Best Movies of 1959 by Rank
15
1
François Truffaut
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Crime / Drama
France
French
24
2
Billy Wilder
Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O'Brien
Comedy / Romance / Music / Family
USA
English
47
3
Satyajit Ray
Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherjee
Drama
India
Bengali
62
4
Alfred Hitchcock
Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll
Adventure / Thriller / Mystery / Spy / Romance / Family
USA
English
234
5
William Wyler
Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith
Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance / Epic / Religion / History
USA
English
266
6
Alain Resnais
Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud, Bernard Fresson
Drama / Romance / War
France / Japan
French
277
7
Howard Hawks
John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson
Western / Romance / Drama
USA
English
313
9
Robert Bresson
Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri, Dolly Scal
Crime / Drama
France
French
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465
12
Yasujiro Ozu
Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyô, Ayako Wakao, Hiroshi Kawaguchi
Drama
Japan
Japanese
773
15
Marcel Camus
Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Marcel Camus, Fausto Guerzoni, Lourdes de Oliveira
Drama / Comedy / Romance / Fantasy
Brazil / France / Italy
Portuguese
920
16
John Boulting
Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Richard Attenborough
Comedy
UK
English
1118
17
George Stevens
Millie Perkins, Shelley Winters
Drama / War / History / Biography
USA
English
1169
18
Grigori Chukraj
Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko
Drama / Romance / War
Soviet Union
Russian
1176
19
Michael Gordon
Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall, Thelma Ritter
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1407
20
Richard Fleischer
Orson Welles, Diane Varsi, Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman, E.G. Marshall
Crime / Drama / Thriller
USA
English
1417
21
Roberto Rossellini
Vittorio De Sica, Hannes Messemer, Vittorio Caprioli
Drama / War
Italy / France
Italian
1452
22
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift
Drama / Horror
USA
English
1523
23
Claude Chabrol
Gérard Blain, Jean-Claude Brialy, Juliette Mayniel
Drama
France
French
1549
24
Stanley Kramer
Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson
Drama / Sci-Fi
USA
English
1628
25
Basil Dearden
Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, Roger Livesey, Richard Attenborough, Bryan Forbes
Adventure / Crime / Comedy / Caper
UK
English
1935
26
Carol Reed
Alec Guinness, Burl Ives, Maureen O'Hara, Ernie Kovacs, Noel Coward
Drama / Thriller / Comedy / Spy
UK
English
1975
27
Aram Avakian, Bert Stern
Thelonious Monk, Dinah Washington, Louis Armstrong
Documentary / Music
USA
English
2032
28
Blake Edwards
Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill
Comedy / War
USA
English
2072
29
Clyde Geronimi, Les Clark, Eric Larson, Wolfgang Reithermann
Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy
Animation / Fantasy / Family / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2093
30
Kon Ichikawa
Eiji Funakoshi, Osamu Takizawa, Mickey Curtis, Mantarô Ushio, Kyu Sazanaka
Drama / War
Japan
Japanese
2117
31
Budd Boetticher
Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts, James Best, Lee Van Cleef
Western
USA
English
2150
32
Bernhard Wicki
Folker Bohnet, Fritz Wepper, Michael Hinz
Drama / War
West Germany
German
2171
33
Robert Wise
Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley, Gloria Grahame
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Caper / Film-Noir
USA
English
2177
34
Luis Buñuel
Francisco Rabal, Marga López, Rita Macedo
Drama / Religion
Mexico
Spanish
2180
35
Robert Stevenson
Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Sean Connery, Jimmy O'Dea, Kieron Moore
Family / Adventure / Fantasy
USA
English
2227
36
Michael Anderson
James Cagney, Don Murray, Dana Wynter, Glynis Johns, Michael Redgrave
Drama
Ireland / USA
English
2231
37
Jack Arnold
Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg, William Hartnell, David Kossoff, Leo McKern
Comedy / War
UK
English
2233
38
Otto Preminger, Rouben Mamoulian
Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis Jr.
