Hello Friends,
I've come up with yet another list !! This time it's "Top 15 Hollywood directors of all time". Needless to say, I have my own biases as I am a fan of realistic cinema and believe that movies are not for entertainment only. They should make you think as well. Nolan's movies (Interstellar, Inception, Memento) definitely do that : After the credits roll, one is always left wondering "what was that????". So, the list has no film-makers of the romantic/comedy (read no-brainers) genre; though couldn't exclude James Cameron for the gem of a movie (Titanic) he made. The list is an eclectic mix of modern and cult geniuses. Tarantino is a virtuoso at directing revenge movies. Scorsese is a master of Crime/gangster movies. Fincher makes excellent mysteries. Leone is the spearhead of Westerns and Hitchcock that of Thrillers.
I've also mentioned some of their greatest works that I loved (in decreasing order of preference). Here it goes:
1. Christopher Nolan
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Prestige (2006)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Interstellar (2014)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- Inception (2010)
- Memento (2000)
- Insomnia (2002)
- Following (1998)
- Dunkirk (2017)
2. Martin Scorsese
- Goodfellas (1990)
- The Wolf of Wall street (2014)
- Casino (1995)
- The Irishman (2019)
- Shutter Island (2010)
- The Departed (2006)
- Hugo (2011)
- Raging Bull (1980)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
3. Quentin Tarantino
- Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- Django Unchained (2012)
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Kill Bill Vol.1 (2003) & Vol.2 (2004)
- Sin City (2005) (special guest director)
- The Hateful Eight (2015)
- Death Proof (2007)
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
- Jackie Brown (1997)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
4. David Fincher
- Gone Girl (2014)
- Se7en (1995)
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
- Zodiac (2007)
- Fight Club (1999)
- The Social Network (2010)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
5. Alfred Hitchcock
- Psycho (1960)
- Dial M for Murder (1954)
- Rebecca (1940)
- Notorious (1946)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Strangers on a Train (1951)
- The man who knew too much (1956)
- The Birds (1963)
- Shadow of Doubt (1943)
- Rear Window (1954)
- Rope (1948)
- North by Northwest (1959)
6. Sergio Leone
- The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1966)
- Once Upon a time in the West (1968)
- A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
- For a few dollars more (1965)
7. Ridley Scott
- Gladiator (2000)
- Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
- Body of Lies (2008)
- American Gangster (2007)
- Robin Hood (2010)
- Black Hawk Down (2001)
8. Guy Ritchie
- Lock, stock & two smoking barrels (1998)
- Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows (2011)
- Snatch (2000)
- Sherlock Holmes (2009)
- RocknRolla (2008)
9. Steven Spielberg
- Schindler's List (1993)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Munich (2005)
- The Terminal (2004)
- Jurassic Park (1993) & The lost World (1997)
- Catch me if you can (2002)
10. Brian De Palma
- Scarface (1983)
- Carlito's Way (1993)
- The Untouchables (1987)
11. Billy Wilder
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- Some like it hot (1959)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Sunset Blvd. (1950)
12. Stanley Kubrick
- The Killing (1956)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- A Clockwork Orange (1971)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- Dr. Strangelove (1964)
- Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
- The Shining (1980)
13. Francis Ford Coppola
- The Godfather (1972)
- The Godfather II (1974)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
14. Sidney Lumet
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
- Network (1976)
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- Serpico (1973)
15. James Cameron
- Titanic (1997)
- Avatar (2009)
Signing off
Anurag Gupta