Academy Award For Directing

While the award is considered a good way to sum up the most successful and talented American film directors, several revered directors such as Stanley Kubrick , Orson Welles , and Alfred Hitchcock never won the award. Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman , who have each been nominated for best director five times, are considered to be among the greatest living American directors without Oscars. John Ford is the only director with 4 Best Director Oscars, followed by Frank Capra and William Wyler with 3 Best Director Academy Awards.

List of Awards and Nominees

Each Academy Award ceremony is listed chronologically below along with the winner of the Academy Award for Directing and the film associated with the award. Indented and following the winner of each award are the other nominees for best director.

1920S

1927 / 1928 Frank Borzage - '' Seventh Heaven ''

--- Herbert Brenon - '' Sorrell And Son ''

--- King Vidor - '' The Crowd ''

In the first year only a separate award was given for Comedy Direction

1927 / 1928 Lewis Milestone '' Two Arabian Knights ''

--- Charles Chaplin - '' The Circus ''

--- Ted Wilde - '' Speedy ''

1928 / 1929 Frank Lloyd - '' The Divine Lady ''

--- Lionel Barrymore - '' Madame X ''

--- Harry Beaumont - '' Broadway Melody ''

--- Irving Cummings - '' In Old Arizona ''

--- Frank Lloyd - '' Weary River '' and '' Drag ''

--- Ernst Lubitsch - '' The Patriot ''

1929 / 1930 Lewis Milestone - '' All Quiet On The Western Front ''

--- Clarence Brown - '' Anna Christie ''

--- Clarence Brown - '' Romance ''

--- Robert Z. Leonard - '' The Divorcée ''

--- Ernst Lubitsch - '' The Love Parade ''

--- King Vidor - '' Hallelujah ''

1930S

1930 / 1931 Norman Taurog - '' Skippy ''

--- Clarence Brown - '' A Free Soul ''

--- Lewis Milestone - '' The Front Page ''

--- Wesley Ruggles - '' Cimarron ''

--- Josef Von Sternberg - '' Morocco ''

1931 / 1932 Frank Borzage - '' Bad Girl ''

--- King Vidor - '' The Champ ''

--- Josef Von Sternberg - '' Shanghai Express ''

1932 / 1933 Frank Lloyd - '' Cavalcade ''

--- Frank Capra - '' Lady For A Day ''

--- George Cukor - '' Little Women ''

1934 Frank Capra - '' It Happened One Night ''

--- Victor Schertzinger - '' One Night Of Love ''

--- W. S. Van Dyke - '' The Thin Man ''

1935 John Ford - '' The Informer ''

--- Henry Hathaway - '' Lives Of A Bengal Lancer ''

--- Frank Lloyd - '' Mutiny On The Bounty ''

1936 Frank Capra - '' Mr. Deeds Goes To Town ''

--- Gregory La Cava - '' My Man Godfrey ''

--- Robert Z. Leonard - '' The Great Ziegfeld ''

--- W. S. Van Dyke - '' San Francisco ''

--- William Wyler - '' Dodsworth ''

1937 Leo McCarey - '' The Awful Truth ''

--- William Dieterle - '' The Life Of Emile Zola ''

--- Sidney Franklin - '' The Good Earth ''

--- Gregory La Cava - '' Stage Door ''

--- William Wellman - '' A Star Is Born ''

1938 Frank Capra - '' You Can't Take It With You ''

--- Michael Curtiz - '' Angels With Dirty Faces ''

--- Michael Curtiz - '' Four Daughters ''

--- Norman Taurog - '' Boys Town ''

--- King Vidor - '' The Citadel ''

1939 Victor Fleming - '' Gone With The Wind ''

--- Frank Capra - '' Mr. Smith Goes To Washington ''

--- John Ford - '' Stagecoach ''

--- Sam Wood - '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''

--- William Wyler - '' Wuthering Heights ''

1940S

1940 John Ford - '' The Grapes Of Wrath ''

--- George Cukor - '' The Philadelphia Story ''

--- Alfred Hitchcock - '' Rebecca ''

--- Sam Wood - '' Kitty Foyle ''

--- William Wyler - '' The Letter ''

1941 John Ford - '' How Green Was My Valley ''

--- Alexander Hall - '' Here Comes Mr. Jordan ''

--- Howard Hawks - '' Sergeant York ''

--- Orson Welles - '' Citizen Kane ''

--- William Wyler - '' The Little Foxes ''