Musical / Romance / Drama
USA
English
2237
39
Aleksei Batalov
Rolan Bykov, Yuri Tolubeyev, A. Yozhkina, Yelena Ponsova
Drama / Comedy / Period Film / Fantasy
Soviet Union
Russian
2344
40
Yasujiro Ozu
Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishu Ryu, Kuniko Miyake
Comedy / Drama
Japan
Japanese
2369
41
Roger Vadim
Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Philipe, Annette Vadim
Drama
Italy / France
French
2394
42
J. Lee Thompson
John Mills, Horst Buchholz, Hayley Mills, Yvonne Mitchell, Megs Jenkins
Crime / Drama / Thriller
UK
English
2466
43
Mario Monicelli
Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, Silvana Mangano, Folco Lulli
Comedy / Drama / War
Italy / France
Italian
2511
44
David Lowell Rich
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe DeRita, Marjorie Bennett, Robert Colbert
Comedy / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2511
44
Gillo Pontecorvo
Susan Strasberg, Laurent Terzieff, Emmanuelle Riva
Drama / War
France / Italy
Italian
2605
45
Frank Launder
Bill Travers, George Cole, Bernadette O'Farrell, Duncan Macrae, Alex Mackenzie
Comedy / Adventure / Romance
UK
English
2605
45
Charles Chaplin
Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Albert Austin, Syd Chaplin, Henry Bergman
Comedy / Family
UK / USA
English (Silent Scenes)
2605
45
Guy Hamilton
Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Janette Scott, Eva Le Gallienne
Comedy / War
UK / USA
English
2675
46
William Castle
Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn, Darryl Hickman, Patricia Cutts
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2680
47
Kon Ichikawa
Machiko Kyô, Ganjiro Nakamura, Junko Kano
Drama / Comedy
Japan
Japanese
2689
48
Delmer Daves, Karl Malden
Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden, George C. Scott, Karl Swenson
Western / Drama / Crime
USA
English
2689
48
David Miller
David Niven, Mitzi Gaynor, Carl Reiner, Loring Smith, Monique van Vooren
Comedy
USA
English
2689
48
Pietro Francisci
Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez, Gabriele Antonini, Primo Carnera
Action / Adventure / Fantasy
Italy / France / Spain
Italian
2689
48
William Castle
Vincent Price, Carolyn Craig, Richard Long, Elisha Cook Jr., Carol Ohmart
Drama / Horror / Thriller
USA
English
2689
48
Aleksandr Dovzhenko, Yuliya Solntseva
Boris Andreyev, Yevgeni Bondarenko, Yevgeni Gurov, Zinaida Kiriyenko, A. Konchakova
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2689
48
Delmer Daves
Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee, Arthur Kennedy, Troy Donahue
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2691
49
Lewis Milestone
Gregory Peck, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn, George Peppard, Carl Benton Reid
War / Drama / Action
USA
English
2691
49
Edward Dmytryk
Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Malone, Dolores Michaels
Western
USA
English
2707
50
Edward D. Wood Jr.
Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Duke Moore, Tom Keene, Carl Anthony
Horror / Sci-Fi / Action / Cult
USA
English
2709
51
Juan Antonio Bardem
Carmen Sevilla, Raf Vallone, Jorge Mistral, José Prada
Drama
Italy / Spain
Spanish
2709
51
Astrid Henning-Jensen
Edvin Adolphson, Jimmy Sterman, Asbjørn Andersen
Family / Drama
Denmark
Danish
2740
52
Nunnally Johnson
Leslie Caron, Henry Fonda, Cesare Danova, Myron McCormick
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2740
52
Delbert Mann
Kim Novak, Fredric March, Glenda Farrell, Albert Dekker
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2741
53
J. Lee Thompson
Kenneth More, Lauren Bacall, Herbert Lom, Wilfrid Hyde-White, I.S. Johar
Adventure / Drama
UK
English
2741
53
Basil Dearden
Nigel Patrick, Michael Craig, Yvonne Mitchell, Paul Massie, Bernard Miles
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Detective
UK
English
2741
53
Val Guest
Stanley Baker, Guy Rolfe, Leo McKern, Gordon Jackson, David Oxley, Richard Pasco
War / Drama / Action
UK
English
2756
54
Edward Bland
Sun Ra, John Gilmore, Julian Priester
Documentary / Music / Short
USA
English
2756
54
Robert Frank, Alfred Leslie
Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Larry Rivers, Peter Orlovsky
