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Most Accomplished Active Directors (2018 Edition)

Person list created by Stehako Avatar

The 10th Edition of this list

defining the careers of the most successful - creatively and financially - directors who are still working today...
(Created by and in the opinion of Stephen H Koontz)

This list includes directors who...
-- Have at least five successful films completed (ones I would rate 7/10 or higher or have been influential in our society)
-- Have directed full-length features for at least ten years.
-- Released a quality film in the last 4 years (Nothing older than 2014) or has at least one promising film on the way.

Typically the more high-quality completed films combined with promising films the director has on deck, the higher their rank.

Italicized title indicates upcoming film
Bold title indicates favorite film from the director

Those who were KNOCKED OUT from being previously listed on the 2017 List:
CAMERON CROWE - It's really difficult to remove the director who gave us "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous" but he hasn't made those kind of films since. We have been waiting 18 years! So he must go and make room for the deserving Edgar Wright, who directed the very entertaining "Baby Driver" last year.

The other two lists in this series for 2018: Future Directing Greats (2018)
AND Best Up and Coming Directors (2018)

Enjoy!


...

Sort by: Showing 50 items
Rating: List Type:
2017 Rank: #48
2016 Rank: #45
2015 Rank: #43
2014 Rank: #46
2013 Rank: #47
2012 Rank: #13 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2011 Rank: #19 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2010 Rank: #30 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2009 Rank: #24 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'

a. My Own Private Idaho (1991)
b. To Die For (1995)
c. Good Will Hunting (1997)
d. Finding Forrester (2000)
e. Elephant (2003)
f. Milk (2008)
g. Promised Land (2012)
h. Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot (2018)



Gus is in serious need of a hit.

2017 Rank: #49
2016 Rank: #48
2015 Rank: #50
2014 Rank: #24 in Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #26 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #39 in Top Future Directing Greats (Debut)
2011 Rank: OUT
2010 Rank: OUT
2009 Rank: OUT

a. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
b. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)
c. Talk to Her (2002)
d. Volver (2006)
e. The Skin I Live In (2011)
f. Julieta (2016)


2017 Rank: #45
2016 Rank: #42
2015 Rank: #47
2014 Rank: #48
2013 Rank: #14 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #17 in Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #14 in Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #15 in Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #12 in Top Future Directing Greats

a. Reality Bites (1994)
b. The Cable Guy (1996)
c. Zoolander (2001)
d. Tropic Thunder (2008)
e. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
f. Super Sad True Love Story (TV: 2018)



Let's try to forget about "Zoolander No. 2" (2016)



2017 Rank: #8 in Top Future Directing Greats
2016 Rank: #14 in Top Future Directing Greats
2015 Rank: #15 in Top Future Directing Greats
2014 Rank: #18 in Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #18 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #21 in Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #35 in Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #4 on Up & Coming Directors List (Debut)
2009 Rank: OUT

a. Spaced (TV: 1999 - 01)
b. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
c. Hot Fuzz (2007)
d. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)
e. The World's End (2013)
f. Baby Driver (2017)
g. Shadows (2019)

2017 Rank: #36
2016 Rank: #32
2015 Rank: #31
2014 Rank: #31
2013 Rank: #32
2012 Rank: #33
2011 Rank: #47
2010 Rank: #49
2009 Rank: #49

a. The Brood (1979)
b. Scanners (1981)
c. Videodrome (1983)
d. The Dead Zone (1983)
e. The Fly (1986)
f. Dead Ringers (1988)
g. A History of Violence (2005)
h. Eastern Promises (2007)
i. A Dangerous Method (2011)
j. Maps to the Stars (2015)

2017 Rank: #50
2016 Rank: #44
2015 Rank: #42
2014 Rank: #42
2013 Rank: #42
2012 Rank: #41
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. Rock the Kasbah (2015)
n. The Wizard of Lies (2017)
o. Paterno (2018)



Levinson is becoming the master of HBO movies.

