9. Jan de Bont (Speed)
Speed is a film so confident in its construction that it's amazing to believe it came from a first-time director; after all, who would trust such a loony - not to mention expensive - project in the hands of an amateur? Nevertheless, Jan de Bont used his skills as a cinematographer to deliver a thrilling, intense, breakneck-paced action classic that is generally regarded as one of the greatest action movies ever made. Hell, it even gets a passable performance out of Keanu Reeves! And yet, it appears to have been a bit of a fluke for the director, because while he followed Speed up with the entertaining Twister, everything else - the horrid Speed 2: Cruise Control, The Haunting and an execrable Tomb Raider sequel - were all dead-on-arrival duds. Living up to a film as esteemed as Speed is an undeniable challenge, but it feels like de Bont has never really tried...