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If the mark of the best director ever is indicated by the number of films that director has on the list of best films then the clear winner would be the great John Ford who has 10 films on this list (of those 10 films 5 star or feature John Wayne!!). Fritz Lang has 9 appearances, (however 5 are German films and 4 are American films), followed closely by Alfred Hitchcock with 7 & then by Billy Wilder, Charlie Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick who each have 6. Fritz Lang has 5 films as a foreign director & Akira Kurasawa has 4 films.
However the reality is that they could each have more films on this list (as could almost every name here), so they are the truly great directors. But even more, as newer films replace some titles you can be sure that the films represented by these 8 directors will always remain on this list - they are such great films.
Who is THE best director of all time? Who's to say. Some would say Ford, others might say Spielberg and yet another might say Wellman, Wilder or Wyler. It could even be someone who is yet to direct his his or her first film
See also this list sorted by Director and also see Best Film Sequences, Best Film Scenes, 20 Best Films Ranked, 10 Most Important Films
Ran | 1985 | Akira Kurasawa |
Rashomon | 1950 | Akira Kurasawa |
Seven Samaurai, the | 1956 | Akira Kurasawa |
Yojimbo | 1961 | Akira Kurasawa |
Jazz Singer, the | 1927 | Alan Crosland |
Robin Hood | 1922 | Alan Dwan |
Black Pirate, the | 1926 | Albert Parker |
Man in the White Suit | 1951 | Alexander Mackendrick |
Birds, the | 1963 | Alfred Hitchcock |
Lifeboat | 1944 | Alfred Hitchcock |
Lodger, the | 1926 | Alfred Hitchcock |
North by Northwest | 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock |
Psycho | 1961 | Alfred Hitchcock |
Spellbound | 1945 | Alfred Hitchcock |
Strangers on a Train | 1950 | Alfred Hitchcock |
Runaway Train | 1985 | Andrei Konchalovsky |
Petrified Forest | 1936 | Archie Mayo |
Natural, the | 1984 | Barry Levinson |
Apartment, the | 1959 | Billy Wilder |
Double Indemnity | 1944 | Billy Wilder |
Lost Weekend, the | 1945 | Billy Wilder |
Some Like It Hot | 1959 | Billy Wilder |
Stalag 17 | 1953 | Billy Wilder |
Sunset Boulevard | 1950 | Billy Wilder |
Pink Panther, the | 1963 | Blake Edwards |
Five Easy Pieces | 1971 | Bob Rafelson |
Terminator II | 1992 | Bruno Mattei |
Usual Suspects, the | 1995 | Bryan Singer |
General, the | 1927 | Buster Keaton |
I Walk Alone | 1947 | Byron Haskin |
Third Man, the | 1947 | Carol Reed |
Cheat, the | 1916 | Cecil B. DeMille |
Cleopatra | 1934 | Cecil B. DeMille |
Samson & Delilah | 1949 | Cecil B. DeMille |
Ten Commandments, the | 1956 | Cecil B. DeMille |
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein | 1948 | Charles Barton |
Circus, the | 1928 | Charles Chaplin |
City Lights | 1931 | Charles Chaplin |
Gold Rush, the | 1925 | Charles Chaplin |
Great Dictator, the | 1940 | Charles Chaplin |
Modern Times | 1936 | Charles Chaplin |
Tramp, the | 1915 | Charles Chaplin |
Night of the Hunter | 1955 | Charles Laughton |
Unforgiven | 1992 | Clint Eastwood |
Fargo | 1996 | Coen Brothers |
Gulliver's Travels | 1939 | Dave Fleisher |
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs | 1937 | David Hand |
Bridge on the River Kwai, the | 1957 | David Lean |
Lawrence of Arabia | 1961 | David Lean |
Intolerance | 1916 | David Wark Griffith |
Way Down East | 1920 | David Wark Griffith |
Birth of A Nation, the | 1915 | David Wark Griffth |
Broken Blossoms | 1919 | David Wark Griffth |
Dark Passage | 1947 | Delmer Davies |
Easy Rider | 1969 | Dennis Hopper |
Black Cat, the | 1934 | Edgar G. Ulmer |
Detour | 1945 | Edgar G. Ulmer |
