Sharing with you, like 2015, 2016 and 2017, the names of ten film-makers with the most impressive filmography during 2000 to 2017. This list has been created by going through the TSPDT list of 1000 greatest movies of the century and the ranking is calculated by considering the number of movies each director has in the top thousand and the respective rank of those movies in that list.
Two names from last year's list have failed to make it to top ten: American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Current Score: 4194 points) and Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien (4034 points). With no releases lined up for this year, the two may not make it to Top Ten next year as well. Steven Spielberg (3784 points), who was ranked 7th in 2015 and 6th in 2016, too has not made it to the list despite favorable reviews of his last film 'The Post'. With his latest release, 'Ready Player One' getting mixed reviews, it is unlikely that he will re-enter the list next year.
Apart from the three names mentioned above, and the ten below, no other film-maker has been mentioned on this list in these four years. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, for example, has 3221 points currently, almost 100 points behind the name at the tenth position.
With the top ten names that follow, I have also mentioned their past ranks, if they have made it to Top Ten anytime between 2015 to 2017.
10. Claire Denis (71-year old French filmmaker; 2015-9th, 2016-10th, 2017-8th): The only woman film-maker on this list, Denis, with 4219 points, is ahead of Tarantino by only 25 points. So the American may replace her next year. But he does not have an upcoming release while Denis is making her first English language film, 'High Life', that stars Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche that comes out this year. Denis fell from last year's 8th position with her 2017 film 'Let the Sunshine In' not being listed in the Top 1000 of the Century. All other feature films she has made this century are currently in the list: Trouble Every Day, Friday Night, The Intruder, 35 Shots of Rum, White Material and Bastards.
9. Paul Thomas Anderson (47-year old American filmmaker): With only two points more than Denis, with 4221, PTA has made his debut on this list, thanks to his latest film 'Phantom Thread'. He has directed four other films this century, and all of them have met greater acclaim than his latest. 'There Will Be Blood' is ranked 4th, 'Punch-Drunk Love' 25th and 'The Master' 94th. 'Inherent Vice' is ranked 239 as well. However, since he is expected to take a couple of years to come up with his next film, he may not be here on this list next year.
8. Martin Scorsese (75-year old American film-maker; 2015-8th, 2016-9th, 2017-7th): Despite no release last year, Scorsese stays on this list. And his score, 4563, suggests that he may continue to be here although his next release, 'The Irishman', comes out in 2019. He has directed seven films since 2000, all of which feature in Top 1000: Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street and Silence.
7. Christopher Nolan (47-year old British-American film-maker, youngest on this list; 2015-10th, did not feature in 2016 and 2017) With 4643 points, Nolan is back in Top Ten, arriving at rank 7th, thanks to his latest release 'Dunkirk'. He has directed eight other films since 2000, seven of which feature in Top 1000: Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar. There is no news on his next feature, but he is likely to stay on this list next year as well.
6. Wes Anderson (48-year old American film-maker; 2015-5th, 2016-4th, 2017-5th): One rank further down from last year, and just one point ahead of Nolan, Anderson has directed six films since 2000, all of which feature in Top 1000: The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Limited. His latest, 'Isle of Dogs', has premiered at Berlin this year, winning him the Best Director trophy. It is almost a certainty that it will make it to Top 1000 next year and Anderson may reclaim his position in Top 5.
5. Apichatpong Weerasethakul (47-year old Thai film-maker; 2015-6th, 2016-7th, 2017-6th): With 4717 points, Weerasethakul has entered the Top 5 for the first time. He has directed seven films since 2000, six of which feature in Top 1000, including 'Tropical Malady', 'Blissfully Yours', 'Syndromes and a Century', 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives', 'Cemetery of Splendour' and 'Mysterious Objects at Noon'. His next film will come out only in 2019, and he may lose his position to Wes Anderson next year.
