14. Martin Scorsese
If this was a list of greatest living directors, Martin Scorsese would rank much higher as there are few people in the history of film who have been more acclaimed or influential in the film world. Taking into account only his movies since 1998 still leaves a multitude of great films. Scorsese brought in the new millenium with a series of well received films starting with Bringing out the Dead in 1999. In 2002, Scorsese worked on one his biggest productions with the period piece Gangs of New York which featured Daniel Day-Lewis in one of the decades iconic roles. Gangs of New York and 2004's the Aviator combined to receive 21 Academy Award nominations but Scorsese famously missed out on winning Best Director once again. In 2006, Scorsese finally won the award for his crime thriller the Departed, which was regarded as possibly his finest work since the early 90's. In 2010, Scorsese reunited with frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio to make the psychological thriller Shutter Island. The following year, Scorsese scored with Hugo, which was his first movie to be primarily a children's movie. Hugo earned eleven Oscar nominations and was acclaimed for its use of 3-D technology. Scorsese is still going strong with his latest effort, the Wolf of Wall Street, being released later this year.
Eligible Films: Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shutter Island (2010), Hugo (2011)