Ranking All Of Director Gus Van Sant’s Movies
“What are Gus Van Sant’s Best Movies?” We looked at all of Van Sant directed filmography and ranked them against one another to answer that very question!
We took all of the movies directed by Gus Van Sant and looked at their Rotten Tomato Critic, Rotten Tomato User, Metacritic, Metacritic User, IMDB, and Letterboxd scores, ranking them against one another to see which movies came out on top. The movies are ranked in our list below based on which movies have the highest overall score between all 6 review sites in comparison with all of the other movies by the same director. The process is all very scientific with no flaws at all.
The full ranking chart is also included below the countdown on the bottom of the page.
Happy Viewing!
The Top Film’s Of Gus Van Sant
24 ) My New Friend (1987)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 18
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 18
- Metacritic User Score: 18
- IMDB User Review Score: 19
- Letterboxd User Score: 24
An older man becomes interested in a younger man.
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23 ) 8 (2008)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 18
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 18
- Metacritic User Score: 18
- IMDB User Review Score: 22
- Letterboxd User Score: 17
8 shorts centered around 8 themes directed by 8 famous film directors involved and sharing their opinion on progress, on the set-backs and the challenges our planet faces today.
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22 ) The Sea of Trees (2016)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 15
- Metacritc Critic Score: 17
- Metacritic User Score: 17
- IMDB User Review Score: 20
- Letterboxd User Score: 21
A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out.
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21 ) Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 16
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 17
- Metacritc Critic Score: 16
- Metacritic User Score: 8
- IMDB User Review Score: 24
- Letterboxd User Score: 22
Sissy Hankshaw is born with enormous thumbs that help her hitchhiking through the US from a young age. She becomes a model in advertising and her NY agent ‘the Countess’ sends her to his ranch in CA to shoot a commercial, set against the background of mating whooping cranes. There, she befriends Bonanza Jellybean, one of the cowgirls at the beauty- ranch.
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20 ) Psycho (1998)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 14
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 16
- Metacritc Critic Score: 14
- Metacritic User Score: 5
- IMDB User Review Score: 23
- Letterboxd User Score: 23
Criminal on the run, Marion Crane takes refuge at the motel operated by Norman Bates – a troubled man whose victims encounter a grisly fate at the hands of his “mother.” Marion soon becomes the next victim and her disappearance prompts inquiries from her sister and a private investigator. They both soon discover the morbid bond linking Norman to his mysterious “mother” at the Bates Motel.
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19 ) Ballad of the Skeletons (1997)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 18
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 18
- Metacritic User Score: 18
- IMDB User Review Score: 9
- Letterboxd User Score: 11
Beat poet Allen Ginsberg performs his Ballad of the Skeletons accompanied by music written by Paul McCartney and Philip Glass.
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18 ) To Each His Own Cinema (2007)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 18
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 18
- Metacritic User Score: 18
- IMDB User Review Score: 10
- Letterboxd User Score: 8
A collective film of 33 shorts directed by different directors about their feeling about cinema.
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16 ) Thanksgiving Prayer (1991)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 18
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 18
- Metacritic User Score: 18
- IMDB User Review Score: 6
- Letterboxd User Score: 11
An indictment ballad of all the different political groups in America.
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16 ) Promised Land (2012)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 13
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 14
- Metacritc Critic Score: 12
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 17
- Letterboxd User Score: 19
A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.
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15 ) The Discipline of D.E. (1982)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 18
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 18
- Metacritic User Score: 18
- IMDB User Review Score: 10
- Letterboxd User Score: 6
“The Discipline of D.E.” is a short 16mm film directed by Gus Van Sant. It’s based on a story in “Exterminator!” by William Burroughs that at times reads like Buddhist noir: “DE is a way of doing. DE simply means doing whatever you do in the easiest most relaxed way you can manage which is also the quickest and most efficient way, as you will find as you advance in DE.You can start right now tidying up your flat, moving furniture or books, washing dishes, making tea, sorting papers. Don’t fumble, jerk, grab an object. Drop cool possessive fingers onto it like a gentle old cop making a soft arrest.”
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14 ) Last Days (2005)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 12
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 12
- Metacritc Critic Score: 8
- Metacritic User Score: 15
- IMDB User Review Score: 21
- Letterboxd User Score: 19
The life and struggles of a notorious rock musician seeping into a pit of loneliness whose everyday life involves friends and family seeking financial aid and favors, inspired by rock music legend Kurt Cobain and his final hours.
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13 ) Gerry (2002)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 11
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 11
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 16
- IMDB User Review Score: 18
- Letterboxd User Score: 11
Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.
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12 ) Restless (2011)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 15
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 13
- Metacritc Critic Score: 14
- Metacritic User Score: 9
- IMDB User Review Score: 10
- Letterboxd User Score: 17
A powerful and emotional coming of age story, this remarkable tale is told with honesty and originality that will leave audiences moved. In the film, two outsiders, both shaped by the circumstances that have brought them together, forge a deep and lasting love. Directed by Gus Van Sant, one of the most astute observers of people living life on the edge, comes a take on friendship and young love as engaging and true as it is provocative and stirring.
