"Birdman" is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's most successful film on a number of fronts.

It is the highest grossing film by the Mexican auteur. It is also his most critically lauded film, as well. And it might also be the film that allows the filmmaker to taste Oscar glory for the first time.

A look at his filmography might not leave a viewer completely overwhelmed. After all, "Birdman" is his only his fifth film. But to the surprise of no one, every single film that the director has created has been accepted with open arms by critics and audiences alike.

Here is a retrospective look at his filmmaking:

Amores Perros (2001)

It all starts somewhere and for Inarritu, his opening effort is arguably his most visceral and dynamic. It might even be the polar opposite "Birdman." Whereas his latest opus is a work of pristine visual architecture, "Amores Perros" is brimming with visual chaos. The "hyperlink" structure set a precedent for two of his other films and featured an all-star cast of Mexican actors, most famously Gael Garcia Bernal with whom he would team up alongside in "Babel."

The film was received with tremendous critical praise and is still considered by many to be his finest and most visceral film to date.

21 Grams (2003)

As in "Amores Perros," a car accident sets Inarritu's second film in motion, though this time the narrative structure is more experimental in design with the main story jumping between past, present and future. The film was praised (though not as highly as his previous work) and was nominated for two Oscars. Naomi Watts, who would work with Inarritu again on "Birdman," would earn her first Oscar nod in the film, as would Benicio del Toro, earning his second nomination at the big awards.

Babel (2006)

In his third foray to the multiple narrative structure, Inarritu takes on arguably his most ambitious film to that point in "Babel." The film is set in three different countries and is told in a number of different languages. The plotting here is arguably thin in its connections, but that did not stop the film, which stars a Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Gael Garcia Bernal and Rinko Kikuchi, from being a major awards contender. The film picked up the Golden Globe for best drama and managed seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and two supporting actress nods (Kikuchi and Barraza). The film won an Oscar for best score with Argentinian composer Gustavo Santaolalla picking up his second straight Academy Award.

"Babel" also had the distinction of being Inarritu's biggest box office hit, until "Birdman" took those honors last week.

Biutiful (2010)

The filmmaker's fourth effort is arguably his least-known and in some ways his most intimate. Unlike his previous three films, "Biutiful's" structure is more linear with Javier Bardem's Oscar-nominated turn at the center of the film. "Biutiful" would also be nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards.

Birdman (2014)

While everyone will talk about "Birdman's" continuous "shot" and its reflexive look at theater and cinema, it is essential to look at this film as yet another structure move in Inarritu's oeuvre. There is an ensemble cast, but like Biutiful, this is a move about male crisis. While "Biutiful" dealt with physical health, this one deals with mental and emotional health. The film is nominated for nine Oscars and is expected to come away with the top prize on the film industry's biggest night.

The Revenant (2015)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant" is yet another film that seems to eschew the massive structures of Inarritu's early works for a more straight-forward storytelling manner. But if Inarritu has shown the world anything, it is that even his most intimate stories are filled with complex visual ideas. This film also stars Tom Hardy, Will Poulter and Domhnall Gleeson and tells the story of a man who sets out to get revenge after being attacked by a bear and being left to die by his friends.