The Modern Masters

New Waves break the rules in Paris, Rome and beyond, while New Hollywood hands control to directors. Cinema turns personal, political and formally daring.

Famous Directors · 244

Stanley KubrickUSA / UKSergio LeoneItalyJean-Luc GodardFranceMichelangelo AntonioniItalyJacques TatiFranceAlejandro JodorowskyChile / FranceJohn CassavetesUSAPier Paolo PasoliniItalyEttore ScolaItalyClaude ChabrolFranceJacques RivetteFranceLouis MalleFranceWilliam FriedkinUSAArthur PennUSAGlauber RochaBrazilAndrzej WajdaPolandNagisa OshimaJapanMario MonicelliItalyDino RisiItalySidney LumetUSARobert BressonFranceLarisa ShepitkoUSSRVíctor EriceSpainMartin ScorseseUSA

See all 244 directors

Jean-Pierre MelvilleFranceFrancis Ford CoppolaUSAAgnès VardaFranceSteven SpielbergUSARainer Werner FassbinderGermanyRobert AltmanUSAKen LoachUKEric RohmerFranceChantal AkermanBelgiumAndrei TarkovskyUSSRWerner HerzogGermanyShohei ImamuraJapanFrançois TruffautFranceAlain ResnaisFranceRoman PolanskiPoland / FranceBernardo BertolucciItalyTerrence MalickUSAWim WendersGermanyFrancesco RosiItalyMarco BellocchioItalyBrian De PalmaUSAHal AshbyUSAPeter BogdanovichUSAJacques DemyFranceSergei ParajanovUSSR (Armenia / Georgia / Ukraine)Ritwik GhatakIndiaCarlos SauraSpainVolker SchlöndorffGermanyTomás Gutiérrez AleaCubaSam PeckinpahUSAMichael CiminoUSAGeorge A. RomeroUSADario ArgentoItalyLina WertmüllerItalyJerzy SkolimowskiPolandHiroshi TeshigaharaJapanSeijun SuzukiJapanNicolas RoegUKRidley ScottUKElem KlimovUSSRMargarethe von TrottaGermanyLindsay AndersonUKKarel ReiszUK (born in Czechoslovakia)Derek JarmanUKErmanno OlmiItalyGillo PontecorvoItalyElio PetriItalyThe Taviani BrothersItalyLuigi ComenciniItalySergio CorbucciItalySergio SollimaItalyMasahiro ShinodaJapanMrinal SenIndiaShyam BenegalIndiaChris MarkerFranceDennis HopperUSABob RafelsonUSAGeorge LucasUSAAlexander KlugeGermanyWerner SchroeterGermanyHans-Jürgen SyberbergGermanyEdgar ReitzGermanyJan ŠvankmajerCzech Republic (Czechoslovakia)Luis García BerlangaSpainJuan Antonio BardemSpainFernando SolanasArgentinaNelson Pereira dos SantosBrazilKira MuratovaUSSR / UkraineOtar IosselianiGeorgia / FranceAndrzej ŻuławskiPoland / FranceMario BavaItalyJohn CarpenterUSAWes CravenUSATobe HooperUSADariush MehrjuiIranBahram BeyzaieIranSohrab Shahid-SalessIran / GermanyKrzysztof ZanussiPolandBo WiderbergSwedenJan TroellSwedenAgnieszka HollandPolandBob FosseUSACosta-GavrasFrance / GreeceJohn SchlesingerUKMiloš FormanCzechoslovakia / USAAlan ParkerUKPeter WeirAustraliaEmir KusturicaSerbia (born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia)Oliver StoneUSARichard AttenboroughUKWoody AllenUSAMike NicholsUSA (born in Germany)Alexander SokurovRussiaNeil JordanIrelandNikita