Top 300 Films (Directed by Women)
by minalex | created - 18 Aug 2011 | updated - 1 week ago | PublicMost films are directed by Huillet (9), Bigelow (8), Akerman (7), Campion (6), S. Coppola (5), Denis (5), Bier (4), Holland (4), Riefenstahl (4), von Trotta (4) and Wertmuller (4).
Page 1 (1915-1988), Page 2 (1988-2004), Page 3 (2004-2019).
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1. Assunta Spina (1915)
72 min | Drama
Assunta Spina is a tragedy set in Naples at the beginning of the twentieth century. Assunta and Michele are in love but others come between them and there is much jealousy. They fight and ... See full summary »
Directors: Francesca Bertini, Gustavo Serena | Stars: Francesca Bertini, Gustavo Serena, Carlo Benetti, Luciano Albertini
Votes: 372
2. Spanish Fiesta (1920)
67 min
Director: Germaine Dulac | Stars: Ève Francis, Gabriel Gabrio, Jean Toulout, Gaston Modot
Votes: 23
3. Blood and Sand (1922)
Not Rated | 80 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
A toreador's familial and social life is threatened when he has an affair.
Directors: Fred Niblo, Dorothy Arzner | Stars: Rosa Rosanova, Rudolph Valentino, Nita Naldi, Leo White
Votes: 1,211
Dorothy Arzner was an uncredited editor and claims she has also directed small segments of the film
4. The Smiling Madame Beudet (1923)
26 min | Drama
An unhappily married woman devises a scheme to get rid of her husband.
Director: Germaine Dulac | Stars: Germaine Dermoz, Alexandre Arquillière, Jean d'Yd, Yvette Grisier
Votes: 1,926
5. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
Not Rated | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
A handsome prince rides a flying horse to faraway lands and embarks on magical adventures, which include befriending a witch, meeting Aladdin, battling demons and falling in love with a princess.
Directors: Lotte Reiniger, Carl Koch
Votes: 5,120
6. The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928)
28 min | Short
Obsessed with a general's woman, a clergyman has strange visions of death and lust, struggling against his own eroticism.
Director: Germaine Dulac | Stars: Alex Allin, Genica Athanasiou, Lucien Bataille
Votes: 1,698
7. Mädchen in Uniform (1931)
Passed | 87 min | Drama, Romance
At an all-girls boarding school, Manuela falls in love with a teacher, to terrific consequences.
Directors: Leontine Sagan, Carl Froelich | Stars: Dorothea Wieck, Hertha Thiele, Emilia Unda, Hedy Krilla
Votes: 2,241
8. The Blue Light (1932)
85 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
When the moon is full, young men die attempting to reach the mysterious blue light in the mountains.
Directors: Leni Riefenstahl, Béla Balázs | Stars: Leni Riefenstahl, Mathias Wieman, Beni Führer, Max Holzboer
Votes: 1,078
9. Triumph of the Will (1935)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, War
The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Max Amann, Martin Bormann
Votes: 14,325
10. Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (1938)
Not Rated | 111 min | Documentary, Sport
The document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: David Albritton, Arvo Askola, Jack Beresford, Erwin Blask
Votes: 4,137
11. Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (1938)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Sport
The document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin, orchestrated as Nazi propaganda.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: Sheigo Arai, Jack Beresford, Ralf Berzsenyi, Ferenc Csík
Votes: 3,446
12. Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
Not Rated | 14 min | Short, Fantasy, Mystery
A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.
Directors: Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid | Stars: Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid
Votes: 10,192
13. At Land (1944)
15 min | Short
Silently, a woman wakes on a beach as the tides go in reverse. Her dreamscape unfolds as she tries to locate a chess piece traveling from the beach to a party to a country road and then back.
Director: Maya Deren | Stars: John Cage, Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid, Hella Heyman
Votes: 2,503
14. The Last Stage (1948)
110 min | Drama
Female prisoners of various ethnic background struggle to survive the hardships of Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
Director: Wanda Jakubowska | Stars: Tatjana Gorecka, Antonina Gordon-Górecka, Barbara Drapinska, Aleksandra Slaska
Votes: 237
15. Begone Dull Care (1949)
Not Rated | 8 min | Animation, Short, Music
Abstract images drawn directly onto the film are accompanied by three pieces of jazz performed by the Oscar Peterson trio.
