10 Best Movies Directed by Siblings, Ranked

Most films have just one director, and that makes sense a good deal of the time. Generally, it’s good to have one person overseeing a film during production. This maintains a consistent voice or vision throughout, often for small-scale/arthouse movies, but sometimes for bigger productions, too. There can be second unit or assistant directors, sure, but most of the time, there’s usually one person – a single director – at the very top.

But at other times, directing can be a team effort, and there are a decent number of movies out there that are directed by two or more people. Seemingly, one key way that multiple people can share a vision is by having them be related by blood, and plenty of director duos are siblings. To highlight some of the best films such family filmmaking collaborations have led to, here are the best movies directed by blood relatives, keeping things to one film per sibling team to keep things more varied and interesting.

10 ‘Predestination’ (2014)

Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig

The Spierig brothers hail from Australia, and generally specialize in making films belonging to the horror, thriller, or sci-fi genres, finding some success early on with 2009’s Daybreakers, and also being behind one of the more divisive Saw movies, 2017’s Jigsaw. Their finest film to date, however, is generally agreed to be Predestination, which is a twist-heavy and endlessly intriguing piece of science fiction.

There’s an interesting structure to Predestination, thanks to it dealing with time travel, and it all unfolds in a way that makes describing the plot to anyone who’s yet to see it feel like something of a sin. It should be watched without too much information beforehand, and if a generic declaration that “it’s cool and unpredictable” isn’t enough, it’s also got a very good cast led by Ethan Hawke, and Sarah Snook giving her best non-Succession performance to date.

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9 ‘Cyrus’ (2010)

Directors: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass

The Duplass brothers can be counted alongside Greta Gerwig as filmmakers who came to prominence thanks to the Mumblecore movement, but also happened to outgrow it pretty quickly. Cyrus is an example of this, as perhaps the best single movie that both Jay and Mark Duplass have worked on, though it admittedly can get pretty awkward and emotionally intense at times.

That’s to say it’s not for everyone, and that’s in line with most of the movies the Duplass brothers make. Narratively, Cyrus involves a middle-aged man striking up a romance with a seemingly perfect woman, though the only obstacle in his way is her crude, awkward, and continually frustrating adult son. If you can get on board with some intensely cringe-inducing comedy, Cyrus certainly has a good deal to offer as a small-scale romantic dramedy.

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8 ‘There’s Something About Mary’ (1998)

Directors: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly

There’s Something About Mary is very much a product of its time, but that’s okay, because it’s now more than a quarter of a century old and that’s just something that happens as the years go on (time really does fly, huh). It’s a quintessential romantic comedy of the ‘90s, and one that’s probably more of a “guy’s movie” than most rom-coms, with some notoriously crude and uncomfortable humor that does admittedly succeed in being funny much of the time.

Cameron Diaz is the titular Mary, and the film essentially involves various men all being infatuated with her, including a hapless man named Ted (Ben Stiller) who was Mary’s (temporary) prom date back in high school. It’s the best film the Farrelly brothers ever made as a duo, and in recent years, Peter Farrelly has found some success as a filmmaker going solo, being behind the Best Picture-winning Green Book from 2018, without brother Bobby being on board as a co-director.

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7 ‘Menace II Society’ (1993)

Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes

Standing as an all-time great crime/drama film, Menace II Society was the first film directed by brothers Albert and Allen Hughes, and remains the best thing they’ve done as a directorial duo. Menace II Society has no qualms about being confronting and rather brutal, following a young man in Los Angeles facing a series of moral dilemmas, most brought on by the fact that he’s come of age within a rough and crime-ridden neighborhood.

Menace II Society feels extreme, but it doesn’t feel exploitative or over-the-top, approaching its story with a level of honesty that feels admirable, all the while ensuring the film’s also quite hard to watch at times. But this approach to the crime genre works, especially with the story at hand, and even if it results in a movie that’s not exactly subtle, it does end up having an impact and feeling hard to shake, once watched.

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6 ‘Talk to Me’ (2022)

Directors: Michael Philippou, Danny Philippou

The horror genre has been thriving throughout the 2020s so far, largely thanks to fresh, exciting, and new-feeling films like Talk to Me. This was the debut feature film from a duo sometimes known as RackaRacka, comprised of twin brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, both of whom have been active on YouTube since 2013, but likely have a fruitful career in feature films ahead of them, if Talk to Me is anything to go by.

