Top Ranked Films of William Wyler

William Wyler
4 titles, 61st in points 13,007
If all films were included, would be 50th in pts

Still the record for most Oscars for his films, 39
Still the record for most Oscars for actors in his films, 13
Still a record for five best picture nominees in consecutive years, 5 (38-42)


1. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)#175
2. Ben-Hur (1959) #221
3. Roman Holiday (1953) #319
4. Funny Girl (1968) #770

and those outside the top 1000
5. Dodsworth (1936) #1570
6. Wuthering Heights (1940) #1662
7. The Little Foxes (1941) #1831
8. Jezebel (1938) #1883 This film should definitely be ranked, top 1000
9. The Heiress (1949) #2185 Had the biggest fall of any film, from 685 to here in 2 yrs

Where is 1942 best picture winner Mrs. Miniver (1942)? That's a top 1000 classic for sure, definitely above Funny Girl and Roman Holiday. So are Little Foxes, Jezebel, and The Heiress for that matter.

His ranking at 62nd is a travesty, should have 8 titles in the top 1000 not 4. Even if all films were included in the rankings, with these 9 he would still only be 50th, and trailing Tarantino by 30 places, of all people. For me, The Little Foxes, Jezebel, and The Heiress all belong in the top 1000 as well – Dodsworth is borderline, I’d leave Wuthering Heights where it is, not my favorite novel or story so I tend to always dislike the film versions. Funny Girl is also perhaps overrated, but still, one of the best American directors of all time.

The Best Years of Our Lives is terribly under-ranked. In 1946, Wyler dared make an anti-war film, about the effect of war on the psyche of its participants. Unlike 1942’s Mrs. Miniver, in which civilians bravely fought a face-to-face enemy, this film’s veterans battle inner demons that alter their lives. It begins with three soldiers returning to the same home town after wars end, then shows how they attempt to deal with emotional scars from the war and suddenly having to face the harsh reality of an uncaring world upon their return, where life was expected to return to someone else’s expectation of normalcy.

The film treated an adult subject with grace and humility and was rewarded with seven Oscars, including best picture, director, and actor for Fredric March. As one of the best American films, a case can be made that this warrants some arguments as an all-time top 10 film, certainly well above the current ranking of 175. I was surprised how few polls had it near the top. Films it obviously influenced, by being not about war but the effect of war on individuals, were Coming Home, Born on the Fourth of July, The Deer Hunter, and even 2002's A Very Long Engagement.

Top Ranked Directors on the Net

© 2009-11, William L. Sinclair

All Directors in the top 1011 list that we compiled from all the internet surveys we could find, ranked by total points for all films on our spreadsheet. Alfred Hitchcock led the list [photo above with fellow director, artist Andy Warhol]. John Ford and Jean-Luc Godard had the most films listed at 16 each. Charles Laughton made the list highest with only one film at #100; unfortunately for this consummate actor, it was the only film he directed, Night of the Hunter. Count, Director, Top Ranked Film, Total Points

