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the 301 Best Films of All Time by Director

If the mark of the best director ever is indicated by the number of films that director has on the list of best films then the clear winner would be the great John Ford who has 10 films on this list (of those 10 films 5 star or feature John Wayne!!). Fritz Lang has 9 appearances, (however 5 are German films and 4 are American films), followed closely by Alfred Hitchcock with 7 & then by Billy Wilder, Charlie Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick who each have 6. Fritz Lang has 5 films as a foreign director & Akira Kurasawa has 4 films.

However the reality is that they could each have more films on this list (as could almost every name here), so they are the truly great directors. But even more, as newer films replace some titles you can be sure that the films represented by these 8 directors will always remain on this list - they are such great films.

Who is THE best director of all time? Who's to say. Some would say Ford, others might say Spielberg and yet another might say Wellman, Wilder or Wyler. It could even be someone who is yet to direct his his or her first film

See also this list sorted by Director and also see Best Film Sequences, Best Film Scenes, 20 Best Films Ranked, 10 Most Important Films

Ran 1985 Akira Kurasawa
Rashomon 1950 Akira Kurasawa
Seven Samaurai, the 1956 Akira Kurasawa
Yojimbo 1961 Akira Kurasawa
Jazz Singer, the 1927 Alan Crosland
Robin Hood 1922 Alan Dwan
Black Pirate, the 1926 Albert Parker
Man in the White Suit 1951 Alexander Mackendrick
Birds, the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock
Lifeboat 1944 Alfred Hitchcock
Lodger, the 1926 Alfred Hitchcock
North by Northwest 1959 Alfred Hitchcock
Psycho 1961 Alfred Hitchcock
Spellbound 1945 Alfred Hitchcock
Strangers on a Train 1950 Alfred Hitchcock
Runaway Train 1985 Andrei Konchalovsky
Petrified Forest 1936 Archie Mayo
Natural, the 1984 Barry Levinson
Apartment, the 1959 Billy Wilder
Double Indemnity 1944 Billy Wilder
Lost Weekend, the 1945 Billy Wilder
Some Like It Hot 1959 Billy Wilder
Stalag 17 1953 Billy Wilder
Sunset Boulevard 1950 Billy Wilder
Pink Panther, the 1963 Blake Edwards
Five Easy Pieces 1971 Bob Rafelson
Terminator II 1992 Bruno Mattei
Usual Suspects, the 1995 Bryan Singer
General, the 1927 Buster Keaton
I Walk Alone 1947 Byron Haskin
Third Man, the 1947 Carol Reed
Cheat, the 1916 Cecil B. DeMille
Cleopatra 1934 Cecil B. DeMille
Samson & Delilah 1949 Cecil B. DeMille
Ten Commandments, the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948 Charles Barton
Circus, the 1928 Charles Chaplin
City Lights 1931 Charles Chaplin
Gold Rush, the 1925 Charles Chaplin
Great Dictator, the 1940 Charles Chaplin
Modern Times 1936 Charles Chaplin
Tramp, the 1915 Charles Chaplin
Night of the Hunter 1955 Charles Laughton
Unforgiven 1992 Clint Eastwood
Fargo 1996 Coen Brothers
Gulliver's Travels 1939 Dave Fleisher
Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs 1937 David Hand
Bridge on the River Kwai, the 1957 David Lean
Lawrence of Arabia 1961 David Lean
Intolerance 1916 David Wark Griffith
Way Down East 1920 David Wark Griffith
Birth of A Nation, the 1915 David Wark Griffth
Broken Blossoms 1919 David Wark Griffth
