The Best Directors of the '90s
Ranked By
2.6K votes
391 voters
3 reranks
List of the top directors of the 90s. Nothing is more in fashion now than nineties nostalgia. Well, these top directors of the 1990's are partly responsible for the entertainment greatness we saw during that decade. The nineties was an interesting time for actors turning into critically-acclaimed directors, as we saw with Tim Robbins (Bob Roberts), Robert Redford (Quiz Show), and Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven).
The 1990's was also the decade of Mike Leigh and the Cohen Brothers for those offbeat movie lovers. Spike Lee also crushed the 90's in the director chair with some of his finest efforts, including Malcolm X and Summer of Sam. The reign of M. Night Shyamalan also took off in the 1990's cinema landscape after The Sixth Sense grabbed audiences worldwide. Before the 21st century kicked in, we had classics like Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia and Silence of the Lambs, while Sam Mendes put up a scary mirror to the USA with his ode to the 90's in American Beauty.
The 1990's was also the decade of Mike Leigh and the Cohen Brothers for those offbeat movie lovers. Spike Lee also crushed the 90's in the director chair with some of his finest efforts, including Malcolm X and Summer of Sam. The reign of M. Night Shyamalan also took off in the 1990's cinema landscape after The Sixth Sense grabbed audiences worldwide. Before the 21st century kicked in, we had classics like Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia and Silence of the Lambs, while Sam Mendes put up a scary mirror to the USA with his ode to the 90's in American Beauty.
Most divisive: Sam Mendes
Over 300 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Best Directors of the 1990s
- 1
GoodFellas (1990)
Cape Fear (1991)
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Casino (1995)
Kundun (1997)
Bringing Out the Dead (1999)- Credits (Film): Goodfellas, The Departed, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York
- Birthplace: Queens, New York, USA
- 1Goodfellas1,534 Votes
- 2Taxi Driver1,348 Votes
- 3The Departed1,412 Votes
- 2
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Four Rooms (1995)
Jackie Brown (1997)- Credits (Film): Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill Volume 1, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained
- Birthplace: Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
- 1Pulp Fiction4,890 Votes
- 2Inglourious Basterds4,698 Votes
- 3Django Unchained4,385 Votes
- 3
Hook (1991)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Schinder's List (1993)
Amistad (1997)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)- Credits (Film): Jaws, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
- 4
Joel & Ethan Cohen
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Barton Fink (1991)
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Fargo (1996)
The Big Lebowski (1998)- Credits (Film): Toy Story, Evan Almighty, Garfield: The Movie, Cheaper by the Dozen, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties
- Birthplace: New York
- 5
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
True Lies (1994)
Titanic (1997)- Credits (Film): Titanic, Avatar, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator, Aliens
- Birthplace: Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada
- 6
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Batman Returns (1992)
Ed Wood (1994)
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)- Credits (Film): Batman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, Batman Returns
- Birthplace: Burbank, California, USA
- 7
- Credits (Film): Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- 1Away We Go11 Votes
- 2Revolutionary Road9 Votes
- 3Dan in Real Life7 Votes
- 8
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Green Mile (1999)
- Credits (Film): The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, King Kong, The Mist, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
- Birthplace: Montbéliard, Doubs, France
- 9White Hunter Black Heart (1990)
The Rookie (1990)
Unforgiven (1992)
A Perfect World (1993)
The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Absolute Power (1997)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
True Crime (1999)- Credits (Film): Good, Unforgiven, Dirty Harry, Million Dollar Baby, Back to the Future Part II
- Birthplace: USA, California, San Francisco
- 10
- Credits (Film): The Goonies, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Gremlins, Home Alone
- Birthplace: Spangler, Pennsylvania, USA
- 11Thelma & Louise (1991)
1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
White Squall (1996)
G.I. Jane (1997)- Credits (Film): Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Prometheus
- Birthplace: South Shields, England, UK
- 1Gladiator502 Votes
- 2Alien500 Votes
- 3Blade Runner501 Votes
- 12The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Cousin Bobby (1992)
Philadelphia (1993)
The Complex Sessions (1994)
Beloved (1998)- Credits (Film): The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Adaptation, That Thing You Do!, Devil in a Blue Dress
- Birthplace: Baldwin, New York, USA