1. 14 - Hitchcock, Alfred [Vertigo (1958) #6 ] ..55352
2. 10 - Kubrick, Stanley [2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) #2 ] ..42161
3. 12 - Scorsese, Martin [Taxi Driver (1976) #12 ] ..37474
4. 11 - Kurosawa, Akira [Seven Samurai, The (1954) #7 ] ..33022
5. 16 - Ford, John [Searchers, The (1956) #46 ] ..32142
6. 8 - Chaplin, Charles [City Lights (1931) #21 ] ..31835
7. 16 - Godard, Jean-Luc [Contempt (1963) 74 ] ..31243
8. 15 - Buñuel, Luis [Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The (1972) #88 ] ..29977
9. 7 - Spielberg, Steven [Schindler's List (1993) #27 ] ..28694
10. 11 - Fellini, Federico [8½ (1963) #37 ] ..27722
11. 8 - Wilder, Billy [Sunset Boulevard (1950) #14 ] ..27448
12. 12 - Bergman, Ingmar [Seventh Seal, The (1956) 29 ] ..27032
13. 4 - Coppola, Francis [Godfather, The (1972) #1 ] ..26334
14. 11 - Hawks, Howard [Bringing Up Baby (1938) #118 ] ..25560
15. 7 - Welles, Orson [Citizen Kane (1941) #5 ] ..24090
16. 6 - Lean, David [Lawrence of Arabia (1962) #50 ] ..22668
17. 10 - Lang, Fritz [M (1931) 11 ] ..22392
18. 10 - Renoir, Jean [Rules of the Game, The (1939) #44 ] ..21204
19. 8 - Bresson, Robert [Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) 93 ] ..20832
20. 8 - Huston, John [Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) #62 ] ..20190
21. 7 - Keaton, Buster [Sherlock Jr. (1924) #89 ] ..19724
22. 4 - Capra, Frank [It's a Wonderful Life (1946) 10 ] ..17564
23. 8 - Powell, Michael [Peeping Tom (1960) #360 ] ..17464
24. 5 - Polanski, Roman [Chinatown (1974) #3 ] ..17376
25. 7 - Truffaut, François [Jules et Jim (1961) #59 ] ..17238
26. 7 - Eisenstein, Sergei [Battleship Potemkin (1925) 100 ] ..17070
27. 4 - Scott, Ridley [Blade Runner (1982) 13 ] ..16179
28. 5 - Murnau, F.W. [Sunrise (1928) #38 ] ..16168
29. 5 - Dreyer, Carl Theodor [Passion of Joan of Arc, The (1928) 51 ] ..16068
30. 10 - Rossellini, Roberto [Paisan (1946) #166 ] ..16058
31. 8 - Eastwood, Clint [Unforgiven (1992) #91 ] ..15976
32. 4 - De Sica, Vittorio [Bicycle Thief, The (1949) 16 ] ..15656
33. 7 - Cassavetes, John [Woman Under the Influence, A (1974) #176 ] ..15564
34. 9 - Visconti, Luchino [Rocco and His Brothers (1964) #237 ] ..15186
35. 6 - Allen, Woody [Annie Hall (1977) #77 ] ..15039
36. 5 - Ray, Satyajit [Pather Panchali / Apu Trilogy I (1955) #32 ] ..14988
37. 6 - Antonioni, Michelangelo [L'Avventura (1960) #187 ] ..14434
38. 4 - Leone, Sergio [Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) #70 ] ..14418
39. 7 - Altman, Robert [Nashville (1975) #192 ] ..13854
40. 3 - Lucas, George [Star Wars (1978) #4 ] ..13743
41. 8 - Ophuls, Max [Earrings of Madame de..., The (1953) 264 ] ..13588
42. 6 - Mizoguchi, Kenji [Ugetsu (1953) 58 ] ..13300
43. 7 - Tarkovsky, Andrei [Solaris (1972) #263 ] ..13200
44. 3 - Griffith, D.W. [Intolerance (1916) 64 ] ..13198
45. 6 - Coen Ethan and Joel [No Country for Old Men (2007) #165 ] ..13163
46. 5 - Sturges, Preston [Lady Eve, The (1941) 92 ] ..13162
47. 3 - Jackson, Peter [Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) #84 ] ..12603
48. 4 - Forman, Milos [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) #54 ] ..12314
49. 4 - Cameron, James [Aliens (1986) #159 ] ..12253
50. 4 - Tarantino, Quentin [Pulp Fiction (1995) #20 ] ..12172
51. 4 - Lumet, Sidney [12 Angry Men (1957) #124 ] ..11976
52. 5 - Kazan, Elia [On the Waterfront (1954) #67 ] ..11952
53. 6 - Lubitsch, Ernst [Trouble in Paradise (1932) #234 ] ..11804
54. 4 - Wyler, William [Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) #102 ] ..11786
55. 6 - Resnais, Alain [Last Year at Marienbad (1961) #215 ] ..11250
56. 2 - Fleming, Victor [Wizard of Oz, The (1938) #18 ] ..11132
57. 7 - Fassbinder, Rainer Werner [Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) 196 ] ..11128
58. 4 - McCarey, Leo [Duck Soup (1933) #41 ] ..10924
59. 7 - Kiarostami, Abbas [Close-Up (1990) 189 ] ..10769
60. 5 - Pasolini, Pier Paolo [Gospel According to St. Matthew, The (1964) #103 ] ..10760
61. 3 - Curtiz, Michael [Casablanca (1942) #47 ] ..10506
62. 5 - Lynch, David [Elephant Man, The (1980) #193 ] ..10266
63. 5 - Ozu, Yasujiro [Tokyo Story (1953) #57 ] ..10218
64. 6 - Minnelli, Vincente [Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) #288 ] ..10068
65. 6 - Ray, Nicholas [Rebel Without a Cause (1955) #280 ] ..10052
66. 4 - Bertolucci, Bernardo [Conformist, The (1970) 76 ] ..9788
67. 5 - Cukor, George [Philadelphia Story, The (1940) #148 ] ..9614
68. 5 - Sirk, Douglas [All That Heaven Allows (1955) #233 ] ..9604
69. 4 - Donen, Stanley [Funny Face (1957) #735 ] ..9452
70. 3 - Reed, Carol [Third Man, The (1948) #15 ] ..9246
71. 4 - Mankiewicz, Joseph L. [All About Eve (1950) #33 ] ..9238
72. 5 - Peckinpah, Sam [Wild Bunch, The (1969) #87 ] ..8998
