Most Accomplished ACTIVE Directors (2012 Edition)

2011 Rank: #46
2010 Rank: #48
2009 Rank: #28

a. The Usual Suspects (1995)
b. Apt Pupil (1998)
c. X-Men (2000
d. X2: X-Men United (2003)
e. Superman Returns (2006)
f. Valkyrie (2008)
h. Jack the Giant Killer (2012)

2011 Rank: #49
2010 Rank: #50
2009 Rank: #48

a. The Hit (1984)
b. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
c. The Grifters (1990)
d. Hero (1992)
e. High Fidelity (2000)
f. Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
g. Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005)
h. The Queen (2006)
i. Tamera Drewe (2010)
j. Lay the Favorite (2012)
k. Freddy Mercury Biopic (2014)

2011 Rank: #44 (Debut)
2010 Rank: #13 on Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #39 on Future Directing Greats

a. Face/Off (1997)
b. Mission: Impossible II (2000)
c. Windtalkers (2002)
d. Paycheck (2003)
e. Red Cliff I (2008)
f. Red Cliff II (2009)
g. Love and Let Love (2013)

2011 Rank: #32
2010 Rank: #34
2009 Rank: #41

a. Tommy Boy (1995)
b. My Fellow Americans (1996)
c. Anger Management (2003)
d. 50 First Dates (2004)
e. Get Smart (2008)
f. Grudge Match (2014)

2011 Rank: #34
2010 Rank: #35
2009 Rank: #43

a. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
b. European Vacation (1985)
c. Look Who’s Talking (1989)
d. Clueless (1995)
e. A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
f. I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007)
g. Vamps (2012)

2011 Rank: #50 (Debut)
2010 Rank: #29 on Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #48 on Future Directing Greats

a. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
b. My Best Friend (1999)
c. Grizzly Man (2005)
d. The Wild Blue Yonder (2006)
e. Rescue Dawn (2007)
f. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
g. My Son, My Son, What Ye Done? (2010)
h. The Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)
i. Into the Abyss(2012)
j. On Death Row (2012)

2011 Rank: #42
2010 Rank: #47
2009 Rank: #47

a. Ordinary People (1980)
b. The Milagro Beanfield war (1988)
c. A River Runs Through It (1992)
d. Quiz Show (1994)
e. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
f. The Conspirator (2011)
g. The Company You Keep (2012)

2011 Rank: #48 (Debut)
2010 Rank: #18 on Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #37 on Future Directing Greats

a. El Mariachi (1992)
b. Desperado (1995)
c. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
d. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
e. Sin City (2005)
f. Planet Terror (2007)
f. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2013)

2011 Rank: #38
2010 Rank: #40
2009 Rank: #44

a. Something Wild (1986)
b. Married to the Mob (1988)
c. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
d. Philadelphia (1993)
e. The Agronomist (2003)
f. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
g. Rachel Getting Married (2008)
h. Wally and Andre Shoot Ibsen (2013)
i. Zeitoun (2014)

2011 Rank: #28
2010 Rank: #31
2009 Rank: #23

a. Diner (1982)
b. The Natural (1984)
c. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
d. Rain Man (1988)
e. Avalon (1990)
f. Bugsy (1991)
g. Toys (1992)
h. Sleepers (1996)
i. Wag the Dog (1997)
j. Bandits (2001)
k. Man of the Year (2006)
l. You Don't Know Jack (2010)
m. The Day the Laughter Stopped (2013)
n. Gotti: Three Generations (2014)

2011 Rank: #43 (Debut)
2010 Rank: #2 on Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #23 on Future Directing Greats

a. Delicatessen (1992)
b. The City of Lost Children (1995)
c. Alien: Resurrection (1997)
d. Amelie (2001)
e. A Very Long Engagement (2004)
f. Micmacs a tire-Larigot (2010)
g. The Young and Prodigious Spivet (2013

2011 Rank: #37
2010 Rank: #39
2009 Rank: #42

a. Gallipoli (1981)
b. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
c. Witness (1985)
d. The Mosquito Coast (1986)
e. Dead Poets Society (1989)
f. Fearless (1993)
g. The Truman Show (1998)
h. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
i. The Way Back (2011)

