10 Best Films By 2013's Most Highly Praised Directors

4. Martin Scorsese - Taxi Driver

You could pick any number of films from the maestro who is considered by many to be the greatest living director working in motion pictures. Perhaps his 1990 New York criminal underworld extravaganza? Or more likely his 1980 kamikaze-like, incredibly intense chronicle of the rise and fall of a sadomasochistic, disturbed boxer? Even his superb 2006 remake of a Hong Kong crime thriller which won him his Oscar, or his 2011 adoring love letter to the magic of cinema, would seem worthy candidates to sit atop this list. But to my mind, Scorsese's 1976 neo-noir masterpiece about a psychopathic, lonely ex-Marine drifting through the seedy streets of New York in a taxicab, is the master filmmaker's best work. We're talking about a very small margin here, but thanks to some gorgeous cinematography by Michael Chapman, Bernard Hermann's haunting saxophone theme, Paul Schrader's script, Robert De Niro's harrowing performance, and Scorsese's overall prowess... this one is a cut above the rest.