30 Film Directors Who Have Never Made a Bad Movie

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – June 9, 2018

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.

24 of 30

Martin Scorsese

You may not be shocked to see Scorsese's name on a list of top film directors. But it's almost surprising to see the full extent of his achievement. Going back to his 1967 debut, Scorsese has directed 24 narrative feature films ... and every one of the 24 has a green Metascore. Throw in a few theatrically released documentaries, and that record stays perfect. His career average as a director is 78, and he has an incredible five films scoring 90 or higher. Somehow, though, he has only won a single Oscar, for directing The Departed.

Scorsese's next film will be the mob drama The Irishman starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. (So, no, his streak doesn't appear to be in jeopardy anytime soon.)

The full filmography (as director):
63 Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)
61 Boxcar Bertha (1972)
96 Mean Streets (1973)
78 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
93 Taxi Driver (1976)
62 New York, New York (1977)
88 The Last Waltz (1978)
92 Raging Bull (1980)
73 The King of Comedy (1981)
90 After Hours (1985)
77 The Color of Money (1986)
80 The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
89 Goodfellas (1990)
73 Cape Fear (1991)
83 The Age of Innocence (1993)
73 Casino (1995)
74 Kundun (1997)
70 Bringing Out the Dead (1999)
90 My Voyage to Italy (1999)
72 Gangs of New York (2002)
77 The Aviator (2004)
85 The Departed (2006)
76 Shine a Light (2008)
63 Shutter Island (2010)
83 Hugo (2011)
75 The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
79 Silence (2016)

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