Directors: Evelyn Lambart, Norman McLaren
Votes: 1,398
16. On Dangerous Ground (1951)
Approved | 82 min | Drama, Film-Noir
Rough city cop Jim Wilson is disciplined by his captain and is sent upstate, to a snowy mountain town, to help the local sheriff solve a murder case.
Directors: Nicholas Ray, Ida Lupino | Stars: Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond, Charles Kemper
Votes: 5,890
17. A Portrait of Ga (1952)
4 min | Documentary, Short, Biography
A short film from Margaret Tait capturing the daily life of her mother, Ga.
Director: Margaret Tait
Votes: 391
18. The Island of Silence (1958)
65 min | Drama
Director: Lila Kourkoulakou | Stars: Orestis Makris, Giorgos Kabanellis, Nina Sgouridou, Tzortzis Kourkoulakos
Votes: 35
19. Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Cleo, a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, Dorothée Blanck
Votes: 14,336
20. The House Is Black (1963)
20 min | Documentary, Short
Set in a leper colony in the north of Iran, The House is Black juxtaposes "ugliness", of which there is much in the world as stated in the opening scenes, with religion and gratitude.
Director: Forugh Farrokhzad | Stars: Forugh Farrokhzad, Ebrahim Golestan, Hossein Mansouri
Votes: 3,796
21. The Cool World (1963)
105 min | Crime, Drama
A look at the horrors of Harlem ghetto slum life filled with drugs, violence, human misery, and a sense of despair due to the racial prejudices of American society.
Director: Shirley Clarke | Stars: Rony Clanton, Carl Lee, Yolanda Rodríguez, Clarence Williams III
Votes: 449
22. Loving Couples (1964)
118 min | Drama, Romance
Three expectant mothers think back over their sex lives.
Director: Mai Zetterling | Stars: Harriet Andersson, Gunnel Lindblom, Gio Petré, Anita Björk
Votes: 403
23. Le Bonheur (1965)
Not Rated | 79 min | Drama, Romance
François, a young carpenter, lives a happy, uncomplicated life with his wife Thérèse and their two small children. One day he meets Emilie, a clerk in the local post office.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Jean-Claude Drouot, Marie-France Boyer, Marcelle Faure-Bertin, Manon Lanclos
Votes: 4,675
24. Daisies (1966)
74 min | Comedy
Two girls try to understand the meaning of the world and their life.
Director: Vera Chytilová | Stars: Jitka Cerhová, Ivana Karbanová, Julius Albert, Jan Klusák
Votes: 9,082
25. Night Games (1966)
105 min | Drama
The story about a man who's trying to get rid of his memories from his past. He grew up in an upper-class family in a castle and now revisits the castle with his fiancee.
Director: Mai Zetterling | Stars: Ingrid Thulin, Keve Hjelm, Jörgen Lindström, Lena Brundin
Votes: 353
26. Wings (1966)
85 min | Drama
A fascinating and human portrayal of a once-famous fighter pilot and loyal Stalinist named Nadezhda Petrovna. Now a 41-year-old provincial schoolmistress, she has so internalized the ... See full summary »
Director: Larisa Shepitko | Stars: Mayya Bulgakova, Sergey Nikonenko, Zhanna Bolotova, Panteleymon Krymov
Votes: 1,529
27. Portrait of Jason (1967)
Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary, Biography
Black gay prostitute Jason Holliday is rigorously interviewed on his story and character, revealing nuanced truths about life and art.
Director: Shirley Clarke | Stars: Jason Holliday, Shirley Clarke, Carl Lee
Votes: 877
28. The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968)
94 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life and music of Johann Sebastian Bach as presented by his wife, Anna.
Directors: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub | Stars: Gustav Leonhardt, Christiane Lang, Paolo Carlini, Ernst Castelli
Votes: 1,254 | Gross: $0.02M
29. Salesman (1969)
G | 91 min | Documentary, Drama
Four relentless door-to-door salesmen deal with constant rejection, homesickness and inevitable burnout as they go across the country selling very expensive bibles to low-income Catholic families.
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Paul Brennan, Charles McDevitt, James Baker, Raymond Martos
Votes: 4,401
30. Wanda (1970)
GP | 102 min | Crime, Drama
Wanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.
Director: Barbara Loden | Stars: Barbara Loden, Michael Higgins, Dorothy Shupenes, Peter Shupenes
Votes: 2,878 | Gross: $0.05M
31. Gimme Shelter (1970)
GP | 91 min | Documentary, Music, Thriller
A harrowing documentary of the Stones' 1969 tour, with much of the focus on the tragic concert at Altamont.