73. 6 - Kieslowski, Krszystof [Dekalog (1988) #235 ] ..8974
74. 5 - Roeg, Nicolas [Don't Look Now (1973) #301 ] ..8966
75. 4 - Gilliam, Terry [Brazil (1985) #188 ] ..8783
76. 4 - Carné, Marcel [Enfants du paradis, Les (1945) #183 ] ..8728
77. 4 - Herzog, Werner [Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) #72 ] ..8534
78. 4 - von Stroheim, Erich [Greed (1924) 79 ] ..8234
79. 6 - von Sternberg, Josef [Blue Angel, The (1930) #269 ] ..8170
80. 4 - Wenders, Wim [Wings of Desire (1987) #245 ] ..7908
81. 2 - Vigo, Jean [L'Atalante (1934) 49 ] ..7874
82. 2 - Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly [Singin' in the Rain (1952) #26 ] ..7604
83. 4 - Nolan, Christopher [Memento (2000) #354 ] ..7406
84. 2 - Clouzot, Henri-Georges [Wages of Fear, The (1952) #134 ] ..7390
85. 4 - Miyazaki, Hayao [Spirited Away (2001) #255 ] ..7366
86. 3 - Tati, Jacques [Playtime (1967) #209 ] ..7362
87. 3 - Anderson, Paul Thomas [There Will Be Blood (2007) #180 ] ..7326
88. 3 - Wise, Robert [Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951) #318 ] ..7272
89. 2 - Whale, James [Bride of Frankenstein (1935) #140 ] ..7204
90. 4 - Almodóvar, Pedro [All About My Mother (1999) #283 ] ..6825
91. 5 - Vidor, King [Crowd, The (1928) #355 ] ..6759
92. 3 - Zinnemann, Fred [High Noon (1952) #106 ] ..6560
93. 4 - Tourneur, Jacques [Out of the Past (1947) #236 ] ..6446
94. 2 - Zemeckis, Robert [Back to the Future (1985) #175 ] ..6434
95. 4 - Reiner, Rob [Princess Bride, The (1987) #371 ] ..6426
96. 3 - Malick, Terrence [Days of Heaven (1978) #260 ] ..6402
97. 3 - Carpenter, John [Halloween (1978) #317 ] ..6355
98. 3 - Stevens, George [Shane (1953) #282 ] ..6214
99. 3 - Cocteau, Jean [Belle et la bête, La (Beauty/Beast, 1946) #240 ] ..6196
100. 1 - Laughton, Charles [Night of The Hunter, The (1955) 35 ] ..6100
101. 4 - Melville, Jean-Pierre [Army of Shadows (1969) #291 ] ..6086
102. 2 - Nichols, Mike [Graduate, The (1967) #107 ] ..6016
103. 4 - Demy, Jacques [Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The (1964) #284 ] ..5954
104. 2 - Preminger, Otto [Laura (1944) #168 ] ..5952
105. 3 - De Palma, Brian [Scarface (1982) #210 ] ..5943
106. 1 - Cooper, Merian C./Ernest B. Schoedsack [King Kong (1933) 40 ] ..5838
107. 5 - Hou Hsiao-Hsien [Time to Live and the Time to Die, The (1985) #500 ] ..5802
108. 2 - Stanton, Andrew [WALL-E (2008) #181 ] ..5795
109. 3 - Fincher, David [Fight Club (1999) #271 ] ..5768
110. 2 - Campion, Jane [Piano, The (1993) #81 ] ..5697
111. 3 - Sharpsteen, Ben [Fantasia (1940) #358 ] ..5690
112. 2 - Lasseter, John [Toy Story (1995) #82 ] ..5588
113. 2 - Friedkin, William [Exorcist, The (1973) #143 ] ..5562
114. 1 - Frankenheimer, John [Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) #43 ] ..5559
115. 3 - Rivette, Jacques [Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974) 141 ] ..5542
116. 2 - Lee, Ang [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) #152 ] ..5452
117. 3 - Clair, René [Le Million (1931) #313 ] ..5410
118. 2 - Lee, Spike [Do The Right Thing (1989) #112 ] ..5377
119. 1 - Hanson, Curtis [L.A. Confidential (1997) #45 ] ..5348
120. 2 - Bird, Brad [Incredibles, The (2004) #295 ] ..5333
121. 2 - Darabont, Frank [Shawshank Redemption, The (1994) #155 ] ..5234
122. 2 - Demme, Jonathan [Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) #90 ] ..5234
123. 4 - Zhang Yimou [Raise the Red Lantern (1991) #298 ] ..5219
124. 2 - Cimino, Michael [Deer Hunter, The (1978) #110 ] ..5202
125. 2 - Hill, George Roy [Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) #149 ] ..5088
126. 2 - Boyle, Danny [Slumdog Millionaire (2008) #232 ] ..5051
127. 2 - Marker, Chris [La Jetee (1961) 184 ] ..4972
128. 3 - Greengrass, Paul [Bourne Ultimatum, The (2007) #362 ] ..4640
129. 1 - Vertov, Dziga [Man With a Movie Camera, The (1929) 78 ] ..4602
130. 3 - Pabst, G.W. [Pandora's Box (1928) #249 ] ..4430
131. 2 - Gilliam, Terry/Terry Jones [Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) #222 ] ..4330
132. 1 - Mulligan, Robert [To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) #96 ] ..4324
133. 2 - Fosse, Bob [Cabaret (1972) #276 ] ..4302
134. 2 - Angelopoulos, Theo [Landscape in the Mist (1988) 316 ] ..4282
135. 1 - Penn, Arthur [Bonnie and Clyde (1967) #105 ] ..4240
136. 2 - Wong Kar-Wai [In the Mood for Love (2001) #268 ] ..4205
137. 3 - Leigh, Mike [Secrets & Lies (1996) #376 ] ..4195
138. 4 - Weir, Peter [Truman Show, The (1998) #689 ] ..4172
139. 3 - Rocha, Glauber [Black God, White Devil (1964) #528 ] ..4166
140. 2 - Hand, David [Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) #256 ] ..4136
141. 2 - Boorman, John [Deliverance (1972) #309 ] ..4134
142. 1 - Wajda, Andrzej [Ashes and Diamonds (1958) 114 ] ..4132
143. 1 - Hamer, Robert [Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) #117 ] ..4122
