A good director is one of the most reliable indicators that a movie will be worth watching, but there can also be surprises when a director creates just one truly great movie. It’s often the case that a successful movie can be the beginning for a director, and they will go on to create more and more. This isn’t always what happens, unfortunately, as there have been plenty of one-hit-wonder directors over the years.
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Sometimes, a director simply captures lightning in a bottle for one outstanding movie, but they can’t replicate the results on other projects. Other times, their one-hit-wonder status is due to factors beyond their control, like if they don’t get given the right opportunities or if their projects keep hitting stumbling blocks. Some classic movies including King Kong, The Empire Strikes Back and Donnie Darko represent the only big hits of their director’s careers.
10 Irvin Kershner
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
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9/10 21 9.1/10 Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
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*Availability in US Director Irvin Kershner Release Date June 18, 1980 Cast Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Frank Oz , Billy Dee Williams , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , David Prowse , Peter Mayhew , James Earl Jones
Irvin Kershner was an unexpected choice to direct the first Star Wars sequel, but George Lucas knew him personally and respected his deep knowledge of filmmaking without being an established figure in Hollywood. Kershner had directed some low-budget movies, TV shows and shorts. Still, he rose to the occasion by directing what many fans believe to be the best Star Wars movie of all.
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Kershner rose to the occasion by directing what many fans believe to be the best
Star Wars
movie of all.
The Empire Strikes Back has some of the Star Wars franchise’s most exciting moments, like Luke’s battle with Darth Vader and his training on Dagobah with Yoda. Still, The Empire Strikes Back mixes these action set pieces with an intelligent emotional story for all of its main characters. Kershner never replicated this immense success, directing Sean Connery’s return to the role of James Bond in the non-canon Never Say Never Again, and the sequel to Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop. Neither movie was particularly well-received.
9 Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter (1978)
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The Deer Hunter
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*Availability in US Director Michael Cimino Release Date February 23, 1979 Cast Robert De Niro , John Cazale , John Savage , Meryl Streep , Christopher Walken , George Dzundza
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The Deer Hunter was Michael Cimino’s second feature-length movie, after the mildly successful crime thriller Thunderbolt & Lightfoot. It stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage as three steelworkers who experience the punishing horrors of the Vietnam War. It remains one of the defining movies of the war, winning 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Cimino.
His follow-up to
The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate,
was a notorious box office bomb, and this predicted the struggles of the rest of his career.
The Deer Hunter‘s Russian roulette scene will probably be recognizable even to those who haven’t seen the movie, but this is just one of many intense scenes. Cimino never managed to repeat this success in any meaningful way, however. He became notorious for abandoning projects, as his uncompromising pursuit of artistic perfection caused problems with studios. His follow-up to The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate, was a notorious box office bomb, and this predicted the struggles of the rest of his career.
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8 Richard Kelly
Donnie Darko (2001)
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7/10 1/10 Donnie Darko
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*Availability in US Director Richard Kelly Release Date October 26, 2001 Cast Jake Gyllenhaal , Holmes Osborne , Maggie Gyllenhaal , Daveigh Chase , Mary McDonnell , James Duval
Richard Kelly’s feature-length debut Donnie Darko is often cited as one of the best independent films of all time, and it’s a must-watch for fans of psychological thrillers. Donnie Darko‘s strange timeline is full of surprises, so it’s no wonder that the movie quickly gained a cult following. Unfortunately, Kelly’s career didn’t develop in the way many critics anticipated. He has directed just two further movies, Southland Tales and The Box, neither of which came close to achieving the critical acclaim of Donnie Darko.
A director who once looked so promising has instead been hit with repeated career setbacks.
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Kelly has announced a few projects over the years which have fizzled out, and he has also worked as a writer and a producer. After 2009’s The Box, Kelly looked set to direct a Manhattan-set thriller, a movie named Corpus Christi with Eli Roth, and a crime drama with James Gandolfini named Amicus. None of these projects materialized, and a director who once looked so promising has instead been hit with repeated career setbacks.
