Best Directing

Return to Categories Menu

Category Details

Category Active: 1927/28 – Present

Decade Shortcuts

2020s | 2010s | 2000s | 1990s | 1980s | 1970s | 1960s | 1950s | 1940s | 1930s | 1920s

2020s

2023 (96th)

DIRECTING

Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet
Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan
Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

2022 (95th)

DIRECTING

The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin McDonagh
Everything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
The Fabelmans – Steven Spielberg
Tรกr – Todd Field
Triangle of Sadness – Ruben ร–stlund

2021 (94th)

DIRECTING

Belfast – Kenneth Branagh
Drive My Car – Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Licorice Pizza – Paul Thomas Anderson
The Power of the Dog – Jane Campion
West Side Story – Steven Spielberg

2020/21 (93rd)

DIRECTING

Another Round – Thomas Vinterberg
Mank – David Fincher
Minari – Lee Isaac Chung
Nomadland – Chloรฉ Zhao
Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell

2010s

2019 (92nd)

DIRECTING

The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
Joker – Todd Phillips
1917 – Sam Mendes
Once Upon a Timeโ€ฆ in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Parasite – Bong Joon Ho

2018 (91st)

DIRECTING

BlacKkKlansman – Spike Lee
Cold War – Pawel Pawlikowski
The Favourite – Yorgos Lanthimos
Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
Vice – Adam McKay

2017 (90th)

DIRECTING

Dunkirk โ€“ Christopher Nolan
Get Out โ€“ Jordan Peele
Lady Bird โ€“ Greta Gerwig
Phantom Thread โ€“ Paul Thomas Anderson
The Shape of Water โ€“ Guillermo del Toro

2016 (89th)

DIRECTING

Arrival – Denis Villeneuve
Hacksaw Ridge – Mel Gibson
La La Land – Damien Chazelle
Manchester by the Sea – Kenneth Lonergan
Moonlight – Barry Jenkins

2015 (88th)

DIRECTING

The Big Short – Adam McKay
Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller
The Revenant – Alejandro G. Inarritu
Room – Lenny Abrahamson
Spotlight – Tom McCarthy

2014 (87th)

DIRECTING

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Alejandro G. Iรฑรกrritu
Boyhood – Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher – Bennett Miller
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Wes Anderson
The Imitation Game – Morten Tyldum

2013 (86th)

DIRECTING

American Hustle – David O. Russell
Gravity – Alfonso Cuaron
Nebraska – Alexander Payne
12 Years a Slave – Steve McQueen
The Wolf of Wall Street – Martin Scorsese

2012 (85th)

DIRECTING

Amour – Michael Haneke
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi – Ang Lee
Lincoln – Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook – David O. Russell

2011 (84th)

DIRECTING

The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants – Alexander Payne
Hugo – Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
The Tree of Life – Terrence Malick

2010 (83rd)

DIRECTING

Black Swan – Darren Aronofsky
The Fighter – David O. Russell
The King’s Speech – Tom Hooper
The Social Network – David Fincher
True Grit – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

2000s

2009 (82nd)

DIRECTING

Avatar – James Cameron
The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow
Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino
Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire – Lee Daniels
Up in the Air – Jason Reitman

2008 (81st)

DIRECTING

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – David Fincher
Frost/Nixon – Ron Howard
Milk – Gus Van Sant
The Reader – Stephen Daldry
Slumdog Millionaire – Danny Boyle

2007 (80th)

DIRECTING

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Julian Schnabel
Juno – Jason Reitman
Michael Clayton – Tony Gilroy
No Country for Old Men – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood – Paul Thomas Anderson

2006 (79th)

DIRECTING

Babel – Alejandro Gonzรกlez Iรฑรกrritu
The Departed – Martin Scorsese
Letters from Iwo Jima – Clint Eastwood
The Queen – Stephen Frears
United 93 – Paul Greengrass

2005 (78th)

DIRECTING

Brokeback Mountain – Ang Lee
Capote – Bennett Miller
Crash – Paul Haggis
Good Night, and Good Luck. – George Clooney
Munich – Steven Spielberg

2004 (77th)

DIRECTING

The Aviator – Martin Scorsese
Million Dollar Baby – Clint Eastwood
Ray – Taylor Hackford
Sideways – Alexander Payne
Vera Drake – Mike Leigh

2003 (76th)

DIRECTING

City of God – Fernando Meirelles
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – Peter Jackson
Lost in Translation – Sofia Coppola
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – Peter Weir
Mystic River – Clint Eastwood

2002 (75th)

