Artimidor's Complete Film Ratings by Director

1. Stanley Kubrick

Director | 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Sadie Gertrude (Perveler) and Jacob Leonard Kubrick, a physician. His family were Jewish immigrants (from Austria, Romania, and Russia). Stanley was considered intelligent, despite poor grades at school. Hoping that a change of scenery would ...

Evaluated films: 9.9 - 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 9.7 - A Clockwork Orange (1971) 9.5 - Paths of Glory (1957) 9.3 - The Shining (1980) 9.1 - Dr. Strangelove (1964) 9.0 - Full Metal Jacket (1987) 8.9 - Spartacus (1960) 8.8 - Barry Lyndon (1975) 8.5 - The Killing (1956) 8.4 - Lolita (1962) 8.0 - Eyes Wide Shut (1999) 7.6 - Killer's Kiss (1955) 6.8 - Fear and Desire (1953)

Documentaries on Stanley Kubrick: 8.2 - Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (Harlan, 2001) 7.0 - S is for Stanley (Infascelli, 2015)

2. David Lynch

Writer | Twin Peaks

Born in precisely the kind of small-town American setting so familiar from his films, David Lynch spent his childhood being shunted from one state to another as his research scientist father kept getting relocated. He attended various art schools, married Peggy Lynch and then fathered future ...

Evaluated films: 9.8 - Mulholland Dr. (2001) 9.2 - The Elephant Man (1980) 9.0 - Twin Peaks (TV series, 1990-1991) 8.9 - Inland Empire (2006) 8.8 - Eraserhead (1977) 8.5 - The Straight Story (1999) 8.1 - Blue Velvet (1986) 7.9 - Wild at Heart (1990) 7.5 - Twin Peaks: The Return (TV series, 2017) 7.4 - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) 7.3 - Lost Highway (1997) 6.0 - Eraserhead Stories (2001)

3. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 9.7 - Vertigo (1958) 9.6 - Psycho (1960) 9.3 - Rear Window (1954) 9.2 - Strangers on a Train (1951) 9.1 - Dial M for Murder (1954) 8.8 - North by Northwest (1959) 8.5 - The Birds (1963) 8.3 - Rebecca (1940) 8.3 - The Paradine Case (1947) 8.2 - Rope (1948) 8.1 - The 39 Steps (1935) 8.1 - Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 8.0 - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) 8.0 - The Lady Vanishes (1938) 7.9 - The Trouble with Harry (1955) 7.9 - Frenzy (1972) 7.8 - Notorious (1946) 7.8 - Family Plot (1976) 7.8 - Lifeboat (1944) 7.6 - The Wrong Man (1956) 7.5 - I Confess (1953) 7.4 - Spellbound (1945) 7.4 - Saboteur (1942) 7.3 - Marnie (1964) 7.2 - To Catch a Thief (1955) 7.2 - Torn Curtain (1966) 7.2 - Suspicion (1941) 7.2 - The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) 6.8 - Stage Fright (1950) 6.7 - Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) 6.6 - Topaz (1969)

Documentaries on Alfred Hitchcock: 8.1 - Hitchcock/Truffaut (Jones, 2015)

4. Sergio Leone

Writer | Once Upon a Time in America

Sergio Leone was virtually born into the cinema - he was the son of Roberto Roberti (A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone), one of Italy's cinema pioneers, and actress Bice Valerian. Leone entered films in his late teens, working as an assistant director to both Italian directors and U.S. directors working in ...

Evaluated films: 9.7 - Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) 9.6 - Once Upon a Time in America (1984) 9.1 - Duck, You Sucker (1971) 8.9 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 8.3 - For a Few Dollars More (1965) 8.0 - A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

5. Béla Tarr

Producer | Werckmeister harmóniák

Béla Tarr was born on July 21, 1955 in Pécs, Hungary. He is a producer and director, known for Werckmeister Harmonies (2000), The Turin Horse (2011) and Satantango (1994). He is married to Ágnes Hranitzky.

Evaluated films: 9.7 - Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) 9.4 - Satantango (1994) 8.3 - Damnation (1988) 8.2 - The Man From London (2007) 7.0 - The Turin Horse (2011)

6. Carl Theodor Dreyer

Writer | Gertrud

The illegitimate son of a Danish farmer and his Swedish housekeeper, Carl Theodor Dreyer was born in Copenhagen on the 3th of February, 1889. He spent his early years in various foster homes before being adopted by the Dreyers at the age of two. Contrary to popular belief (perhaps nourished by the ...

Evaluated films: 9.7 - The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) 9.1 - Vampyr (1932) 9.1 - Ordet (1955) 8.6 - Day of Wrath (1943) 8.0 - Gertrud (1964) 6.9 - Master of the House (1925)

7. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Director | Un long dimanche de fiançailles

Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a self-taught director who was very quickly interested by cinema, with a predilection for a fantastic cinema where form is as important as the subject. Thus he started directing TV commercials and video clips (such as Julien Clerc in 1984). At the same time he met designer/...

Evaluated films: 9.7 - Amélie (2001) 8.9 - Delicatessen (1991) 8.5 - Alien: Resurrection (1997) 8.0 - The City of Lost Children (1995) 7.6 - Micmacs (2009) 7.2 - A Very Long Engagement (2004) 5.8 - The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2013)

8. Robert Mulligan

Director | To Kill a Mockingbird

Robert Mulligan was born on August 23, 1925 in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and producer, known for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), Summer of '42 (1971) and The Other (1972). He was married to Sandy Levy and Jane Sutherland. He died on December 20, 2008 in Lyme, ...

Evaluated films: 9.7 - To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 7.0 - The Man in the Moon (1991)

9. Roberto Benigni

Actor | La vita è bella

Roberto Benigni was born on October 27, 1952 in Manciano La Misericordia, Castiglion Fiorentino, Tuscany, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for Life Is Beautiful (1997), The Tiger and the Snow (2005) and Down by Law (1986). He has been married to Nicoletta Braschi since December 26, 1991.

Evaluated films: 9.7 - Life is Beautiful (1997) 6.7 - Johnny Stecchino (1991)

10. Akira Kurosawa

Writer | Kakushi-toride no san-akunin

After training as a painter (he storyboards his films as full-scale paintings), Kurosawa entered the film industry in 1936 as an assistant director, eventually making his directorial debut with Sanshiro Sugata (1943). Within a few years, Kurosawa had achieved sufficient stature to allow him greater...

Evaluated films: 9.6 - Rashomon (1950) 9.5 - Ikiru (1952) 9.3 - Seven Samurai (1954) 9.3 - Ran (1985) 9.2 - The Hidden Fortress (1958) 9.0 - Throne of Blood (1957) 8.7 - Sanjuro (1962) 8.5 - Dersu Uzala (1975) 8.5 - Red Beard (1965) 8.3 - Yojimbo (1961) 8.3 - High and Low (1963) 8.0 - Stray Dog (1949) 8.0 - Kagemusha (1980) 7.9 - The Bad Sleep Well (1960) 7.8 - Dodes'ka-den (1970) 7.8 - Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990) 7.3 - I Live in Fear (1955) 7.0 - The Lower Depths (1957) 6.7 - The Men Who Tread the Tiger's Trail (1945) 6.2 - The Most Beautiful (1944) 6.1 - Sanshiro Sugata (1943) 5.4 - Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945)

Documentaries on Akira Kurosawa: 7.9 - Great Performances: Kurosawa (Low, 2002)

11. Billy Wilder

Writer | The Apartment

Originally planning to become a lawyer, Billy Wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a Viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to Berlin, where he worked for the city's largest tabloid. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many ...