MikhalkovRussiaClaude LelouchFranceMaurice PialatFranceNanni MorettiItalyBille AugustDenmarkBertrand TavernierFranceJim SheridanIrelandBarry LevinsonUSAMike NewellUKIldikó EnyediHungaryMárta MészárosHungaryPatrice ChéreauFranceGeorge Roy HillUSARichard LesterUSA / UKRoland JofféUKBill ForsythUKMichael RadfordUKGianni AmelioItalyMarco FerreriItalyYılmaz GüneyTurkeyTed KotcheffCanadaHenri ColpiFranceJerry SchatzbergUSAMohammed Lakhdar-HaminaAlgeriaTom StoppardUK (born in Czechoslovakia)Reinhard HauffGermanyPeter LilienthalGermanyMetin ErksanTurkeyGleb PanfilovUSSR / RussiaMario CamusSpainRichard PearceUSAPhilippe LioretFranceAlan BridgesUKDavid HareUKEmilio Martínez-LázaroSpainGian Luigi PolidoroItalyJosé Luis García SánchezSpainRainer SimonGermany (GDR)Xie FeiChinaŽelimir ŽilnikSerbia (Yugoslavia)Edward BennettUKŞerif GörenTurkeyTomás MuñozSpainOusmane SembèneSenegalYoussef ChahineEgyptDjibril Diop MambétySenegalSouleymane CisséMaliMed HondoMauritania / FranceHaile GerimaEthiopia / USAIdrissa OuédraogoBurkina FasoMoufida TlatliTunisiaGaston KaboréBurkina FasoNouri BouzidTunisiaMerzak AllouacheAlgeriaYousry NasrallahEgyptTunde KelaniNigeriaSafi FayeSenegalSarah MaldororFrance / AngolaFlora GomesGuinea-BissauFérid BoughedirTunisiaDušan MakavejevYugoslavia (Serbia)Aleksandar PetrovićYugoslavia (Serbia)Goran PaskaljevićSerbia (Yugoslavia)Veljko BulajićYugoslavia (Croatia)Lucian PintilieRomaniaŽivojin PavlovićYugoslavia (Serbia)Goran MarkovićSerbia (Yugoslavia)Srđan KaranovićSerbia (Yugoslavia)Lordan ZafranovićYugoslavia (Croatia)Ademir KenovićBosnia and HerzegovinaPantelis VoulgarisGreeceIsa QosjaKosovo (born in Montenegro)Kujtim ÇashkuAlbaniaRangel VulchanovBulgariaFranci SlakSloveniaAtıf YılmazTurkeyHalit RefiğTurkeyZeki ÖktenTurkeyÖmer KavurTurkeyErden KıralTurkeyYavuz ÖzkanTurkeySinan ÇetinTurkeyTunç BaşaranTurkeyErtem EğilmezTurkeyTunç OkanTurkeyYusuf KurçenliTurkeyYılmaz DuruTurkeyNejat SaydamTurkeyMuzaffer ArslanTurkeyAlan J. PakulaUSAClaude LanzmannFranceFrederick WisemanUSAManoel de OliveiraPortugalMiklós JancsóHungaryIstván SzabóHungaryWojciech HasPolandAleksei GermanUSSR / RussiaTengiz AbuladzeGeorgiaAndrei KonchalovskyUSSR / RussiaPhilippe GarrelFranceJean-Marie StraubFranceGiuseppe TornatoreItalyGillian ArmstrongAustraliaAlain TannerSwitzerlandJuzo ItamiJapanKaneto ShindoJapanIsao TakahataJapanKatsuhiro OtomoJapanStanley KwanHong KongAdoor GopalakrishnanIndiaMani KaulIndiaKumar ShahaniIndiaG. AravindanIndiaGovind NihalaniIndiaMani RatnamIndiaAparna SenIndiaRaúl RuizChile / FrancePatricio GuzmánChileHéctor BabencoArgentina / BrazilRuy GuerraMozambique / BrazilJoaquim Pedro de AndradeBrazilFernando BirriArgentinaJorge SanjinésBoliviaHumberto SolásCubaArturo RipsteinMexicoFranklin J. SchaffnerUSA

