Best Movies of 1956 by Rank
13
1
John Ford
John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood
Western / Drama / Epic
USA
English
117
2
Satyajit Ray
Pinaki Sengupta, Smaran Ghosal, Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee
Drama
India
Bengali
190
3
Don Siegel
Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan, Carolyn Jones
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Cult
USA
English
387
5
Robert Bresson
François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, Roland Monod
Adventure / Drama / War
France
French
484
7
Kon Ichikawa
Rentaro Mikuni, Shôji Yasui, Jun Hamamura
Drama / War
Japan
Japanese
539
8
Jean-Pierre Melville
Isabelle Corey, Roger Duchesne, Daniel Cauchy, Howard Vernon, Guy Decomble
Crime / Drama / Caper / Gangster / Film-Noir / Detective
France
French
620
9
Cecil B. DeMille
Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter
Drama / Adventure / Religion / Biography / Family / Epic
USA
English
723
10
Stanley Kubrick
Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Film-Noir / Gangster
USA
English
780
11
Michael Anderson
David Niven, Cantinflas, Finlay Currie, Robert Morley, Ronald Squire, Noel Coward
Adventure / Comedy / Romance / Family
USA
English
782
12
Vincente Minnelli, George Cukor
Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, James Donald
Drama / Period Film / Biography
USA
English
829
13
William Wyler
Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire
Drama / Religion / War
USA
English
836
14
Fred M. Wilcox
Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens
Drama / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Action / Cult
USA
English
883
15
Walter Lang
Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner
Musical / Comedy / Family / Adventure / Romance / Drama
USA
English
885
16
Elia Kazan
Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach, Mildred Dunnock
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
1012
18
Alfred Hitchcock
Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Harold Stone
Drama / Crime / Film-Noir
USA
English
1063
19
King Vidor
Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman, Herbert Lom
Drama / Romance / War / Epic / History
Italy / USA
English
1194
20
Anatole Litvak
Ingrid Bergman, Yul Brynner, Helen Hayes, Akim Tamiroff
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
1394
21
Fielder Cook
Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice Straight, Elizabeth Wilson
Drama
USA
English
1405
22
Nicholas Ray
James Mason, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau, Robert F. Simon
Drama
USA
English
1434
23
Henry King
Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell, Barbara Ruick, Claramae Turner
Musical / Romance / Fantasy
USA
English
1439
24
Frank Tashlin
Tom Ewell, Jayne Mansfield, Edmond O'Brien, Julie London
Comedy / Music / Crime
USA
English
1510
25
Alfred Hitchcock
James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Miles, Ralph Truman
Adventure / Thriller / Drama
USA
English
1576
26
Daniel Mann
Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Machiko Kyô, Eddie Albert
Comedy / Drama / Romance / War
USA
English
1602
27
John Huston
Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, James Robertson Justice
Adventure / Drama
UK
English
1626
28
Melvin Frank, Norman Panama
Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury
Adventure / Comedy / Musical
USA
English
1651
29
José Ferrer
José Ferrer, Dean Jagger, Keenan Wynn, Julie London
Drama
USA
English
1796
31
Robert Wise
Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart
Drama / Sports / Biography
USA
English
1895
32
Charles Walters
Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, John Lund, Louis Calhern
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
1897
33
Mark Robson
Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, Max Baer
Drama / Film-Noir / Sports / Crime / Gangster
USA
English
1975
34
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Louis Malle
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Alberto Falco, Frederic Duman
Documentary
