Subscribe to ListverseTop 10 Living Directors
- Published August 21, 2007 - 91 Comments
This is a list of the top 10 living movie directors. I have selected primarily directors of English speaking films as this would become too big a list otherwise. These are the most forward thinking, groundbreaking, or just plain awesome directors. As usual, add your favorites to the comments.
10. Steven Spielberg
Notable Films: Empire of the Sun, The Color Purple, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Catch me if you Can
Spielberg is a three-time Academy Award winner and is the highest grossing filmmaker of all time, with an estimated net worth of $3 billion. As of 2006, Premiere listed him as the most powerful and influential figure in the motion picture industry. TIME named him in the ‘100 Greatest People of the Century’. At the end of the 20th century LIFE named him the most influential person of his generation.
9. Francis Ford Coppola
Notable Films: The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Dracula
Francis Ford Coppola (born April 7, 1939) is a five-time Academy Award winning American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Coppola is also a vintner, magazine publisher, and hotelier. He earned an M.F.A. in film directing from the UCLA Film School. He is most renowned for directing the highly regarded Godfather trilogy, The Conversation, and the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now.
8. Gus Van Sant
Notable Films: Good Will Hunting, Psycho, Last Days
us Van Sant Jr. (born July 24, 1952 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American Academy Award nominated film director, photographer, musician, and author. He currently lives in Portland, Oregon. His early career was devoted to directing television commercials in the Pacific Northwest. Openly gay, he has dealt unflinchingly with homosexual and other marginalized subcultures without being particularly concerned about providing positive role models.
7. David Fincher
Notable Films: Seven, The Game, Fight Club, Zodiac
David Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American music video and film director known for his dark and stylish portraits of the human experience, particularly Fight Club and Se7en. With his sights set on a directing career, he joined the talent management and advertising and video-production company Propaganda Films and started off directing music videos and commercials. Directors such as Meiert Avis, David Kellogg, Michael Bay, Antoine Fuqua, Neil LaBute, Spike Jonze, Mark Romanek, Michel Gondry, Zack Snyder, Gore Verbinski, and Alex Proyas among others honed their talents at Propaganda before moving on to feature films.
6. Quentin Tarantino
Notable Films: Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, actor, and Oscar winning screenwriter. He rose to fame in the early 1990s as an auteur indie filmmaker whose films used postmodern nonlinear storylines, and stylized violence interwoven with often-obscure cinematic references. His films include Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (Vol. 1 2003, Vol. 2 2004) and Death Proof featured in Grindhouse (2007).
5. Roman Polanski
Notable Films: Rosemary’s Baby, The Pianist, Oliver Twist
Roman Polański (born August 18, 1933) is an Academy Award winning film director, writer, actor, producer. After beginning his career in Poland, he became a celebrated arthouse filmmaker, and Hollywood director of such films as Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974). He is also known for his tumultuous personal life. In 1969, his wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family. In 1978, after pleading guilty to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a thirteen year old girl, Polanski fled to France, where he now resides.
4. Steven Soderbergh
Notable Films: Traffic, Ocean’s 11
Steven Andrew Soderbergh (born January 14, 1963 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and Oscar-winning director. Soderbergh often acts as his own director of photography under the alias of Peter Andrews and occasionally as his own editor under the alias of Mary Ann Bernard. While shooting Traffic, Soderbergh wanted a credit of ‘Photographed and Directed by’. The Writer’s Guild (WGA) wouldn’t allow another credit ahead of the writer. Because Soderbergh didn’t want his name used more than once, he adopted a pseudonym, Peter Andrews, his father’s first and middle names.
3. Joel and Ethan Coen
Notable Films: Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where art thou?
Joel and Ethan Coen, known as The Coen Brothers, are Oscar-winning American filmmakers. For more than 20 years, the pair have written and directed numerous successful films, ranging from comedies (O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski) to film noir (Miller’s Crossing, Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn’t There), to movies where those two genres blur together (Fargo, Barton Fink). The brothers write, direct and produce their films jointly, although until recently Joel received sole credit for directing and Ethan for producing. They often alternate top billing for their screenplays, while sharing film credits for editor under the alias “Roderick Jaynes”.
2. Martin Scorsese
Notable Films: Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Aviator, The Departed
Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, writer and producer and founder of the World Cinema Foundation. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for his film The Departed at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007. He is also a recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema and has won awards from the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Directors Guild of America. Scorsese’s body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, Roman Catholic concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, and the violence endemic in American society. Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era.
