Best Movies of 1972 by Rank
4
1
Francis Ford Coppola
Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
48
2
Werner Herzog
Klaus Kinski, Helena Rojo, Del Negro, Ruy Guerra, Peter Berling, Cecilia Rivera
Adventure / Drama / History / Epic / Cult
West Germany / Peru / Mexico
German
63
3
Luis Buñuel
Fernando Rey, Paul Frankeur, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier, Stéphane Audran
Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Experimental
France / Italy / Spain
French
119
4
Bob Fosse
Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey, Fritz Wepper
Musical / Drama
USA
English
139
5
Andrei Tarkovsky
Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetsky
Drama / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Cult
Soviet Union
Russian
221
6
John Boorman
Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed Ramey
Adventure / Thriller / Drama / Cult
USA
English
269
7
Ingmar Bergman
Harriet Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin, Anders Ek
Drama
Sweden
Swedish
362
8
Bernardo Bertolucci
Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Maria Michi
Drama / Romance / Adult
Italy / France
English
638
9
John Huston
Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell, Candy Clark
Drama / Sports / Cult
USA
English
656
10
Alfred Hitchcock
Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Alec McCowen, Billie Whitelaw
Thriller / Crime / Detective
UK
English
742
11
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Eva Mattes
Drama
West Germany
German
887
12
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Alec Cawthorne, John Matthews
Mystery / Thriller
UK
English
1031
13
Peter Medak
Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe, Harry Andrews
Comedy / Drama
UK
English
1068
14
John Waters
Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Danny Mills, Edith Massey
Comedy / Crime / Horror / Cult
USA
English
1188
16
Robert Aldrich
Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison, Jorge Luke, Richard Jaeckel
Western
USA
English
1230
17
Eric Rohmer
Bernard Verley, Zouzou, Françoise Verley, Daniel Ceccaldi, Malvina Penne
Drama
France
French
1240
18
Gordon Parks Jr.
Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, Julius Harris, Charles McGregor, Nate Adams
Action / Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
1373
19
Peter Bogdanovich
Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars
Comedy / Family / Music / Romance
USA
English
1410
20
Elaine May
Charles Grodin, Cybill Shepherd, Jeannie Berlin, Audra Lindley
Comedy
USA
English
1434
21
Bob Rafelson
Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn, Julia Anne Robinson
Crime / Drama
USA
English
1488
23
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Chuck Norris, Ping-Ao Wei, Chung-Hsin Huang, Robert Wall
Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Thriller
Hong Kong
Mandarin
1638
24
Robert Benton
Jeff Bridges, Barry Brown, Jim Davis, David Huddleston, John Savage, Jerry Houser
Western / Drama / Period Film / Adventure
USA
English
1658
25
Perry Henzell
Jimmy Cliff, Janet Barkley, Carl Bradshaw, Ras Daniel Hartman, Basil Keane
Action / Crime / Drama / Music / Cult
Jamaica
English
1699
26
Michael Ritchie
Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Don Porter
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
1791
27
Billy Wilder
Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA / Italy
English
1806
28
Federico Fellini
Britta Barnes, Peter Gonzales, Fiona Florence, Pia De Doses
Drama / Comedy
Italy / France
Italian
1841
29
Bill Douglas
Stephen Archibald, Hughie Restorick, Jean Taylor Smith, Karl Fieseler
Biography / Drama / War
UK
English
1857
30
Peter Medak
Alan Bates, Janet Suzman, Peter Bowles, Sheila Gish, Joan Hickson
Comedy / Drama
UK
English
1869
31
Ronald Neame
Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley
Adventure / Thriller / Action / Drama / Family
USA
English
1893
32
Herbert Ross
Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Jerry Lacy, Susan Anspach
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1961
34
Francesco Rosi
Gian Maria Volonté, Luigi Squarzina
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Biography
Italy
Italian
2000
35
Peter Yates
Robert Redford, George Segal, Ron Leibman, Paul Sand, Zero Mostel, Moses Gunn
Comedy / Crime / Caper
USA
English
2007
36
Peter H. Hunt