1942 William Wyler - '' Mrs. Miniver ''

--- Michael Curtiz - '' Yankee Doodle Dandy ''

--- John Farrow - '' Wake Island ''

--- Mervyn LeRoy - '' Random Harvest ''

--- Sam Wood - '' Kings Row ''

1943 Michael Curtiz - '' Casablanca ''

--- Clarence Brown - '' The Human Comedy ''

--- Henry King - '' The Song Of Bernadette ''

--- Ernst Lubitsch - '' Heaven Can Wait ''

--- George Stevens - '' The More The Merrier ''

1944 Leo McCarey - '' Going My Way ''

--- Alfred Hitchcock - '' Lifeboat ''

--- Henry King - '' Wilson ''

--- Otto Preminger - '' Laura ''

--- Billy Wilder - '' Double Indemnity ''

1945 Billy Wilder - '' The Lost Weekend ''

--- Clarence Brown - '' National Velvet ''

--- Alfred Hitchcock - '' Spellbound ''

--- Leo McCarey - '' The Bells Of St. Mary's ''

--- Jean Renoir - '' The Southerner ''

1946 William Wyler - '' The Best Years Of Our Lives ''

--- Clarence Brown - '' The Yearling ''

--- Frank Capra - '' It's A Wonderful Life ''

--- David Lean - '' Brief Encounter ''

--- Robert Siodmak - '' The Killers ''

1947 Elia Kazan - '' Gentleman's Agreement ''

--- George Cukor - '' A Double Life ''

--- Edward Dmytryk - '' Crossfire ''

--- Henry Koster - '' The Bishop's Wife ''

--- David Lean - '' Great Expectations ''

1948 John Huston - '' Treasure Of The Sierra Madre ''

--- Anatole Litvak - '' The Snake Pit ''

--- Jean Negulesco - '' Johnny Belinda ''

--- Laurence Olivier - '' Hamlet ''

--- Fred Zinnemann - '' The Search ''

1949 Joseph L. Mankiewicz - '' A Letter To Three Wives ''

--- Carol Reed - '' The Fallen Idol ''

--- Robert Rossen - '' All The King's Men ''

--- William A. Wellman - '' Battleground ''

--- William Wyler - '' The Heiress ''

1950S

1950 Joseph L. Mankiewicz - '' All About Eve ''

--- George Cukor - '' Born Yesterday ''

--- John Huston - '' The Asphalt Jungle ''

--- Carol Reed - '' The Third Man ''

--- Billy Wilder - '' Sunset Boulevard ''

1951 George Stevens - '' A Place In The Sun ''

--- John Huston - '' The African Queen ''

--- Elia Kazan - '' A Streetcar Named Desire ''

--- Vincente Minnelli - '' An American In Paris ''

--- William Wyler - '' Detective Story ''

1952 John Ford - '' The Quiet Man ''

--- Cecil B. DeMille - '' The Greatest Show On Earth ''

--- John Huston - '' Moulin Rouge ''

--- Joseph L. Mankiewicz - '' 5 Fingers ''

--- Fred Zinnemann - '' High Noon ''

1953 Fred Zinnemann - '' From Here To Eternity ''

--- George Stevens - '' Shane ''

--- Charles Walters - '' Lili ''

--- Billy Wilder - '' Stalag 17 ''

--- William Wyler - '' Roman Holiday ''

1954 Elia Kazan - '' On The Waterfront ''

--- Alfred Hitchcock - '' Rear Window ''

--- George Seaton - '' The Country Girl ''

--- William Wellman - '' The High And The Mighty ''

--- Billy Wilder - '' Sabrina ''

1955 Delbert Mann - '' Marty ''

--- Elia Kazan - '' East Of Eden ''

--- David Lean - '' Summertime ''

--- Joshua Logan - '' Picnic ''

--- John Sturges - '' Bad Day At Black Rock ''

1956 George Stevens - '' Giant ''

--- Michael Anderson - '' Around The World In Eighty Days ''

--- Walter Lang - '' The King And I ''

--- King Vidor - '' War And Peace ''

--- William Wyler - '' Friendly Persuasion ''

1957 David Lean - '' The Bridge On The River Kwai ''

--- Joshua Logan - '' Sayonara ''

--- Sidney Lumet - '' 12 Angry Men ''

--- Mark Robson - '' Peyton Place ''

--- Billy Wilder - '' Witness For The Prosecution ''