Evaluated films: 9.6 - Sunset Blvd. (1950) 9.5 - The Apartment (1960) 9.3 - Double Indemnity (1944) 9.0 - Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 8.7 - The Lost Weekend (1945) 8.6 - Ace in the Hole (1951) 8.5 - Some Like It Hot (1959) 8.4 - Stalag 17 (1953) 8.3 - The Seven Year Itch (1955) 8.2 - The Front Page (1975) 8.1 - Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) 8.0 - The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) 8.0 - One, Two, Three (1961) 7.9 - The Fortune Cookie (1966) 7.9 - A Foreign Affair (1958) 7.7 - Five Graves to Cairo (1943) 7.7 - Sabrina (1954) 7.6 - Avanti! (1972) 7.5 - The Spirit of St. Louis (1957) 7.4 - The Major and the Minor (1942) 7.3 - Love in the Afternoon (1957)

12. Terrence Malick

Writer | Days of Heaven

Terrence Malick was born in Ottawa, Illinois. His family subsequently lived in Oklahoma and he went to school in Austin, Texas. He did his undergraduate work at Harvard, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in philosophy in 1965.

A member of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, he attended Magdalen ...

Evaluated films: 9.6 - The Tree of Life (2011) 9.5 - The Thin Red Line (1998) 8.6 - Badlands (1973) 8.5 - A Hidden Life (2019) 8.3 - Days of Heaven (1978) 8.0 - The New World (2005) 7.3 - To the Wonder (2012)

13. Federico Fellini

Writer | Le notti di Cabiria

The women who both attracted and frightened him and an Italy dominated in his youth by Mussolini and Pope Pius XII - inspired the dreams that Fellini started recording in notebooks in the 1960s. Life and dreams were raw material for his films. His native Rimini and characters like Saraghina (the ...

Evaluated films: 9.6 - La Strada (1954) 9.5 - Nights of Cabiria (1957) 8.2 - Juliet of the Spirits (1965) 8.2 - Amarcord (1973) 8.2 - I Vitelloni (1953) 8.0 - 8 1/2 (1963) 7.7 - Orchestra Rehearsal (1978) 7.5 - La Dolce Vita (1960) 7.5 - Roma (1972) 7.4 - Il Bidone (1955) 7.2 - Fellini Satyricon (1969) 6.8 - Fellini's Casanova (1976)

14. Andrei Tarkovsky

Writer | Offret

The most famous Soviet film-maker since Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky (the son of noted poet Arseniy Tarkovsky) studied music and Arabic in Moscow before enrolling in the Soviet film school VGIK. He shot to international attention with his first feature, Ivan's Childhood (1962), which won the...

Evaluated films: 9.6 - Stalker (1979) 9.3 - Solaris (1972) 9.3 - The Mirror (1975) 9.0 - Nostalghia (1984) 8.9 - The Sacrifice (1986) 8.8 - Andrei Rublev (1966) 7.8 - The Steamroller and the Violin (1960) 7.3 - Ivan's Childhood (1962)

15. Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writer | Trois couleurs: Bleu

Krzysztof Kieslowski graduated from Lódz Film School in 1969, and became a documentary, TV and feature film director and scriptwriter. Before making his first film for TV, Przejscie podziemne (1974) (The Underground Passage), he made a number of short documentaries. His next TV title, Personnel (...

Evaluated films: 9.6 - The Decalogue (TV mini-series, 1988) [*] - A Short Film About Love (1988) [*] - A Short Film About Killing (1988) 9.3 - Three Colors: Blue (1993) 9.1 - The Double Life of Veronique (1991) 8.7 - Three Colors: Red (1994) 8.6 - Three Colors: White (1994) 7.8 - Camera Buff (1979) 7.7 - Blind Chance (1986) 7.2 - No End (1985) 6.7 - The Scar (1976)

[*] ... Feature film version of a "Decalogue" episode

16. F.W. Murnau

Director | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

F.W. Murnau was a German film director. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at the age of 12, and became a friend of director Max Reinhardt. During World War I he served as a company commander at the eastern front and was in the German air ...

Evaluated films: 9.6 - Sunrise (1927) 8.4 - City Girl (1930) 8.3 - The Last Laugh (1924) 8.2 - Faust (1926) 8.1 - Nosferatu (1922) 7.7 - Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)

17. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 9.5 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 9.3 - Amadeus (1984) 8.3 - The Firemen's Ball (1967) 8.3 - The Loves of a Blonde (1965) 7.5 - Taking Off (1971) 7.4 - Man on the Moon (1999)

18. Giuseppe Tornatore

Director | La migliore offerta

Giuseppe Tornatore was born on May 27, 1956 in Bagheria, Sicily, Italy. He is a director and writer, known for The Best Offer (2013), Cinema Paradiso (1988) and The Legend of 1900 (1998). He is married to Roberta Pacetti.

Evaluated films: 9.5 - Cinema Paradiso (1988) 9.0 - A Pure Formality (1994) 8.5 - Malena (2000) 8.3 - The Unknown Woman (2006) 8.1 - Everybody's Fine (1990) 6.2 - The Best Offer (2013)

19. Yasujirô Ozu

Writer | Tôkyô monogatari

Tokyo-born Yasujiro Ozu was a movie buff from childhood, often playing hooky from school in order to see Hollywood movies in his local theatre. In 1923 he landed a job as a camera assistant at Shochiku Studios in Tokyo. Three years later, he was made an assistant director and directed his first ...

Evaluated films: 9.5 - Tokyo Story (1953) 8.6 - Late Spring (1949) 8.5 - The Only Son (1936) 8.1 - A Hen in the Wind (1948) 8.1 - The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family (1941) 8.0 - An Autumn Afternoon (1962) 8.0 - Early Summer (1951) 8.0 - Equinox Flower (1958) 7.9 - Floating Weeds (1959) 7.9 - Good Morning (1959) 7.8 - Late Autumn (1960) 7.7 - There Was a Father (1942) 7.4 - I Was Born, But... (1932) 7.2 - Early Spring (1956) 6.1 - Lightning Over Water (1980)

Documentaries on Yasujirô Ozu: 7.0 - Tokyo-Ga (Wenders, 1985)

20. Franklin J. Schaffner

Director | Planet of the Apes

Franklin J. Schaffner was one of the most innovative creative minds in the early days of American network television, utilizing a moving camera in the days when most television directors kept the camera static. His eye for visuals was developed in the dozens of live television programs he directed ...

Evaluated films: 9.5 - Planet of the Apes (1968) 8.5 - Patton (1970) 8.0 - Papillon (1973)

21. Emir Kusturica

Director | Underground

A Serbian film director. Born in 1954 in Sarajevo. Graduated in film directing at the prestigious Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague in 1978. During his studies, he was awarded several times for his short movies including Guernica (1978), which took first prize at the Student's Film ...

Evaluated films: 9.5 - Underground (1995) 8.3 - Time of the Gypsies (1988)

22. Elem Klimov

Director | Idi i smotri

Elem Klimov was born on July 9, 1933 in Stalingrad, Nizhne-Volzhskiy kray, RSFSR, USSR [now Volgograd, Volgogradskaya oblast, Russia]. He was a director and actor, known for Come and See (1985), Rasputin (1981) and Pokhozhdeniya zubnogo vracha (1965). He was married to Larisa Shepitko. He died on ...

