USA

American cinema grew from nickelodeons and the New York and New Jersey studios to Hollywood, where the studio system of the 1920s to 1950s refined classical storytelling, genre and the star. Sound, colour and widescreen arrived there first. The 1970s brought a director-driven generation, the 1980s the blockbuster, and independent cinema has pushed against both ever since. Immigrant filmmakers from Europe shaped the style, and its films have influenced nearly every national cinema.

Famous Directors

Abel FerraraUSAAlan J. PakulaUSAAlexander PayneUSAArthur PennUSAAva DuVernayUSABarry JenkinsUSABarry LevinsonUSABen AffleckUSABen SharpsteenUSABilly WilderUSABlake EdwardsUSABob FosseUSABob RafelsonUSABrady CorbetUSABrian De PalmaUSABuster KeatonUSACecil B. DeMilleUSAChloé ZhaoUSA (born in China)D.W. GriffithUSADamien ChazelleUSADarren AronofskyUSADavid FincherUSADavid LynchUSADelbert MannUSA

See all 121 directors

Dennis HopperUSADon SiegelUSAEdward DmytrykUSA (born in Canada)Edwin S. PorterUSAElia KazanUSAFrancis Ford CoppolaUSAFrank CapraUSAFranklin J. SchaffnerUSAFrederick WisemanUSAGene KellyUSAGeorge A. RomeroUSAGeorge CukorUSAGeorge LucasUSAGeorge Roy HillUSAGeorge StevensUSAGreta GerwigUSAGus Van SantUSAHal AshbyUSAHal HartleyUSAHarmony KorineUSAHarold LloydUSAHoward HawksUSAIrvin KershnerUSAJames AlgarUSAJerry SchatzbergUSAJim JarmuschUSAJohn CarpenterUSAJohn CassavetesUSAJohn FordUSAJohn FrankenheimerUSAJohn HustonUSAJohn SturgesUSAJordan PeeleUSAJoseph L. MankiewiczUSAJoseph LoseyUSA / UKKathryn BigelowUSAKelly ReichardtUSAKing VidorUSALaura PoitrasUSALawrence KasdanUSALeo McCareyUSALois WeberUSAMack SennettUSA (born in Canada)Martin ScorseseUSAMel BrooksUSAMichael CiminoUSAMichael MooreUSAMike NicholsUSA (born in Germany)Nicholas RayUSANorman JewisonUSAOliver StoneUSAOrson WellesUSAOscar MicheauxUSAOtto PremingerUSAPaul Thomas AndersonUSAPeter BogdanovichUSAPreston SturgesUSAQuentin TarantinoUSARaoul WalshUSARichard DonnerUSARichard LesterUSA / UKRichard LinklaterUSARichard PearceUSARobert AldrichUSARobert AltmanUSARobert MulliganUSARobert WiseUSARobert ZemeckisUSASam PeckinpahUSASamuel FullerUSASean BakerUSASidney LumetUSASofia CoppolaUSASpike LeeUSAStanley DonenUSAStanley KramerUSAStanley KubrickUSA / UKSteven SoderberghUSASteven SpielbergUSAStuart RosenbergUSASydney PollackUSATerrence MalickUSATerry GilliamUSAThe Coen BrothersUSATim BurtonUSATobe HooperUSATod BrowningUSATodd HaynesUSATodd PhillipsUSAVictor FlemingUSAVincente MinnelliUSAWes AndersonUSAWes CravenUSAWilfred JacksonUSAWilliam FriedkinUSAWilliam WylerUSAWoody AllenUSA