1958 Vincente Minnelli - '' Gigi ''

--- Richard Brooks - '' Cat On A Hot Tin Roof ''

--- Stanley Kramer - '' The Defiant Ones ''

--- Mark Robson - '' The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness ''

--- Robert Wise - '' I Want To Live! ''

1959 William Wyler - '' Ben-Hur ''

--- Jack Clayton - '' Room At The Top ''

--- George Stevens - '' The Diary Of Anne Frank ''

--- Billy Wilder - '' Some Like It Hot ''

--- Fred Zinnemann - '' The Nun's Story ''

1960S

1960 Billy Wilder - '' The Apartment ''

--- Jack Cardiff - '' Sons And Lovers ''

--- Jules Dassin - '' Never On Sunday ''

--- Alfred Hitchcock - '' Psycho ''

--- Fred Zinnemann - '' The Sundowners ''

1961 Robert Wise , Jerome Robbins - '' West Side Story ''

--- Federico Fellini - '' La Dolce Vita ''

--- Stanley Kramer - '' Judgment At Nuremberg ''

--- Robert Rossen - '' The Hustler ''

--- J. Lee Thompson - '' The Guns Of Navarone ''

1962 David Lean - '' Lawrence Of Arabia ''

--- Pietro Germi - '' Divorce - Italian Style ''

--- Robert Mulligan - '' To Kill A Mockingbird ''

--- Arthur Penn - '' The Miracle Worker ''

--- Frank Perry - '' David And Lisa ''

1963 Tony Richardson - '' Tom Jones ''

--- Federico Fellini - '' 8½ ''

--- Elia Kazan - '' America, America ''

--- Otto Preminger - '' The Cardinal ''

--- Martin Ritt - '' Hud ''

1964 George Cukor - '' My Fair Lady ''

--- Michael Cacoyannis - '' Zorba The Greek ''

--- Peter Glenville - '' Becket ''

--- ''

--- Robert Stevenson - '' Mary Poppins ''

1965 Robert Wise - '' The Sound Of Music ''

--- David Lean - '' Doctor Zhivago ''

--- John Schlesinger - '' Darling ''

--- Hiroshi Teshigahara - '' Woman In The Dunes ''

--- William Wyler - '' The Collector ''

1966 Fred Zinnemann - '' A Man For All Seasons ''

--- Michelangelo Antonioni - '' Blow-Up ''

--- Richard Brooks - '' The Professionals ''

--- Claude Lelouch - '' A Man And A Woman ''

--- Mike Nichols - '' Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? ''

1967 Mike Nichols - '' The Graduate ''

--- Richard Brooks - '' In Cold Blood ''

--- Norman Jewison - '' In The Heat Of The Night ''

--- Stanley Kramer - '' Guess Who's Coming To Dinner ''

--- Arthur Penn - '' Bonnie And Clyde ''

1968 Carol Reed - '' Oliver! ''

--- Anthony Harvey - '' The Lion In Winter ''

--- ''

--- Gillo Pontecorvo - '' The Battle Of Algiers ''

--- Franco Zeffirelli - '' Romeo And Juliet ''

1969 John Schlesinger - '' Midnight Cowboy ''

--- Costa-Gavras - '' Z ''

--- George Roy Hill - '' Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid ''

--- Arthur Penn - '' Alice's Restaurant ''

--- Sydney Pollack - '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They? ''

1970S

1970 Franklin J. Schaffner - '' Patton ''

--- Robert Altman - '' M---A---S---H ''

--- Federico Fellini - '' Satyricon ''

--- Arthur Hiller - '' Love Story ''

--- Ken Russell - '' Women In Love ''

1971 William Friedkin - '' The French Connection ''

--- Peter Bogdanovich - '' The Last Picture Show ''

--- Norman Jewison - '' Fiddler On The Roof ''

--- Stanley Kubrick - '' A Clockwork Orange ''

--- John Schlesinger - '' Sunday Bloody Sunday ''

1972 Bob Fosse - '' Cabaret ''

--- John Boorman - '' Deliverance ''

--- Francis Ford Coppola - '' The Godfather ''

--- Joseph L. Mankiewicz - '' Sleuth ''

--- Jan Troell - '' The Emigrants ''

1973 George Roy Hill - '' The Sting ''

--- Ingmar Bergman - '' Cries And Whispers ''

--- Bernardo Bertolucci - '' Last Tango In Paris ''

--- William Friedkin - '' The Exorcist ''

