His father is Maori (Te-Whanau-a-Apanui), and his mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish, Irish...

Eagle vs Shark (2007) - 7 Boy (2010) - 9* What We Do in the Shadows (2014) - 7 Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) - 9* Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - 9* Jojo Rabbit (2019) - 8 Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) - 3

22. Zack Snyder

Director | 300

Zachary Edward "Zack" Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter, best known for action and science fiction films. Snyder made his feature film debut with the 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead and has gone on to be known for his comic book movies and ...

Dawn of the Dead (2004) - 4 300 (2006) - 7 Watchmen (2009) - 8* Man of Steel (2013) - 7 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - 7 Justice League (2017) - 8 Rebel Moon (2023) - 2

23. James Wan

Writer | Saw

James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian film producer, screenwriter and film director of Malaysian Chinese descent. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw (2004) and creating Billy the puppet. Wan has also directed Dead Silence (2007), Death Sentence (2007), Insidious (2010)...

Saw (2004) - 8* Death Sentence (2007) - 5 Insidious (2010) - 5 The Conjuring (2013) - 6 Insidious 2 (2013) - 5 Fast & Furious 7 (2015) - 3 Aquaman (2018) - 6

24. 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 ...

Elf (2003) - 6 Iron Man (2008) - 8* Iron Man 2 (2010) - 7* Cowboys & Aliens (2011) - 4 Chef (2014) - 7 The Jungle Book (2016) - 7 The Lion King (2019) - 8

25. 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, ...

The Sugarland Express (1974) - 3 Jaws (1975) - 7* Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) - 9* Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - 9* E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 9* Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) - 8* The Color Purple (1985) - 9 Empire of the Sun (1987) - 9* Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) - 9* Hook (1991) - 8 Jurassic Park (1993) - 5 Schindler's List (1993) - 10* The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) - 4 Amistad (1997) - 8* Saving Private Ryan (1998) - 10* A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - 9* Minority Report (2002) - 9* Catch Me If You Can (2002) - 9* The Terminal (2004) - 7 War of the Worlds (2005) - 7* Munich (2005) - 10* Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) - 6 The Adventures of Tintin (2011) - 8 War Horse (2011) - 8* Lincoln (2012) - 8* Bridge of Spies (2015) - 8* The BFG (2016) - 6 The Post (2017) - 8 Ready Player One (2018) - 7 West Side Story (2021) - 5 The Fabelmans (2022) - 9*

26. 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 ...

(1899-1980)

The 39 Steps (1935) - 7 The Lady Vanishes (1938) - 8 Rebecca (1940) - 7 Foreign Correspondent (1940) - 7 Suspicion (1941) - 7 Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - 8 Lifeboat (1944) - 6 Spellbound (1945) - 7 Notorious (1946) - 8 Rope (1948) - 5 Strangers on a Train (1951) - 7 Dial M for Murder (1954) - 7 Rear Window (1954) - 7 To Catch a Thief (1955) - 6 The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - 6 Vertigo (1958) - 9* North by Northwest (1959) - 8* Psycho (1960) - 8* The Birds (1963) - 4 Frenzy (1972) - 7

27. Milos Forman

Director | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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

(1932-2018)

Cerný Petr (1964) - 5 Lásky jedné plavovlásky (1965) - 7 Horí, má panenko (1967) - 7 Taking Off (1971) - 8 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) - 7* Hair (1979) - 8* Ragtime (1981) - 8 Amadeus (1984) - 9* Valmont (1989) - 7 The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) - 8* Man on the Moon (1999) - 7 Goya's Ghosts (2006) - 7

28. Paul Newman

Actor | The Hustler

Screen legend, superstar, and the man with the most famous blue eyes in movie history, Paul Leonard Newman was born on January 26, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, the second son of Arthur Sigmund Newman (died 1950) and Theresa Fetsko (died 1982). His elder brother was Arthur S. Newman Jr., named for ...

(1925-2008)

Rachel, Rachel (1968) - 6 Sometimes a Great Notion (1971) - 7 The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972) - 8 The Glass Menagerie (1987) - 6

29. 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 ...

(1928-1999)

The Killing (1956) - 8 Paths of Glory (1957) - 9* Spartacus (1960) - 9* Lolita (1962) - 8* Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) - 8 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - 8* A Clockwork Orange (1971) - 10* Barry Lyndon (1975) - 9* The Shining (1980) - 7 Full Metal Jacket (1987) - 8* Eyes Wide Shut (1999) - 8*

30. Joel Schumacher

Director | The Phantom of the Opera

Joel Schumacher was an American film director, film producer, screenwriter and fashion designer from New York City. He rose to fame in the 1980s for directing the coming-of-age drama "St. Elmo's Fire" (1985), and the vampire-themed horror film "The Lost Boys" (1987). In the 1990s, he worked on two ...

