Category: top 100 directors
WOODY ALLEN ANNIE HALL, MANHATTAN, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Cinema’s resident neurotic comedian, Allen writes films that crackle with his own witty, acerbic dialogue. Allen’s journey from making goofy comedies to tragically hopeful ones is a beautiful...
INGMAR BERGMAN PERSONA, THE SEVENTH SEAL, WILD STRAWBERRIES, THE VIRGIN SPRING Known for his introspective and deeply philosophical films, Bergman was a filmmaker unafraid to use art to explore his own questions about the dilemma of humanity. His works tackle...
DAVID FINCHER THE SOCIAL NETWORK, FIGHT CLUB, SEVEN, ZODIAC After making a string of urgent, graphic looks into the seedy underbelly of American complacency (Seven, The Game, Fight Club, and Panic Room), David Fincher reemerged in 2007 a fully-developed auteur....
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON THERE WILL BE BLOOD, MAGNOLIA, BOOGIE NIGHTS, PUNCH DRUNK LOVE If you don’t know, you’d better learn. His canon isn’t as extensive as many of his contemporaries, but it’s just as strong, and maybe stronger. Paul Thomas...
TERRENCE MALICK THE THIN RED LINE, DAYS OF HEAVEN, BADLANDS, THE NEW WORLD, THE TREE OF LIFE Terence Malick’s sweeping, scattershot films breathe fresh life into a frustratingly stale American cinema. His films move with a visual fluidity, but often...
EDGAR WRIGHT SHAWN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD British director Edgar Wright, a lifelong cineaste, began making low budget short films as a kid and his unique filming and editing style led to a career...
JOHN FORD THE SEARCHERS, STAGECOACH, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY Though one of the most prolific and important filmmakers in Hollywood history, John Ford’s legacy for many, including myself, is all about Sunday afternoons and grandfathers. ...
WERNER HERZOG AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD, FITZCARRALDO, GRIZZLY MAN Munich-born Werner Herzog is a vagabond director. Beginning in 1962, Herzog’s career has taken a number of different forms but has always focused on his fascination and belief in the...
ROBERT ALTMAN NASHVILLE, M.A.S.H., SHORT CUTS, THE PLAYER, McCABE & MRS. MILLER, SECRET HONOR Robert Altman is fascinated by human behavior. You can tell by the way his camera lingers on the characters in his movies. There is a fluidity...
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN THE DARK KNIGHT, MEMENTO, INCEPTION, THE PRESTIGE One of the highest profile writer/director working today, Christopher Nolan has people’s attention. He’s had it ever since 2001’s Memento, and he’s kept it ever since. And yet, as the scopes...