144. 2 - Yang, Edward [Yi yi (2000) #221 ] ..4101
145. 1 - Lanzmann, Claude [Shoah (1985) #119 ] ..4078
146. 3 - Cronenberg, David [Dead Ringers (1988) #349 ] ..4076
147. 1 - Pontecorvo, Gillo [Battle of Algiers, The (1966) #132 ] ..3936
148. 1 - Mackendrick, Alexander [Sweet Smell of Success (1957) #133 ] ..3896
149. 2 - Romero, George A. [Night of the Living Dead (1968) #326 ] ..3856
150. 2 - Lester, Richard [Hard Day's Night, A (1964) #327 ] ..3849
151. 2 - Snow, Michael [Wavelength (1967) #259 ] ..3842
152. 1 - Mendes, Sam [American Beauty (1999) #139 ] ..3799
153. 2 - Siegel, Don [Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) #342 ] ..3780
154. 1 - Akerman, Chantal [Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) #146 ] ..3740
155. 1 - Rossen, Robert [Hustler, The (1961) #153 ] ..3686
156. 1 - del Toro, Guillermo [Pan's Labyrinth (2006) #154 ] ..3681
157. 1 - Tornatore, Giuseppe [Cinema Paradiso (1988) #158 ] ..3632
158. 3 - Rohmer, Eric [My Night at Maud's (1969) #497 ] ..3630
159. 1 - von Donnersmarck, Florian Henckel [Lives of Others, The (2006) #162 ] ..3537
160. 3 - Frears, Stephen [Queen, The (2006) #479 ] ..3515
161. 1 - Milestone, Lewis [All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) #164 ] ..3514
162. 2 - Straub, Jean-Marie [Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, The (1968) #850 ] ..3466
163. 3 - Jarmusch, Jim [Stranger Than Paradise (1984) #628 ] ..3426
164. 3 - Sembene, Ousmane [Moolaadé (2004) #617 ] ..3419
165. 1 - Singer, Bryan [Usual Suspects, The (1995) #169 ] ..3410
166. 2 - Sturges, John [Great Escape, The (1963) #294 ] ..3398
167. 1 - Burnett, Charles [Killer of Sheep (1977) #173 ] ..3367
168. 2 - Flaherty, Robert [Nanook of the North (1922) #443 ] ..3362
169. 2 - Aronofsky, Darren [Requiem for a Dream (2000) #459 ] ..3340
170. 2 - Meyer, Russ [Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) 315 ] ..3322
171. 2 - Ashby, Hal [Harold and Maude (1971) #346 ] ..3310
172. 2 - Riefenstahl, Leni [Triumph of the Will (1935) #453 ] ..3310
173. 3 - Malle, Louis [Atlantic City (1980) #489 ] ..3290
174. 1 - Ramis, Harold [Groundhog Day (1993) #182 ] ..3262
175. 1 - Hopper, Dennis [Easy Rider (1969) #190 ] ..3190
176. 3 - Burton, Tim [Ed Wood (1994) #724 ] ..3188
177. 1 - Meirelles, Fernando [City of God(2002) #191 ] ..3188
178. 2 - Walsh, Raoul [White Heat (1949) #322 ] ..3152
179. 1 - Shaffner, Frank [Patton (1970) #202 ] ..3105
180. 1 - Pollack, Sydney [Tootsie (1982) #212 ] ..3049
181. 2 - Parajanov, Sergei [Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964) #510 ] ..3030
182. 1 - Avildsen, John G. [Rocky (1976) #223 ] ..2938
183. 1 - Wachowski, Andy & Larry Wachowski [Matrix, The (1999) #224 ] ..2932
184. 2 - Stone, Oliver [Platoon (1986) #390 ] ..2920
185. 1 - Gondry, Michael [Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) #225 ] ..2915
186. 1 - Kelly, Richard [Donnie Darko (2001) #226 ] ..2908
187. 1 - Mann, Michael [Heat (1995) #227 ] ..2904
188. 1 - Gance, Abel [Napoléon (1927) #230 ] ..2888
189. 2 - Tarr, Béla [Sátántangó (1994) #547 ] ..2886
190. 1 - McTiernan, John [Die Hard (1988) #241 ] ..2802
191. 1 - Peterson, Wolfgang [Das Boot (1981) #243 ] ..2798
192. 1 - Hooper, Tobe [Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (1974) #246 ] ..2780
193. 1 - Dovzhenko, Alexander [Earth (1930) #247 ] ..2774
194. 1 - Wise, Robert/Jerome Robbins [West Side Story (1961) #251 ] ..2742
195. 1 - Erice, Victor [Spirit of the Beehive, The (1973) #257 ] ..2688
196. 2 - Chen Kaige [Farewell, My Concubine (1993) #452 ] ..2678
197. 1 - Feuillade, Louis [Les Vampires (1915-16) #262 ] ..2666
198. 2 - Ritchie, Guy [Snatch (2000) #607 ] ..2624
199. 1 - Bogdanovich, Peter [Last Picture Show, The (1971) #278 ] ..2612
200. 1 - Attenborough, Richard [Gandhi (1982) #281 ] ..2598
201. 1 - Sandrich, Mark [Top Hat (1935) #285 ] ..2572
202. 2 - Edwards, Blake [Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) #596 ] ..2560
203. 1 - Schlesinger, John [Midnight Cowboy (1969) #289 ] ..2558
204. 2 - von Trier, Lars [Breaking the Waves (1996) #445 ] ..2548
205. 2 - Schnabel, Julian [Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (2008) #439 ] ..2541
206. 2 - Jennings, Humphrey [Listen to Britain (1941) #563 ] ..2500
207. 1 - Clément, René [Forbidden Games (1951) #302 ] ..2488
208. 2 - Zwigoff, Terry [Crumb (1994) #611 ] ..2482
209. 2 - Wellman, William A. [Ox-Bow Incident, The (1943) #461 ] ..2478
210. 2 - Cantet, Laurent [Class, The (2008) #598 ] ..2475
211. 1 - Rafelson, Bob [Five Easy Pieces (1970) #305 ] ..2474
212. 2 - Sjöström, Victor [Wind, The (1928) #512 ] ..2466
213. 2 - Dutt, Guru [Pyaasa (1957) #561 ] ..2416
214. 1 - Egoyan, Atom [Sweet Hereafter, The (1997) #314 ] ..2398
215. 1 - Jewison, Norman [In the Heat of the Night (1967) #320 ] ..2376
