The Golden Age

Sound arrives and the studio system matures. Genres crystallise, national cinemas flourish in Japan, Italy, India and France, and the idea of the director as an author takes hold.

Famous Directors · 98

Alfred HitchcockUK / USAAkira KurosawaJapanFederico FelliniItalyYasujiro OzuJapanJohn FordUSAPowell & PressburgerUKCarl Theodor DreyerDenmarkErnst LubitschGermany / USAOrson WellesUSABilly WilderUSALuis BuñuelSpain / MexicoHoward HawksUSAIngmar BergmanSwedenRoberto RosselliniItalyVittorio De SicaItalyLuchino ViscontiItalyGiuseppe De SantisItalyAlberto LattuadaItalyPietro GermiItalyDavid LeanUKMikio NaruseJapanKon IchikawaJapanFrank CapraUSAKenji MizoguchiJapan

See all 98 directors

Satyajit RayIndiaJean RenoirFranceJohn HustonUSAMasaki KobayashiJapanMax OphülsGermany / FranceMichael CurtizHungary / USAPreston SturgesUSADouglas SirkGermany / USACarol ReedUKElia KazanUSAAlexander MackendrickUK / USAJosef von SternbergAustria / USAWilliam WylerUSAMarcel CarnéFranceLeo McCareyUSAGeorge CukorUSAVictor FlemingUSAKing VidorUSAVincente MinnelliUSARaoul WalshUSAJoseph L. MankiewiczUSANicholas RayUSAFred ZinnemannAustria / USAJean VigoFranceJulien DuvivierFranceJacques BeckerFranceRené ClairFranceKeisuke KinoshitaJapanJean CocteauFranceTod BrowningUSAJames WhaleUK / USAHenri-Georges ClouzotFranceRené ClémentFranceRenato CastellaniItalyLeopold LindtbergSwitzerland (born in Austria)Joseph LoseyUSA / UKJiří MenzelCzechoslovakiaMikhail KalatozovUSSRAlf SjöbergSwedenDelbert MannUSAEdward DmytrykUSA (born in Canada)Marcel CamusFranceHiroshi InagakiJapanValerio ZurliniItalyEmilio FernándezMexicoGene KellyUSARobert SiodmakGermany / USAJean DelannoyFranceChetan AnandIndiaAnselmo DuarteBrazilAndré CayatteFranceArne MattssonSwedenBen SharpsteenUSABodil IpsenDenmarkFrantišek ČápCzechoslovakia / YugoslaviaFridrikh ErmlerUSSRJacques CousteauFranceJames AlgarUSAJean-Paul Le ChanoisFranceTadashi ImaiJapanWilfred JacksonUSACésar Fernández ArdavínSpainLau Lauritzen Jr.DenmarkShadi Abdel SalamEgyptMichael CacoyannisGreece (born in Cyprus)Binka ZhelyazkovaBulgariaLütfi Ömer AkadTurkeyMemduh ÜnTurkeySamuel FullerUSADon SiegelUSAGuru DuttIndiaMehboob KhanIndiaRaj KapoorIndiaLeopoldo Torre NilssonArgentina

