Best Movies of 1953 by Rank
6
1
Yasujiro Ozu
Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Sô Yamamura
Drama
Japan
Japanese
80
2
Kenji Mizoguchi
Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Eitarô Ozawa, Ikio Sawamura
Drama / Thriller / Fantasy / Romance / Period Film
Japan
Japanese
155
3
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Antonio Centa, Folco Lulli
Thriller / Adventure / Action / Drama
France / Italy
French
157
4
Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla, Valentine Camax, Louis Perrault
Comedy
France
French
223
6
Max Ophüls
Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Debucourt
Drama / Romance / Period Film
France / Italy
French
249
7
Fred Zinnemann
Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra
Drama / Romance / War
USA
English
357
8
Vincente Minnelli
Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant
Family / Comedy / Musical
USA
English
427
10
Fritz Lang
Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby
Drama / Film-Noir / Thriller / Crime / Detective
USA
English
482
11
Samuel Fuller
Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye
Film-Noir / Thriller / Spy
USA
English
853
12
Henry Cornelius
Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall
Comedy / Adventure
UK
English
873
13
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud
Drama / History / Epic / Biography
USA
English
878
14
Howard Hawks
Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
908
15
John Huston
Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones
Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Crime / Romance / Thriller
UK / USA / Italy
English
938
16
Teinosuke Kinugasa
Kazuo Hasegawa, Machiko Kyô, Isao Yamagata, Yataro Kurokawa
Drama / Period Film
Japan
Japanese
1081
17
Billy Wilder
William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger
Drama / War / Comedy
USA
English
1132
18
Charles Walters
Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Drama / Musical / Romance
USA
English
1303
20
Federico Fellini
Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi
Drama / Comedy
France / Italy
Italian
1439
21
Anthony Mann
James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan, Charles Drake, George Tobias
Biography / Drama / Music / Period Film
USA
English
1456
22
John Ford
Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Donald Sinden
Drama / Adventure / Romance
USA
English
1534
24
Charles Frend, Alec McCowen
Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, John Stratton, Denholm Elliott, John Warner
Drama / War
UK
English
1569
25
Ingmar Bergman
Åke Grönberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman
Drama
Sweden
Swedish
1632
26
Philip Leacock
Duncan Macrae, Jean Anderson, Theodore Bikel, Adrienne Corri
Family / Drama
UK
English
1643
27
Henry Hathaway
Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Max Showalter, Denis O'Dea
Film-Noir / Thriller
USA
English
1832
28
Walter Lang
Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, George Sanders, Billy De Wolfe
Musical / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1842
29
Morris Engel, Ray Ashley, Ruth Orkin
Richie Andrusco, Richard Brewster, Winifred Cushing, Jay Williams, Will Lee
Drama / Adventure / Family
USA
English
1893
30
László Benedek
Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin, Jay C. Flippen
Drama / Gangster / Cult
USA
English
1923
31
John Ford
Charles Winninger, Arleen Whelan, Stepin Fetchit, John Russell
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
1937
32
Jean Negulesco
Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, David Wayne
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1982
33
Marcel Carné
Simone Signoret, Raf Vallone, Jacques Duby, Maria-Pia Casilio
Drama / Film-Noir / Crime
France / Italy
French
2001
35
Luigi Comencini
Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Marisa Merlini, Roberto Risso
Comedy / Romance
Italy
Italian
2042
36
George Sidney
Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2113
37
Arne Sucksdorff
Gunnar Sjöberg, Luis Van Rooten, Anders Nohrborg
Drama / Adventure / Family
Sweden
Swedish
2133
38
Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel
Family / Animation / Musical / Fantasy / Adventure
USA
English
2156
39
Charles Crichton
Stanley Holloway, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle
Comedy
UK
English
2189
40
Byron Haskin
Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite
Sci-Fi / Thriller / Drama
USA
English
2207
41
Otto Preminger
William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara, Tom Tully, Dawn Addams
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2222
42
André De Toth
Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni
Crime / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
USA
English
2249
43
Roy Rowland
Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig
Family / Musical / Fantasy
USA
English
2277
44
George Lowe
Meredith Edwards, John Hunt, Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay
Documentary / History / Sports / Adventure / Biography
UK
English
2299
45
Ida Lupino
Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn, Edmond O'Brien, Kenneth Tobey
Drama
USA
English
2472
47
George More O'Ferrall
Trevor Howard, Elizabeth Allan, Maria Schell, Denholm Elliott
Drama / War / Religion
UK
English
2511
48
Jack Arnold
Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Joe Sawyer, Russell Johnson
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2597
50
Edward D. Wood Jr.
Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell, Dolores Fuller, Edward D. Wood Jr.
