MY PICK OF TOP 15 HOLLYWOOD DIRECTORS OF ALL TIME (Updated on 7th Aug 2020)

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