DIRECTING

Chicago – Rob Marshall
Gangs of New York – Martin Scorsese
The Hours – Stephen Daldry
The Pianist – Roman Polanski
Talk to Her – Pedro Almodรณvar

2001 (74th)

DIRECTING

A Beautiful Mind – Ron Howard
Black Hawk Down – Ridley Scott
Gosford Park – Robert Altman
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Peter Jackson
Mulholland Drive – David Lynch

2000 (73rd)

DIRECTING

Billy Elliot – Stephen Daldry
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – Ang Lee
Erin Brockovich – Steven Soderbergh
Gladiator – Ridley Scott
Traffic – Steven Soderbergh

1990s

1999 (72nd)

DIRECTING

American Beauty – Sam Mendes
Being John Malkovich – Spike Jonze
The Cider House Rules – Lasse Hallstrรถm
The Insider – Michael Mann
The Sixth Sense – M. Night Shyamalan

1998 (71st)

DIRECTING

Life Is Beautiful – Roberto Benigni
Saving Private Ryan – Steven Spielberg
Shakespeare in Love – John Madden
The Thin Red Line – Terrence Malick
The Truman Show – Peter Weir

1997 (70th)

DIRECTING

The Full Monty – Peter Cattaneo
Good Will Hunting – Gus Van Sant
L.A. Confidential – Curtis Hanson
The Sweet Hereafter – Atom Egoyan
Titanic – James Cameron

1996 (69th)

DIRECTING

The English Patient – Anthony Minghella
Fargo – Joel Coen
The People vs. Larry Flynt – Milos Forman
Secrets & Lies – Mike Leigh
Shine – Scott Hicks

1995 (68th)

DIRECTING

Babe – Chris Noonan
Braveheart – Mel Gibson
Dead Man Walking – Tim Robbins
Leaving Las Vegas – Mike Figgis
The Postman (Il Postino) – Michael Radford

1994 (67th)

DIRECTING

Bullets over Broadway – Woody Allen
Forrest Gump – Robert Zemeckis
Pulp Fiction – Quentin Tarantino
Quiz Show – Robert Redford
Red – Krzysztof Kieslowski

1993 (66th)

DIRECTING

In the Name of the Father – Jim Sheridan
The Piano – Jane Campion
The Remains of the Day – James Ivory
Schindler’s List – Steven Spielberg
Short Cuts – Robert Altman

1992 (65th)

DIRECTING

The Crying Game – Neil Jordan
Howards End – James Ivory
The Player – Robert Altman
Scent of a Woman – Martin Brest
Unforgiven – Clint Eastwood

1991 (64th)

DIRECTING

Boyz N the Hood – John Singleton
Bugsy – Barry Levinson
JFK – Oliver Stone
The Silence of the Lambs – Jonathan Demme
Thelma & Louise – Ridley Scott

1990 (63rd)

DIRECTING

Dances With Wolves – Kevin Costner
The Godfather, Part III – Francis Ford Coppola
Good Fellas – Martin Scorsese
The Grifters – Stephen Frears
Reversal of Fortune – Barbet Schroeder

1980s

1989 (62nd)

DIRECTING

Born on the Fourth of July – Oliver Stone
Crimes and Misdemeanors – Woody Allen
Dead Poets Society – Peter Weir
Henry V – Kenneth Branagh
My Left Foot – Jim Sheridan

1988 (61st)

DIRECTING

A Fish Called Wanda – Charles Crichton
The Last Temptation of Christ – Martin Scorsese
Mississippi Burning – Alan Parker
Rain Man – Barry Levinson
Working Girl – Mike Nichols

1987 (60th)

DIRECTING

Fatal Attraction – Adrian Lyne
Hope and Glory – John Boorman
The Last Emperor – Bernardo Bertolucci
Moonstruck – Norman Jewison
My Life as a Dog – Lasse Hallstrรถm

1986 (59th)

DIRECTING

Blue Velvet – David Lynch
Hannah and Her Sisters – Woody Allen
The Mission – Roland Joffรฉ
Platoon – Oliver Stone
A Room with a View – James Ivory

1985 (58th)

DIRECTING

Kiss of the Spider Woman – Hector Babenco
Out of Africa – Sydney Pollack
Prizzi’s Honor – John Huston
Ran – Akira Kurosawa
Witness – Peter Weir

1984 (57th)

DIRECTING

Amadeus – Milos Forman
Broadway Danny Rose – Woody Allen
The Killing Fields – Roland Joffรฉ
A Passage to India – David Lean
Places in the Heart – Robert Benton

1983 (56th)