Drama / Cult
USA
English
2599
51
Ingmar Bergman
Harriet Andersson, Lars Ekborg, Dagmar Ebbesen, Åke Fridell, Naemi Briese
Drama / Romance
Sweden
Swedish
2601
52
Art Babbitt, Ted Parmelee
Stanley Baker, James Mason
Animation / Short / Crime / Horror
USA
English
2605
53
William A. Wellman
John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Abel, James Arness, Andy Devine, Allyn Joslyn
Adventure / Drama
USA
English
2605
53
Yves Allégret, Rafael E. Portas
Michèle Morgan, Gérard Philipe, Michèle Cordoue
Drama / Romance
France / Mexico
French
2605
53
Ken Annakin
Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, Michael Gough
Adventure / Drama / Family / History
USA
English
2689
54
Eugène Lourié
Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods
Sci-Fi / Horror
USA
English
2689
54
Peter Brook
Laurence Olivier, Hugh Griffith, George Rose, Dorothy Tutin, Stanley Holloway
Crime / History / Musical / Drama
UK
English
2689
54
David Butler
Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey
Biography / Comedy / Musical / Romance / Western
USA
English
2689
54
Hideo Sekigawa
Takashi Kanda, Masao Mishima, Eiji Okada, Isuzu Yamada
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2689
54
Curtis Bernhardt
Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, Aldo Ray, Russell Collins, Diosa Costello
Drama / Musical / Religion
USA
English
2689
54
Lima Barreto
Alberto Ruschel, Marisa Prado, Milton Ribeiro, Vanja Orico, Adoniran Barbosa
Action / Drama / Crime / Romance
Brazil
Portuguese
2689
54
Shirô Toyoda
Hideko Takamine, Hiroshi Akutagawa, Jukichi Uno, Eijirô Tono, Chouko Iida
Drama / Romance
Japan
Japanese
2708
55
unknown
Laurence Olivier, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip
Documentary / Biography
UK
English
2710
56
Ida Lupino
Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman
Drama / Film-Noir / Thriller / Crime / Cult
USA
English
2740
57
Irving Pichel
Niall MacGinnis, John Ruddock, Pierre Lefevre, Guy Verney
Drama / History / Religion / Biography
USA / West Germany
English
2741
58
George More O'Ferrall
Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Cyril Raymond, Humphrey Lestocq
Drama / War / Action / Adventure
UK
English
2773
60
Victor Vicas, Beate von Mollo
Ivan Desny, Ruth Niehaus, René Deltgen, Karl John
Drama / Romance / War
West Germany
German
2788
61
Rafael Gil
Fernando Sancho, José Marco Davó, Francisco Rabal
Drama
Spain
Spanish
2788
61
Claude Autant-Lara
Danielle Darrieux, Henri Vilbert, Julien Carette, Ivan Desny
Drama / Romance
France
French
2788
61
Aleksandr Ptushko
Sergei Stolyarov, Alla Larionova, Yelena Myshkova, B. Surovtsev
Adventure / Fantasy
Soviet Union
Russian
2792
62
Charles Walters
Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson, Charlotte Greenwood
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2792
62
Don Weis
Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel, Richard Anderson
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2792
62
Michelangelo Antonioni
Lucia Bosé, Gino Cervi, Ivan Desny, Alain Cuny
Drama
Italy / France
Italian
2792
62
Chris Marker, Alain Resnais
Jean Négroni, François Mitterrand
Documentary / Short
France
French
2792
62
Phil Karlson
John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen
Crime / Film-Noir / Drama
USA
English
2792
62
Vincente Minnelli, Gottfried Reinhardt
James Mason, Moira Shearer, Ricky Nelson, Leslie Caron
Musical / Romance / Drama
USA
English
2797
63
Henry King
Tyrone Power, Terry Moore, Michael Rennie, John Justin, Guy Rolfe, Richard Wyler
Adventure / Action / Romance
USA
English
2797
63
Jean Negulesco
Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Audrey Dalton, Thelma Ritter
Action / Drama / History
USA
English
2797
63
George Sidney
Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Charles Laughton, Kay Walsh
Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
2800
64
Bimal Roy
Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Ratan Kumar, Murad, Rajyalakshmi
Drama
India
Hindi
2800
64
Sergei Yutkevich
Akaki Khorava, Besa Imami, Adivie Alibali, Semyon Sokolovsky
Drama
Albania / Soviet Union
Albanian
2807
65
Jean Yarbrough
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Hillary Brooke, Sid Fields, Gordon Jones
Comedy / Serial
USA
English
2807
65
Jean Yarbrough
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Hillary Brooke, Sid Fields, Gordon Jones
Comedy / Serial
USA
English
2807
65
David Butler
Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Billy Gray, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Mary Wickes
Comedy / Family / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2807
65
Owen Crump
Roy Thompson Jr., Henry Goszkowski, Richard Karl Elliott, Albert Bernard Cook
Documentary / War / History / Biography
USA
English
2807
65
Chuck Jones
Mel Blanc, Dick Beals, Bea Benaderet
Animation / Family / Short / Comedy
USA
English
2807
65
Richard Sale
Dan Dailey, June Haver, Dennis Day, Billy Gray, Cara Williams, Natalie Schafer
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2807
65
John Farrow
John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness, Rodolfo Acosta
Action / Drama / Romance / War / Western
USA
English
2807
65
George Marshall
Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher, Angela Clarke, Stefan Schnabel
Biography / Drama
USA
English
2807
65
Don Patterson
Grace Stafford, Dal McKennon
Family / Animation / Short / Comedy
USA
English
2807
65
Marc Daniels, Edward Sedgwick
Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley
Comedy
USA
English
2807
65
Roy Ward Baker
Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Larry Keating, Henry Hull
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Film-Noir
USA
English
2807
65
William Cameron Menzies
Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke
Sci-Fi / Action
USA
English
2807
65
Jules White
Moe Howard, Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Benny Rubin, Frank Sully, Phil Arnold
Comedy / Short / Crime
USA
English
2807
65
John Farrow
Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Sean McClory
Adventure / Action / Drama / Crime
USA
English
2807
65
Jules White
Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Philip Van Zandt, Tom Kennedy
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2807
65
Lewis R. Foster
Rhonda Fleming, Gene Barry, Agnes Moorehead, Guy Mitchell, Teresa Brewer
Musical / Western / Romance
USA
English
2807
65
Anthony Mann
James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Dan Duryea, Jay C. Flippen
Adventure / Action / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2817
66
George Seaton
Bing Crosby, Claude Dauphin, Christian Fourcade, Gabrielle Dorziat, Nicole Maurey
Drama / War
USA
English
NR
-
Carol Reed
James Mason, Claire Bloom, Geoffrey Toone, Hildegard Knef, Aribert Wäscher
Drama / Thriller / Action / Spy
UK
English
