The part with culture and intellectuals, in other words.
List of American film directors
Jewish heritage:
Jim Abrahams (born 1944), US[1]
J. J. Abrams (born 1966), US[2]
Ivan Abramson (born 1869), US[3]
Michael Addis, US[5]
Corey Allen (1934–2010), US[8]
Woody Allen (born 1935), US[9]
Broncho Billy Anderson (born 1880), US[11]
Eleanor Antin (born 1935), US[12]
Judd Apatow (born 1968), US[13]
Alan Arkin (born 1934), US[14]
Darren Aronofsky (born 1969), US[15]
David Arquette (born 1971), US[16]
Kevin Asch (born 1975), US[17]
Paul Auster (born 1947), US[21]
Jon Avnet (born 1949), US[22]
George Axelrod (1922–2003), US[23]
Ralph Bakshi (born 1938), US[25]
Bob Balaban (born 1945), US[26]
Amir Bar-Lev (born 1972), US[27]
Daniel Barnz (born 1970), US[29]
Noah Baumbach (born 1969), US[30]
Michael Bay (born 1965), US[31]
Henry Bean (born 1945), US[32]
Jack Bender (born 1949), US[33]
Richard Benjamin (born 1938), US[35]
Robby Benson (born 1956), US[37]
Andrew Bergman (born 1945), US[38]
Alan Berliner (born 1956), US[39]
Andrea Berloff (born 1974), US[40]
Herbert Biberman (born 1900), US[45]
Mike Binder (born 1958), US[47]
Peter Bogdanovich (born 1939), US[48]
Zach Braff (born 1975), US[50][51]
Martin Brest (born 1951), US[52]
Marshall Brickman (born 1939), US[53]
Albert Brooks (born 1947), US[54]
James L. Brooks (born 1940), US[55]
Mel Brooks (born 1926), US[56]
Richard Brooks (born 1912), US[57]
Dyan Cannon (born 1937), US[59]
William Castle (born 1914), US[60]
Gilbert Cates (1934), US[61]
Lionel Chetwynd (born 1940), US[63][64]
Lisa Cholodenko (born 1964), US[65]
Joyce Chopra (born 1936), US[66]
Shirley Clarke (born 1919), US[68]
Larry Cohen (born 1941), US[69]
Joel Coen (born 1954) and Ethan Coen (born 1957), US[70]
Rob Cohen (born 1949), US[71]
Brandon Cronenberg (born 1980), Canada
David Cronenberg (born 1943), Canada[72]
George Cukor (born 1899), US[73]
Michael Curtiz (born 1886), US, Hungary[74]
Maya Deren (1917–1961), US[77]
Cecil B. DeMille (1881–1959), US[78]
Howard Deutch (1950–), US[79]
Stanley Donen (1924–2019), US[80]
Richard Donner (1930–2021), US[81]
Robert Downey, Sr. (1935–2021), US[82]
Lena Dunham (born 1986), US[84]
Morris Engel (born 1918), US[87]
Nora Ephron (born 1941), US[88]
Jon Favreau (born 1966), US[90]
Dave Fleischer (born 1894), US[91]
Max Fleischer (born 1883), US[91]
Richard Fleischer (born 1916), US[91]
Ruben Fleischer (born 1974), US[92]
James Franco (born 1978), US[95]
Robert Frank (born 1924), US[96]
Friz Freleng (born 1906), US[97]
William Friedkin (born 1935), US[99]
Samuel Fuller (born 1911), US[100]
Jack Garfein (born 1930), US[101]
Evan Goldberg (born 1982), US[106]
Keith Gordon (born 1961), US[108]
Michael Gordon (born 1909), US[109]
Debra Granik (born 1963), US[110]
James Gray (born 1969), US[111]
Joseph Green (born 1900), US[85]
Bud Greenspan (born 1926), US[112]
Maggie Greenwald (born 1955), US[113]
Robert Greenwald (born 1943), US[114]
Christopher Guest (born 1948), US[115][116]
Charles Guggenheim (born 1924), US[117]
Davis Guggenheim (born 1963), US[118]
Todd Haynes (born 1961), US[121]
Amy Heckerling (born 1954), US[123]
Marshall Herskovitz (born 1952), US[124]
John Herzfeld, US[127]
Grant Heslov (born 1963), US[128]
Arthur Hiller (born 1923), US[129]
Nicole Holofcener (born 1960), US[131]
Peter Hyams (born 1943), US[132]
Stanley R. Jaffe (born 1940), US[133]
Henry Jaglom (born 1938), US[134]
Andrew Jarecki (born 1960), US[136]
Eugene Jarecki (born 1964), US[136]
Jeremy Paul Kagan (born 1945), US[138]
Garson Kanin (born 1912), US[139]
Charlie Kaufman (born 1958), US[140]
George S. Kaufman (born 1889), US[141]
Lloyd Kaufman (born 1945), US[142]
Moises Kaufman (born 1963), US[143]
Tony Kaye (director) (born 1952), US[144]
Jake Kasdan (born 1975), US[145]
Lawrence Kasdan (born 1949), US[146]
Aviva Kempner (born 1946), US[148]
Irvin Kershner (born 1923), US
Zalman King (born 1942), US[149]
Harmony Korine (born 1973), US[156]
Henry Koster (born 1905), US[157]
Stanley Kramer (born 1913), US[158]
Stanley Kubrick (born 1925), US, UK
John Landis (born 1950), US[159]
Fritz Lang (born 1890), on his mother's side[160]
Marc Lawrence (1910 – 2005), US[162][163]
Mimi Leder (born 1952), US[165]
Paul Lieberstein (born 1967), US[167]
Paul Leni (born 1885), Germany, US[169]
Mervyn LeRoy (born 1900), US[170]
