Cinema is very much a medium of risk. While that statement may sound strange in the current era of safe remakes, reboots, and sequels, nothing that has become oversaturated in the m odern era of movies would be possible without directors and studios taking risks. The downside of this cinematic law is that risk often results in a lot of failures before success can be found. As a result, even some of the best directors throughout cinema’s 100+ year history have made some bad films in the name of attempting to push the industry forward.
And then there are those few directors who have done the unthinkable, who have pushed the industry forward and embraced originality and risk, and succeeded every time. While some of their works may be considered better than others, one thing is for sure, they have never made a BAD film. Bear in mind, there are a surprising amount of legendary directors that could have made this list, and they likely will as we plan to follow this list up with a second part at a later date.
Christopher Nolan
Possibly the most critically successful Blockbuster director of the modern age, Christopher Nolan burst onto the scene with Memento in 2000, a movie that showcased the non-linear storytelling and time-bending plots Nolan would later perfect in movies like Interstellar and Tenet. Even the weaker projects in his filmography stand head and shoulder above the majority of modern releases.
Possibly his most beloved work is the Dark Knight Trilogy, which single-handedly saved the future of Batman on the big screen after the infamously terrible Batman & Robin. The movie presented audiences with the late Heath Ledger’s interpretation of the Joker, a performance that actors are still trying to replicate over a decade later. One of the most important elements in Nolan’s place on this list is the element of unanswered mystery the director leaves in every one of his films, which keeps audiences thinking about and discussing his movies years after they are released.
Feature Filmography:
- Memento (2000)
- Insomnia (2002)
- Batman Begins (2005)
- The Prestige (2006)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- Inception (2010)
- The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
- Interstellar (2014)
- Dunkirk (2017)
- Tenet (2020)
Hayao Miyazaki
The most legendary director in all of Japanese animation, if not animation full stop. Hayao Miyazaki is responsible for every one of Studio Ghibli’s timeless hits. Miyazaki made his directorial debut working on the beloved anime Lupin the Third based on the characters by Monkey Punch. Miyazaki then made his feature film debut with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984.
Since then, Miyazaki has gone on to direct timeless classics like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle, as well as producing and co-writing the works of his son Gorô Miyazaki like From Up on Poppy Hill.
Feature Filmography:
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
- Conan the Future Boy: The Big Giant Robot’s Resurrection (1984)
- Castle in the Sky (1986)
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
- Porco Rosso (1992)
- Princess Mononoke (1997)
- Spirited Away (2001)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
- Ponyo (2008)
- The Wind Rises (2013)
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is considered to be one of the first of the “video store” generation of filmmakers. His 11 Oscar nominations also speak for themselves. Anderson made his directorial debut with 1996’s Hard Eight, and immediately followed it up with cult-classic Boogie Nights the next year.
Since then, Anderson has directed critical darlings like Magnolia, with Tom Cruise and Julianne Moora, Punch-Drunk Love, and his most recent project Licorice Pizza, which was nominated for 3 Oscars in 2022. Anderson is also responsible for some of the best music videos in the indie genre, working with bands like Radiohead and Haim.
Feature Filmography:
- Hard Eight (1996)
- Boogie Nights (1997)
- Magnolia (1999)
- Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
- There Will Be Blood (2007)
- The Master (2012)
- Inherent Vice (2014)
- Phantom Thread (2017)
- Licorice Pizza (2021)
Ari Aster
Despite a far shorter filmography than the other directors on this list, Ari Aster has pushed the boundaries of the horror genre with every new project. His feature film debut Hereditary is widely considered to be the scariest movie of the 2010s.
Although his follow up feature Midsommar was not as well received by horror aficionados, thanks in part to its misleading marketing, its constant state of suspense and tension uniquely brainwashed audiences into abandoning their own moral principles, whilst demonstrating the effectiveness of cult brainwashing. And, his newest movie Beau Is Afraid is a tense dive into existential horror as the movie provides a surreal exploration of anxiety and agoraphobia.
Feature Filmography:
- Hereditary (2018)
- Midsommar (2019)
- Beau Is Afraid (2023)
Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa’s legacy on cinema is timeless. The esteemed Japanese director has worked on some of the most influential movies of all time, like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Ikiru. Kurosawa has worked behind the camera since 1943 and has created over 30 timeless classics in his 50-year career as a director, even earning the Honorary Academy Award in 1990 for cinematic accomplishments.
Kurosawa frequently pushed the medium into new territory, perfecting the art of panning in Seven Samurai and showcasing death-defying stunts in Hidden Fortress.
Feature Filmography:
- Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
- The Most Beautiful (1944)
- Sanshiro Sugata, Part Two (1945)
- The Men Who Tread in the Tiger’s Tail (1945)
- Those Who Make Tomorrow (1946)
- No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
- One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
- Drunken Angel (1948)
- The Quiet Dual (1949)
- Stray Dog (1949)
- Scandal (1950)
- Rashomon (1950)
- The Idiot (1951)
- Ikiru (1952)
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- I Live in Fear (1955)
- Throne of Blood (1957)
- The Lower Depths (1957)
- The Hidden Fortress (1958)
- The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
- Yojimbo (1961)
- Sanjuro (1962)
- High and Low (1963)
- Red Beard (1965)
- Dodes’ka-den (1970)
- Kagemusha (1980)
- Ran (1985)
- Dreams (1990)
- Rhapsody in August (1991)
- Madadayo (1993)
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