Academy Award for Best Director

Winners

2025	One Battle After Another	★★★☆	Paul Thomas Anderson
2024	Anora	★★★★☆	Sean Baker
2023	Oppenheimer	★★★★★	Christopher Nolan
2022	Everything Everywhere All at Once	★★★☆	Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
2021	The Power of the Dog	★★★☆☆	Jane Campion
2020	Nomadland	★★★★★★	Chloé Zhao
2019	Parasite	★★★☆	Bong Joon-ho
2018	Roma	★★★☆☆	Alfonso Cuarón
2017	The Shape of Water	★★★☆☆☆	Guillermo del Toro
2016	La La Land	★★★☆☆	Damien Chazelle
2015	The Revenant	★★★★☆	Alejandro González Iñárritu
2014	Birdman or	★★☆☆	Alejandro González Iñárritu
2013	Gravity	★☆☆☆☆	Alfonso Cuarón
2012	Life of Pi	★☆☆☆	Ang Lee
2011	The Artist	★★★★	Michel Hazanavicius
2010	The King's Speech	★★★★☆	Tom Hooper
2009	The Hurt Locker	★★★☆☆	Kathryn Bigelow
2008	Slumdog Millionaire	★★★★	Danny Boyle
2007	No Country for Old Men	★★☆☆	Joel Coen
2006	The Departed	★★☆☆	Martin Scorsese
2005	Brokeback Mountain	★★★★☆☆	Ang Lee
2004	Million Dollar Baby	★★★☆☆	Clint Eastwood
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	★★★★	Peter Jackson
2002	The Pianist	★★★★☆☆	Roman Polanski
2001	A Beautiful Mind	★★★☆☆	Ron Howard
2000	Traffic	★☆☆	Steven Soderbergh
1999	American Beauty	★★★★★☆	Sam Mendes
1998	Saving Private Ryan	★★☆☆☆	Steven Spielberg
1997	Titanic	★★★☆☆	James Cameron
1996	The English Patient	★★★★☆☆	Anthony Minghella
1995	Braveheart	★★☆	Mel Gibson
1994	Forrest Gump	★★★★☆	Robert Zemeckis
1993	Schindler's List	★★★★☆	Steven Spielberg
1992	Unforgiven	★★☆☆☆	Clint Eastwood
1991	The Silence of the Lambs	★★★★☆	Jonathan Demme
1990	Dances With Wolves	★★★☆☆	Kevin Costner
1989	Born on the Fourth of July	★★☆☆	Oliver Stone
1988	Rain Man	★★★★	Barry Levinson
1987	The Last Emperor	★★★★	Bernardo Bertolucci
1986	Platoon	★★★	Oliver Stone
1985	Out of Africa	★★★☆	Sydney Pollack
1984	Amadeus	★★★★☆	Miloš Forman
1983	Terms of Endearment	★★★★	James L. Brooks
1982	Gandhi	★★★★	Richard Attenborough
1981	Reds	★☆☆☆☆	Warren Beatty
1980	Ordinary People	★★★☆	Robert Redford
1979	Kramer vs. Kramer	★★★★☆	Robert Benton
1978	The Deer Hunter	★★☆☆	Michael Cimino
1977	Annie Hall	★★★★☆	Woody Allen
1976	Rocky	★★★☆☆	John G. Avildsen
1975	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	★★★★★★	Miloš Forman
1974	The Godfather Part II	★★☆☆	Francis Ford Coppola
1973	The Sting	★★☆	George Roy Hill
1972	Cabaret	★★★☆	Bob Fosse
1971	The French Connection	★★★★☆	William Friedkin
1970	Patton	★★★☆	Franklin J. Schaffner
1969	Midnight Cowboy	★★★☆☆	John Schlesinger
1968	Oliver!	★★☆	Carol Reed
1967	The Graduate	★★☆☆☆	Mike Nichols
1966	A Man for All Seasons	★★★★★	Fred Zinnemann
1965	The Sound of Music	★★☆	Robert Wise
1964	My Fair Lady	★★★★	George Cukor
1963	Tom Jones	★★★☆	Tony Richardson
1962	Lawrence of Arabia	★★★★☆	David Lean
1961	West Side Story	★★☆☆☆	Robert Wise
1960	The Apartment	★★★☆☆	Billy Wilder
1959	Ben-Hur	★★★★★	William Wyler
1958	Gigi	★★	Vincente Minnelli
1957	The Bridge on the River Kwai	★★★★★	David Lean
1956	Giant	★☆☆☆	George Stevens
1955	Marty	★★★★☆	Delbert Mann
1954	On the Waterfront	★★★★	Elia Kazan
1953	From Here to Eternity	★★☆☆☆	Fred Zinnemann
1952	The Quiet Man	★☆	John Ford
1951	A Place in the Sun	★★☆☆☆	George Stevens
1950	All About Eve	★★★☆☆	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1949	A Letter to Three Wives	★☆	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
1948	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	★★☆☆	John Huston
1947	Gentleman's Agreement	★★★☆☆	Elia Kazan
1946	The Best Years of Our Lives	★★★★	William Wyler
1945	The Lost Weekend	★★★★★	Billy Wilder
1944	Going My Way	★★★★	Leo McCarey
1943	Casablanca	★★☆	Michael Curtiz
1942	Mrs. Miniver	★★★☆	William Wyler
1941	How Green Was My Valley	★★	John Ford
1940	The Grapes of Wrath	★☆☆	John Ford
1939	Gone with the Wind	★★★☆	Victor Fleming
1938	You Can't Take It with You	★★	Frank Capra
1937	The Awful Truth	★☆☆	Leo McCarey
1936	Mr. Deeds Goes to Town	★☆☆	Frank Capra
1935	The Informer	★★☆	John Ford
1934	It Happened One Night	★★★★	Frank Capra
1932	Cavalcade	★★☆	Frank Lloyd
1931	Bad Girl	★☆	Frank Borzage
1930	Skippy	★☆☆	Norman Taurog
1929	All Quiet on the Western Front	★★★☆	Lewis Milestone
1928	The Divine Lady	★☆	Frank Lloyd
1927	Two Arabian Knights	★	Lewis Milestone
1927	7th Heaven	★★☆	Frank Borzage