Top 10 directors of the 2000s

Still surely and steadily working on a top 100 movies of the 2000s, I've decided it'd be interesting to take a look at some of the best filmmakers of this decade. I think it's a good idea to kinda see who we have right now as far as great filmmaking is concerned. I already did two articles about directors to look out for in this upcoming decade. But, that list kinda glossed over some of the older, more established filmmakers that are out there today. So, let's take a look at some of the best directors of the 2000s...


Rule: must have made at least two films in each half of the decade (1 in 00-04, 1 in 05-09). Unfortunately that leaves out guys like Alexander Payne and Jason Reitman, but the point of this list is to look at those who have made a considerable amount of impact on filmmaking throughout the whole decade or at least over half of the decade.

Honorable mentions: Edgar Wright (made two wonderful comedies, one more great movie and he'd probably make the list), Wes Anderson (made some really great films, some good films... just missed the list, however), and Danny Boyle (did all kinds of different films, some really great ones too and would firmly be placed at number 11)


10. Alfonso Cuaron
Films: Y tu Mama Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men

Cuaron had a fairly successful career going on in the '90s, but it was the 2000s where he really gained prominence. Y tu Mama Tambien is a fun sexy road trip of a movie, Prisoner of Azkaban is EASILY the best Harry Potter movie, and Children of Men... well that's the movie that makes me comfortable in placing him on this list. He really turned a corner in his career after that film and I expect him to become even better in this upcoming decade. Lots to look forward to indeed.


9. Todd Field
Films: In the Bedroom, Little Children

You may look at his filmography and see that he's only directed two films in his directorial career, but boy what a start he has made. In the Bedroom and Little Children are easily two of the greatest films of the decade. They are so layered; they are the work of a true professional and his talent deserves to be recognized and highly regarded.

8. Coen Brothers
Films: O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Man Who Wasn't There, Ladykillers, No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading, and A Serious Man

The Coen Brothers have had a rather prolific decade in the 2000s, filled with a great amount of hits and a few misses. They've always been my favorite directors since I started watching movies seriously when I was a teenager and some particular highlights are O Brother, Man Who Wasn't There, and No Country... although it's kind a wonder how they've managed to become even bleaker and darker than before. That's funny considering that they are a lot more recognized now than they were in the '80s and '90s. Luckily, they've seem to be caught in the middle of a creative streak now and it'll be great to see just how many more wonderful movies they'll be able to churn out.

7. Clint Eastwood
Films: Space Cowboys, Blood Work, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Gran Torino, Invictus

Speaking of prolific directors, Eastwood has become as prolific as they come in recent years. In 2006 and 2008 he made two movies each. What's more remarkable is that he's almost 80 years old and seems to be in the prime of his directing career. His movies didn't start getting a great amount of attention this decade until Mystic River and even though I didn't really start taking a liking to him until Letters from Iwo Jima, I respect Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby even though I may not like how they end. Since then though he's been making great movie after great movie and I hope that continues.

6. Steven Soderbergh
Films: Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's trilogy, Full Frontal, Solaris, Bubble, Good German, Che, Girlfriend Experience, The Informant!

The great thing about Soderbergh is that he's always remained true to who he is as a director. He makes studio films, he makes independent/low-budget features, and he's made a bona fide epic. He's done it all in the last decade. Not all of his movies in the 2000s were great, but they were all, at least, very interesting. And when he's on, he makes fantastic movies.

5. Pedro Almodovar
Films: Talk to Her, Bad Education, Volver, Broken Embraces

Another older director that appears to be in the middle of a creative streak is Pedro Almodovar. Almodovar made a lot of films in the '80s and '90s that were funny, beautiful looking, and charming. But the 2000s was the decade where he really stepped up as a filmmaker. Making four great, very thought-provoking movies. Talk to Her is a borderline masterpiece. He's also turned Penelope Cruz into one of the best actresses working today.

4. Martin Scorsese
Films: Gangs of New York, Aviator, and The Departed

Martin Scorsese will always be known as one of the masters of cinema so what more does he have to prove? Luckily for us, there appears to be an endless amount of projects that he's interested in even at nearly 68 years old. He's made two excellent, grand, slightly uneven epics (Gangs and Aviator) and he managed to elevate what could've just been a run-of-the-mill remake of a gangster film into probably one of, if not, the best mafia movie of the decade. But do you really expect anything less from the great Scorsese? If Shutter Island were to be released in 2009, he'd probably be fighting for the #1 spot on this list.

3. Paul Thomas Anderson
Films: Punch-drunk Love and There Will Be Blood

I will not make any secrets to the fact that Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite director working today. Any newsstory regarding his next film, to me, is an event. That's partly because he's such a secretive and elusive filmmaker, but also, because I know once that movie comes out it'll be something that cinephiles and filmgoers will be talking about for quite some time. PDL and TWBB are movies like that. PDL is a movie that gets better and better with each viewing turning a very interesting 95-minute movie into a deep, complex, gem of a film. Then, you have... There Will Be Blood which is Paul Thomas Anderson's absolute masterpiece and has elevated him into a class all on his own. But, alas, I feel like two films just isn't enough to peg him the #1 director of the decade.

2. Quentin Tarantino
Films: Kill Bill vol 1 and 2, Death Proof, and Inglourious Basterds

Say what you will about QT but Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds are marvels of filmmaking. Put volumes 1 and 2 together in Kill Bill, and you just might have one of the greatest action epics of all-time. Death Proof was an interesting misfire, but it was still that - interesting. Not much more that needs to be said about Tarantino except that he sure knows how to build up (and live up to) his own hype. To me, he and Paul Thomas Anderson rule the filmmaking universe today.

1. Christopher Nolan
Films: Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight

Are you really asking me how Nolan warrants a #1 spot on this list? Just look at the films he made in the 2000s. Memento is one of the top 10 best films of the 2000s. Then you have The Prestige and the Dark Knight which all would make the top 50, if not, top 75. I guess what impresses me most about him is that he's able to utilize those big budgets for his last few movies and not make it compromise his unique artisic style. Christopher Nolan still makes art films, his characters just happen to wear tighter clothes these days. Five films, one home run after another... that's why he's the top director on this list. His films may not push the envelope and scope of filmmaking as we know it, but he twists things up in his own way that makes him unique.