--- George Lucas - '' American Graffiti ''

1974 Francis Ford Coppola - '' The Godfather Part II ''

--- John Cassavetes - '' A Woman Under The Influence ''

--- Bob Fosse - '' Lenny ''

--- Roman Polanski - '' Chinatown ''

--- François Truffaut - '' La Nuit Américaine ''

1975 Milos Forman - '' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest ''

--- Robert Altman - '' Nashville ''

--- Federico Fellini - '' Amarcord ''

--- Stanley Kubrick - '' Barry Lyndon ''

--- Sidney Lumet - '' Dog Day Afternoon ''

1976 John G. Avildsen - '' Rocky ''

--- Ingmar Bergman - '' Face To Face ''

--- Sidney Lumet - '' Network ''

--- Alan J. Pakula - '' All The President's Men ''

--- Lina Wertmüller - '' Seven Beauties ''

1977 Woody Allen - '' Annie Hall ''

--- ''

--- Herbert Ross - '' The Turning Point ''

--- Steven Spielberg - '' Close Encounters Of The Third Kind ''

--- Fred Zinnemann - '' Julia ''

1978 Michael Cimino - '' The Deer Hunter ''

--- Woody Allen - '' Interiors ''

--- Hal Ashby - '' Coming Home ''

--- Warren Beatty , Buck Henry - '' Heaven Can Wait ''

--- Alan Parker - '' Midnight Express ''

1979 Robert Benton - '' Kramer Vs. Kramer ''

--- Francis Ford Coppola - '' Apocalypse Now ''

--- Bob Fosse - '' All That Jazz ''

--- Edouard Molinaro - '' La Cage Aux Folles ''

--- Peter Yates - '' Breaking Away ''

1980S

1980 Robert Redford - '' Ordinary People ''

--- David Lynch - '' The Elephant Man ''

--- Roman Polanski - '' Tess ''

--- Richard Rush - '' The Stunt Man ''

--- Martin Scorsese - '' Raging Bull ''

1981 Warren Beatty - '' Reds ''

--- Hugh Hudson - '' Chariots Of Fire ''

--- Louis Malle - '' Atlantic City ''

--- Mark Rydell - '' On Golden Pond ''

--- Steven Spielberg - '' Raiders Of The Lost Ark ''

1982 Richard Attenborough - '' Gandhi ''

--- Sidney Lumet - '' The Verdict ''

--- Wolfgang Petersen - '' Das Boot ''

--- Sydney Pollack - '' Tootsie ''

--- Steven Spielberg - '' E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial ''

1983 James L. Brooks - '' Terms Of Endearment ''

--- Bruce Beresford - '' Tender Mercies ''

--- Ingmar Bergman - '' Fanny And Alexander ''

--- Mike Nichols - '' Silkwood ''

--- Peter Yates - '' The Dresser ''

1984 Milos Forman - '' Amadeus ''

--- Woody Allen - '' Broadway Danny Rose ''

--- Robert Benton - '' Places In The Heart ''

--- Roland Joffé - '' The Killing Fields ''

--- David Lean - '' A Passage To India ''

1985 Sydney Pollack - '' Out Of Africa ''

--- Hector Babenco - '' Kiss Of The Spider Woman ''

--- John Huston - '' Prizzi's Honor ''

--- Akira Kurosawa - '' Ran ''

--- Peter Weir - '' Witness ''

1986 Oliver Stone - '' Platoon ''

--- Woody Allen - '' Hannah And Her Sisters ''

--- James Ivory - '' A Room With A View ''

--- Roland Joffe - '' The Mission ''

--- David Lynch - '' Blue Velvet ''

1987 Bernardo Bertolucci - '' The Last Emperor ''

--- John Boorman - '' Hope And Glory ''

--- Lasse Hallström - '' My Life As A Dog ''

--- Norman Jewison - '' Moonstruck ''

--- Adrian Lyne - '' Fatal Attraction ''

1988 Barry Levinson - '' Rain Man ''

--- Charles Crichton - '' A Fish Called Wanda ''

--- Martin Scorsese - '' The Last Temptation Of Christ ''

--- Alan Parker - '' Mississippi Burning ''

--- Mike Nichols - '' Working Girl ''

1989 Oliver Stone - '' Born On The Fourth Of July ''

--- Woody Allen - '' Crimes And Misdemeanors ''

--- Peter Weir - '' Dead Poets Society ''

--- Kenneth Branagh - '' Henry V ''

