Best Movies of 1991 by Rank
43
1
Yimou Zhang
Li Gong, Caifei He, Cuifen Cao, Jingwu Ma, Qi Zhao, Lin Kong, Jin Shuyuan
Drama / Period Film
China / Hong Kong / Taiwan
Mandarin
77
2
Jonathan Demme
Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Anthony Heald, Ted Levine
Thriller / Crime / Detective / Cult / Horror
USA
English
228
3
Ridley Scott
Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel
Thriller / Action / Crime / Drama / Comedy
USA
English
403
4
Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise
Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers
Animation / Family / Musical / Romance / Fantasy / Thriller
USA
English
441
5
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Irène Jacob, Halina Gryglaszewska, Kalina Jedrusik, Aleksander Bardini
Drama / Fantasy / Romance
France / Poland / Norway
French
476
6
James Cameron
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Sci-Fi / Action / Thriller / Drama
France / USA
English
497
7
Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Pascal Benezech, Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus
Comedy / Sci-Fi / Romance / Fantasy / Cult
France
French
574
8
Jacques Rivette
Michel Piccoli, Jane Birkin, Emmanuelle Béart
Drama / Romance
France / Switzerland
French
599
9
John Singleton
Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut
Crime / Drama
USA
English
640
10
Oliver Stone
Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller
USA / France
English
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808
11
Edward Yang
Chang Chen, Lisa Yang, Guozhu Zhang, Elaine Jin, Wang Juan, Zhang Han
Drama / Romance
Taiwan
Mandarin
1107
12
Gus Van Sant
River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, James Russo, William Richert
Drama
USA
English
1145
13
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis, Michael Lerner
Drama / Thriller / Comedy / Cult
USA / UK
English
1298
14
Barry Levinson
Warren Beatty, Annette Bening
Crime / Drama / Biography / Gangster
USA
English
1390
15
Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
1494
16
Bruce Beresford
Lothaire Bluteau, Aden Young, Sandrine Holt, August Schellenberg
Adventure / Drama / History / Religion
Canada / Australia
English
1567
17
Michael Tolkin
Mimi Rogers, David Duchovny, Darwyn Carson, Patrick Bauchau
Drama / Mystery / Religion
USA
English
1661
18
Hark Tsui
Jet Li, Biao Yuen, Rosamund Kwan, Jacky Cheung, Steve Tartalia, Kent Cheng
Action / Adventure / Drama / History / Period Film
Hong Kong
Cantonese
1679
19
Nikita Mikhalkov
Badema, Bayaertu, Vladimir Gostyukhin
Drama
France / Soviet Union
Mongolian
1709
20
Leos Carax
Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Klaus-Michael Grüber
Drama / Romance
France
French
1729
21
Richard Linklater
Brecht Andersch, Rudy Basquez, Bob Boyd, Jean Caffeine, Jerry Delony
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
1809
22
Terry Gilliam
Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Adam Bryant, Paul J. Lombardi
Fantasy / Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1891
23
Kar Wai Wong
Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Andy Lau, Carina Lau
Drama
Hong Kong
Cantonese
1932
24
David Cronenberg
Peter Weller, Judy Davis, Ian Holm, Julian Sands
Drama / Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Experimental
Canada / UK / Japan
English
1943
25
Ron Underwood
Billy Crystal, Jack Palance, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby
Adventure / Comedy / Western / Drama
USA
English
1986
26
Julie Dash
Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbara O. Jones, Trula Hoosier
Drama
USA
English
2010
27
Errol Morris
Stephen Hawking, Isobel Hawking, Janet Humphrey, Mary Hawking
Documentary / Biography
UK / Japan / USA
English
2029
28
Atom Egoyan
Elias Koteas, Arsinée Khanjian, Maury Chaykin
Drama / Comedy / Cult
Canada