Evaluated films: 9.5 - Come and See (1985) 8.1 - Farewell (1983) 7.4 - Welcome, or No Trespassing (1964)

23. David Lean

Director | Lawrence of Arabia

An important British filmmaker, David Lean was born in Croydon on March 25, 1908 and brought up in a strict Quaker family (ironically, as a child he wasn't allowed to go to the movies). During the 1920s, he briefly considered the possibility of becoming an accountant like his father before finding ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - Great Expectations (1946) 9.3 - Brief Encounter (1945) 8.8 - Doctor Zhivago (1965) 8.7 - Hobson's Choice (1954) 8.7 - Oliver Twist (1948) 8.5 - Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 8.4 - The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 8.2 - A Woman's Story (1949) 8.1 - Ryan's Daughter (1970) 7.9 - Breaking the Sound Barrier (1952) 7.8 - A Passage to India (1984) 7.7 - In Which We Serve (1942) 7.5 - Madeleine (1950) 7.4 - Blithe Spirit (1945) 7.4 - This Happy Breed (1944) 7.3 - Summertime (1955)

24. Victor Fleming

Director | Gone with the Wind

Victor Fleming entered the film business as a stuntman in 1910, mainly doing stunt driving - which came easy to him, as he had been a mechanic and professional race-car driver. He became interested in working on the other side of the camera, and eventually got a job as a cameraman on many of the ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - The Wizard of Oz (1939) 9.3 - Gone with the Wind (1939) 8.2 - Captains Courageous (1937) 7.0 - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

25. Vittorio De Sica

Director | Ladri di biciclette

Vittorio De Sica grew up in Naples, and started out as an office clerk in order to raise money to support his poor family. He was increasingly drawn towards acting, and made his screen debut while still in his teens, joining a stage company in 1923. By the late 1920s he was a successful matinee ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - Bicycle Thieves (1948) 9.0 - Umberto D. (1952) 8.8 - Miracle in Milan (1951) 8.5 - The Children Are Watching Us (1944) 8.1 - Shoeshine (1946) 7.6 - The Roof (1956) 6.7 - Woman Times Seven (1967)

26. Sidney Lumet

Director | 12 Angry Men

Sidney Lumet was a master of cinema, best known for his technical knowledge and his skill at getting first-rate performances from his actors -- and for shooting most of his films in his beloved New York. He made over 40 movies, often complex and emotional, but seldom overly sentimental. Although ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - 12 Angry Men (1957) 9.0 - Network (1975) 8.6 - Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 8.6 - Murder on the Orient Express (1974) 7.4 - Serpico (1973) 7.3 - The Verdict (1982) 6.8 - Long Day's Journey Into Night (1968) 6.5 - The Morning After (1986) 6.4 - The Pawnbroker (1964)

Documentaries on Sidney Lumet: 7.0 - By Sidney Lumet (Buirski, 2015)

27. Jim Jarmusch

Director | Paterson

Moved to New York City at the age of seventeen from Akron, Ohio. Graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in English, class of '75. Without any prior film experience, he was accepted into the Tisch School of the Arts, New York.

Evaluated films: 9.4 - Night on Earth (1991) 9.0 - Dead Man (1995) 8.3 - Mystery Train (1989) 8.3 - Stranger Than Paradise (1984) 8.1 - Coffee and Cigarettes (2003) 8.0 - Down by Law (1986) 7.8 - Broken Flowers (2005) 7.4 - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) 7.0 - Paterson (2016) 6.7 - Permanent Vacation (1980) 6.4 - The Year of the Horse (1997) 6.0 - Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

28. Mikhail Kalatozov

Director | Letyat zhuravli

Mikhail Kalatozov was born on December 28, 1903 in Tiflis, Russian Empire [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]. He was a director and cinematographer, known for The Cranes Are Flying (1957), True Friends (1954) and Zagovor obrechyonnykh (1950). He died on March 27, 1973 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - I Am Cuba (1964) 9.0 - The Cranes are Flying (1957) 8.0 - Letter Never Sent (1960) 7.9 - The Red Tent (1968)

29. Jean-Pierre Melville

Writer | Le Samouraï

The name "Melville" is not immediately associated with film. It conjures up images of white whales and crackbrained captains, of naysaying notaries and soup-spilling sailors. It is the countersign to a realm of men and their deeds, both heroic and villainous. It is the American novel, with its ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - Le Samouraï (1967) 8.9 - Le Cercle Rouge (1970) 8.8 - Army of Shadows (1969) 8.2 - Le Doulos (1962) 8.0 - Bob le Flambeur (1956) 7.7 - Un Flic (1972) 7.7 - Le Deuxième Souffle (1966) 7.3 - Le Silence de la Mer (1949) 6.8 - Léon Morin, Priest (1961) 6.7 - Magnet of Doom (1963)

30. Francis Ford Coppola

Producer | Apocalypse Now

Francis Ford Coppola was born in 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, but grew up in a New York suburb in a creative, supportive Italian-American family. His father, Carmine Coppola, was a composer and musician. His mother, Italia Coppola (née Pennino), had been an actress. Francis Ford Coppola graduated ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - Apocalypse Now (1979) 8.8 - The Godfather (1972) 8.7 - The Godfather: Part II (1974) 8.7 - The Conversation (1974) 8.0 - The Godfather: Part III (1990) 7.2 - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) 6.7 - Rumble Fish (1983)

Documentaries on Francis Ford Coppola: 8.2 - Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (Bahr/Hickenlooper, 1991)

31. Satyajit Ray

Writer | Pather Panchali

Satyajit Ray was born in Calcutta on May 2, 1921. His father, Late Sukumar Ray was an eminent poet and writer in the history of Bengali literature. In 1940, after receiving his degree in science and economics from Calcutta University, he attended Tagore's Viswa-Bharati University. His first movie ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - The World of Apu (1959) 8.8 - Aparajito (1956) 8.6 - Pather Panchali (1955) 8.5 - The Music Room (1958) 7.8 - Charulata (1964) 7.4 - The Adversary (1970)

32. Fritz Lang

Actor | Le mépris

Fritz Lang was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1890. His father managed a construction company. His mother, Pauline Schlesinger, was Jewish but converted to Catholicism when Lang was ten. After high school, he enrolled briefly at the Technische Hochschule Wien and then started to train as a painter. ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - Metropolis (1927) 8.6 - Destiny (1921) 8.5 - M (1931) 8.2 - Fury (1936) 8.2 - The Big Heat (1953) 8.0 - You Only Live Once (1937) 8.0 - The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933) 7.4 - The Woman in the Window (1944) 7.3 - The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960) 7.2 - Ministry of Fear (1944) 7.2 - Tiger of Bengal (1959) 7.2 - Scarlet Street (1945) 7.2 - Moonfleet (1955) 7.1 - Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) 7.1 - The Indian Tomb (1959) 6.8 - Clash by Night (1952) 6.2 - While the City Sleeps (1956) 6.2 - Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922) 6.0 - Secret Beyond the Door (1947)

33. Edgar Reitz

Director | Die andere Heimat - Chronik einer Sehnsucht

Studied theatre science, German philology, art history, and publicism in Munich. Published some poems and short stories during early 1950s, co-edited the literature magazine "Spuren". In 1952, he took acting lessons, co-founded a student theatre which became established as the university's studio ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany (TV series, 1984) 8.5 - Heimat III: A Chronicle of Endings and Beginnings (TV series, 2004) 8.4 - Heimat II: A Chronicle of a Generation (TV series, 1992) 8.3 - Home from Home: Chronicle of a Vision (2013) 7.1 - Geschichten aus den Hunsrückdörfern (1981) 6.8 - Heimat Fragments: The Women (2006)

34. Elia Kazan

Director | On the Waterfront

Known for his creative stage direction, Elia Kazan was born Elias Kazantzoglou on September 7, 1909 in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey). Noted for drawing out the best dramatic performances from his actors, he directed 21 actors to Oscar nominations, resulting in nine wins. He ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - On the Waterfront (1954) 8.4 - East of Eden (1955) 8.4 - A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 7.9 - America America (1963) 7.8 - A Face in the Crowd (1957) 7.5 - Splendor in the Grass (1961) 7.4 - Baby Doll (1956) 7.0 - Wild River (1960)

Documentaries on Elia Kazan: 6.4 - Elia Kazan: An Outsider (Tresgot, 1982)

35. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 9.4 - The Labyrinth of the Faun (2006) 7.8 - Hellboy (2004) 7.7 - Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) 7.7 - The Devil's Backbone (2001) 7.3 - The Shape of Water (2017) 7.2 - Cronos (1993)

36. Mark Cousins

Director | The First Movie

Mark Cousins was born on May 3, 1965 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. He is a director and writer, known for The First Movie (2009), The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018) and What Is This Film Called Love? (2012).

