I’ve been doing a “best directors on the planet” list for years now but this is my first attempt at doing a directors of a decade list. Here we go:
- Christopher Nolan – I don’t think there’s another answer here. He has two of the ten best films (tied with Iñárritu for the most), four of the top 100 (nobody else had four) and didn’t make a film this decade that wasn’t one of the best 100 of the year. Over the 2010’s he’s proven himself capable of making truly beautiful cinematic images (not always the case in the 2000’s for Nolan) and has become one of cinema’s all-time greatest editors with his peerless parallel editing sequences. I believe the editing in Dunkirk will be taught in film classes 50 years from now.
- Pawel Pawlikowski – The Woman in the Fifth has visual filmmaking that is half-Antonioni and half-Polanski but it is Ida in 2013 where one of the decade’s great cinematic artists really finds his voice: hauntingly beautiful black and white photography and painstakingly arranged mise-en-scene . Ida blew me away and Cold War confirmed the style.
- Steve McQueen – McQueen may not have a 1-2 film combination to compare with a few others on this list but I’m not sure anyone has a 1-3 that can match Shame, 12 Years a Slave, and Widows – that’s 3 films in the top 50 of the 2010’s decade and no other director can match that. When you consider his debut, 2008’s Hunger, was only a few years prior in 2008 and it landed in my top 500 of all-time already—this is truly one of the great (first four films) starts to a career an auteur has ever had.
- Alejandro González Iñárritu – Birdman and The Revenant both land solidly in the top 10 of the decade—that happened twice this decade with Nolan as well in the 2010’s but historically this doesn’t happen often at all. PTA was the only one in the 2000’s and the 1990’s actually (which is a holy $*** realization) but it didn’t happen in the 80’s, Coppola did it with 3 films in the top 10 in the 70’s- wow– and Fellini did it in the 60’s, Kurosawa in the 50’s, Welles in the 40’s, etc… Needless to say this is rarified air. Biutiful came out in 2010 and is a minor blemish—not a strong effort– but that is easily forgiven with the stylistic bravado Iñárritu put on display in back to back masterpieces gave us in 2014 and 2015.
- Alfonso Cuarón – Gravity was well worth the seven year wait after Children of Men and Roma, with another viewing and more time, may very well go down as Cuaron’s greatest work—and that is saying something because I have Children of Men as the #37 film of all-time.
- Wes Anderson – It was a quiet back-half of the decade for Wes Anderson (2018’s Isle of Dogs didn’t crack my top 10 of 2018 and that was after a four year wait) but the 1-2 punch of Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel during the first half of the decade can’t be argued with. If we’re doing a 2010-2014 best director of the first 5 years of the decade list it may be Wes who walks away #1 on this list.
- Damien Chazelle – Chazelle’s resume includes a top 5 film of the decade (La La Land) and another film in the top 41 (Whiplash). Chazelle is also the youngest of the 10 directors here by a wide margin… Nolan is the next youngest actually (he’s 14 years older than Chazelle) and essentially PTA, Wes and McQueen are all the same as Nolan—within a year or so). I’m excited to see what Chazelle does next (that’s a given with everyone on this list) but you could have a legendary career going forward and never top La La Land.
- Paul Thomas Anderson – I didn’t do this list in 2000 or 2010 but if I had those top 10’s would feature PTA as well (read my blurb on Iñárritu above– unbelievable). I don’t think you say that about the other nine directors here. The Master from 2012 I think stands toe to toe with the best of PTA’s work (that includes four films currently in my top 100 of all-time) and Phantom Thread gives his decade balance and depth.
- David Fincher – Fincher has been quiet since 2014’s Gone Girl and it can be tempting to have a recency biasbut The Social Network is strong enough to have him hold on to a top 10 slot here.
- Terrence Malick – I see both sides of the argument on Malick. On one hand it seems foolish to leave off (or even put way down at #10) the director of the best film of the decade— but on the other hand, To the Wonder, Knight of Cups and Song to Song is a string of 3 consecutive films this decade that didn’t land in my top 100 of the decade. I’ve only seen each film once and look forward to a rewatch of each but the late-career switch to become a prolific filmmaker (he made a total of 5 films from 1973 to 2011) doesn’t seem to suit Malick. He did return to the top 100 of the decade with A Hidden Life in 2019—a strong entry.
Honorable Mention (alphabetical)
- Ari Aster – I had no idea who Ari Aster was at this point in 2018—that’s crazy. Hereditary and Midsommar both landed in my top 50 of the decade though. What a shock wave start to a career- and he’s two years younger than even Chazelle!
- Yorgos Lanthimos – To clarify– Dogtooth is from 2009 (though I didn’t see it until 2010) so it isn’t a part of his 2010’s decade resume for this list or the Greek auteur would definitely be in the top 10. The Lobster confirmed that Dogtooth was no fluke and The Favourite feels like the crowning achievement of an all-time great auteur’s career.
