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(This list has been re-edited as of 9/22/2014.)
10. Wes Anderson
Best Film: Rushmore (1999)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Worst Film: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Every one of his movies has a unique flair and style that makes the film so delicate and intricate to the material. Even though his style is about the same every time, it does not matter because I care more about the characters and the story and the dialogue. Almost every one of his movies is sharp.
9. Quentin Tarantino
Best Film: Pulp Fiction (1994)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Jackie Brown (1997)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Django Unchained (2012)
Worst (Overrated) Film: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
Every time I anticipate one of his films I get excited because you know he will create fantastic characters with crisp and sharp dialogue that can blend into the genre or a spoof of a genre. His film, Pulp Fiction, is unquestionably the jewel of his work with some gems all around the movie. It is a perfect film.
8. The Coen Brothers
Best Film: Fargo (1996)
Blood Simple (1984)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Barton Fink (1991)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Worst Film: The Ladykillers (2004)
Almost every single story is truly original from beginning to end full of quirky characters and magnificent images of horror and reality from the snowy streets to the Old West. Everybody thinks what they are going to come up with next? Whatever it is, it'll be worth the wait about 85% of the time.
7. Sidney Lumet
Best Film: Dog Day Afternoon (1973)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Serpico (1973)
Network (1976)
The Verdict (1982)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
Worst Film: Power (1986)
There is something the way he structures the movie with the story and the characters that makes me feel interested in his work. It seems that I am not watching another movie, but another event that is irrelevant to either today's society or in the future. Network and Dog Day Afternoon is relevant to the media outlet, compared to today, it has changed simultaneously for better or for worse. He is probably the most underrated director on this list.
6. David Fincher
Best Film: Fight Club (1999), Se7en (1995)
The Game (1997)
Zodiac (2007)
Panic Room (2002)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
The Social Network (2010)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Worst Film: Alien 3 (1992), that movie was just ok.
There's something about the haunted atmosphere that surrounds the interesting characters with depth and artistry that drives the story forward. Most of his films zip by quickly even if they are 2 and a half hours because of how detailed and layered the plot/story is and the execution of the story is exhilarating most of the time in his career. I am really hoping that his adaptation of Gone Girl is another great film.
5. Christopher Nolan
Best Film: Memento (2000)
Insomnia (2002)
The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012)
Inception (2010)
Interstellar (2014)
Least favorite movie: The Prestige (2006) (It's good, but not great.)
He is the most efficient modern storyteller of our generation. He is an intricate filmmaker that is attentive to every detail and puts intelligent characters in a most interesting storyline. People question whether or not if he is currently the "Steven Spielberg" of our time now. Based on his big range of work from independent films to large-scale films, he can do anything. He's not Spielberg, he's Nolan.
4. Steven Spielberg
Jaws (1975)
The Indiana Jones Series (1981, 1984, 1989, 2008)
E.T. (1982)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Minority Report (2002)
Catch Me if You Can (2003)
Lincoln (2012)
Worst Film: Always (1989)
He is the most imaginative director on this list that can almost do anything with memorable characters and special effects and John Williams' music. He can do action-adventure, science fiction, war films, and thrillers. Anytime a Spielberg film comes into the theaters, the right audience goes to that movie and what's refreshing about his films is the awe and thought of the frame of the image or person that can mesmerize you or make you feel more emotional than usual in a movie.
3. Stanley Kubrick
Best Film: Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Lolita (1962)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Shining (1980)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Worst movie: Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
He is the most methodical person and director ever witnessed by people who knew him or read about him. If you want to talk about being attentive, well, this is the man who is a perfectionist in a good way and at times, in a bad way. Every one Kubrick film is equaled to about five films because you really think about what he is going to put on screen and what it means. What's so great about his films is that it makes you think and that you can discuss the difficulties and thoughts with another person. About all of his films are important.
2. Alfred Hitchcock
Best Films: Vertigo (1958), Rear Window (1954)
Rebecca (1940)
Notorious (1946)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)
Worst Film: Rope (1948)
Ah, yes. The master of suspense. It does not matter whether you have seen one of his films for the 10th time, you will still be frightened that is going to come up on screen. He generates tension with the setting, the characters, the ideas and the story. They are all definitive movies for a social gathering with friends with popcorn in a bowl, so you can just have fun being scared. No matter how crazy the idea was at the time of filming, he would smile today just to witness generations of fans still watch his films.
1. Martin Scorsese
Best Films: Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), GoodFellas (1990), The Departed (2006)
Mean Streets (1973)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
The King of Comedy (1983)
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Casino (1995)
Gangs of New York (2002)
The Aviator (2004)
Hugo (2011)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Worst Film: New York, New York (1977)
He is unquestionably my favorite director of all-time because he organizes the story or the plot with much detail and more expansion than no other director right now is capable of doing. His work addresses themes of guilt, sin, crime, conflict and redemption. Sometimes, all five in one film. Right now, he has a masterpiece in every decade that he has made films. In time, I don't know whether Hugo or Wolf will grow in time as great films in the 2010s, but it is still early. But, he brings energy into the story and characters alive with such discipline and organization and now I understand why every actor or actress wants to work with him. No matter what his next film will be, I'll still be excited whether the result will be masterful, great, good, or bad. He has not made a disastrous film in my opinion and that is a great element of a director's career.
Top 10 Runner-Up List:
Spike Jonze
Michael Mann
Francis Ford Coppola
Ridley Scott
Sergio Leone
Francois Truffaut
Federico Fellini
Paul Greengrass
Robert Zemeckis
James Cameron
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