English
2046
29
Agnès Varda
Philippe Maron, Edouard Joubeaud, Laurent Monnier, Brigitte De Villepoix
Biography / Drama / Comedy
France
French
2053
30
Alan Parker
Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, Angeline Ball, Maria Doyle Kennedy
Comedy / Drama / Music
Ireland / UK / USA
English
2058
31
John Sayles
Vincent Spano, Stephen Mendillo, Chris Cooper, Tony Lo Bianco, Joe Morton
Drama
USA
English
2061
32
Peter Greenaway
John Gielgud, Michael Clark, Michel Blanc, Erland Josephson
Fantasy / Drama / Experimental
France / Italy / Netherlands / UK / Japan
English
2100
33
Alain Corneau
Jean-Pierre Marielle, Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Guillaume Depardieu
Biography / Drama / Music / Romance / Period Film
France
French
2103
34
Jaco van Dormael
Michel Bouquet, Mireille Perrier, Jo De Backer, Thomas Godet
Drama / Comedy
France / Belgium / Germany
French
2111
35
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand, Nick Nolte, Blythe Danner, Kate Nelligan
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2142
36
Paul Cox
Sheila Florance, Gosia Dobrowolska, Norman Kaye, Chris Haywood
Drama
Australia
English
2259
37
Martha Coolidge
Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, Diane Ladd, Lukas Haas
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2342
38
Jocelyn Moorhouse
Hugo Weaving, Geneviève Picot, Russell Crowe, Heather Mitchell
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Australia
English
2346
39
Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker
Crime / Drama / Horror / Thriller
USA
English
2359
40
Gabriele Salvatores
Claudio Bigagli, Diego Abatantuono
Comedy / War / Romance
Italy
Italian
2362
41
Lawrence Kasdan
Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Steve Martin, Mary McDonnell
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2372
42
Kathryn Bigelow
Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley
Action / Adventure / Crime / Drama / Sports / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2395
43
Lars von Trier
Jean-Marc Barr, Max Von Sydow, Barbara Sukowa, Udo Kier
Thriller / Drama / Experimental
Denmark / Sweden / France / Germany / Switzerland
English
2402
44
Michael Apted
Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield
Documentary / Biography
UK
English
2479
45
Derek Jarman
Steven Waddington, Kevin Collins, Andrew Tiernan, John Lynch
Drama / History
UK
English
2550
46
David Mamet
Joe Mantegna, William H. Macy, Vincent Guastaferro, J.J. Johnston
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2553
47
James Lapine
Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien, Tom Aldredge, Robert Westenberg
Fantasy / Musical
USA
English
2560
48
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, Lois Hall
Mystery / Romance / Thriller / Post-Noir
USA
English
2565
49
Spike Lee
Wesley Snipes, Annabella Sciorra, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2593
50
Mick Jackson
Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, Richard E. Grant, Marilu Henner
Comedy / Romance / Fantasy
USA
English
2594
51
Jon Avnet
Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker, Jessica Tandy
Drama / Comedy / Period Film
USA
English
2605
52
Nancy Savoca
River Phoenix, Lili Taylor, Richard Panebianco, Anthony Clark, Mitchell Whitfie
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2605
52
James Lapine
Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Julian Sands
Comedy / Romance / Music
UK / France
English
2605
52
Vicente Aranda
Victoria Abril, Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdú, Enrique Cerro
Crime / Drama / Romance
Spain
Spanish
2605
52
Stephen Gyllenhaal
Dennis Hopper, Barbara Hershey, Ed Harris, Ray McKinnon, Tina Lifford
Drama
USA
English
2642
53
Chantal Akerman
Guilaine Londez, Thomas Langmann, François Négret
Drama / Romance