(1939-2020)

The Lost Boys (1987) - 5 Falling Down (1993) - 7 The Client (1994) - 4 Batman Forever (1995) - 3 A Time to Kill (1996) - 7 Batman & Robin (1997) - 1 8MM (1999) - 6 Flawless (1999) - 6 Tigerland (2000) - 7 Bad Company (2002) - 5 Phone Booth (2002) - 8* Veronica Guerin (2003) - 7 The Phantom of the Opera (2004) - 7 The Number 23 (2007) - 5

31. Alan Parker

Director | Evita

The son of Elsie Ellen, a dressmaker, and William Leslie Parker, a house painter, Alan Parker was a London advertising copywriter in the 1960s and early 1970s with Collett Dickenson Pearce (CDP), an ad agency. He formed a partnership with David Puttnam as his producer (Puttnam had been a ...

(1944-2020)

Midnight Express (1978) - 8* Shoot the Moon (1982) - 7 Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982) - 6 Birdy (1984) - 6 Angel Heart (1987) - 7 Mississippi Burning (1988) - 9* Come See the Paradise (1990) - 8 The Commitments (1991) - 7 Evita (1996) - 7 Angela's Ashes (1999) - 7 The Life of David Gale (2003) - 8

32. Jirí Menzel

Director | Ostrzhe sledované vlaky

Jirí Menzel was born on February 23, 1938 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor and director, known for Closely Watched Trains (1966), I Served the King of England (2006) and Larks on a String (1969). He was married to Olga Menzelová-Kelymanová. He died on September 5, ...

(1938-2020)

Ostre sledované vlaky (1966) - 8 Skrivánci na niti (1969) - 8 Na samote u lesa (1976) - 6 Postriziny (1981) - 7 Slavnosti snezenek (1984) - 7 Vesnicko má stredisková (1985) - 7 Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále (2006) - 8

33. 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 ...

Festen (1998) - 7 Submarino (2010) - 8 Jagten (2012) - 10* Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) - 7 Kursk (2018) - 8 Druk (2020) - 9*

34. Doug Liman

Producer | Edge of Tomorrow

Douglas Eric Liman is a Jewish-American filmmaker and producer who directed Swingers, The Bourne Identity, Chaos Walking, Jumper, Go, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Fair Game, Locked Down, Edge of Tomorrow, The Wall and American Made. He executive produced the Bourne sequels except The Bourne Legacy, The ...

Swingers (1996) - 7 Go (1999) - 7 The Bourne Identity (2002) - 9* Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) - 5 Jumper (2008) - 5 Fair Game (2010) - 7 Edge of Tomorrow (2014) - 8* American Made (2017) - 8 Chaos Walking (2021) - 6

35. Bertrand Tavernier

Director | Un dimanche à la campagne

Bertrand Tavernier was the son of Geneviève (Dumond) and René Tavernier, who was a publicist, writer, and president of the French PEN club. He was a law student that preferred write film criticisms. He also wrote a few books about American movies. Then his first film won a few awards in France and ...

(1941-2021)

Le juge et l'assassin (1976) - 4 Death Watch (1980) - 4 Coup de torchon (1981) - 6 Un dimanche à la campagne (1984) - 7 Round Midnight (1986) - 7 La vie et rien d'autre (1989) - 7 L.627 (1992) - 5 Capitaine Conan (1996) - 7 Ça commence aujourd'hui (1999) - 8

36. Monte Hellman

Director | Iguana

Monte Hellman was born on July 12, 1929, in New York City, where his parents were visiting, but he grew up in Los Angeles. He studied drama at Stanford University--on an NBC scholarship--and film at UCLA. After a few years directing in summer theater, Hellman hooked up with legendary "B" movie ...

(1929-2021)

The Shooting (1966) - 4 Ride in the Whirlwind (1966) - 5 Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) - 7 Cockfighter (1974) - 2

37. Edgar Wright

Director | Shaun of the Dead

Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. He is best known for his comedic Three Flavours Cornetto film trilogy consisting of Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013), made with recurrent collaborators Simon Pegg...

Shaun of the Dead (2004) - 4 Hot Fuzz (2007) - 8* Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) - 7 The World's End (2013) - 7 Baby Driver (2017) - 8* Last Night in Soho (2021) - 8

38. 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 ...