Short / Experimental / Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2776
55
Fritz Lang
Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walter Reyer, Claus Holm
Adventure / Romance / Drama
West Germany / France / Italy
German
2788
57
Kevin McClory
Liam Redmond, James Hayter, Norman MacOwan, Geoffrey Keen
Drama
UK
English
2788
57
Claude Chabrol
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Antonella Lualdi, Madeleine Robinson
Drama / Mystery / Crime
France / Italy
French
2788
57
Juan Antonio Bardem
María Félix, Francisco Rabal, Aurora Bautista
Adventure / Drama / Romance
Spain / Mexico
Spanish
2789
58
Walter Lang
Clark Gable, Carroll Baker, Lilli Palmer, Lee J. Cobb
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2789
58
Melville Shavelson
Danny Kaye, Barbara Bel Geddes, Louis Armstrong, Harry Guardino
Drama / Musical / Biography
USA
English
2789
58
Melvin Frank
Peter Palmer, Leslie Parrish, Stubby Kaye, Howard St. John
Comedy / Musical / Family / Fantasy
USA
English
2789
58
Raoul Walsh
Sal Mineo, Christine Carère, Barry Coe, Barbara Eden
Comedy / Musical / War
USA
English
2789
58
Frank Tashlin
Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner, Ray Walston
Comedy / Musical
USA
English
2792
59
Fritz Lang
Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walter Reyer, Claus Holm
Adventure / Romance
West Germany / France / Italy
German
2792
59
Nicholas Ray, Baccio Bandini
Anthony Quinn, Yoko Tani, Carlo Giustini, Peter O'Toole
Adventure / Crime / Drama
France / Italy / UK
English
2797
60
Frank Capra
Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Eleanor Parker, Carolyn Jones, Thelma Ritter
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2797
60
John Ford
John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers, Judson Pratt, Hoot Gibson
Adventure / War / Western
USA
English
2797
60
Charles Barton
Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Tim Considine
Family / Comedy / Fantasy
USA
English
2800
61
Konrad Wolf
Sasha Krusharska, Jürgen Frohriep, Erik S. Klein
War / Drama / Romance
East Germany / Bulgaria
Bulgarian
2801
62
Margot Benacerraf
José Ignacio Cabrujas, Laurent Terzieff
Documentary
Venezuela / France
Spanish
2807
63
unknown
Walt Disney, Pat O'Brien
Documentary / Family
USA
English
2807
63
Paul Landres
Alan Freed, Jimmy Clanton, Sandy Stewart, Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson
Music
USA
English
2807
63
Harry Keller, Robert Stevenson
Pat O'Brien, Albert Sharpe, Sean Connery, Janet Munro, Jimmy O'Dea
Adventure / Biography / Drama / Family / Western
USA
English
2807
63
unknown
Walt Disney, Art Linkletter, Annette Funicello, Ricky Nelson, Fred MacMurray
Documentary / Family
USA
English
2807
63
various
Lee Marvin, Paul Newlan, Gail Kobe, Morris Ankrum, Claire Carleton, DeForest Kelley
Drama / Crime / Detective
USA
English
2807
63
Jus Addiss, László Benedek
Eric Fleming, Clint Eastwood, Sheb Wooley, Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines
Western / Action / Adventure / Serial
USA
English
2807
63
Sidney Miller
Lou Costello, Dorothy Provine, Gale Gordon, Jimmy Conlin, Charles Lane
Comedy / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2807
63
Abner Biberman, Robert Gist
Robert Stack, Walter Winchell, Nicholas Georgiade, Abel Fernández
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2807
63
Ward Kimball, Hamilton Luske, Jeff Kurtti
Walt Disney, Wernher von Braun, Leonard Maltin, Ray Bradbury, Heinz Haber
Documentary / Short / Animation / Family / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2807
63
various
Guy Williams, Henry Calvin, Gene Sheldon, George J. Lewis, Don Diamond
Adventure / Family / Western / Serial / Comic / Action
USA
English
2826
64
Guru Dutt
Waheeda Rehman, Guru Dutt, Naaz, Johnny Walker, Mahesh Kaul
Musical / Romance / Drama
India
Hindi
2839
65
Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage, Myrrena Schwegmann, Jane Wodening
Documentary / Short / Experimental
USA
English (Silent)
2860
66
Fritz Lang
Debra Paget, Paul Hubschmid, Walter Reyer, Claus Holm
Adventure / Romance
Italy / France / West Germany
German
NR
-
Charles Guggenheim, John Stix
Steve McQueen, Crahan Denton, David Clarke, James Dukas, Molly McCarthy
Crime / Drama / Caper
USA
English