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts
Votes: 10,210 | Gross: $0.25M
32. Eyes Do Not Want to Close at All Times, or, Perhaps One Day Rome Will Allow Herself to Choose in Her Turn (1970)
88 min | Drama
Pierre Corneille's Othon adapted faithfully to cinema, set in the ruins of the Rome of now-a-days.
Directors: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub | Stars: Adriano Aprà, Anne Brumagne, Ennio Lauricella, Olimpia Carlisi
Votes: 245
33. Out 1 (1971)
Not Rated | 729 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the May 1968 civil unrest in France, a deaf-mute and a con artist simultaneously stumble upon the remnants of a secret society.
Directors: Jacques Rivette, Suzanne Schiffman | Stars: Michèle Moretti, Hermine Karagheuz, Karen Puig, Pierre Baillot
Votes: 1,047 | Gross: $0.03M
34. The Long Farewell (1971)
97 min | Drama
A single mother is confused by the changes in her teenage son, who has become distant since spending summer vacation with his father.
Director: Kira Muratova | Stars: Zinaida Sharko, Oleg Vladimirsky, Tatyana Mychko, Yuriy Kayurov
Votes: 547
35. The Seduction of Mimi (1972)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama
Mimí, forced to leave his family in Sicily, finds a job in a factory in Turin, where he gets involved in an extramarital affair.
Director: Lina Wertmüller | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Turi Ferro, Agostina Belli
Votes: 1,760
36. History Lessons (1972)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama, History
A shot from a car coursing through Rome in 1972 opens this interpretation of Brecht's unfinished experimental novel The Business Affairs of Mr. Julius Caesar. In a second part set in ... See full summary »
Directors: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub | Stars: Gottfried Bold, Johann Unterpertinger, Henri Ludwigg, Carl Vaillant
Votes: 227
37. F for Fake (1973)
PG | 89 min | Documentary
A documentary about fraud and fakery.
Directors: Orson Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach | Stars: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach, Elmyr de Hory
Votes: 13,901
The film includes material Oja Kodar had directed for a different project.
38. John the Violent (1973)
180 min | Crime, Drama
This film tells the story of Ioannis Zachos, a young psychopath who commits a murder in the town of Athens.
Director: Tonia Marketaki | Stars: Manolis Logiadis, Mika Flora, Vangelis Kazan, Malaina Anousaki
Votes: 100
39. Love & Anarchy (1973)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a friend is murdered by the Facists, a melancholy farmer takes up residence in a Roman brothel as he and an anarchist prostitute plot to assassinate Mussolini.
Director: Lina Wertmüller | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Eros Pagni, Pina Cei
Votes: 2,320
40. Swept Away (1974)
R | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A trip into the Mediterranean sea becomes a trip into the discovery of how society's frameworks of the rich and poor are delicate and temporary.
Director: Lina Wertmüller | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Riccardo Salvino, Isa Danieli
Votes: 5,114
41. The Night Porter (1974)
R | 118 min | Drama
After a chance meeting at a hotel in 1957, Holocaust survivor Lucia and Nazi officer Max, who tortured her, resume their sadomasochistic relationship.
Director: Liliana Cavani | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling, Philippe Leroy, Gabriele Ferzetti
Votes: 10,807
42. Je Tu Il Elle (1974)
86 min | Drama
'Je' is a girl voluntarily lock up in a room. 'Tu' is the script. 'Il' is a lorry driver. 'Elle' is the girlfriend.
Director: Chantal Akerman | Stars: Chantal Akerman, Niels Arestrup, Claire Wauthion
Votes: 1,606
43. Seven Beauties (1975)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The defense of honor, a strong value in Neapolitan society, and his effects on the life of everyman Pasquale Frafuso.
Director: Lina Wertmüller | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, Shirley Stoler, Elena Fiore
Votes: 4,730 | Gross: $0.01M
44. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1975)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama
A young woman's life is scrutinized by police and tabloid press after she spends the night with a suspected terrorist.
Directors: Volker Schlöndorff, Margarethe von Trotta | Stars: Angela Winkler, Mario Adorf, Dieter Laser, Jürgen Prochnow
Votes: 3,731
45. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Not Rated | 202 min | Drama