Since the inception of cinematography, cinema has won the hearts of people around the world. The audience glorified the directors and their films, brought them historical significance and tremendous income. When a talented person took the director’s chair, history was made! Masters of their craft, with the gift of creating a whole new world on film, idols of millions of people, role models, and pride of their country – who are they? Let’s take a closer look at the list of the top ten directors in the world.
10. James Cameron

The ideas of one of the best directors in the world, James Cameron, are ready to be implemented by Hollywood producers and pay a tidy sum for it. An innovator and experimenter with a bold gamble, who brought the 1984 film The Terminator to life and gained worldwide acclaim. This film became a springboard for a dizzying career. Today “The Terminator” is considered a golden classic of science fiction: people still quote bright phrases and with nostalgia remember the “iron” Arnold Schwarzenegger breathing youth. The film project was so innovative for its time that it gained millions of fans, although, at the early stage of filming, many did not even believe in the success of the film.
Cameron became the third person in the world who was not afraid to go down to the bottom of the deepest point of our planet – the Mariana Trench and shoot the documentary “Challenge to the Abyss”. He made a cult disaster film about the sinking of the most famous liner of the 20th century. Titanic became the highest-grossing project and won 11 Oscars.
This is a director who, for the sake of realizing his creative ideas, was ready to wait 12 years in order to qualitatively realize his idea and convey it to the viewer using the most advanced technology. Avatar was a breakthrough in visual effects and deservedly received 3 Oscars, and was also nominated in six more nominations. The total profit for these two movies was the US $ 5.5 billion.
Cameron doesn’t have a lot of films, but he is really a very talented director who masterfully implements his projects.
9. The Coen brothers

Popular directors Ethan and Joel have their own signature style and always work together. They have a talent for getting a masterpiece of cinematography from an ordinary life situation, adding memorable characters to the tape, adding a little peppercorn, and supplementing the meaning with references to other works. Each film story embodied by the Coen brothers could happen to any person in real life because their character is a collective image of the most ordinary American. The superbly arranged dialogues of the characters and their peculiar thinking expressed through actions and words, give each film a special character.
The brothers work out each scenario independently. There is no place for boredom in their plots, there are no unnecessary details, even minor characters are carefully thought out, which is why the moviegoer appreciates their works so highly. For this painstaking work, the Coens became famous in Hollywood and entered the rating of the best screenwriters in the history of cinema.
Three Oscars won for the thriller No Country for Old Men, one for the script for Fargo. The Cannes Film Festival awards were acquired for the films Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn’t, Inside Lewin Davis, and took second place in the Grand Prix for the thriller Just Blood. Received a director’s prize for Miller’s Crossroads. The crime comedy “The Big Lebowski” is considered a cult and, despite the low commercial rating, has received recognition from the moviegoer.
8. David Fincher

A cinematographer who loves to implement non-standard projects. The works of the great director are often filled with an atmosphere of mystery, but at the same time, they amaze with the cruelty of the characters. If you are partial to stories with extraordinary endings, you will appreciate these works. The current famous filmmaker began his career by shooting music videos. The film Aliens-3 made its debut in the full-length segment and ended in a colossal scandal with the leadership of the 20th Century Fox studio. The ending of the film was entrusted to another specialist, but the result did not receive a proper response from either film critics or the audience’s hearts.
A real breakthrough in Fincher’s career was thundered by the thriller Seven: the story of a maniac killer keeps the moviegoer in suspense until the last minutes. The plot of the thriller The Game was even more unpredictable. “Fight Club” 99th year won the status of a cult film project.
You know many of Fincher’s masterpieces: Zodiac, based on true events about mysterious murders; “The Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button” deservedly received 10 Oscars; “The Social Network”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, “Gone Girl”.
7. Ridley Scott

The filmography of one of the best directors on the planet, Ridley Scott, consists of 27 films. Not all of them were highly praised by critics and moviegoers, but he managed to reach the top – to get into the list of the best directors in the world.
The first feature-length motion picture directed by Scott was released in 1977 and was called “Duel”. For this picture, he was awarded the Cannes Film Festival prize for best debut.
Scott is not afraid to try something new and goes through genres, trying his hand at comedies, dramas, science fiction, and the pearl of the historical-artistic direction, undoubtedly, has become “Gladiator”. This film has received numerous awards: 5 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, 4 British Academy of Film Awards, 6 Critics’ Choice Awards, 3 Actors Guild Award nominations, a Directors Guild nominee, and a Grammy nominee. “.
In 2001, two works were released at once: the crime thriller “Hannibal” with Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector and the war drama “Black Hawk Down”, which received many accolades.
“Gladiator”, “Aliens” and “Blade Runner” received the status of a cult movie. Even before these films, Ridley Scott showed extraordinary abilities and was considered a talented filmmaker in his midst. He was nominated four times for the Academy Awards and Golden Globes but never made it to the awards.
Now his works have lost their former brilliance: “Alien. Testament “,” Prometheus “and the long-awaited sequel to” Terminator “, covering all failed franchises, did not bring the expected success and even upset the fans a little. Despite the recent setbacks, one cannot underestimate his achievements and contributions to great cinema. He has achieved his success in directing and is currently developing as a producer on the series Terror and Blade Runner 2049. Let’s hope that this talented person will delight movie lovers with his works.
6. Quentin Tarantino