--- Jim Sheridan - '' My Left Foot ''

1990S

1990 Kevin Costner - '' Dances With Wolves ''

--- ''

--- Martin Scorsese - '' Goodfellas ''

--- Stephen Frears - '' The Grifters ''

--- Barbet Schroeder - '' Reversal Of Fortune ''

1991 Jonathan Demme - '' The Silence Of The Lambs ''

--- John Singleton - '' Boyz N The Hood ''

--- Barry Levinson - '' Bugsy ''

--- Oliver Stone - '' JFK ''

--- Ridley Scott - '' Thelma And Louise ''

1992 Clint Eastwood - '' Unforgiven ''

--- Neil Jordan - '' The Crying Game ''

--- James Ivory - '' Howards End ''

--- Robert Altman - '' The Player ''

--- Martin Brest - '' Scent Of A Woman ''

1993 Steven Spielberg - '' Schindler's List ''

--- Jim Sheridan - '' In The Name Of The Father ''

--- Jane Campion - '' The Piano ''

--- James Ivory - '' The Remains Of The Day ''

--- Robert Altman - '' Short Cuts ''

1994 Robert Zemeckis - '' Forrest Gump ''

--- Woody Allen - '' Bullets Over Broadway ''

--- Quentin Tarantino - '' Pulp Fiction ''

--- Robert Redford - '' Quiz Show ''

--- ''

1995 Mel Gibson - '' Braveheart ''

--- Chris Noonan - '' Babe ''

--- Tim Robbins - '' Dead Man Walking ''

--- Mike Figgis - '' Leaving Las Vegas ''

--- Michael Radford - '' Il Postino '' a.k.a. ''The Postman''

1996 Anthony Minghella - '' The English Patient ''

--- Milos Forman - '' The People Vs. Larry Flynt ''

--- Joel Coen - '' Fargo ''

--- Mike Leigh - '' Secrets & Lies ''

--- Scott Hicks - '' Shine ''

1997 James Cameron - '' Titanic ''

--- Peter Cattaneo - '' The Full Monty ''

--- Gus Van Sant - '' Good Will Hunting ''

--- Curtis Hanson - '' L.A. Confidential ''

--- Atom Egoyan - '' The Sweet Hereafter ''

1998 Steven Spielberg - '' Saving Private Ryan ''

--- John Madden - '' Shakespeare In Love ''

--- Terrence Malick - '' The Thin Red Line ''

--- Peter Weir - '' The Truman Show ''

--- Roberto Benigni - '' La Vita è Bella '' a.k.a. '' Life Is Beautiful ''

1999 Sam Mendes - '' American Beauty ''

--- Spike Jonze - '' Being John Malkovich ''

--- Lasse Hallström - '' The Cider House Rules ''

--- Michael Mann - '' The Insider ''

--- M. Night Shyamalan - '' The Sixth Sense ''

2000S

2000 Steven Soderbergh - '' Traffic ''

--- Stephen Daldry - '' Billy Elliot ''

--- Steven Soderbergh - '' Erin Brockovich ''

--- Ridley Scott - '' Gladiator ''

--- Ang Lee - '' Wo Hu Cang Long '' a.k.a. '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''

2001 Ron Howard - '' A Beautiful Mind ''

--- Ridley Scott - '' Black Hawk Down ''

--- Robert Altman - '' Gosford Park ''

--- ''

--- David Lynch - '' Mulholland Drive ''

2002 Roman Polanski - '' The Pianist ''

--- Rob Marshall - '' Chicago ''

--- Martin Scorsese - '' Gangs Of New York ''

--- Pedro Almodóvar - '' Hable Con Ella ''

--- Stephen Daldry - '' The Hours ''

--- Fernando Meirelles - '' City Of God ''

--- Sofia Coppola - '' Lost In Translation ''

---''

--- Clint Eastwood - '' Mystic River ''

2004 Clint Eastwood - '' Million Dollar Baby ''

--- Martin Scorsese - '' The Aviator ''

--- Taylor Hackford - '' Ray ''

--- Alexander Payne - '' Sideways ''

--- Mike Leigh - '' Vera Drake ''

2005 Ang Lee - '' Brokeback Mountain ''

--- Bennett Miller - '' Capote ''

--- Paul Haggis - '' Crash ''

--- George Clooney - '' Good Night, And Good Luck ''

--- Steven Spielberg - '' Munich ''

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Academy Award For Directing