My Top 10 Directors

There are many great directors currently working in the industry, some new to the scene and some who have been around for decades. While some directors can be hit or miss with their movies, the directors listed below I feel are consistent when it comes to delivering excellent feature films.

This is my personal list but would be interested to know other people’s favourite directors are.

Honourable Mentions:

• Christopher Nolan
• Joel & Ethan Coen
• Steven Spielberg
• Wes Anderson
• Edgar Wright
• Alejandro G. Inarritu
• Alfonso Cuaron
• Yorgos Lanthimos
• Richard Linklater
• Hayao Miyazaki

10. David Fincher

Alien 3 (1992); Se7en (1995); The Game (1997); Fight Club (1999); Panic Room (2002); Zodiac (2007); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008); The Social Network (2010); The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011); Gone Girl (2014); Mank (2020); The Killer (2023)

9. Guillermo del Toro

Cronos (1993); Mimic (1997); The Devil’s Backbone (2001); Blade II (2002); Hellboy (2004); Pan’s Labyrinth (2006); Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2007); Pacific Rim (2013); Crimson Peak (2015); The Shape of Water (2017); Nightmare Alley (2021); Pinocchio (2022)

8. Park Chan-wook

The Moon is…the Sun’s Dream (1992); Trio (1997); Joint Security Area (2000); Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002); Oldboy (2003); Lady Vengeance (2005); I’m a Cyborg, But That’s Okay (2006); Thirst (2008); Stoker (2013); The Handmaiden (2016); Decision to Leave (2022)

7. Denis Villeneuve

August 32nd On Earth (1998); Maelstrom (2000); Polytechnique (2009); Incendies (2010); Prisoners (2013); Enemy (2013): Sicario (2015); Arrival (2016); Blade Runner 2049 (2017); Dune (2021); Dune: Part Two (2024)

6. Martin Scorsese

Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1967); Boxcar Bertha (1972); Mean Streets (1973); Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974); Taxi Driver (1976); New York New York (1977); Raging Bull (1980); The King of Comedy (1982); After Hours (1985); The Color of Money (1986); The Last Temptation of Christ (1988); Goodfellas (1990); Cape Fear (1991); The Age of Innocence (1993); Casino (1995); Kundun (1997; Bringing Out the Dead (1999); Gangs of New York (2002); The Aviator (2004); The Departed (2006); Shutter Island (2010); Hugo (2011); The Wolf of Wall Street (2013); Silence (2016); The Irishman (2019); Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

5. Stanley Kubrick

Fear and Desire (1952); Killer’s Kiss (1955); The Killing (1956); Paths of Glory (1957); Spartacus (1960); Lolita (1962); Dr. Strangelove (1964); 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); A Clockwork Orange (1971); Barry Lyndon (1975); The Shining (1980); Full Metal Jacket (1987); Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

4. Paul Thomas Anderson

Hard Eight (1996); Boogie Nights (1997); Magnolia (1999); Punch-Drunk Love (2002); There Will Be Blood (2007); The Master (2012); Inherent Vice (2014); Phantom Thread (2017); Licorice Pizza (2021)

3. Bong Joon-ho

Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000); Memories of Murder (2003); The Host (2006); Mother (2009); Snowpiercer (2013); Okja (2017); Parasite (2019); Mickey 17 (2025)

2. Quentin Tarantino

Reservoir Dogs (1992); Pulp Fiction (1994); Jackie Brown (1997); Kill Bill vol. 1 (2003); Kill Bill vol. 2 (2004); Death Proof (2007); Inglourious Basterds (2009); Django Unchained (2012); The Hateful Eight (2015); Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

1. David Lynch

Eraserhead (1977); The Elephant Man (1980); Dune (1984); Blue Velvet (1986); Wild at Heart (1990); Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992); The Lost Highway (1997); The Straight Story (1999); Mulholland Drive (2001); Inland Empire (2006)