Man From Planet X, the | 1951 | Edgar G. Ulmer |
Bank Dick, the | 1940 | Edward Cline (actually W.C.Fields) |
Caine Mutiny | 1954 | Edward Dmytryk |
Murder My Sweet | 1944 | Edward Dmytryk |
Great Train Robbery, the | 1903 | Edwin S. Porter |
On the Waterfront | 1954 | Elia Kazan |
Streetcar Named Desire, a | 1951 | Elia Kazan |
Viva Zapata | 1952 | Elia Kazan |
Greed | 1925 | Eric von Stroheim |
Gaucho, the | 1928 | F. Richard Jones |
Last Laugh, the | 1925 | F. W. Murnau |
Nosferatu | 1922 | F. W. Murnau |
Sunrise | 1927 | F. W. Murnau |
La Dolce Vita | 1960 | Federico Fellini |
La Strada | 1954 | Federico Fellini |
Apocalypse Now | 1979 | Francis Ford Coppola |
Godfather II, the | 1976 | Francis Ford Coppola |
Godfather, the | 1972 | Francis Ford Coppola |
It Happened One Night | 1934 | Frank Capra |
It's A Wonderful Life | 1946 | Frank Capra |
Lost Horizon | 1937 | Frank Capra |
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town | 1936 | Frank Capra |
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | 1939 | Frank Capra |
Green Mile, the | 1999 | Frank Darabont |
Shawshank Redemption, the | 1994 | Frank Darabont |
If I Were King | 1938 | Frank Lloyd |
Mutiny on the Bounty | 1935 | Frank Lloyd |
Safety Last | 1923 | Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor |
Forbidden Planet | 1956 | Fred M. Wilcox |
Mark of Zorro | 1923 | Fred Niblo |
Three Musketeers, the | 1921 | Fred Niblo |
From Here to Eternity | 1954 | Fred Zinneman |
High Noon | 1952 | Fred Zinneman |
Oklahoma | 1955 | Fred Zinneman |
Flash Gordon (serials) | 1936 | Frederick Stephani |
Big Heat, the | 1953 | Fritz Lang |
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler | 1922 | Fritz Lang |
Fury | 1936 | Fritz Lang |
M | 1931 | Fritz Lang |
Metropolis | 1926 | Fritz Lang |
Nibelungen: Siegfried, Die | 1924 | Fritz Lang |
Scarlet Street | 1945 | Fritz Lang |
Spione (Spies) | 1928 | Fritz Lang |
Testament des Dr. Mabuse, Das | 1933 | Fritz Lang |
Joyless Street, the | 1925 | G. W. Pabst |
Hello Dolly | 1969 | Gene Kelly |
Born Yesterday | 1950 | George Cukor |
Double Life, a | 1947 | George Cukor |
Philadelphia Story, the | 1940 | George Cukor |
Romeo & Juliet | 1936 | George Cukor |
Star Wars | 1977 | George Lucas |
Sheik, the | 1921 | George Melford |
Voyage dans la lune, Le | 1902 | George Melies |
Road Warrior, the | 1981 | George Miller II |
Time Machine, the | 1962 | George Pal |
War of the Worlds | 1953 | George Pal |
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 1969 | George Roy Hill |
Sting, the | 1973 | George Roy Hill |
Odd Couple, the | 1968 | George Saks |
Giant | 1956 | George Stevens |
Gunga Din | 1939 | George Stevens |
Place in the Sun, a | 1951 | George Stevens |
Shane | 1953 | George Stevens |
Wolf Man, the | 1941 | George Wagner |
Babes in Toyland | 1934 | Gus Meins, Charles H. Rogers |
Goldfinger | 1964 | Guy Hamilton |
Pinocchio | 1940 | Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen |
Lost World, the | 1925 | Harry Hoyt |
Kiss of Death | 1947 | Henry Hathaway |
Nevada Smith | 1966 | Henry Hathaway |
True Grit | 1969 | Henry Hathaway |
Gunfighter, the | 1950 | Henry King |
Twelve O'Clock High | 1949 | Henry King |
Big Sleep, the | 1946 | Howard Hawks |
Dawn Patrol, the | 1927 | Howard Hawks |
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | 1952 | Howard Hawks |
Sergeant York | 1941 | Howard Hawks |
Seventh Seal, the | 1957 | Ingmar Bergman |
Empire Strikes Back, the | 1981 | Irvin Kershner |
Godzilla, King of the Monsters | 1956 | Ishiro Honda, Terry Morse |
Guns of Navarone | 1961 | J. Lee Thompson |
Cape Fear | 1962 | J. Lee Thomson |
Out of the Past | 1947 | Jacques Tourneur |
Aliens | 1986 | James Cameron |
Terminator, the | 1984 | James Cameron |
