Golden Globe Award for Best Director

Winners

2025	One Battle After Another	★★★★★★★☆☆☆	Paul Thomas Anderson
2024	The Brutalist	★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Brady Corbet
2023	Oppenheimer	★★★★★★★★★☆☆	Christopher Nolan
2022	The Fabelmans	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Steven Spielberg
2021	The Power of the Dog	★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Jane Campion
2020	Nomadland	★★★★★★★★★☆☆☆	Chloé Zhao
2019	1917	★★★★☆☆☆	Sam Mendes
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	Boyhood	★★★★☆☆☆☆	Richard Linklater
2013	Gravity	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Alfonso Cuarón
2012	Argo	★★★★★★☆☆	Ben Affleck
2011	Hugo	★☆☆☆☆☆	Martin Scorsese
2010	The Social Network	★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	David Fincher
2009	Avatar	★★☆☆☆☆	James Cameron
2008	Slumdog Millionaire	★★★★★★★★☆	Danny Boyle
2007	The Diving Bell and the Butterfly	★☆☆☆	Julian Schnabel
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	Gangs of New York	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Martin Scorsese
2001	Gosford Park	★★☆☆☆☆	Robert Altman
2000	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon	★★☆☆☆☆☆	Ang Lee
1999	American Beauty	★★★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Sam Mendes
1998	Saving Private Ryan	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Steven Spielberg
1997	Titanic	★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	James Cameron
1996	The People vs. Larry Flynt	★★☆☆☆☆☆	Miloš Forman
1995	Braveheart	★★★☆☆☆☆	Mel Gibson
1994	Forrest Gump	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Robert Zemeckis
1993	Schindler's List	★★★★★★★★☆☆☆	Steven Spielberg
1992	Unforgiven	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Clint Eastwood
1991	JFK	★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Oliver Stone
1990	Dances With Wolves	★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Kevin Costner
1989	Born on the Fourth of July	★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Oliver Stone
1988	Bird	★☆	Clint Eastwood
1987	The Last Emperor	★★★★★★★☆☆	Bernardo Bertolucci
1986	Platoon	★★★★★☆☆	Oliver Stone
1985	Prizzi's Honor	★☆☆☆☆☆	John Huston
1984	Amadeus	★★★★★★★★☆☆	Miloš Forman
1983	Yentl	★	Barbra Streisand
1982	Gandhi	★★★★★★★★★★	Richard Attenborough
1981	Reds	★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Warren Beatty
1980	Ordinary People	★★★★★★☆☆☆☆	Robert Redford
1979	Apocalypse Now	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Francis Ford Coppola
1978	The Deer Hunter	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Michael Cimino
1977	The Turning Point	★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Herbert Ross
1976	Network	★★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Sidney Lumet
1975	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	★★★★★★★★★★★★★★	Miloš Forman
1974	Chinatown	★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Roman Polanski
1973	The Exorcist	★★★★☆☆☆☆	William Friedkin
1972	The Godfather	★★★★★★★☆☆	Francis Ford Coppola
1971	The French Connection	★★★★★★★★☆☆☆	William Friedkin
1970	Love Story	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Arthur Hiller
1969	Anne of the Thousand Days	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Charles Jarrott
1968	Rachel, Rachel	★★☆☆☆☆	Paul Newman
1967	The Graduate	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆	Mike Nichols
1966	A Man for All Seasons	★★★★★★★★★★	Fred Zinnemann
1965	Doctor Zhivago	★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	David Lean
1964	My Fair Lady	★★★★★☆☆	George Cukor
1963	America America	★☆☆☆☆☆	Elia Kazan
1962	Lawrence of Arabia	★★★★★★☆☆☆	David Lean
1961	Judgment at Nuremberg	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Stanley Kramer
1960	Sons and Lovers	★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Jack Cardiff
1959	Ben-Hur	★★★★★★☆☆	William Wyler
1958	Gigi	★★★★	Vincente Minnelli
1957	The Bridge on the River Kwai	★★★★★★★★★	David Lean
1956	Baby Doll	★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆	Elia Kazan
1955	Picnic	★☆☆☆☆	Joshua Logan
1954	On the Waterfront	★★★★★★★★	Elia Kazan
1953	From Here to Eternity	★★★★☆☆☆	Fred Zinnemann
1952	The Greatest Show on Earth	★★★☆	Cecil B. DeMille
1951	Death of a Salesman	★★☆☆☆	László Benedek
1950	Sunset Boulevard	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆	Billy Wilder
1949	All the King's Men	★★★★★☆☆	Robert Rossen
1948	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	★★★★☆☆	John Huston
1947	Gentleman's Agreement	★★★★☆☆☆	Elia Kazan
1946	It's a Wonderful Life	★☆☆☆	Frank Capra
1945	The Lost Weekend	★★★★★★★★	Billy Wilder
1944	Going My Way	★★★★★★	Leo McCarey
1943	The Song of Bernadette	★★★★☆☆☆	Henry King