7 Charles Laughton
The Night Of The Hunter (1955)
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The Night of the Hunter
Director Charles Laughton Release Date August 26, 1955 Cast Robert Mitchum , Billy Chapin , Shelley Winters , Lillian Gish , James Gleason , Evelyn Varden , Don Beddoe , Peter Graves , James Griffith , Gloria Castillo , Gloria Pall , Paul Bryar , Cheryl Callaway , Alexander Campbell , Michael Chapin , Roy Engel , Kay Lavelle , Frances Morris Expand
Charles Laughton is recognized as one of the best actors of his generation, with three Oscar nominations, including one win, and a string of critically-acclaimed stage performances. Late in his career, he started directing plays, which were also well-received. He only ever got the chance to direct one movie, The Night of the Hunter, but disappointing box office profits and a mediocre critical response meant that Laughton’s other projects were canceled.
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With the benefit of hindsight, The Night of the Hunter is now recognized as a classic. Its unconventional style clearly borrows a lot from Laughton’s time as a theater director, and he brings a captivating performance out of his star Robert Mitchum. If The Night of the Hunter had been a success, Laughton would have directed an adaptation of Norman Mailer’s The Naked and the Dead, and a remake of the silent western White Gold.
6 Mary Harron
American Psycho (2000)
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7/10 8.4/10 American Psycho
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*Availability in US Director Mary Harron Release Date April 14, 2000 Cast Jared Leto , Reese Witherspoon , Chloe Sevigny , Willem Dafoe , Justin Theroux , Christian Bale
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Mary Harron has directed many short films and episodes of TV shows, but none of her movies have yet reached the same level of prestige as 2000’s American Psycho. Harron’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel features a remarkable performance from Christian Bale and a fascinating twist ending that has added to its popularity over the years. American Psycho is often seen as a portrait of toxic masculinity, so it’s interesting to note that a female director has such a natural feel for the characters.
Harron’s most recent movie was 2022’s
Daliland,
a Salvador Dalí biopic starring Ben Kingsley that earned mixed reviews.
Call Me By Your Name and Challengers director Luca Guadagnino is set to take on an American Psycho remake, but topping Harron’s version will be a tough task indeed. Finding a young star who can step out of the shadow of Bale’s iconic portrayal of Patrick Bateman is just one problem Guadagnino faces. As for Harron, her most recent movie was 2022’s Daliland, a Salvador Dalí biopic starring Ben Kingsley that earned mixed reviews.
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5 Tom Stoppard
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
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Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
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*Availability in US Director Tom Stoppard Release Date February 8, 1991 Cast Gary Oldman , Tim Roth , Richard Dreyfuss , Iain Glen , Ian Richardson , Donald Sumpter , Joanna Miles , Joanna Roth , John Burgess , Livio Badurina , Tomislav Maretic , Mare Mlacnik , Serge Soric , Mladen Vasary , Željko Vukmirica , Branko Završan , Ljubo Zečević , Sven Medvešek , Vili Matula Expand
Tom Stoppard’s only directorial effort so far is 1990’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which is based on his own play of the same name. It makes sense that Stoppard himself would want to oversee the movie, since the play was one of his first big hits that announced his arrival as an important writer in British theater in the 1960s. It’s a hilarious black comedy that pokes at the edges of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, deconstructing the ideas of narrative fiction and holding them up to the light.
Stoppard’s plays have won dozens of awards over the years, but only
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
has been turned into a movie.
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Although he has only directed one movie, Stoppard has a long list of credits as a screenwriter reaching back to the 1970s. His big successes include the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love, Terry Gilliam’s absurd sci-fi classic Brazil, and the final rewrite of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Stoppard’s plays have won dozens of awards over the years, but only Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead has been turned into a movie.