DIRECTING

The Dresser – Peter Yates
Fanny & Alexander – Ingmar Bergman
Silkwood – Mike Nichols
Tender Mercies – Bruce Beresford
Terms of Endearment – James L. Brooks

1982 (55th)

DIRECTING

Das Boot – Wolfgang Petersen
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial – Steven Spielberg
Gandhi – Richard Attenborough
Tootsie – Sydney Pollack
The Verdict – Sidney Lumet

1981 (54th)

DIRECTING

Atlantic City – Louis Malle
Chariots of Fire – Hugh Hudson
On Golden Pond – Mark Rydell
Raiders of the Lost Ark – Steven Spielberg
Reds – Warren Beatty

1980 (53rd)

DIRECTING

The Elephant Man – David Lynch
Ordinary People – Robert Redford
Raging Bull – Martin Scorsese
The Stunt Man – Richard Rush
Tess – Roman Polanski

1970s

1979 (52nd)

DIRECTING

All That Jazz – Bob Fosse
Apocalypse Now – Francis Coppola
Breaking Away – Peter Yates
Kramer vs. Kramer – Robert Benton
La Cage aux Folles – Edouard Molinaro

1978 (51st)

DIRECTING

Coming Home – Hal Ashby
The Deer Hunter – Michael Cimino
Heaven Can Wait – Warren Beatty, Buck Henry
Interiors – Woody Allen
Midnight Express – Alan Parker

1977 (50th)

DIRECTING

Annie Hall – Woody Allen
Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Steven Spielberg
Julia – Fred Zinnemann
Star Wars – George Lucas
The Turning Point – Herbert Ross

1976 (49th)

DIRECTING

All the President’s Men – Alan J. Pakula
Face to Face – Ingmar Bergman
Network – Sidney Lumet
Rocky – John G. Avildsen
Seven Beauties – Lina Wertmรผller

1975 (48th)

DIRECTING

Amarcord – Federico Fellini
Barry Lyndon – Stanley Kubrick
Dog Day Afternoon – Sidney Lumet
Nashville – Robert Altman
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Milos Forman

1974 (47th)

DIRECTING

Chinatown – Roman Polanski
Day for Night – Francois Truffaut
The Godfather Part II – Francis Ford Coppola
Lenny – Bob Fosse
A Woman under the Influence – John Cassavetes

1973 (46th)

DIRECTING

American Graffiti – George Lucas
Cries and Whispers – Ingmar Bergman
The Exorcist – William Friedkin
Last Tango in Paris – Bernardo Bertolucci
The Sting – George Roy Hill

1972 (45th)

DIRECTING

Cabaret – Bob Fosse
Deliverance – John Boorman
The Emigrants – Jan Troell
The Godfather – Francis Ford Coppola
Sleuth – Joseph L. Mankiewicz

1971 (44th)

DIRECTING

A Clockwork Orange – Stanley Kubrick
Fiddler on the Roof – Norman Jewison
The French Connection – William Friedkin
The Last Picture Show – Peter Bogdanovich
Sunday Bloody Sunday – John Schlesinger

1970 (43rd)

DIRECTING

Fellini Satyricon – Federico Fellini
Love Story – Arthur Hiller
M*A*S*H – Robert Altman
Patton – Franklin J. Schaffner
Women in Love – Ken Russell

1960s

1969 (42nd)

DIRECTING

Alice’s Restaurant – Arthur Penn
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – George Roy Hill
Midnight Cowboy – John Schlesinger
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? – Sydney Pollack
Z – Costa-Gavras

1968 (41st)

DIRECTING

The Battle of Algiers – Gillo Pontecorvo
The Lion in Winter – Anthony Harvey
Oliver! – Carol Reed
Romeo and Juliet – Franco Zeffirelli
2001: A Space Odyssey – Stanley Kubrick

1967 (40th)

DIRECTING

Bonnie and Clyde – Arthur Penn
The Graduate – Mike Nichols
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner – Stanley Kramer
In Cold Blood – Richard Brooks
In the Heat of the Night – Norman Jewison

1966 (39th)

DIRECTING

Blow-Up – Michelangelo Antonioni
A Man and a Woman – Claude Lelouch
A Man for All Seasons – Fred Zinnemann
The Professionals – Richard Brooks
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Mike Nichols

1965 (38th)

DIRECTING

The Collector – William Wyler
Darling – John Schlesinger
Doctor Zhivago – David Lean
The Sound of Music – Robert Wise
Woman in the Dunes – Hiroshi Teshigahara

1964 (37th)

DIRECTING

Becket – Peter Glenville
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – Stanley Kubrick
Mary Poppins – Robert Stevenson
My Fair Lady – George Cukor
Zorba the Greek – Michael Cacoyannis