2011 Rank: #33
2010 Rank: #38
2009 Rank: #38

a. Top Gun (1986)
b. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
c. Days of Thunder (1990)
d. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
e. True Romance (1993)
f. Crimson Tide (1995)
g. Enemy of the State (1998)
h. Spy Game (2001)
i. Man on Fire (2004)
j. Domino (2005)
k. Déjà vu (2006)
l. Unstoppable (2010)
m. Emma's War (2013)

2011 Rank: #27
2010 Rank: #29
2009 Rank: #29

a. Say Anything… (1989)
b. Jerry Maguire (1996)
c. Almost Famous (2000)
d. Vanilla Sky (2001)
e. Elizabethtown (2005)
f. We Bought a Zoo (2011)
g. Pearl Jam: Twenty (2011)

2011 Rank: #36 (Debut)
2010 Rank: #14 (Future Directing Greats)
2009 Rank: #16 (Future Directing Greats)

a. The Evil Dead II (1987)
b. Army of Darkness (1993)
c. The Quick and the Dead (1995)
d. A Simple Plan (1998)
e. For Love of the Game (1999)
f. Spider-Man (2002)
g. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
h. Spider-Man 3 (2007)
i. Drag Me to Hell (2009)
j. Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013)
k. Warcraft (2015)

2011 Rank: #20
2010 Rank: #14
2009 Rank: #17

a. Do the Right Thing (1989)
b. Malcolm X (1992)
c. He Got Game (1998)
d. 25th Hour (2002)
e. Inside Man (2006)
f. Oldboy (2013)

2011 Rank: #29
2010 Rank: #33
2009 Rank: #27

a. The Fourth Man (1983)
b. RoboCop (1987)
c. Total Recall (1990)
d. Basic Instinct (1992)
e. Showgirls (1995)
f. Starship Troopers (1997)
g. Black Book (2007)
h. Hidden Force (2013)

2011 Rank: #47
2010 Rank: #49
2009 Rank: #49

a. Scanners (1981)
b. Videodrome (1983)
c. The Dead Zone (1983)
d. The Fly (1986)
e. Dead Ringers (1988)
f. A History of Violence (2005)
g. Eastern Promises (2007)
h. A Dangerous Method (2011)
i. Cosmopolis (2012)

DEBUT

2011 Rank: #1 on Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #8 on Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #6 on Top Future Directing Greats

a. Pi (1998)
b. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
c. The Fountain (2006)
d. The Wrestler (2008)
e. Black Swan (2010)
f. Noah (2013)*

2011 Rank: #41
2010 Rank: #45 (Debut)
2009 Rank: #17 on Future Directing Greats

a. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
b. Snatch (2000)
c. Revolver (2005)
d. RocknRolla (2008)
e. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
f. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

2011 Rank: #30
2010 Rank: #30
2009 Rank: #46

a. About Last Night… (1986)
b. Glory (1989)
c. Legends of the Fall (1994)
d. Courage Under Fire (1996)
e. The Siege (1998)
f. The Last Samurai (2003)
g. Blood Diamond (2006)
h. Defiance (2008)
i. Love and Other Drugs (2010)
j. Pawn Sacrifice (2013)

2011 Rank: #40
2010 Rank: #42
2009 Rank: #32

a. Slacker (1991)
b. Dazed and Confused (1993)
c. Before Sunrise (1995)
d. Waking Life (2001)
e. The School of Rock (2003)
f. Before Sunset (2004)
g. Fast Food Nation (2006)
h. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
i. Me and Orson Wells (2008)
j. Bernie (2012)
k. Before Midnight (2013)
l. Boyhood {12-Year Long Project} (2014)*

DEBUT

2011 Rank: #6 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2010 Rank: #10 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2009 Rank: #44 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'

a. Badlands (1973)
b. Days of Heaven (1978)
c. The Thin Red Line (1998)
d. The New World (2005)
e. The Tree of Life (2011)
f. To the Wonder (2012)
g. Knights of Cups (2013)

2011 Rank: #39 (Debut)
2010 Rank: #3 (Future Directing Greats)
2009 Rank: #18 (Future Directing Greats)

a. Road Trip (2000)
b. Old School (2003)
c. Starsky & Hutch (2004)
d. The Hangover (2009)
e. Due Date (2010)
f. The Hangover Part II (2011)
g. The Hangover Part III (2013)
h. Murray at Large (2014)