Top 100 rated films

1. The Godfather 1972 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.2
2. 12 Angry Men 1957 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 9.0
3. The Godfather Part II 1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.0
4. Schindler's List 1993 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 9.0
5. Fight Club 1999 · David Fincher · IMDb 8.8
6. Pulp Fiction 1994 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.8
7. Forrest Gump 1994 · Robert Zemeckis · IMDb 8.8
8. Goodfellas 1990 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.7
9. The Empire Strikes Back 1980 · Irvin Kershner · IMDb 8.7
10. It's a Wonderful Life 1946 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.6
11. Saving Private Ryan 1998 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.6
12. Star Wars 1977 · George Lucas · IMDb 8.6
13. Se7en 1995 · David Fincher · IMDb 8.6
14. The Departed 2006 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.5
15. Django Unchained 2012 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.5
16. Back to the Future 1985 · Robert Zemeckis · IMDb 8.5
17. Whiplash 2014 · Damien Chazelle · IMDb 8.5
18. Sunset Boulevard 1950 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.4
19. Witness for the Prosecution 1957 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.4
20. Paths of Glory 1957 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.4
21. The Shining 1980 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.4
22. Apocalypse Now 1979 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 8.4
23. Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.4
24. Inglourious Basterds 2009 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.4
25. Good Will Hunting 1997 · Gus Van Sant · IMDb 8.4
26. Double Indemnity 1944 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.3
27. The Apartment 1960 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.3
28. Singin' in the Rain 1952 · Gene Kelly · IMDb 8.3
29. 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.3
30. Scarface (1983) 1983 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 8.3
31. Requiem for a Dream 2000 · Darren Aronofsky · IMDb 8.3
32. Joker 2019 · Todd Phillips · IMDb 8.3
33. Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 8.3
34. Citizen Kane 1941 · Orson Welles · IMDb 8.2
35. Some Like It Hot 1959 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.2
36. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 · John Huston · IMDb 8.2
37. Gone with the Wind 1939 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 8.2
38. All About Eve 1950 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 8.2
39. A Clockwork Orange 1971 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.2
40. Full Metal Jacket 1987 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.2
41. Taxi Driver 1976 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.2
42. Casino 1995 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.2
43. Jurassic Park 1993 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.2
44. The Thing 1982 · John Carpenter · IMDb 8.2
45. The Sting 1973 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.2
46. Welfare 1975 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 8.2
47. There Will Be Blood 2007 · Paul Thomas Anderson · IMDb 8.2
48. The Elephant Man 1980 · David Lynch · IMDb 8.2
49. Reservoir Dogs 1992 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.2
50. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 2003 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.2
51. No Country for Old Men 2007 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 8.2
52. 13th 2016 · Ava DuVernay · IMDb 8.2
53. The Great Escape 1963 · John Sturges · IMDb 8.2
54. To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 · Robert Mulligan · IMDb 8.2
55. The General 1926 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
56. One Week 1920 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
57. Sherlock Jr. 1924 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 8.1
58. Safety Last! 1923 · Harold Lloyd · IMDb 8.1
59. The Grapes of Wrath 1940 · John Ford · IMDb 8.1
60. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 · John Ford · IMDb 8.1
61. It Happened One Night 1934 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
62. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
63. On the Waterfront 1954 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
64. A Face in the Crowd 1957 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
65. The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
66. The Heiress 1949 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
67. Ben-Hur 1959 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
68. Make Way for Tomorrow 1937 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 8.1
69. The Wizard of Oz 1939 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 8.1
70. White Heat 1949 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 8.1
71. Barry Lyndon 1975 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.1
72. The Exorcist 1973 · William Friedkin · IMDb 8.1
73. The Miracle Worker 1962 · Arthur Penn · IMDb 8.1
74. Fail Safe 1964 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 8.1
75. Raging Bull 1980 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.1
76. Jaws 1975 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.1
77. Catch Me If You Can 2002 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.1
78. Paper Moon 1973 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.1
79. The Deer Hunter 1978 · Michael Cimino · IMDb 8.1
80. Gone Girl 2014 · David Fincher · IMDb 8.1
81. Fargo 1996 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 8.1
82. The Big Lebowski 1998 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 8.1
83. Before Sunrise 1995 · Richard Linklater · IMDb 8.1
84. Before Sunset 2004 · Richard Linklater · IMDb 8.1
85. The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 · Wes Anderson · IMDb 8.1
86. Inherit the Wind 1960 · Stanley Kramer · IMDb 8.1
87. The Sound of Music 1965 · Robert Wise · IMDb 8.1
88. Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 · Terry Gilliam · IMDb 8.1
89. Ace in the Hole 1951 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.0
90. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1945 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.0
91. Roman Holiday 1953 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.0
92. The Crowd 1928 · King Vidor · IMDb 8.0
93. A Woman Under the Influence 1974 · John Cassavetes · IMDb 8.0
94. Dog Day Afternoon 1975 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 8.0
95. Network 1976 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 8.0
96. The Last Picture Show 1971 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.0
97. Platoon 1986 · Oliver Stone · IMDb 8.0
98. JFK 1991 · Oliver Stone · IMDb 8.0
99. The Graduate 1967 · Mike Nichols · IMDb 8.0
100. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966 · Mike Nichols · IMDb 8.0