Best Movies of 1953 by Rank
4
1
Yasujiro Ozu
Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Sô Yamamura
Drama
Japan
Japanese
75
2
Kenji Mizoguchi
Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Eitarô Ozawa, Ikio Sawamura
Drama / Thriller / Fantasy / Romance / Period Film
Japan
Japanese
151
3
Henri-Georges Clouzot
Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Antonio Centa, Folco Lulli
Thriller / Adventure / Action / Drama
France / Italy
French
159
4
Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla, Valentine Camax, Louis Perrault
Comedy
France
French
207
6
Max Ophüls
Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Debucourt
Drama / Romance / Period Film
France / Italy
French
247
7
Fred Zinnemann
Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra
Drama / Romance / War
USA
English
378
8
Vincente Minnelli
Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant
Family / Comedy / Musical
USA
English
458
10
Fritz Lang
Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby
Drama / Film-Noir / Thriller / Crime / Detective
USA
English
518
11
Samuel Fuller
Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye
Film-Noir / Thriller / Spy
USA
English
857
12
Henry Cornelius
Dinah Sheridan, John Gregson, Kay Kendall
Comedy / Adventure
UK
English
892
13
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud
Drama / History / Epic / Biography
USA
English
895
14
Teinosuke Kinugasa
Kazuo Hasegawa, Machiko Kyô, Isao Yamagata, Yataro Kurokawa
Drama / Period Film
Japan
Japanese
936
15
John Huston
Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones
Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Crime / Romance / Thriller
UK / USA / Italy
English
939
16
Howard Hawks
Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
1100
17
Billy Wilder
William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger
Drama / War / Comedy
USA
English
1104
18
Charles Walters
Leslie Caron, Mel Ferrer, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Drama / Musical / Romance
USA
English
1359
20
Federico Fellini
Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi
Drama / Comedy
France / Italy
Italian
1436
22
Anthony Mann
James Stewart, June Allyson, Harry Morgan, Charles Drake, George Tobias
Biography / Drama / Music / Period Film
USA
English
1452
23
John Ford
Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Donald Sinden
Drama / Adventure / Romance
USA
English
1541
24
Charles Frend, Alec McCowen
Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, John Stratton, Denholm Elliott, John Warner
Drama / War
UK
English
1578
25
Philip Leacock
Duncan Macrae, Jean Anderson, Theodore Bikel, Adrienne Corri
Family / Drama
UK
English
1645
26
Henry Hathaway
Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Max Showalter, Denis O'Dea
Film-Noir / Thriller
USA
English
1677
27
Ingmar Bergman
Åke Grönberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman
Drama
Sweden
Swedish
1714
28
Luigi Comencini
Vittorio De Sica, Gina Lollobrigida, Marisa Merlini, Roberto Risso
Comedy / Romance
Italy
Italian
1725
29
Morris Engel, Ray Ashley, Ruth Orkin
Richie Andrusco, Richard Brewster, Winifred Cushing, Jay Williams, Will Lee
Drama / Adventure / Family
USA
English
1802
30
Walter Lang
Ethel Merman, Donald O'Connor, Vera-Ellen, George Sanders, Billy De Wolfe
Musical / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1890
31
Jean Negulesco
Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, David Wayne
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1893
32
John Ford
Charles Winninger, Arleen Whelan, Stepin Fetchit, John Russell
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
1980
34
László Benedek
Marlon Brando, Mary Murphy, Robert Keith, Lee Marvin, Jay C. Flippen
Drama / Gangster / Cult
USA
English
1996
35
Marcel Carné
Simone Signoret, Raf Vallone, Jacques Duby, Maria-Pia Casilio
Drama / Film-Noir / Crime
France / Italy
French
2028
36
Arne Sucksdorff
Gunnar Sjöberg, Luis Van Rooten, Anders Nohrborg
Drama / Adventure / Family
Sweden
Swedish
2109
37
Charles Crichton
Stanley Holloway, George Relph, Naunton Wayne, John Gregson, Godfrey Tearle
Comedy
UK
English
2129
38
George Sidney
Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Keenan Wynn
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2131
39
Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel
Family / Animation / Musical / Fantasy / Adventure
USA
English
2148
40
Otto Preminger
William Holden, David Niven, Maggie McNamara, Tom Tully, Dawn Addams
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2162
41
André De Toth
Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni
Crime / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
USA
English
2196
42
George Lowe
Meredith Edwards, John Hunt, Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay
Documentary / History / Sports / Adventure / Biography
UK
English
2199
43
Byron Haskin
Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite
Sci-Fi / Thriller / Drama
USA
English
2272
45
Roy Rowland
Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig
Family / Musical / Fantasy
USA
English
2311
46
Ida Lupino
Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn, Edmond O'Brien, Kenneth Tobey
Drama
USA
English
2361
47
George More O'Ferrall
Trevor Howard, Elizabeth Allan, Maria Schell, Denholm Elliott
Drama / War / Religion
UK
English
2456
48
Jack Arnold
Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Joe Sawyer, Russell Johnson
Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2494
49
William Cameron Menzies
Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson, Hillary Brooke
Sci-Fi / Action
USA
English
2494
49
Art Babbitt, Ted Parmelee
Stanley Baker, James Mason
Animation / Short / Crime / Horror
USA
English
2584
51
Edward D. Wood Jr.
Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell, Dolores Fuller, Edward D. Wood Jr.
Drama / Cult
USA
English
2587
52
Ingmar Bergman
Harriet Andersson, Lars Ekborg, Dagmar Ebbesen, Åke Fridell, Naemi Briese
Drama / Romance
Sweden
Swedish
2591
53
William A. Wellman
John Wayne, Lloyd Nolan, Walter Abel, James Arness, Andy Devine, Allyn Joslyn
Adventure / Drama
USA
English
2591
53
Yves Allégret, Rafael E. Portas
Michèle Morgan, Gérard Philipe, Michèle Cordoue
Drama / Romance
France / Mexico
French
2591
53
Ken Annakin
Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, Michael Gough
Adventure / Drama / Family / History
USA
English
2602
54
Ida Lupino
Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman
Drama / Film-Noir / Thriller / Crime / Cult
USA
English
2605
55
unknown
Laurence Olivier, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip
Documentary / Biography
UK
English
2628
56
Eugène Lourié
Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods
Sci-Fi / Horror
USA
English
2628
56
Peter Brook
Laurence Olivier, Hugh Griffith, George Rose, Dorothy Tutin, Stanley Holloway
Crime / History / Musical / Drama
UK
English
2628
56
David Butler
Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey
Biography / Comedy / Musical / Romance / Western
USA
English
2628
56
Hideo Sekigawa
Takashi Kanda, Masao Mishima, Eiji Okada, Isuzu Yamada
Drama
Japan
Japanese
2628
56
Curtis Bernhardt
Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, Aldo Ray, Russell Collins, Diosa Costello
Drama / Musical / Religion
USA
English
2628
56
Lima Barreto
Alberto Ruschel, Marisa Prado, Milton Ribeiro, Vanja Orico, Adoniran Barbosa
Action / Drama / Crime / Romance
Brazil
Portuguese
2628
56
Shirô Toyoda
Hideko Takamine, Hiroshi Akutagawa, Jukichi Uno, Eijirô Tono, Chouko Iida
Drama / Romance
Japan
Japanese
2645
57
Irving Pichel
Niall MacGinnis, John Ruddock, Pierre Lefevre, Guy Verney
Drama / History / Religion / Biography
USA / West Germany
English
2646
58
George More O'Ferrall
Jack Hawkins, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Cyril Raymond, Humphrey Lestocq
Drama / War / Action / Adventure
UK
English
2681
60
Bimal Roy
Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Ratan Kumar, Murad, Rajyalakshmi
Drama
India
Hindi
2681
60
Sergei Yutkevich
Akaki Khorava, Besa Imami, Adivie Alibali, Semyon Sokolovsky
Drama
Albania / Soviet Union
Albanian
2683
61
Victor Vicas, Beate von Mollo
Ivan Desny, Ruth Niehaus, René Deltgen, Karl John
Drama / Romance / War
West Germany
German
2699
62
Rafael Gil
Fernando Sancho, José Marco Davó, Francisco Rabal
Drama
Spain
Spanish
2699
62
Claude Autant-Lara
Danielle Darrieux, Henri Vilbert, Julien Carette, Ivan Desny
Drama / Romance
France
French
2699
62
Aleksandr Ptushko
Sergei Stolyarov, Alla Larionova, Yelena Myshkova, B. Surovtsev
Adventure / Fantasy
Soviet Union
Russian
2706
63
Gian Gaspare Napolitano
Carlos Montalbán, Bret Morrison, Leonardo Bonzi, Gian Gaspare Napolitano
Documentary
Italy / Brazil
Italian
2708
64
Henry King
Tyrone Power, Terry Moore, Michael Rennie, John Justin, Guy Rolfe, Richard Wyler
Adventure / Action / Romance
USA
English
2708
64
Jean Negulesco
Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Audrey Dalton, Thelma Ritter
Action / Drama / History
USA
English
2708
64
George Sidney
Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Deborah Kerr, Charles Laughton, Kay Walsh
Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
2711
65
Leopold Lindtberg