Evaluated films: 9.4 - The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011) 6.5 - A Story of Children and Film (2013)

37. Terry Gilliam

Writer | Brazil

Terry Gilliam was born near Medicine Lake, Minnesota. When he was 12 his family moved to Los Angeles where he became a fan of MAD magazine. In his early twenties he was often stopped by the police who suspected him of being a drug addict and Gilliam had to explain that he worked in advertising. In ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Brazil (1985) 9.1 - Tideland (2005) 8.6 - Twelve Monkeys (1995) 8.5 - The Fisher King (1991) 8.4 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1989) 7.5 - Time Bandits (1981) 7.2 - The Brothers Grimm (2005) 7.0 - The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen (1988) 6.8 - Jabberwocky (1977) 4.6 - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) 4.5 - The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

38. Robert Bresson

Writer | Au hasard Balthazar

Robert Bresson trained as a painter before moving into films as a screenwriter, making a short film (atypically a comedy), Public Affairs (1934) in 1934. After spending more than a year as a German POW during World War II, he made his debut with Angels of Sin (1943) in 1943. His next film, The ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - A Man Escaped (1956) 8.9 - Diary of a Country Priest (1951) 8.3 - L'argent (1983) 8.2 - Mouchette (1967) 8.0 - Pickpocket (1959) 7.9 - Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) 7.3 - Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945) 6.5 - The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962) 6.0 - Lancelot of the Lake (1974) 4.0 - The Devil, Probably (1977)

39. Michael Haneke

Writer | Caché

A true master of his craft, Michael Haneke is one of the greatest film artists working today and one who challenges his viewers each year and work goes by, with films that reflect real portions of life in realistic, disturbing and unforgettable ways. One of the most genuine filmmakers of the world ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Caché (2005) 8.8 - Amour (2012) 8.7 - Funny Games (1997) 8.5 - The Seventh Continent (1989) 8.2 - The White Ribbon (2009) 8.0 - Code Unknown (2000) 7.8 - 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) 7.4 - Benny's Video (1992) 6.9 - The Piano Teacher (2001)

40. 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...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Magnolia (1999) 8.7 - Boogie Nights (1997) 8.4 - There Will Be Blood (2007) 7.4 - Phantom Thread (2017) 7.2 - Punch-Drunk Love (2002) 6.5 - The Master (2012) 4.9 - Inherent Vice (2014)

41. Frank Capra

Director | It's a Wonderful Life

One of seven children, Frank Capra was born on May 18, 1897, in Bisacquino, Sicily. On May 10, 1903, his family left for America aboard the ship Germania, arriving in New York on May 23rd. "There's no ventilation, and it stinks like hell. They're all miserable. It's the most degrading place you ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 8.6 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 8.6 - It Happened One Night (1934) 8.1 - Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) 8.6 - Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1938) 7.5 - You Can't Take It with You (1936) 7.2 - Lost Horizon (1937)

Documentaries on Frank Capra: 7.7 - Frank Capra's American Dream (Bowser, 1997)

42. Orson Welles

Actor | Citizen Kane

His father, Richard Head Welles, was a well-to-do inventor, his mother, Beatrice (Ives) Welles, a beautiful concert pianist; Orson Welles was gifted in many arts (magic, piano, painting) as a child. When his mother died in 1924 (when he was nine) he traveled the world with his father. He was ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Citizen Kane (1941) 8.5 - The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) 8.3 - The Trial (1962) 8.2 - Touch of Evil (1958) 7.8 - Chimes at Midnight (1965) 7.7 - The Lady From Shanghai (1947) 7.6 - Othello (1951) 7.2 - Mr. Arkadin (1955) 6.0 - F For Fake (1973)

43. René Clément

Director | Plein soleil

René Clément was one of the leading French directors of the post-World War II era. He directed what are regarded as some of the greatest films of the time, such as The Battle of the Rails (1946), Forbidden Games (1952) and The Day and the Hour (1963). He was later almost forgotten as a director. He...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Forbidden Games (1952) 8.5 - Purple Noon (1960) 7.1 - The Deadly Trap (1971) 7.0 - The Damned (1947)

44. Leos Carax

Director | Holy Motors

Leos Carax made several short films and also wrote film criticism, then at the age of 24 years made a very strong first feature Boy Meets Girl (1984). The film played at the 1984 Cannes film festival and was a critical triumph. It paved the way for Carax's second feature Bad Blood (1986) (Bad Blood...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Holy Motors (2012) 8.5 - The Lovers on the Bridge (1991)

45. Robert Wise

Director | West Side Story

Robert Earl Wise was born on September 10, 1914 in Winchester, Indiana, the youngest of three sons of Olive R. (Longenecker) and Earl Waldo Wise, a meat packer. His parents were both of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) descent. At age nineteen, the avid moviegoer came into the film business through an ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - The Sound of Music (1965) 8.4 - The Sand Pebbles (1966) 8.2 - The Body Snatcher (1945) 7.9 - The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) 7.8 - The Curse of the Cat People (1944) 7.6 - Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) 7.1 - The Haunting (1971) 7.1 - West Side Story (1961) 6.9 - Odds Against Tomorrow (1969) 6.4 - Run Silent Run Deep (1958)

46. Hiroshi Teshigahara

Director | Suna no onna

Hiroshi Teshigahara was born the son of Sofu Teshigahara who was the founder of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana (flower arrangement). In 1950, he graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in oil painting. In 1958, he became the director of Sogetsu Art Centre and took a ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Woman in the Dunes (1964) 7.7 - Pitfall (1962) 7.4 - The Face of Another (1966)

47. Carlos Saura

Writer | Carmen

Spanish director, writer, producer (2 films) and actor (2 films). His interest in cinema started when he was very young. His mother, who was a pianist, instilled in him the liking for music, and his brother, Antonio, who was a painter, the passion for art. When he was an teenager he started to ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - Cría Cuervos (1976) 7.0 - The Hunt (1966)

48. Fernando Meirelles

Director | The Constant Gardener

Fernando Meirelles was born in a middle class family in São Paulo City, Brazil.

He studied architecture at the university of São Paulo. At the same time he developed an interest in filmmaking. With a group of friends he started producing experimental videos and video art. They won a huge number of ...

Evaluated films: 9.3 - City of God (2002) 6.8 - The Constant Gardener (2005)

49. Errol Morris

Director | The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

His documentaries helped spur a rebirth of non-fiction film in the 80s & garnered wide critical success. But until 2003's "The Fog of War," Morris was shunned by the Academy Awards.