216. 1 - Takahata, Isao [Hotaru no Hakaa (Grave/Fireflies, 1988) #319 ] ..2376
217. 1 - Wiene, Robert [Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The (1919) #321 ] ..2372
218. 2 - Forsyth, Bill [Local Hero (1983) #535 ] ..2362
219. 1 - Méliès, Georges [Voyage dans la lune, Le (Trip to the Moon, 1902) #330 ] ..2348
220. 2 - Loach, Ken [Kes (1969) #526 ] ..2344
221. 1 - Aldrich, Robert [Kiss Me Deadly (1955) #336 ] ..2312
222. 1 - Wood, Sam [Night at the Opera, A (1935) #337 ] ..2312
223. 2 - Becker, Jacques [Casque d'or (1952) #543 ] ..2282
224. 2 - Soderbergh, Steve [sex, lies, and videotape (1989) #666 ] ..2280
225. 2 - Ichikawa, Kon [An Actor's Revenge (1963) 601 ] ..2278
226. 1 - Levinson, Barry [Diner (1982) #341 ] ..2276
227. 2 - Anderson, Lindsay [If… (1968) #534 ] ..2244
228. 1 - Argento, Dario [Suspiria (1977) #345 ] ..2234
229. 2 - Kalatozishvili, Mikheil [I Am Cuba (1964) #639 ] ..2186
230. 2 - Kusturica, Emir [Underground (1995) #760 ] ..2184
231. 1 - Payne, Alexander [Sideways (2004) #352 ] ..2182
232. 2 - Crowe, Cameron [Almost Famous (2000) #677 ] ..2140
233. 1 - Bacon, Lloyd [42nd Street (1933) #368 ] ..2098
234. 1 - Park Chan-Wook [Oldboy (2003) #370 ] ..2094
235. 2 - Park, Nick & Box, Steve [Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) #821 ] ..2050
236. 2 - Pudovkin, Vsevolod [Storm Over Asia (1928) #757 ] ..2026
237. 2 - Anderson, Wes [Rushmore (1998) #539 ] ..1987
238. 1 - Coppola, Sofia [Lost in Translation (2003) #389 ] ..1981
239. 1 - Rosenberg, Stuart [Cool Hand Luke (1967) #392 ] ..1974
240. 1 - Franju, Georges [Eyes Without a Face (1959) #393 ] ..1972
241. 1 - Denis, Claire [Beau Travail (1998) #395 ] ..1964
242. 2 - Van Sant, Gus [Good Will Hunting (1997) #796 ] ..1956
243. 1 - Olmi, Ermanno [Tree of Wooden Clogs, The (1978) #398 ] ..1956
244. 1 - Brooks, Mel [Producers, The (1968) #400 ] ..1952
245. 1 - Jonze, Spike [Being John Malkovich (1999) #402 ] ..1950
246. 1 - Olivier, Laurence [Henry V (1944) #403 ] ..1946
247. 2 - Linklater, Richard [Before Sunset (2004) #669 ] ..1936
248. 1 - Jordan, Neil [Crying Game, The (1992) #408 ] ..1912
249. 1 - Besson, Luc [Léon (1994) #416 ] ..1864
250. 1 - Eustache, Jean [Mother and the Whore, The (1973) #419 ] ..1858
251. 1 - Menzel, Jirí [Closely Watched Trains (1966) #422 ] ..1850
252. 2 - Varda, Agnès [Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) #822 ] ..1848
253. 1 - Beatty, Warren [Reds (1981) #424 ] ..1848
254. 1 - Kaye, Tony [American History X (1998) #423 ] ..1848
255. 1 - Mungiu, Cristian [4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) #425 ] ..1846
256. 1 - Pakula, Alan J. [All the President's Men (1972) #427 ] ..1840
257. 1 - Jeunet, Jean-Pierre [Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) #431 ] ..#824
258. 2 - Dardenne, Jean-Pierre & Luc [L'Enfant (The Child, 2005) #800 ] ..1815
259. 1 - Browning, Tod [Freaks (1932) #440 ] ..1788
260. 2 - Mann, Anthony [Man of the West (1958) #805 ] ..1780
261. 1 - Rapper, Irving [Now, Voyager (1942) #448 ] ..1764
262. 1 - Merielles, Ferdinand [Children of Men (2006) #455 ] ..1755
263. 1 - Cuarón, Alfonso [Y Tu Mamá También (2001) #467 ] ..1725
264. 2 - Maysles, Albert/David Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin [Salesman (1968) #792 ] ..1708
265. 2 - Morris, Errol [Fog of War, The (2003) #814 ] ..1702
266. 1 - Deren, Maya [Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) #474 ] ..1694
267. 1 - Oshima, Nagisa [In the Realm of the Senses (1976) #477 ] ..1688
268. 1 - Naruse, Mikio [Floating Clouds (1955) #481 ] ..1684
269. 1 - Hirschbiegel, Oliver [Downfall (2004) #482 ] ..1680
270. 1 - Reisz, Karel [Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) #483 ] ..1676
271. 1 - Inarritu, Alejandro Gonzalez [Amores perros (2000) #488 ] ..1668
272. 1 - Ulmer, Edgar G. [Detour (1945) #492 ] ..1660
273. 1 - Begnini, Roberto [Life is Beautiful (1997) #493 ] ..1656
274. 1 - Rosi, Francesco [Salvatore Giuliano (1961) #494 ] ..1656
275. 1 - Berlanga, Luis García [Verdugo, El (1963) #496 ] ..1648
276. 1 - Minghella, Anthony [English Patient, The (1996) #501 ] ..1624
277. 2 - Ghobadi, Bahman [Marooned in Iraq (2002) #854 ] ..1620
278. 1 - Rodgriguez, Robert [Sin City (2005) #502 ] ..1608
279. 1 - Gibson, Mel [Braveheart (1995) #508 ] ..1592
280. 1 - George, Terry [Hotel Rwanda (2004) #514 ] ..1584
281. 1 - McLeod, Norman Z. [It's a Gift (1934) #525 ] ..1566
282. 1 - Marquand, Richard [Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) #531 ] ..1552
283. 1 - Pennebaker, D.A. [Don't Look Back (1967) #545 ] ..1518
284. 1 - Kaufman, Philip [Right Stuff, The (1983) #550 ] ..1510
285. 1 - La Cava, Gregory [My Man Godfrey (1936) #552 ] ..1504
286. 1 - Kuchar, George [Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966) 557 ] ..1490
