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.

9 of 31

James Franco

There's very little in Hollywood that actor James Franco hasn't tried doing at one point or another. Despite numerous attempts, it seemed like directing was going to be one of those tasks best left to others. But his most recent try behind the camera, last year's excellent comedy The Disaster Artist, finally found his efforts paying off, earning Franco much acclaim and several awards—though recent sexual misconduct allegations quickly ended whatever positive momentum he was gaining.

Note that the prolific Franco has directed at least another half-dozen films that aren't listed below because they were not properly released (and thus were not reviewed by critics). Up next for Franco is a Mad Max-inspired dystopian sci-fi film, Future World, which is somehow being released on the same day as Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The one good film:
76 The Disaster Artist (2017)

Everything else:
46 The Broken Tower (2011)
50 As I Lay Dying (2013)
41 Sal (2011)
47 Interior. Leather Bar. (2013) *
50 Child of God (2013)
39 The Sound and the Fury (2015)
43 In Dubious Battle (2016)

* (co-directed with Travis Mathews)

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