Film's One-Hit Wonders: 30 Directors With Only One Good Movie

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – April 15, 2018

Even the worst directors have one good film in them. Well, at least some of them do. In the gallery above, we've identified 30 filmmakers from the past four decades who have directed at least five features but have managed to receive positive reviews for just a single one of their films.

8 of 31

Gary Fleder

Beginning with his indie 1995 film Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Fleder has directed a series of dramas and thrillers, averaging just 46 for his efforts. His one modest critical success was a 2003 legal thriller based on a John Grisham novel. Fleder has (fortunately?) shied away from the big screen in recent years, concentrating his directing efforts on television.

The one good film:
61 Runaway Jury (2003)

Everything else:
46 Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995)
46 Kiss the Girls (1997)
38 Don't Say a Word (2001)
33 Impostor (2001)
58 The Express (2008)
40 Homefront (2013)

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