Morris' first two films won much acclaim (Gates of Heaven (1978) and Vernon, Florida (1981)). In the second movie, ...

Evaluated films: 9.2 - The Thin Blue Line (1988) 8.6 - Standard Operating Procedure (2008) 8.5 - The Fog of War (2003) 8.2 - Tabloid (2010) 8.0 - The Unknown Known (2013) 8.0 - A Brief History of Time (1991) 7.9 - Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred Leuchter (1999) 7.6 - Gates of Heaven (1978) 7.2 - Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997) 7.2 - Vernon, Florida (1981)

50. Jacques Becker

Writer | Le trou

His interest in films was stimulated by a meeting with King Vidor, who offered him employment in the US as actor and assistant director. However, he remained in France and became assistant to Jean Renoir, a friend of the family, during that director's peak period (1932-39). In 1934 he ventured ...

Evaluated films: 9.2 - Le Trou (1960) 8.0 - Touchez Pas au Grisbi (1955) 7.8 - Casque d'Or (1952) 7.3 - It Happened at the Inn (1943)

51. Charlie Kaufman

Writer | I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Avid reader Charlie Kaufman wrote plays and made short films as a young student. He moved from Massapequa, New York to West Hartford, Connecticut in 1972 where he attended high school. As a comedic actor, he performed in school plays and, after graduation, he enrolled at Boston University but soon ...

Evaluated films: 9.2 - Synecdoche, New York (2008) 7.5 - Anomalisa (2015)

52. Roy Andersson

Director | En kärlekshistoria

Roy Arne Lennart Andersson is a Swedish film director, best known for his distinctive style of absurdist humor and melancholic depictions of human life. His personal style is characterized by long takes, and stiff caricaturing of Swedish culture and grotesque. Over his career Andersson earned ...

Evaluated films: 9.1 - You, the Living (2007) 9.0 - Songs from the Second Floor (2000) 8.9 - A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting Existence (2014) 7.3 - A Swedish Love Story (1970) 6.9 - About Endlessness (2019)

53. Terry Jones

Writer | The Meaning of Life

Terry Jones was born in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, the son of Dilys Louisa (Newnes), a homemaker, and Alick George Parry Jones, a bank clerk. His older brother is production designer Nigel Jones. His grandparents were involved in the entertainment business, having managed the local Amateur Operatic ...

Evaluated films: 9.1 - The Meaning of Life (1982) 9.0 - Life of Brian (1979) 8.4 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

54. John Cassavetes

Actor | Rosemary's Baby

John Cassavetes was a Greek-American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He is considered a pioneer of American independent film, as he often financed his own films.

Cassavetes was born in New York City in 1929 to Nicholas John Cassavetes (1893-1979) and his wife, Katherine Demetre (1906-1983). ...

Evaluated films: 9.1 - A Woman Under the Influence (1974) 9.0 - Opening Night (1977) 8.3 - Love Streams (1984) 7.8 - Shadows (1959) 7.3 - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) 7.2 - Faces (1968) 7.1 - Gloria (1980) 6.0 - Husbands (1970)

55. Charles Chaplin

Writer | The Great Dictator

Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the ...

Evaluated films (features only): 9.1 - Modern Times (1936) 8.8 - Limelight (1952) 8.6 - The Gold Rush (1925) 8.4 - The Kid (1921) 8.4 - The Circus (1928) 8.3 - City Lights (1931) 8.3 - The Pilgrim (1923) 8.2 - The Great Dictator (1940) 7.3 - Monsieur Verdoux (1947) 7.3 - A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (1923) 6.5 - A King in New York (1957)

Documentaries on Charles Chaplin: 8.9 - Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (Schickel, 2003)

56. Buster Keaton

Actor | The General

Joseph Frank Keaton was born on October 4, 1895 in Piqua, Kansas, to Joe Keaton and Myra Keaton. Joe and Myra were Vaudevillian comedians with a popular, ever-changing variety act, giving Keaton an eclectic and interesting upbringing. In the earliest days on stage, they traveled with a medicine ...

Evaluated films (features only): 9.1 - The General (1926) 8.7 - Seven Chances (1925) 8.4 - The Cameraman (1928) 8.2 - The Navigator (1924) 8.2 - Sherlock Jr. (1924) 8.0 - Our Hospitality (1923) 7.4 - Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) 7.1 - Battling Butlers (1926) 6.9 - Go West (1925) 6.6 - Spite Marriage (1929) 6.0 - Three Ages (1923)

Documentaries on Buster Keaton: 8.2 - Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (Brownlow, 1987) 8.1 - The Great Buster (Bogdanovich, 2018) 7.6 - Buster Keaton Rides Again (Spotton, 1965)

57. Michael Curtiz

Director | Casablanca

Curtiz began acting in and then directing films in his native Hungary in 1912. After WWI, he continued his filmmaking career in Austria and Germany and into the early 1920s when he directed films in other countries in Europe. Moving to the US in 1926, he started making films in Hollywood for Warner...

Evaluated films: 9.1 - The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 8.8 - Casablanca (1942) 8.3 - The Sea Hawk (1942) 8.3 - Captain Blood (1935) 7.8 - Mildred Pierce (1945) 7.8 - The Sea Wolf (1941) 7.7 - The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) 7.7 - They Died With Their Boots On (1941) 7.4 - Dodge City (1939) 7.4 - The Walking Dead (1936) 7.4 - Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) 7.0 - Angels With Dirty Faces (1938) 7.0 - We're No Angels (1955) 6.9 - White Christmas (1954) 6.8 - Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) 6.6 - Passage to Marseille (1944)

58. Ron Fricke

Cinematographer | Samsara

Ron Fricke is known for Samsara (2011), Baraka (1992) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Evaluated films: 9.1 - Baraka (1992) 8.6 - Samsara (2011)

59. Nicolas Roeg

Director | Don't Look Now

When he made his directorial debut in 1970, Nicolas Roeg was already a 23-year veteran of the British film industry, starting out in 1947 as an editing apprentice and working his way up to cinematographer twelve years later. He first came to attention as part of the second unit on David Lean's ...

Evaluated films: 9.1 - Don't Look Now (1973) 8.5 - Performance (1970) 8.2 - Walkabout (1971) 7.2 - Two Deaths (1995) 6.9 - Bad Timing (1980) 2.4 - The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

60. Lee Chang-dong

Writer | Beoning

Lee Chang-Dong was born in 1954 in Daegu, which some consider the most right-wing city in South Korea. Lee is a former high-school teacher and an acclaimed novelist. He turned to cinema when he was over 40 years old. His debut film "Green Fish" (1997) brought immediate success and critical acclaim....

Evaluated films: 9.1 - Peppermint Candy (1999) 8.5 - Poetry (2010) 8.1 - Burning (2018) 8.0 - Oasis (2002) 7.5 - Secret Sunshine (2007)

61. Werner Herzog

Director | Fitzcarraldo

Director. Writer. Producer. Actor. Poet. He studied history, literature and theatre for some time, but didn't finish it and founded instead his own film production company in 1963. Later in his life, Herzog also staged several operas in Bayreuth, Germany, and at the Milan Scala in Italy. Herzog has...