4 Merian C. Cooper
King Kong (1933)
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King Kong (1933)
Director Merian C. Cooper , Ernest B. Schoedsack Cast Fay Wray , Robert Armstrong , Bruce Cabot , Frank Reicher , Sam Hardy , Noble Johnson
Merian C. Cooper enjoyed a long and successful career in Hollywood as a producer, becoming one of John Ford’s most trusted collaborators. He only took on directing duties himself on a few occasions. Of these few movies, only King Kong has stood the test of time, kickstarting one of the biggest franchises in movie history and revolutionizing monster movies in the process.
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The
King Kong
franchise has evolved to keep up with the times, but a lot of its appeal is already clear to see in the 1933 original.
The King Kong franchise has evolved to keep up with the times, but a lot of its appeal is already clear to see in the 1933 original. Cooper and his co-director Ernest B. Schoedsack created a sci-fi classic that probes at humanity’s relationship with the natural world, but none of their other movies together have had such a lasting impact. The Last Days of Pompeii, Mighty Joe Young and The Four Feathers have all been largely forgotten.
3 Peter R. Hunt
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
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8/10 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
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*Availability in US Director Peter R. Hunt Release Date December 19, 1969 Cast George Lazenby , Diana Rigg , Telly Savalas , Gabriele Ferzetti , Ilse Steppat , Angela Scoular
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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the only James Bond with George Lazenby in the lead role, and the franchise’s only movie directed by Peter R. Hunt. Many directors have taken on multiple Bond movies, including Terence Young, Guy Hamilton and John Glen, but Hunt’s few other directorial efforts took place years later on standalone projects. Before On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Hunt contributed to the Bond movies as an editor, helping to establish the speedy style of action.
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Although it was met with mixed reviews at the time, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has enjoyed a critical rebirth over the decades, and many now see it as one of the best James Bond movies. Lazenby’s different take on the character isn’t universally popular, but On Her Majesty’s Secret Service has a lot going for it. There are some thrilling action sequences, a compelling version of Blofeld, and a more emotional story than most Bond movies.
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2 George Dunning
Yellow Submarine (1968)
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Yellow Submarine
Director George Dunning , Robert Balser , Jack Stokes , Dennis Abey , Al Brodax Release Date November 13, 1968 Cast Paul McCartney , George Harrison , Ringo Starr , John Lennon , Paul Angelis , John Clive , Dick Emery , Geoffrey Hughes , Lance Percival
George Dunning mostly worked as an animator, producing cartoons, short films and commercials. He also produced The Beatles, the short-lived animated series that features the Fab Four as cartoon characters getting into comical scrapes. This eventually granted him the opportunity of directing the 1968 animated classic Yellow Submarine, which serves as the perfect visual accompaniment to the music of The Beatles.
Yellow Submarine
has been recognized as a landmark of animation, and one of the first animated movies that holds just as much appeal for adults as it does for children.
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Yellow Submarine has been recognized as a landmark of animation, and one of the first animated movies that holds just as much appeal for adults as it does for children. It’s a must-watch for fans of The Beatles, but it’s also a beguiling fantasy adventure that deserves to be appreciated for its own merits. Dunning never directed another feature-length movie after Yellow Submarine.
1 Mel Stuart
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)
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8/10 10/10 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
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*Availability in US Director Mel Stuart Release Date June 30, 1971 Cast Jack Albertson , gene wilder , Peter Ostrum , Denise Nickerson , Julie Dawn Cole
Mel Stuart directed a few critically-acclaimed documentaries, including Running On the Sun: The Badwater 135 and Up From the Ape, but Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is the only one of his narrative features which has stood the test of time. It stands out as one of the best Roald Dahl adaptations over 50 years later, even if Dahl himself was vocal about his distaste for the finished product.
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
manages to capture Dahl’s dark tones perfectly.
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Dahl objected to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory‘s saccharine ending and the way it shifts focus from Charlie’s role in the story, as emphasized by the change made to the title. Aside from these changes, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory manages to capture Dahl’s dark tones perfectly. Some scenes look as if they could be ripped straight from a horror movie, like the frantic, psychedelic tunnel scene.
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