2017 Rank: #42
2016 Rank: #38
2015 Rank: #38
2014 Rank: #37
2013 Rank: #38
2012 Rank: #40
2011 Rank: #43
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 (2010)
g. The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet (2014)
h. Casanova (2016)

2017 Rank: #47
2016 Rank: #50
2015 Rank: #4 in Top Future Directing Greats
2014 Rank: #5 in Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #3 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #5 in Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #5 in Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #7 in Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #30 in Top Future Directing Greats

a. Thank You For Smoking (2005)
b. Juno (2007)
c. Up in the Air (2009)
d. Young Adult (2011)
e. Labor Day (2013)
f. Men, Women & Children (2014)
g. Casual (TV: 2015-2017)
h. Tully (2018)
i. The Frontrunner (2018)

2017 Rank: #44
2016 Rank: #46
2015 Rank: #48
2014 Rank: OUT
2013 Rank: OUT
2012 Rank: OUT
2011 Rank: OUT
2010 Rank: #46
2009 Rank: #36

a. The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
b. The Little Mermaid (1989)
c. Aladdin (1992)
d. Hercules (1997)
e. Treasure Planet (2002)
f. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
g. Moana (2016)

2017 Rank: #46
2016 Rank: #47
2015 Rank: #8 in Top Future Directing Greats
2014 Rank: #9 in Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #11 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #12 in Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #9 in Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #20 in Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #43 in Top Future Directing Greats

a. The Virgin Suicides (1999)
b. Lost in Translation (2003)
c. Marie Antionette (2006)
d. Somewhere (2010)
e. The Bling Ring (2013)
f. The Beguiled (2017)

2017 Rank: #43
2016 Rank: #43
2015 Rank: #46
2014 Rank: #17 on Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #19 on Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #24 on Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #46 on Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: OUT
2009 Rank: OUT

a. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
b. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (1997)
c. Mr. Death (1999)
d. The Fog of War (2003)
e. Standard Operating Procedure (2008)
f. Tabloid (2011)
g. The Unknown Known (2014)
h. Wormwood (TV: 2017)
i. Freezing People is Easy (2018)

2017 Rank: #41
2016 Rank: #41
2015 Rank: #39
2014 Rank: #44
2013 Rank: #46
2012 Rank: #49
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. Philomena (2013)
k. Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
l. Victoria and Abdul (2017)
m. A Very English Sandal (2018)

2017 Rank: #37
2016 Rank: #39

2015 Rank: #40
2014 Rank: #7 on Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #9 on Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #22 on Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #36 on Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #39 on Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #26 on Top Future Directing Greats

a. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
b. The Ice Storm (1997)
c. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
d. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
e. Taking Woodstock (2009)
f. Life of Pi (2012)
g. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)
h. Gemini Man (2019)
i. Thrilla in Manilla (2020)

2017 Rank: #33
2016 Rank: #36
2015 Rank: #36
2014 Rank: #35
2013 Rank: #33
2012 Rank: #34
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. Starship Troopers (1997)
f. Black Book (2007)
g. Elle (2016)
h. Blessed Virgin (2019)

2017 Rank: #39
2016 Rank: #1 in Top Future Directing Greats
2015 Rank: #8 in Top Future Directing Greats
2014 Rank: #19 in Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #32 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: OUT
2011 Rank: OUT
2010 Rank: OUT
2009 Rank: OUT

a. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
b. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
c. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)
d. Casino Jack and the United States of Money (2010)
e. Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)
f. Magic Trip: Ken Kesey's Search for a Kool Place (2011)
g. Catching Hell (2011)
h. The Last Gladiators (2012)
i. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
j. We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (2013)
k. The Armstrong Lie (2014)
l. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015)
m. Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)
n. Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015)
o. Zero Days (2016)
p. Rolling Stone: Stories from the Edge (2017)
q. The Looming Tower (TV: 2018)
r. Roger Ailes (2019)
2017 Rank: #38
2016 Rank: #40
2015 Rank: #1 in Top Future Directing Greats
2014 Rank: #1 in Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #4 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #6 in Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #7 in Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #11 in Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #14 in Top Future Directing Greats

a. Being John Malkovich (1999)
b. Adaptation. (2002)
c. Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
d. Pretty Sweet (2012)
e. Her (2013)
f. Untitled Project (2020)

2017 Rank: #35
2016 Rank: #33
2015 Rank: #35
2014 Rank: #33
2013 Rank: #31
2012 Rank: #30
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 (2015)
k. Trial by Fire (2018)
l. The Suck (TV: 2019)

2017 Rank: #31
2016 Rank: #30

2015 Rank: #32
2014 Rank: #34
2013 Rank: #37
2012 Rank: #1 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2011 Rank: #2 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2010 rank: #1 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2009 Rank: #7 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'

a. American Beauty (1999)
b. Road to Perdition (2002)
c. Jarhead (2005)
d. Revolutionary Road (2008)
e. Away We Go (2009)
f. Skyfall (2012)
g. Spectre (2015)
h. The Voyeur's Motel (2019)