France / Belgium / Switzerland
French
2652
54
Mira Nair
Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore
Romance / Drama / Comedy
UK / USA
English
2653
55
John Duigan
Noah Taylor, Thandie Newton, Nicole Kidman, Bartholomew Rose
Drama / Comedy / Romance
Australia
English
2659
56
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Lee Grant, Buck Henry
Comedy / Fantasy / Romance
USA
English
2672
57
Robert Mulligan
Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Gail Strickland, Reese Witherspoon
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2676
58
Peter Chelsom
Brian Flanagan, Constance Cowley, Marie Mullen, Phil Kelly, Jean Blanchflower
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Ireland / UK
English
2709
59
Friðrik Þór Friðriksson
Gísli Halldórsson, Sigríður Hagalín
Drama
Germany / Iceland / Norway
Icelandic
2709
59
Jan Sverák
Jan Triska, Zdenek Sverák, Libuse Safránková
Drama / Comedy
Czechoslovakia
Czech
2709
59
Sven Nykvist
Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Stellan Skarsgård
Drama / Period Film
Sweden / Norway / Denmark
Swedish
2740
60
Garry Marshall
Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Hector Elizondo, Nathan Lane
Drama / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2756
61
Nina Menkes
Tinka Menkes, Jeff Douglas, Emmellda Beech, Kathryn Francomacaro, Jeffrey Eget
Drama / Experimental
USA
English
2783
62
Roman Kroitor, David Douglas, Christine Strand, Julien Temple, Noel Archambault
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Chuck Leavell
Documentary / Music
Ireland / Canada / USA
English
2788
63
Jean-Luc Godard
Eddie Constantine, Hanns Zischler, Claudia Michelsen
Drama / Experimental
France
French
2788
63
Werner Herzog
Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Mathilda May, Stefan Glowacz, Al Waxman
Drama / Adventure
Canada / Germany / France / Belgium
English
2788
63
Félix Rotaeta
Carmen Maura, Mario Gas, Àlex Casanovas, Rosario Flores
Drama / Thriller
Spain
Spanish
2788
63
Manoel de Oliveira
Maria de Medeiros, Luís Miguel Cintra, Mário Viegas
Drama / Religion
Portugal / France / Switzerland
Portuguese
2788
63
Jerzy Skolimowski
Iain Glen, Robert Stephens, Judith Godrèche, Fabienne Babe
Drama / Comedy
Poland
Polish
2788
63
Ömer Kavur
Zühal Olcay, Fikret Kuskan, Savas Yurttas, Arslan Kaçar
Drama / Romance
Turkey
Turkish
2788
63
Marco Risi
Corso Salani, Angela Finocchiaro, Antonello Fassari
Drama / Thriller
Italy
Italian
2788
63
Philippe Garrel
Benoît Régent, Johanna ter Steege, Yann Collette
Drama
France
French
2788
63
Jan Lomnicki
Ryszarda Hanin, Marzena Trybala, Marek Bargielowski
Drama / War
Poland
Polish
2788
63
Jillali Ferhati
Souad Ferhati, Mohamed Timoud, Fatima Loukili
Drama
Morocco
Arabic
2788
63
Fabio Carpi
Marie-Christine Barrault, Ben Kingsley, Ann-Gisel Glass
Comedy / Drama
Italy / France
Italian
2788
63
István Szabó
Glenn Close, Niels Arestrup, Kiri Te Kanawa, René Kollo
Comedy / Drama / Romance
UK / Japan / USA
English
2788
63
Emidio Greco
Gian Maria Volonté, Ennio Fantastichini, Ricky Tognazzi
Drama / Crime / Detective
Italy
Italian
2789
64
Pedro Almodóvar
Victoria Abril, Marisa Paredes, Miguel Bosé, Anna Lizaran
Drama
Spain / France
Spanish
2789
64
Aleksandr Mitta
Anthony Andrews, Vladimir Ilyin, Yelena Majorova, Irina Mikhalyova
Drama
Soviet Union / UK
Russian
2789
64
Claude Chabrol
Isabelle Huppert, Jean-François Balmer, Christophe Malavoy
Drama / Romance
France
French
2792
65
Stephen Poliakoff
Alan Rickman, Clive Owen, Saskia Reeves, Karl Johnson
Drama / Romance
UK
English
2792
65
Joseph B. Vasquez
Doug E. Doug, Mario Joyner, John Leguizamo, Nestor Serrano
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2792
65
Alex Cox
Roberto Sosa, Bruno Bichir, Vanessa Bauche
Drama / Crime / Comedy
USA / Mexico
English
2792
65
Christopher Münch
David Angus, Ian Hart, Stephanie Pack, Robin McDonald