1. David Lynch
Notable Films: The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, painter, video artist, and performance artist. Lynch has received three Academy Award for Best Director nominations for The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986), and Mulholland Drive (2001). He has won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. Over a lengthy career, Lynch has employed an unorthodox approach to narrative that has become instantly recognizable to audiences and critics worldwide. Lynch’s films are known for surreal, nightmarish and dreamlike images and meticulously crafted sound design. His work often explores the seedy underside of “Small Town U.S.A.”, or sprawling metropolises.
There are so many notable mentions that I don’t have room to list them all here.
August 21st, 2007 at 3:35 pm
I believe the photo that you have associated with Roman Polanski is actually David Cronenberg…
August 21st, 2007 at 3:58 pm
http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Profiles/20061006/244.polanski.roman.100506.jpg
and a quick image search on Google reveals that pic as David Cronenberg
love this site, btw!
August 21st, 2007 at 5:11 pm
I definitely agree with number one – I love Lynch.
August 21st, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Oops – thanks for the guys – I have corrected the photo – I dragged the wrong one in while I was editing the post.
Dan: me too – I am actually watching my brand new DVD of Inland Empire as we speak!
August 21st, 2007 at 6:22 pm
I just put inland empire in my netflix queue! Roger Ebert gave it 5 stars….surprising, I thought he hated Lynch. My favorite film by him is definitely the elephant man, probably the most normal film he’s done..
August 21st, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Dan: Elephant man is definitely the most normal. So far I am finding Inland Empire to be the most abnormal
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:03 am
What? No George Lucas? Hey, its the internet, someone had to bring it up sooner or later
and for foreign directors i’d definately mention Akira Kurosawa (who ironically enough was extremely influential to both Lucas and Spielberg.) And what about John Ford? the man that defined the american western? who was ironically very influential to Kurosawa’s works. just some thoughts. i’m slowly becoming addicted to this site btw.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:24 am
xasshern: it was hard enough for me to add Spielberg! I just don’t think I could count Lucas a a great director – he certainly made some popular films but he didn’t really do anything influential.
Is John Ford still alive?
Thanks for the comments btw
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:37 am
I don’t think I would include George Lucas. He is good, but not enough depth to his work (American Grafitti is excellent, though). I would have to have Ridley Scott on my list. Granted he is sci-fi heavy, but they are epic movies and he has shown a lot of range. I would probably include Ron Howard, also, although he would be low on the list. Maybe Jonathan Demme, too. Might have to include John Hughes. He wasn’t as earth-shaking, but his movies defined a whole generation. Peter Jackson deserves a nod, but he hasn’t done enough work yet, IMO. And yes, I’m American’ so that is what I’m familiar with. Victor Fleming is another American director who did some great work.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:51 am
Morphy: I agree about Ridley Scott too.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:12 pm
While I’m at it, listing every American director known, I should include John Landis. Once again, very genre-specific (mostly comedy) but some excellent movies.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Morphy: I must confess to having a slight bias against comedy directors. If I did go down that path I would probably have included Woody Allen.
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:43 pm
Your right jfrater, excuse my ignorance! i ignored the “Living” part of the title totally. john ford is long dead along with kurosawa. and i can understand the points about lucas. i’m a fan of star wars, but no where near a close as some go. i’ve never been to a convention or anything and i definately didn’t wait in line dressed as boba fett to see any of the movies. but, its influence on pop culture in the later part of the 20th century and early part of this one are undeniable. at work today ridley scott also popped into my mind (nice going morphy). i also agree about spielberg! he’s made some great movies, but they’re all crowd-pleasers definately. he’s great, but no genius.
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:27 pm
xasshern: no probs
Thanks for confirming.
August 23rd, 2007 at 6:46 pm
What about Woody Allen?
August 24th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Monkey: see comment #12
August 30th, 2007 at 6:49 am
I personally detest anything that David Lynch does. Call me if you can figure out what that steaming pile of crap Mulholland Drive was. So it’s hard for me to swallow that he’s even on the list. Scorsese’s body of work is much more important than Lynch’s. However I am glad that Tarantino made your list. Chan Wook Park is making some of the most interesting films out there. And I have to agree with the Woody Allen, Ron Howard and Ridley Scott sentiment.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:28 am
bucslim: how could you say that about David Lynch?!