2017 Rank: #30
2016 Rank: #27
2015 Rank: #28
2014 Rank: #28
2013 Rank: #28
2012 Rank: #27
2011 Rank: #39
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. War Dogs (2016)
h. Untitled Joker Origin Movie (2018)

2017 Rank: #34
2016 Rank: #37
2015 Rank: #37
2014 Rank: #43
2013 Rank: #1 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #2 in Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #25 in Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #34 in Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #42 in Top Future Directing Greats

a. Election (1999)
b. About Schmidt (2002)
c. Sideways (2004)
d. The Descendants (2011)
e. Nebraska (2013)
f. Downsizing (2017)
g. The Burial (2019)

2017 Rank: #32
2016 Rank: #35
2015 Rank: #13 in Top Future Directing Greats
2014 Rank: #14 in Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #17 in Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #19 in Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #30 in Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #44 in Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #32 in Top Future Directing Greats

a. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
b. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
c. Step Brothers (2008)
d. The Other Guys (2010)
e. Anchorman: The Legend Continues (2013)
f. The Big Short (2015)
g. Succession (TV: 2018)
h. Backseat (2018)
i. Bad Blood (2019)

2017 Rank: #29
2016 Rank: #29
2015 Rank: #29
2014 Rank: #32
2013 Rank: #40
2012 Rank: #4 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2011 Rank: #8 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2010 Rank: #26 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'
2009 Rank: #31 on 'Top Future Directing Greats'

a. Flirting with Disaster (1996)
b. Three Kings (1999)
c. I Heart Huckabees (2004)
d. The Fighter (2010)
e. The Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
f. American Hustle (2013)
g. Joy (2015)
h. Untitled Russell/De Niro Show (TV: 2019)

2017 Rank: #28
2016 Rank: #31
2015 Rank: #34
2014 Rank: #38
2013 Rank: #39
2012 Rank: #45
2011 Rank: #50
2010 Rank: #29 on Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #48 on Future Directing Greats

a. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
b. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
c. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
d. Lessons of Darkness (1992)
e. My Best Friend (1999)
f. Grizzly Man (2005)
g. The Wild Blue Yonder (2006)
h. Rescue Dawn (2007)
i. Encounters at the End of the World (2008)
j. The Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)
k. Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2012)
l. Into the Abyss (2012)
m. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (2016)
n. Into the Inferno (2016)
o. Hate in America (2019)

2017 Rank: #26
2016 Rank: #19
2015 Rank: #19
2014 Rank: #18
2013 Rank: #17
2012 Rank: #18
2011 Rank: #25
2010 Rank: #28
2009 Rank: #22

a. Meet the Feebles (1989)
b. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
c. The Frighteners (1996)
d. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
e. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
f. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
g. King Kong (2005)
h. The Lovely Bones (2009)
i. The Hobbit: Part I: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
j. The Hobbit: Part II: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
k. The Hobbit: Part III: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
l. Untitled WWI Documentary (2019)
m. The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun (2020)

2017 Rank: #23
2016 Rank: #21
2015 Rank: #20
2014 Rank: #22
2013 Rank: #21
2012 Rank: #22
2011 Rank: #31
2010 Rank: #37
2009 Rank: #37

a. Repulsion (1965)
b. Cul-de-Sac (1966)
c. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
d. Chinatown (1974)
e. Frantic (1988)
f. Death and the Maiden (1994)
g. The Pianist (2002)
h. The Ghost Writer (2010)
i. Carnage (2011)
j. Venus in Fur (2014)
k. Based on a True Story (2018)

2017 Rank: #27
2016 Rank: #28
2015 Rank: #30
2014 Rank: #30
2013 Rank: #29
2012 Rank: #31
2011 Rank: #41
2010 Rank: #45
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)
g. The Man from UNCLE (2015)
h. Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur (2017)
i. Aladdin (2019)

2017 Rank: #24
2016 Rank: #24
2015 Rank: #26
2014 Rank: #26
2013 Rank: #24
2012 Rank: #25
2011 Rank: #26
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. Recount (2008)
h. Dinner for Schmucks (2010)
i. The Campaign (2012)
j. Game Change (2012)
k. The Brink (TV: 2015)
l. Trumbo (2015)
m. All the Way (2016)
n. K Blows Up (2019)

