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Jonathan Demme

American filmmaker (1944–2017)

8.15body-of-work score · ranked #118 of 2631 directors · 12 films in our library

A director's score is the sum of their films' composite canon scores — methodology.

Born
February 22, 1944 · Baldwin
Died
April 26, 2017 · Manhattan
Nationality
United States
Work
film director, film producer, writer, film actor
Reference
Wikipedia · Wikidata
Portrait of Jonathan Demme
Dan D'Errico / Montclair Film Festival · CC BY 2.0

Films in our library, ranked

Ranked by composite canon score across 20+ authoritative lists, awards and polls — our ordering, with every placement citing its evidence on the film's page.

  1. 1
    The Silence of the LambsMust-See #49

    1991 · United States · thriller, horror, crime

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1991 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1991 #2 · AFI 100 (2007) #74

    4.2313 citations
  2. 2
    Melvin and Howard

    1980 · United States · drama, comedy

    Kehr's annual top 10 1981 #1 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Siskel's annual top 10 1981 #8

    1.065 citations
  3. 3
    Something Wild

    1986 · United States · comedy, romance, drama

    Kehr's annual top 10 1986 #3 · Criterion Collection spine #563 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1986 #11

    0.664 citations
  4. 4
    Stop Making Sense

    1984 · United States · documentary

    National Film Registry (inducted 2021) · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies

    0.503 citations
  5. 5
    Rachel Getting Married

    2008 · United States · drama, comedy

    Film Comment year-end poll 2008 #25 · Ebert's annual top 10 2008 #null

    0.362 citations
  6. 6
    Handle with Care

    1977 · United States · comedy, drama

    NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema

    0.282 citations
  7. 7
    Swimming to Cambodia

    1987 · United States · drama, comedy

    Kehr's annual top 10 1987 #3

    0.251 citation
  8. 8
    Philadelphia

    1993 · United States · drama

    National Film Registry (inducted 2025)

    0.231 citation
  9. 9
    Married to the Mob

    1988 · United States · crime, comedy, romance

    NYT Best 1,000 Movies

    0.171 citation
  10. 10
    A Master Builder

    2013 · United States · drama

    Criterion Collection spine #762

    0.161 citation
  11. 11
    Beloved

    1998 · United States · drama

    Siskel's annual top 10 1998 #11

    0.141 citation
  12. 12
    Swing Shift

    1984 · United States · comedy, romance, drama

    Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema

    0.111 citation

Complete filmography

All 30 directorial credits recorded on Wikidata, in chronological order; films in our library link to their canon-score page.