It would be impossible to devise a complete favorite or best director list in any way shape or form. I know too little, I haven’t seen enough; I haven’t seen full catalogs through and I don’t want to pick and choose between some of the coolest people to ever walk the planet. So this is what I came up with, to still talk about directors in a proper and respectful way, but still somehow rank them.
I tied directors together into the classification that I place in my head. The classifications are subjects from various different variables such as:
- Level of popularity, success, influence and sustainability
- Where and When they worked
- The level of impact on a movie
- The uniqueness of their craft
- Their careers as a whole
- Niche skills
There’s so much subjectiveness involved but I do believe I have them organized quite well and proper, or at least well enough for my own sanity. When I think of the directors listed below, this is where they live amongst the ranks in my head. These are their closest compadres, this is their gang, and the only other people they should be in conversation with.
But I did rank the groups by who is the closest to my heart, which made it easier then doing individual rankings based on whatever. Then, inside the groupings, the directors are also ranked in order from closest to my heart to not, inside their individual groupings. So yeah, there definitely is still some ranking amongst the entirety of this list, I had to find a way.
With that being said, I’ve watched at least three films from everyone listed below. Next to their names, lay the films I have rated at least 4/4 or higher. If there’s no name, it just may be due to their influence that I’ve realized or he/she doesn’t have a significant film that stands out to me, yet I still respect their work impeccably.
Shoutout Worthy
Unfortunately, these names didn’t make any of the ten classifications. They are all really well respected directors, but they don’t just sit that close to home for me. Unfortunately for some, I’ve only caught two or three of their films, which may have been just short of them potentially making a category. Shout out to them for real, maybe next time they’ll find themselves a home here. I fuck with everything these people bring to each project.
David Lynch, Frank Capra, Brian De Palma, John Carpenter, Francois Truffaut, James Cameron, John Hughes, Tim Burton, Jordan Peele, Yorgos Lanthimos, Ridley Scott, Orson Welles, Kathryn Bigelow, Spike Jonze, Martin Mcdonaugh and Milos Forman.
Under 40 Years Old Directors
I also avoided classifying anyone under 40 years old. These folks’ careers are just getting started yet somehow already have some unreal movies. I wanted to leave them be. With hope, I will be watching for anything they direct in the next thirty years. Goodluck, future of cinema.
Safdie Brothers, Greta Gerwig, Damien Chazelle, Robert Eggers, Ari Aster, and Ryan Coogler.
Now, to begin the list, here is group 10:
Group 10: Current Successful Aged Directors Who Get It
Richard Linklater 🇺🇸 – Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, Dazed and Confused
Coen Brothers 🇺🇸 – No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Millers Crossing
Darren Aronofsky 🇺🇸 – The Wrestler, Requiem For a Dream, Pi
Great group to be in. Some of the first names you get familiar with when introduced to the current working film world. Each has their share of big budget productions, lower budget art films and one or two classics to their name. All three are at a point in their long careers where they can make whatever they want, however they want and it’s truly earned.
Group 9: Canceled Directors
Roman Polanski 🇵🇱 – Chinatown, Rosemarys Baby
Woody Allen 🇺🇸 – Manhattan, Annie Hall
Fuck are these guys pieces of shit or what. Sadly enough, with these guys being canceled for unforgivable acts, they’ve made quite an impact on the history of cinema. They’ve been behind the camera in some generationally elite, and a few of my favorite movies. Everything I’ve ever watched from both of them, I’ve honestly completely enjoyed. It’s sad, because I wish I could give these guys their flowers, or even see what the rest of their careers would have entailed, if they weren’t absolute losers. Fuck them completely, but fuck; did they know how to direct.
Group 8: Silent Actor Directors
This Group is held by the greats Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and them only. I can’t even begin to grasp the impact these guys have had on the history of film. Some of these films are almost 100 years old, with no dialogue or color and still make me laugh. Unlike everyone else on this list, these guys also fucking starred in there movies. Fucking crazy. They acted and directed almost all of their movies! The two biggest work horses of all time. It’s never been done to that level since, and will never happen at that level ever again. These two men are absolutely brilliant in every way possible. They are responsible for so much. Watch one of there films and you’ll understand. They make me so happy. I wish that they lived forever.
Group 7: Craft Master Directors
Hayao Miyazaki 🇯🇵 – Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke
Sofia Coppola 🇺🇸 – Lost In Translation, The Virgin Suicides
Sergio Leone 🇮🇹 – Once Upon A Time In The West
Wong Kar-Wai 🇨🇳 – In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Fallen Angels
This class just has that special, intangible something in their films. You can tell right away when you’re watching one of their movies who it belongs to. I would kill to hangout with everyone in this group. Probably would be so fucking sick. I feel like I know what they’d all be like and I’d have so much fun. They are so artistically divine, and elevate anything they touch to the highest level. They each can create a world so well, make it look so fucking cool and then have the best characters. Each has been incredibly successful throughout their careers and will always have a massive fan in me.