2017 Rank: #21
2016 Rank: #22
2015 Rank: #22
2014 Rank: #25
2013 Rank: #27
2012 Rank: #28
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 (2013)
g. Knight of Cups (2016)
h. Voyage of Time: Life's Journey (2016)
i. Song to Song (2017)
j. Radegund (2018)

2017 Rank: #17
2016 Rank: #18
2015 Rank: #18
2014 rank: #21
2013 Rank: #20
2012 Rank: #20
2011 Rank: #16
2010 Rank: #13
2009 Rank: #20

a. What's Up, Tiger Lilly? (1966)
b. Take the Money and Run (1969)
c. Bananas (1971)
d. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (1972)
e. Sleeper (1973)
f. Annie Hall (1977)
g. Manhattan (1979)
h. Zelig (1983)
i. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
j. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
k. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
l. Husbands and Wives (1992)
m. Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
n. Match Point (2005)
o. Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)
p. Midnight in Paris (2011)
q. Blue Jasmine (2013)
r. Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
s. Café Society (2016)
t. A Rainy Day in New York (2018)

2017 Rank: #22
2016 Rank: #25
2015 Rank: #44
2014 Rank: #10 on Top Future Directing Greats
2013 Rank: #10 on Top Future Directing Greats
2012 Rank: #11 on Top Future Directing Greats
2011 Rank: #4 on Top Future Directing Greats
2010 Rank: #9 on Top Future Directing Greats
2009 Rank: #3 on Top Future Directing Greats

a. Amores Perros (2000)
b. 21 Grams (2003)
c. Babel (2006)
d. Biutiful (2010)
e. Birdman or: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (2014)
f. The Revenant (2015)
g. The One Percent (TV: 2019)



While not a movie, Carne y Arena still kept Iñárritu busy in 2017. Look it up, it's quite fascinating and something I wish I could have experienced.

2017 Rank: #25
2016 Rank: #26
2015 Rank: #24
2014 Rank: #29
2013 Rank: #30
2012 Rank: #32
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 (2014)
g. Mother! (2017)


"Mother!" has, once again, proven Aranofsky is one of the most creative directors active today, and one taking worthy risks. Something Oliver Stone used to do.

2017 Rank: #19
2016 Rank: #20
2015 Rank: #21
2014 Rank: #23
2013 Rank: #25
2012 Rank: #21
2011 Rank: OUT
2010 Rank: #25
2009 Rank: #19

a. Platoon (1986)
b. Salvador (1986)
c. Wall Street (1987)
d. Talk Radio (1988)
e. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
f. The Doors (1991)
g. JFK (1991)
h. Natural Born Killers (1994)
i. Nixon (1995)
j. Any Given Sunday (1999)
k. W. (2008)
l. South of the Border (2010)
m. Savages (2012)
n. The Untold History of the United States (TV: 2012 - 2013)
o. Snowden (2016)
p. The Putin Interviews (2017)
p. Guantanamo (TV: 2018)



Stone's recent projects aren't at all bad, but I do miss the innovative, risky filmmaking of his earlier days.

2017 Rank: #21
2016 Rank: #22
2015 Rank: #23
2014 Rank: #24
2013 Rank: #26
2012 Rank: #26
2011 Rank: #24
2010 Rank: #27
2009 Rank: #1 on Top Future Directing Greats

a. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
b. King of the Hill (1993)
c. Schizopolis (1997)
d. Out of Sight (1998)
e. The Limey (1999)
f. Erin Brockovich (2000)
g. Traffic (2000)
h. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
i. Solaris (2002)
j. Ocean's Twelve (2004)
k. The Good German (2006)
l. Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
m. Che: Parts One and Two (2008)
n. The Informant! (2009)
o. Contagion (2011)
p. Side Effects (2013)
q. Behind the Candelabra (2013)
r. The Knick (TV : 2014 - 2015)
s. Logan Lucky (2017)
t. Mosaic (TV: 2018 - )
u. Unsane (2018)
v. High-Flying Bird (2019)


"Logan Lucky" was quite possibly the most underwatched movie of 2017. Soderbergh continues to have such a wide range of genres.

