Best Movies of 1989 by Rank
56
1
Spike Lee
Ossie Davis, Danny Aiello, Giancarlo Esposito, Richard Edson, Spike Lee
Comedy / Drama / Crime
USA
English
150
2
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Miroslaw Baka, Henryk Baranowski, Artur Barcis, Aleksander Bardini
Drama
Poland
Polish
395
3
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, Martin Landau, Anjelica Huston, Mia Farrow
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
407
4
Rob Reiner
Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
520
5
Phil Alden Robinson
Kevin Costner, Ray Liotta
Fantasy / Drama / Sports / Family
USA
English
550
6
Steven Soderbergh
James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher
Drama
USA
English
566
7
Jim Sheridan
Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker
Drama / Biography
Ireland / UK
English
589
8
Oliver Stone
Tom Cruise, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava, Josh Evans, Jamie Talisman
Drama / War / Biography
USA
English
749
9
Gus Van Sant
Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James LeGros, Heather Graham
Crime / Drama
USA
English
856
10
Denys Arcand
Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening
Drama / Religion
Canada / France
French
876
12
John Woo
Yun-Fat Chow, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu, Kenneth Tsang, Fui-On Shing
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster / Detective
Hong Kong
Cantonese
890
13
Edward Zwick
Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes
Drama / War / Action / History / Epic
USA
English
930
14
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Action / Drama / War / History / Epic / Biography
UK
English
981
15
Bruce Beresford
Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy
Drama / Comedy / Period Film
USA
English
1144
16
Cameron Crowe
John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor
Drama / Romance / Comedy
USA
English
1174
17
Tim Burton
Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
Action / Thriller / Crime / Fantasy / Comic
USA / UK
English
1231
18
Patrice Leconte
Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier
Crime / Thriller / Drama / Post-Noir
France
French
1258
19
Aki Kaurismäki
Matti Pellonpää, Kari Väänänen
Adventure / Comedy / Music
Finland / Sweden
English
1436
20
Kira Muratova
Olga Antonova, Sergei Popov, Galina Zakhurdayeva, Natalya Buzko
Drama / Comedy
Soviet Union
Russian
1460
21
Hsiao-hsien Hou
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jack Kao, Li Tian-lu, Sung Young Chen
Drama / War / Period Film
Taiwan
Taiwanese
1508
22
Peter Weir
Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, Gale Hansen
Drama
USA
English
1570
23
Peter Greenaway
Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard
Drama / Horror / Comedy
France / Netherlands / UK
English
1631
24
Paul Mazursky
Ron Silver, Anjelica Huston, Lena Olin, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska
Drama / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1756
25
Steven Kloves
Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges, Ellie Raab
Drama / Romance / Music
USA
English
1756
25
Hal Hartley
Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Chris Cooke, Julia McNeal, Katherine Mayfield
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1873
26
Bertrand Blier
Gérard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, Carole Bouquet
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France
French
1910
28
Uli Edel
Stephen Lang, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Burt Young, Peter Dobson
Drama / Crime
USA / UK / West Germany
English
1920
29
Idrissa Ouedraogo
Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouédraogo, Roukietou Barry, Adama Ouédraogo
Family / Drama
Burkina Faso / Switzerland / France
Mòoré
1951
30
Danny DeVito
Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
1999
31
Bertrand Tavernier
Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azéma, Pascale Vignal
Drama / Period Film / Romance
France
French
2065
32
Joris Ivens, Marceline Loridan Ivens
Henxiang Han, Joris Ivens, Guilian Liu, Zhuang Liu, Hong Wang
Documentary / Comedy / Drama
France / UK / West Germany / Netherlands
French
2070
33
Phillip Noyce
Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane, Rod Mullinar
Horror / Thriller
Australia / USA
English
2105
34
Ildikó Enyedi
Dorota Segda, Oleg Yankovsky, Paulus Manker
Comedy / Drama / Period Film
Hungary / West Germany / Cuba
Hungarian
2198
35
Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk
Comedy / Crime / Drama / Romance / Cult
USA
English
2279
36
Ron Clements, John Musker
Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Christopher Daniel Barnes
Family / Animation / Comedy / Musical / Romance / Fantasy
USA
English
2286
37
Jane Campion
Geneviève Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling
Drama / Comedy
Australia
English
2382
38
Ron Howard
Steve Martin, Dianne Wiest, Dennis Dugan, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Linke
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2411
39
Jon Amiel
Vittorio Duse, Joseph Long, Anita Zagaria, Eileen Way, Vittorio Amandola
Comedy / Drama / Romance
UK / USA
English
2459
40
Nancy Savoca
Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro, Roger Rignack
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2462
41
Steven Spielberg
Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2557
42
Lewis Gilbert
Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Julia McKenzie, Alison Steadman
Comedy / Romance / Drama
UK / USA
English
2605
43
Hayao Miyazaki
Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi, Keiko Toda, Mieko Nobusawa
Animation / Family / Fantasy / Comedy / Adventure
Japan
Japanese
2605
43
Maggie Greenwald
Loretta Gross, Andrew Lee Barrett, Jackson Sims, Steve Monroe, Cathy Haase
Drama / Post-Noir / Crime
USA
English
2605
43
Jim Jarmusch
Masatoshi Nagase, Youki Kudoh, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinqué Lee
Comedy / Crime / Drama
USA / Japan
English
2605
43
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell, Thelma Tixou
Drama / Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Fantasy / Experimental
Mexico / Italy
English
2605
43
Harold Becker
Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker, William Hickey
Crime / Thriller / Drama / Detective
USA
English
2605
43
Michael Haneke
Dieter Berner, Udo Samel, Leni Tanzer, Silvia Fenz, Birgit Doll, Robert Dietl
Drama
Austria
German
2664
44
Carl Schenkel
Denzel Washington, Robert Townsend, James Fox, Mimi Rogers
Crime / Mystery
USA
English
2665
45
Pat O'Neill
Beth Block, George Lockwood, Joel Loriman
Documentary / Experimental
USA
English
2688
46
Stephen Herek
Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Terry Camilleri, Dan Shor, Tony Steedman
Adventure / Comedy / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2688
46
Bob Balaban
Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis, Bryan Madorsky, Juno Mills Cockell
Comedy / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Period Film / Cult
Canada / USA
English
2688
46
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano, Maiko Kawakami, Makoto Ashikawa, Shirô Sano, Sei Hiraizumi
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster / Detective
Japan
Japanese
2691
47
Costa-Gavras
Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Frederic Forrest, Donald Moffat, Lukas Haas
Drama / Thriller / Mystery
USA
English
2691
47
Derek Jarman
Nathaniel Parker, Tilda Swinton, Laurence Olivier, Patricia Hayes
Drama / War
UK
English
2709
48
Kaspar Rostrup
Frits Helmuth, Mikael Helmuth, Ghita Nørby, Rikke Bendsen
Drama
Denmark
Danish
2709
48
Jacobo Morales
Tommy Muñiz, Gladys Rodríguez, Johanna Rosaly
Comedy / Romance
Puerto Rico
Spanish
2720
49
Wendell B. Harris Jr.