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11 ) Mala Noche (1986)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 3
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 10
- Metacritc Critic Score: 18
- Metacritic User Score: 18
- IMDB User Review Score: 15
- Letterboxd User Score: 11
Mala Noche is the film debut from director Gus Van Sant. The film portrays the unanswered love of an American man toward a young Mexican man.
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10 ) Paris, je t’aime (2006)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 18
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 9
- Metacritic User Score: 12
- IMDB User Review Score: 4
- Letterboxd User Score: 8
Olivier Assayas, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven and Alfonso Cuaron are among the 20 distinguished directors who contribute to this collection of 18 stories, each exploring a different aspect of Parisian life. The colourful characters in this drama include a pair of mimes, a husband trying to chose between his wife and his lover, and a married man who turns to a prostitute for advice.
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9 ) Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 8
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 7
- Metacritc Critic Score: 9
- Metacritic User Score: 11
- IMDB User Review Score: 10
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
On the rocky path to sobriety after a life-changing accident, John Callahan discovers the healing power of art, willing his injured hands into drawing hilarious, often controversial cartoons, which bring him a new lease on life.
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8 ) Paranoid Park (2007)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 7
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 8
- Metacritc Critic Score: 3
- Metacritic User Score: 13
- IMDB User Review Score: 15
- Letterboxd User Score: 8
The teenager and skateboarder Alex is interviewed by Detective Richard Lu that is investigating the death of a security guard in the rail yards severed by a train who was apparently hit by a skate board. While dealing with the separation process of his parents and the sexual heat of his virgin girlfriend Jennifer, Alex writes his last experiences in Paranoid Park with his new acquaintances and how the guard was killed, trying to relieve his feeling of guilty from his conscience.
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7 ) Finding Forrester (2000)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 9
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 5
- Metacritc Critic Score: 11
- Metacritic User Score: 4
- IMDB User Review Score: 4
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
Gus Van Sant tells the story of a young African American man named Jamal who confronts his talents while living on the streets of the Bronx. He accidentally runs into an old writer named Forrester who discovers his passion for writing. With help from his new mentor Jamal receives a scholarship to a private school.
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6 ) Elephant (2003)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 10
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 5
- Metacritc Critic Score: 6
- Metacritic User Score: 9
- IMDB User Review Score: 6
- Letterboxd User Score: 4
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. The film chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting.
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5 ) To Die For (1995)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 5
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 8
- Metacritc Critic Score: 1
- Metacritic User Score: 2
- IMDB User Review Score: 10
- Letterboxd User Score: 6
Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.
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4 ) My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 6
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 4
- Metacritc Critic Score: 5
- Metacritic User Score: 6
- IMDB User Review Score: 8
- Letterboxd User Score: 2
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters is a gay hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
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3 ) Milk (2008)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 4
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 2
- Metacritc Critic Score: 2
- Metacritic User Score: 7
- IMDB User Review Score: 2
- Letterboxd User Score: 3
The story of California’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, who became an outspoken agent for change, seeking equal rights and opportunities for all. His great love for the city and its people brought him backing from young and old, straight and gay, alike – at a time when prejudice and violence against gays was openly accepted as the norm.
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2 ) Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 1
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 3
- Metacritc Critic Score: 4
- Metacritic User Score: 1
- IMDB User Review Score: 3
- Letterboxd User Score: 4
Bob Hughes is the leader of a “family” of drug addicts consisting of his wife, Dianne, and another couple who feed their habit by robbing drug stores as they travel across the country.
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1 ) Good Will Hunting (1997)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 2
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 1
- Metacritc Critic Score: 6
- Metacritic User Score: 2
- IMDB User Review Score: 1
- Letterboxd User Score: 1
Will Hunting has a genius-level IQ but chooses to work as a janitor at MIT. When he solves a difficult graduate-level math problem, his talents are discovered by Professor Gerald Lambeau, who decides to help the misguided youth reach his potential. When Will is arrested for attacking a police officer, Professor Lambeau makes a deal to get leniency for him if he will get treatment from therapist Sean Maguire.
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Gus Van Sant’s Best Movies
Gus Van Sant Review Website Filmography Rankings
| Film | RT Critic | RT User | MC Critic | MC User | IMDB | Letterboxd | Overal Rank |
| Good Will Hunting (1997) | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Drugstore Cowboy (1989) | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Milk (2008) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| My Own Private Idaho (1991) | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| To Die For (1995) | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Elephant (2003) | 10 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| Finding Forrester (2000) | 9 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 7 |
| Paranoid Park (2007) | 7 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 8 |
| Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018) | 8 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 9 |
| Paris, je t’aime (2006) | 18 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Mala Noche (1986) | 3 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 11 |
| Restless (2011) | 15 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 12 |
| Gerry (2002) | 11 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 11 | 13 |
| Last Days (2005) | 12 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 21 | 19 | 14 |
| The Discipline of D.E. (1982) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 15 |
| Thanksgiving Prayer (1991) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 6 | 11 | 16 |
| Promised Land (2012) | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 16 |
| To Each His Own Cinema (2007) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| Ballad of the Skeletons (1997) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 19 |
| Psycho (1998) | 14 | 16 | 14 | 5 | 23 | 23 | 20 |
| Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994) | 16 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 22 | 21 |
| The Sea of Trees (2016) | 17 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 8 (2008) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 22 | 17 | 23 |
| My New Friend (1987) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 24 | 24 |