2011 Rank: #24
2010 Rank: #27 (Debut)
2009 Rank: #1 on 'Future Directing Greats'

a. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
b. Schizopolis (1997)
c. Out of Sight (1998)
d. The Limey (1999)
e. Erin Brockovich (2000)
f. Traffic (2000)
g. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
h. Solaris (2002)
i. Ocean's Twelve (2004)
j. The Good German (2006)
k. Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
l. Che: Parts One and Two (2008)
m. The Informant! (2009)
n. Contagion (2011)
o. Haywire (2012)
p. Magic Mike (2012)
q. Side Effects (2013)
r. Liberace (2013)

2011 Rank: #26 (Debut)
2010 Rank: #5 on Future Directing Greats List
2009 Rank: #13 on Future Directing Greats List

a. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
b. Mystery, Alaska (1999)
c. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
d. Meet the Parents (2000)
e. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
f. Meet the Fockers (2004)
g. Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
h. Game Change (2012)
i. The Campaign (2012)

2011 Rank: #22
2010 Rank: #15
2009 Rank: #26

a. Manhunter (1986)
b. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
c. Heat (1995)
d. The Insider (1999)
e. Ali (2001)
f. Collateral (2004)
g. Miami Vice (2006)
h. Public Enemies (2009)
i. Waiting for Robert Capa (2014)

Re-Entry

2011 Rank: UNRANKED
2010 Rank: #16
2009 Rank: #16

a. Phantom of the Paradise (1975)
b. Carrie (1976)
c. Obsession (1976)
d. Scarface (1983)
e. The Untouchables (1987)
f. Casualties of War (1989)
g. Raising Cain (1992)
h. Carlito’s Way (1993)
i. Mission: Impossible (1996)
j. Snake Eyes (1998)
k. Mission to Mars (2000)
l. The Black Dahlia (2006)
m. Redacted (2007)
n. Passion (2012)
o. Phantom of the Paradise (2013)

His return to the list is out of anticipation for his next film, "Passion". The premise and cast make it intriguing, hopefully it holds up.

2011 Rank: #31
2010 Rank: #37
2009 Rank: #37

a. Cul-de-Sac (1966)
b. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
c. Chinatown (1974)
d. Frantic (1988)
e. Death and the Maiden (1994)
e. The Pianist (2002)
f. The Ghost Writer (2010)
g. Carnage (2011)
h. Venus in Fur (2013)

Re-Entry

2011 Rank: UNRANKED
2010 Rank: #25
2009 Rank: #19

a. Platoon (1986)
b. Wall Street (1987)
c. Talk Radio (1988)
d. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
e. The Doors (1991)
f. JFK (1991)
g. Natural Born Killers (1994)
h. Nixon (1995)
i. Any Given Sunday (1999)
j. W. (2008)
K. Savages (2012)

He returns to the list with the anticipated film, "Savages" that looks like a return to his forte

2011 Rank: #16
2010 Rank: #13
2009 Rank: #20

a. Sleeper (1973)
b. Annie Hall (1977)
c. Manhattan (1979)
d. Zelig (1983)
e. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
f. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
g. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
h. Husbands and Wives (1992)
i. Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
j. Match Point (2005)
k. Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)
l. Whatever Works (2009)
m. Midnight in Paris (2011)
n. To Rome with Love (2012)

2011 Rank: #10
2010 Rank: #10
2009 Rank: #4

a. Splash (1984)
b. Cocoon (1985)
c. Parenthood (1989)
d. Backdraft (1991)
e. Far and Away (1992)
f. The Paper (1994)
g. Apollo 13 (1995)
h. Ransom (1996)
i. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
j. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
k. Cinderella Man (2005)
l. The Da Vinci Code (2006)
m. Frost/Nixon (2008)
n. Angels & Demons (2009)
o. Rush (2013)
p. Jay-Z: Made in America (2014)

2011 Rank: #25
2010 Rank: #28
2009 Rank: #22

a. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
b. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
c. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
d. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
e. King Kong (2005)
f. The Lovely Bones (2009)
g. The Hobbit: Part I: An Unexpected Journey (2012)*
h. The Hobbit: Part II: There and Back Again (2013)*
i. Temeraire (2015)