Jonathan Levine (born 1976), US[171]
Barry Levinson (born 1942), US[172]
Eugene Levy (born 1946) USA[174]
Shawn Levy (born 1967), US[175]
Albert Lewin (born 1894), US[176]
Jerry Lewis (born 1925), US[178]
Joseph H. Lewis (born 1907), US[179]
Doug Liman (born 1965), US[182]
Lynne Littman (born 1941), US[183]
Mike Yechiel Lichtman (born 1981) USA
Jennie Livingston (born 1962), US[185]
Arthur Lubin (born 1898), US[186]
Ernst Lubitsch (born 1894), US, Germany[187]
George Lucas (born 1944), US
Michael Lucas (born 1972), US[188]
Sidney Lumet (born 1924), US[189]
Rod Lurie (born 1962), US[190]
Henry Lynn (born 1895), US[191]
Norman Mailer (born 1923) USA[192]
Clara Mamet (born 1994), US[193]
David Mamet (born 1947), US[194]
James Mangold (born 1963), US[195]
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (born 1909), US[196]
Daniel Mann (born 1912), US[197]
Michael Mann (born 1943), US[198]
Rudolph Maté (born 1898), US[200]
Melina Matsoukas (born 1981), US[201]
Elaine May (born 1932), US[202]
Paul Mazursky (born 1930), US[203]
Sam Mendes (born 1965), US, UK[205]
Nicholas Meyer (born 1945), US[206]
Nancy Meyers (born 1949), US[207]
Lewis Milestone (born 1895), US[209]
Bennett Miller (born 1966), US[210]
Meredith Monk (born 1942), US[213]
Errol Morris (born 1948), US[214]
Oren Moverman (born 1966), US
Tim Blake Nelson (born 1964), US[215]
Sam Newfield (born 1899), US[216]
Mike Nichols (born 1931), US[218]
Leonard Nimoy (born 1931), US[219]
Ken Olin (born 1954), US[220]
Frank Oz (born 1944), US[224]
Alan J. Pakula (born 1928), US[225]
Stacie Passon (born 1969), US[226]
Joe Pasternak (born 1901), US[227]
Larry Peerce (born 1930), US[228]
Arthur Penn (born 1922), US[229]
Leo Penn (born 1921), US[230]
Vadim Perelman (born 1963), US[231]
Alex Ross Perry (born 1984), US[232]
Irving Pichel (born 1891), US, Germany
Sydney Pollack (born 1934), US[237]
Abraham Polonsky (born 1910), US[238]
Gabe Polsky (born 1979), US[239]
Natalie Portman (born 1981), US[240]
Ted Post (born 1918), US[241]
Otto Preminger (born 1906), US[242]
Bob Rafelson (born 1933), US[245]
Sam Raimi (born 1959), US
Harold Ramis (born 1944), US[246]
Irving Rapper (born 1888), US[247]
Brett Ratner (born 1969), US[248]
Gregory Ratoff (born 1893), US
Carl Reiner (born 1922), US[250]
Rob Reiner (born 1947), US[250]
Ivan Reitman (born 1946), Canada, US[251]
Jason Reitman (born 1977), US[252]
Boots Riley (born 1971), US[253]
Martin Ritt (born 1914), US[254]
Jay Roach (born 1957), US[256]
Brian Robbins (born 1963), US[257]
Lauren Miller Rogen (born 1982), US[258]
Seth Rogen (born 1982), US[259]
Stuart Rosenberg (born 1927), US[260]
Robert Rossen (born 1908), US[261]
Eli Roth (born 1972), US[262]
Stephanie Rothman (born 1936), US[59]
Jan Rybkowski (born 1912), Poland[263]
Fred Savage (born 1976), US[167]
Akiva Schaffer (born 1977), US[264]
Jerry Schatzberg (born 1927), US[265]
John Schlesinger (born 1926), UK, US[267]
Julian Schnabel (born 1951), US[268]
David Schwimmer (born 1966), US[269]
Susan Seidelman (born 1952), US[270]
Vincent Sherman (born 1906), US
Don Siegel (born 1912), US[274]
Joan Micklin Silver (born 1935), US[275]
Bryan Singer (born 1965), US[276]
Curt Siodmak (born 1902), US, Germany[277]
Robert Siodmak (born 1900), US, Germany[277]
Todd Solondz (born 1959), US[278]
Barry Sonnenfeld (born 1953), US[279]
Aaron Sorkin (born 1961), US[280]
Steven Spielberg (born 1946), US[281]
Ben Stiller (born 1965), US[284]
Todd Strauss-Schulson (born 1980), US[285]
Barbra Streisand (born 1942), US[286]
Jon Turteltaub (born 1963), US[292]
Charles Vidor (born 1900), US[296]
Jordan Vogt-Roberts (born 1984), US[297]
David Wain (born 1969), US[300]
Sam Wanamaker (born 1919), US, UK[302]
Robin Washington (born 1956), US[303]
Claudia Weill (born 1947), US[59]
Matthew Weiner (born 1965), US[304]
Leilah Weinraub (born 1979), US[305]
Billy Wilder (born 1906), US, France[306]
Irwin Winkler (born 1931), US[307]
Frederick Wiseman (born 1930), US, France[308]
William Wyler (born 1902), US[309]
Boaz Yakin (born 1966), US[310]
Linda Yellen (born 1949), US[311]
Fred Zinnemann (born 1907), US, Germany[312]
David Zucker & Jerry Zucker (born 1950), US[313]
Edward Zwick (born 1952), US[314]
Non-Jewish heritage:
John Ford
America would be a cultural wasteland without Jews.