Lancemc
Blue Crack Addict
Some of my favorite filmmakers don't have anything specific that quite scales the heights for me: Scorsese, Preminger, Minnelli, Renoir, Tarkovsky, Ford, etc. But they would all be popping up on a list expanded out to 30+ I imagine.
Lists like these are tough because my gut says I enjoy several more Rivette, Welles, Powell & Pressburger films than most anything else I could list and should have put more in there, but we all have that competing impulse to spread the love around. I'm glad to see you didn't hold back when it comes to Ozu, especially the mention of the underrated Tokyo Twilight. Personally I feel the stuff on that Late Ozu set can be put right up there with his earlier masterworks.
I started off just listing honestly and inclusively, and immediately had that same impulse, so the list on the last page is pretty wonky. There are probably 6 or 7 each of Kiarostami, Ozu, and Hou that I prefer to certain films on there, but that would be of little interest to list for people. I like what we used to do with the yearly listed, keeping it to one representative choice per filmmaker or something along those lines.
There are a handful of strangely underwhelming films Ozu made after the silent period, Flavor of Green Tea Over Rise (still good) and maybe one or two others), but honestly each and every other film from the period is just as miraculous as the next. Also another half dozen or so silents. Tokyo Twilight has always been a standout to me though. Ozu at his most melodramatic, but just as meticulously beholden to his unique aesthetic as any other film he made around that time. It's an amazing spell that one conjures.
Another film I completely forgot to put high on the list was The Long Day Closes. Huge mistake.