Dark Passage 1947 Delmer Davies
Easy Rider 1969 Dennis Hopper
Black Cat, the 1934 Edgar G. Ulmer
Detour 1945 Edgar G. Ulmer
Man From Planet X, the 1951 Edgar G. Ulmer
Bank Dick, the 1940 Edward Cline (actually W.C.Fields)
Caine Mutiny 1954 Edward Dmytryk
Murder My Sweet 1944 Edward Dmytryk
Great Train Robbery, the 1903 Edwin S. Porter
On the Waterfront 1954 Elia Kazan
Streetcar Named Desire, a 1951 Elia Kazan
Viva Zapata 1952 Elia Kazan
Greed 1925 Eric von Stroheim
Gaucho, the 1928 F. Richard Jones
Last Laugh, the 1925 F. W. Murnau
Nosferatu 1922 F. W. Murnau
Sunrise 1927 F. W. Murnau
La Dolce Vita 1960 Federico Fellini
La Strada 1954 Federico Fellini
Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola
Godfather II, the 1976 Francis Ford Coppola
Godfather, the 1972 Francis Ford Coppola
It Happened One Night 1934 Frank Capra
It's A Wonderful Life 1946 Frank Capra
Lost Horizon 1937 Frank Capra
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 1936 Frank Capra
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Frank Capra
Green Mile, the 1999 Frank Darabont
Shawshank Redemption, the 1994 Frank Darabont
If I Were King 1938 Frank Lloyd
Mutiny on the Bounty 1935 Frank Lloyd
Safety Last 1923 Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Forbidden Planet 1956 Fred M. Wilcox
Mark of Zorro 1923 Fred Niblo
Three Musketeers, the 1921 Fred Niblo
From Here to Eternity 1954 Fred Zinneman
High Noon 1952 Fred Zinneman
Oklahoma 1955 Fred Zinneman
Flash Gordon (serials) 1936 Frederick Stephani
Big Heat, the 1953 Fritz Lang
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler 1922 Fritz Lang
Fury 1936 Fritz Lang
M 1931 Fritz Lang
Metropolis 1926 Fritz Lang
Nibelungen: Siegfried, Die 1924 Fritz Lang
Scarlet Street 1945 Fritz Lang
Spione (Spies) 1928 Fritz Lang
Testament des Dr. Mabuse, Das 1933 Fritz Lang
Joyless Street, the 1925 G. W. Pabst
Hello Dolly 1969 Gene Kelly
Born Yesterday 1950 George Cukor
Double Life, a 1947 George Cukor
Philadelphia Story, the 1940 George Cukor
Romeo & Juliet 1936 George Cukor
Star Wars 1977 George Lucas
Sheik, the 1921 George Melford
Voyage dans la lune, Le 1902 George Melies
Road Warrior, the 1981 George Miller II
Time Machine, the 1962 George Pal
War of the Worlds 1953 George Pal
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969 George Roy Hill
Sting, the 1973 George Roy Hill
Odd Couple, the 1968 George Saks
Giant 1956 George Stevens
Gunga Din 1939 George Stevens
Place in the Sun, a 1951 George Stevens
Shane 1953 George Stevens
Wolf Man, the 1941 George Wagner
Babes in Toyland 1934 Gus Meins, Charles H. Rogers
Goldfinger 1964 Guy Hamilton
Pinocchio 1940 Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen
Lost World, the 1925 Harry Hoyt
Kiss of Death 1947 Henry Hathaway
Nevada Smith 1966 Henry Hathaway
True Grit 1969 Henry Hathaway
Gunfighter, the 1950 Henry King
Twelve O'Clock High 1949 Henry King
Big Sleep, the 1946 Howard Hawks
Dawn Patrol, the 1927 Howard Hawks
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1952 Howard Hawks
Sergeant York 1941 Howard Hawks
Seventh Seal, the 1957 Ingmar Bergman
Empire Strikes Back, the 1981 Irvin Kershner
Godzilla, King of the Monsters 1956 Ishiro Honda, Terry Morse
Guns of Navarone 1961 J. Lee Thompson
Cape Fear 1962 J. Lee Thomson
Out of the Past 1947 Jacques Tourneur
