By Tom Lynch
50. “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” Shane Black, 2005
49. “In America,” Jim Sheridan, 2002
48. “The Lives of Others,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006
47. “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Guillermo del Toro, 2006
46. “Best in Show,” Christopher Guest, 2000
45. “Michael Clayton,” Tony Gilroy, 2007
44. “The Dark Knight,” Christopher Nolan, 2008
43. “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” Alex Gibney, 2005
42. “Traffic,” Steven Soderbergh,” 2000
41. “Spider-Man 2,” Sam Raimi, 2004
40. “The Pianist,” Roman Polanski, 2002
39. “The Assassination of Richard Nixon,” Niels Muller, 2004
38. “The Fog of War,” Errol Morris, 2003
37. “Black Hawk Down,” Ridley Scott, 2001
36. “The Queen,” Stephen Frears, 2006
35. “The Station Agent,” Thomas McCarthy, 2003
34. “The Departed,” Martin Scorsese, 2006
33. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Julian Schnabel, 2007
32. “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” Andrew Dominik, 2007
31. “Spartan,” David Mamet, 2004
30. “Brokeback Mountain,” Ang Lee, 2005
29. “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” Michel Gondry, 2004
28. “American Splendor,” Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini, 2003
27. “Ghost World,” Terry Zwigoff, 2001
26. “Punch-Drunk Love,” Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002
25. “Milk,” Gus Van Sant, 2008
24. “Closer,” Mike Nichols, 2004
23. “Where the Wild Things Are,” Spike Jonze, 2009
22. “Lost in Translation,” Sofia Coppola, 2003
21. “The 25th Hour,” Spike Lee, 2002
20. “Before Sunset,” Richard Linklater, 2004
19. “The Proposition,” John Hillcoat, 2006
18. “There Will Be Blood,” Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007
17. “Children of Men,” Alfonso Cuaron, 2006
16. “Collateral,” Michael Mann, 2004
15. “High Fidelity,” Stephen Frears, 2000
14. “Capturing the Friedmans,” Andrew Jarecki, 2003
13. “Mulholland Drive,” David Lynch, 2001
12. “You Can Count on Me,” Kenneth Lonergan, 2000
11. “Mystic River,” Clint Eastwood, 2003
10. “Good Night, and Good Luck,” George Clooney, 2005
09. “Almost Famous,” Cameron Crowe, 2000
08. “All the Real Girls,” David Gordon Green, 2003
07. “Zodiac,” David Fincher, 2006
06. “No Country for Old Men,” Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007
05. “Adaptation,” Spike Jonze, 2002
04. “In the Bedroom,” Todd Field, 2001
03. “The Royal Tenenbaums,” Wes Anderson, 2001
02. “Wonder Boys,” Curtis Hanson, 2000
01. “United 93,” Paul Greengrass, 2006
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