- Richard Linklater – Poor Linklater seems to be always the bridesmaid on my lists and never the bride but after the 1-2 duo of Before Midnight and Boyhood in 2013 and 2014 he’s had a rough stretch here (he’s had these before—so don’t be too concerned about his 2020’s) and it is hard to put him in the top 10 when his last two films (Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Last Flag Flying)leave me a little less than ravenous for his next film.
- Quentin Tarantino – With Django and Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Tarantino continues to climb higher and higher on my all-time auteur list– please give us one more decade of work!
- Denis Villeneuve – Villeneuve actually gave us six archiveable films in the 2010’s which is more than any of the other 14 names on this page—so prolific (and he’s been quiet for a couple years now building up to Dune in 2020). Of those six, three landed in the top 100 of the decade (Blade Runner 2049, Sicario, Arrival)—so impressive!
***********others that I gave pause and serious consideration to include on this list were James Gray, Noah Baumbach, Martin Scorsese, Lynne Ramsay, The Safdie Brothers, Barry Jenkins, and Nicolas Winding Refn
Scorsese is easily top five all of the films he’s made are Classics with Wall Street and The Irishman being on the contention for Best Film of the Decade.
@Randy– Scorsese is the greatest living director but made only one (The Irishman) of the best 89 films for the decade so he didn’t have quite enough to land the top 10 here despite some really strong efforts.
An excellent list. My only gripes would be that Cuaron is a few spots too low (and also the Mexican auteur who actually directed 2 of the decade’s 10 best films), Inarritu is probably a few spots too high, and Tarantino belongs on the list proper rather than the honourable mentions section. Scorsese may also belong on the list, but I’d need to revisit a few of his films to confirm that.
@Matt Harris — thank you for the comment here. I think your gripes are certainly connected to my top 100 films of the decade list where we’d both have Gravity, Django and Wolf of Wall Street ranked very differently
David O. Russell? – Both Americann Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook are masterpieces. The Fighter is about an HR on your scale.
And even Joy is probably an R. (Bear in mind these are my ratings – you don’t have to agree lol)
@Jeff– Good call– Man– Russell was on fire in 2010, 2012, and 2013 with The Fighter, American Hustle and Silver Linings… as things wrapped up only American Hustle Landed on my top 100 of the decade list and a sort of requirement to be on this list of the top 10 directors was to have at least 2 films that made it here (there were just too many ahead of him)– so he misses out.
1. Pawlikowski
2. Villeneuve
3. Inarritu
4. PT Anderson
5. Chazelle
@Dzoni– thank you very much for visiting the site and the comment here. I’m happy happy to hear your top 5 (which is what I assume this is) includes 4 from my actual top 10 and 1 from my honorable mention. That’s great. I’m particularly happy to see Pawlikowski and Inarritu in your top 3 as I would suspect many people wouldn’t have either of those names on their list. Good work!
Denis Villeneuve in the honorable mentions is a crime. Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners, Enemy and Incendies in the same decade. Like c’mon. There is no way he doesn’t make the list. 6 perfect movies in a single f*ck*ng decade. How on earth does Wes Anderson and a waning Mallick make this list but Villeneuve doesn’t?? I have never been this frustated by a list because it a great list and Villeneuve 100% deserves to be here.
@Ujwal- thanks for visiting the site and the comment here. You just have to weight the best films more. I love Villeneuve and he had an incredible decade. But he didn’t make a Tree of Life of Grand Budapest Hotel
We are talking about the decade, aren’t we?. A single Grand Budapest Hotel doesn’t infer to whole decade.
@Ujwal— Yep but it isn’t just a volume game– it is weighted— the best films count for more obviously. And it’s a moot point because Moonrise Kingdom is there, too
As Matt has already said ”Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario, Moonrise Kingdom, and Grand Budapest all share a general tier of quality in the MS-MS/MP zone, and I’ve got Blade Runner as the best film in that group. When you take into account the fact that Prisoners, Enemy, and Incendies are all superior to Isle of Dogs, it becomes a pretty clear choice for me.”. I would reverse the categories of Sicario and Incendies but still the same point. 3 MS-MS/MP vs 2 out of which BR2049 is the best of bunch.
@Ujwal – thanks again for the comment. I have Blade Runner right there. I’ll answer it on the other page but your lack of appreciation of Wes Anderson may be at the root of your issue here.
Villeneuve didn’t make a Tree of Life, but he hit Grand Budapest levels at least 3 times. I know our opinions differ on Anderson (far less than in the past but there’s still a divide) but I’ve got Villeneuve graded out ahead of him for the decade too. Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario, Moonrise Kingdom, and Grand Budapest all share a general tier of quality in the MS-MS/MP zone, and I’ve got Blade Runner as the best film in that group. When you take into account the fact that Prisoners, Enemy, and Incendies are all superior to Isle of Dogs, it becomes a pretty clear choice for me.