Aliens 1986 James Cameron
Terminator, the 1984 James Cameron
Bride of Frankenstein 1935 James Whale
Frankenstein 1931 James Whale
La Belle et la Bette 1946 Jean Cocteau
Orpheus 1950 Jean Cocteau
Grand Illusion 1938 Jean Renoir
Thing, the 1982 John Carpenter
Prisoner of Zenda, the 1937 John Cromwell
Grapes of Wrath, the 1940 John Ford
Informer, the 1935 John Ford
Lost Patrol, the 1935 John Ford
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, the 1962 John Ford
My Darling Clemintine 1946 John Ford
Searchers, the 1956 John Ford
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 1948 John Ford
Stagecoach 1939 John Ford
How the West Was Won 1962 John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe
Mister Roberts 1955 John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy, Joshua Logan
Birdman of Alcatraz 1962 John Frankenheimer
Manchurian Candidate, the 1962 John Frankenheimer
African Queen, the 1951 John Huston
Asphalt Jungle, the 1950 John Huston
Key Largo 1948 John Huston
Maltese Falcon, the 1941 John Huston
Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the 1948 John Huston
Predator 1987 John McTiernan
Midnight Cowboy 1969 John Schlesinger
Great Escape, the 1963 John Sturges
Gunfight at OK Corral 1957 John Sturges
Magnificent Seven, the 1962 John Sturges
Blue Angel, the 1930 Josef von Sternberg
All About Eve 1950 Joseph Mankiewicz
Guys & Dolls 1955 Joseph Mankiewicz
Brute Force 1947 Jules Dassin
Mummy, the 1932 Karl Freund
Dances With Wolves 1990 Kevin Costner
Big Parade, the 1925 King Vidor
Champ, the 1931 King Vidor
Crowd, the 1928 King Vidor
Olympiad 1937 Leni Riefenstahl
Duck Soup 1933 Leo McCarey
All Quiet on the Western Front 1930 Lewis Milestone
General Died At Dawn, the 1936 Lewis Milestone
42nd Street 1934 Lloyd Bacon
Perils of Pauline, the 1914 Louis J. Gasnier, Donald MacKenzie
Atlantic City 1980 Louis Malle
Sixth Sense, the 1999 M. Night Shyamalan
Champion 1949 Mark Robson
Top Hat 1935 Mark Sandrich
Hombre 1967 Martin Ritt
Last Waltz, the 1978 Martin Scorcese
Raging Bull 1980 Martin Scorcese
Taxi Driver 1976 Martin Scorcese
Midsummer Night's Dream, a 1935 Max Reinhardt
Braveheart 1995 Mel Gibson
King Kong 1933 Merian C. Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang 1931 Mervyn LeRoy
Little Caesar 1931 Mervyn LeRoy
Angels With Dirty Faces 1938 Michael Curtiz
Casablanca 1942 Michael Curtiz
Yankee Doodle Dandy 1942 Michael Curtiz
Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 Michael Curtiz, William Keighly
Red Shoes, the 1948 Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Thief of Bagdad, the 1940 Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger
Woodstock 1970 Michael Wadleigh
Leaving Las Vegas 1994 Mike Figgis
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 Milos Forman
Interview With the Vampire 1999 Neil Jordan
Star Trek, Wrath of Khan 1982 Nicholas Meyer
In a Lonely Place 1950 Nicholas Ray
Rebel Without A Cause 1955 Nicholas Ray
In the Heat of the Night 1967 Norman Jewison
Natural Born Killers 1994 Oliver Stone
Platoon 1986 Oliver Stone
Citizen Kane 1941 Orson Welles
Stranger, the 1946 Orson Welles
Touch of Evil 1958 Orson Welles
Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino
High Sierra 1941 Raoul Walsh
Roaring Twenties, the 1939 Raoul Walsh
