My favourite Directors
by hfaulner | created - 06 Jul 2022 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicDirectors & Writers
1. 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 ...
2. Steven Spielberg
Producer | Schindler's List
One of the most influential personalities in the history of cinema, Steven Spielberg is Hollywood's best known director and one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world. He has an extraordinary number of commercially successful and critically acclaimed credits to his name, either as a director, ...
3. 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 ...
4. James Cameron
Writer | Avatar: The Way of Water
James Francis Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada. He moved to the United States in 1971. The son of an engineer, he majored in physics at California State University before switching to English, and eventually dropping out. He then drove a truck to support his ...
5. Luc Besson
Writer | Le Cinquième Élément
Luc Besson spent the first years of his life following his parents, scuba diving instructors, around the world. His early life was entirely aquatic. He already showed amazing creativity as a youth, writing early drafts of The Big Blue (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997), as an adolescent bored in ...
Leon: The Professional - 1994
The Fifth Element - 1997
The Lady - 2011
Lucy - 2014
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - 2017
Anna - 2019
(Writer)
Taxi - 1997
Taxi 2 - 2000
Wasabi - 2001
Kiss of the Dragon - 2001
The Transporter - 2002
District B13 - 2004
Unleashed - 2005
Taken - 2008
From Paris with Love - 2010
Colombiana - 2011
Taken 2 - 2012
Taken 3 - 2014
6. 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), ...
Incendies - 2010 Prisoners - 2013 Enemy - 2013 Sicario - 2015 Arrival - 2016 Blade Runner 2049 Dune - 2021
7. Roland Emmerich
Writer | Independence Day
Roland Emmerich is a German film director and producer of blockbuster films like The Day After Tomorrow (2004), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day (1996) and The Patriot (2000). Before fame, he originally wanted to be a production designer, but decided to be a director, after watching the original ...
Universal Soldier - 1992 Independence Day - 1996 Godzilla - 1998 The Patriot - 2000 The Day After Tomorrow - 2004 10,000 B.C. - 2008 2012 - 2009 White House Down - 2013 Midway - 2019 Moonfall - 2022
8. David Fincher
Director | Se7en
David Fincher was born in 1962 in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was 18 years old he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981-1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials...
Se7en - 1995 The Game - 1997 Fight Club - 1997 Panic Room - 2002 Zodiac - 2007 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 2008 The Social Network - 2010 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 2011 Gone Girl - 2014
9. Paul Verhoeven
Director | RoboCop
Paul Verhoeven graduated from the University of Leiden, with a degree in math and physics. He entered the Royal Netherlands Navy, where he began his film career by making documentaries for the Navy and later for TV. In 1969, he directed the popular Dutch TV series, Floris (1969), about a medieval ...
Robocop - 1987 Total Recall - 1990 Basic Instinct - 1992 Starship Troopers - 1997 Black Book - 2006 Elle - 2016 Benedetta - 2021
10. 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 ...
Killer's Kiss - (1955) 4K The Killing - (1956) 4K Paths of Glory - (1957) 4K Spartacus - (1960) 4K Lolita - (1962) Dr. Strangelove - (1964) 4K 2001: A Space Odyssey - (1968) 4K A Clockwork Orange - (1971) 4K Barry Lyndon - (1975) The Shining - (1980) 4K Full Metal Jacket - (1987) 4K Eyes Wide Shut - (1999)
11. 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...
12. 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 Road to Perdition - 2002 Skyfall - 2012 Spectre - 2015 1917 - 2019
13. 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 ...
Hellboy - 2004
Pan's Labyrinth - 2006
Pacific Rim - 2013
P.T. (Video Game) - 2014
Crimson Peak - 2015
The Shape of Water - 2017
Nightmare Alley - 2021
Pinocchio - 2022
(Writer)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 2012
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - 2013
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - 2014
14. Riri Riza
Writer | Eliana, Eliana
Riri Riza was born on October 7, 1970 in Makassar, Indonesia. He is a writer and director, known for Eliana, Eliana (2002), Emma' (Mother) (2016) and Sokola Rimba (2013).
