Even some of the best directors deliver a misfire every now and then, but a few directors keep up a remarkable level of consistency throughout their careers. For these directors, audiences can be confident when buying a ticket to see their newest movie that it’s going to meet a certain high standard.
Ridley Scott is one example of a legendary director who has a few misses in his filmography. Although this doesn’t detract from the brilliance of movies likeGladiator, AlienandBlade Runner,it means that he’s in a slightly different camp to directors like Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, who almost never let their fans down.
10Wes Anderson
Anderson’s Idiosyncratic Style Always Delivers
Wes Anderson’s moviesare united by their consistent aesthetic style, so much so that it’s often easy to recognize one of his movies based on a single frame. This consistency is also reflected in the quality of his movies. Although certain hits likeThe Grand Budapest HotelandThe Royal Tenenbaumsmay enjoy more widespread success, each of Anderson’s movies offer a lot to love for his fans.
Anderson’s recent movies show the director interrogating his own idiosyncratic style and artistic sensibilities.
Anderson’s recent movies show the director interrogating his own unusual style and artistic sensibilities.The French DispatchandAsteroid Cityare both interesting explorations of the various layers of artifice Anderson has constructed, and they examine the very fabric of storytelling. He is constantly finding new questions to chew over within the same aesthetic framework.
9Martin Scorsese
Scorsese Has Very Few Duds Across The Span Of A Long Career
Martin Scorsese first burst onto the scene in the 1970s with hits likeMean StreetsandTaxi Driver,and he has constantly reinvented his style. He was already a filmmaking great by the time he madeGoodfellas,a crime drama which set the agenda for the future of the genre and announced a bold new style for Scorsese.
10 Directors Who Made Great Movies In Multiple Languages
Hollywood attracts the greatest directors from all over the world, meaning that many directors build careers in two different languages.
It’s rare for such a revered director to continue making top-class movies for so many decades. If Scorsese’s filmography could be split into his 20th century work and his 21st century work, he would have two remarkable careers that any director would be envious of. It’s hard to pick out a true flop in his long list of accomplishments, and he looks to be gearing up for more.
8Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino Has Spoken About His Desire To Go Out On Top
Quentin Tarantino has sparked debate recently after claiming that he only wishes to make a total of 10 movies. With nine movies under his belt already, this heaps extra pressure on his next work if he wants to achieve a career total of 10 hits and no misses. He reportedly pulled the plug onThe Movie Criticbecause he felt it wasn’t good enough to act as his swansong.
While Tarantino’s opinions have been contentious, his filmography speaks for itself. After revolutionizing the crime genre withReservoir DogsandPulp Fictionin the 1990s, he has consistently created genre-breaking works of brilliance, known for their snappy dialogue and flashes of stylized violence. IfTarantino’s next movietruly is his last, he’s set a very high bar for himself.
7Jordan Peele
Peele’s Directorial Career Has Gotten Off To A Spectacular Start
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, and he followedGet Outwith two more bewitching and unsettling gems. Although he was originally known as a comedian, Peele has shifted to horror with ease. He has spoken before about the similarities between the two genres, suggesting that they are both predicated on surprising the audience. In this context, it makes sense that he’s such a natural horror auteur.
UsandNopeshowed that Peele has plenty of room to explore, and each one of his movies has a boldly original streak. WhileJordan Peele’s next movieis still shrouded in mystery, it’s a safe bet that fans will be treated to another unique horror movie with an element of comedy. Other than that, it’s hard to know what’s coming next from one of Hollywood’s most exciting directors.
6David Fincher
Fincher Has Mastered Crime Movies And Ventured Into Other Genres
Many of David Fincher’s best movies are tense crime thrillers, starting with his earliest hits in the 1990s, likeSe7enandFight Club.He has continued to explore criminal psychology in the 21st century with movies likeZodiac, Gone GirlandThe Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The Social Networkis a looser fit for this category, but it utilizes many of the same methods.
10 Directors Who’s Best Work Are TV Shows
It takes a great director to leave their mark on a TV show, and some filmmakers’ best work comes from the small screen despite their amazing movies.