Top 100 rated films

1. The Godfather 1972 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.2
2. The Godfather Part II 1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.0
3. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.8
4. Shoah 1985 · Claude Lanzmann · IMDb 8.7
5. Star Wars 1977 · George Lucas · IMDb 8.6
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 8.6
7. Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.5
8. Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany 1984 · Edgar Reitz · IMDb 8.5
9. Cinema Paradiso 1988 · Giuseppe Tornatore · IMDb 8.5
10. Grave of the Fireflies 1988 · Isao Takahata · IMDb 8.5
11. The Shining 1980 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.4
12. Apocalypse Now 1979 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 8.4
13. Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.4
14. Woman in the Dunes 1964 · Hiroshi Teshigahara · IMDb 8.4
15. Alien 1979 · Ridley Scott · IMDb 8.4
16. Amadeus 1984 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 8.4
17. 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.3
18. Once Upon a Time in America 1984 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.3
19. Scarface (1983) 1983 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 8.3
20. Come and See 1985 · Elem Klimov · IMDb 8.3
21. Death of Yazdgerd 1982 · Bahram Beyzaie · IMDb 8.3
22. Me, Grandma, Iliko and Ilarion 1962 · Tengiz Abuladze · IMDb 8.3
23. The Battle of Chile 1979 · Patricio Guzmán · IMDb 8.3
24. A Clockwork Orange 1971 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.2
25. Full Metal Jacket 1987 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.2
26. For a Few Dollars More 1965 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.2
27. Il Sorpasso 1962 · Dino Risi · IMDb 8.2
28. The Ascent 1977 · Larisa Shepitko · IMDb 8.2
29. Taxi Driver 1976 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.2
30. La Jetée 1962 · Chris Marker · IMDb 8.2
31. The Thing 1982 · John Carpenter · IMDb 8.2
32. The Sting 1973 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.2
33. Welfare 1975 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 8.2
34. Barry Lyndon 1975 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.1
35. A Special Day 1977 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 8.1
36. The Exorcist 1973 · William Friedkin · IMDb 8.1
37. The Miracle Worker 1962 · Arthur Penn · IMDb 8.1
38. Raging Bull 1980 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.1
39. Army of Shadows 1969 · Jean-Pierre Melville · IMDb 8.1
40. Jaws 1975 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.1
41. Chinatown 1974 · Roman Polanski · IMDb 8.1
42. Paris, Texas 1984 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 8.1
43. Paper Moon 1973 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.1
44. The Deer Hunter 1978 · Michael Cimino · IMDb 8.1
45. Blade Runner 1982 · Ridley Scott · IMDb 8.1
46. The Battle of Algiers 1966 · Gillo Pontecorvo · IMDb 8.1
47. Dimensions of Dialogue 1982 · Jan Švankmajer · IMDb 8.1
48. Z 1969 · Costa-Gavras · IMDb 8.1
49. Dead Poets Society 1989 · Peter Weir · IMDb 8.1
50. The Holy Innocents 1984 · Mario Camus · IMDb 8.1
51. Petria's Wreath 1980 · Srđan Karanović · IMDb 8.1
52. A Woman Under the Influence 1974 · John Cassavetes · IMDb 8.0
53. We All Loved Each Other So Much 1974 · Ettore Scola · IMDb 8.0
54. Au revoir les enfants 1987 · Louis Malle · IMDb 8.0
55. A Difficult Life 1961 · Dino Risi · IMDb 8.0
56. Le Samouraï 1967 · Jean-Pierre Melville · IMDb 8.0
57. Stalker 1979 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 8.0
58. Ivan's Childhood 1962 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 8.0
59. Andrei Rublev 1966 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 8.0
60. Rosemary's Baby 1968 · Roman Polanski · IMDb 8.0
61. The Last Picture Show 1971 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.0
62. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion 1970 · Elio Petri · IMDb 8.0
63. The Emigrants 1971 · Jan Troell · IMDb 8.0
64. The New Land 1972 · Jan Troell · IMDb 8.0
65. Platoon 1986 · Oliver Stone · IMDb 8.0
66. Gandhi 1982 · Richard Attenborough · IMDb 8.0
67. The Graduate 1967 · Mike Nichols · IMDb 8.0
68. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966 · Mike Nichols · IMDb 8.0
69. Rain Man 1988 · Barry Levinson · IMDb 8.0
70. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.0
71. Repentance 1984 · Tengiz Abuladze · IMDb 8.0
72. The Wishing Tree 1977 · Tengiz Abuladze · IMDb 8.0
73. The Naked Island 1960 · Kaneto Shindo · IMDb 8.0
74. Akira 1988 · Katsuhiro Otomo · IMDb 8.0
75. Planet of the Apes 1968 · Franklin J. Schaffner · IMDb 8.0
76. Papillon 1973 · Franklin J. Schaffner · IMDb 8.0
77. Spartacus 1960 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 7.9
78. A Fistful of Dollars 1964 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 7.9
79. La Notte 1961 · Michelangelo Antonioni · IMDb 7.9
80. Second Wind 1966 · Jean-Pierre Melville · IMDb 7.9
81. Le Cercle rouge 1970 · Jean-Pierre Melville · IMDb 7.9
82. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.9
83. Kes 1969 · Ken Loach · IMDb 7.9
84. Solaris 1972 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.9
85. Mirror 1975 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.9
86. Nostalghia 1983 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.9
87. Land of Silence and Darkness 1971 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
88. Fitzcarraldo 1982 · Werner Herzog · IMDb 7.9
89. The Conformist 1970 · Bernardo Bertolucci · IMDb 7.9
90. Wings of Desire 1987 · Wim Wenders · IMDb 7.9
91. Being There 1979 · Hal Ashby · IMDb 7.9
92. Cría cuervos 1976 · Carlos Saura · IMDb 7.9
93. The Wild Bunch 1969 · Sam Peckinpah · IMDb 7.9
94. Il posto 1961 · Ermanno Olmi · IMDb 7.9
95. Bashu, the Little Stranger 1989 · Bahram Beyzaie · IMDb 7.9
96. Annie Hall 1977 · Woody Allen · IMDb 7.9
97. All the President's Men 1976 · Alan J. Pakula · IMDb 7.9
98. Hospital 1970 · Frederick Wiseman · IMDb 7.9
99. Siberiade 1979 · Andrei Konchalovsky · IMDb 7.9
100. Tampopo 1985 · Juzo Itami · IMDb 7.9