It’s rare for a director to release two movies in the same year, let alone two classics that both receive positive reviews. Every director is different, but most high-profile directors tend to produce a new movie every two or three years if they’re consistently working. This represents a relatively high output, so having two movies in the same calendar year is almost unheard of.

Of course, it used to be common practice in Old Hollywood for directors to work on multiple movies each year, but the game has changed a lot since the height of the old studio system. Nowadays, only a few directors even attempt to make more than one movie in a year, but there are some specialists who can excel in this particular art.

8

Steven Spielberg – Jurᴀssic Park & Schindler’s List (1993)

Spielberg Has Mastered Summer Blockbusters And Heavy Dramas

The wild tonal and thematic differences between Jurᴀssic Park and Schindler’s List sum up Steven Spielberg’s impressive range, and the fact that they were produced back-to-back is remarkable. Not many other directors can rule both the box office and the awards season, but Spielberg’s 1993 was perfect on both fronts.

Jurᴀssic Park was Spielberg’s third film to achieve the distinction of being the highest-grossing movie of all time, eclipsing the records previously held by Jaws and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Although it kick-started an immense franchise, the original remains undefeated, and it’s still one of the greatest crowdpleasers ever.

Schindler’s List is also one of Steven Spielberg’s best movies, and it’s no surprise that the Holocaust drama was the one that drew all the attention at awards ceremonies. The director ditches his usual theatrics for a hauntingly effective historical drama, although his innate feel for cinematic visuals is still put to good use.

7

Denis Villeneuve – Prisoners & Enemy (2013)

Villeneuve Made Two Gripping Thrillers In One Year

Denis Villeneuve announced his move to Hollywood in style in 2013, releasing two stunning thrillers back-to-back. Although the director was already a critical darling after the success of Incendies and other movies, Prisoners and Enemy saw him transition away from Canadian films.

Prisoners stars Hugh Jackman and Denis Villeneuve as two men who meet during the investigation of a missing child, with Jackman as an anxious father and Gyllenhaal as a jaded detective. Villeneuve’s tense thriller probes at some difficult questions about the rule of law, without ever providing direct answers.

Gyllenhaal returned for Villeneuve’s second movie of 2013, playing a dual role in Enemy, a twisty psychological thriller about a man who becomes obsessed when he discovers his doppelgänger. Enemy spirals into some weirder and more ambiguous territory than Prisoners, but it’s no less effective. One similarity is that Enemy also has a shocking ending.

6

Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Part II & The Conversation (1974)

The Conversation Is Often Overshadowed By Coppola’s Gangster Classic

The Godfather Part II is often heralded as one of the best movies ever made, let alone one of the best sequels ever made. This means that The Conversation can get overlooked, which is a shame. Gene Hackman delivers one of his most compelling performances in Francis Ford Coppola’s paranoid thriller.

The Godfather Part II builds on the original in terms of scope, contrasting Michael Corleone’s story with flashbacks that show the rise of his father Vito many years earlier. Although the sequel lacks the powerful presence of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro shines as a young Vito, and Al Pacino is as commanding as ever.

The Conversation is a much more contained, claustrophobic kind of movie, with Hackman starring as a surveillance expert who inadvertently stumbles onto a criminal conspiracy. Coppola’s low-key approach allows the audience a glimpse inside the nervous mind of the protagonist, without needing much extraneous action.

5

Steven Soderbergh – Erin Brockovich & Traffic (2000)

Soderbergh Made History With Two Oscar Nominees

Erin Brockovich and Traffic both received Best Picture nominations – although they eventually lost out to Gladiator – and they both scored Steven Soderbergh nominations for Best Director. He became just the third director to receive two nominations in the same year, following in the footsteps of Frank Lloyd and Michael Curtiz.

Julia Roberts produces an Oscar-winning performance in Erin Brockovich. She plays a legal ᴀssistant fighting against a criminally negligent corporation with plenty of fire in her belly, and her plucky charms make Erin an easy hero to root for in any case.

