Film directors are some of the hardest-working individuals in Hollywood. Going into a career like this, knowing how easy it can be to fail, takes a lot of dedication and passion. That’s why it’s always impressive when a great director comes along.
It takes hard work to make consistently great movies that receive praise decades after release. Recently, a forum of film fans discussed the best directors with very few bad films. Here are 14 beloved film directors with mostly hits, not misses.
1- Denis Villeneuve
Since 2013, Denis Villeneuve has been on a hot streak of hit film after hit film. Prisoners, followed by Enemy the following year, and the award-nominated Sicario in 2015, is an incredible streak any director would want to have. Since then, he’s directed Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune. Dune has a sequel coming later this year. Villeneuve has his name attached to some stellar films, and it doesn’t look like that’s ending anytime soon.
2- Robert Eggers
Most know Robert Eggers from last year’s hit viking film The Northman, but that isn’t the only one in his catalog. Eggers’ films tend to have a dark, creepy tone, so his previous films include The Witch and The Lighthouse. He’ll be directing a remake of Nosferatu in the near future. One user from the forum referred to him as the new king of horror.
3- Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino has a unique style that includes humor, graphic violence, and swearing, among other things. His incredible filmography does an excellent job of showing off this style. Films such as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, and Kill Bill have been considered all-time classics by film fans everywhere. Even movies like Hateful Eight and Django Unchained are as good as those.
4- Wes Anderson
Like Tarantino, Wes Anderson is known for his unique style of films. Fans and critics have praised his movies since his first one in 1996, Bottle Rocket. Since then, he’s consistently released hit films, including The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and, most recently, Asteroid City.
5- Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese has been in the film industry since 1967 and made 25 films. Mean Streets is his first film to become a major hit, followed by Taxi Driver in 1976. Some of his most significant films include Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed, and Wolf of Wall Street. He continues to make films with his next one, Killers of the Flower Moon, releasing later this year.Â
6- Christopher Nolan
It would be criminal to deny the filmography of Christopher Nolan. Time after time, he has released a massive summer blockbuster that amazes audiences worldwide. For example, look at the recently released Oppenheimer. Some of his recent films, like Dunkirk and Tenet, have had a mixed reception, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he made movies such as the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Inception, and Interstellar.
7- Jordan Peele
As the new king of horror, Jordan Peele has yet to miss. Get Out, Us, and Nope are his only films to date, yet he’s knocked it out of the park every time. All three films have impressive casts and manage to craft dark, twisted stories with a much deeper meaning compared to most other horror movies out there.Â
8- Edgar WrightÂ
Like Peele, Edgar Wright doesn’t have many films compared to other directors mentioned on this list, but his films are high quality. Some of his first projects were the comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, which are a part of the Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy alongside The World’s End.
One of his most famous films is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a stylish, romantic comedy that adapts the popular comic book. His knack for succeeding in multiple genres continues to this day, as His most recent films were the action film Baby Driver and the horror film Last Night in Soho.Â
9- Bong Joon-Ho
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director who became well-known in his home country after making his first three films in the early 2000s. In 2013, he released his first English language film, Snowpiercer, starring Chris Evans. His following films included the Netflix-produced Okja and the award-winning Parasite, which won so many awards that it has its own Wikipedia page.
His next film, Mickey 17, will be his second English language film and stars Robert Pattinson.
10- Paul Thomas AndersonÂ
Paul Thomas Anderson is best known for making films that are dramas dealing with several themes, such as loneliness, desperation, and redemption. His first film was Hard Eight in 1996, and he has released eight films since then, with his most recent being Licorice Pizza, which fans are divided on. Some of his best films are Inherent Vice, The Master, There Will Be Blood, and Phantom Thread.
11- Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki is a legendary film director from Japan best known for his animated films, which consistently feature themes of family, peace, and environmentalism. His work dates back to the 1960s, but his most well-known films come from the 80s and beyond, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke. The upcoming How Do You Live is set to be his final film.
12- Ari Aster
Ari Aster is slowly becoming one of the best horror filmmakers today. He only has three films, just like Jordan Peele, but they all became hits. Hereditary and Midsommar are female-led horror masterpieces that will send chills down your spine. His most recent film Beau is Afraid came out in April and still earned praise from fans and critics.Â
13- Andrei Tarkovsky
The late Andrei Tarkovsky was a filmmaker dedicated to his work to the point where it killed him. Before his death, Tarkovsky lived in the Soviet Union and created dreamlike films focusing on themes of spirituality. He released seven films in his career, his first being Ivan’s Childhood in 1962 and his last being The Sacrifice in 1986.
During the filming of Stalker, the crew was forced to work in toxic locations filled with poisonous water. This caused many people to get sick and likely killed Tarkovsky and other crew members.Â
14- Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick is one of the most famous directors of all time. Many of his films are also considered some of the greatest movies of all time, such as 2001: Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and a few others. His work is known for adapting novels and his unique filming style at the time. These films, and others, helped him become an influence in cinema even decades after he died in 1999.
Source: (Reddit).
