Six Directors Pick Their Favorite Films of the 21st-Century

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I knew I loved Sofia Coppola more than anything in the world.


Antoine Fuqua

Director, “Training Day,” “The Magnificent Seven”

I love all types of films: great character-driven pieces like “There Will Be Blood,” and entertainment like “Gravity” and “Avatar” that transported me to other places and filled me with wonderment — a reminder to us all to continue pushing our vision. “Fences” reminded me of my childhood growing up in Pittsburgh; “Munich” educated me while being entertaining and suspenseful in a way that only Steven Spielberg or Hitchcock could pull off. And like everyone else, I just like to grab my popcorn and sit back and enjoy what Hollywood is all about in movies like “Gladiator,” a throwback to the David Lean days of epic filmmaking.

Narrowing this list was a feat in itself — here we go!

1. ‘Fences’ (2016)
A feast of masterful acting. Denzel Washington did an incredible job of not only directing, but also having the laserlike focus and discipline to stay true and elevate to the big screen one of our most talented and celebrated playwrights. I believe August Wilson would be proud.

2. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ (2008)
Took us into a world that I have never seen before and executed it in a visceral, gritty way. It was not only moving, but it was heartfelt, dangerous and entertaining.

3. ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ (2012)
Imaginative and deeply moving, without all the tricks of Hollywood. A world undiscovered by some, in our own backyard.

4. ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (2012)
An important portrayal of the events that led to the killing of bin Laden that sustained intensity and tension, even when it was only two people in the room talking. I thought Kathryn Bigelow did a masterful job, and Mark Boal’s script was smart, tight and moving.

5. ‘Avatar’ (2009)

6. ‘Munich’ (2005)

7. ‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)

8. ‘The Pianist’ (2002)
Not only was Adrien Brody fantastic portraying Wladyslaw Szpilman, but Roman Polanski took us through this tragic journey elegantly and emotionally. And it’s a film that I have watched several times, and I always see something new in the frame.

9. ‘Eastern Promises’ (2007)
Viggo Mortensen was one of the coldest gangsters I’ve seen in a while, and his performance was as detailed, dangerous and scary as you could possibly get. It goes up there with some of my all-time favorite gangster films like Michael Mann’s “Heat” and Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.”

10. ‘Gladiator’ (2000)


Sofia Coppola

Director, “Lost in Translation,” the forthcoming “The Beguiled”

I usually like more subtle movies but can enjoy all kinds. [For this list] I just thought about movies I liked from the last 15, 20 years. I find them inspiring, especially when it’s something you haven’t seen before, and not close to anything I’m doing.

‘Force Majeure’ (2014)
Great acting — I loved the little moments, the details that said so much.

‘The White Ribbon’ (2009)
I love ‘White Ribbon’ for its [black-and-white] photography; it felt so real to the period [pre-World War I Germany].”

‘The Savages’ (2007)
For the performances [by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman], and the mix of humor and sorrow.

‘Head-On’ (2005)

‘Daddy’s Home’ (2015)
The only film my kids and I equally enjoy together! I love Will Ferrell, and this movie is sweet and fun to watch with cracking-up kids.

‘Under the Skin’ (2014)
[Scarlett Johansson] was so good in that — well cast, and it was so weird and innovative the way they shot it and incorporated real people. I thought that movie should have gotten more recognition.

‘The Incredibles’ (2004)

‘Together’ (2001)
I love “We Are the Best!” by that director [Lukas Moodysson] but “Together,” set in a ’70s Swedish commune, is so good.

‘Grizzly Man’ (2005)

‘Ida’ (2014)

‘Fish Tank’ (2010)
It feels so real, and [director Andrea Arnold] captures the awkwardness and feeling of the characters.

‘Ex Machina’ (2015)
Worth it just for Oscar Isaac’s dancing scene!


Paul Feig

Director, “Bridesmaids,” “Ghostbusters”

I’m a very noncynical filmmaker. I like uplifting endings, I love romance, just feel-good movies. The best experience I ever have [is] when I forget I’m watching a movie. Or when as a filmmaker, I’m going, “How did they do that?”

