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Best Movie Directors

DirectorsFilm & TV

135 CANDIDATES · PICK ANY 4

  • Alfred HitchcockPsycho, Vertigo
  • Stanley Kubrick2001, The Shining
  • Steven SpielbergJaws, Schindler's List
  • Martin ScorseseGoodfellas, Taxi Driver
  • Francis Ford CoppolaThe Godfather, Apocalypse Now
  • Akira KurosawaSeven Samurai, Rashomon
  • Orson WellesCitizen Kane, Touch of Evil
  • Ingmar BergmanThe Seventh Seal, Persona
  • Federico Fellini8 1/2, La Dolce Vita
  • Christopher NolanInception, Oppenheimer
  • Quentin TarantinoPulp Fiction, Kill Bill
  • Andrei TarkovskyStalker, Solaris
  • Billy WilderSome Like It Hot, Sunset Blvd.
  • Jean-Luc GodardBreathless
  • David FincherFight Club, Se7en
  • Paul Thomas AndersonThere Will Be Blood
  • Coen BrothersFargo, No Country for Old Men
  • Ridley ScottAlien, Blade Runner
  • James CameronTitanic, Avatar
  • Hayao MiyazakiSpirited Away
  • Sergio LeoneOnce Upon a Time in the West
  • Wes AndersonGrand Budapest Hotel
  • Spike LeeDo the Right Thing, Malcolm X
  • Pedro AlmodóvarAll About My Mother
  • Denis VilleneuveDune, Arrival
  • Bong Joon-hoParasite
  • Greta GerwigLady Bird, Barbie
  • David LynchMulholland Drive, Blue Velvet
  • Yasujirō OzuTokyo Story
  • Robert BressonPickpocket, A Man Escaped
  • Charlie ChaplinCity Lights, Modern Times
  • Buster KeatonThe General, Sherlock Jr.
  • John FordThe Searchers, Stagecoach
  • Howard HawksRio Bravo
  • Frank CapraIt's a Wonderful Life
  • Roman PolanskiChinatown, Rosemary's Baby
  • Werner HerzogAguirre, Fitzcarraldo
  • Rainer Werner FassbinderAli: Fear Eats the Soul
  • Wim WendersWings of Desire, Paris Texas
  • Michelangelo AntonioniL'Avventura, Blow-Up
  • Vittorio De SicaBicycle Thieves
  • Roberto RosselliniRome, Open City
  • Luchino ViscontiThe Leopard
  • Pier Paolo PasoliniGospel According to Matthew
  • Bernardo BertolucciLast Tango in Paris
  • François TruffautThe 400 Blows
  • Éric RohmerMy Night at Maud's
  • Claude ChabrolLe Boucher
  • Jacques TatiPlaytime, Mon Oncle
  • Agnès VardaCléo from 5 to 7
  • Chantal AkermanJeanne Dielman
  • Wong Kar-waiIn the Mood for Love
  • Park Chan-wookOldboy, The Handmaiden
  • Hou Hsiao-hsienA City of Sadness
  • Edward YangYi Yi
  • Tsai Ming-liangGoodbye, Dragon Inn
  • Ang LeeBrokeback Mountain, Life of Pi
  • Zhang YimouHero, Raise the Red Lantern
  • Chen KaigeFarewell My Concubine
  • Kenji MizoguchiUgetsu
  • Mikio NaruseWhen a Woman Ascends
  • Satyajit RayPather Panchali
  • Abbas KiarostamiClose-Up
  • Asghar FarhadiA Separation
  • Krzysztof KieślowskiThree Colors, Dekalog
  • Andrzej WajdaAshes and Diamonds
  • Béla TarrSátántangó
  • Theo AngelopoulosLandscape in the Mist
  • Lars von TrierDancer in the Dark
  • Yorgos LanthimosThe Favourite, Poor Things
  • Michael HanekeAmour, The White Ribbon
  • Jean-Pierre MelvilleLe Samouraï
  • Luis BuñuelUn Chien Andalou, Belle de Jour
  • Carl Theodor DreyerPassion of Joan of Arc
  • F.W. MurnauNosferatu, Sunrise
  • Fritz LangMetropolis, M
  • Sergei EisensteinBattleship Potemkin
  • Dziga VertovMan with a Movie Camera
  • D.W. GriffithBirth of a Nation
  • King VidorThe Crowd, Stella Dallas
  • Cecil B. DeMilleThe Ten Commandments
  • Elia KazanOn the Waterfront
  • Sidney Lumet12 Angry Men, Network
  • Robert AltmanMASH, Nashville
  • John CassavetesWoman Under the Influence
  • Terrence MalickThe Tree of Life, Badlands
  • Brian De PalmaScarface, Carrie
  • William FriedkinThe French Connection, Exorcist
  • Peter BogdanovichThe Last Picture Show
  • Hal AshbyHarold and Maude
  • Mike NicholsThe Graduate
  • Arthur PennBonnie and Clyde
  • Sam PeckinpahThe Wild Bunch
  • Don SiegelDirty Harry
  • John CarpenterHalloween, The Thing
  • George A. RomeroNight of the Living Dead
  • Wes CravenNightmare on Elm Street, Scream
  • Tobe HooperTexas Chain Saw Massacre
  • Dario ArgentoSuspiria, Deep Red
  • Mario BavaBlack Sunday
  • David CronenbergVideodrome, The Fly
  • Guillermo del ToroPan's Labyrinth, Shape of Water
  • Alfonso CuarónRoma, Children of Men
  • Alejandro González IñárrituBirdman, The Revenant
  • Tim BurtonEdward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice
  • Terry GilliamBrazil, 12 Monkeys
  • Sam RaimiEvil Dead, Spider-Man
  • Peter JacksonLord of the Rings
  • George LucasStar Wars
  • Robert ZemeckisBack to the Future
  • Richard LinklaterBoyhood, Before Sunrise
  • Sofia CoppolaLost in Translation
  • Kathryn BigelowThe Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty
  • Jane CampionThe Piano, Power of the Dog
  • Lynne RamsayYou Were Never Really Here
  • Ava DuVernaySelma, 13th
  • Barry JenkinsMoonlight
  • Steve McQueen12 Years a Slave, Shame
  • Jordan PeeleGet Out, Nope
  • Ari AsterHereditary, Midsommar
  • Robert EggersThe Witch, The Lighthouse
  • Damien ChazelleWhiplash, La La Land
  • Noah BaumbachMarriage Story
  • Spike JonzeBeing John Malkovich, Her
  • Charlie KaufmanSynecdoche New York
  • Darren AronofskyBlack Swan, Requiem
  • Michel GondryEternal Sunshine
  • Gus Van SantGood Will Hunting, Milk
  • Oliver StonePlatoon, JFK
  • Michael MannHeat, The Insider
  • Tony ScottTop Gun, True Romance
  • John HughesThe Breakfast Club
  • Cameron CroweAlmost Famous
  • Rob ReinerThe Princess Bride, Spinal Tap
  • Ron HowardA Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13