August 30th, 2007 at 7:38 am
OK, liked Blue Velvet and Elephant Man was pretty good, but that shouldn’t qualify him in any way for this list. Every director on this list has made at least one crappy film. I know some people who rave about Mulholland Drive, I wanted to tear my eyes out and gargle some Draino after I watched it. Hell, even Rod Serling was wondering what the hell was going on in that film.
Just my opinion, there’s plenty of people out there (just check IMDB message boards) who absolutely detest anything Tarantino does.
BTW, this site is coming close to my #1 reason for my lowered productivity at work. Great site. Keep it up.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:40 am
And you really need to check out Chan Wook Park’s revenge trilogy and ‘JSA’ if you haven’t. You will revise your list after you watch them.
August 30th, 2007 at 8:16 am
bucslim: thanks
I actually consider Mulholland Drive to be one of my all time favorite films 
But I have no problem with people having different opnions 
And I am glad to be reducing your productivity!
August 30th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Sorry, didn’t mean to trash one of your favorite films. I’m passionate about films and seomtimes I go to far. Nothing personal. I’ll take Pulp Fiction any day of the week. I guess that’s why there’s Chevy and Ford, Coke and Pepsi.
September 4th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I’d have listed Terry Gilliam, but as has been pointed out, this is one of those lists in particular which is very subjective.
September 4th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
bucslim: that’s okay – I don’t really mind
Pulp Fiction is great. So is pepsi 
rp: subjective it is though I do try to be as objective as possible and include things I don’t always agree with myself.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:22 am
I think that Ridley Scott should be on this list. With “Alien,” “Blade Runner,” and “Thelma and Louise,” for example, he’s definitely shown greater range pretty much all of the people on the list.
Personally, I think the Coen Brothers are overrated. I usually like parts of their films, but never think that they work as a whole. There isn’t one of their films that I would call great. And to list them above FF Coppola??? NO WAY! “The Godfather”, “The Conversation,” and “Apocalypse Now” (among others) are masterpieces of cinema. He should be much higher on the list.
Where is Woody? Granted his recent films haven’t been great, but he did make “Radio Days”, “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” and “Annie Hall.” And while, you note that you have a bias against comedy directors, “Annie Hall” has moments of deep poignancy. I think that it would be more accurate to call it a comedy-drama.
And what about Mike Nichols? Granted, now, maybe he’s made too many Meryl Streep, lifetime-style weepies, but he’s the director of “The Graduate,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?”, and “Carnal Knowledge.” If you are going to list Polanski (and I’m glad you did), I think you should list Nichols.
Plus, isn’t Tarantino really on the list for “Pulp Fiction” alone? Shouldn’t a director have more than one great film before making a list such as this? (Sorry, didn’t like “Jackie Brown” and thought that the “Kill Bill” films were interesting exercises in style with no soul. I really absolutely hated, hated, hated “Reservoir Dogs.” To me, it was unbelievably violent and smug. I felt like I needed a shower after it was over.)
Glad you listed Lynch. “Blue Velvet” is so weird and dark and haunting. “The Elephant Man” made me cry.
I have to admit that I think George Lucas should be on the list. The most recent three Star Wars films were awful, as we all saw (I guess one can lose one’s talent), but “American Graffiti” and the original “Star Wars” were truly, truly great.
And Speilberg should definitely be on the list. While his films are commercial, he’s definitely made some outstanding films nonetheless. I would put him way higher than Soderbergh (who I like but wouldn’t have put on the list) just for the depth and range of his impact. “Jaws,” “Close Encounters…,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “ET.” Each of these films is deeply entertaining and expertly constructed. I watched “Jaws” again recently and was surprised at the intricate and subtle shot constructions. While it may be a “popcorn” movie, it was made by an artist.
Thanks for letting me participate in this discussion!
September 11th, 2007 at 2:31 am
Shawn: The only decent film Lucas directed was Star Wars IV – he didn’t direct V or VI, and we all agree that I, II, III are not particularly brilliant feats of direction
You are right about your other choices – though I do love all of the Tarantino films. You should check out Inland Empire by Lynch seeing as you like him – very amazing.
September 13th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
How about Wes Anderson? Anyone else with me on that one? The Royal Tenenbaums & Rushmore have got to be two of the most uniquely directed comedies (not to mention a mind-blowing soundtrack!)