Evaluated films: 9.1 - Stroszek (1977) 8.3 - Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) 8.3 - On Death Row (TV series, 2012) 8.2 - The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) 8.2 - Fizcarraldo (1982) 8.2 - The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1997) 8.1 - Encounters at the End of the World (2007) 8.1 - Grizzly Man (2005) 8.1 - Lessons of Darkness (1992) 8.1 - Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) 8.0 - The White Diamond (2004) 8.0 - My Best Fiend - Klaus Kinski (1999) 8.0 - Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) 7.8 - The Great Ecstasy of the Wood Carver Steiner (1974) 7.7 - Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) 7.6 - Cobra Verde (1987) 7.5 - Into the Abyss (2011) 7.5 - Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) 7.2 - Heart of Glass (1968) 7.0 - Wheel of Time (2002) 7.0 - Bells from the Deep (1993) 6.8 - Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) 6.8 - La Soufrière (1977) 6.5 - Woyzeck (1979) 2.8 - Fata Morgana (1971)

Documentaries on Werner Herzog: 8.3 - Burden of Dreams (Blank, 1982)

62. Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Writer | Gabbeh

Mohsen Makhmalbaf is known as one of the most influential filmmakers and founders of the new wave of Iranian cinema in the world today.

Many of his films like Salam Cinema, A Moment Of Innocence, Gabbeh, Kandahar and The President have been widely well received across the globe and have brought him ...

Evaluated films: 9.1 - A Moment of Innocence (1996) 8.0 - Salaam Cinema (1995) 7.6 - The Cyclist (1987) 7.5 - Kandahar (2001) 7.4 - Gabbeh (1996) 6.4 - The Silence (1998)

63. Robert Altman

Director | Gosford Park

Robert Altman was born on February 20th, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, to B.C. (an insurance salesman) and Helen Altman. He entered St. Peters Catholic school at the age six, and spent a short time at a Catholic high school. From there, he went to Rockhurst High School. It was then that he started...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Long Goodbye (1988) 8.9 - 3 Women (1977) 8.8 - Short Cuts (1993) 8.7 - Nashville (1975) 8.3 - McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) 7.8 - Thieves Like Us (1974) 7.6 - The Player (1992) 7.2 - MASH (1971) 7.2 - That Cold Day in the Park (1969)

Documentaries on Robert Altman: 6.9 - Altman (Mann, 2014)

64. Alain Resnais

Director | Hiroshima mon amour

Alain Resnais was born on June 3, 1922 in Vannes, Morbihan, France. He was a director and editor, known for Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), Same Old Song (1997) and My American Uncle (1980). He was married to Sabine Azéma and Florence Malraux. He died on March 1, 2014 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Last Year at Marienbad (1961) 8.9 - Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959) 8.7 - Night and Fog (1955) 8.5 - My American Uncle (1980) 7.7 - Statues also Die (1953) 7.1 - Muriel (1963) 6.5 - Providence (1977) 6.5 - Stavisky (1974)

65. Masaki Kobayashi

Director | Seppuku

Masaki Kobayashi was born on February 14, 1916 in Hokkaido, Japan. He was a director and writer, known for Harakiri (1962), Samurai Rebellion (1967) and The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961). He died on October 4, 1996 in Tokyo, Japan.

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Harakiri (1962) 8.8 - The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961) 8.6 - The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959) 8.5 - The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959) 8.3 - Samurai Rebellion (1967) 8.3 - Kwaidan (1964) 7.1 - Black River (1957)

66. Abbas Kiarostami

Writer | Copie conforme

Abbas Kiarostami was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1940. He graduated from university with a degree in fine arts before starting work as a graphic designer. He then joined the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where he started a film section, and this started his career ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Close-Up (1990) 8.7 - Certified Copy (2010) 8.7 - Ten (2002) 8.5 - Where is the Friend's Home? (1987) 8.3 - Taste of Cherry (1997) 8.2 - Through the Olive Trees (1994) 8.1 - The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) 8.0 - Life, and Nothing More (1992) 7.8 - Like Someone in Love (2012) 7.7 - Homework (1989) 7.3 - The Traveler (1974) 7.0 - The Experience (1973) 7.0 - Shirin (2008) 6.5 - ABC Africa (2001)

Documentaries on Abbas Kiarostami: 7.7 - Abbas Kiarostami: The Art of Living (Collins/Daly, 2003)

67. Jean-Luc Godard

Director | Bande à part

Jean-Luc Godard was born in Paris on December 3, 1930, the second of four children in a bourgeois Franco-Swiss family. His father was a doctor who owned a private clinic, and his mother came from a preeminent family of Swiss bankers. During World War II Godard became a naturalized citizen of ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Breathless (1960) 8.7 - Vivre Sa Vie (1962) 8.7 - Band of Outsiders (1964) 7.8 - A Woman Is a Woman (1961) 7.7 - Contempt (1963) 6.9 - Alphaville (1965) 6.8 - Masculin Féminin (1966) 6.7 - 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967) 6.1 - Weekend (1967) 6.0 - Pierrot le Fou (1965) 5.0 - Every Man for Himself (1980) 5.0 - JLG/JLG: Self-Portrait in December (1994) 3.5 - Numéro deux (1975) 2.5 - Nouvelle Vague (1990)

68. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Alien (1979) 8.7 - Blade Runner (1982) 8.0 - Gladiator (2000) 7.5 - Thelma and Luise (1991) 7.0 - Black Hawk Down (2001) 6.5 - Prometheus (2012) 6.5 - Hannibal (2001) 6.4 - Alien: Covenant (2017) 5.0 - The Martian (2015)

69. Robert Aldrich

Director | Emperor of the North Pole

Robert Aldrich entered the film industry in 1941 when he got a job as a production clerk at RKO Radio Pictures. He soon worked his way up to script clerk, then became an assistant director, a production manager and an associate producer. He began writing and directing for TV series in the early ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) 8.6 - Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) 8.5 - Kiss Me Deadly (1955) 7.5 - Flight of the Phoenix (1965) 7.0 - Attack (1956) 7.0 - Vera Cruz (1954)

70. François Truffaut

Writer | La nuit américaine

French director François Truffaut began to assiduously go to the movies at age seven. He was also a great reader but not a good pupil. He left school at 14 and started working. In 1947, aged 15, he founded a film club and met André Bazin, a French critic, who became his protector. Bazin helped the ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The 400 Blows (1959) 8.6 - Day for Night (1973) 8.4 - Shoot the Piano Player (1960) 8.2 - Confidentially Yours (1983) 8.0 - Jules and Jim (1962) 7.8 - The Story of Adele H (1975) 7.8 - Antoine and Colette (1962) 7.7 - Stolen Kisses (1968) 7.6 - Bed & Board (1970) 7.6 - The Woman Next Door (1981) 7.4 - Love at Twenty [segment] (1962) 7.3 - The Wild Child (1970) 7.2 - Two English Girls (1971) 7.1 - Love on the Run (1971) 7.0 - Small Change (1976) 6.4 - The Last Metro (1980)

71. Julien Duvivier

Writer | Panique

Revered by such legendary fellow directors as Ingmar Bergman and Jean Renoir, Julien Duvivier is one of the most legendary figures in the history of French cinema. He is perhaps the most neglected of the "Big Five" of classic French cinema (the other four being Jean Renoir, Rene Clair, Jacques ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Little World of Don Camillo (1952) 8.6 - The Return of Don Camillo (1953) 7.6 - Panique (1946) 7.5 - Pépé le Moko (1937) 7.4 - La Fin du Joury (1039) 7.4 - Flesh and Fantasy (1943) 7.3 - Poil de Carotte (1932)

72. Atom Egoyan

Director | The Sweet Hereafter

Born in Egypt to Armenian parents, he was raised in Western Canada. Both his parents were painters, and he planned to be a playwright, but after making a short film, he became hooked on telling stories visually. Returned to ethnic "homeland" when he filmed Calendar (1993) in Armenia. Won attention ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Sweet Hereafter (1997) 8.6 - Exotica (1994) 7.0 - Remember (2015) 6.7 - Calendar (1993) 6.2 - Devil's Knot (2013) 5.8 - Family Viewing (1988)

73. Marjane Satrapi

Director | Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi was born on November 22, 1969 in Rasht, Iran. She is a director and actress, known for Persepolis (2007), The Voices (2014) and Chicken with Plums (2011). She is married to Mattias Ripa. She was previously married to Reza.

