For whatever reason Mike Nichols was never mentioned in the same breath as the other great directors from the 1960s and 1970s such as Coppola or Scorsese. A better comparison might be with Norman Jewison (the two men competed against each other for Best Director in 1967; Nichols won). Jewison was described in his obituary as 'a diretor whose films were most famous then him'

Nichols was one of the greatest directors of our time and one of the most versatile; it's stunning that this masterpiece was just his second film -until you consider his first was the equally brilliant and boundary breaking Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Perhaps it is because Nichols is known far more for his comedies - of which both of these movies are at least provisionally classified, as well as the masterpiece Working Girl - as well as theater adaptation (Angels in America, Closer) He was also briliant in television and theater and I don't think Spielberg or Scorsese will ever get an EGOT. You could say he peaked too soon as a director but by the time he was thirty five he'd accomplished more brilliant work in every other forum than most directors do in a lifetime.