Robert Benton
American screenwriter and film director (1932–2025)
A director's score is the sum of their films' composite canon scores — methodology.
- Born
- September 29, 1932 · Dallas
- Died
- May 11, 2025 · New York City
- Nationality
- United States
- Work
- film director, screenwriter, writer, director
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
1979 · United States · drama
Oscar Best Picture winner 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1980 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1979 #1
3.176 citations - 2
1984 · United States · drama
TIFF People's Choice winner 1984 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1984 · Sarris's annual top 10 1984 #4
1.584 citations - 3
1977 · United States · film-noir, comedy, thriller
Siskel's annual top 10 1977 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 1977 #3 · Sarris's annual top 10 1977 #5
0.763 citations - 4
1994 · United States · drama, comedy
Sarris's annual top 10 1994 #1 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
0.672 citations - 5
2003 · United States / France / Germany · thriller, drama, romance
Sarris's annual top 10 2003 #5
0.191 citation - 60.161 citation
- 70.141 citation
- 80.131 citation
Complete filmography
All 11 directorial credits recorded on Wikidata, in chronological order; films in our library link to their canon-score page.
- 1972Bad Company
- 1977The Late Show
- 1979Kramer vs. Kramer
- 1982Still of the Night
- 1984Places in the Heart
- 1987Nadine
- 1991Billy Bathgate
- 1994Nobody's Fool
- 1998Twilight
- 2003The Human Stain
- 2007Feast of Love