Spielberg voted 'best director'

Spielberg has been a leading Hollywood director for 30 years

Steven Spielberg has been voted the greatest director of all time by movie magazine readers, beating peers Alfred Hitchcock and Martin Scorsese.

The Schindler's List director topped a poll of 10,000 Empire magazine readers.

Hitchcock, who directed Psycho and Rear Window, came second while The Aviator film-maker Scorsese was third.

"Steven Spielberg is the closest thing in movies to resemble the impact of The Beatles," said Empire's associate editor Ian Freer.

GREATEST DIRECTORS OF ALL TIME 1. Steven Spielberg 2. Alfred Hitchcock 3. Martin Scorsese 4. Stanley Kubrick 5. Sir Ridley Scott 6. Akira Kurosawa 7. Peter Jackson 8. Quentin Tarantino 9. Orson Welles 10. Woody Allen Source: Empire magazine

Spielberg, 58, has made blockbuster movies such as ET, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

"A cultural phenomenon, his adventures with sharks, UFOs, whipcrackin' archaeologists and ETs, plus searching historical dramas like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan have defined the movie-going life of an entire generation," said Freer.

Film-makers such as Star Wars director George Lucas, Charlie Chaplin, and Tim Burton, fell short of Empire magazine's top 20 however.

In addition to Hitchcock, UK directors Sir Ridley Scott and Sir David Lean were in fifth and 12th place respectively.