September 20th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Hey Jfrater, I HAVE to discuss your comment about George Lucas only directing “one decent film…Star Wars IV.” I completely disagree! I think that “American Graffiti” is a GREAT film. If I watch “Inland Empire” will you watch “American Graffiti?”
September 27th, 2007 at 3:13 am
I can’t believe that you haven’t included ANY European or Asian directors (Roman Polanski excluded)… Such a shame. The list should be called 9 greatest American Living Directors and than you should do the 9 European ones; the 9 Asian ones… Please do your research a bit better next time.
October 1st, 2007 at 9:58 am
A great Coen brothers movie that wasn’t mentioned is the Hudsucker Proxy, anyone who likes their other movies should see it.
October 12th, 2007 at 5:12 am
I agree with dimitar…
October 12th, 2007 at 5:34 am
dimitar and steinburg: The lists are meant to inspire comments – which they have done here, but it would be more useful to the other readers of the site for you to mention some names of directors you think should be here, rather than just complaining about the ones that are already
October 12th, 2007 at 5:35 am
Shawn: yes – I will
October 16th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Oliver Stone
October 19th, 2007 at 7:18 am
Not gonna bitch about the list, but I would’ve like to have seen Christopher Nolan on there.
November 7th, 2007 at 10:31 am
I know this is a really late respons, but I have not been visiting this site for that long…
but I kind of mis tim burton in here, he makes the really briliant movies with a bit of an odd twist, and a new one comming out soon…
ofcourse it’s my personal opinion…
November 23rd, 2007 at 4:25 am
number 2 should be number 1. Goodfellas is one of my faves
November 23rd, 2007 at 4:31 am
jbjr: definitely not! But Scorsese is brilliant – I love Goodfellas too.
Pluis: it is never too late to add your views
November 24th, 2007 at 2:05 am
Blue velvet, Twin Peaks, Wild Heart good lynch films.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
I have to put in a plug for two more who have not been mentioned (the third would have been Mike Nichols but he’s already had a mention).
1) Michael Mann: Heat, The Insider, The Last of the Mohicans, Collateral, etc. All have his signature visual scope and eye for light, color, and local authenticity. He always gets the best performances from his actors (Russell Crowe in The Insider and Tom Cruise in Collateral spring to mind, although there are many examples.
2) Paul Greengrass: He may not have made a lot of films, but what he has made stand up against the greats mentioned above, many of whom haven’t been making their finest films recently. Bloody Sunday and United 93 make me cry uncontrollably every time I watch them. And the two Bourne films he made are two of the best action movies ever made.
December 25th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
pretty good but leaving out ridley scott was definitely a no-no… i expected to see him in the top three. talk about latitude…gladiator , blade runner, matchstick men,black hawk down…etc.etc i cant think of a film of his that isnt great,both visually and story-wise.
December 25th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
i was disappointed to see spielberg thrown in there too (albeit at least in last place)for the audience flattering tripe he produces a la michael bay. dont see much vision in him either… i’d replace him with either jim jarmusch or lars von trier.
January 1st, 2008 at 1:32 am
So sad.
When will Tim Burton get his props?
January 23rd, 2008 at 3:11 pm
how about Ang Lee
January 29th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I think Neil Jordon or Terry Gilliam should have crept in there. And I also agree with wildgrits…Burton should be in the top 5 without a doubt.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
I am slightly disappointed, though not at all surprised, to only find US-Americans on the list. Kurosawa has been mentioned in the comments, in my opinion Peter Greenaway, Jaques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Lars von Trier and Eric Rohmer also deserve to be named among the best.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:17 am
wildgrits: I completely agree. Nobody does B-movies like tim burton. Edward Scissorhands, batman, batman returns, sweeney todd, corpse bride, and sleepy hollow.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:19 am
If you think Gus Van Sant is a good director, watch Elephant. I wanted to tear my eyes out.
February 1st, 2008 at 11:20 am
gcat: I loved Elephant!
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:05 am
I would have included:
Brian dePalma
David Cronnenberg
and, even though he hasn’t been active in film lately, Arthur Penn.
February 10th, 2008 at 2:50 am
Had to see a picture of Roman Polanski, didn’t I? Here’s a tip from personal experience. Don’t watch Rosemary’s Baby for the first time the day you find out you’re pregnant.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:05 pm
ARG! GODARD IS STILL ALIVE!
As is Peter Greenaway.
As is Wong Kar Wei.
