10 Directors Who Somehow Made 3 (Or More) Masterpieces In A Row

As good as some directors are, it's really difficult to maintain a level of quality over the course of several films. Even the best directors seem to have one or two stinkers in between their classics. For example, during the six year span from 1993 to 1998, Steven Spielberg made Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Amistad, Saving Private Ryan... and then The Lost World: Jurassic Park is right there in the middle, to muck it all up. Yes, the culprit often involves a director making a sequel to one of their previous films, which inevitably brings down their entire filmography. But sometimes the stars align and directors get on a really good streak, churning out masterpiece upon masterpiece. It's impressive enough for filmmakers to have five amazing movies to their name over the span of a twenty year career, but it's another thing entirely when you come across one whose talents have produced three or sometimes even more classics in only a few years. Consider for example, the abilities of Francis Ford Coppola and Alfred Hitchcock, who each have an astonishing four films on AFI's Top 100 list. It's a case of pure, concentrated brilliance, and a feat worthy of some considerable praise. Here are 10 directors who somehow made three (or more) masterpieces in a row...

10. Francis Ford Coppola

The Films: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now Francis Ford Coppola, one of the finest directors of the film school generation and one of the only people ever to defy the tradition of making a subpar sequel to a beloved classic. His hot streak began in 1972, when he came out with The Godfather, an iconic look at an Italian-American mob family that is to date one of the greatest films ever made. He followed that up with The Conversation, a claustrophobic thriller about wire-tapping featuring Gene Hackman and John Cazale at the top of their game. Then came The Godfather II, which is one of the only sequels in film history that was arguably better than its original. And oh yeah, there's also Apocalypse Now, pretty much the definition of the classic dude movie. He specialized in gritty yet oddly intimate films that dealt with the seamier aspects of life, and he paved the way for a lot of the really great crime movies that came out years later. Also, he's the patriarch of one of Hollywood's most famous families, which includes sister Talia Shire, nephew Nicholas Cage, daughter Sofia Coppola, and nephew Jason Schwartzman (among many others). Together with his father Carmine Coppola, Nicolas Cage, and Sofia Coppola, they're one of only two families to have three generations of Oscar winners. Kind of makes you wonder what you're doing with your life.