4. Joel and Ethan Coen (American film-makers, respectively 63 and 60 years of age; 3rd position in 2015, 2016 and 2017): For the first time, the Coen brothers have left the Top 3, may be because two of their films 'Burn After Reading' and 'Hail, Caesar!' are now ranked 950 and 990 respectively. Next year, one of these may not make it Top 1000, further affecting their position, especially because they are only 13 points ahead of Weerasethakul. However, with their anthology series, 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' coming up, they may continue to maintain a high position. They have directed ten films since 2000, eight of which feature in Top 1000: No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, True Grit and The Man Who Wasn't There apart from the two mentioned above.
3. Jia Zhangke (47-year old Chinese film-maker; 2015-4th, 2016-5th, 2017-4th): One position higher from last year, Jia Zhngke breaks into Top 3 with 4788 points. He has made seven films since 2000, six of which feature in Top 1000: Platform, Still Life, The World, Unknown Pleasures, A Touch of Sin and 24 City. He does not have any release this year with his next, 'Ash is Purest White' , coming in 2019.
2. Michael Haneke (76-year old Austrian film-maker, ranked 1st in 2015, 2016 and 2017): Finally, after staying on the top for three years, Haneke is down by one rank. He is still, with 4920 points, fairly ahead of everyone else. His first film in five years, 'Happy End' generated mixed reviews and could not make it to Top 1000. He has directed seven more films since 2000, six of which are in the Top 1000: Cache, The Piano Teacher, The White Ribbon, Code Unknown, Amour and Time of the Wolf.
1. Richard Linklater (57-year old American film-maker, ranked 2nd in 2015, 2016 and 2017): Linklater reaches the top position this time despite his latest, 'Last Flag Flying' not making into Top 1000. He has directed thirteen films since 2000, eight of which feature in Top 1000: Before Sunset, Boyhood, Waking Life, Before Midnight, School of Rock, A Scanner Darkly, Everybody Wants Some! and Bernie. In 2018, his next film 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' comes out, with Cate Blanchett playing the titular role.
Very few film-makers in this list have an upcoming release, but I have a feeling that the list will throw more surprises next year. And may show a drastic change over the next five years. For now, I am happy that my favourite among working film-makers is on the top, and until March next year, I will celebrate this.
Two names from last year's list have failed to make it to top ten: American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino (Current Score: 4194 points) and Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien (4034 points). With no releases lined up for this year, the two may not make it to Top Ten next year as well. Steven Spielberg (3784 points), who was ranked 7th in 2015 and 6th in 2016, too has not made it to the list despite favorable reviews of his last film 'The Post'. With his latest release, 'Ready Player One' getting mixed reviews, it is unlikely that he will re-enter the list next year.
Apart from the three names mentioned above, and the ten below, no other film-maker has been mentioned on this list in these four years. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, for example, has 3221 points currently, almost 100 points behind the name at the tenth position.
With the top ten names that follow, I have also mentioned their past ranks, if they have made it to Top Ten anytime between 2015 to 2017.
10. Claire Denis (71-year old French filmmaker; 2015-9th, 2016-10th, 2017-8th): The only woman film-maker on this list, Denis, with 4219 points, is ahead of Tarantino by only 25 points. So the American may replace her next year. But he does not have an upcoming release while Denis is making her first English language film, 'High Life', that stars Robert Pattinson and Juliette Binoche that comes out this year. Denis fell from last year's 8th position with her 2017 film 'Let the Sunshine In' not being listed in the Top 1000 of the Century. All other feature films she has made this century are currently in the list: Trouble Every Day, Friday Night, The Intruder, 35 Shots of Rum, White Material and Bastards.
9. Paul Thomas Anderson (47-year old American filmmaker): With only two points more than Denis, with 4221, PTA has made his debut on this list, thanks to his latest film 'Phantom Thread'. He has directed four other films this century, and all of them have met greater acclaim than his latest. 'There Will Be Blood' is ranked 4th, 'Punch-Drunk Love' 25th and 'The Master' 94th. 'Inherent Vice' is ranked 239 as well. However, since he is expected to take a couple of years to come up with his next film, he may not be here on this list next year.
