Top 25 Directors of the Decade (2000-2009)

This list is based on looking at one hundred and seven of the most important, influential and well known directors working in the decade (though I am sure there are a few I should have included or forgot about, or do not know). Each director was given a score based on the average review score given to all their qualifying films made in the decade. Only feature films were used in calculating a score, only directors that made at least two feature films (at least one being live action) qualified for the list and only feature films that saw a theatrical release in the decade qualified. Here are the top twenty five reviewed directors and below them the top five one film directors:

Top 25 Directors:

1.)                Christopher Nolan – Memento (2000), Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006) , and The Dark Knight (2008)

2.)                Jean-Pierre Jeunet – Amelie (2001) and A Very Long Engagement (2004)

3.)                Darren Aronofsky – Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Fountain (2006) and The Wrestler (2008)

4.)                Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), King Kong (2005), and The Lovely Bones (2009)

5.)                Quentin Tarantino – Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Death Proof (2007), and Inglourious Basterds (2009)

6.)                Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – Amores Perros (2000), 21 Grams (2003) and Babel (2006)

7.)                Jason Reitman – Thank You for Smoking (2005), Juno (2007) and Up in the Air (2009)

8.)                Paul Greengrass – Bloody Sunday (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), United 93 (2006), and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

9.)                Alfonso Cuaron – Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Children of Men (2006)

10.)            Martin Scorsese – Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004) and The Departed (2006)

11.)            Paul Thomas Anderson – Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and There Will Be Love (2007)

12.)            Michael Moore – Bowling for Columbine (2002), Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), Sicko (2007), and Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

13.)            Paul Haggis – Crash (2005) and In the Valley of Elah (2007)

14.)            Spike Jonze – Adaptation. (2002) and Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

15.)            Roman Polanski – The Pianist (2002) and Oliver Twist (2005)

16.)            Fernando Meirelles – City of God (2002), The Constant Gardener (2005) and Blindness (2008)

17.)            Edward Zwick – The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006) and Defiance (2008)

18.)            Stephen Daldry – Billy Elliot (2000), The Hours (2002) and The Reader (2008)

19.)            Chan-wook Park – Joint Security Area (2000), Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), Lady Vengeance (2005), I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK (2006), and Thirst (2009)

20.)            Zack Snyder – Dawn of the Dead (2004), 300 (2006) and Watchman (2009)

21.)            Julian Schnabel – Before Night Falls (2000) and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

22.)            Pedro Almodovar – Talk to Her (2002), Bad Education (2004), Volver (2006), and Broken Embraces (2009)

23.)            David Fincher – Panic Room (2002), Zodiac (2007) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

24.)            Jean-Marc Vallee – C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005) and The Young Victoria (2009)

25.)            Wes Anderson – The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Top Reviewed One-Film Directors:

1.)                Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck – The Lives of Others (2006)

2.)                Neill Blomkamp – District 9 (2009)

3.)                Tomas Alfredson - Let the Right One In (2008)

4.)                Tom Ford – A Single Man (2009)

5.)                Cristian Mungiu – 4 months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days (2007)

Directors used in survey (in order of score):

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Neill Blomkamp, Christopher Nolan, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Darren Aronofsky, Tomas Alfredson, Tom Ford, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jason Reitman, Cristian Mungiu, Paul Greengrass, Alfonso Cuaron, Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael Moore, Paul Haggis, Spike Jonze, Roman Polanski, Fernando Meirelles, Edward Zwick, Stephen Daldry, Chan-wook Park, Zack Snyder, Julian Schnabel, Pedro Almodovar, David Fincher, Bennett Miller, Jean-Marc Vallee, Wes Anderson, Clint Eastwood, J.J. Abrams, Alexander Payne, David Lynch, Greg Mottola, Joe Wright, Yimou Zhang, Sam Mendes, David Yates, Mel Gibson, Peter Weir, Kar Wai Wong, Mike Leigh, Neil Burger, Oliver Hirschbiegel, The Coen Brothers, Judd Apatow, Werner Herzog, Ridley Scott, Guillermo del Toro, Jacques Audiard, George Lucus, James Cameron, Danny Boyle, Roger Donaldson, James Mangold, Bryan Singer, Ang Lee, Michel Gondry, Stephen Frears, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, Sophia Coppola, David Gordon Green, Cameron Crowe, Richard Linklater, Sam Raimi, Cedric Klapisch, Frank Darabont, Mary Harron, Mike Nichols, Gore Verbinski, Rob Marshall, Ron Howard, Robert Zemeckis, Kevin Smith, Tony Gilroy, Michael Mann, Lasse Hallstrom, Peter Berg, Terrence Malick, Jon Favreau, Woody Allen, Gus Van Sant, Noah Baumbach, Kathryn Bigelow, Tony Scott, The Hughes Brothers, David Mamet, Paul Verhoeven, Todd Phillips, Adam McKay, Richard Kelly, Steven Soderbergh, The Wachowski Brothers, Terry Gilliam, Gil Kenan, Guy Ritchie, Jim Sheridan, Michael Bay, Luc Besson, M. Night Shyamalan, Martin Campbell, Robert Rodriguez, Rob Reiner, and Oliver Stone