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Persepolis (2007) 8.6 - Chicken with Plums (2011)

74. Woody Allen

Writer | Annie Hall

Woody Allen was born on November 30, 1935, as Allen Konigsberg, in The Bronx, NY, the son of Martin Konigsberg and Nettie Konigsberg. He has one younger sister, Letty Aronson. As a young boy, he became intrigued with magic tricks and playing the clarinet, two hobbies that he continues today.

Allen ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Zelig (1983) 8.5 - Annie Hall (1977) 8.4 - The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) 8.1 - Husbands and Wives (1992) 8.1 - Love and Death (1975) 8.0 - Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) 7.9 - Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) 7.8 - Midnight in Paris (2011) 7.7 - Blue Jasmine (2013) 7.6 - Take the Money and Run (1969) 7.4 - Manhattan (1979) 7.3 - Radio Days (1987) 7.3 - Bananas (1971) 7.1 - Sleeper (1973) 7.0 - Stardust Memories (1980) 7.0 - Match Point (2005) 6.8 - Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) 6.8 - Broadway Danny Rose (1984) 6.7 - Small Time Crooks (2000) 6.4 - Deconstructing Harry (1997) 6.3 - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (1972)

Documentaries on Woody Allen: 7.4 - Woody Allen: A Documentary (Weide, 2012)

75. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Fountain (2006) 8.4 - Requiem for a Dream (2000) 8.0 - The Wrestler (2008) 7.9 - Black Swan (2010) 7.7 - Pi (1998) 6.5 - The Whale (2022)

76. Víctor Erice

Director | Cerrar los ojos

Víctor Erice was born on June 30, 1940 in Karrantza, Vizcaya, País Vasco, Spain. He is a director and writer, known for Close Your Eyes (2023), El Sur (1983) and The Spirit of the Beehive (1973).

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) 8.2 - El Sur (1983) 7.9 - The Quince Tree Sun (1992)

77. 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.

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) 8.0 - The Truman Show (1998) 7.7 - Dead Poets Society (1989) 7.3 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) 7.2 - The Last Wave (1977) 7.1 - Witness (1995)

78. Lasse Hallström

Director | What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Lasse Hallström inherited his enthusiasm for film from his father, who was an amateur filmmaker. In high school he made his first short film, which was released on Swedish television. Hallström then began working as a director, cameraman and editor for Swedish television. He also made music videos ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - My Life as a Dog (1985) 7.8 - Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) 7.3 - Chocolat (2000) 7.0 - What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) 6.7 - A Dog's Purpose (2017)

79. Edward Yang

Writer | Yi yi

Born on November 6, 1947 in Shanghai, China, Edward Yang has become one of the most talented international filmmakers of his generation. Along with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Tsai Ming-Liang, Yang ranks among the leading artists of the Taiwanese New Wave, and one of the world's most brilliant auteurs. ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - Yi yi (2000) 7.5 - Taipei Story (1985) 6.2 - A Brighter Summer Day (1991)

80. Robert Rossen

Writer | The Hustler

Robert Rossen was born on March 16, 1908 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Hustler (1961), All the King's Men (1949) and Alexander the Great (1956). He was married to Sarah (Sue) Siegel. He died on February 18, 1966 in New York City, New York, USA.

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Hustler (1961) 7.3 - All the King's Men (1959)

81. Larisa Shepitko

Director | Voskhozhdenie

Larisa Shepitko was born on January 6, 1938 in Bakhmut, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine]. She was a director and writer, known for The Ascent (1977), Heat (1963) and You and Me (1971). She was married to Elem Klimov. She died on July 2, 1979 in near Redkino, Kalinin Oblast...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Ascent (1977) 6.9 - Wings (1966)

82. Jack Clayton

Producer | The Innocents

Jack Clayton was born on March 1, 1921 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for The Innocents (1961), Our Mother's House (1967) and The Great Gatsby (1974). He was married to Haya Harareet, Katherine Kath and Christine Norden. He died on February 26, 1995 in ...

Evaluated films: 9.0 - The Innocents (1961) 4.8 - Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

83. Hal Ashby

Editor | In the Heat of the Night

Hal Ashby was born the fourth and youngest child in a Mormon household, in Ogden, Utah, to Eileen Ireta (Hetzler) and James Thomas Ashby, on September 2, 1929. His father was a dairy farmer. After a rough childhood that included the divorce of his parents, his father's suicide, his dropping out of ...

Evaluated films: 8.9 - Being There (1979) 8.8 - Harold and Maude (1971) 8.1 - The Last Detail (1973)

84. George Stevens

Director | Giant

George Stevens, a filmmaker known as a meticulous craftsman with a brilliant eye for composition and a sensitive touch with actors, is one of the great American filmmakers, ranking with John Ford, William Wyler and Howard Hawks as a creator of classic Hollywood cinema, bringing to the screen ...

Evaluated films: 8.9 - Giant (1956) 8.8 - A Place in the Sun (1951) 7.6 - Shane (1953 7.4 - Swing Time (1936) 6.9 - Gunga Din (1939)

85. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 8.9 - Rosemary's Baby (1968) 8.7 - Chinatown (1974) 8.7 - The Pianist (2002) 8.5 - Repulsion (1965) 8.2 - Knife in the Water (1962) 7.9 - The Tenant (1976) 7.6 - The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) 7.5 - The Ghost Writer (2010) 7.0 - Carnage (2011) 6.5 - Cul-de-sac (1965)

86. Kenji Mizoguchi

Director | Ugetsu monogatari

Coming from a lower class family Mizoguchi entered the production company Nikkatsu as an actor specialized in female roles. Later he became an assistant director and made his first film in 1922. Although he filmed almost 90 movies in the silent era, only his last 12 productions are really known ...

Evaluated films: 8.9 - Sansho the Bailiff (1954) 8.7 - Street of Shame (1956) 8.6 - Ugetsu (1953) 8.2 - Life of Oharu (1952) 8.1 - The Crucified Lovers (1954) 7.9 - Miss Oyu (1951) 7.9 - The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939) 7.5 - A Geisha (1953) 7.5 - Yôkihi (1955) 7.0 - Woman in the Rumor (1954) 5.0 - The 47 Ronin (1941)

87. Ingmar Bergman

Writer | Smultronstället

Ernst Ingmar Bergman was born July 14, 1918, the son of a priest. The film and T.V. series, The Best Intentions (1992) is biographical and shows the early marriage of his parents. The film Sunday's Children (1992) depicts a bicycle journey with his father. In the miniseries Private Confessions (...