1963 (36th)

DIRECTING

America America – Elia Kazan
The Cardinal – Otto Preminger
Federico Fellini’s 8-1/2 – Federico Fellini
Hud – Martin Ritt
Tom Jones – Tony Richardson

1962 (35th)

DIRECTING

David and Lisa – Frank Perry
Divorce–Italian Style – Pietro Germi
Lawrence of Arabia – David Lean
The Miracle Worker – Arthur Penn
To Kill a Mockingbird – Robert Mulligan

1961 (34th)

DIRECTING

The Guns of Navarone – J. Lee Thompson
The Hustler – Robert Rossen
Judgment at Nuremberg – Stanley Kramer
La Dolce Vita – Federico Fellini
West Side Story – Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins

1960 (33rd)

DIRECTING

The Apartment – Billy Wilder
Never on Sunday – Jules Dassin
Psycho – Alfred Hitchcock
Sons and Lovers – Jack Cardiff
The Sundowners – Fred Zinnemann

1950s

1959 (32nd)

DIRECTING

Ben-Hur – William Wyler
The Diary of Anne Frank – George Stevens
The Nun’s Story – Fred Zinnemann
Room at the Top – Jack Clayton
Some Like It Hot – Billy Wilder

1958 (31st)

DIRECTING

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – Richard Brooks
The Defiant Ones – Stanley Kramer
Gigi – Vincente Minnelli
I Want to Live! – Robert Wise
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness – Mark Robson

1957 (30th)

DIRECTING

The Bridge on the River Kwai – David Lean
Peyton Place – Mark Robson
Sayonara – Joshua Logan
12 Angry Men – Sidney Lumet
Witness for the Prosecution – Billy Wilder

1956 (29th)

DIRECTING

Around the World in 80 Days – Michael Anderson
Friendly Persuasion – William Wyler
Giant – George Stevens
The King and I – Walter Lang
War and Peace – King Vidor

1955 (28th)

DIRECTING

Bad Day at Black Rock – John Sturges
East of Eden – Elia Kazan
Marty – Delbert Mann
Picnic – Joshua Logan
Summertime – David Lean

1954 (27th)

DIRECTING

The Country Girl – George Seaton
The High and the Mighty – William Wellman
On the Waterfront – Elia Kazan
Rear Window – Alfred Hitchcock
Sabrina – Billy Wilder

1953 (26th)

DIRECTING

From Here to Eternity – Fred Zinnemann
Lili – Charles Walters
Roman Holiday – William Wyler
Shane – George Stevens
Stalag 17 – Billy Wilder

1952 (25th)

DIRECTING

Five Fingers – Joseph L. Mankiewicz
The Greatest Show on Earth – Cecil B. DeMille
High Noon – Fred Zinnemann
Moulin Rouge – John Huston
The Quiet Man – John Ford

1951 (24th)

DIRECTING

The African Queen – John Huston
An American in Paris – Vincente Minnelli
Detective Story – William Wyler
A Place in the Sun – George Stevens
A Streetcar Named Desire – Elia Kazan

1950 (23rd)

DIRECTING

All about Eve – Joseph L. Mankiewicz
The Asphalt Jungle – John Huston
Born Yesterday – George Cukor
Sunset Blvd. – Billy Wilder
The Third Man – Carol Reed

1940s

1949 (22nd)

DIRECTING

All the King’s Men – Robert Rossen
Battleground – William A. Wellman
The Fallen Idol – Carol Reed
The Heiress – William Wyler
A Letter to Three Wives – Joseph L. Mankiewicz

1948 (21st)

DIRECTING

Hamlet – Laurence Olivier
Johnny Belinda – Jean Negulesco
The Search – Fred Zinnemann
The Snake Pit – Anatole Litvak
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre – John Huston

1947 (20th)

DIRECTING

The Bishop’s Wife – Henry Koster
Crossfire – Edward Dmytryk
A Double Life – George Cukor
Gentleman’s Agreement – Elia Kazan
Great Expectations – David Lean

1946 (19th)

DIRECTING

The Best Years of Our Lives – William Wyler
Brief Encounter – David Lean
It’s a Wonderful Life – Frank Capra
The Killers – Robert Siodmak
The Yearling – Clarence Brown

1945 (18th)

DIRECTING

The Bells of St. Mary’s – Leo McCarey
The Lost Weekend – Billy Wilder
National Velvet – Clarence Brown
The Southerner – Jean Renoir
Spellbound – Alfred Hitchcock

1944 (17th)

