The Best Directors in Cinema

The following is an aggregation of what I've determined to be the film world's greatest examples of FILM DIRECTION spanning the years 1925-2016. This is part of my ongoing Years in Review project. 720 directorial achievements are noted here. With each year, they are listed in order of preference. Those in bold, in the first half of this piece, are those that were awarded the Best Direction Academy Award. In the second half of the article (where the CAPITALIZED film titles were spearheaded by the filmmakers I personally chose), I collect a list of the directors who I've noted for two or more films, in order to determine the finest FILMMAKERS of all time; the list further serves as a guide to the notable career highs each director has contributed, whether in collaboration or solo. As illustration, I've chosen photos of each of the very stylish directors at work, most ideally on the set of their winning film (when available). Here we go:

1925: Sergei Eisenstein, BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (2nd: Charles Chaplin, The Gold Rush, followed by: Buster Keaton, Seven Chances; Erich Von Stroheim, The Merry Widow; Tod Browning, The Unholy Three) (5)

1926: F.W. Murnau, FAUST (2nd: Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman, The General, followed by: Vsevelod I. Pudovkin, Mother) (3)

1927: Abel Gance, NAPOLEON (2nd: Fritz Lang, Metropolis, followed by: F.W. Murnau, Sunrise; Frank Borzage, 7th Heaven; William Wellman, Wings) (5)

1928: Carl Th. Dreyer, THE PASSION OF JEANNE D'ARC (2nd: King Vidor, The Crowd, followed by: Buster Keaton, Steamboat Bill Jr.; Victor Sjostrom, The Wind; Fritz Lang, Spione; Erich Von Stroheim, The Wedding March; Sergei Eisenstein, October) (7)

1929: Dziga Vertov, MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (2nd: G.W. Pabst, Pandora's Box, followed by: G.W. Pabst, Diary of a Lost Girl; Alfred Hitchcock, Blackmail (sound version); King Vidor, Hallelujah!; Ernst Lubitsch, The Love Parade) (6)

1930: Wladyslaw Starewicz and Irene Starewicz, THE TALE OF THE FOX (2nd: Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front, followed by: Alexander Dovzhenko, Earth; Josef Von Sternberg, The Blue Angel; Alfred Hitchcock, Murder; Luis Buñuel, L’Age d’Or) (6)

1931: Charles Chaplin, CITY LIGHTS (2nd: Fritz Lang, M, followed by: James Whale, Frankenstein; Howard Hawks, The Criminal Code; King Vidor, Street Scene; William A. Wellman, The Public Enemy; Leontine Sagan, Madchen in Uniform) (7)

1932: Tod Browning, FREAKS (2nd: Carl Th. Dreyer, Vampyr, followed by Ernst Lubischt, Trouble in Paradise; Howard Hawks, Scarface, or: The Shame of a Nation; Jean Renoir, Boudu Saved from Drowning; James Whale, The Old Dark House) (6)

1933: Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, KING KONG (2nd: Jean Vigo, Zero for Conduct, followed by: Rouben Mamoulian, Queen Christina; Leo McCarey, Duck Soup; George Cukor, Dinner at Eight; Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley, 42nd Street) (6)

1934: Jean Vigo, L'ATALANTE (2nd: Howard Hawks, Twentieth Century, followed by: Josef von Sternberg, The Scarlet Empress; W.S. Van Dyke, The Thin Man; Frank Capra, It Happened One Night; Norman Z. McLeod, It's a Gift) (6)

1935: Leni Riefenstahl, TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (2nd: James Whale, The Bride of Frankenstein, followed by: Alfred Hitchcock, The 39 Steps; Michael Curtiz, Captain Blood; George Cukor, Sylvia Scarlett; John Ford, The Informer) (6)

1936: Charles Chaplin, MODERN TIMES (2nd: Fritz Lang, Fury, followed by: William Wyler, Dodsworth; George Stevens, Swing Time; William Cameron Menzies and Alexander Korda, Things to Come; Frank Capra, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town) (6)

1937: Jean Renoir, GRAND ILLUSION (2nd: Leo McCarey, The Awful Truth, followed by: David Hand, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Leo McCarey, Make Way for Tomorrow; William Wellman, Nothing Sacred; Frank Capra, Lost Horizon) (6)