Thief of Bagdad, the 1924 Raoul Walsh
White Heat 1949 Raoul Walsh
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The 1921 Rex Ingram
Elmer Gantry 1960 Richard Brooks
Alien 1979 Ridley Scott
Duellists, the 1976 Ridley Scott
Kiss Me Deadly 1956 Robert Aldrich
M*A*S*H 1970 Robert Altman
To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 Robert Mulligan
Hustler, the 1961 Robert Rossen
Killers, the 1946 Robert Siodmak
Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, Das 1919 Robert Wiene
Day the Earth Stood Still, the 1951 Robert Wise
Sand Pebbles, the 1966 Robert Wise
Sound of Music, the 1965 Robert Wise
West Side Story 1961 Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
Forrest Gump 1994 Robert Zemeckis
Chinatown 1974 Roman Polanski
Knife in the Water 1962 Roman Polanski
D.O.A. 1950 Rudolph Mate
Phantom of the Opera, the 1925 Rupert Julian
Wild Bunch, the 1969 Sam Peckinpah
Day at the Races, a 1937 Sam Wood
Night at the Opera, A 1935 Sam Wood
Pride of the Yankees 1942 Sam Wood
Battleship Potemkin 1925 Sergei Eisenstein
Good, the Bad & the Ugly, the 1967 Sergio Leone
Once Upon A Time in America 1984 Sergio Leone
Jerimiah Johnson 1972 Sidney Pollack
Singin' in the Rain 1953 Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
Defiant Ones, the 1958 Stanley Kramer
Inherit the Wind 1960 Stanley Kramer
It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World 1963 Stanley Kramer
Judgement at Nuremburg 1960 Stanley Kramer
On the Beach 1959 Stanley Kramer
2001 A Space Odyssey 1968 Stanley Kubrick
Clockwork Orange, a 1971 Stanley Kubrick
Dr. Strangelove 1964 Stanley Kubrick
Eyes Wide Shut 1999 Stanley Kubrick
Paths of Glory 1957 Stanley Kubrick
Spartacus 1960 Stanley Kubrick
Color Purple 1983 Steven Spielberg
Jaws 1975 Steven Spielberg
Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 Steven Spielberg
Saving Private Ryan 1998 Steven Spielberg
Cool Hand Luke 1967 Stuart Rosenberg
Dr. No 1962 Terrence Young
Brazil 1985 Terry Gilliam
Wild Hare, a 1940 Tex Avery
Dracula 1931 Tod Browning
Gone With the Wind 1939 Victor Fleming
Wizard of Oz, the 1939 Victor Fleming (also King Vidor, Richard Thorpe)
What Dreams May Come 1998 Vincent Ward
Bad and the Beautiful, The 1952 Vincente Minelli
An American in Paris 1951 Vincente Minnelli
Tarzan, the Ape Man 1932 W. S. Van Dyke
Thin Man, the 1934 W. S. Van Dyke
Matrix, the 1999 Wachowski Brothers
Hunchback of Notre Dame, the 1923 Wallace Worsely
Fantasia 1940 Walt Disney & more
Dumbo 1941 Walt Disney -Ben Sharpstein
Steamboat Willie 1928 Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks
Nosferatu 1979 Werner Herzog
Things to Come 1936 William Cameron Menzies
Hunchback of Notre Dame, the 1939 William Dieterle
Exorcist, the 1974 William Friedkin
French Connection, the 1975 William Friedkin
Kiss, the 1896 William Heise
Beau Geste 1939 William Wellman
Nothing Sacred 1937 William Wellman
Public Enemy, the 1931 William Wellman
Story of G.I.Joe, the 1945 William Wellman
Wings 1927 William Wellman
Ben Hur 1959 William Wyler
Best Years of Our Lives, the 1946 William Wyler
Dead End 1937 William Wyler
Desperate Hours, the 1956 William Wyler
Detective Story 1951 William Wyler
Gertie the Dinosaur 1914 Winsor McCay
Sahara 1943 Zoltan Korda

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