8. Martin Scorsese (75-year old American film-maker; 2015-8th, 2016-9th, 2017-7th): Despite no release last year, Scorsese stays on this list. And his score, 4563, suggests that he may continue to be here although his next release, 'The Irishman', comes out in 2019. He has directed seven films since 2000, all of which feature in Top 1000: Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, Hugo, The Wolf of Wall Street and Silence.
7. Christopher Nolan (47-year old British-American film-maker, youngest on this list; 2015-10th, did not feature in 2016 and 2017) With 4643 points, Nolan is back in Top Ten, arriving at rank 7th, thanks to his latest release 'Dunkirk'. He has directed eight other films since 2000, seven of which feature in Top 1000: Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar. There is no news on his next feature, but he is likely to stay on this list next year as well.
6. Wes Anderson (48-year old American film-maker; 2015-5th, 2016-4th, 2017-5th): One rank further down from last year, and just one point ahead of Nolan, Anderson has directed six films since 2000, all of which feature in Top 1000: The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Limited. His latest, 'Isle of Dogs', has premiered at Berlin this year, winning him the Best Director trophy. It is almost a certainty that it will make it to Top 1000 next year and Anderson may reclaim his position in Top 5.
5. Apichatpong Weerasethakul (47-year old Thai film-maker; 2015-6th, 2016-7th, 2017-6th): With 4717 points, Weerasethakul has entered the Top 5 for the first time. He has directed seven films since 2000, six of which feature in Top 1000, including 'Tropical Malady', 'Blissfully Yours', 'Syndromes and a Century', 'Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives', 'Cemetery of Splendour' and 'Mysterious Objects at Noon'. His next film will come out only in 2019, and he may lose his position to Wes Anderson next year.
4. Joel and Ethan Coen (American film-makers, respectively 63 and 60 years of age; 3rd position in 2015, 2016 and 2017): For the first time, the Coen brothers have left the Top 3, may be because two of their films 'Burn After Reading' and 'Hail, Caesar!' are now ranked 950 and 990 respectively. Next year, one of these may not make it Top 1000, further affecting their position, especially because they are only 13 points ahead of Weerasethakul. However, with their anthology series, 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs' coming up, they may continue to maintain a high position. They have directed ten films since 2000, eight of which feature in Top 1000: No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, Inside Llewyn Davis, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, True Grit and The Man Who Wasn't There apart from the two mentioned above.
3. Jia Zhangke (47-year old Chinese film-maker; 2015-4th, 2016-5th, 2017-4th): One position higher from last year, Jia Zhngke breaks into Top 3 with 4788 points. He has made seven films since 2000, six of which feature in Top 1000: Platform, Still Life, The World, Unknown Pleasures, A Touch of Sin and 24 City. He does not have any release this year with his next, 'Ash is Purest White' , coming in 2019.
2. Michael Haneke (76-year old Austrian film-maker, ranked 1st in 2015, 2016 and 2017): Finally, after staying on the top for three years, Haneke is down by one rank. He is still, with 4920 points, fairly ahead of everyone else. His first film in five years, 'Happy End' generated mixed reviews and could not make it to Top 1000. He has directed seven more films since 2000, six of which are in the Top 1000: Cache, The Piano Teacher, The White Ribbon, Code Unknown, Amour and Time of the Wolf.
1. Richard Linklater (57-year old American film-maker, ranked 2nd in 2015, 2016 and 2017): Linklater reaches the top position this time despite his latest, 'Last Flag Flying' not making into Top 1000. He has directed thirteen films since 2000, eight of which feature in Top 1000: Before Sunset, Boyhood, Waking Life, Before Midnight, School of Rock, A Scanner Darkly, Everybody Wants Some! and Bernie. In 2018, his next film 'Where'd You Go, Bernadette' comes out, with Cate Blanchett playing the titular role.
Very few film-makers in this list have an upcoming release, but I have a feeling that the list will throw more surprises next year. And may show a drastic change over the next five years. For now, I am happy that my favourite among working film-makers is on the top, and until March next year, I will celebrate this.