William Daniels, Howard Da Silva, Ken Howard
Drama / Musical / Family / Comedy / Period Film
USA
English
2043
37
Jonas Mekas
Peter Kubelka, Annette Michelson
Documentary / Biography
UK / West Germany
English
2098
38
Douglas Trumbull
Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint, Steve Brown, Mark Persons
Adventure / Drama / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2101
39
Miklós Jancsó
Mari Csomos, Mark Zala, Jozsef Madaras, Andrea Drahota
Drama / Experimental
Hungary
Hungarian
2122
40
Wim Wenders
Arthur Brauss, Marie Bardischewski, Sybille Danzer, Rosl Dorena
Drama
West Germany / Austria
German
2122
40
Sam Peckinpah
Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino, Ben Johnson
Western / Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2183
41
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Irm Hermann, Hans Hirschmüller, Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch
Drama
West Germany
German
2288
42
George Roy Hill
Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche, Sharon Gans
Comedy / Sci-Fi / Drama / War
USA
English
2369
43
Pietro Germi
Dustin Hoffman, Stefania Sandrelli
Comedy
Italy / France
Italian
2391
44
Robert Altman
Susannah York, Rene Auberjonois, Marcel Bozzuffi, Hugh Millais
Drama / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller
UK / Ireland / USA
English
2393
45
Yves Robert
Pierre Richard, Bernard Blier, Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc
Comedy / Mystery / Spy
France
French
2553
47
Ian MacNaughton, John Howard Davies
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Comedy / Music
UK
English
2597
48
unknown
Rusty Sachs, Joe Bangert, Scott Shimabukuro, Kenneth Campbell, Scott Camil
Documentary / War
USA
English
2605
49
Waris Hussein
Keith Michell, Donald Pleasence, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher, Frances Cuka
Drama / History / Biography / Romance
UK
English
2605
49
Cliff Robertson
Cliff Robertson, Geraldine Page, Cristina Ferrare, R.G. Armstrong
Drama / Western / Sports
USA
English
2605
49
Kenji Misumi
Tomisaburo Wakayama, Kayo Matsuo, Akiji Kobayashi, Minoru Ohki, Shin Kishida
Action
Japan
Japanese
2605
49
Jacques Demy
Jack Wild, Donald Pleasence, John Hurt, Donovan, Michael Hordern, Roy Kinnear
Drama / Fantasy
UK / USA
English
2605
49
François Truffaut
Bernadette Lafont, Claude Brasseur, Charles Denner, Guy Marchand
Comedy / Drama / Crime
France
French
2605
49
Joseph Anthony
Robert Duvall, Olga Bellin, Sudie Bond, Richard McConnell, Peter Masterson
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2651
50
Sarah Maldoror
Elisa Andrade, Domingos de Oliveira, Jean M'Vondo, Dino Abelino
Drama
Angola / France
Portuguese
2681
51
Philip Kaufman
Cliff Robertson, Robert Duvall, Luke Askew, R.G. Armstrong
Western / Crime / Drama
USA
English
2688
52
Robert Frank
The Rolling Stones, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Bianca Jagger, Dick Cavett
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
2689
53
Joseph Losey
Richard Burton, Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Valentina Cortese
Drama / History / Thriller / Biography
Italy / France / UK
English
2689
53
William Crain
William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala, Gordon Pinsent
Horror / Cult
USA
English
2689
53
Franco Zeffirelli
Graham Faulkner, Judi Bowker, Leigh Lawson, Kenneth Cranham, Lee Montague
Drama / Biography / Religion / Period Film
Italy / UK
English
2689
53
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, John Carradine, Lou Jacobi, Louise Lasser, Anthony Quayle
Comedy / Fantasy
USA
English
2689
53
Ralph Bakshi
Skip Hinnant, Rosetta LeNoire, John McCurry, Phil Seuling
Animation / Comedy / Drama / Crime / Cult
USA
English
2689
53
Sam Peckinpah
Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson, Sally Struthers, Al Lettieri, Slim Pickens
Thriller / Action / Crime / Drama / Caper
USA
English
2689
53
Sydney Pollack
Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton, Josh Albee, Joaquín Martínez
Western / Adventure
USA
English
2689
53
Sidney J. Furie
Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, Paul Hampton
Biography / Drama / Music
USA
English
2689
53
John Huston
Paul Newman, Victoria Principal, Anthony Perkins, Ned Beatty, Jacqueline Bisset
Comedy / Western
USA
English
2689
53
Richard Fleischer