John Justin, Eva Dahlbeck, Sigfrit Steiner, Mary Hinton, Wojciech Wojtecki
Drama
Switzerland / UK
German
2719
66
Jean Yarbrough
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Hillary Brooke, Sid Fields, Gordon Jones
Comedy / Serial
USA
English
2719
66
Jean Yarbrough
Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Hillary Brooke, Sid Fields, Gordon Jones
Comedy / Serial
USA
English
2719
66
David Butler
Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Billy Gray, Leon Ames, Rosemary DeCamp, Mary Wickes
Comedy / Family / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2719
66
Owen Crump
Roy Thompson Jr., Henry Goszkowski, Richard Karl Elliott, Albert Bernard Cook
Documentary / War / History / Biography
USA
English
2719
66
Chuck Jones
Mel Blanc, Dick Beals, Bea Benaderet
Animation / Family / Short / Comedy
USA
English
2719
66
Richard Sale
Dan Dailey, June Haver, Dennis Day, Billy Gray, Cara Williams, Natalie Schafer
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2719
66
John Farrow
John Wayne, Geraldine Page, Ward Bond, Michael Pate, James Arness, Rodolfo Acosta
Action / Drama / Romance / War / Western
USA
English
2719
66
George Marshall
Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Torin Thatcher, Angela Clarke, Stefan Schnabel
Biography / Drama
USA
English
2719
66
Don Patterson
Grace Stafford, Dal McKennon
Family / Animation / Short / Comedy
USA
English
2719
66
Marc Daniels, Edward Sedgwick
Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, William Frawley
Comedy
USA
English
2719
66
Roy Ward Baker
Robert Ryan, Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Larry Keating, Henry Hull
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Film-Noir
USA
English
2719
66
Jules White
Moe Howard, Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Benny Rubin, Frank Sully, Phil Arnold
Comedy / Short / Crime
USA
English
2719
66
John Farrow
Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan, Sean McClory
Adventure / Action / Drama / Crime
USA
English
2719
66
Jules White
Shemp Howard, Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Philip Van Zandt, Tom Kennedy
Comedy / Short
USA
English
2719
66
Lewis R. Foster
Rhonda Fleming, Gene Barry, Agnes Moorehead, Guy Mitchell, Teresa Brewer
Musical / Western / Romance
USA
English
2719
66
Anthony Mann
James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Dan Duryea, Jay C. Flippen
Adventure / Action / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2730
67
George Seaton
Bing Crosby, Claude Dauphin, Christian Fourcade, Gabrielle Dorziat, Nicole Maurey
Drama / War
USA
English
2751
68
Charles Walters
Esther Williams, Fernando Lamas, Jack Carson, Charlotte Greenwood
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2751
68
Don Weis
Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Una Merkel, Richard Anderson
Comedy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2751
68
Michelangelo Antonioni
Lucia Bosé, Gino Cervi, Ivan Desny, Alain Cuny
Drama
Italy / France
Italian
2751
68
Chris Marker, Alain Resnais
Jean Négroni, François Mitterrand
Documentary / Short
France
French
2751
68
Phil Karlson
John Payne, Evelyn Keyes, Brad Dexter, Frank Faylen
Crime / Film-Noir / Drama
USA
English
2751
68
Vincente Minnelli, Gottfried Reinhardt
James Mason, Moira Shearer, Ricky Nelson, Leslie Caron
Musical / Romance / Drama
USA
English
NR
-
Carol Reed
James Mason, Claire Bloom, Geoffrey Toone, Hildegard Knef, Aribert Wäscher
Drama / Thriller / Action / Spy
UK
English
