Favorite Directors
by max-schwarz23 | created - 11 Jul 2013 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicList of my favorite filmmakers
1. 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...
- The Master
- Punch-Drunk Love
- There Will Be Blood
- Phantom Thread
- Boogie Nights
- Magnolia
- Licorice Pizza
- Inherent Vice
- Anima
- Hard Eight
2. Ruben Östlund
Director | Triangle of Sadness
Ruben Östlund was born on April 13, 1974 in Styrsö, Västra Götalands län, Sweden. He is a director and editor, known for Triangle of Sadness (2022), Force Majeure (2014) and The Square (2017). He was previously married to Andrea Östlund.
- The Guitar Mongoloid
- The Square
- Force Majeure
- Triangle of Sadness
3. Yorgos Lanthimos
Director | The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos was born in Athens, Greece. He studied directing for Film and Television at the Stavrakos Film School in Athens. He has directed a number of dance videos in collaboration with Greek choreographers, in addition to TV commercials, music videos, short films and theater plays. Kinetta,...
- The Killing of a Sacred Deer
- The Lobster
- Poor Things
- The Favourite
- Dogtooth
4. 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...
- Solaris
- Stalker
- Nostalghia
- The Mirror
- Ivan's Childhood
- Sacrifice
- Andrei Rublev
5. 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), ...
- Blade Runner 2049
- Prisoners
- Sicario
- Arrival
- Dune
- Enemy
- August 32nd on Earth
- Polytechnique
6. 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 ...
- The Conversation
- Apocalypse Now
- The Godfather
- The Godfather: Part II
7. Michelangelo Antonioni
Writer | Blow-Up
Together with Fellini, Bergman and Kurosawa, Michelangelo Antonioni is credited with defining the modern art film. And yet Antonioni's cinema is also recognized today for defying any easy categorization, with his films ultimately seeming to belong to their own distinctive genre. Indeed, the ...
- Red Desert
- La Notte
- L'Avventura
- Blow-up
- Identification of a Woman
8. 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 ...
- The Shining
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Full Metal Jacket
- Eyes Wide Shut
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- A Clockwork Orange
- Paths of Glory
- Barry Lyndon
- Spartacus
9. 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 ...
- Goodfellas
- After Hours
- The Departed
- Mean Streets
- Raging Bull
- Taxi Driver
- The Irishman
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- Silence
- Shutter Island
- Casino
- Hugo
- Gangs of New York
10. Robert Eggers
Director | The Lighthouse
Robert Houston Eggers is an American filmmaker and production designer. He is best known for writing and directing the historical horror films The Witch (2015) and The Lighthouse (2019), as well as directing and co-writing the historical fiction epic film The Northman (2022). His films are noted ...
- The Lighthouse
- The Northman
- The Witch
11. Jordan Peele
Writer | Nope
Jordan Peele is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning director, writer, actor, producer, and founder of Monkeypaw Productions. Peele's first feature film, "Get Out," was a critically acclaimed blockbuster, recognized with four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film would earn Peele the ...
- Nope
- Get Out
- Us
12. 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.
- Dead Man
- Mystery Train
- Paterson
- Down By Law
- Night on Earth
- Ghost Dog
- Stranger Than Paradise
- Only Lovers Left Alive
- Coffee & Cigarettes
- The Dead Don't Die
- Gimme Danger
13. 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
- Zodiac
- Fight Club
- The Social Network
- Gone Girl
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
14. Joel Coen
Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Joel Daniel Coen is an American filmmaker who regularly collaborates with his younger brother Ethan. They made Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, Hail Caesar and other projects. Joel ...
- No Country for Old Men
- Fargo
- Barton Fink
- The Big Lebowski
- Raising Arizona
- Burn After Reading
- Inside Llewyn Davis
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- Miller's Crossing
15. Ethan Coen
Producer | The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The younger brother of Joel, Ethan Coen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe winning writer, producer and director coming from small independent films to big profile Hollywood films. He was born on September 21, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In some films of the brothers- Ethan & Joel wrote, Joel...
- No Country for Old Men
- Fargo
- Barton Fink
- The Big Lebowski
- Raising Arizona
- Burn After Reading
- Inside Llewyn Davis
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- Miller's Crossing
16. 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, ...
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Schindler's List
- Saving Private Ryan
- Jaws
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- Catch Me If You Can
- Jurassic Park
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
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.
- Decision To Leave
- Oldboy
- The Handmaiden
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 ...