287. 1 - Klimov, Elem [Come and See (1985) #558 ] ..1488
288. 1 - Losey, Joseph [Servant, The (1963) #560 ] ..1484
289. 1 - Madden, John [Shakespeare in Love (1998) #564 ] ..1478
290. 1 - Warhol, Andy [Chelsea Girls (1967) #565 ] ..1474
291. 1 - Anger, Kenneth [Scorpio Rising (1964) #567 ] ..1470
292. 1 - Alea, Tomás Gutiérrez [Memories of Underdevelopment (1968) #574 ] ..1450
293. 1 - Hicks, Scott [Shine (1996) #575 ] ..1447
294. 1 - Shyamalan, M. Knight [Sixth Sense, The (1999) #578 ] ..1444
295. 1 - Kramer, Stanley [Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) #584 ] ..1432
296. 1 - Lewis, Joseph H. [Gun Crazy (Deadly is the Female, 1950) #583 ] ..1432
297. 1 - Richardson, Tony [Tom Jones (1963) #585 ] ..1432
298. 1 - Schroeder, Barbet [Reversal of Fortune (1990) #588 ] ..1425
299. 1 - Penn, Sean [Into the Wild (2007) #589 ] ..1424
300. 1 - Miller, George [Mad Max 2 (1981) #591 ] ..1420
301. 1 - Ghatak, Ritwik [Cloud-Capped Star, The (1960) #595 ] ..1402
302. 1 - Mamoulian, Rouben [Love Me Tonight (1932) #600 ] ..1392
303. 1 - Makhmalbaf, Mohsen [Moment of Innocence, A (1996) #608 ] ..1378
304. 1 - Chabrol, Claude [Le Boucher (1970) #612 ] ..1372
305. 1 - Tarr, Bela & Hranitzky, Agnes [Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) #614 ] ..1370
306. 1 - Hallström, Lasse [My Life as a Dog (1985) #621 ] ..1360
307. 1 - Kunuk, Zacharias [Fast Runner, The (2001) #620 ] ..1360
308. 1 - Chomet, Sylvain [Triplets of Belleville, The (2003) #626 ] ..1350
309. 1 - Hellman, Monte [Two-Lane Blacktop (1971) #630 ] ..1332
310. 1 - Allers, Roger & Minkoff, Robert [Lion King, The (1994) #632 ] ..1324
311. 1 - Folman, Ari [Waltz with Bashir (2008) #635 ] ..1320
312. 1 - Raimi, Sam [Evil Dead II (1987) #641 ] ..1306
313. 1 - Duras, Marguerite [India Song (1975) #643 ] ..1304
314. 1 - McTeigue, James [V for Vendetta (2005) #644 ] ..1304
315. 1 - Davies, Terence [Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) #649 ] ..1290
316. 1 - Coster, Henry [Harvey (1950) #650 ] ..1288
317. 1 - Hu, King [Touch of Zen, A (1969) #662 ] ..1266
318. 1 - Fei Mu [Spring in a Small Town (1948) #676 ] ..1242
319. 1 - Jones, Terry [Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) #678 ] ..1240
320. 1 - Alfredson, Tomas [Let the Right One In (2008) #680 ] ..1236
321. 1 - Berman, Shari, and Pulcini, Robert [American Splendor (2003) #681 ] ..1235
322. 1 - Genet, Jean [Chant d'amour, Un (1950) #682 ] ..1232
323. 1 - Russell, Ken [Devils, The (aka ..of Loudun, 1971) #685 ] ..1228
324. 1 - Jarecki, Andrew [Capturing the Friedmans (2003) #691 ] ..1215
325. 1 - Paronnaud, Vincent & Satrapi, Marjane [Persepolis (2007) #695 ] ..1210
326. 1 - Giordana, Marco Tullio [Best of Youth, The (2003) #701 ] ..1200
327. 1 - McDonagh, Martin [In Bruges (2008) #709 ] ..1188
328. 1 - Woo, John [Killer, The (1989) #710 ] ..1186
329. 1 - Chambers, Jack [Hart of London, The (1970) #712 ] ..1180
330. 1 - Marsh, James [Man on Wire (2008) #713 ] ..1180
331. 1 - Charles, Larry [Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) #714 ] ..1175
332. 1 - Bahrani, Ramin [Goodbye Solo (2008) #717 ] ..1170
333. 1 - Duvivier, Julien [Pépé le Moko (1937) #720 ] ..1168
334. 1 - Getino, Octavio & Fernando E. Solanas [Hour of the Furnaces, The (1968) #722 ] ..1164
335. 1 - Bigelow, Kathryn [Hurt Locker, The (2008) #725 ] ..1160
336. 1 - Ferguson, Charles [No End in Sight (2007) #732 ] ..1150
337. 1 - Clayton, Jack [Innocents, The (1961) #745 ] ..1128
338. 1 - Carney, John [Once (2006) #747 ] ..1125
339. 1 - Donner, Richard [Superman: The Movie (1978) #751 ] ..1120
340. 1 - Newmeyer, Fred C. & Taylor, Sam [Safety Last! (1923) #750 ] ..1120
341. 1 - Haggis, Paul [Crash (2004/I) #753 ] ..1116
342. 1 - Rouch, Jean [Maîtres fous, Les (1955) #754 ] ..1116
343. 1 - Dos Santos, Nelson Pereira [Barren Lives (1963) #755 ] ..1112
344. 1 - Chytilová, Vera [Daisies (1966) #759 ] ..1106
345. 1 - Dvortsevoy, Sergei [Tulpan (2008) #761 ] ..1100
346. 1 - Ophüls, Marcel [Hôtel Terminus (1988) #762 ] ..1098
347. 1 - Miller, Bennett [Capote (2005) #763 ] ..1095
348. 1 - Cooper, Stuart [Overlord (1975) #765 ] ..1090
349. 1 - Hughes, John [Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) #768 ] ..1086
350. 1 - Pialat, Maurice [Van Gogh (1991) #771 ] ..1082
351. 1 - Polley, Sarah [Away from Her (2006) #777 ] ..1070
352. 1 - Hodges, Mike [Get Carter (1971) #781 ] ..1062
353. 1 - Potter, H.C. [Hellzapoppin' (1941) #784 ] ..1058
354. 1 - Dayton, Jonathan & Faris, Valerie [Little Miss Sunshine (2006) #788 ] ..1048
355. 1 - Vidor, Charles [Gilda (1946) #790 ] ..1046
356. 1 - Zwick, Edward [Glory (1989) #791 ] ..1044
357. 1 - Nyby, Christian/Howard Hawks [Thing from Another World, The (1951) #793 ] ..1040
