While we pore over the latest Sight & Sound film critics poll of the Top 50 Movies of all time, it’s not surprising that most of the films are directed by men. The notable exception is Chantal Akerman’s “Jeanne Dielman,” which I saw in college but barely remember. On the other hand, I recall every frame of Maya Deren’s “Meshes in the Afternoon.” The poll, as many have commented, is dominated by older films, most of them pre-1960, a time when few women were directing, unless they were Ida Lupino, Dorothy Arzner or Leni Reifenstahl, who did not make the S & S list. Even the great French and Australian women filmmakers–accepted and supported by their culture in a way that American filmmakers are not– didn’t get going until the 70s.
Many of the directors who made the S & S list had built up critical consensus around their top titles. Those who didn’t got left off the list–such as Howard Hawks, Sam Peckinpah, Preston Sturges and others. It’s almost a PR issue–who gets written about the most, which movies stay extant in the conversation, retaining currency and relevance? So few films directed by women have become actual classics. When Cannes collected all the best filmmakers for a recent anniversary grouping, they included one woman: Jane Campion.
So let’s collect the best movies directed by women. Give them some ink. Get the conversation, if late, at least started. So few women have directed Hollywood films of any size, and so many have made personal independent ventures. And so few have built longlasting careers with steady ouput. So many of the best foreign films have not been widely seen. It’s the way it is. Please write in any notable films or filmmakers I have left off this list. I’ve picked each directors’ best film, but you may differ. Then we’ll come up with a poll for you to vote in. (Women in Hollywood is also doing this; they have their own list.)
1. Jane Campion The Piano
2. Kathyrn Bigelow The Hurt Locker
3. Julie Taymor Frida
4. Susanne Bier After the Wedding
5. Deba Granik Winter’s Bone
6. Lena Wertmuller Swept Away
7. Barbra Streisand Yentl
8. Mira Nair Monsoon Wedding
9. Lisa Cholodenko The Kids Are All Right
10. Gillian Armstrong High Tide
SEE FULL LIST BELOW, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, BY DIRECTOR
Chantal Akerman Jeanne Dielman
Suzana Amaral The Hour of the Star
Allison Anders Gas Food Lodging
Andrea Arnold Fish Tank
Dorothy Arzner Dance Girl Dance
Drew Barrymore Whip It
Hava Kohav Beller The Restless Conscience
Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini American Splendor
Antonia Bird Priest
Catherine Breillat 36 Fillett
Vera Chytilova Daisies
Niki Caro Whale Rider
Martha Coolidge Rambling Rose
Sofia Coppola Lost in Translation
Julie Dash Daughters of the Dust
Claire Denis Beau Travail
Maya Deren Meshes in the Afternoon
Marguerite Duras India Song
Nora Ephron Sleepless in Seattle
Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton Little Miss Sunshine
Anne Fletcher The Proposal
Jodie Foster Home for the Holidays
Marleen Goris Antonia’s Line
Randa Haines Children of a Lesser God
Mary Harron American Pyscho
Amy Heckerling Fast Times at Ridgement High
Agnieszka Holland Europa Europa
Nicole Holofcener Walking and Talking
Ann Hui Boat People
Courtney Hunt Frozen River
Patti Jenkins Monster
Tamra Jenkins The Savages
Angelina Jolie In the Land of Blood and Honey
Miranda July Me and You and Everyone We Know
Nicole Kassell The Woodsman
Kasi Lemons Eve’s Bayou
Phyllida Lloyd Mamma Mia!
Barbara Loden Wanda
Ida Lupino Outrage (for On Dangerous Ground, she filled in for sick Nicolas Ray, uncredited)
Penny Marshall Big
Lucrecia Martel The Headless Woman
Elaine May The Heartbreak Kid
Deepa Mehta Water
Marzieh Meshini The Day I Became a Woman
Nancy Meyer What Women Want
Rebecca Miller Peronsal Velocity
Euzhan Palcy Sugar Lane Alley
Kimberly Pierce Boys Don’t Cry
Sarah Polley Away from Her
Sally Potter Orlando
Gina Prince-Bythewood Love and Basketball
Lynne Ramsay We Need to Talk About Kevin
Dee Rees Pariah
Kelly Reichardt Meek’s Cutoff
Leni Riefenstahl Triumph of the Will
Marjane Satrapi Persepolis
Nancy Savoca Household Saints
Lone Scherfig An Education
Lynn Shelton My Sister’s Sister
Larisa Shepitko The Ascent
Joan Micklin Silver Hester Street
Penelope Spheeris Wayne’s World
Agnes Varda One Sings, The Other Doesn’t
Anne Wheeler Bye Bye Blues
Juanita Wilson As If I Am Not There
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