From Under the Skin to Casino Royale: Six Directors Pick The Best Films of the 21st Century

After publishing their picks for the top 25 movies of the 21^st century (so far), the New York Times recently caught up with six prominent directors to discuss some of their favorite films from the past 17 years. Among those included are recent Palm d’Or winner Sofia Coppola, Blade Runner 2049’s Denis Villeneuve and Bridesmaid’s Paul Feig.

Some of their answers might surprise you. From tasteful foreign dramas and award-season darlings, to Hollywood blockbusters and raunchy, R-rated comedies, their choices run the gamut from high to low and everything in between. In other words, they provide a refreshing change of pace from the usual suspects that we see brought up time and time again. Variety is the spice of life, after all, and if there’s one thing filmmakers prove time and time again, it’s that there’s plenty of room in our cinematic palette for a bit of – ahem – fun.

Antoine Fuqua

(Training Day, The Magnificent Seven)

“I love all types of films: great character-driven pieces like “There Will Be Blood,” and entertainment like “Gravity” and “Avatar” that transported me to other places and filled me with wonderment — a reminder to us all to continue pushing our vision.”

Fences
Slumdog Millionaire
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Zero Dark Thirty
Avatar
Munich
There Will Be Blood
The Pianist
Eastern Promises
Gladiator

Sofia Coppola

(Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette)

“I usually like more subtle movies but can enjoy all kinds.”

Force Majeure
The White Ribbon
The Savages
Head-On
Daddy’s Home
Under the Skin
The Incredibles
Together
Grizzly Man
Ida
Fish Tank
Ex Machina

Paul Feig

(Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters)
 

“The best experience I ever have [is] when I forget I’m watching a movie. Or when as a filmmaker, I’m going, “How did they do that?”

Napoleon Dynamite
Moulin Rouge
Sing Street
Deadpool
This Is the End
Amélie
A Single Man
Moon
Casino Royale
Mustang

Denis Villeneuve

(Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049)
 

“When I started making movies at the end of the 20th century, the previous generation of filmmakers said cinema was dead. Well … long live cinema!” 

There Will be Blood
No Country for Old Men
A Prophet
Under the Skin
Dogtooth
Dogville
Children of Men
Inception
Amores Perros

Brett Ratner

(Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand)

The Kid Stays in the Picture
The Pianist
The Hangover
Borat
The Social Network
Y Tu Mamá También
Sexy Beast
Birth
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Kill Bill: Vol 1

Alex Gibney

(Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief)

“…I don’t even like proclaiming ‘great films.’ I remember that my father spent most of his life wanting to be a “great man,” but became more interesting and important to me when he became a ‘good man’…”

City of God
Michael Clayton
Pan’s Labyrinth
No Country for Old Men
The Grand Budapest Hotel
I Am Not Your Negro
Nostalgia for the Light
Waltz With Bashir
Iraq in Fragments
Grizzly Man
Heart of a Dog
The Big Short

Check out the New York Time’s full list here!