As is Almodovar.
As is Egoyan.
But seriously, I’m not joking, Godard is totally, TOTALLY still alive.
March 24th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Can somebody explain me how can be Lynch better than Scorsese? another doubt: is Eastwood dead???
April 10th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Ki-Duk Kim. Almost everything (I’ve seen 7 or
but at least “3-Iron” and “Spring, summer, fall, winter”, everyone should see. I think it’s the best under 50 director in the world. Please see those, and talk afterwards.
April 27th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
No Tim Burton is an oversight. No Terry Gilliam is sad. No Guillermo del Toro is a freakin’ crime.
June 15th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
fuck putting Tarantino on your list, all he makes now is geekfest homages for teenagers and retards.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:32 am
check out ERASERHEAD by David Lynch…i’m pretty sure it was a college movie he made…and it’s easily the trippiest and most insane thing i’ve ever seen…he’s one messed up dude…very interesting though
great list!!
p.s. Wong Kar Wai is one of the best for sure also…(not american though obviously…but check him out!)
June 27th, 2008 at 6:33 am
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074486/
link for eraserhead..sorry
June 28th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Paul T. Scheuring??
creator and director of Prison Break
July 4th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
No George A. Romero??? the king of zombie flicks!??!?!?!?!?!?!
July 4th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
plus George A. Romero is american, and we all know you only include americans to your list (well 99% of the time)
you should do a ”greatest empires ever” list, cause then somthing american won’t be on a list for once
and put The British Empire as number 1, cause thats the reason why america is america haha!
October 7th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I completely agree that Tim Burton should be on here. All of his movies are amazingly directed and he is always involved in as much of the production that he can such as casting and music wise. Oh! and why not M. Night Shyamalan…i know that a lot of people don’t like his movies but i think that the fact that he writes all of his movies and then goes through directing him to get his exact vision. I think that you should do another list since you yourself said that there are too many to name on one list.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I have to say perhaps on my own little list, maybe not the top 10 ULTIMATE, but Tim Burton would be included. I’d say as a great director he’s had some misses, but I think the hits and his personal style prevail. Hmm, maybe a nod to Spike Lee, maybe. It’s been said before, but I have to add Woody Allen. As it is, the list you have going here is a pretty decent list. Hopefully noone defends Michael Bey…
December 4th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
What about ron howard(opie)
December 16th, 2008 at 1:10 am
I almost cried when I realized Tim Burton wouldn’t be on the list. He weird and quirky and his movies are almost always about acceptance, which can be applied to any time period. Do I really need to mention also: Tim Burton + Johnny Depp = movie magic.
December 16th, 2008 at 1:10 am
typo: that should be: “He is weird…”
January 4th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I don’t agree that Lynch is the best director and where is tim burton?
January 18th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Where’s Tim Burton? where’s Ridley Scott? WHERE THE FUCK IS WOODY ALLEN???????
March 4th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Steven Spielberg is the man!
March 7th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Werner Herzog, Harmony Korine, Jean Luc Godard, and Lars Von Trier deserve to be on this list.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Kind of late but I just found this site and have become frighteningly addicted. I just looked up at the clock and realized I’d been reading these lists for over 3 hours.
I read all the comments here and I’m somewhat surprised no one mentioned Adrian Lyne. For me, the mark of a good director is how I feel about the film after/while watching and with Lyne, I always feel thoroughly disturbed, whether it be with the overall storyline or, in a few cases, my own perversions or sympathy for detestable characters. A few of his movies are: Lolita, Unfaithful, 9 1/2 Weeks, Indecent Proposal, Jacob’s Ladder, Flashdance and Fatal Attraction. True, he’s very choosy about what films he wants to do, but I think quality trumps quantity. He’s by far my favorite director.
Btw, Happy first comment to me!
April 20th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I know how late this may be, but I wanted to thank jfrater for not putting Oliver Stone or Tim Burton on the list:
Thank you.
They’re two of the most overrated turds in all of Hollywood.
Fight me.
BUT, as great as these omissions are, I think it is a SEVERE (imagine severe in super-duper caps lock. more so than it already is) oversight that Wes Anderson isn’t on this list. Beyond the writing of the script, the directing in his movies is absolutely mind melting. He manages to make everything so surreal and beautiful yet starkly sobering at the same time.
Next time, Jfrater, Wes Anderson instead of David Fincher.