Director Tarantino has always loved movies with an exciting plot. While working at a video rental center, he often watched cassettes with bright, memorable, and cool characters, be it a cowboy, samurai, or a gangster. He set himself the goal of making his own film and surpassing the films from the box office, which he himself once admired.
To achieve the goal, funds were needed, but then the novice filmmaker had only eyes burning with enthusiasm and a “bright” head. The beginning of his career was not immediately successful, he was expected to fail, which he stoically overcame: the unrealized Captain Pitchfooz, studio failures, a fire in the editing laboratory while working on the amateur film “My Best Friend’s Birthday”. Then I managed to sell the script “True Love”, but the fee was not enough to shoot a full-length project.
Things were changed by Harvey Keitel, who produced Reservoir Dogs and secured financial support from Live Entertainment. The high level of acting and an excellent script is embodied in a real masterpiece. Since that time, Quentin’s career has gone up, and the name of Tarantino has gained worldwide fame, which was promoted by “Pulp Fiction”, the action movie “Kill Bill”, “Inglourious Basterds”, “Django Unchained”, “The Hateful Eight” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.
Tarantino has deservedly received 37 awards, including 2 Oscars. He personally wrote scripts for each of his works and established his own style. It should be noted that he likes to add red colors to the video sequence: the frames are sometimes full of splashes of blood and frankly violent scenes. His characters are not omnipotent: they get injured, break bones, stain and tear clothes, walk over the bodies of fallen enemies, get out of coffins. Human characters in the works do not have a strict division into good and evil. On the contrary, the author seeks to show the dualism of human nature, that even a villain can turn out to be a charming guy, and a character that is positive at first glance is capable of killing an innocent person. It is also worth noting that the filmmaker tries to diversify the visual perception of the characters and often uses camera maneuvers. View of the actors from the bottom up,
Quentin masterfully interweaves the fate of many characters, uses a nonlinearly constructed plot divided into chapters, very subtly depicts the characters of the characters, and allows people to laugh at such moments when laughing is “not accepted”.
5. Christopher Nolan

A master who encourages you to revise your films many times and, with each viewing, discover something new in details and plot moves. His stories do not immediately reveal their cards, one has only to remember “Inception”, “Remember” and “Interstellar”.
Nolan’s career began with the filming of low-budget works. When the implemented projects surpassed all expectations in terms of payback, he was entrusted with filming the “Dark Knight” trilogy. The canonical and gloomy atmosphere of the picture perfectly reflected the world of Gotham and created unforgettable images of characters, stunning in their contrasts. It is important to note that “The Dark Knight” is ranked 4th in the rating of the 250 best films (according to IMDb) for the entire existence of the cinematography. This sci-fi comic-book action thriller has surpassed such serious films as 12 Angry Men, Schindler’s List, and The Godfather!
It is not for nothing that director Nolan is considered a favorite of filmmakers: his ten films together brought in $ 5 billion in profits. All works were a tremendous success: “Prestige”, “Beginning”, “Dunkirk”.
The film projects of the famous director Nolan can be recognized by their corporate style: the scale and twisted storyline, the multi-layered levels of understanding, the abundance of cunning mysteries, and the brilliant selection of the cast. He has 5 Oscar nominations, but he has not yet managed to get the coveted statuette.
4. Tim Burton

Tim Burton is rightfully ranked fourth in the list of the best directors in the world. For many years, the most famous Hollywood storyteller has been giving adults and children exciting stories about witches, ghosts, skeletons, and people. He creates an amazing fantasy world in which the universe balances on the verge of good and evil, the world of the living and the world of the dead.
Having started his career in the 80s, when family paintings were at the peak of popularity, the future master was so tired of everyday paintings and routine that he decided to bring a little fantasy into reality. The first full-length film was Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, which was a success at the box office, followed by Beetlejuice, also highly acclaimed by the moviegoer. After this victory, Burton took the director’s chair and filmed the fan-favorite “Batman”.
Film critics note the great influence of passions on the work of Burton. The first wife, actress Lisa Mary, became the muse for the creation of the film projects “Edward Scissorhands”, “Sleepy Hollow”, and Helena Bonham Carter inspired the “Planet of the Apes”, “Big Fish”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, as well as the cartoon “Corpse Bride” and the fantastic realization of “Alice in Wonderland”.
Tim was twice nominated for an Oscar but notes that he never chased awards and does not attach much importance to the lack of a gold statuette.
3. Peter Jackson