358. 1 - Koreeda, Hirokazu [Nobody Knows (2004) #797 ] ..1035
359. 1 - Armstrong, Gillian [Little Women (1994) #803 ] ..1025
360. 1 - Barnet, Boris [Outskirts (Okraina, 1933) #809 ] ..1020
361. 1 - Taviani, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani [Night of the Shooting Stars, The (1982) #808 ] ..1020
362. 1 - Garrone, Matteo [Gomorra (2008) #811 ] ..1015
363. 1 - Redford, Robert [Quiz Show (1994) #816 ] ..1005
364. 1 - Ivory, James [Howards End (1992) #818 ] ..1000
365. 1 - Kitano, Takeshi [Hana-Bi (1997) #825 ] ..986
366. 1 - Marston, Joshua [Maria Full of Grace (2004) #826 ] ..985
367. 1 - Fuller, Sam [Pickup on South Street (1953) #828 ] ..984
368. 1 - Reitz, Edgar [Heimat (Homeland: A German Chronicle, 1984) #829 ] ..982
369. 1 - Koltai, Lajos [Fateless (2005) #830 ] ..980
370. 1 - Brest, Martin [Midnight Run (1988) #833 ] ..972
371. 1 - LeRoy, Mervyn [I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) #836 ] ..966
372. 1 - Jacobs, Ken [Tom, Tom the Piper's Son (1969) #838 ] ..964
373. 1 - Caouette, Jonathan [Tarnation (2003) #841 ] ..960
374. 1 - Rubin, Henry Alex & Shapiro, Dana Adam [Murderball (2005) #844 ] ..955
375. 1 - Carax, Lèos [Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les (1991) #858 ] ..926
376. 1 - Schlöndorff, Volker [Tin Drum, The (1979) #859 ] ..920
377. 2 - Van Dyke II, W.S. [Thin Man, The (1934) #995 ] ..912
378. 1 - Syberberg, Hans-Jürgen [Hitler: A Film from Germany (1977) #864 ] ..910
379. 1 - Teshigahara, Hiroshi [Woman in the Dunes (1964) #865 ] ..908
380. 1 - Apted, Michael [42 UP (1998) #867 ] ..905
381. 1 - Solondz, Todd [Happiness (1998) #871 ] ..900
382. 1 - Philibert, Nicolas [To Be and to Have (2002) #879 ] ..885
383. 1 - Pierce, Kimberly [Boys Don't Cry (1999) #883 ] ..875
384. 1 - de Oliveira, Manoel [I'm Going Home (2001) #890 ] ..865
385. 1 - Haynes, Todd [Safe (1995) #891 ] ..864
386. 1 - Amrohi, Kamal [Pakeezah (1972) #892 ] ..862
387. 1 - Field, Todd [In the Bedroom (2001) #894 ] ..860
388. 1 - Jancsó, Miklós [Round-Up, The (Szegénylegények, 1966) #896 ] ..856
389. 1 - Palcy, Euzhan [Sugar Cane Alley (Rue case negres, 1983) #901 ] ..846
390. 1 - Provost, Martin [Seraphine (2008) #902 ] ..845
391. 1 - Peixoto, Mario [Limite (1931) #906 ] ..836
392. 1 - Sokurov, Aleksandr [Russian Ark (2002) #907 ] ..835
393. 1 - Costa-Gavras, Constantin [Z (1969) #910 ] ..832
394. 1 - Berg, Amy [Deliver Us from Evil (2006) #911 ] ..830
395. 1 - Hamilton, Guy [Goldfinger (1964) #912 ] ..830
396. 1 - Potter, Sally [Orlando (1992) #917 ] ..822
397. 1 - Monicelli, Mario [Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) #918 ] ..818
398. 1 - Ozon, Francois [Under the Sand (2000) #921 ] ..815
399. 1 - Hathaway, Henry [Peter Ibbetson (1935) #923 ] ..812
400. 1 - Brakhage, Stan [Art of Vision, The (1965) #926 ] ..808
401. 1 - Meadows, Shane [This Is England (2006) #930 ] ..795
402. 1 - Hudson, Hugh [Chariots of Fire (1981) #935 ] ..784
403. 1 - Suzuki, Seijun [Branded to Kill (1967) #941 ] ..768
404. 1 - Davis, Andrew [Fugitive, The (1993) #944 ] ..760
405. 1 - Workman, Chuck [Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film (1991) #949 ] ..755
406. 1 - Cissé, Souleymane [Yeelen (1987) #952 ] ..752
407. 1 - Lerner, Irving [Murder by Contract (1958) #954 ] ..750
408. 1 - Bava, Mario [Black Sunday (1977) #958 ] ..744
409. 1 - Lonergan, Kenneth [You Can Count On Me (2000) #963 ] ..735
410. 1 - Badham, John [Saturday Night Fever (1977) #965 ] ..734
411. 1 - Belzberg, Edet [Children Underground (2001) #971 ] ..720
412. 1 - Akin, Fatih [Edge of Heaven, The (2007) #974 ] ..715
413. 1 - Leisen, Mitchell [Midnight (1939) #976 ] ..712
414. 1 - Cline, Edward F. [Bank Dick, The (1940) #977 ] ..710
415. 1 - Jenkins, Tamara [Savages, The (2007) #978 ] ..710
416. 1 - Feyder, Jacques [Carnival in Flanders (1935) #979 ] ..706
417. 1 - Butler, George [Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The (2000) #980 ] ..705
418. 1 - Crichton, Charles [Fish Called Wanda, A (1988) #981 ] ..702
419. 1 - Panahi, Jafar [Offside (2006) #983 ] ..700
420. 1 - Andersen, Thom [Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) #986 ] ..695
421. 1 - Apatow, Judd [Knocked Up (2007) #990 ] ..690
422. 1 - Smith, Jack [Flaming Creatures (1963) #989 ] ..690
423. 1 - Smeaton & Cvitanovich [Festival Express (2003) #997 ] ..680
424. 1 - Ki-duk Kim [Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) #1001 ] ..675
425. 1 - Benton, Robert [Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) #1003 ] ..672
426. 1 - Fleck, Ryan [Half Nelson (2006) #1006 ] ..670
427. 1 - Sautet, Claude [Coeur en hiver, Un (1992) #1005 ] ..670
428. 1 - Szabó, István [Mephisto (1981) #1008 ] ..666
429. 1 - Curry, Marshall [Street Fight (2005) #1010 ] ..665
430. 1 - Gannon, Russell [Last Letter, The (2004) #1011 ] ..655