AND Bobby Farrelly

2011 Rank #11
2010 Rank: #9
2009 Rank: #5

a. Dumb & Dumber (1994)
b. Kingpin (1996)
c. There’s Something About Mary (1998)
d. Me, Myself and Irene (2000)
e. Shallow Hal (2001)
f. Stuck On You (2003)
g. Fever Pitch (2005)
h. The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
i. The Three Stooges (2012)
j. Movie 43 (2012)

2011 Rank: #21
2010 Rank: #23
2009 Rank: #30

a. Play Misty for Me (1971)
b. Sudden Impact (1983)
c. Pale Rider (1985)
d. Unforgiven (1992)
e. Absolute Power (1997)
f. Blood Work (2002)
g. Mystic River (2003)
h. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
i. Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
j. Changeling (2008)
k. Gran Torino (2008)
l. Invictus (2009)
m. The Hereafter (2010)
n. J. Edgar (2011)

2011 Rank: #23
2010 Rank: #21
2009 Rank: #9

a. Finian’s Rainbow (1968)
b. The Godfather (1972)
c. The Conversation (1974)
d. Godfather Part II (1974)
e. Apocalypse Now (1979)
f. Godfather Part III (1990)
g. Dracula (1992)
h. The Rainmaker (1997)
i. Tetro (2009)
j. Twixt (2011)

2011 Rank: #17
2010 Rank: #19
2009 Rank: #7

a. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
b. Beetle Juice (1988)
c. Batman (1989)
d. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
e. Batman Returns (1992)
f. Ed Wood (1994)
g. Mars Attacks! (1996)
h. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
i. Big Fish (2003)
j. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
k. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
l. Alice in Wonderland (2010)
m. Dark Shadows (2012)
n. Frankenweenie (2012)

2011 Rank: #19
2010 Rank: #26
2009 Rank: #21

a. Trainspotting (1996)
b. A Life Less Ordinary (1997)
c. The Beach (2000)
d. 28 Days Later (2002)
e. Millions (2004)
f. Sunshine (2007)
g. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
h. 127 Hours (2010)
i. Trance (2013)

2011 Rank: #18
2010 Rank: #20
2009 Rank: #24

a. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
b. Time Bandits (1981)
c. The Meaning of Life (1983)
d. Brazil (1985)
e. The Fisher King (1991)
f. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
g. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
h. Tideland (2006)
i. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
j. The Zero Theorem (2013)

2011 Rank: #13
2010 Rank: #12
2009 Rank: #33

a. Cigarettes & Coffee (1993)
b. Hard Eight (1996)
c. Boogie Nights (1997)
d. Magnolia (1999)
e. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
f. There Will Be Blood (2007)
g. The Master (2012)*

It's been far too long since we've seen a release; but I'm sure with "The Master" we will see brilliance once again

2011 Rank: #15
2010 Rank: #18
2009 Rank: #19

a. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
b. Pulp Fiction (1994)
c. Jackie Brown (1997)
d. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
e. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
f. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
g. Django Unchained (2012)*
h. Kill Bill Vol. 3 (2014)

'Basterds' has slowly become my favorite film of his over the last few years and 'Django' will see him conquering another genre with the man, Dicaprio!

2011 Rank: #12
2010 Rank: #17
2009 Rank: #39

a. Bottle Rocket (1996)
b. Rushmore (1998)
c. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
d. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
e. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
f. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
g. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)*

Anderson will continue his unique style with a return to live-action. The story sounds unusual even for Anderson; but I'm sure he'll make it work.

2011 Rank: #14
2010 Rank: #24
2009 Rank: #18

a. Alien 3 (1992)
b. Seven (1995)
c. The Game (1997)
d. Fight Club (1999)
e. Zodiac (2007)
f. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
g. The Social Network (2010)
h. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
i. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (2013)

Fincher continues proving he can make the highest quality productions with various genres. I'm looking forward to his upcoming series "House of Cards" as well.

