Best Movies of 1987 by Rank
55
1
Wim Wenders
Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk
Fantasy / Drama / Romance / Religion
West Germany / France
German
335
2
Louis Malle
Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö
Drama / War
France / West Germany
French
377
3
Bernardo Bertolucci
John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying, Victor Wong, Dennis Dun
Drama / Epic / History / Biography
France / Italy / UK
English
453
4
John Huston
Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Dan O'Herlihy, Donal Donnelly
Drama / Period Film
UK
English
520
5
James L. Brooks
William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
571
6
Souleymane Cissé
Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo
Fantasy / Adventure / Drama
Mali / Burkina Faso / France / West Germany
French
662
8
Bille August
Pelle Hvenegaard, Max von Sydow, Erik Paaske, Björn Granath, Astrid Villaume
Drama / Period Film
Denmark / Sweden
Danish
697
9
Gabriel Axel
Stéphane Audran, Birgitte Federspiel, Jarl Kulle, Jean-Philippe Lafont
Comedy / Drama / Period Film
Denmark
Danish
710
10
Norman Jewison
Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
733
11
Bruce Robinson
Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown, Michael Elphick
Comedy / Cult
UK
English
745
12
Yimou Zhang
Li Gong, Wen Jiang, Rujun Ten, Liu Jia, Cunhua Ji
Drama / War / Period Film
China
Mandarin
845
13
Adrian Lyne
Michael Douglas, Glenn Close
Drama / Horror / Thriller
USA
English
851
14
Steven Spielberg
Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson
Drama / War / Epic
USA
English
865
15
Rob Reiner
Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest
Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy / Romance / Family / Cult
USA
English
939
16
David Mamet
Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Lilia Skala
Crime / Mystery / Thriller / Post-Noir / Cult
USA
English
974
17
Nikita Mikhalkov
Marcello Mastroianni, Marthe Keller, Yelena Safonova, Pina Cei, Vsevolod Larionov
Comedy / Romance / Drama
Italy
Italian
1007
18
Brian De Palma
Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Detective / Gangster / Period Film
USA
English
1200
19
Stanley Kubrick
Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin, R. Lee Ermey
Drama / War
USA
English
1260
20
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman
Comedy / Crime / Cult
USA
English
1424
21
Paul Verhoeven
Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox
Sci-Fi / Action / Crime
USA
English
1508
22
Tengiz Abuladze
Avtandil Makharadze, Zejnab Botsvadze, Ya Ninidze
Drama
Soviet Union
Georgian
1679
23
Bill Forsyth
Christine Lahti, Sara Walker, Andrea Burchill, Anne Pitoniak
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
1725
24
John Sayles
Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham, David Strathairn
Drama / History
USA
English
1764
25
Oliver Stone
Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen
Crime / Drama
USA
English
1782
26
Barbet Schroeder
Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Jack Nance
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1812
27
Percy Adlon
Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder, Jack Palance, Christine Kaufmann
Comedy / Drama / Cult
West Germany / USA
English
1829
28
Juzo Itami
Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Masahiko Tsugawa
Comedy / Romance / Crime / Gangster
Japan
Japanese
1837
29
Woody Allen
Mia Farrow, Seth Green, Julie Kavner, Josh Mostel, Michael Tucker
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
1964
30
Bill Douglas
Robin Soans, William Gaminara, Stephen Bateman, Philip Davis, Jeremy Flynn
Drama / History / Period Film
UK
English
2072
31
Barry Levinson
Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran, Chintara Sukapatana
Comedy / Drama / War
USA
English
2122
32
Lindsay Anderson
Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern
Drama
USA
English
2131
33
Richard Attenborough
Kevin Kline, Denzel Washington, Josette Simon, Wabei Siyolwe
Drama / Biography
UK
English
2168
34
Emile Ardolino
Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Romance / Drama / Musical
USA
English
2175
35
Abbas Kiarostami
Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Kheda Barech Defai
Drama
Iran
Persian
2185
36
Richard Donner
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitch Ryan
Action / Thriller / Comedy / Crime / Detective
USA
English
2226
37
Nils Gaup
Mikkel Gaup, Ingvald Guttorm, Nils Utsi, Henrik H. Buljo
Adventure / Action / Drama / History
Norway
Saami
2291
38
Roger Donaldson
Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza
Drama / Thriller / Mystery
USA
English
2307
39
Siu-Tung Ching
Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, Ma Wu, Wai Lam, Siu-Ming Lau, Jing Wong, Zhilun Xue
Action / Fantasy / Horror / Romance / Adventure
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2307
39
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Rosamund Kwan, Carina Lau, David Lam, Bill Tung
Action / Comedy / Crime / Adventure
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2331
40
Mike Leigh
Alison Steadman, Sylvestra Le Touzel, David Thewlis, Wendy Nottingham
Short / Comedy / Romance
UK
English
2346
41
Mani Ratnam
Kamal Hassan, Saranya, Janagaraj, Tinnu Anand
Drama / Crime / Gangster
India
Tamil
2405
42
John Hughes
Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2466
43
Luis Valdez
Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto
Drama / Musical / Biography
USA
English
2473
44
John McTiernan
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Horror
USA
English
2488
45
Todd Haynes
Rob LaBelle, Gwen Kraus, Bruce Tuthill
Short / Biography / Experimental / Cult
USA
English
2489
46
Pedro Almodóvar
Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Miguel Molina
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Spain
Spanish
2500
47
Sam Raimi
Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie DePaiva, Ted Raimi
Action / Comedy / Fantasy / Horror / Cult
USA
English
2534
48
Jim McBride
Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, Ned Beatty, John Goodman
Crime / Action / Drama / Mystery / Romance / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2545
49
Andrei Konchalovsky
Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey, Martha Plimpton, Merritt Butrick
Drama
USA
English
2556
50
Stephen Frears
Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Vanessa Redgrave, Wallace Shawn
Biography / Comedy / Drama
UK
English
2570
51
Bill Couturié
Robert De Niro, Tom Berenger, Ellen Burstyn, Martin Sheen
Documentary / War / History
USA
English
2584
52
Atom Egoyan
David Hemblen, Aidan Tierney, Gabrielle Rose, Arsinée Khanjian
Drama
Canada
English
2591
53
Taylor Hackford
Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Little Richard, Bo Diddley
Documentary / Biography / Music
USA
English
2591
53
David Hugh Jones
Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, Jean De Baer, Maurice Denham
Drama / Romance / Biography
UK / USA
English
2607
54
José Luis Garci
Jesus Puente, Victoria Vera, Teresa Gimpera, Pablo Hoyos
Drama
Spain
Spanish
2607
54
Ettore Scola
Vittorio Gassman, Stefania Sandrelli, Emanuele Lamaro
Drama
Italy / France
English
2630
55
Bob Rafelson
Debra Winger, Theresa Russell, Sami Frey, Dennis Hopper, Nicol Williamson
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Post-Noir
USA
English
2630
55
John Glen
Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker
Action / Adventure / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2633
56
Michel Khleifi
Mohamad Ali El Akili, Bushra Karaman, Makram Khoury
Drama
Israel / France / Belgium
Arabic
2637
57
Paul Newman
Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich, Karen Allen, James Naughton
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2637
57
Alan J. Pakula
Albert Finney, Matthew Modine, Kevin Anderson, John Kellogg, Anthony Heald
Drama / Thriller / Gangster
USA
English
2647
58
Luis Mandoki
Liv Ullmann, Rachel Chagall, Norma Aleandro, Robert Loggia
Drama / Biography
USA / Mexico
English
2647
58
Jean-Loup Hubert
Anémone, Richard Bohringer, Antoine Hubert, Vanessa Guedj
Drama
France
French
2659
59
Kathryn Bigelow
Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein
Horror / Romance / Thriller / Cult / Western
USA
English
2659
59
John Duigan
Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen, Ben Mendelsohn, Graeme Blundell, Lynette Curran
Drama / Romance
Australia
English
2663
60
Christine Choy, Renee Tajima-Pena
Lily Chin, Ronald Ebens, Starlene
Crime / Documentary
USA
English
2666
61
Maurice Pialat
Gérard Depardieu, Sandrine Bonnaire, Maurice Pialat
Drama / Religion
France
French
2683
62
Rentaro Mikuni
Junkyu Moriyama, Michiyo Ookusu
Drama / Religion
Japan
Japanese
2690
63
Kjell Grede
Stellan Skarsgård, Lene Brøndum, Pia Vieth, Helge Jordal
Biography / Drama
Sweden / Denmark / Norway
Swedish
2697
64
Marek Kanievska
Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader, Tony Bill
Drama
USA
English
2697
64
Paul Cox
John Hurt, Marika Rivera, Gabriella Trsek
Animation / Biography / Drama / Documentary
Australia
English
2698
65
Jean-Claude Lauzon
Gilles Maheu, Roger Lebel, Corrado Mastropasqua, Lorne Brass, Germain Houde
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster
Canada
French
2704
66
Charles Shyer
Diane Keaton, Sam Shepard, Harold Ramis, Kristina Kennedy
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2704