My favorite films, in no particular order:

‘Napoleon Dynamite’ (2004)
One of those movies I could watch over and over again, because it was just so out of left field. In comedy, we feel that we’ve seen it all and done it all, but then an original voice comes in and you go, damn.

‘Moulin Rouge’ (2001)

‘Sing Street’ (2016)

‘Deadpool’ (2016)

‘This Is the End’ (2013)
Every 10 or 15 years, comedy takes a big step forward, because somebody does something [risky], and to me that’s what that was. They pulled off all those elements that seemed like they couldn’t work — it was emotional and funny, and yet they had done this thing of playing themselves.

‘Amélie’ (2001)
[Audrey Tautou was] so unbelievably charming and fun to watch in that role, but then you combine that with that filmmaking style, it’s so literal and yet stylish. You fall in love with her immediately. My only complaint: In the last shot, when she’s on that scooter, I wish she was driving the scooter and the guy was behind her.

‘Love Actually’ (2003)
The most impossible thing in the world is to effectively juggle multiple story lines. I just study the movie — I still marvel at it, I still don’t know how [the director, Richard Curtis] did it.

‘A Single Man’ (2009)

‘Moon’ (2009)
A masterwork. And one of my favorite soundtracks ever.

‘Casino Royale’ (2006)
Another one I could just watch every day. Daniel Craig is my favorite Bond. That opening parkour scene, that’s still one of the greatest action sequences in a movie. And the scene in the airport with the tankard truck — there’s not just mayhem, there’s drama, you’re learning about the characters. If you’re getting pulled along in the story while you’re watching this kick-ass action, that to me is the thing.

‘Mustang’ (2015)
[Deniz Gamze Erguven’s debut about five sisters in Turkey] completely blew me away. Obviously I love any movies about women finding their own way. It’s heartbreaking but so beautifully directed. When you make your first film, if it’s good, for the first time, the world is climbing into your head and seeing the world through your eyes.


Denis Villeneuve

Director, “Arrival,” the forthcoming “Blade Runner 2049”

Which movie is the best one ... “There Will Be Blood” or “No Country for Old Men” (both from 2007)? Strange question. I’m driven by the impact these movies had on me then, and still today. Time is the ultimate judge.

There are specific shots that went directly through my skull, like a bullet spreading particles of my brain on my walls. Like the shot of Daniel Day-Lewis baptizing a baby with oil, making “There Will Be Blood” an instant new classic. I felt the same way watching the Coen brothers’ opus “No Country for Old Men.” The image of the policeman’s boots making dark marks on the floor as he is being strangled by the nightmarish killer, portrayed by Javier Bardem, has haunted me since then.

The deer being killed in slow motion by a car in “A Prophet” (2010) remains one of the most powerful cinematic shots of the last decade. But is it better than following Scarlett Johansson in a pool of darkness in “Under the Skin” (2014)? Apples and oranges. Lists are for grocery stores.

The madness in “Dogtooth” (2010) is the most refreshing thing I’ve seen in a long time. Yorgos Lanthimos may be one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. I’m still laughing at the crazy adults running to catch airplanes falling into their garden, because their father convinced them that they were fruit dropping from the sky.

I vividly remember Lars von Trier’s “Dogville” (2004). The idea of making a set without walls to show the cowardice of a community was genius.

God, I love cinema. And I wish I could add more films I love … like “Children of Men” (2006), “Inception” (2010) or “Amores Perros” (2001).

When I started making movies at the end of the 20th century, the previous generation of filmmakers said cinema was dead. Well … long live cinema!


Brett Ratner

Director, “Rush Hour,” “Hercules”

These films are my personal favorites for various reasons. Many other films are worthy, but I thought I’d keep it to 10. I also wanted to include documentaries, one of my favorite genres.

1. ‘The Kid Stays in the Picture’ (2002)
One of the greatest documentaries ever made. At the time, it was groundbreaking for Brett Morgen and Nanette Burstein’s use of taking still photographs and bringing them to life. The film made me dream and was a story of survival of one of the greatest living producers.