Top 100 rated films

1. Seven Samurai 1954 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.6
2. It's a Wonderful Life 1946 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.6
3. Casablanca 1942 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 8.5
4. Rear Window 1954 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.4
5. Sunset Boulevard 1950 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.4
6. Witness for the Prosecution 1957 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.4
7. Ikiru 1952 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.3
8. Double Indemnity 1944 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.3
9. Sansho the Bailiff 1954 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.3
10. Children of Paradise 1945 · Marcel Carné · IMDb 8.3
11. The Cranes Are Flying 1957 · Mikhail Kalatozov · IMDb 8.3
12. Singin' in the Rain 1952 · Gene Kelly · IMDb 8.3
13. Vertigo 1958 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.2
14. North by Northwest 1959 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.2
15. Late Spring 1949 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.2
16. Ordet 1955 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · IMDb 8.2
17. Citizen Kane 1941 · Orson Welles · IMDb 8.2
18. Some Like It Hot 1959 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.2
19. Los Olvidados 1950 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 8.2
20. Bicycle Thieves 1948 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 8.2
21. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 · John Huston · IMDb 8.2
22. Gone with the Wind 1939 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 8.2
23. All About Eve 1950 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 8.2
24. Dial M for Murder 1954 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.1
25. Rashomon 1950 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.1
26. Nights of Cabiria 1957 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 8.1
27. Tokyo Story 1953 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.1
28. The Grapes of Wrath 1940 · John Ford · IMDb 8.1
29. The Red Shoes 1948 · Powell & Pressburger · IMDb 8.1
30. To Be or Not to Be 1942 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 8.1
31. The Seventh Seal 1957 · Ingmar Bergman · IMDb 8.1
32. Wild Strawberries 1957 · Ingmar Bergman · IMDb 8.1
33. Umberto D. 1952 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 8.1
34. The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 · David Lean · IMDb 8.1
35. It Happened One Night 1934 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
36. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 · Frank Capra · IMDb 8.1
37. Ugetsu 1953 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.1
38. The Third Man 1949 · Carol Reed · IMDb 8.1
39. On the Waterfront 1954 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
40. A Face in the Crowd 1957 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.1
41. The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
42. The Heiress 1949 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
43. Ben-Hur 1959 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.1
44. Make Way for Tomorrow 1937 · Leo McCarey · IMDb 8.1
45. The Wizard of Oz 1939 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 8.1
46. White Heat 1949 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 8.1
47. The Wages of Fear 1953 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · IMDb 8.1
48. Les Diaboliques 1955 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · IMDb 8.1
49. Rebecca 1940 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 8.0
50. Throne of Blood 1957 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.0
51. The Hidden Fortress 1958 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 8.0
52. La Strada 1954 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 8.0
53. Early Summer 1951 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.0
54. Tokyo Twilight 1957 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 8.0
55. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1943 · Powell & Pressburger · IMDb 8.0
56. A Matter of Life and Death 1946 · Powell & Pressburger · IMDb 8.0
57. Day of Wrath 1943 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · IMDb 8.0
58. The Shop Around the Corner 1940 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 8.0
59. Ace in the Hole 1951 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 8.0
60. Rome, Open City 1945 · Roberto Rossellini · IMDb 8.0
61. Shoeshine 1946 · Vittorio De Sica · IMDb 8.0
62. Brief Encounter 1945 · David Lean · IMDb 8.0
63. The Burmese Harp 1956 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 8.0
64. The Life of Oharu 1952 · Kenji Mizoguchi · IMDb 8.0
65. La Grande Illusion 1937 · Jean Renoir · IMDb 8.0
66. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1945 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 8.0
67. Sweet Smell of Success 1957 · Alexander Mackendrick · IMDb 8.0
68. Roman Holiday 1953 · William Wyler · IMDb 8.0
69. Forbidden Games 1952 · René Clément · IMDb 8.0
70. Notorious 1946 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
71. Rope 1948 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
72. Strangers on a Train 1951 · Alfred Hitchcock · IMDb 7.9
73. Floating Weeds 1959 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.9
74. Trouble in Paradise 1932 · Ernst Lubitsch · IMDb 7.9
75. Touch of Evil 1958 · Orson Welles · IMDb 7.9
76. Stalag 17 1953 · Billy Wilder · IMDb 7.9
77. El 1953 · Luis Buñuel · IMDb 7.9
78. Rio Bravo 1959 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.9
79. The Big Sleep 1946 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.9
80. Fires on the Plain 1959 · Kon Ichikawa · IMDb 7.9
81. Arsenic and Old Lace 1944 · Frank Capra · IMDb 7.9
82. The Rules of the Game 1939 · Jean Renoir · IMDb 7.9
83. The Maltese Falcon 1941 · John Huston · IMDb 7.9
84. The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.9
85. Mildred Pierce 1945 · Michael Curtiz · IMDb 7.9
86. Sullivan's Travels 1941 · Preston Sturges · IMDb 7.9
87. A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 · Elia Kazan · IMDb 7.9
88. The Little Foxes 1941 · William Wyler · IMDb 7.9
89. The Big Country 1958 · William Wyler · IMDb 7.9
90. Captains Courageous 1937 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 7.9
91. The Roaring Twenties 1939 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 7.9
92. In a Lonely Place 1950 · Nicholas Ray · IMDb 7.9
93. High Noon 1952 · Fred Zinnemann · IMDb 7.9
94. Panique 1946 · Julien Duvivier · IMDb 7.9
95. Twenty-Four Eyes 1954 · Keisuke Kinoshita · IMDb 7.9
96. Beauty and the Beast 1946 · Jean Cocteau · IMDb 7.9
97. Stray Dog 1949 · Akira Kurosawa · IMDb 7.8
98. I Vitelloni 1953 · Federico Fellini · IMDb 7.8
99. I Was Born, But... 1932 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8
100. Equinox Flower 1958 · Yasujiro Ozu · IMDb 7.8