Wendell B. Harris Jr., Angela Leslie, Amina Fakir, Paula McGee
Drama / Comedy / Biography
USA
English
2741
50
Coline Serreau
Daniel Auteuil, Firmine Richard, Pierre Vernier, Maxime Leroux, Gilles Privat
Comedy / Romance
France
French
2742
51
Harun Farocki
Documentary / War / History
West Germany
German
2756
52
Adam Davidson
Scotty Bloch, Clebert Ford, Bernard Johnson, Paul Sarnoff
Short / Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2783
53
Euzhan Palcy
Donald Sutherland, Susan Sarandon, Marlon Brando, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae
Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2783
53
Randal Kleiser
Jesse Birdsall, Jane Horrocks, Helena Bonham Carter, Pat Heywood, Bryan Pringle
Comedy / Drama / Romance
UK
English
2783
53
Michael Caton-Jones
John Hurt, Joanne Whalley, Bridget Fonda, Ian McKellen, Leslie Phillips
Drama / History / Period Film
UK / USA
English
2792
54
Jean-Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet
Andreas Yon Rauch, Vladimir Baratta, Howard Vernon
Short / Drama
France
German
2792
54
Jean-Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet
Danièle Huillet
Documentary
France / West Germany
German
2792
54
Abbas Kiarostami
Babak Ahmadpoor, Farhang Akhavan, Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh
Documentary
Iran
Persian
2792
54
Clarence Fok Yiu-leung
Maggie Cheung, Biao Yuen, Wah Yuen, Sarah Lee, Alvina Kong
Action / Romance / Sci-Fi / Comedy / Fantasy
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2792
54
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Roya Nonahali, Mahmud Bigham, Ebrahim Abadi, Mohsen Zaehtab
Drama
Iran
Persian
2792
54
Emile de Antonio
Emile de Antonio, John Cage, Nancy de Antonio
Documentary / Biography
UK / USA
English
2801
55
Shohei Imamura
Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura, Etsuko Ichihara, Shoichi Ozawa, Norihei Miki
Drama / War
Japan
Japanese
2801
55
Ron Shelton
Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, Jerry Hardin, Gailard Sartain, Jeffrey DeMunn
Biography / Drama / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2801
55
Emile Ardolino
Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan O'Neal, Mary Stuart Masterson
Comedy / Romance / Fantasy
USA
English
2801
55
Joel Schumacher
Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, Sean Young, William L. Petersen, Lloyd Bridges
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
2801
55
Caleb Deschanel
Aidan Quinn, Elvis Payne, Richard D. Sharp, Colin Bruce, William Hootkins
Drama / Adventure
UK / USA
English
2801
55
Walter Hill
Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker
Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2801
55
Richard Donner
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O'Connor, Patsy Kensit
Action / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2801
55
John Glen
Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, Anthony Zerbe
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2801
55
Thomas Schlamme
Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins, Alfre Woodard, Scott Glenn
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2801
55
Charles Lane
Charles Lane, Nicole Alysia, Sandye Wilson, Darnell Williams, Trula Hoosier
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2801
55
Mel Smith
Jeff Goldblum, Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson, Geraldine James, Anna Massey
Comedy / Romance
UK
English
2801
55
Milos Forman
Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk, Siân Phillips
Drama / Romance / Period Film
France / USA
English
2807
56
Michel Legrand
Sabine Azéma, Annie Girardot, Matthieu Rozé, Christoph Moosbrugger
Drama / Comedy / War
France
French
2807
56
Kevin Brownlow, David Gill
Harold Lloyd, Lindsay Anderson, Hal Roach, Harvey Parry, Jack Lemmon
Documentary / Biography / History / Music / Romance
UK
English
2807
56
Christopher Morahan
Michael York, Patricia Hodge, Michael Gambon, Ralph Michael, Tina Earl
Drama / War / Spy
UK
English
2807
56
Bruce McDonald
Valerie Buhagiar, Gerry Quigley, Larry Hudson, Bruce McDonald, Shaun Bowring
Drama / Action / Adventure / Comedy / Cult
Canada
English
2807
56
Atom Egoyan
Michael McManus, Arsinée Khanjian, Gabrielle Rose, Tony Nardi
Drama
Canada
English
2807
56
Nick Castle
Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., Suzzanne Douglass, Savion Glover
Drama / Crime / Music / Romance
USA
English
2817
57
David S. Ward
Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton, James Gammon
Comedy / Sports
USA
English
2840
58
Al Reinert
Jim Lovell, Russell Schweickart, Eugene Cernan, Michael Collins, Charles Conrad
Documentary / History
USA
English
2841
59
Alan Clarke
Gary Walker, Bill Hamilton, Michael Foyle, Danny Small, Robert J. Taylor
Short / Crime / Drama
UK
English
2842
60
Nanni Moretti
Nanni Moretti, Silvio Orlando, Mariella Valentini, Alfonso Santagata
Comedy / Sports / Drama
Italy / France
Italian
2852
61
James Cameron
Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn, Leo Burmester, Todd Graff
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Romance
USA
English
2860
62
Bahram Beizai
Susan Taslimi, Parvis Pourhosseini, Adnan Afravian
Drama / Adventure
Iran
Persian
2860
62
Tracey Moffatt
Akira Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Gentle, Agnes Hardwick, Marcia Langton
Short / Drama
Australia
English
NR
-
Robert Zemeckis
Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Elisabeth Shue
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Sci-Fi
USA
English