Drama
USA
English
2792
65
Luc Moullet
Luc Moullet, Noël Simsolo, Jean Narboni
Short / Documentary / Comedy
France
French
2792
65
Akira Kurosawa
Sachiko Murase, Richard Gere, Mitsunori Isaki, Hidetaka Yoshioka
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2800
66
Maroun Bagdadi
Hippolyte Girardot, Habib Hammoud, Sabrina Leurquin
Drama
Belgium / France / Italy
French
2801
67
Hector Babenco
Tom Berenger, John Lithgow, Daryl Hannah, Aidan Quinn, Tom Waits, Kathy Bates
Drama / Adventure
USA
English
2801
67
Michael Fields
Dermot Mulroney, Lili Taylor, Sam Shepard, Valerie Perrine, Burt Young
Drama / Crime
USA
English
2801
67
Randa Haines
William Hurt, Christine Lahti, Elizabeth Perkins, Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin
Drama
USA
English
2801
67
Irwin Winkler
Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, George Wendt, Patricia Wettig, Sam Wanamaker
Drama / Period Film
France / USA
English
2801
67
John Badham
Michael J. Fox, James Woods, Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, John Capodice
Action / Comedy / Crime / Detective
USA
English
2801
67
Peter Medak
Christopher Eccleston, Tom Courtenay, Eileen Atkins, Rebecca Eccleston
Crime / Drama / History
France / UK / Netherlands
English
2801
67
Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster, Dianne Wiest, Adam Hann-Byrd, Harry Connick Jr., David Hyde Pierce
Drama / Family
USA
English
2801
67
Alek Keshishian
Madonna, Warren Beatty, Sandra Bernhard, Carlton Wilborn, Gabriel Trupin
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
2801
67
Howard Zieff
Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin, Anna Chlumsky, Richard Masur
Comedy / Drama / Romance / Family
USA
English
2801
67
Mario Van Peebles
Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock, Mario Van Peebles, Michael Michele
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Gangster
USA
English
2801
67
Michael Lindsay-Hogg
John Malkovich, Andie MacDowell, Lolita Davidovich, Rudi Davies, Joss Ackland
Crime / Comedy / Drama / Caper
UK / USA
English
2801
67
Lasse Hallström
Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Danny Aiello, Laura San Giacomo, Gena Rowlands
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2801
67
Norman Jewison
Danny DeVito, Gregory Peck, Penelope Ann Miller, Piper Laurie, Dean Jones
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2801
67
Michael Hoffman
Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, Elisabeth Shue
Comedy
USA
English
2807
68
John Pozer
Simon Webb, Susinn McFarlen, Nicola Cavendish, Jay Brazeau, Andrea Rankin
Drama / Fantasy
Canada
English
2816
69
Isao Takahata
Daisy Ridley, Dev Patel, Alison Fernandez, Grey DeLisle, Matt Yang King
Animation / Drama / Romance
Japan
English
2840
70
Camille Billops, James Hatch
Camille Billops
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2840
70
Todd Haynes
Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Millie White, Susan Norman
Drama / Horror
USA
English
2860
71
Nicolás Echevarría
Juan Diego, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Roberto Sosa
Action / Adventure / Drama / Biography
Mexico / Spain / USA / UK
Spanish
2860
71
Teresa Villaverde
Ricardo Colares, Teresa Roby, Joaquim de Almeida, Vincent Gallo
Drama
Portugal / Germany
Portuguese
2860
71
David Greene
Richard Chamberlain, Diana Scarwid, Amy Bebout, Reid Binion
Drama / Thriller / Crime / Mystery
USA
English
2860
71
Maurice Pialat
Jacques Dutronc, Alexandra London, Bernard Le Coq
Drama / Biography / Period Film
France
French
NR
-
Steven Spielberg
Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith
Adventure / Comedy / Family / Fantasy
USA
English
NR
-
Kevin Reynolds
Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater
Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance
USA
English