2017 Rank: #18
2016 Rank: #17
2015 Rank: #16
2014 Rank: #14
2013 Rank: #14
2012 Rank: #14
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. Frankenweenie (2012)
n. Big Eyes (2014)
o. Ms Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
p. Dumbo (2019)

2017 Rank: #16
2016 Rank: #16
2015 Rank: #15
2014 Rank: #16
2013 Rank: #15
2012 Rank: #16
2011 Rank: #21
2010 Rank: #23
2009 Rank: #30

a. Play Misty for Me (1971)
b. High Plains Drifter (1973)
c. Breezy (1973)
d. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
e. Sudden Impact (1983)
f. Pale Rider (1985)
g. Unforgiven (1992)
h. Absolute Power (1997)
i. Mystic River (2003)
j. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
k. Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
l. Changeling (2008)
m. Gran Torino (2008)
n. Invictus (2009)
o. The Hereafter (2010)
p. J. Edgar (2011)
q. American Sniper (2014)
r. Sully (2016)
s. 15:17 to Paris (2018)

2017 Rank: #14
2016 Rank: #12
2015 Rank: #12
2014 Rank: #11
2013 Rank: #10
2012 Rank: #6
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. Dark Angel (TV: 2002)
h. Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)
i. Avatar (2009)
j. Avatar Two (2020)
k. Avatar Three (2021)
l. Avatar Four (2023)
m. Avatar Five (2024)



I really hope so much time and talent isn't wasted on these upcoming "Avatar" sequels.

2017 Rank: #15
2016 Rank: #15
2015 Rank: #17
2014 Rank: #13
2013 Rank: #11
2012 Rank: #3
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. The Counselor (2013)
l. The Martian (2015)
m. Alien: Covenant (2017)
n. All the Money in the World (2017)
o. Untitled Alien: Covenant Sequel (2019)

2017 Rank: #13
2016 Rank: #14
2015 Rank: #13
2014 Rank: #15
2013 Rank: #18
2012 Rank: #19
2011 Rank: #10
2010 Rank: #10
2009 Rank: #4

a. Night Shift (1982)
b. Splash (1984)
c. Cocoon (1985)
d. Parenthood (1989)
e. Backdraft (1991)
f. Far and Away (1992)
g. The Paper (1994)
h. Apollo 13 (1995)
i. Ransom (1996)
j. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
k. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
l. Cinderella Man (2005)
m. The Da Vinci Code (2006)
n. Frost/Nixon (2008)
o. Angels & Demons (2009)
p. Rush (2013)
q. In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
r. The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016)
s. Inferno (2016)
t. Genius (TV: 2017)
u. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

2017 Rank: #12
2016 Rank: #11
2015 Rank: #11
2014 Rank: #12
2013 Rank: #13
2012 Rank: #12
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 Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
f. The Fisher King (1991)
g. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
h. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
i. Tideland (2006)
j. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
k. The Zero Theorem (2014)
l. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)



This is the year "Quixote" could possibly finally be released!!

2017 Rank: #11
2016 Rank: #13
2015 Rank: #14
2014 Rank: #19
2013 Rank: #23
2012 Rank: #29
2011 Rank: #40
2010 Rank: #42
2009 Rank: #32

a. Slacker (1991)
b. Dazed and Confused (1993)
c. Before Sunrise (1995)
d. Suburbia (1996)
e. Waking Life (2001)
f. The School of Rock (2003)
g. Before Sunset (2004)
h. A Scanner Darkly (2006)
i. Me and Orson Wells (2008)
j. Bernie (2012)
k. Before Midnight (2013)
l. Boyhood (2014)
m. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
n. Last Flag Flying (2017)
o. Where'd You Go, Bernadette (2018)
p. Brinkley (2019)

2017 Rank: #10
2016 Rank: #9
2015 Rank: #9
2014 Rank: #9
2013 Rank: #9
2012 Rank: #10
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. The Hateful Eight (2015)
i. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

2017 Rank: #8
2016 Rank: #8
2015 Rank: #10
2014 Rank: #10
2013 Rank: #12
2012 Rank: #13
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)
j. Steve Jobs (2015)
k. T2: Trainspotting (2017)
l. Trust (TV: 2018)
m. Untitled 1960s Musical (2019)
n. Bond 25 (2020)

2017 Rank: #7
2016 Rank: #7
2015 Rank: #8
2014 Rank: #7
2013 Rank: #6
2012 Rank: #7
2011 Rank: #7
2010 Rank: #5
2009 Rank: #3

a. I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978)
b. Romancing the Stone (1984)
c. Back to the Future (1985)
d. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
e. Back to the Future II (1989)
f. Back to the Future III (1990)
g. Forrest Gump (1994)
h. Contact (1997)
i. Cast Away (2000)
j. The Polar Express (2004)
k. Flight (2012)
l. The Walk (2015)
m. Allied (2016)
n. The Women of Marwen (2018)



If you haven't seen the very interesting, "MarWenCol" documentary, may I recommend that before the Zemeckis film is released later this year.

