5 All Time Greatest Directors

Honorable Mentions: James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Tim Burton, The Coen Brothers, Ridley Scott, Wood Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, David Lean, Hayao Miyazaki, Quentin Tarantino, Sergio Leone, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, David Lean, Cecil B DeMille
Note: This list is comprised of my personal opinions not just on the greatness of their films but of their impact  and influence on the film industry.

5. Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2, Apocalypse Now)
Francis Ford Coppola is one of the most accomplished and determined directors of all time. I consider the three movies next to his name to be in the top ten movies of all time. After the release of the first two Godfather movies, Coppola became a house hold name and became one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood. In the early 70's Coppola bought the original script for Apocalypse Now, but because of insufficient funds he wasn't able to make it. Years later he decided he was ready to make it, but his hopes were crushed after no studio wanted to back the project. So Coppola funds the movie almost entirely by himself, that's dedication. A master of his trade and an academy award winner, Coppola will go down as one of the all time greats.
4. Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones Trilogy, Schindler's List)
Arguably the most famous director of all time, Steven Spielberg is one of the most respected people in Hollywood and one of the best active directors. He's also the most successful director of all time. His movies have grossed a combined 8.5 billion dollars. He's had the highest grossing movie of all time with three different movies (Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park), ET was number one for 11 years until Jurassic Park beat it. He has won 3 Oscars himself and all of his movies combined have won over a dozen Oscars. He was the director of the first Summer blockbuster (Jaws), he directed one of the all time greatest trilogies (Indiana Jones), and has backed more movies than I can count. I could keep going, but I think you get the picture.
3. Akira Kurosawa (Yojimbo, Sanjiro, Seven Samurai, Ran, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, Rashomon)
Probably the least known director on this list, but arguably the most important director of world cinema. Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese director who revolutionized the film industry, his movies inspired directors all over the world. One of the most TV aired movies of all time, The Magnificent Seven, was based off his movie Seven Samurai. His movie Yojimbo was the inspiration for Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars which was the first movie in the Dollars Trilogy which lead to one of the greatest movies of all time The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. His movie Rashomon was the first Japanese movie to become a huge success internationally and went on to win the academy award for best foreign movie. One of the most unappreciated directors by non film buffs, Akira Kuraosawa is a legend. But now with the power of the internet his movies are more available and people are starting to recognize his genius.
2. Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, The Departed, Hugo, Mean Streets, Goodfellas, Raging Bull)
If only I had a dollar every time Scorsese was snubbed for an Oscar. Martin is widely considered the greatest director of all time, AFI ranked Raging Bull as the forth greatest movie of all time beating out movies like Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Lawrence of Arabia. What makes Martin so good is because he really knows how to use his actors. He casts a lot of the same actors for many of his projects, Robert De Niro has been in like five of his movies. He also knows how to work his characters, in Goodfellas all of the major characters are criminals but you root for them. Making you like a bad guy and hoping the succeed is a difficult thing to do, but no one does it better than Scorsese. And unlike many directors, Martin doesn't have a problem changing with the times. He has always made these realistic (yet over the top) gritty stories, but his last movie Hugo he embraced a whole new type of movie. Using new styles, using 3D properly, and making a family friendly movie (which he has certainly never done before). And that is the sign of a great film maker.
1. Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Birds, Rear Window, Rope)
There will probably be a lot of people that disagree with me, but I truly believe that Alfred Hitchcock is undoubtedly the greatest director of all time. Never has a director mastered a genre like Hitchcock. He was the undisputed king of horror, mystery, and suspense  During his career his movies weren't loved by critics but were praised by audiences  Hitchcock became famous for doing things his way, when no studio wanted to support Psycho he put up the money himself. One of his more underrated movies, Rope, became famous for using long shots which were fairly unconventional for that type of dialog heavy scene. He also became famous for having small cameos in his movies. He even had a long running and successful TV show called "Alfred Hitchcock presents." Hitchcock has inspired dozens of directors and his influence is sometimes seen in movies today. There have been a lot of great directors over the years, but none as good as Alfred Hitchcock.