Top Ten Movie Directors

I made this list a while back, but I was looking back over my site recently and I’m not ashamed to say this, but I did not spend nearly enough time on this list. So I’ve re-watched some movies, watched some new ones, re-evaluated my thoughts and I’ve decided to re write this list. This list consists of ten of the greatest minds and artists of our time. I’m proud to give them my money every time I hear their name attached to a movie and especially when their name is on the director’s chair.

Along with the name of the director I’ve also included a description of exactly why their on this list and also my three favorite movies in order by said director. It was one of the most difficult lists I’ve had to make, but one I believe all movie critics should divulge their time in creating.

Before I get into the actual list I’d like to give you six Honorable mentions in no particular order. These are all incredible artists who just barely missed the mark:

• Oliver Stone
• Francis Ford Coppola
• Guy Ritchie
• Alfred Hitchcock
• Peter Jackson
• Sergio Leone

Now here’s my top ten favorite cinematic directors of all time:

10. Clint Eastwood

Many people know and love Eastwood for his acting, which he does triumph in, but in my opinion his true genius lies behind the camera. He almost never disappoints and is my favorite director in the western genre. After making his masterpiece Unforgiven, he showed that he surpasses even his large influence Sergio Leone.

3. The Outlaw Josey Wales

2. Mystic River

1. Unforgiven

9. Milos Forman

The two time academy-award winning director is nothing short of one of the greatest directors of all time. His movies speak for themselves; The People vs. Larry Flynt is fantastic, Amadeus is a masterpiece and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is nothing short of a perfect movie and one of the greatest ever made.

3. The People vs. Larry Flynt

2. Amadeus

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

8. Tim Burton

Very few filmmakers have ever been able to even match the visual expertise that director Tim Burton brings to each of his films. All of of Burton’s movies are of course full of great, story, acting, and emotion, but even more so than any other directors. Tim Burton makes sure that his movies look beautiful and absolutely never fails.

3. Big Fish

2. Ed Wood

1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

7. Steven Spielberg

No top directors list is complete without Spielberg and actually most with disagree with the fact that he’s not higher. Sure he’s directed numerous classics, but when looking at his resume, he’s actually a pretty generic crowd pleaser. He’s a fantastic director, one of the best, but there are a few I enjoy more.

3. Catch Me If You Can

2. Jaws

1. Schindler’s List

6. Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan is of course the director of my favorite movie, but even besides masterfully directing the Batman series to perfection, he’s also directed  a couple of other very notable and actually pretty spectacular movies. I also see him directing many masterpieces in the future, that’s the best thing about Nolan, I really think he’s just getting started.

3. The Prestige

2. Batman Begins

1. The Dark Knight

5. David Fincher

David Fincher has really become a powerhouse of genius. There’s no arguing that he really is one of the greatest directors working today. He made his masterpiece in 1999 and almost ten years later he shows us that he that he can still make masterpieces with Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. David Fincher really is a master of his craft, not to be second guessed.

3. SE7EN

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

1. Fight Club

4. Martin Scorsese

Now we get to the top 4. The hardest part in creating this list was attempting to order this top 4. Each in my opinion is worthy of the number one spot, but I had to figure of an order. It really saddens me that I had to put the incredible director Martin Scorsese this high on the list, but I can’t let everyone win. Martin Scorsese is undoubtedly a creator of modern masterpieces. No one makes films like him and very few make films as good as he does. He didn’t invent the art of filmmaking, but he sure as hell perfected it.

3. Gangs of New York

2. Goodfellas

1. The Departed

3. Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick is all around one of the greatest directors of all time, mainly because he has more innovation and variety than any other filmmaker. He’s really done it all. He’s made horror movies, war movies, dramas, science-fiction, romance, heist movies, even comedies, and I could go on. Each one of his films are worth watching and making opinions on. You will find at least one that you will thoroughly enjoy. Or you’ll be like me and enjoy every single one.

3. Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

2. Full Metal Jacket

1. The Shining

2. Quentin Tarantino

Through the years Quentin Tarantino has always stuck out as one of the greatest directors of all time. He began his illustrious career with the fantastically unique heist flick Reservoir Dogs, then he showed us what he can really do by directing one of the greatest movies of all time, Pulp Fiction. Time passed and he directed the spectacles that were Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Death Proof. Every single one is fantastic in my opinion. He then showed me that he is one of the greatest artists not only working today, but of all time with the release of Inglourious Basterds. Pulp Fiction is one of the greatest movies of all time and I didn’t think for a second that Tarantino would ever be able o top that. I was wrong. He did and he did it with flying colors and flare. I love all of Tarantino’s work and I don’t believe I will ever find myself being disappointed by a movie he directs. He has fun with every movie he makes. He loves what he does and as a result I love and have fun with every single masterpiece he comes up with.

3. Kill Bill

2. Pulp Fiction

1. Inglourious Basterds

1. The Coen Brothers

The Coen Brothers. Their movies really speak for themselves, there’s not much I can really say. The industry wouldn’t be the same without them. They are monumental force releasing masterpiece after masterpiece. Its really impossible to ever be disappointed with a Coen Brother movie. They make films exactly how they want to make films, they let nothing hold them back like money or popularity. They make art for the sake of making art.

They’ve made more masterpieces than one would think possible. They absolutely never let you down. They are the smartest people working in the industry by far. There is not a single director out there who is able to direct movies to the caliber that the Coen Brothers can direct movies. I honestly want to shed a tear of joy with every ending of each of their movies because it seems almost impossible that the same two people can keep making masterpieces without fail for this long. The best part about it is also that The Coen Brothers still have a lot more masterpieces to go and that fact makes me happy to be alive.

3. Fargo

2. Barton Fink

1. No Country For Old Men