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) - 7 Kafka (1991) - 6 King of the Hill (1993) - 7 Out of Sight (1998) - 7 The Limey (1999) - 7 Erin Brockovich (2000) - 8* Traffic (2000) - 8 Ocean's Eleven (2001) -8* Ocean's Twelve (2004) - 5 Ocean's Thirteen (2007) - 7 Che: Part One (2008) - 8 Che: Part Two (2008) - 7 Contagion (2011) - 6 Side Effects (2013) - 7 Behind the Candelabra (2013) - 6 Logan Lucky (2017) - 7 No Sudden Move (2021) - 6

39. Roger Michell

Director | Notting Hill

Roger Michell was born on June 5, 1956 in Pretoria, South Africa. He was a director and writer, known for Notting Hill (1999), Venus (2006) and Enduring Love (2004). He was married to Anna Maxwell Martin and Kate Buffery. He died on September 22, 2021.

(1956-2021)

Notting Hill (1999) - 4 Changing Lanes (2002) - 5 The Mother (2003) - 7 The Duke (2020) - 8

40. Andy Serkis

Actor | War for the Planet of the Apes

English film actor, director and author Andy Serkis is known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation and voice work for such computer-generated characters as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), ...

Breathe (2017) - 8 Mowgli (2018) - 7 Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) - 3

41. 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), ...

Un 32 août sur terre (1998) - 5 Maelström (2000) - 6 Polytechnique (2009) - 8 Incendies (2010) - 9* Prisoners (2013) - 8* Enemy (2013) - 5 Sicario (2015) - 8* Arrival (2016) - 9* Blade Runner 2049 (2017) - 10* Dune: Part One (2021) - 10*

42. Jean-Marc Vallée

Director | C.R.A.Z.Y.

Jean-Marc Vallée was a Canadian filmmaker, editor and screenwriter from Montreal. He directed Black List, C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victoria, Wild, Dallas Buyers Club, Los Locos, Loser Love and Café de Flore. He also created the HBO shows Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects. He was married to Chantal ...

(1963-2021)

C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005) - 8 The Young Victoria (2009) - 5 Café de Flore (2011) - 5 Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - 9* Wild (2014) - 8 Demolition (2015) - 8

43. Peter Bogdanovich

Director | The Last Picture Show

Peter Bogdanovich was conceived in Europe but born in Kingston, New York. He is the son of immigrants fleeing the Nazis, Herma (Robinson) and Borislav Bogdanovich, a painter and pianist. His father was a Serbian Orthodox Christian, and his mother was from a wealthy Austrian Jewish family. Peter ...

(1939-2022)

Targets (1968) - 6 The Last Picture Show (1971) - 8 What's Up, Doc? (1972) - 7 Paper Moon (1973) - 8* Saint Jack (1979) - 5 Mask (1985) - 7 Noises Off... (1992) - 4

44. George Clooney

Actor | The Ides of March

George Timothy Clooney was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Nina Bruce (née Warren), a former beauty pageant queen, and Nick Clooney, a former anchorman and television host (who was also the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney). He has Irish, English, and German ancestry. Clooney ...

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) - 6 Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - 8 The Ides of March (2011) - 7 The Midnight Sky (2020) - 8 The Tender Bar (2021) - 6

45. 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 ...

(1946-2022)

Stripes (1981) - 6 Ghostbusters (1984) - 8* Twins (1988) - 5 Ghostbusters 2 (1989) - 7* Kindergarten Cop (1990) - 4 Dave (1993) - 7 Junior (1994) - 3 Draft Day (2014) - 5

46. J.J. Abrams

Producer | Lost

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams was born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, the son of TV producer parents. At 15, he wrote the music for Don Dohler's Nightbeast (1982). In his senior year of college, he and Jill Mazursky teamed up to write a feature film, which became Taking Care of Business (1990)....

Mission: Impossible 3 (2006) - 8* Star Trek (2009) - 10* Super 8 (2011) - 7* Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) - 10* Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - 9* Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - 7*

47. 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...

Sydney (1996) - 7 Boogie Nights (1997) - 9* Magnolia (1999) - 7 Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - 6 There Will Be Blood (2007) - 10* The Master (2012) - 8* Inherent Vice (2014) - 7 Phantom Thread (2017) - 8 Licorice Pizza (2021) - 7

48. Rian Johnson

Producer | Knives Out

Rian Johnson was born in Maryland and at a young age his family moved to San Clemente, California, where he was raised. After graduating from high school, he went on to attend the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. His first feature film, Brick (2005), was released in 2005 ...