Bride of Frankenstein | 1935 | James Whale |
Frankenstein | 1931 | James Whale |
La Belle et la Bette | 1946 | Jean Cocteau |
Orpheus | 1950 | Jean Cocteau |
Grand Illusion | 1938 | Jean Renoir |
Thing, the | 1982 | John Carpenter |
Prisoner of Zenda, the | 1937 | John Cromwell |
Grapes of Wrath, the | 1940 | John Ford |
Informer, the | 1935 | John Ford |
Lost Patrol, the | 1935 | John Ford |
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the | 1962 | John Ford |
My Darling Clemintine | 1946 | John Ford |
Searchers, the | 1956 | John Ford |
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon | 1948 | John Ford |
Stagecoach | 1939 | John Ford |
How the West Was Won | 1962 | John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe |
Mister Roberts | 1955 | John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy, Joshua Logan |
Birdman of Alcatraz | 1962 | John Frankenheimer |
Manchurian Candidate, the | 1962 | John Frankenheimer |
African Queen, the | 1951 | John Huston |
Asphalt Jungle, the | 1950 | John Huston |
Key Largo | 1948 | John Huston |
Maltese Falcon, the | 1941 | John Huston |
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the | 1948 | John Huston |
Predator | 1987 | John McTiernan |
Midnight Cowboy | 1969 | John Schlesinger |
Great Escape, the | 1963 | John Sturges |
Gunfight at OK Corral | 1957 | John Sturges |
Magnificent Seven, the | 1962 | John Sturges |
Blue Angel, the | 1930 | Josef von Sternberg |
All About Eve | 1950 | Joseph Mankiewicz |
Guys & Dolls | 1955 | Joseph Mankiewicz |
Brute Force | 1947 | Jules Dassin |
Mummy, the | 1932 | Karl Freund |
Dances With Wolves | 1990 | Kevin Costner |
Big Parade, the | 1925 | King Vidor |
Champ, the | 1931 | King Vidor |
Crowd, the | 1928 | King Vidor |
Olympiad | 1937 | Leni Riefenstahl |
Duck Soup | 1933 | Leo McCarey |
All Quiet on the Western Front | 1930 | Lewis Milestone |
General Died At Dawn, the | 1936 | Lewis Milestone |
42nd Street | 1934 | Lloyd Bacon |
Perils of Pauline, the | 1914 | Louis J. Gasnier, Donald MacKenzie |
Atlantic City | 1980 | Louis Malle |
Sixth Sense, the | 1999 | M. Night Shyamalan |
Champion | 1949 | Mark Robson |
Top Hat | 1935 | Mark Sandrich |
Hombre | 1967 | Martin Ritt |
Last Waltz, the | 1978 | Martin Scorcese |
Raging Bull | 1980 | Martin Scorcese |
Taxi Driver | 1976 | Martin Scorcese |
Midsummer Night's Dream, a | 1935 | Max Reinhardt |
Braveheart | 1995 | Mel Gibson |
King Kong | 1933 | Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack |
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang | 1931 | Mervyn LeRoy |
Little Caesar | 1931 | Mervyn LeRoy |
Angels With Dirty Faces | 1938 | Michael Curtiz |
Casablanca | 1942 | Michael Curtiz |
Yankee Doodle Dandy | 1942 | Michael Curtiz |
Adventures of Robin Hood | 1938 | Michael Curtiz, William Keighly |
Red Shoes, the | 1948 | Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger |
Thief of Bagdad, the | 1940 | Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger |
Woodstock | 1970 | Michael Wadleigh |
Leaving Las Vegas | 1994 | Mike Figgis |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest | 1975 | Milos Forman |
Interview With the Vampire | 1999 | Neil Jordan |
Star Trek, Wrath of Khan | 1982 | Nicholas Meyer |
In a Lonely Place | 1950 | Nicholas Ray |
Rebel Without A Cause | 1955 | Nicholas Ray |
In the Heat of the Night | 1967 | Norman Jewison |
Natural Born Killers | 1994 | Oliver Stone |
Platoon | 1986 | Oliver Stone |
Citizen Kane | 1941 | Orson Welles |
Stranger, the | 1946 | Orson Welles |
Touch of Evil | 1958 | Orson Welles |
Pulp Fiction | 1994 | Quentin Tarantino |
High Sierra | 1941 | Raoul Walsh |
Roaring Twenties, the | 1939 | Raoul Walsh |
