Which movie directors have had most impact on their industry

Q.� The world's most commercially viable film-maker is Steven Spielberg, who has directed 19 features. He arguably invented the summer blockbuster with the 70s classic Jaws, and reinvented it with Jurassic Park. In the Raiders trilogy he delivered one of the most entertaining cinematic series on screen. His most popular films include The Color Purple, Empire of the Sub, Amistad and Saving Private Ryan. He showed his darker side with Schindler's List. Possibly one of the most imaginative and enduring was E.T. The Extra Terrestrial.

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Q.� Which other directors will go down in history

A.� According to the Ultimate Movie Poll, published in the film magazine Empire, Martin Scorsese has directed some of the greatest moviews ever. He is famed for his use of music and ability to get the best out of actors.� Possibly his greatest film is Taxi Driver, with Robert de Niro.

Alfred Hitchcock is in third place, described as 'the most brilliant director of suspense in cinematic history'. He made an array of hugely entertaining films - Psycho, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest.

Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands puts him in fourth place, with the enigmatic Stanley Kubrick in fifth place. Kubrick's best film is voted as Dr Strangelove.

Middlebrough's Ridley Scott made an unforgettable mark with Alien and Blade Runner.

The polls lists David Fincher in seventh place with masterpieces including Seven and the pretty savage Fight Club.

Star Wars legend George Lucas is voted the eighth best director�in the world for his work, James Cameron, famously makes the most expensive movies ever made, and Aliens is his best work. Joen Coen is in 10th place for his work, which incliudes Miller's Crossing.

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Q.� What about the early movie makers

A.� The Austrian Billy WIlder started penning scripts in the late 1920s in Berlin until Hitler came to power. Despite speaking only German, he moved to Hollywood, learned English with Peter Lorre and came up with classics, including Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment and Ace in The Hole. He retired in 1981, with seven Oscars. His most enduring work, voted 13th in the movie poll, is Some Like It Hot.

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Q.� What about the best screenwriters

A.� The poll favours snappy dialogue and references to pop culture. Top of the pops is the talented Quentin Tarantino. The list follows like this:

1 Tarantino

2 Coen Brothers

3 Billy Wilder

4 Woody Allen

5 Kevin Smith

6 David Mamet

7 William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)

8 Paul Scrader

9 Robert Towne (Chinatown)

10 Lawrence Kasdan

11 Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven, The Game)

12 PT Anderson

13 Cameron Crowe

14 M. Night Shyamalan

15 Christopher McQuarrie

16 Robert Bolt (Lawrence of Arabia)

17 Ernest Lehman (North by Northwest)

18 Frank Darabont

19 Kevin Williamson

20 Shane Black (Lethal Weapon)

Writer/directors who just missed the cut include Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), Michael Mann (Heat), Nora Ephron and Guy Ritchie (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).

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By Katharine MacColl