Group 6: Stylistic Cool American Directors
John Cassavettes 🇺🇸 – A Woman Under The Influence, Opening Night
Robert Altman 🇺🇸 – Nashville, McCabe and Mrs Miller
Michael Mann 🇺🇸 – Heat, Thief
Spike Lee 🇺🇸 – Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing
Sidney Lumet 🇺🇸 – Network, 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon
This group is so fucking cool. Four dudes who are the epitome of cool. You just know when you are watching a film directed by one of them because of how fucking sick it is. I still have so much more to go in all of their catalogs, but I’m looking forward to finishing them all. They are all so different in tone, genre and style, yet they all share one thing: they are so fucking cool in their own unique truly American way. These guys rock.
Group 5: International Film Industry Changing Pioneers
Jean-Luc Godard 🇫🇷 – Guy was the fucking of pioneer of the French New Wave
Federico Fellini 🇮🇹 – La Dolce Vita, La Strada, Nights Of Cabiria
Ingmar Bergman 🇸🇪 – Persona, Fanny and Alexander, Autumn Sonata
Akira Kurosawa 🇯🇵 – Seven Samurai
David Lean 🇬🇧 – The Bridge On the River Kwai, Lawrence Of Arabia
A cinephile’s favorite directors. Maybe the best group according to critics? These guys paved the way. Invented ideals, broke barriers, created serious masterpieces and are incredibly respected throughout the world. There is no best directors of all time list without these five on it. Brilliant men. I seriously have no grasp on how great this group was, I can’t wait to continue watching their films as I grow older, throughout my life. Nothing but respect and the utmost gratitude. I know for a fact, as I age, watch more movies and naturally become more pretentious in this game, film by film; they will always be climbing my ranks.
Group 4: Hollywood Golden Era Directors
Alfred Hitchcock 🇬🇧 – Vertigo, Rear Window, North By Northwest, Psycho
Billy Wilder 🇺🇸 – The Apartment, Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, Ace In The Hole
John Ford 🇺🇸 – Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Howard Hawks 🇺🇸 – Rio Bravo, Red River
John Hutson 🇺🇸 – Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
These are your favourite directors, favourite directors. This group is so fucking rich, so much history, all the glory. The Golden age. Mysteries, Westerns, Noirs, and Dramas these guys bags were so deep. Unbelievable potency to how they directed. These men are responsible for some of the greatest American pictures of all time and for that, I am forever indebted.
Group 3: Perfect Modern Day Pure Directors
David Fincher 🇺🇸 – F***** Club, Seven, The Social Network, Gone Girl
Denis Villeneuve 🇨🇦 – Blade Runner 2049, Dune, Prisoners
Christopher Nolan 🇬🇧 – The Dark Knight, Inception, Dunkirk, Memento
Park Chan-Wook 🇰🇷 – Oldboy, The Handmaiden, Decision To Leave
Fucking Awesome. These guys are all just fucking awesome. These guys keep me in love with movies. Everytime they get behind the camera you’re in for a treat. The fact that they still direct movies is so fucking awesome. Whatever these guys direct until they die, I will attend opening night every single time. These guys all share big budget pictures, suspense, and darker tones that all are just fucking awesome man. I’m sorry it’s impossible to not think these guys are fucking awesome in every way. These guys are effortless. Make shit look so easy you’d think you could do it. We’re so lucky to have all four of them still working today. These guys can direct their fucking asses off. Effortlessly Awesome.
Group 2: The Untouchable Pure Directors (Potential Mount Rushmore)
Stanley Kubrick 🇺🇸 – Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, A Clockwork Orange, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spartacus
Martin Scorsese 🇺🇸 – Goodfellas, Casino, The King Of Comedy, The Departed, The Color Of Money, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Silence
Francis Ford Coppolla 🇺🇸 – The Godfather Part II, The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation
Steven Speilberg 🇺🇸 – Jaws, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Lincoln
What is there to say? What haven’t these guys done? Should be household names everywhere in the world. My modern day Mount Rushmore of directing. Sculpt their heads next to the Hollywood sign. I will expand more on these four someday. I love them all individually so much, each one means so much to me. You’d live an unbelievably great movie going life, if the movies you watched only came from these four men. So incredibly lucky. Legends isn’t a good enough word.
Group 1: Close to My Heart Writer Directors
Paul Thomas Anderson 🇺🇸 – There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, The Master, Phantom Thread, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, Inherent Vice, Licorice Pizza
Quentin Tarantino 🇺🇸 – Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, The HateFul Eight, Django Unchained, Inglorious Basterds, Jackie Brown, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Death Proof
Wes Anderson 🇺🇸 – The Royal Tenenbaums, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The French Dispatch
Combined these three men are 18/29 on 4/4 or higher and the rest being ¾. No mistakes. I just love everything they touch. For me, the difference with these three is they don’t only direct their movies, they also fucking write and produce them. All of them. It is their movie. They are responsible for every single part of it, not just directing like the rest of the list. Do you know how fucking hard that is? These fucking guys are masters of the craft of film making. They are fucking movie freaks and they are my favorites ever. So fucking great! I can’t explain it. They just know what to do at all times for every part of movie making. They are the only ones who can take an idea baby and translate it to paper, and then the screen, fully by themselves. I can’t even grasp the level they work at. I love them so much and am such a big massive fan. It’s hard for me not to love and be obsessed with these dudes’ movies.