66
Martin Ritt
Barbra Streisand, Richard Dreyfuss, Maureen Stapleton, Karl Malden
Drama
USA
English
2716
67
José Luis Cuerda
Alfredo Landa, Alejandra Grepi, Fernando Valverde, Paco Cambres
Comedy / Fantasy
Spain
Spanish
2718
68
Alan Parker
Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Stocker Fontelieu
Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Detective / Post-Noir
USA / Canada / UK
English
2718
68
Lyndall Hobbs
Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Lori Loughlin, Tommy Hinkley, Demian Slade
Comedy / Musical
USA
English
2718
68
Ben Bolt, Harold Becker
Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Dern, Lee Grant, Tom Skerritt
Drama / Romance / Thriller / Crime / Period Film
USA
English
2718
68
John Mackenzie
Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, Ned Beatty, Joanna Cassidy, Julian Glover
Thriller / Spy / Action
UK
English
2718
68
Patricia Rozema
Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Richard Monette
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Canada
English
2718
68
Paul Schrader
Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands, Joan Jett, Michael McKean, Thomas G. Waites
Drama / Musical
USA
English
2718
68
Susan Seidelman
John Malkovich, Ann Magnuson, Glenne Headly, Ben Masters, Laurie Metcalf
Comedy / Romance / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2718
68
Terry Jones
Julie Walters, Shirley Stelfox, Alec McCowen, Danny Schiller, Tim Woodward
Comedy / Drama / Biography
UK
English
2718
68
Fred Schepisi
Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall, John Kapelos
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2718
68
Stephen Frears
Shashi Kapoor, Frances Barber, Claire Bloom, Ayub Khan-Din, Roland Gift
Comedy / Drama
UK
English
2718
68
Woody Allen
Denholm Elliott, Dianne Wiest, Mia Farrow, Elaine Stritch, Sam Waterston
Drama
USA
English
2718
68
Carl Schultz
Leo McKern, Julia Blake, Henri Szeps, Graham Kennedy, Michele Fawdon
Drama
Australia
English
2718
68
David Leland
Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Jesse Birdsall, Clare Clifford, Barbara Durkin
Comedy / Drama
UK
English
2718
68
George Miller
Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Veronica Cartwright
Comedy / Fantasy / Horror / Thriller
USA
English
2719
69
Ringo Lam
Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Yueh Sun, Carrie Ng, Roy Cheung, Kong Lau
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster / Detective / Caper
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2725
70
David G. Croft
Michael Caine, Celia Imrie
Documentary
UK
English
2738
71
Kay Armatage
Joyce Wieland
Documentary / Biography
Canada
English
2745
72
Kazuo Hara
Kenzo Okuzaki, Emperor Hirohito
Documentary / War / History
Japan
Japanese
2758
73
Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi
Documentary / Biography
West Germany / Italy
Italian (Silent)
2758
73
Elaine May
Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Adjani, Charles Grodin, Jack Weston
Comedy / Adventure / Music / Cult
USA
English
2758
73
Jean-Luc Godard
Burgess Meredith, Peter Sellars, Molly Ringwald, Jean-Luc Godard
Sci-Fi / Drama / Experimental
Bahamas / USA
French
2758
73
Raoul Ruiz
Jean-Marie Böglin, Jean-François Lapalus, Alain Rimoux
Drama
Switzerland / France
French
2758
73
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Zohreh Saramadi, Esmail Saramadian, Behzad Behzadpour
Drama / Gangster
Iran
Persian
2758
73
Norman Mailer
Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini, Debra Sandlund, Wings Hauser
Drama / Action / Thriller / Crime / Post-Noir
USA
English
2758
73
Alex Cox
Ed Harris, Richard Masur, René Assa, Rene Auberjonois
Action / Adventure / War / Drama / Biography
USA / Mexico / Spain
English
2762
74
Rob Nilsson
Rob Nilsson, Consuela Faust, Don Bajema, Raven de la Croix
Drama
USA
English
2762
74
Gary Walkow
Tom Villard, Susan Dey, Elaine Giftos, Elizabeth Gorcey
Comedy / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2762
74
Jill Godmilow
Linda Bassett, Linda Hunt, Jacques Boudet, Pierre-Alain Chapuis
Drama / Biography
UK / France / USA / West Germany
English
2783
75
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Boguslaw Linda, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
Drama / Fantasy
Poland
Polish
2785
76
Eric Rohmer
Emmanuelle Chaulet, Sophie Renoir, Anne-Laure Meury, Eric Viellard
Comedy / Romance
France
French
NR
-
Tony Scott
Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Jürgen Prochnow, Ronny Cox
Action / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
NR
-
Sidney J. Furie
Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure, Jon Cryer
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Comic
UK
English