Gie - 2005
3 Hari untuk selamanya / Three Days to Forever - 2007
Laskar Pelangi - 2008
Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 2 / What's Up with Love 2 - 2016
Sokola Rimba - 2013
Bebas / Glorious Days - 2019
(Writer)
Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? / What's Up with Love? - 2002
15. Peter Jackson
Producer | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Sir Peter Jackson made history with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, becoming the first person to direct three major feature films simultaneously. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were nominated for and collected a slew of awards from around the globe, with The ...
16. Mel Gibson
Actor | Braveheart
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA, as the sixth of eleven children of Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson (who died in December of 1990). His mother was Irish, from County Longford, while his American-born father is ...
Braveheart - 1995 The Passion of the Christ - 2004 Apocalypto - 2006 Hacksaw Ridge - 2016 The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection - 2024
17. Park Chan-wook
Director | Oldeuboi
Park Chan-wook was born on August 23, 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and director, known for Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.
Joint Security Area - 2000 Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - 2002 Oldboy - 2003 Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - 2005 Thirst - 2009 Stoker - 2013 The Handmaiden - 2016 Decision to Leave - 2022
18. 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 ...
Barking Dogs Never Bite - 2000 Memories of Murder - 2003 The Host - 2006 Mother - 2009 Snowpiercer - 2013 Okja - 2017 Parasite - 2019
19. Peter Weir
Director | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Peter Weir was born on August 21, 1944 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), The Way Back (2010) and Witness (1985). He has been married to Wendy Stites since 1966. They have two children.
Gallipoli - 1981 The Year of Living Dangerously - 1982 Witness - 1985 Dead Poets Society - 1989 The Truman Show - 1998 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - 2003 The Way Back - 2010
20. 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 ...
21. John Carpenter
Writer | The Fog
John Howard Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, to mother Milton Jean (Carter) and father Howard Ralph Carpenter. His family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his father, a professor, was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University. He attended Western Kentucky ...
22. Ang Lee
Director | Wo hu cang long
Born in 1954 in Pingtung, Taiwan, Ang Lee has become one of today's greatest contemporary filmmakers. Ang graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts in 1975 and then came to the U.S. to receive a B.F.A. Degree in Theatre/Theater Direction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...
The Wedding Banquet - 1993 Eat Drink Man Woman - 1994 Sense and Sensibility - 1995 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 2000 Hulk - 2003 Brokeback Mountain - 2005 Lust, Caution - 2007 Life of Pi - 2012 Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - 2016 Gemini Man - 2019
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)...
24. Hayao Miyazaki
Writer | Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi
Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking visuals in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan.
Miyazaki started his career in 1963 as an animator at the ...
25. Gareth Evans
Writer | Serbuan maut
Welsh born writer/director, in 2003 directed a short film "Samurai Monogatari" telling the tale of a Samurai waiting to be executed. The short was in Japanese language and starred students from Tokyo who were studying at Cardiff University at the time.
In 2003 he also graduated with an MA in ...
Merantau - 2009 The Raid: Redemption - 2011 The Raid 2 - 2014 Gangs of London - 2020
26. 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)....
27. Edward Zwick
Producer | The Last Samurai
Zwick moves deftly between the roles of writer, director and producer. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the 1989 critically acclaimed Civil War drama, Glory. He received his second Golden Globe nomination as a director for Legends of the Fall. Zwick received an Academy Award...
Glory - 1989 Legends of the Fall - 1994 The Siege - 1998 The Last Samurai - 2003 Blood Diamond - 2006 Defiance - 2008 Love & Other Drugs - 2010
28. 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 ...
29. 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 ...
30. Sam Raimi
Director | Spider-Man
Highly inventive U.S. film director/producer/writer/actor Sam Raimi first came to the attention of film fans with the savage, yet darkly humorous, low-budget horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). From his childhood, Raimi was a fan of the cinema and, before he was ten-years-old, he was out making ...
31. Kore-eda Hirokazu
Director | Manbiki kazoku
Born in Tokyo in 1962. Originally intended to be a novelist, but after graduating from Waseda University in 1987 went on to become an assistant director at T.V. Man Union. Snuck off set to film Mou hitotsu no kyouiku - Ina shogakkou haru gumi no kiroku (1991). His first feature, Maborosi (1995), ...
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