Top 10 Movies Directed by Women
Male filmmakers have dominated the big screen since the dawn of the moving picture. So much so that it's easy to forget that female filmmakers have given us lots of movies that gave the audiences a run for their money. Today, we will be looking at 10 such movies.
American Psycho (2000)
You may not believe that this flop which became a classic (more on those here) and depicts 1980s Wall Street was directed by a woman, but here we are. Canadian filmmaker Mary Harron brought to life the controversial 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis along with Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman, a villain protagonist Wall Street businessman. Bale's comical but disturbing performance and Harron's direction are seemingly impossible to not enjoy, despite the movie's murderous (or so we assume) tendencies. It also has developed a cult-following since its 2000 release, mostly thanks to its well-written script and its critique of Manhattan business life in the late 1980s.
Barbie (2023)
Half of 2023’s famous “Barbenheimer” feud was directed by Greta Gerwig and starred Margot Robbie as the titular girl’s toy personified. Gerwig has established herself as one of the best female filmmakers in Hollywood today, and Barbie is a major reason why that is. The movie itself is not necessarily a feminist's dream that many have assumed it to be. Its message is, more or less, to embrace humanity, imperfection, and self-acceptance while still shedding light on stereotypical gender roles in a patriarchal society.
Clueless (1995)
Many may be unaware that this one, which was one of the most popular teen movies from the 1990s, is actually a modern adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, in the same way that 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) is a modern version of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. But instead of Regency-era England, the audience is transported to modern (by 1995 standards) Beverly Hills, where Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) tries to make over fellow student Tai Frasier (Brittany Murphy) in one of the most original and unmatched in its type movies from its decade.
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Nearly all war movies have been directed by men. Moreover, the most popular and accurate war movies have all been directed by men, except for a few. That being 2008’s The Hurt Locker (not counting 1991’s Point Break and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, both of which were also made by the director of this one). In fact, director Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director for this movie. Not only that, but this one also managed to snag the win at the 82nd Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Film Editing.
Big (1988)
This one, for a few reasons, likely couldn’t be made today. But that’s not why this one is on the list. Penny Marshall (who we will see later) had just become the first female director to net $100 million at the box office and had also begun to let go of her image as Laverne DeFazio from the television series Laverne and Shirley. Tom Hanks was, at this point in time, not a legitimate box office star. But Big quickly changed that, with the whole production being a gamble that ended up working out.
Selma (2014)
The Civil Rights icon whose speech touched an entire nation was finally given his own biopic 50 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed and 49 years after the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was protesting non-violently for equal voting rights for Black Americans in the Southern United States. Ava DuVernay became the first Black woman to direct a movie nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Despite that nomination, the movie didn't win but did win an award for Best Original Song.
Lady Bird (2017)
Also directed by the aforementioned Greta Gerwig in her solo directorial debut is the coming-of-age story of a teen (Saoirse Ronan) in Sacramento who wants to earn her mother's approval while forging her own path at the same time. Gerwig was nominated for Best Director, and the movie also earned nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Actress.
Marie Antoinette (2006)
It should come as no surprise that the child of one of the biggest name filmmakers in the business would go on to direct stuff of their own. Sofia Coppola is the daughter of The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, and she had made several other productions prior to this one (including 2003’s Lost in Translation), but that didn’t make the list. Audiences were treated to Kirsten Dunst as the ill-fated queen of France and the story behind how she got into that predicament. Coppola managed to bring period dramas back into the picture (assuming they had left at all) and managed to give a fresh take on the historical figures aside from Marie Antoinette. In addition, for its 18th century dresses, the movie won an Oscar for Best Costume Design.
A League of Their Own (1992)
One of the greatest sports movies ever made (and likely the best baseball movie of all time), Penny Marshall puts big names like Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Rosie O'Donnell onto the baseball field in this dramatization of the founding of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was created during World War II to keep fans interested in the sport while most male players had gone off to fight. The movie knocked audiences out of the park (yes, pun intended) and became a box office hit, and it was announced in 2012 that the United States National Film Registry would preserve the movie in their archives.
You've Got Mail (1998)
In one of the most successful rom coms of the 1990s, director Nora Ephron (who also wrote the script) based the movie partially on the 1940 romantic comedy The Shop Around the Corner. The movie tells of two enemy bookstore owners who unknowingly have been email pen pals who share their most inner thoughts with each other. And not only does this showcase the chemistry between stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, but the movie is also considered a love letter to New York City itself.
Were you aware that these movies were directed by women? Leave a comment!
Sources: Collider, WatchMojo, Harper’s Bazaar
Daniela Gama
Chelsey Sanchez