- 13Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Jungle Fever (1991)
Malcolm X (1992)
Crooklyn (1994)
Clockers (1995)
Lumiere and Company (1995)
Get on the Bus (1996)
Girl 6 (1996)
4 Little Girls (1997)
He Got Game (1998)
Freak (1998)
Summer of Sam (1999)- Credits (Film): Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, Love & Basketball, He Got Game, Inside Man
- Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- 14My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993)
To Die For (1995)
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Psycho (1998)- Credits (Film): Good Will Hunting, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Milk, Finding Forrester, To Die For
- Birthplace: USA, Kentucky, Louisville
- 15
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Rushmore (1998)
- Credits (Film): Moonrise Kingdom, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr. Fox
- Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA
- 16
Clerks (1994)
Mallrats (1995)
Chasing Amy (1997)
Dogma (1999)
- Credits (Film): Clerks, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Chasing Amy, Daredevil
- Birthplace: Red Bank, New Jersey, USA
- 17Praying with Anger (1992)
Wide Awake (1998)
The Sixth Sense (1999)- Credits (Film): The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, The Village, The Last Airbender
- Birthplace: Pondicherry, India
- 18
- Credits (Film): The Fugitive, Holes, A Perfect Murder, Above the Law, The Guardian
- Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USA
- 19
- Credits (Film): Star Wars, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, Men in Black
- Birthplace: Modesto, California, USA
- 20
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Aladdin (1992)
The Lion King (1994)
- Credits (Film): The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Groove
- Birthplace: Rye, New York, USA
- 21Cabaret (1993)
Company (1996)
American Beauty (1999)- Credits (Film): American Beauty, Skyfall, Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road
- Birthplace: Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
- 22A River Runs Through It (1992)
Quiz Show (1994)
The Horse Whisperer (1998)- Credits (Film): Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, Out of Africa
- Birthplace: USA, California, Santa Monica
- 1Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid800 Votes
- 2The Sting769 Votes
- 3Jeremiah Johnson741 Votes
- 23Bob Roberts (1992)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Cradle Will Rock (1999)- Credits (Film): The Shawshank Redemption, Top Gun, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Green Lantern
- Birthplace: West Covina, California, USA
- 24Green Card (1990)
Fearless (1993)
The Truman Show (1998)- Credits (Film): Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Witness, Gallipoli
- Birthplace: Sydney, Australia
- 25
Dead Again (1991)
Peter's Friends (1992)
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
Hamlet (1996)
- Credits (Film): Thor, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Thor: The Dark World, Chariots of Fire, Henry V
- Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
- 26
Died age 83 (1981-2014)
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
Regarding Henry (1991)
Wolf (1994)
The Birdcage (1996)
Primary Colors (1998)- Credits (Film): The Graduate, The Birdcage, Working Girl, Charlie Wilson's War, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
- 27Europa (1991)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
The Idiots (1998)- Credits (Film): Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, Melancholia, Antichrist, Breaking the Waves
- Birthplace: Denmark, Kongens Lyngby
- 28Johnny Stecchino (1991)
The Monster (1994)
Life Is Beautiful (1997)- Credits (Film): Life Is Beautiful, Down by Law, Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes, Luna
- Birthplace: Manciano La Misericordia, Italy
- 29City of Hope (1991)
Passion Fish (1992)
The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
Lone Star (1996)
Men with Guns (1997)
Limbo (1999)- Credits (Film): Malcolm X, The Howling, Eight Men Out, Piranha, Alligator
- Birthplace: Schenectady, New York, USA
- 1Lone Star63 Votes
- 2Matewan47 Votes
- 3The Secret of Roan Inish38 Votes
- 30Life Is Sweet (1990)
Naked (1993)
Secrets & Lies (1996)
Career Girls (1997)
Topsy-Turvy (1999)- Credits (Film): Secrets & Lies, Naked, Topsy Turvy, Nuts in May, Vera Drake
- Birthplace: Salford, England, UK
- 31
King of New York (1990)
Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Body Snatchers (1993)
Dangerous Game (1993)
The Addiction (1995)
Mylène Farmer: California (1996)
The Funeral (1996)
The Blackout (1997)
Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground (1997)
New Rose Hotel (1998)- Credits (Film): Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Dangerous Game, Body Snatchers
- Birthplace: Bronx, New York, USA
- 32
Conte de printemps (A Tale of Springtime, 1990)
Conte d'hiver (A Winter's Tale, 1992)
Conte d'été (A Tale of Summer, 1996)
Conte d'automne (A Tale of Autumn, 1998)- Credits (Film): Claire's Knee, My Night at Maud's, I Think I Love My Wife, La Collectionneuse, A Tale of Autumn
- Birthplace: Tulle, France