2011 Rank: #7
2010 Rank: #5
2009 Rank: #3

a. Back to the Future (1985)
b. Back to the Future II (1989)
c. Back to the Future III (1990)
d. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
e. Forrest Gump (1994)
f. Contact (1997)
g. Cast Away (2000)
h. The Polar Express (2004)
i. A Christmas Carol (2009)
j. Flight (2012)
k. Yellow Submarine (2014)

Bobby Z is finally going back to live-action film making. Let's hope it's a return to his greatness.

2011 Rank: #7
2010 Rank: #6
2009 Rank: #11

a. The Terminator (1984)
b. Aliens (1986)
c. The Abyss (1989)
d. Terminator II: Judgment Day (1991)
e. True Lies (1994)
f. Titanic (1997)
g. Avatar (2009)
h. Avatar Two (2014)
i. Battle Angel (2015)
j. Avatar Three (2017)

Say what you want about 'Avatar'; Cameron still deserves to be admired for his passion and accomplishments

2011 Rank: #9
2010 Rank: #22
2009 Rank: #15

a. Memento (2000)
b. Insomnia (2002)
c. Batman Begins (2005)
d. The Prestige (2006)
e. The Dark Knight (2008)
f. Inception (2010)
g. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)*
h. The Prisoner (2014)

Nolan keeps moving up as 'Rises' comes nears release. I'm glad to see he's thinking about future work, too.

2011 Rank: #3
2010 Rank: #3
2009 Rank: #8

a. Blood Simple (1984)
b. Raising Arizona (1987)
c. Miller’s Crossing (1990)
d. Barton Fink (1991)
e. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
f. Fargo (1996)
g. The Big Lebowski (1998)
h. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
i. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
j. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
k. The Lady Killers (2004)
l. No Country for Old Men (2007)
m. Burn After Reading (2008)
n. A Serious Man (2009)
o. True Grit (2010)
p. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

The Coens were on a mad role for four years and now will have taken a three-year break by the time their next film releases. No surprise the cast looks great and the story sounds interesting.

2011 Rank: #6
2010 Rank: #4
2009 Rank: #6

a. Alien (1979)
b. Blade Runner (1982)
c. Thelma & Louise (1991)
d. White Squal (1996)
e. G.I. Jane (1997)
f. Gladiator (2000)
g. Black Hawk Down (2001)
h. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
i. American Gangster (2007)
j. Body of Lies (2008)
k. Robin Hood (2010)
l. Prometheus (2012)*
m. The Counselor (2013)
n. Untitled Blade Runner Project

"Prometheus" is near the top of my anticipated films list. The previews and viral marketing alone have helped bring Ridley up to the 3 spot, from 6. His next two projects certainly helped too.

2011 Rank: #2
2010 Rank: #2
2009 Rank: #2

a. The Sugarland Express (1974)
b. Jaws (1975)
c. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
d. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
e. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
f. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
g. The Color Purple (1985)
h. Empire of the Sun (1987)
i. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
j. Hook (1991)
k. Jurassic Park (1993)
l. Schindler’s List (1993)
m. Amistad (1997)
n. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
o. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
p. Minority Report (2002)
q. Catch Me if You Can (2002)
r. The Terminal (2004)
s. Munich (2005)
t. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
u. War Horse (2011)
v. Lincoln (2012)*
w. Robopocalypse (2014)
x. Indiana Jones 5 (2015)

After an unusual 6-year gap of creative products Spielberg directed two pretty decent films last year to make up for that and he's directing the highly anticipated film, "Lincoln" this year, with Daniel Day-Lewis.

2011 Rank: #1
2010 Rank: #1
2009 Rank: #1

a. Mean Streets (1973)
b. Taxi Driver (1976)
c. New York, New York (1977)
d. The Last Waltz (1978)
e. Raging Bull (1980)
f. The King of Comedy (1982)
g. After Hours (1985)
h. The Color of Money (1986)
i. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
j. Goodfellas (1990)
k. Cape Fear (1991)
l. The Age of Innocence (1993)
m. Casino (1995)
n. Kundun (1997)
o. Gangs of New York (2002)
p. The Aviator (2004)
q. The Departed (2006)
r. Shutter Island (2010)
s. Hugo (2011)
t. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)*
u. Silence (2014)*
v. Sinatra (2015)*

I'm sad to see "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" go and it doesn't look like he's reuniting with De Niro again with "The Irishman"; but his three films on the horizon of course all look brilliant and exciting.