This 2022 horror film – which didn’t get released in most territories until 2023 – revolves around an embalmed hand that seems to allow contact with dead people, and the effect such an object has on various young people who’ve obtained it. It takes familiar horror tropes and ideas before spinning them in interesting new directions, with the style and visual punch present in Talk to Me doing much of the heavy lifting, elevating the entire thing from being a good horror movie to a borderline great one.

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5 ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014)

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Look, the Russo brothers haven’t found a great deal of success following their MCU run to date, but the films they did make for that behemoth cinematic universe were pretty great. Similarly, they helmed episodes of great sitcoms like Arrested Development and Community before tackling the superhero genre, and similarly knocked it out of the park there, so they shouldn’t be written off entirely.

Of their MCU movies, there’s an argument to be made that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is their best, but the duology comprising Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame is also pretty spectacular, and Captain America: Civil War is also quite good for being essential Avengers 2.5. To focus on The Winter Soldier, it shines as something of a modern-day spy movie while delivering typically exciting action, not to mention continuing to develop characters and conflicts that impact subsequent MCU films.

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4 ‘Airplane!’ (1980)

Directors: Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker

The trio known as Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (or ZAZ for short) is an interesting example of a sibling filmmaking team, as brothers David and Jerry Zucker often worked with Jim Abrahams in the writing and/or directing of various comedies. The best and most enduring film the three wrote and directed would have to be the iconic disaster movie spoof Airplane!, which still holds up as a film that’s essentially non-stop hilarity.

The jokes come almost too fast and thick in Airplane!, making it an easy film to revisit; rewatches might well even be essential. Airplane! is also deservedly recognized for kick-starting the comedic era of Leslie Nielsen’s acting career, as though he’d had some success in more serious movies, Airplane! was the film that demonstrated comedy was where his skills really lay as an actor.

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3 ‘The Matrix’ (1999)

Directors: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski

It didn’t take long for The Matrix to become one of the most frequently parodied and referenced movies of all time, with that really being a testament to how unique and distinctive it was as a film. It was directed by the Wachowskis, and though they later made some interesting and oftentimes exciting sequels (with the fourth being directed solely by Lana Wachowski), it’s the original Matrix movie that remains the best.

The Wachowskis’ other efforts shouldn’t be overlooked, with films like Bound and even the ambitious Cloud Atlas being interesting and worth checking out, but 1999’s The Matrix is just a classic through and through. It has fascinating philosophical ideas, a unique world, fantastic action scenes, and memorable characters, being an all-around approachable and continually enjoyable film that more than lives up to its lofty reputation.

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2 ‘Fargo’ (1996)

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

An unconventional battle between good and (sometimes hilariously incompetent) evil, Fargo is one of the best darkly comedic crime movies of all time, and a film that can be pointed to as the Coen Brothers’ best. That being said, singling out just one movie for the duo is easier said than done, because other classics like No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, and Inside Llewyn Davis are also incredible.

But it’s Fargo that gives just about everything you’d want out of a Coen brothers movie, all condensed into a relatively lean runtime that provides ample comedy, heart, tension, and atmosphere. In recent years, they’ve been making movies solo, with Joel Coen directing The Tragedy of Macbeth and Ethan Coen making Drive-Away Dolls, though it’s their (hopefully not concluded) output made as a sibling duo that tends to stand out the most, with all their works made together having a ton of personality.

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1 ‘Uncut Gems’ (2019)

Directors: Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie

Would it feel premature to call Uncut Gems the single best movie ever made by a pair of siblings, here being Josh and Benny Safdie? Some might say yes, given the film was only released a handful of years ago and hasn’t come of age, so to speak, with a decent amount of time having to pass before something can be considered an undisputed classic in the traditional sense.

But in the film’s favor, it’s just such a relentless and unique barrage of cinematic anxiety, following one man as he makes his life worse and worse, continually chasing a high through risk-taking and gambling that’ll never be enough for him. It’s one of the best films produced/distributed by A24 to date, features Adam Sandler’s greatest-ever performance, and is white-knuckle in a way that puts most thrillers to shame. The Safdie brothers have seemingly parted ways as a duo, but sad as that might be, at least Uncut Gems was an amazing final film for the two to make as a team.

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