Thief of Bagdad, the | 1924 | Raoul Walsh |
White Heat | 1949 | Raoul Walsh |
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The | 1921 | Rex Ingram |
Elmer Gantry | 1960 | Richard Brooks |
Alien | 1979 | Ridley Scott |
Duellists, the | 1976 | Ridley Scott |
Kiss Me Deadly | 1956 | Robert Aldrich |
M*A*S*H | 1970 | Robert Altman |
To Kill a Mockingbird | 1962 | Robert Mulligan |
Hustler, the | 1961 | Robert Rossen |
Killers, the | 1946 | Robert Siodmak |
Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, Das | 1919 | Robert Wiene |
Day the Earth Stood Still, the | 1951 | Robert Wise |
Sand Pebbles, the | 1966 | Robert Wise |
Sound of Music, the | 1965 | Robert Wise |
West Side Story | 1961 | Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins |
Forrest Gump | 1994 | Robert Zemeckis |
Chinatown | 1974 | Roman Polanski |
Knife in the Water | 1962 | Roman Polanski |
D.O.A. | 1950 | Rudolph Mate |
Phantom of the Opera, the | 1925 | Rupert Julian |
Wild Bunch, the | 1969 | Sam Peckinpah |
Day at the Races, a | 1937 | Sam Wood |
Night at the Opera, A | 1935 | Sam Wood |
Pride of the Yankees | 1942 | Sam Wood |
Battleship Potemkin | 1925 | Sergei Eisenstein |
Good, the Bad & the Ugly, the | 1967 | Sergio Leone |
Once Upon A Time in America | 1984 | Sergio Leone |
Jerimiah Johnson | 1972 | Sidney Pollack |
Singin' in the Rain | 1953 | Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly |
Defiant Ones, the | 1958 | Stanley Kramer |
Inherit the Wind | 1960 | Stanley Kramer |
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World | 1963 | Stanley Kramer |
Judgement at Nuremburg | 1960 | Stanley Kramer |
On the Beach | 1959 | Stanley Kramer |
2001 A Space Odyssey | 1968 | Stanley Kubrick |
Clockwork Orange, a | 1971 | Stanley Kubrick |
Dr. Strangelove | 1964 | Stanley Kubrick |
Eyes Wide Shut | 1999 | Stanley Kubrick |
Paths of Glory | 1957 | Stanley Kubrick |
Spartacus | 1960 | Stanley Kubrick |
Color Purple | 1983 | Steven Spielberg |
Jaws | 1975 | Steven Spielberg |
Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | Steven Spielberg |
Saving Private Ryan | 1998 | Steven Spielberg |
Cool Hand Luke | 1967 | Stuart Rosenberg |
Dr. No | 1962 | Terrence Young |
Brazil | 1985 | Terry Gilliam |
Wild Hare, a | 1940 | Tex Avery |
Dracula | 1931 | Tod Browning |
Gone With the Wind | 1939 | Victor Fleming |
Wizard of Oz, the | 1939 | Victor Fleming (also King Vidor, Richard Thorpe) |
What Dreams May Come | 1998 | Vincent Ward |
Bad and the Beautiful, The | 1952 | Vincente Minelli |
An American in Paris | 1951 | Vincente Minnelli |
Tarzan, the Ape Man | 1932 | W. S. Van Dyke |
Thin Man, the | 1934 | W. S. Van Dyke |
Matrix, the | 1999 | Wachowski Brothers |
Hunchback of Notre Dame, the | 1923 | Wallace Worsely |
Fantasia | 1940 | Walt Disney & more |
Dumbo | 1941 | Walt Disney -Ben Sharpstein |
Steamboat Willie | 1928 | Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks |
Nosferatu | 1979 | Werner Herzog |
Things to Come | 1936 | William Cameron Menzies |
Hunchback of Notre Dame, the | 1939 | William Dieterle |
Exorcist, the | 1974 | William Friedkin |
French Connection, the | 1975 | William Friedkin |
Kiss, the | 1896 | William Heise |
Beau Geste | 1939 | William Wellman |
Nothing Sacred | 1937 | William Wellman |
Public Enemy, the | 1931 | William Wellman |
Story of G.I.Joe, the | 1945 | William Wellman |
Wings | 1927 | William Wellman |
Ben Hur | 1959 | William Wyler |
Best Years of Our Lives, the | 1946 | William Wyler |
Dead End | 1937 | William Wyler |
Desperate Hours, the | 1956 | William Wyler |
Detective Story | 1951 | William Wyler |
Gertie the Dinosaur | 1914 | Winsor McCay |
Sahara | 1943 | Zoltan Korda |
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