A man with a genius as a director among the talents of modern Hollywood. He specializes in large-scale blockbusters and knows exactly how to present the story to the viewer so that it is impossible to tear himself away from the screen. Film studios love working with Jackson. Even if the pictures do not come out as often as many would like, they regularly “tear down” the box office and bring in billions of dollars in profits.
Jackson made his way to the director’s chair, interrupting with low-quality work, but he always made every effort and treated each project with heart. This approach was appreciated by Robert Zemeckis, who was looking for someone with a “fresh” eye to shoot “Scarecrow”. The film’s budget was quite solid for those times, but Jackson was not afraid to take on serious work. The result was decent and well received by critics.
Film audiences all over the world know him from the film adaptations of the Tolkien trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”. This was the main project of his entire life. With his light hand, he turned 100 pages of history into 9 hours of timekeeping, complementing it with many offshoots from the original events. He was awarded three Oscars.
After the legendary movie saga, Jackson directed a remake of King Kong in his own interpretation and the drama The Lovely Bones.
One of the best filmmakers on the planet advises young talents to make films and develop their skills. Let it not work, let it not be possible to reveal your capabilities right away – it is important to try, strive for improvement and not give up your dream. Peter himself did not study at film academies or special schools, but as a child, he began to engage in video filming, independently comprehended the basics of applying makeup and creating effects. Since the beginning of his creative activity, he has accumulated about 6-8 unfinished projects, which he himself cannot call “films”. It is important to remember that even a small step in the right direction will ultimately lead to your goal.
2. Martin Scorsese

Perhaps everyone is familiar with the work of the great director Martin Scorsese. The mastery of the old school of directing is reflected in the works of this talented art worker. Throughout his creative life, he released 56 works into the world, half of which received high reviews. This is a real legend of Hollywood, a role model, an idol of millions of people, who has earned 105 awards during his career at various festivals. But the main awards on his shelf can be considered an Oscar and five Golden Globes.
Scorsese creates a realistic world and often presents a biographical story. The heroes of the works are charismatic personalities, often gangsters or people of an asocial nature. Career began to go uphill with the drama “Wicked Streets”, then “Alice does not live here anymore”, but the movie “Taxi Driver” revealed his possibilities most vividly. The cult film was dismantled for quotes, and critics and fans of the cinema admired the philosophy of the protagonist. This was followed by Raging Bull and Nicefellas, which cemented their success in directing.
Movies were released almost every year, but the iconic works can be considered “Casino”, “Aviator”, “Bob Dylan”, “Rolling Stones”. Separately, it should be noted “Gangs of New York” and “Island of the Damned”. The genres were not typical of previous projects, but they showed the mastery of directing from a new height.
In 2013, Martin Scorsese’s controversial film The Wolf of Wall Street was released. But the film story about stockbrokers was so controversial that it swept past five Oscar nominations.
1. Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is indisputably considered the best director. In the modern world, there is hardly a person who has not heard this name and has not seen at least one work. Filmmakers themselves call Spielberg the most sought-after and successful figure in the art of cinema.
To date, he is the absolute record holder for commercial fees: 20 of his films have grossed more than $ 10 billion worldwide!
Spielberg gained worldwide fame as a director after the release of the summer blockbuster “Jaws”. As the author himself says: “After the huge success of the film, I woke up famous and now I could shoot whatever I wanted.” But even before the premiere, he knocked the thresholds of the studios and offered them his scripts, but received refusal after refusal. With the release of “Jaws”, the concept of “summer blockbuster” was introduced into the film industry. After all, it was this brilliant director who calculated that the most important premieres, filmed with scale and pathos, should be rolled out in summer in order to maximize profits.
Having achieved success in directing, the master of cinema decided to act as a producer and created the company Amblin Entertainment, which gave the world “Back to the Future”, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “Gremlins”, “Mask of Zorro”, “The Legend of Zorro” and others famous films.
Spielberg can be called a universal figure in the film industry since he is absolutely not tied to genres and canons: along with a sentimental drama, he is able to shoot a trashy horror movie, then release a family movie and spice it up with clever science fiction.
Few people know, but the DreamWorks film company was founded by Steven Spielberg. The company presented the children with “Madagascar”, a multi-part cartoon “Shrek”, and for an older viewer it brought to life “Gladiator”, “Memoirs of a Geisha”, “Transformers”, “War of the Worlds”.
In 2011, Forbes magazine estimated Spielberg’s fortune at $ 3 billion, who can imagine such a sum?
The most iconic films in the entire history of his work: “Jaws”, “Alien”, the film series “Indiana Jones”, “Schindler’s List”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “Jurassic Park”, “Catch Me If You Can.”
Spielberg was born in 1946, but still cherishes in his soul a small child who fantasizes, plays with his characters, but at the same time is capable of taking risks and confidently moves towards the intended goal. Do not be afraid to dream and make your dreams come true!