@Matt— Have you finalized your best of the decade list ? I share Drake’s opinion on The Grand Budapest Hotel, you think he’s overrating it ? If yes, why ? What place do you think it deserves on the best of the decade list ?
It’s splitting hairs to a degree because I am a great admirer of Grand Budapest Hotel and think it is Wes Anderson’s greatest achievement in mise-en-scene and even used it as a part of an instructional video essay on mise-en-scene. However, if the standard is top 10 of the decade, then yes, to my view that is overrating it a tad… I consider it more in the realm of the top 50 of the decade. I am, historically, less impressed by Anderson’s fussy compositions and dollhouse aesthetic than Drake is, and though I’ve come to appreciate it progressively more over the past decade, it is still not an approach to film style that I consider near the pinnacle of the form. For instance, I am more impressed when Kurosawa will open a shot in an immaculate composition, follow some action in the scene and then somehow land in a second immaculate composition as he does at least a couple dozen times in The Bad Sleep Well which I just rewatched last night… and I believe Drake somehow excludes from his archives altogether. Anyways, that’s a digression you didn’t ask for but it illustrates the point I’m trying to make. Wes Anderson has a very particular aesthetic, and one I’ve come to appreciate more and more, but I do not think it is a singularly brilliant one.
Let me add that if someone thinks Denis Villeneuve should be in the top 10 and not an honorable mention I have absolutely no problem with that. It is fun to make lists, and I do think Wes Anderson had the slightly better decade but I’m not going to battle over slight disagreements here–the HM’s are in alphabetical order so if Denis Villeneuve had the 12th best decade and Anderson had the 6th– I mean whatever- agreed- splitting hairs. They are both brilliant. I was simply explaining why i had Malick and Wes higher. For whatever it’s worth– the TSPDT consensus agrees with me on Wes vs. Villeneuve as Grand Budapest and Moonrise Kingdom are the highest two rated films (by a decent margin) from either filmmaker
Maybe there’s something to learn from this from Matt here. Matt- I’m a big admirer of Denis Villeneuve obviously. His filmography may even be stronger than Wes’ this decade. But the tie that binds Wes’ work is greater and certainty more identifiable. What are some of the commonalities you see across Villeneuve’s body of work?
If it’s about particularity then you’re right, Wes Anderson’s films are much more recognizably Wes Anderson than Villeneuve’s are Villeneuve’s… or virtually anyone active not named Wes Anderson. And I know I just made a big auterist case for Anderson with that last sentence. I haven’t studied Villeneuve’s work. I have seen each of his last 3 films 2 or 3 times and the previous 3 once or twice apiece but beyond just a general sense of his excellence and the elite virtuosity of his cinematographic and editing touch, I haven’t been on the lookout for recurring themes or aesthetics. That said, if Dune pans out the way we hope, he could be evolving into something of a sci-fi savant. I’m sort of thinking of him in a Ridley Scott/James Cameron mold for the moment but I’m not wedded to that view.
@Matt Harris– thanks again for the comment. Fair enough- you call it particularity– I’d call it authorship. Malick is right there with Wes, Tarantino, Nolan (how Nolany does Tenet look/feel?) and many more on this list. It’s not the only factor- but it’s a factor.
Villeneuve is as much as auteur as Nolan is. They tackle different genres and mold within that by a certain degree of specificity. In my honest opinion, Isle of Dogs was too much Anderson for me. The characters are too cold and the Wes fun is missing. It might be the only average movie that he has made.
@Ujwal– I’m with you on Isle of Dogs. Some really great moments but by and large a pretty big disappointment from Wes Anderson. I’m still not going to call it average with the clear craftsmanship on display but still- I get your point and largely agree
As far as Villeneuve being as much an auteur as Nolan… I disagree. I think authorship is a factor as I said to Matt Harris. Filmography is very important- don’t get me wrong. But if a filmography is comparable then authorship reigns.
Do you plan to do similar lists (best directors, actors, and actresses) for previous decades? I’d be excited to see them.
@Graham- I’ve thought about it- appreciate the feedback
Would love to see best directors of each decade lists if it’s still something you think about doing. Could also be helpful for you before you try re-doing the top 250 directors list.
@Harry- Thanks for the feedback Harry. Appreciate it.
hello, a top 10 is always frustrating …i would have added French realisators, Jerome SALLE for Zulu and l’odyssée and Jacques Audiard for Un prophète , de rouille et d’os and Deephan.
The last one have issued a underrated “les Olympiades” in BW, superb music from Rone, great caracters.
We have six names in common. Not too bad. My top 10 would be:
1. Denis Villeneuve
2. David Fincher
3. Alejandro González Iñárritu
4. Wes Anderson
5. Yorgos Lanthimos
6. Ari Aster
7. Barry Jenkins
8. Alfonso Cuarón
9. Lynne Ramsay
10. Paul Thomas Anderson / Jia Zhangke
I know I’m kind of cheating with that last spot, but it’s virtually a tie and I didn’t want to leave either of them out.