- Mother
- Parasite
- Memories of Murder
19. Ari Aster
Director | Hereditary
Ari Aster is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is known for writing and directing the A24 horror films Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019). Aster was born into a Jewish family in New York City on July 15, 1986, the son of a poet mother and musician father. He has a ...
- Hereditary
- Midsommar
20. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Director | Biutiful
Alejandro González Iñárritu (ih-nyar-ee-too), born August 15th, 1963, is a Mexican film director.
González Iñárritu is the first Mexican director to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director and by the Directors Guild of America for Best Director. He is also the first Mexican-born ...
- The Revenant
- Birdman
- Babel
- Amores Perros
- Biutiful
- 21 Grams
21. Josh Safdie
Director | Uncut Gems
Born and raised in New York City: in both Queens & Manhattan. He attended the school of Communication at Boston University. He often collaborates with his brother Benny Safdie. The brothers have both cited early experiences in front of their father's camera as the reasons for their pursing ...
- Uncut Gems
- Good Time
22. 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 ...
- The Dark Knight
- Inception
- Interstellar
- Memento
- Oppenheimer
- Dunkirk
- The Dark Knight Rises
- The Prestige
- Batman Begins
- Tenet
- Following
- Insomnia
23. Benny Safdie
Actor | Good Time
Born and raised in New York City: in both Queens & Manhattan. He attended the school of Communication at Boston University. He often collaborates with his brother Josh Safdie. He is a director, writer, editor and actor known for Daddy Longlegs(2009),Heaven Knows What(2014), Good Time (2017), Uncut ...
- Uncut Gems
- Good Time
24. Lynne Ramsay
Director | You Were Never Really Here
Lynne Ramsay was born on December 5, 1969 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. She is a director and writer, known for You Were Never Really Here (2017), We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) and Ratcatcher (1999). She was previously married to Rory Stewart Kinnear.
- Gasman
- Ratcatcher
- You Were Never Really Here
- Small Deaths
- Swimmer
- Morvern Callar
- We Need to Talk About Kevin
- Kill the Day
25. 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 ...
- Network
- Dog Day Afternoon
- 12 Angry Men
- Serpico
- Murder on the Orient Express
26. Derek Cianfrance
Writer | Blue Valentine
Derek Cianfrance began making movies at age 13. He later attended The University of Colorado where he studied under avant-garde film legends Stan Brakhage and Phil Solomon. His first three films, 'Five O'clock Shadow', 'Raw Footage', and Brother Tied (1998), won consecutive Goldfarb Awards for best...
- Blue Valentine
- The Place Beyond the Pines
- I Know This Much Is True
27. Steve McQueen
Director | 12 Years a Slave
Steve McQueen was born on October 9, 1969 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Shame (2011) and Hunger (2008). He is married to Bianca Stigter. They have two children.
- Hunger
- 12 Years A Slave
- Shame
- Widows
28. Quentin Tarantino
Writer | Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.
In January of...
- Pulp Fiction
- Django Unchained
- Kill Bill: Vol. 1
- Inglorious Bastards
- Reservoir Dogs
- The Hateful Eight
- Kill Bill: Vol. 2
- Jackie Brown
- Death Proof
29. 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 ...
- Mulholland Drive
- Twin Peaks
- Crazy at Heart
- Eraserhead
- Inland Empire
- Blue Velvet
30. 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 ...
- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
- Once Upon a Time in the West
- For a Few Dollars More
- Fistful of Dollars
31. Damien Chazelle
Writer | La La Land
Damien Sayre Chazelle is an American director and screenwriter. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His mother, Celia Sayre (Martin) Chazelle, is an American-Canadian writer and professor of history at The College of New Jersey. His father, Bernard Chazelle, is a French-American Eugene Higgins...
- La La Land
- First Man
- Whiplash
32. 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 ...
- Walkabout
- Don't Look Now
33. 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 ...
- Knight of Cups
- Badlands
- Tree of Life
- Song to Song
- The Thin Red Line
- Days of Heaven
34. 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 ...
- Vertigo
- Psycho
- Rear Window
- Notorious
- North by Northwest
35. Xavier Dolan
Actor | J'ai tué ma mère
Xavier Dolan was born on March 20, 1989 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is an actor and producer, known for I Killed My Mother (2009), Tom at the Farm (2013) and Heartbeats (2010).
- Tom at the Farm
- It's Only the End of the World
- Mommy
36. Andrea Arnold
Director | American Honey
Andrea Arnold was born on April 5, 1961 in Dartford, Kent, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for American Honey (2016), Fish Tank (2009) and Red Road (2006).
- Wasp
- American Honey
- Milk
- Dog
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