Italy / France
French
2112
35
Richard Quine
Judy Holliday, John Williams, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark
Comedy
USA
English
2169
36
Mervyn LeRoy
Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden
Drama / Horror / Thriller / Crime
USA
English
2293
37
John Boulting
Richard Attenborough, Ronald Adam, Dennis Price, Henry B. Longhurst, Terry-Thomas
Comedy / War
UK
English
2338
38
Robert Aldrich
Jack Palance, Lee Marvin, Eddie Albert, Robert Strauss
Drama / War / Action
USA
English
2345
39
George Cukor
Ava Gardner, Stewart Granger, Bill Travers, Abraham Sofaer
Drama / Adventure / Romance
USA / UK
English
2353
40
Hiroshi Inagaki
Koji Tsuruta, Toshirô Mifune, Kaoru Yachigusa, Michiko Saga, Mariko Okada
Action / Adventure / Biography / Drama / History
Japan
Japanese
2390
41
Kenji Mizoguchi
Machiko Kyô, Aiko Mimasu, Ayako Wakao, Michiyo Kogure, Kumeko Urabe
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2396
42
Richard Brooks
Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds, Barry Fitzgerald
Drama
USA
English
2396
42
Fritz Lang
Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff
Drama / Film-Noir / Thriller
USA
English
2405
43
Nunnally Johnson
Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Marisa Pavan, Lee J. Cobb
Drama
USA
English
2408
44
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Henri-Georges Clouzot, Pablo Picasso
Documentary / Biography
France
French
2472
45
Ronald Neame
Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin
War / Drama / Spy
UK
English
2480
46
Juan Antonio Bardem
Betsy Blair, José Suárez, Yves Massard
Drama / Romance
Spain / France
Spanish
2496
47
Carol Reed
Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida, Katy Jurado, Thomas Gomez
Drama / Romance / Action
USA
English
2511
48
Budd Boetticher
Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed, John Larch, Don 'Red' Barry
Western
USA
English
2524
49
Vincente Minnelli
Deborah Kerr, John Kerr, Leif Erickson, Edward Andrews, Darryl Hickman
Drama
USA
English
2554
50
Carlos Velo
Luis Procuna, Consuelo Procuna, Ángel Procuna
Documentary / Drama
Mexico
Spanish
2597
51
Mikio Naruse
Kinuyo Tanaka, Isuzu Yamada, Hideko Takamine, Mariko Okada, Haruko Sugimura
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2654
52
George Sidney
Tyrone Power, Kim Novak, Rex Thompson, James Whitmore
Drama / Music / Biography
USA
English
2689
53
Roger Vadim
Brigitte Bardot, Curd Jürgens, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jane Marken
Drama / Romance
France / Italy
French
2689
53
Irving Rapper
Michel Ray, Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Elsa Cárdenas, Carlos Navarro, Joi Lansing
Drama / Family
USA
English
2689
53
Robert D. Webb
Elvis Presley, Richard Egan, Debra Paget, Robert Middleton, William Campbell
Drama / Musical / Romance / Western
USA
English
2689
53
Ishirô Honda
Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akihiko Hirata, Akio Kobori, Yasuko Nakata
Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi / Action
Japan
Japanese
2689
53
Tay Garnett, Paul Mantz, Andrew Marton, Ted Tetzlaff, Walter Thompson
Lowell Thomas, Paul Mantz
Documentary / History
USA
English
2689
53
Edward Bernds
Hugh Marlowe, Nancy Gates, Nelson Leigh, Rod Taylor, Shirley Patterson
Sci-Fi
USA
English
2691
54
Robert Day, Basil Dearden
Alastair Sim, George Cole, Terry-Thomas, Jill Adams, Raymond Huntley
Comedy / Action / Crime
UK
English
2709
55
Helmut Käutner
Heinz Rühmann, Martin Held, Hannelore Schroth
Comedy / Drama / Action
West Germany
German
2709
55
Erik Balling
Poul Reichhardt, Astrid Villaume, Gunnar Lauring
Family / Drama
Denmark
Danish
2740
56
Albert Lamorisse
Pascal Lamorisse, Sabine Lamorisse, Georges Sellier
Family / Fantasy / Short / Experimental / Adventure
France
French
2740
56
Vittorio De Sica
Gabriella Pallotta, Giorgio Listuzzi, Gastone Renzelli
Drama / Romance
Italy / France
Italian
2741
57
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
John Gregson, Anthony Quayle, Ian Hunter, Jack Gwillim, Bernard Lee
Action / Adventure / War / Drama
UK
English
2741
57
Lewis Gilbert
Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Lyndon Brook, Lee Patterson, Alexander Knox
Biography / Drama / War
UK
English
2741
57
Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Zygmunt Kestowicz, Ignacy Machowski, Wieslaw Golas, Stanislaw Mikulski
Mystery / Thriller / Drama / Spy / Detective
Poland
Polish
2741
57
Jack Lee
Virginia McKenna, Peter Finch, Kenji Takagi, Kenji Takaki, Tran Van Khe
Crime / Drama / War
UK
English
2741
57
J. Lee Thompson
Diana Dors, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael Craig, Marie Ney, Olga Lindo, Joan Miller
Drama / Crime
UK
English
2756
58
Robbins Barstow, Meg Barstow
Mary Barstow, David Barstow, Daniel Barstow, Robbins Barstow, Meg Barstow
Documentary / Family
USA
English
2756
58
Harry Smith
Short / Animation / Experimental
USA
English (Silent)
2773
59
Gottfried Reinhardt
Hans Albers, Annemarie Düringer, Martin Held
Drama / Romance
West Germany
German
2773
59
Yoshiro Kawazu
Hiroshi Akutagawa, Yatsuko Tan'ami, Minoru Ohki, Chishu Ryu, Koji Shitara
unknown
Japan
Japanese
2773
59
Michael Cacoyannis
Ellie Lambeti, Dimitris Horn, Eleni Zafiriou, George Foundas
Drama / Romance
Greece
Greek
2773
59
Keisuke Kinoshita
Katsuo Nakamura, Sadako Sawamura, Noriko Arita, Akira Ishihama, Yoshiko Kuga
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2788
60
Luis García Berlanga
Edmund Gwenn, Valentina Cortese, Franco Fabrizi, Juan Calvo
Comedy
Spain / Italy
Spanish
2788
60
Claude Autant-Lara
Jean Gabin, Bourvil, Jeannette Batti, Georgette Anys, Robert Arnoux
Comedy / Drama
France / Italy
French
2788
60
Vladimir Braun
Dzidra Ritenberga, Arkadi Tolbuzin, Anatoli Ignatyev
Drama / Romance
Soviet Union
Russian
2789
61
David Miller
June Allyson, Joan Collins, Dolores Gray, Ann Sheridan
Musical / Romance / Comedy
USA
English
2789
61
Joseph Anthony
Burt Lancaster, Katharine Hepburn, Wendell Corey, Lloyd Bridges, Earl Holliman
Romance / Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2792
62
Jean Renoir
Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais, Mel Ferrer, Jean Richard
Drama / Comedy / Romance / Period Film
Italy / France
French
2797
63
Robert Rossen
Richard Burton, Fredric March, Claire Bloom, Danielle Darrieux, Barry Jones
Biography / Drama / Epic / History
USA / Spain
English
2797
63
Roy Rowland
Dan Dailey, Cyd Charisse, Agnes Moorehead, Lili Darvas, Jim Backus
Comedy / Romance / Musical
USA
English
2800
64
Grigori Chukhraj
Izolda Izvitskaya, Oleg Strizhenov, Nikolai Kryuchkov
War / Drama / Romance
Soviet Union
Russian
2807
65
Norman Foster
Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Jeff York, Kenneth Tobey, Clem Bevans
Family / Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Western / Action
USA
English
2807
65
Jack Hannah
Walt Disney, Kirk Douglas, Ollie Johnston, Ward Kimball, Oliver Wallace
Animation / Action / Adventure / Drama / Family / Fantasy / Western / Documentary
USA
English
2807
65
unknown
Elvis Presley, Ed Sullivan, John Byner, Carol Burnett, Priscilla Presley
Documentary / Music
USA
English
2807
65
Frank Tashlin
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Pat Crowley, Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom, Anita Ekberg
Comedy
USA
English
2807
65
Delmer Daves
Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, Rod Steiger, Valerie French, Felicia Farr
Western
USA
English
2807
65
Norman Taurog
Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lori Nelson, Jeff Morrow, Jackie Loughery
Comedy / Western / Musical
USA
English
2807
65
William Beaudine, Wilfred Jackson
Walt Disney, Leopold Stokowski, Clarence Nash
Animation / Documentary
USA
English
2807
65
Jack Hannah
James MacDonald, Clarence Nash
Animation / Family / Comedy / Documentary / Serial
USA
English
2860
66
Fritz Lang
Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer, Arthur Franz
Crime / Film-Noir / Drama
USA
English
2860
66
Yuzo Kawashima
Michiyo Aratama, Yukiko Todoroki, Seizaburô Kawazu
Drama / Comedy
Japan
Japanese
2860
66
Douglas Sirk
Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Joan Bennett, William Reynolds
Drama
USA
English