George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Jane Alexander, Scott Wilson, Rosalind Cash
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2689
53
Lina Wertmüller
Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Turi Ferro, Agostina Belli, Luigi Diberti
Comedy / Drama
Italy
Italian
2709
54
Károly Makk
Margit Dajka, Ildikó Piros, Elma Bulla
Drama / Romance
Hungary
Hungarian
2709
54
Stanislav Rostotsky
Yelena Drapeko, Yekaterina Markova, Olga Ostroumova
Action / War / Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2709
54
Moshé Mizrahi
Gabi Oterman, Avner Heziahou, Levana Finkelstein, Moshe Tal
Drama / Romance
Israel
Hebrew
2709
54
Jaime de Armiñán
José Luis López Vázquez, Julieta Serrano
Romance / Drama
Spain
Spanish
2729
55
Jacques Rivette
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Bulle Ogier, Michel Lonsdale
Comedy / Drama / Thriller / Experimental
France
French
2740
56
Paul Newman
Joanne Woodward, Nell Potts, Roberta Wallach, Judith Lowry
Drama
USA
English
2740
56
Arthur Hiller
Peter O'Toole, Sophia Loren, James Coco, Harry Andrews
Romance / Musical / Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy
Italy / USA
English
2756
57
Duane Kubo
Peter Hata, David Iwataki, June Karamoto, Dan Kuramoto, Johnny Mori
Documentary / Music / History / Short
USA
English
2756
57
Martin Brest
Danny DeVito, William Duff-Griffin, Rhea Perlman, Martin Brest
Short / Comedy
USA
English
2756
57
Yvonne Rainer
James Barth, John Erdman, Epp Kotkas, Yvonne Rainer, Valda Setterfield
Drama
USA
English
2756
57
Randal Kleiser
Bruce Davison, Barbara Rush, Jeanette Nolan, William Schallert, David Alan Bailey
Drama / Short
USA
English
2773
58
Richard Attenborough
Robert Shaw, Simon Ward, Anne Bancroft, Jack Hawkins
Adventure / War / Drama / Period Film / Biography
UK
English
2775
59
Martin Scorsese
Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, Bernie Casey, John Carradine
Drama / Crime / Thriller
USA
English
2775
59
William F. Claxton
Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, DeForest Kelley, Paul Fix
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2778
60
Werner Schroeter
Magdalena Montezuma, Christine Kaufmann, Candy Darling
Musical / Drama / Comedy / Fantasy / Experimental
West Germany
German
2783
61
Frank Perry
Tuesday Weld, Anthony Perkins, Tammy Grimes, Adam Roarke, Ruth Ford
Drama
USA
English
2783
61
William Fruet
Carol Kane, Donald Pleasence, Doris Petrie, Leo Phillips, Christine Thomas
Drama
Canada
English
2789
62
Milton Katselas
Goldie Hawn, Edward Albert, Eileen Heckart, Paul Michael Glaser
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
2789
62
Jack Couffer
Nigel Davenport, Susan Hampshire, Geoffrey Keen, Edward Judd
Adventure / Drama / Family
UK
English
2789
62
George Cukor
Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen, Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Stephens
Comedy / Drama / Crime
USA
English
2789
62
Brian G. Hutton
Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, Susannah York, Margaret Leighton
Drama / Romance
UK
English
2792
63
Marguerite Duras
Lucia Bosé, Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Depardieu, Luce Garcia-Ville
Drama
France
French
2792
63
Carmelo Bene
Carmelo Bene, Lydia Mancinelli, Donyale Luna, Alfiero Vincenti
Drama / History / Religion / Experimental
Italy
Italian
2792
63
Roman Polanski
Marcello Mastroianni, Sydne Rome, Hugh Griffith, Guido Alberti
Comedy
Italy / France / West Germany
English
2801
64
Peter Ustinov
Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Peter Ustinov, Beau Bridges, Leon Ames
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2801
64
Wes Craven
Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David Hess, Fred J. Lincoln, Jeramie Rain
Crime / Horror / Thriller
USA
English
2807
65
Jacques Deray
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Roy Scheider, Angie Dickinson, Georgia Engel
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Adventure / Gangster
France / Italy / USA
French
2856
67
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
Documentary / History / Biography
Japan
Japanese
2859
68
Luchino Visconti
Helmut Berger, Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Gert Fröbe
Drama / History / Biography / Period Film / Epic
France / Italy / West Germany
Italian
2860
69
Raymundo Gleyzer
Víctor Proncet, Raúl Fraire, Susana Lanteri
Drama / Crime
Argentina
Spanish