Brick (2005) - 4 The Brothers Bloom (2008) - 5 Looper (2012) - 8* Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) - 9* Knives Out (2019) - 8* Glass Onion (2022) - 8*

49. Matt Reeves

Producer | The Batman

Matthew George "Matt" Reeves was born April 27, 1966 in Rockville Center, New York, USA and is a writer, director and producer. Reeves began making movies at age eight, directing friends and using a wind-up camera. He befriended filmmaker J.J. Abrams when both were 13 years old and a public-access ...

Cloverfield (2008) - 7 Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) - 8* War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) - 9* The Batman (2022) - 7

50. Michael Bay

Producer | Armageddon

A graduate of Wesleyan University, Michael Bay spent his 20s working on advertisements and music videos. His first projects after film school were in the music video business. He created music videos for Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Lionel Richie, Wilson Phillips, Donny Osmond and Divinyls. His work won...

Bad Boys (1995) - 7* The Rock (1996) - 5 Armageddon (1998) - 5 Pearl Harbor (2001) - 8* Bad Boys 2 (2003) - 7* The Island (2005) - 7 Transformers (2007) - 7 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) - 5 Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) - 6 13 Hours (2016) - 8* Ambulance (2022) - 5

51. 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 ...

Diner (1982) - 6 The Natural (1984) - 7 Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) - 5 Tin Men (1987) - 7 Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - 9* Rain Man (1988) - 9* Avalon (1990) - 7 Bugsy (1991) - 7 Sleepers (1996) - 8* Wag the Dog (1997) - 8* Liberty Heights (1999) - 7 Bandits (2001) - 5 You Don't Know Jack (2010) - 9 The Survivor (2021) - 7

52. Robert Eggers

Director | The Lighthouse

Robert Houston Eggers is an American filmmaker and production designer. He is best known for writing and directing the historical horror films The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019), as well as directing and co-writing the historical fiction epic film The Northman (2022). His films are noted ...

The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015) - 7 The Lighthouse (2019) - 7 The Northman (2022) - 8

53. Anthony Russo

Producer | Everything Everywhere All at Once

Anthony J. Russo is an American filmmaker and producer who works alongside his brother Joseph Russo. They have directed You, Me and Dupree, Cherry and the Marvel films Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Endgame is one of ...

Welcome to Collinwood (2002) - 5 You, Me and Dupree (2006) - 3 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - 9* Captain America: Civil War (2016) - 9* Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 10* Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 10* Cherry (2021) - 9 The Gray Man (2022) - 4

54. Joe Russo

Director | Avengers: Endgame

Joseph Vincent Russo is an American filmmaker and producer who works alongside his brother Anthony Russo. They have directed You, Me and Dupree, Cherry and the Marvel films Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Endgame is one ...

Welcome to Collinwood (2002) - 5 You, Me and Dupree (2006) - 3 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - 9* Captain America: Civil War (2016) - 9* Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 10* Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 10* Cherry (2021) - 9 The Gray Man (2022) - 4

55. Peter Brook

Director | Lord of the Flies

Born in London, Peter was educated at Westminster, and Magdalen College Oxford. He has staged numerous productions for Birmingham Rep, Stratford Upon Avon and Broadway. In 1962 he was appointed Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a position he held for 2 decades. His most famous stage ...

(1925-2022)

Moderato cantabile (1960) - 5 Lord of the Flies (1963) - 5 Marat/Sade (1967) - 7 Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979) - 5

56. Lana Wachowski

Writer | The Matrix

Lana Wachowski and her sister Lilly Wachowski, also known as the Wachowskis, are the duo behind such ground-breaking movies as The Matrix (1999) and Cloud Atlas (2012). Born to mother Lynne, a nurse, and father Ron, a businessman of Polish descent, Wachowski grew up in Chicago and formed a tight ...

Bound (1996) - 7 The Matrix (1999) - 10* The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - 8* The Matrix Revolutions (2003) - 8* Cloud Atlas (2012) - 7 The Matrix Resurrections (2021) - 4

57. Lilly Wachowski

Writer | The Matrix

Director, writer, and producer Lilly Wachowski was born in 1967 in Chicago, the daughter of Lynne, a nurse and painter, and Ron, a businessman. Lilly was educated at Kellogg Elementary School in Chicago, before moving on to Whitney M. Young High School. After graduating from high school, she ...

