30 Film Directors Who Have Never Made a Bad Movie
Recently, we looked at 30 filmmakers who made only one well-reviewed movie over their entire careers, and then 25 great directors who missed out on perfection by just one film. But there is an even more elite group of film directors who have received critical acclaim for every single film they ever directed. In other words, they've never received anything but a green Metascore for one of their features.
How many of those directors can you guess? Check them all out in the gallery above. Note that we only looked at directors who have made at least five films since 1980.
Perhaps the foremost member of the so-called "Sixth Generation" of Chinese filmmakers, the Beijing-based Jia is quite prolific, helming quite a few short films (and several documentaries) in addition to the conventional features listed below. Along the way, he has transitioned from 16mm film productions to shooting on digital video.
The director's newest film, Ash Is Purest White, just received a warm reception from critics at its Cannes premiere in May. That film does not yet have an American release date. Also note that Jia's 1997 debut/student film The Pickpocket (Xiao Wu) did not receive a U.S. theatrical release and thus does not have a score, though it picked up some awards on the festival circuit and is widely admired.
The full filmography (as director):
76 Platform (Zhantai) (2000)
61 Unknown Pleasures (2002)
81 The World (2004)
81 Still Life (2006)
75 24 City (2008)
76 A Touch of Sin (2013)
79 Mountains May Depart (2015)