Year of
Award
Best Directors*
Academy Award Winner


1927-28

Lewis Milestone
Two Arabian Knights
1928-29
Frank Lloyd
The Divine Lady
1929-30
Lewis Milestone
All Quiet on the Western Front
1930-31
Norman Taurog
Skippy
1931-32
Frank Borzage
Bad Girl
1932-33
Frank Lloyd
Cavalcade
1934
Frank Capra
It Happened One Night
1935
John Ford
The Informer
1936
Frank Capra
Mr Deeds Goes To Town
1937
Leo McCarey
The Awful Truth
1938
Frank Capra
You Can't Take It With You
1939
Victor Fleming
Gone With The Wind
1940
John Ford
Grapes Of Wrath
1941
John Ford
How Green Was My Valley
1942
William Wyler
Mrs Miniver
1943
Michael Curtiz
Casablana
1944
Leo McCarey
Going My Way
1945
Billy Wilder
Lost Weekend
1946
William Wyler
The Best Years Of Our Lives
1947
Elia Kazan
Gentlemans Agreement
1948
John Huston
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1949
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
A Letter To Three Wives
1950
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
All About Eve
1951
George Stevens
A Place In The Sun
1952
John Ford
A Place In The Sun
1953
Fred Zinnemann
From Here To Eternity
1954
Elia Kazan
On The Waterfront
1955
Delbert Mann
Marty
1956
George Stevens
Giant
1957
David Lean
The Bridge On The River Kwai
1958
Vincente Minnelli
Gigi
1959
William Wyler
Ben-Hur
1960
Billy Wilder
The Apartment
1961
Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
West Side Story
1962
David Lean
Lawrence Of Arabia
1963
Tony Richardson
Tom Jones
1964
George Cukor
My Fair Lady
1965
Robert Wise
Sound Of Music
1966
Fred Zinnemann
A Man For All Seasons
1967
Mike Nichols
The Graduate
1968
Carol Reed
Oliver!
1969
John Schlesinger
Midnight Cowboy
1970
Franklin J. Schaffner
Patton
1971
William Friedkin
The French Connection
1972
Bob Fosse
Cabaret
1973
George Roy Hill
The Sting
1974
Francis Ford Coppola
The GodFather Part II
1975
Milos Forman
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
1976
John G. Avildsen
Rocky
1977
Woody Allen
Annie Hall
1978
Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter
1979
Robert Benton
Kramer vs Kramer
1980
Robert Redford
Ordinary People
1981
Warren Beatty
Reds
1982
Richard Attenborough
Gandhi
1983
James L. Brooks
Terms of Endearment
1984
Milos Forman
Amadeus
1985
Sydney Pollack
Out Of Africa
1986
Oliver Stone
Platoon
1987
Bernardo Bertolucci
The Last Emperor
1988
Barry Levinson
Rain Man
1989
Oliver Stone
Born on the Fourth of July
1990
Kevin Costner
Dances With Wolves
1991
Johnathon Demme
The Silence Of The Lambs
1992
Clint Eastwood
Unforgiven
1993
Steven Spielberg
Schindlers List
1994
Robert Zemeckis
Forest Gump
1995
Mel Gibson
Braveheart
1996
Anthony Minghella
The English Patient
1997
James Cameron
Titanic
1998
Steven Spielberg
Saving Private Ryan
1999
Sam Mendes
American Beauty
2000
Steven Soderbergh
Traffic
2001
Ron Howard
A Beautiful Mind
2002
Roman Polanski
The Pianist
2003
Peter Jackson
Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King
2004
Clint Eastwood
Million Dollar Baby
2005 Ang Lee
Brokeback Mountain
2006 Martin Scorsese
The Departed
2007 Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
No Country For Old Men
2008 Danny Boyle
Slumdog Millionaire
2009 Kathryn Bigelow
The Hurt Locker
2010 Tom Hooper
The King's Speech
2011  
Best Director Oscar Winners