Bound (1996) - 7 The Matrix (1999) - 10* The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - 8* The Matrix Revolutions (2003) - 8* Cloud Atlas (2012) - 7

58. Jordan Peele

Writer | Nope

Jordan Peele is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director, writer, actor, producer, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions. Peele's first feature film, "Get Out," was a critically acclaimed blockbuster, recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film would earn Peele the ...

Get Out (2017) - 8* Us (2019) - 6 Nope (2022) - 7

59. Bob Rafelson

Producer | Five Easy Pieces

Bob Rafelson was an American film director, writer and producer. He is regarded as one of the founders of the New Hollywood movement in the 1970s. Among his best-known films are Five Easy Pieces (1970), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972), and The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981). He was also one of...

(1933-2022)

Five Easy Pieces (1970) - 7 The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) - 5 The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) - 7* Mountains of the Moon (1990) - 8

60. Wolfgang Petersen

Director | Das Boot

A controversial film maker, Wolfgang Petersen has at once been lauded for his professionalism and attention to detail and decried for turning out a string of standard commercial Hollywood blockbusters. The son of a naval officer, Petersen held a lifelong fascination with the sea and naval subjects....

(1941-2022)

Das Boot (1985) - 10* Enemy Mine (1985) - 4 In the Line of Fire (1993) - 7* Outbreak (1995) - 6 Air Force One (1997) - 5 Troy (2004) - 10*

61. David Yates

Director | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

David Yates was born on October 8, 1963 in St. Helens, Merseyside, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), The Legend of Tarzan (2016) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) - 8* Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) - 9* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) - 9* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) - 10* The Legend of Tarzan (2016) - 6 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) - 8 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) - 7 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) - 6

62. 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 ...

Night Shift (1982) - 5 Cocoon (1985) - 5 Willow (1988) - 7 Parenthood (1989) - 6 Backdraft (1991) - 6 Far and Away (1992) - 8* The Paper (1994) - 6 Apollo 13 (1995) - 8* Ransom (1996) - 7 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) - 4 A Beautiful Mind (2001) - 10* The Missing (2003) - 8 Cinderella Man (2005) - 9* The Da Vinci Code (2006) - 9* Frost/Nixon (2008) - 8* Angels & Demons (2009) - 8* Rush (2013) - 10* In the Heart of the Sea (2015) - 8* Inferno (2016) - 3 Star Wars: Solo (2018) - 8* Hillbilly Elegy (2020) - 8 Thirteen Lives (2022) - 10*

63. 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 ...

Cronos (1992) - 7 El espinazo del diablo (2001) - 7 Blade 2 (2002) - 2 Hellboy (2004) - 6 El laberinto del fauno (2006) - 9* Hellboy: The Golden Army (2008) - 8 Pacific Rim (2013) - 6 Crimson Peak (2015) - 6 The Shape of Water (2017) - 9* Nightmare Alley (2021) - 8* Pinocchio (2022) - 5

64. 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 ...

Thief (1981) - 7* Manhunter (1986) - 7 The Last of the Mohicans (1992) - 9* Heat (1995) - 9* The Insider (1999) - 10* Ali (2001) - 7 Collateral (2004) - 8* Public Enemies (2009) - 9*

65. William Friedkin

Director | To Live and Die in L.A.

Friedkin's mother was an operating room nurse. His father was a merchant seaman, semi-pro softball player and ultimately sold clothes in a men's discount chain. Ultimately, his father never earned more than $50/week in his whole life and died indigent. Eventually young Will became infatuated with ...

(1935-2023)

The Boys in the Band (1970) - 8 The French Connection (1971) - 5 The Exorcist (1973) - 8* Sorcerer (1977) - 8* The Brink's Job (1978) - 5 Cruising (1980) - 6 To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) - 7 Rules of Engagement (2000) - 5 Killer Joe (2011) - 4 The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023) - 7

66. David Ayer

Producer | End of Watch

David Ayer is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. David Ayer was born in Champaign, Illinois and grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota, and Bethesda, Maryland, where he was kicked out of his house by his parents as a teenager. Ayer then lived with his cousin in Los Angeles, ...

Harsh Times (2005) - 7 Street Kings (2008) - 7* End of Watch (2012) - 8* Fury (2014) - 9* Suicide Squad (2016) - 4

67. 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 ...

