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