6 Best Legendary Directors' Final Films

By Vlad Zakh · June 26, 2026

A great director’s last film carries special weight, even when it wasn’t planned that way. Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut sends a doctor on a late-night odyssey through a secret sexual underworld, Huston’s The Dead is a quiet Irish party film, and Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion has radio performers facing their last broadcast. Welles’s The Other Side of the Wind finally completed his comeback attempt, with Hitchcock’s Family Plot and Hawks’s Rio Lobo rounding out the six.

The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

TMDB ★ 6.3

An ageing Hollywood director struggles to complete his final, experimental comeback film.

Directed by Orson Welles · 2h 02m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

TMDB ★ 6.7

The cast of a beloved radio variety show faces its final broadcast with humour and grace, in Robert Altman's last film.

Directed by Robert Altman · 1h 45m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 77% Metacritic 69

A doctor's Christmas-season marital crisis spirals into one increasingly surreal night.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick · 2h 39m · Rated R

12 wins & 30 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max · Rent: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Dead (1987)

TMDB ★ 7.1

An Irish family's Twelfth Night party stirs up unexpected memories and quiet heartbreak, in John Huston's final film.

Directed by John Huston · 1h 23m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Family Plot (1976)

TMDB ★ 6.6

A phoney psychic and her cab-driver boyfriend investigate a missing heir, unaware he's now a dangerous kidnapper, in Hitchcock's last film.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · 2h 00m

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Rio Lobo (1970)

TMDB ★ 6.5

A former Union colonel hunts down the traitors responsible for a wartime gold shipment robbery, in Howard Hawks's final film.

Directed by Howard Hawks · 1h 56m · Rated G

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Legendary Directors' Final Films

The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

The Dead (1987)

Family Plot (1976)

Rio Lobo (1970)

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