Fincher has also had a few forays into other genres. His career began withAlien 3,critically reviled at the time but by no means as bad as the comparisons to the franchise’s first movies make it out to be.MankandThe Curious Case of Benjamin Buttonare two other unusual offerings from Fincher, and if these are his worst movies, then he certainly has a resume to be proud of.
5Bong Joon-ho
The Korean Director Has Made Great Movies In Two Languages
Bong Joon-ho made history as the first director to win Best Picture for a non-English language movie with 2019’sParasite.While this award introduced him to a whole new audience, cinephiles around the world already knew that Bong was one of the best directors working anywhere. Whether working in Korean or English, Bong has consistently created brilliant movies.
Bong’s movies encompass a wide range of genres, withParasite’s genre-shifting tone standing out as the culmination of a career spent toying with the form of cinema. The upcomingMickey 17is a welcome return for Bong after a few years of silence, and it seems like another strange and creative movie with a rich vein of comedy.
4Christopher Nolan
Nolan’s Stature Has Grown And Grown
Christopher Nolan has developed a reputation for thought-provoking original blockbusters, and he has the rare ability to attract huge audiences to rather esoteric movies. The immense commercial success ofOppenheimeris testament to the good will Nolan has built up over the years. Audiences know that he rarely disappoints.
Hype is already building for Nolan’s adaptation ofThe Odyssey,as he has assembled another great ensemble cast. The epic poem could be the perfect source material for Nolan, who often delivers intelligent and spectacular action, as seen in movies likeInception, The Dark KnightandDunkirk.Nolan’s best moviesare must-see cinematic experiences, andThe Odysseywill almost certainly be the same.
3Alfonso Cuarón
Cuarón Can Easily Move Between Genres
Alfonso Cuarón’s best moviesshow his impressive versatility as a director. Not only has he directed outstanding movies in Spanish and English, but he has also moved between genres with ease, never allowing himself to get confined to a box. He started off with low-budget comedy-dramas, but this was just the beginning.
10 Directors Who Mastered Both Animation And Live-Action
Animation and live-action movies require two different sets of skills from filmmakers, so there aren’t many directors who can master both.
Cuarón has shown his flair for sci-fi spectacle withGravityand Children of Men, but he has a talent for characterization, as seen in movies likeRomaandY tu mamá también. He also directedHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,arguably the franchise’s best movie. It’s been a while since Cuarón has released a feature-length film, but he has also created a couple of brilliant TV shows.
2Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki Has Created Some Of The Best Animated Movies Ever
Few directors have shaped the medium of animation quite like Hayao Miyazaki. His Studio Ghibli movies are always something to look forward to, and there are reports that he’s working on another new project after the success ofThe Boy and the Heron.Miyazaki’s directorial career began in 1979 withThe Castle of Cagliostro,and he went on to deliver hit after hit.
Miyazaki’s finest works include some of the best animated movies of all time, includingSpirited Away, Princess MononokeandMy Neighbor Totoro.Other movies likePonyoandPorco Rossonever quite reached this level of prestige, but they’re still far better than many other directors could ever wish to muster.
1Denis Villeneuve
Villeneuve’s Mastery Of Sci-Fi Is Just One Of His Talents
In the last decade, Denis Villeneuve has stood out as one of the most interesting and exciting directors working in the sci-fi genre. Before the blockbuster success of hisDunemovies, he achieved critical acclaim withBlade Runner 2049andArrival.All three of these movies should have been hard to pull off, but Villeneuve succeeded nonetheless.
Dune, Blade Runner 2049andArrivalall should have been hard to pull off, but Villeneuve succeeded nonetheless.
Whether he’s adapting an “unfilmable” novel or directing a legacy sequel to an untouchable sci-fi classic, Villeneuve finds a way to stamp his own identity on his work.His earlier movies are just as impressive, including the twisty psychological thrillersEnemyandPrisoners.AddingSicarioandIncendiesto the mix highlights just how many great movies Villeneueve has made without allowing a flop to creep in.