I’m a huge fan of Fight Club, but that movie is only great because of Chuck Palahniuk.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:58 am
What about Lumet?
April 30th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
You should also include Robert Zemeckis, James Cameron, and George Lucas. They are my favorites.
May 9th, 2009 at 6:23 pm
I think Michael Gondry would be a nice addition to the list.
May 26th, 2009 at 4:37 am
I agree with David Lynch, but was very surprised he was number 1, i thought i was alone in that sentiment!
also p.t. anderson is a name noone seems to be throwing around, a very talented young filmmaker. good list otherwise, and no, ridley scott does not deserve to be there.
June 27th, 2009 at 2:00 am
agree with the others…i’m kinda sad tim burton’s not here. his movies are really cool and creative.
September 26th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Tarantino. What a guy. I dont know where i’d be without Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and the craft of the Kill Bill volumes, although Death Proof let me down
October 15th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
lynch is definitely deserving of making this list. however my list would be a little bit different because a list not including Paul Thomas Anderson is not legitimate in my opinion. He eventually will become the greatest living director and the only reason i put scorsese in front of PTA is his body of work.
1. Martin Scorsese
2. Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Christopher Nolan
4. Coen Bros
5. David Lynch
HM: Tarantino, Aronofsky, Michael Mann, Fincher
October 26th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Will you idiots please read the intro before starting with the standard “too American-centric” rubbish. It clearly states, english language films. Sorry,but Hollywierd has a near monopoly on those films.
October 28th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Surprised QT is not in the top 5
November 4th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Talking about living filmdirectors I find it insane not to include Werner Herzog (Germany) and Lars Von Trier (Denmark) – especially if you want to name Lynch nr. 1. I also find it silly to call Woody Allen a comedy-director like Landis. He is all about big city life, angst, eksistensialism – he might tackle it funny, but its much more than. And only including american directors, Allen should bee in the top 5 of all time..Love your site BTW
November 10th, 2009 at 2:10 am
Clint Eastwood is not here?
Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, Bird, Pale Rider, Flags of Our Fathers, Gran Turino…
What more do you need?
November 18th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I think the criteria have to be expanded a bit. I mean, Coppola directed some of the greatest films of all time in the (first two) Godfather movies and Apocalypse Now, but besides those and The Coversation, what else has he done? Jack – with Robin Williams. Not quite up to par.
Same with Lucas. Star Wars is probably the most influential film in history, but what else has he done besides that and American Grafitti?
Should one, two, or three great films get you on the list ahead of say, Clint Eastwood, or Tim Burton who consistently directs great movies? The “living” qualifier seems to imply that “hey, these guys are still alive and thus they could direct some more great movies”. Based on recent history, I’d say Lucas and Coppola are more in the category of “directed some great, landmark, influential movies but are past their prime”.
That being said, Scorcese, Spielberg, and the Coens MUST be on any list for the quantity and consistent quality of their work.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Why put Gus Van Sant on this list? Especially since he directed that awful Psycho remake. And I think you have Spielberg way too low on the list. Although he hasn’t made any recent films that measure up to his oldies, he’s still a more respectable director than most of the guys on this list.
Here’s my opinion on how the list should be organized:
1. Martin Scorsese
2. Steven Spielberg
3. Francis Ford Coppola
4. David Lynch
5. Ridley Scott
6. Roman Polanski
7. Oliver Stone
8. Quentin Tarantino
9. Tim Burton
10. Spike Lee
December 21st, 2009 at 8:33 am
where is mel gibson??!
December 21st, 2009 at 8:37 am
Props on adding Tarantino. Most people shy away because of his unique genre.And to put him ahead of spielberg and coppola,shows balls. And I loved Elephant man, Fantastic list.
December 26th, 2009 at 2:17 am
Personally, I would’ve add Sion Sono (Suicide Circle, Noriko’s Dinner Table, Love Exposure, Strange Circus, etc.), but the list was nice at expanding my perspective.
January 7th, 2010 at 4:10 am
i’m sorry, no peter jackson? heavenly creatures, LOTR, king kong, the lovely bones and now he’s co-directing tin tin. how many other directors have won 11 oscars for only ONE of their films? one, and with avatar smashing box office records, james cameron is definitely making his way up.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:22 pm
Perhaps he still suffers from his Dirty Harry persona, but Clint Eastwood has to be on this list. He is a serious genius who has made some very great films, as mentioned above.