DIRECTING

Double Indemnity – Billy Wilder
Going My Way – Leo McCarey
Laura – Otto Preminger
Lifeboat – Alfred Hitchcock
Wilson – Henry King

1943 (16th)

DIRECTING

Casablanca – Michael Curtiz
Heaven Can Wait – Ernst Lubitsch
The Human Comedy – Clarence Brown
The More the Merrier – George Stevens
The Song of Bernadette – Henry King

1942 (15th)

DIRECTING

Kings Row – Sam Wood
Mrs. Miniver – William Wyler
Random Harvest – Mervyn LeRoy
Wake Island – John Farrow
Yankee Doodle Dandy – Michael Curtiz

1941 (14th)

DIRECTING

Citizen Kane – Orson Welles
Here Comes Mr. Jordan – Alexander Hall
How Green Was My Valley – John Ford
The Little Foxes – William Wyler
Sergeant York – Howard Hawks

1940 (13th)

DIRECTING

The Grapes of Wrath – John Ford
Kitty Foyle – Sam Wood
The Letter – William Wyler
The Philadelphia Story – George Cukor
Rebecca – Alfred Hitchcock

1930s

1939 (12th)

DIRECTING

Gone with the Wind – Victor Fleming
Goodbye, Mr. Chips – Sam Wood
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – Frank Capra
Stagecoach – John Ford
Wuthering Heights – William Wyler

1938 (11th)

DIRECTING

Angels with Dirty Faces – Michael Curtiz
Boys Town – Norman Taurog
The Citadel – King Vidor
Four Daughters – Michael Curtiz
You Can’t Take It with You – Frank Capra

1937 (10th)

DIRECTING

The Awful Truth – Leo McCarey
The Good Earth – Sidney Franklin
The Life of Emile Zola – William Dieterle
Stage Door – Gregory La Cava
A Star Is Born – William Wellman

1936 (9th)

DIRECTING

Dodsworth – William Wyler
The Great Ziegfeld – Robert Z. Leonard
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town – Frank Capra
My Man Godfrey – Gregory La Cava
San Francisco – W. S. Van Dyke

1935 (8th)

DIRECTING

Captain Blood – Michael Curtiz [3,5]
The Informer – John Ford
The Lives of a Bengal Lancer – Henry Hathaway [4]
Mutiny on the Bounty – Frank Lloyd

1934 (7th)

DIRECTING

It Happened One Night – Frank Capra
One Night of Love – Victor Schertzinger [4]
The Thin Man – W. S. Van Dyke [3]

1932/33 (6th)

DIRECTING

Cavalcade – Frank Lloyd
Lady for a Day – Frank Capra [3]
Little Women – George Cukor [4]

1931/32 (5th)

DIRECTING

Bad Girl – Frank Borzage
The Champ – King Vidor
Shanghai Express – Josef Von Sternberg

1930/31 (4th)

DIRECTING

Cimarron – Wesley Ruggles
A Free Soul – Clarence Brown
The Front Page – Lewis Milestone
Morocco – Josef Von Sternberg
Skippy – Norman Taurog

1929/30 (3rd)

DIRECTING

Clarence Brown – Anna Christie; Romance
Robert Leonard – The Divorcee
Ernst Lubitsch – The Love Parade
Lewis Milestone – All Quiet on the Western Front
King Vidor – Hallelujah

1920s

1928/29 (2nd)

DIRECTING

Lionel Barrymore – Madame X [2]
Harry Beaumont – The Broadway Melody [2]
Irving Cummings – In Old Arizona [2]
Frank Lloyd – The Divine Lady [1]
Frank Lloyd – Drag; Weary River [2]
Ernst Lubitsch – The Patriot [2]

1927/28 (1st)

DIRECTING (Comedy Picture)

Lewis Milestone – Two Arabian Knights
Ted Wilde – Speedy

DIRECTING (Dramatic Picture)

Frank Borzage- 7th Heaven
Herbert Brenon – Sorrell and Son
King Vidor – The Crowd

ACADEMY NOTES

  1. [NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL NOMINATION. There were no announcements of nominations, no certificates of nomination or honorable mention, and only the winners (*) were revealed during the awards banquet on April 3, 1930.]
  2. [NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL NOMINATION. There were no announcements of nominations, no certificates of nomination or honorable mention, and only the winners (*) were revealed during the awards banquet on April 3, 1930. Though not official nominations, the additional names in each category, according to in-house records, were under consideration by the various boards of judges.]
  3. [came in 2nd]
  4. [came in 3rd]
  5. [NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL NOMINATION. Write-in candidate.]

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Verified by MonsterInsights