FILM DIRECTORS from Slovakia

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Slovak Film Directors of all time. This list of famous Slovak Film Directors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Ivan Reitman (1946 - 2022)

With an HPI of 57.21, Ivan Reitman is the most famous Slovak Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 41 different languages on wikipedia.

Ivan Reitman (; October 27, 1946 – February 12, 2022) was a Canadian film director and producer. He was known for his comedy films, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. Reitman was the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 1998. Films he directed include Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Dave (1993), Junior (1994) and Draft Day (2014). Reitman also served as producer for such films as National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Heavy Metal (1981), Space Jam (1996) and Private Parts (1997).

2. Juraj Jakubisko (1938 - 2023)

With an HPI of 54.77, Juraj Jakubisko is the 2nd most famous Slovak Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Juraj Jakubisko (30 April 1938 – 24 February 2023) was a Slovak film director. He directed fifteen feature films, between 1967 and 2008. He often took on the dual role of cinematographer in his films, as well as writing or co-writing the scripts. In 2000 he was named the Best Slovak Director of the 20th century by film critics and journalists. His work is often described as magical realism.

3. Juraj Herz (1934 - 2018)

With an HPI of 52.32, Juraj Herz is the 3rd most famous Slovak Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Juraj Herz (4 September 1934 – 8 April 2018) was a Slovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s. He is best known for his 1969 horror/black comedy The Cremator, often cited as one of the best Czechoslovak films of all time, though many of his other films achieved cult status. He directed for both film and television, and in the latter capacity he directed episodes of a French-Czech television series based on George Simenon's Maigret novels.

4. Géza von Radványi (1907 - 1986)

With an HPI of 52.16, Géza von Radványi is the 4th most famous Slovak Film Director.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Géza von Radványi (born Géza Grosschmid; 26 September 1907 – 27 November 1986) was a Hungarian film director, cinematographer, producer and writer.

5. Jaromil Jireš (1935 - 2001)

With an HPI of 51.25, Jaromil Jireš is the 5th most famous Slovak Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jaromil Jireš (10 December 1935 – 24 October 2001) was a director associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement. His 1963 film The Cry was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. It is often described as the first film of the Czechoslovak New Wave, a movement known for its dark humor, use of non-professional actors, and "art-cinema realism". Another of Jireš's prominent works is The Joke (1969), adapted from a novel by Milan Kundera. It tells the story of Ludvik Jahn, a man expelled from the Czechoslovakian Communist Party for an idle joke to his girlfriend, and the revenge he later seeks through adultery. The film was produced during the political liberalization of the 1968 Prague Spring and contains many scenes which satirize and criticize the country's communist leadership. Released after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, the film had initial success in theaters but was then banned by authorities for the next twenty years. Amos Vogel wrote that the film was "possibly the most shattering indictment of totalitarianism to come out of a Communist country". Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970), set in the early 19th century, was based on a novel by Vítězslav Nezval. It is a film in a Gothic style concerning the onset of menstruation and the sexual awakening of a thirteen-year-old girl. His 1979 film The Young Man and Moby Dick was entered into the 11th Moscow International Film Festival. Following the Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia, Jireš continued to work in the country, making less controversial material. In 1971, he directed My Love to the Swallows, a World War II film about a Czech resistance fighter. His 1982 film Incomplete Eclipse was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival. He continued making films through the '80s and '90s, including ballet and opera documentaries for television.

6. Péter Bacsó (1928 - 2009)

With an HPI of 50.69, Péter Bacsó is the 6th most famous Slovak Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Péter Bacsó (6 January 1928 – 11 March 2009) was a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. After high school graduation Bacsó wanted to become an actor and later a theatre director, but ultimately decided to try filmmaking. His first job in a film was as an assistant in Géza Radványi's Valahol Európában (Somewhere in Europe) at the age of 19. He continued as a script editor and screenwriter. He graduated at the Hungarian School of Theatrical and Film Arts in 1950. At the time he was already a familiar face in studios. He was a successful screenwriter during the 1950s before beginning to direct films a decade later. He made his first feature film, Nyáron egyszerű in 1963. He made his most famous film, A tanú (The Witness) in 1969, but it was banned at the time and wasn't released until 1979. The film became a cult classic in Hungary; it is a political satire about the early-1950s Communist regime. Bacsó later continued to make mostly political and satirical films, for a wider audience. He made various genre films, trying his hand in musicals, comedies, etc. He continued filmmaking up to his later years, however his last two films were generally dismissed by critics and the public alike as badly written and low quality works. His 2001 film Hamvadó cigarettavég (Smouldering Cigarette) was a biopic of Hungarian actress and singer Katalin Karády. His 2008 film Virtually a Virgin was entered into the 30th Moscow International Film Festival.

7. Štefan Uher (1930 - 1993)

With an HPI of 48.42, Štefan Uher is the 7th most famous Slovak Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Štefan Uher (4 July 1930 – 29 March 1993) was a Slovak film director, one of the members of the Czechoslovak New Wave.