List of Directors' Best Films

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Last Updated: 9/26/26
Note: A ranked list of films is compiled for each director that's judged to be among his best works. The only requirement is he must have at least five films that received a rating of at least '7' from me.

Multiple parts (i.e. duology, trilogy, etc.) can be put together as one if there's a continuation in the narrative. Miniseries and telefilms are fair game, but documentaries are excluded. These films have made the cut when I think about cultural phenomenon, uniqueness, famous movie moments, iconic scenes and/or lines, cinematic power, and timelessness.



  1. Robert Aldrich
  2. Robert Altman
  3. Michael Apted
  4. Harold Becker
  5. James Cameron
  6. John Carpenter
  7. Larry Clark
  8. Brian De Palma
  9. Richard Donner
  10. Clint Eastwood
  11. Francis Ford Coppola
  12. Miloš Forman
  13. John Frankenheimer
  14. William Friedkin
  15. John Guillermin
  16. Alfred Hitchcock
  17. John Huston
  18. Ted Kotcheff
  19. Stanley Kubrick
  20. Sidney Lumet
  21. Michael Mann
  22. Mike Nichols
  23. Rob Reiner
  24. Michael Ritchie
  25. Martin Ritt
  26. Paul Schrader
  27. Joel Schumacher
  28. Martin Scorsese
  29. Tony Scott
  30. Don Siegel
  31. John Singleton
  32. Steven Soderbergh
  33. Steven Spielberg
  34. Oliver Stone
  35. Robert Wise
  36. William Wyler