Directors with the Most Oscars and More

These directors have won the most Oscars® for Directing:

John Ford (4) [photo left]: The Informer (35), The Grapes of Wrath (40), How Green Was My Valley (41), The Quiet Man (52) - no westerns

Mister Roberts, my favorite Ford film

Frank Capra (3): It Happened One Night (34), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (36), You Can't Take It With You (38)

William Wyler (3): Mrs. Miniver (42), The Best Years of Our Lives (46), Ben-Hur (59) - two anti-war films
Best Years of Our Lives

Wyler has the most directing nominations with 12; Billy Wilder is next with 8
Wyler directed the most picture nominees (13), and winners (3).
Wyler has the most consecutive picture nominations (7); Capra is next with 4.
Wyler's films have the most total nominations (127) and wins (39).

Wyler directed the most acting nominations (35) and wins (13). Elia Kazan is second with 24 nominees and 9 winners.

Directors with triple wins as producer-director-writer:
Billy Wilder for The Apartment (1960)
Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather, Part II (1974)
James L. Brooks for Terms of Endearment (1983)
Peter Jackson for The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men (2007)

Billy Wilder has 6 Oscars: 2 for directing, 3 for screenplays, 1 for producer.

Sunset Boulevard, opening shot, the best Wilder film for me

Nominations with No Wins: Clarence Brown (6) King Vidor, Alfred Hitchcock, and Robert Altman (5 each) Stanley Kubrick, Sidney Lumet, Federico Fellini, and Peter Weir (4 each) - a crime! a better group than those at 5

(what, no wins for Hitch?)

Best Picture Winners - whose director wasn't nominated:
Wings (27/28) dir. by William Wellman
Grand Hotel (31/32) dir. by Edmund Goulding
Driving Miss Daisy (89) dir. by Bruce Beresford

Frank Lloyd, winner for directing The Divine Lady (28/29), is the only winner whose film wasn't nominated for picture.

Directors with the most Best Picture Nominations:
William Wyler (13), John Ford (9), Mervyn LeRoy (8) Frank Capra, George Cukor, Henry King, Steven Spielberg, George Stevens, all 7 Michael Curtiz, David Lean, Martin Scorsese, Sam Wood, Fred Zinnemann, all 6 Spielberg and Scorsese are still active.

Female Director Nominees:
Lina Wertmuller (Seven Beauties, 76), Jane Campion (The Piano, 93), Sofia Coppola
(Lost in Translation (2003) Sofia became the first U.S. female director nominated
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, 2008) - became the first woman to win a directing Oscar® with this film

Two directing nominations in one year:
Steven Soderbergh (2000) for Erin Brockovich and Traffic (the Oscar® winner)

Michael Curtiz (1938), for Angels with Dirty Faces and Four Daughters
Clarence Brown (1929/30) for Romance and Anna Christie

Directors winning actor for their own film: Laurence Olivier (Hamlet, 48), and Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful, 98)





Nominations for Producing, Acting, Directing, and Writing for the same film:
Orson Welles for Citizen Kane (1941)

Warren Beatty twice: Heaven Can Wait (1978), and  Reds (1981, winner for Best Director)