Some directors consistently make bad movies, such as Uwe Boll, who is famous within the industry for churning out cheap and lazy products, such as House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, and other terrible game-to-screen adaptations.
Then there are the directors who rarely put a foot wrong, such as Steven Spielberg who, with the occasional exception, has managed to give audiences movies that can be considered ‘classics’ of their respective genres.
And then there are those directors who have made one great hit but whose other movies have failed to reach the same level of quality or acclaim.
In this article, we list 10 directors who (to date) have only made one movie that can be considered truly great. Do you agree with our picks? Are there other directors who belong on a list like this one? Let us know in the comments below.
Neill Blomkamp
District 9
After beginning his career with music videos and short films, Neill Blomkamp made his feature directorial debut with the 2009 sci-fi movie District 9. The movie is both a political satire and an exciting chase movie, giving viewers plenty to think about with its multilayered and fascinating story.
The movie has been hailed as a classic of the sci-fi genre, something that can’t be said of the director’s subsequent movies Elysium and Chappie. Blomkamp took a break from feature film directing for several years and eventually returned with the supernatural horror movie Demonic in 2021, which is visually interesting but not at all scary.
His latest movie, Gran Turismo, is better than Demonic but we’re still waiting for him to direct another movie that is as bold and powerful as District 9.
Richard Kelly
Donnie Darko
The 2001 movie Donnie Darko opened to largely mediocre reviews but in the years since its original release, it has gained a cult following from those audience members who recognize what Richard Kelly was trying to say with his creepy and metaphysical film.
The movie has been critically re-evaluated too and is now considered a surreal masterpiece by some, though those who couldn’t get their head around the tale of a teenage boy and his imaginary rabbit might still be baffled by Kelly’s debut picture.
Kelly’s subsequent movies, the indulgent (and incoherent) Southland Tales, and bland fantasy thriller The Box, failed to live up to the mastery of his debut film. That latter movie isn’t completely awful but along with Southland Tales, it’s lacking when compared to the artistic mastery of Donnie Darko.
Simon West
Con Air
Con Air isn’t the greatest movie of all time but it’s widely loved by many for its absurd mix of action and comedy. Nicolas Cage and John Cusack both give entertaining performances in this enjoyable thrill ride and combined with the witty script and explosive setpieces, it can be considered something of a guilty pleasure.
Sadly, the same can’t be said of West’s other movies, including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, a fun but forgettable take on the legendary video game heroine, and When a Stranger Calls, a poor remake of a 1979 Halloween rip-off. In later years, West returned to the action field but most of his pictures within this genre, including Wild Card and Stratton, are abysmal.
Josh Trank
Chronicle
Josh Trank’s debut movie Chronicle, a found footage superhero flick, was a critical and commercial success. Marvel saw potential in this up-and-coming director and hired him to direct 2015’s Fantastic Four. Sadly, this movie bombed at the box office and it ruined Trank’s reputation too, due to his reported bad behaviour on set.
To date, Trank has only made one other movie – Capone, a 2020 biopic of the legendary gangster starring Tom Hardy in the lead role. This isn’t as bad as Fantastic Four, which has gone down in history as one of the worst comic book movies of all time. But it can hardly be considered the comeback Trank needed after the critical savaging of his second superhero movie.
Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter
Michael Cimino’s first movie was Thunderbolt and Lightfoot in 1974, a fun but unremarkable crime comedy starring Jeff Bridges and Clint Eastwood. Four years later he directed The Deer Hunter, a harrowing look at the impact of the Vietnam War which won several Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture, at the 1979 Academy Awards.
Great things were expected from Cimino after this early success but his next picture was the notorious flop Heaven’s Gate in 1980, a $35 million epic that was quickly pulled from theatres due to largely negative reviews. Cimino only made a handful of movies following that big-budget debacle, including Year of the Dragon, The Sicilian, and The Sunchaser, but it’s The Deer Hunter for which the late director will always be remembered.
Paul W.S. Anderson
Event Horizon
Event Horizon is another movie that earned bad reviews on its release but was later re-evaluated after achieving popularity with audiences. It’s certainly not the best sci-fi horror movie ever made but in its tale of the discovery of a haunted starship, it’s never less than interesting, largely due to the foreboding atmosphere and scary twists and turns.
Anderson’s next movie, Soldier, was also within the sci-fi genre, but despite a decent performance from Kurt Russell, it was a mostly unremarkable action flick with a futuristic setting. Resident Evil, Alien Vs Predator, and Monster Hunter are just a few of the other movies Anderson has made in his career but none of these poorly-reviewed efforts are worthy of a critical re-evaluation.
The Wachowskis
The Matrix
Lana and Lily Wachowski blew nearly everybody away with The Matrix, a jaw-dropping blend of bullet-time action, eye-popping visuals, and a mind-bending storyline. Following its 1999 release, the sequels were eagerly awaited. These subsequent movies retained the brilliant action of the first film but they were undone by the confusing narrative and philosophical musings.
Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, and Jupiter Ascending followed before Lana resurrected The Matrix franchise with the suitably titled The Matrix Resurrections. Visually stylish these movies might be but none of them are as fresh or as invigorating as the Wachowski’s debut feature.
James Franco
The Disaster Artist
Actor-turned-director James Franco is certainly prolific but only one of the movies he has directed can be considered truly great. Ironically, this movie is 2017’s The Disaster Artist, a biopic of the infamously bad director of The Room, Tommy Wiseau. It’s an entertaining picture, elevated by Franco’s performance as the deluded filmmaker, and it’s endlessly rewatchable.
Franco has made many other movies, many of which are artistically fascinating but none of which have given him the acclaim he received with The Disaster Artist. Thankfully, he is a far more talented director than Tommy Wiseau but as some of his movies are pretentious and dull, they don’t provide the same entertainment value of his celebrated 2017 movie and the laughably bad The Room.
Catherine Hardwicke
Thirteen
Hardwicke’s first movie was the searing teenage drama Thirteen in 2003 which was far more relatable to teen audiences than many of the sanitised flicks released around the same time. Her follow-up feature Lords of Dogtown was an interesting look at skateboarding culture but it didn’t have the same impact as her debut feature.
In the years since Thirteen’s release, Hardwicke has directed over 20 movies, but none of them have the power of her first film. 2008’s Twilight was popular with tweens but not the critics. And her most recent movie, Mafia Mamma, is an abysmal comedy starring Toni Collette as an all-American mom who inherits an Italian mafia family. Sleeping with a horse’s head next to you on your pillow is more appealing than this comic spin on The Godfather movies!
Renny Harlin
Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2 is not as good as Die Hard but it’s still a superior action movie. It’s a smart, rousing, and spectacular piece of work from a director whose career since has been laden with more critical misfires than movie hits.
Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight are two of Harlin’s better movies, though they aren’t exactly classic material. But a quick look at his resume will evidence the number of failures he has made in his career. Among the very worst are the tepid motoring drama Driven, derivative horror sequel Exorcist: The Beginning, and the less-than-legendary The Legend of Hercules.
Do you agree with our picks? Are there any directors you think deserve a mention here? Let us know in the comments below.