Infrequent as they are, a new film from Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron is always worth the wait. Let’s take a look back at all eight of Cuaron’s movies, ranked worst to best.
Born in Mexico City in 1961, Cuaron made his directorial debut when he was just 30-years-old with the Spanish-language farce “Solo con Tu Pareja” (1991). He was soon drafted by Hollywood to helm the children’s film “A Little Princess” (1995) and the modern day Charles Dickens adaptation “Great Expectations” (1998).
It was with “Y Tu Mama Tambien” (2001), a sexy road trip comedy shot in Mexico, that Cuaron reaped his first Oscar nomination in Best Original Screenplay (alongside his brother, Carlos). He returned to America shortly thereafter to direct the third installment in the “Harry Potter” franchise, “The Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004).
Oscar voters took notice of the filmmaker once again with the dystopian future drama “Children of Men” (2006), for which he received Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing nominations. He hit the awards jackpot 7 years later with another sci-fi epic, “Gravity” (2013), becoming the first Hispanic to win Best Director. Cuaron picked up an additional prize for Best Film Editing, and the movie also won for its cinematography, score, sound editing, sound mixing, and visual effects.
With his follow-up “Roma,” Cuaron returned to his native Mexico City to tell a story about a poor maid (newcomer Yalitza Aparicio) working for a middle-class family in the early 1970s, based largely on his own memories of growing up. The film brought him Oscars for Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film, as well as another nomination in Best Picture.
Tour our photo gallery above featuring all eight of Cuaron’s films, and see if your favorite tops the list.
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8. GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1998)
Image Credit: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Mitch Glazer, based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria, Chris Cooper, Anne Bancroft, Robert De Niro.
Cuaron moves the action from 19th century England to 1990s New York City and changes a few character names in this modern update of Charles Dickens’ classic novel. Ethan Hawke stars as Finn, a struggling painter desperately longing for his childhood love (Gwyneth Paltrow). The screenplay by Mitch Glazer pares this epic story down to just the romance, which turns out to be its least interesting aspect. Still, the film is enchanting to look at (as photographed by Cuaron’s usual collaborator Emmanuel Lubezki), and Anne Bancroft is a hoot as Paltrow’s reclusive, eccentric aunt, Ms. Dinsmoor.
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7. SOLO CON TU PAREJA (1991)
Image Credit: Esperanto Filmoj; Solo Peliculas; Criterion Written by Alfonso Cuaron and Carlos Cuaron. Starring Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Claudia Ramirez, Luis de Icaza, Astrid Hadad, Dobrina Liubomirova, Ricardo Dalmacci, Claudia Fernandez.
Cuaron made his feature directing debut with this darkly funny, romantic farce. Daniel Gimenez Cacho stars as a womanizer who gets a taste of his own medicine when a jilted lover tells him he has AIDS. Convinced he’s going to die, he falls in love with an equally suicidal neighbor (Claudia Ramirez). Though the Mexican government refused to distribute it, the film played at various festivals, bringing attention to the emerging director’s obvious talent. “Solo” remained largely unseen in the U.S. until Criterion released a restored DVD copy in 2006, which highlights Emmanuel Lubezki’s striking widescreen cinematography.
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6. HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (2004)
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J. K. Rowling. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, Richard Griffiths, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters.
Legend has it Cuaron had never read any of the “Harry Potter” books, nor seen the previous two films, before being approached about helming this third entry in the franchise. It was at the insistence of pal Guillermo del Toro that the director went to his local bookstore and picked up copies of J. K. Rowling’s fantasy novels, for which fans should be forever grateful. “Prisoner of Azkaban” is by far the darkest, most complex movie in the series about a teenage wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) and his magical friends (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) battling the forces of evil, thanks to Cuaron’s nuanced handling of the material and young actors.
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5. A LITTLE PRINCESS (1995)
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Starring Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Liesel Matthews.
Cuaron came to the attention of American audiences with this adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved children’s novel. Liesel Matthews stars as a young girl whose father (Liam Cunningham) leaves her in a boarding school when he departs to serve in WWI. Presuming her dad has died in combat, the evil headmistress (Eleanor Bron) relegates her to a life of servitude. “A Little Princess” displayed the director’s ability to tell visually stunning, narratively ambitious stories. Though a box office failure, the film managed to snag Oscar nominations for Emmanuel Lubezki’s lush cinematography and Bo Welch’s lavish production design.
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4. Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (2001)
Image Credit: Anhelo Prod/Ifc/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Written by Carlos Cuaron and Alfonso Cuaron. Starring Maribel Verdu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna.
Cuaron returned to his native Mexico for this sexy and insightful coming-of-age story. Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna star as a pair of randy teenagers who set off on a road trip when their girlfriends travel to Italy for the summer. Along the way they encounter an enticing older woman (Maribel Verdu) who accompanies them on their journey. Aided by Emmanuel Lubezki’s gravity-defying cinematography, Cuaron weaves a mesmerizing tapestry of love, friendship, and heartbreak. “Y Tu Mama Tambien” brought the filmmaker his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay (alongside his brother, Carlos).
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3. ROMA (2018)
Image Credit: Netflix Written by Alfonso Cuaron. Starring Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Fernando Grediaga, Jorge Antonio Guerrero.
After winning the Oscar for the technically ambitious “Gravity,” Cuaron delved into his own childhood memories to create his most intimate, personal film to date. A small-scale drama about a poor maid (newcomer Yalitza Aparicio) working for a middle class family in Mexico City in the 1970s, “Roma” has an epic scope that finds beauty and importance in the most ordinary of circumstances. It’s neorealism by way of David Lean, shot in gorgeous black-and-white by Cuaron himself. In painstakingly evoking a specific time and place, the director creates a universal story of the human experience. The film brought Cuaron Oscars for Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film, as well as an additional nomination in Best Picture.
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2. GRAVITY (2013)
Image Credit: Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Written by Alfonso Cuaron and Jonas Cuaron. Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris.
Cuaron hit the Oscar jackpot with this dazzling sci-fi marvel about an astronaut (Best Actress nominee Sandra Bullock) who must fight for survival when she’s stranded in space. The groundbreaking special effects and jaw-dropping cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki give the audience a queasy feeling of weightlessness and peril. It’s all in the service of a deeply-empathetic story of perseverance and courage in the face of danger. Cuaron snagged trophies for directing and editing (becoming the first Hispanic to win Best Director), while the film won additional prizes for Lubezki, visual effects, music, sound editing, and sound mixing.
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1. CHILDREN OF MEN (2006)
Image Credit: Jaap Buitendijk/Universal/Uip/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock Screenplay by Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, based on the novel by P. D. James. Starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Michael Caine, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Pam Ferris, Charlie Hunnam.
With “Children of Men,” Cuaron paints a bleak picture of our future that feels more prescient with each passing year. In 2027, women have become infertile and the world is in chaos. A cynical former activist (Clive Owen) is contacted by his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to safety. Like “Metropolis” and “Blade Runner” before it, this is a haunting vision of dystopia, yet unlike those two films, this one is ultimately rather hopeful about humanity’s chances for survival. Cuaron picked up Oscar nominations for writing and editing, while Emmanuel Lubezki was recognized for his stunning cinematography.