2. ‘The Pianist’ (2002)
It will go down in history as one of the greatest Holocaust motion pictures ever made.

3. ‘The Hangover’ (2009)
A reflection of my love for Todd Phillips as a filmmaker. He is not only brilliant at comedy, but he also has a complete understanding of the audience.

4. ‘Borat’ (2006)
One of the best comedies ever; not since I was a kid and saw Eddie Murphy creating unique characters had there been anything like this. Also groundbreaking in its format.

5. ‘The Social Network’ (2010)
A masterfully made film on all levels.

6. ‘Y Tu Mamá También’ (2002)
Reminded me of films that captured my youth such as “Risky Business,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “The Last American Virgin.” They captured what I was feeling about life after college, sexuality, friendship, love, my parents, and all the issues that a young man has to face. This film did that for generation.

7. ‘Sexy Beast’ (2001)
Gangster films are my favorite genre; this is one of the great modern-day gangster movies and Ben Kingsley’s character, one of the great villains. Jonathan Glazer’s filmmaking is unobtrusive and to the point. He created a film that is full of style and substance.

8. ‘Birth’ (2004)
Another brilliant film by Jonathan Glazer, extraordinary [for] not only the performances and tone but Harris Savides’s cinematography.

9. ‘Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired’ (2008)
Marina Zenovich’s film is one of the great examples of why [documentaries] are so impactful. She tells a very complex story that leaves the moral opinion up to the viewer.

10. ‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’ (2003)
There is no filmmaker like Quentin Tarantino, nor will there ever be.


Alex Gibney

Director, “Taxi to the Dark Side,” “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”

I don’t like 10-best lists. How do you rank “Spirited Away” over “Eastern Promises”

And I don’t even like proclaiming “great films.” I remember that my father spent most of his life wanting to be a “great man,” but became more interesting and important to me when he became a “good man,” sharp, curious and more interested in listening than making speeches.

My list comprises “good films” that stirred my heart in unexpected ways.

Many are documentaries. So far, in the 21st century, documentaries have often been more profound and form-bending than fiction. One day, at the Toronto film festival, when I saw both “The Gatekeepers” (2012) and “Stories We Tell” (2013), I thought I had been transported to cinematic Elysium.

Here’s a list of other remarkable films, chosen almost at random from my longer list of 30.

‘City of God’ (2003)
Wow! The chicken and the knife!

‘Michael Clayton’ (2007)
Great take on corruption. My favorite scene is when [George Clooney] takes care of a client who is too arrogant to know how much trouble he is in. Want to understand the 2008 financial crisis? Watch this scene.

‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about torture. This film gets deep into the horror of it all and the imagination that’s needed to survive it.

‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007)
The ultimate post-9/11 film that has nothing to do with Al Qaeda or the politics of the Iraq war. It’s about a brutal force of terror that can’t be bargained with and can only be understood with the wisdom of a lawman philosopher.

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014)
Formally brilliant. And what a gas!

‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (2017)
Masterpiece.

A Triptych of Three Innovative Docs

“Nostalgia for the Light” (2011), those seeking answers in the past meet in the present. Who says narration can’t be poetry? “Waltz With Bashir” (2008) created a new genre — the animated documentary — to tell a story of haunting memories. “Iraq in Fragments” (2006) makes poetry out of the everyday lives of Iraqis.

‘Grizzly Man’ (2005)
My editors will tell you of my failed but relentless attempts to imitate Werner Herzog’s voice speaking about [Timothy] Treadwell seeing the “flicker of humanity” in the eyes of the bear [that ultimately kills him].

‘Heart of a Dog” (2015)
A film that makes up its own rules as it goes along.

‘The Big Short’ (2015)
It’s hard to make abstract economic concepts understandable and fun. This film is cinematic Frank Zappa or Captain Beefheart — free to go where it wants to go. And Christian Bale’s performance — ooh la la.