Blood Simple (1984) - 7 Raising Arizona (1987) - 7 Miller's Crossing (1990) - 8* Barton Fink (1991) - 7 The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) - 7 Fargo (1996) - 10* The Big Lebowski (1998) - 10* O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - 8* The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) - 8 Intolerable Cruelty (2003) - 4 The Ladykillers (2004) - 4 No Country for Old Men (2007) - 8* Burn After Reading (2008) - 7 A Serious Man (2009) - 8 True Grit (2010) - 8* Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - 8 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - 6 The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021) - 7

68. Ethan Coen

Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

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

Blood Simple (1984) - 7 Raising Arizona (1987) - 7 Miller's Crossing (1990) - 8* Barton Fink (1991) - 7 The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) - 7 Fargo (1996) - 10* The Big Lebowski (1998) - 10* O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) - 8* Intolerable Cruelty (2003) - 4 The Ladykillers (2004) - 4 No Country for Old Men (2007) - 8* Burn After Reading (2008) - 7 A Serious Man (2009) - 8 True Grit (2010) - 8* Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) - 8 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) - 6

69. 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 ...

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) - 3 Beetlejuice (1988) - 7* Batman (1989) - 7 Edward Scissorhands (1990) - 7* Batman Returns (1992) - 5 Ed Wood (1994) - 8* Mars Attacks! (1996) - 7 Sleepy Hollow (1999) - 9* Planet of the Apes (2001) - 3 Big Fish (2003) - 8* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) - 6 Corpse Bride (2005) - 7 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) - 8* Alice in Wonderland (2010) - 6 Dark Shadows (2012) - 5 Frankenweenie (2012) - 6 Big Eyes (2014) - 7 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) - 5

70. 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 ...

The Duellists (1977) - 8* Alien (1979) - 9* Blade Runner (1982) - 9* Legend (1985) - 6 Black Rain (1989) - 5 Thelma & Louise (1991) - 8* 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) - 5 White Squall (1996) - 8 Gladiator (2000) - 10* Hannibal (2001) - 7 Black Hawk Down (2001) - 10* Matchstick Men (2003) - 8* Kingdom of Heaven (2005) - 10* A Good Year (2006) - 7 American Gangster (2007) - 8* Body of Lies (2008) - 7* Robin Hood (2010) - 9* Alien: Prometheus (2012) - 8 Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) - 9* The Martian (2015) - 10* Alien: Covenant (2017) - 3 All the Money in the World (2017) - 8* The Last Duel (2021) - 9* House of Gucci (2021) - 8* Napoleon (2023) - 8*

71. Matthew Vaughn

Producer | Kick-Ass

Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director. He is known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Snatch (2000) and for directing the crime thriller, Layer Cake (2004), the fantasy epic, Stardust (2007), the superhero comedy, Kick-Ass (2010), and the ...

Layer Cake (2004) - 8* Stardust (2007) - 6 Kick-Ass (2010) - 7 X-Men: First Class (2011) - 7 Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) - 3

72. Bong Joon Ho

Writer | Snowpiercer

Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. The recipient of three Academy Awards, his filmography is characterized by emphasis on social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. He first became known to audiences and achieved a cult following with his directorial debut film, the ...

Flandersui gae (2000) - 5 Salinui chueok (2003) - 9* Gwoemul (2006) - 8 Madeo (2009) - 8 Snowpiercer (2013) - 8* Okja (2017) - 7 Gisaengchung (2019) - 9*

73. Jeff Nichols

Writer | Take Shelter

Jeff Nichols was born on December 7, 1978 in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. He is a writer and director, known for Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012) and Midnight Special (2016).

Shotgun Stories (2007) - 7 Take Shelter (2011) - 7 Mud (2012) - 8* Midnight Special (2016) - 9* Loving (2016) - 8

74. 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, ...

Old School (2003) - 7 Starsky & Hutch (2004) - 5 The Hangover (2009) - 4 Due Date (2010) - 6 The Hangover 2 (2011) - 3 War Dogs (2016) - 8* Joker (2019) - 9*

75. Yorgos Lanthimos

Director | The Lobster

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

Kynodontas (2009) - 8 The Lobster (2015) - 8 The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) - 7 The Favourite (2018) - 8* Poor Things (2023) - 7

76. George Miller

Producer | Mad Max: Fury Road

George Miller is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and former medical doctor. He is best known for his Mad Max franchise, with Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) being hailed as amongst the greatest action films of all time. Aside from the Mad Max ...

Mad Max (1979) - 3 Mad Max 2 (1981) - 5 Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) - 2 The Witches of Eastwick (1987) - 3 Lorenzo's Oil (1992) - 8 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - 8* Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) - 7



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