Traffic scored four Oscars in total, including Best Director for Soderbergh. It’s a different prospect to Erin Brockovich, as a stylish crime thriller about drug cartels and the people tasked with taking them down. The complex, interlocking narrative paints a complete picture of an unwinnable war on drugs, and its political sentiments still hold up.

4

Alfred Hitchcock – Dial M For Murder & Rear Window (1954)

Hitchcock Was Always A Prolific Director

Alfred Hitchcock worked at a time when it wasn’t unusual for a director to churn out more than one movie per year. However, there still weren’t many directors who could consider themselves as equals to Hitchcock. Maintaining such a high quality at such a rapid pace is a remarkable achievement.

1954 wasn’t the only year in which Hitchcock made two great movies, but the double-feature of Dial M for Murder and Rear Window is hard to beat. Rear Window is often cited as one of Hitchcock’s best movies, alongside the likes of Psycho and Vertigo, with James Stewart in top form in a paranoid, ᴅᴇᴀᴅly thriller.

Dial M for Murder isn’t quite as popular as Rear Window, but it’s an underrated gem. Grace Kelly stars as a woman whose husband tries to arrange for her to be killed, but she finds herself facing the death penalty after eliminating the intruder. It’s a rare example of a Hitchcock movie with a female lead, but the suspense and close-quarters drama echo the director’s best work.

3

Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car & Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy (2021)

The Japanese Director Has Started Growing An International Audience

Ryusuke Hamaguchi has slowly been making a name for himself in the last decade, and 2021 elevated him to a higher level of recognition than ever before. Drive My Car is the movie that gained recognition at Cannes and the Oscars, but this doesn’t mean that Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy should be overlooked.

Drive My Car is based on a story by Haruki Murakami. As such, it’s no surprise that it follows a conflicted male protagonist struggling to keep up appearances as his inner life is torn to shreds. Hamaguchi manages to contain Murakami’s sprawling narrative with elegance, resulting in a nuanced drama that illuminates the most perplexing elements of human nature.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is an anthology movie, telling three separate stories about people whose fantasies fail to align with their real-life experiences in one way or another. Its shorter runtime and three segments offer a more accessible taste of what Hamaguchi has to offer.

2

Mel Brooks – Young Frankenstein & Blazing Saddles (1974)

The Comedy Legend Was Prolific In His Early Film Career

Mel Brooks was already a successful comedian by the time he started making movies, having found popularity on stage, TV and radio. Once The Producers was a hit, Brooks kept up a rapid pace throughout the ’70s and ’80s, making two of his funniest movies in 1974.

Young Frankenstein is a hilarious horror genre satire, filmed in black-and-white to poke fun at the macabre offerings of the 1930s, like the 1931 adaptation of the Mary Shelley movie. Brooks’ genre satire is laden with hilarious one-liners and moments of uproarious physical comedy, as Gene Wilder’s spry energy is contrasted with the lumbering beast.

Wilder and Brooks were a great duo, and they teamed up for Blazing Saddles too. In the same way that Young Frankenstein teases the horror genre, Blazing Saddles deconstructs the tropes of American Westerns, although it’s just as famous for its controversial humor as its satirical side.

1

Luca Guadagnino – Challengers & Queer (2024)

Guadagnino Shows No Signs Of Slowing

Since Call Me By Your Name catapulted Luca Guadagnino to a new level of prestige, the director has kept a busy schedule. This culminated in a bumper 2024, with the director producing the romantic sports drama Challengers and the period romance Queer. Guadagnino seems to be keeping up his rapid pace, as he already has several more projects on the horizon.

Challengers follows the toxic love triangle that develops between three tennis stars, as their personal and professional lives become intertwined in a fascinating struggle for power and vicarious fulfillment. Filled with stylistic flourishes and shocking moments, Challengers was one of the most original movies of last year.

Queer is based on the William S. Burroughs novel of the same name. Although it wasn’t as broadly popular as Challengers, it was just as well-received among critics, with a lot of focus directed towards Daniel Craig’s surprising performance. Its stature could grow even more in the next few years.