Evaluated films: 8.9 - Persona (1966) 8.7 - Fanny and Alexander (1982) 8.5 - The Virgin Spring (1960) 8.3 - Summer with Monika (1953) 8.3 - Scenes from a Marriage (1974) 8.2 - Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) 8.1 - The Magician (1958) 8.1 - Winter Light (1963) 8.1 - Shame (1968) 8.1 - Cries and Whispers (1972) 8.1 - Hour of the Wolf (1968) 8.0 - Wild Strawberries (1957) 8.0 - Through a Glass Darkly (1961) 7.8 - Saraband (2003) 7.7 - Sawdust and Tinsel (1953) 7.7 - The Silence (1963) 7.4 - The Seventh Seal (1957)

Documentaries on Ingmar Bergman: 7.3 - Ingmar Bergman on Life and Work (Donner, 1998)

88. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 8.9 - The Last Picture Show (1971) 8.1 - The Great Buster (2018) 7.7 - Paper Moon (1973) 7.2 - Targets (1968)

89. Jafar Panahi

Director | Taxi

Jafar Panahi (Born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, commonly identified with the Iranian New Wave film movement. After several years of making short films and working as an assistant director for fellow Iranian film-maker Abbas Kiarostami, Panahi achieved ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - The Mirror (1997) 8.6 - Closed Curtain (2013) 8.6 - 3 Faces (2018) 8.5 - This Is Not a Film (2011) 8.4 - Offside (2006) 8.4 - The Circle (2000) 8.3 - The White Balloon (1995) 7.4 - Taxi Tehran (2015) 6.8 - No Bears (2022) 6.2 - Crimson Gold (2003)

90. 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, ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 8.6 - Schindler's List (1993) 8.6 - Jaws (1979) 8.4 - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 8.3 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) 8.2 - E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 8.1 - Saving Private Ryan (1998) 7.6 - Duel (1971) 7.5 - The Color Purple (1985) 7.5 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 7.4 - Minority Report (2002) 7.3 - Jurassic Park (1993) 7.3 - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) 6.9 - The BFG (2016) 6.9 - Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001) 6.0 - The Adventures of Tintin (2011) 4.5 - Twilight Zone: The Movie [segment] (1983)

91. Steve James

Director | Hoop Dreams

Steve James was born in Hampton, Virginia, USA. He has been based in Chicago, Illinois, USA for his entire career. He is known for the documentary films Hoop Dreams (1994), Stevie (2002), The Interrupters (2011), Life Itself (2014) and Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016). His documentary series ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - Hoop Dreams (1994) 8.6 - Stevie (2002) 8.5 - Life Itself (2014) 7.6 - At the Death House Door (2008)

92. 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), ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - Still Walking (2008) 8.6 - Shoplifters (2018) 8.2 - Maborosi (1995) 8.1 - After Life (1998) 8.1 - After the Storm (2016) 8.1 - Like Father, Like Son (2013) 8.0 - The Third Murder (2017) 7.9 - Nobody Knows (2004) 7.9 - Our Little Sister (2015) 7.4 - I Wish (2011)

93. Kaneto Shindô

Writer | Ichimai no hagaki

Kaneto Shindô was born on April 22, 1912 in Hiroshima, Japan. He was a writer and director, known for Postcard (2010), The Naked Island (1960) and A Last Note (1995). He was married to Nobuko Otowa and Miyo Shindo. He died on May 29, 2012 in Hiroshima, Japan.

Evaluated films: 8.8 - The Naked Island (1960) 8.6 - Onibaba (1964) 8.1 - Kuroneko (1968)

94. Andrew Jarecki

Producer | Capturing the Friedmans

Andrew Jarecki is an American filmmaker, musician, and entrepreneur. He is best known for the Emmy-winning 2015 HBO documentary series "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst" that led to the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Durst. He is also known for documentary film "Capturing the Friedmans...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - Capturing the Friedmans (2003) 8.6 - The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015)

95. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - Taxi Driver (1976) 8.5 - The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) 8.3 - King of Comedy (1983) 8.3 - A Personal Journey Through American Movies (1995) 8.2 - Raging Bull (1980) 8.1 - Goodfellas (1990) 8.0 - Casino (1995) 8.0 - After Hours (1985) 7.6 - The Departed (2006) 7.3 - Hugo (2011) 7.1 - The Irishman (2019) 7.1 - Shutter Island (2010) 7.0 - Cape Fear (1991) 6.8 - Mean Streets (1973) 6.8 - Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) 6.0 - The Age of Innocence (1993)

Documentaries on Martin Scorsese: 7.9 - American Masters: Martin Scorsese Directs (Fischler/Sucher, 1990)

96. John Ford

Director | The Quiet Man

John Ford came to Hollywood following one of his brothers, an actor. Asked what brought him to Hollywood, he replied "the train". He became one of the most respected directors in the business, in spite of being known for his westerns, which were not considered "serious" film. He won six Oscars, ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 8.5 - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) 8.2 - The Searchers (1956) 8.1 - Stagecoach (1939) 7.8 - The Informer (1935) 7.7 - How the West Was Won (1962) [segment] 7.4 - The Quiet Man (1952) 7.5 - My Darling Clementine (1946) 7.3 - How Green Was My Valley (1941) 7.1 - Fort Apache (1948) 7.1 - Wagon Master (1950) 7.1 - 7 Women (1966) 7.0 - The Sun Shines Bright (1953) 7.0 - Rio Grande (1950) 7.0 - They Were Expendable (1945) 6.8 - Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) 6.5 - She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

97. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - Parasite (2019) 8.5 - Memories of Murder (2003) 8.1 - Mother (2009) 7.1 - Okja (2017) 6.7 - Snowpiercer (2013) 4.0 - The Host (2006)

98. Luis Buñuel

Writer | Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie

The father of cinematic Surrealism and one of the most original directors in the history of the film medium, Luis Buñuel was given a strict Jesuit education (which sowed the seeds of his obsession with both religion and subversive behavior), and subsequently moved to Madrid to study at the ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - Un Chien Andalou (1929) 8.4 - The Exterminating Angel (1962) 8.4 - Los Olvidados (1950) 8.3 - L'Âge d'Or (1930) 8.2 - Belle de Jour (1967) 8.1 - Viridiana (1961) 8.1 - The Phantom of Liberty (1974) 7.5 - Land Without Bread (1932) 7.4 - That Obscure Object of Desire (1977) 7.3 - Tristana (1970) 7.3 - El (1953) 7.2 - Nazarin (1959) 7.2 - Simon of the Desert (1965) 7.0 - The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) 6.3 - The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (1963)

99. 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 ...

Evaluated films: 8.8 - The Exorcist (1973) 8.4 - The French Connection (1971) 8.1 - Sorcerer (1977)

100. Stan Laurel

Actor | Saps at Sea

Stan Laurel came from a theatrical family, his father was an actor and theatre manager, and he made his stage debut at the age of 16 at Pickard's Museum, Glasgow. He traveled with Fred Karno's vaudeville company to the United States in 1910 and again in 1913. While with that company he was Charles ...

Evaluated films (features only)*: 8.8 - Way Out West (1937) 8.3 - Block-Heads (1938) 8.1 - Pardon Us (1931) 8.0 - March of the Wooden Soldiers (1934) 7.9 - The Devil's Brother (1933) 7.9 - Swiss Miss (1938) 7.6 - Sons of the Desert (1933) 7.5 - Our Relations (1936) 7.4 - Pack Up Your Troubles (1932) 7.0 - The Flying Deuces (1939) 7.0 - Bonny Scotland (1935) 7.0 - The Bohemian Girl (1935) 6.5 - Utopia (1950) 6.4 - Saps at Sea (1940) Documentaries/Films on Laurel & Hardy: 8.5 - Stan & Ollie (Baird, 2018) 8.0 - Laurel & Hardy: Their Lives and Magic (Baum, 2011) 7.2 - Laurel & Hardy's Laughing 20's (Youngson, 1965)

Stan Laurel is recognized as the creative mind behind all Laurel/Hardy vehicles made on the Roach lot and the one-off made for RKO. The comedies made for Fox and other studios after leaving Roach (Utopia exempted) with little to no of Laurel's input are ignored for their own good.