2017 Rank: #9
2015 Rank: #7
2014 Rank: #8
2013 Rank: #8
2012 Rank: #8
2011 Rank: #14
2010 Rank: #24
2009 Rank: #18

a. Seven (1995)
b. The Game (1997)
c. Fight Club (1999)
d. Zodiac (2007)
e. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
f. The Social Network (2010)
g. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
h. House of Cards (TV : 2013)
i. Gone Girl (2014)
j. Mindhunter (TV : 2017)
k. World War Z 2 (2020)



I'm kind of annoyed he is working on a sequel to "World War Z"; but he does love working with Brad Pitt, a collaboration that we have been waiting for a decade to see happen again.

2017 Rank: #6
2016 Rank: #4
2015 Rank: #4
2014 Rank: #4
2013 Rank: #4
2012 Rank: #9
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)
h. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
i. Isle of Dogs (2018)


Wes is returning to stop-animation four years after his most successful film. I'm not too worried it will be a success.

2017 Rank: #5
2016 Rank: #5
2015 Rank: #5
2014 Rank: #6
2013 Rank: #7
2012 Rank: #5
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. Interstellar (2014)
i. Dunkirk (2017)



Nolan finally got his Oscar nomination with "Dunkirk". Maybe the next film will get him a statue...

2017 Rank: #4
2016 Rank: #6
2015 Rank: #6
2014 Rank: #5
2013 Rank: #5
2012 Rank: #11
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)
h. Inherent Vice (2014)
i. Phantom Thread (2017)



"Phantom Thread" was another intoxicating film from the auteur. Pretentious? Sure, but I can't help love his attention to detail and layered storytelling and also being able to direct tremendous performances. He is the closest thing to Kubrick we have when it comes to perfectionism.

and Ethan Coen



2017 Rank: #2
2016 Rank: #3
2015 Rank: #3
2014 Rank: #3
2013 Rank: #3
2012 Rank: #4
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)
q. Hail, Caesar! (2016)
r. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (TV: 2018)



Not all directors can transition to television easily, but I have little doubt with the brothers Coen. Plus, I love the title, so that's a good start.

2017 Rank: #3
2016 Rank: #2
2015 Rank: #2
2014 Rank: #2
2013 Rank: #2
2012 Rank: #2
2011 Rank: #2
2010 Rank: #2
2009 Rank: #2

a. Duel (1971)
b. The Sugarland Express (1974)
c. Jaws (1975)
d. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
e. 1941 (1979)
f. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
g. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
h. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
i. The Color Purple (1985)
j. Empire of the Sun (1987)
k. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
l. Hook (1991)
m. Jurassic Park (1993)
n. Schindler’s List (1993)
o. Amistad (1997)
p. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
q. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
r. Minority Report (2002)
s. Catch Me if You Can (2002)
t. The Terminal (2004)
u. Munich (2005)
v. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
w. War Horse (2011)
x. Lincoln (2012)
y. Bridge of Spies (2015)
z. The BFG (2016)
aa. The Post (2017)
bb. Ready Player One (2018)
cc. West Side Story (2019)
dd. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (2019)
ee. Indiana Jones 5 (2020)



Spielberg dropped to #3 for the first time last year, because his last few films were just not that exciting but last year he bounced back a bit with "The Post" and his upcoming "Ready Player One" is looking pretty good.

2017 Rank: #1
2016 Rank: #1
2015 Rank: #1
2014 Rank: #1
2013 Rank: #1
2012 Rank: #1
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. Boardwalk Empire (TV : 2010)
t. Hugo (2011)
u. George Harrison: Living in the Material World (2011)
v. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
w. Vinyl (TV : 2016)
x. Silence (2016)
y. The Irishman (2018)
z. Killers of the Flower Moon (2019)



The greatest of all time has a film coming out at the end of this year that boasts an insane cast and is possibly one of my most anticipated movies of all time.

Added to

4 votes
Yearly Best Active Directors List Collection (36 lists)
list by Stehako
Published 4 years ago 1 comment



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