1938: Sergei Eisenstein, ALEXANDER NEVSKY (2nd: Leni Riefenstahl, Olympia, followed by: Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, The Adventures of Robin Hood; Alfred Hitchcock, The Lady Vanishes; Howard Hawks, Bringing Up Baby) (5) 

1939: Victor Fleming, GONE WITH THE WIND (2nd: Frank Capra, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, followed by: John Ford, Stagecoach; Jean Renoir, The Rules of the Game; Victor Fleming, The Wizard of Oz; William Wyler, Wuthering Heights; Ernst Lubitsch, Ninotchka; George Cukor, The Women; Busby Berkeley, Babes in Arms) (9)

1940: John Ford, THE GRAPES OF WRATH (2nd: Charles Chaplin, The Great Dictator, followed by: Ben Sharpsteen, Fantasia; Michael Powell, Tim Whelan and Ludwig Berger, The Thief of Bagdad; Alfred Hitchcock, Foreign Correspondent; Ernst Lubitsch, The Shop Around the Corner; Raoul Walsh, They Drive by Night) (7)

1941: Orson Welles, CITIZEN KANE (2nd: Preston Sturges, Sullivan's Travels, followed by: John Huston, The Maltese Falcon; John Ford, How Green Was My Valley; Preston Sturges, The Lady Eve; Howard Hawks, Ball of Fire; William Wyler, The Little Foxes; Kenji Mizoguchi, The 47 Ronin; Fritz Lang, Man Hunt; Alexander Hall, Here Comes Mr. Jordan) (10)

1942: Preston Sturges, THE PALM BEACH STORY (2nd: Orson Welles, The Magnificent Ambersons, followed by: Michael Curtiz, Casablanca; Ernst Lubischt, To Be or Not To Be; Alberto Cavalcanti, Went The Day Well?; David Hand, Bambi; Sam Wood, The Pride of the Yankees) (7)

1943: Alfred Hitchcock, SHADOW OF A DOUBT (2nd: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, followed by: Carl Th. Dreyer, Day of Wrath; Jacques Tourneur, I Walked With a Zombie; George Stevens, The More The Merrier) (5)

1944: Billy Wilder, DOUBLE INDEMNITY (2nd: Vincente Minnelli, Meet Me in St. Louis, followed by: Alfred Hitchcock, Lifeboat; Laurence Olivier, Henry V; Otto Preminger, Laura; Preston Sturges, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek; John Cromwell, Since You Went Away) (7)

1945: Marcel Carné, CHILDREN OF PARADISE (2nd: Sergei Eisenstein, Ivan the Terrible, Part One: Ivan Grozyni, followed by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, "I Know Where I’m Going!"; David Lean, Brief Encounter; Roberto Rossellini, Rome: Open City; John Ford, They Were Expendable; Edgar G. Ulmer, Detour; Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend) (8)

1946: Frank Capra, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (2nd: David Lean, Great Expectations, followed by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, A Matter of Life and Death; Jean Cocteau, La Belle et la Bete; John Ford, My Darling Clementine; Vittorio De Sica, Shoeshine) (6)

1947: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, BLACK NARCISSUS (2nd: Charles Chaplin, Monsuier Verdoux, followed by: Jacques Tourneur, Out of the Past; George Seaton, Miracle on 34^th Street; Edmund Goulding, Nightmare Alley; Jules Dassin, Brute Force) (6)  

1948: John Huston, THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (2nd: Vittorio De Sica, Bicycle Thieves, followed by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, The Red Shoes; Carol Reed, The Fallen Idol; David Lean, Oliver Twist; Howard Hawks, Red River; Roberto Rossellini, Germany Year Zero; Max Ophuls, Letter from an Unknown Woman) (8)

1949: Robert Wise, THE SET-UP (2nd: Carol Reed, The Third Man, followed by: Robert Hamer, Kind Hearts and Coronets; Yasujiro Ozu, Late Spring; Akira Kurosawa, Stray Dog; William Wyler, The Heiress; Raoul Walsh, White Heat; Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, On The Town; Joseph L. Mankiewicz, A Letter to Three Wives; William A. Wellman, Battleground) (10)

1950: Billy Wilder, SUNSET BLVD. (2nd: Joseph H. Lewis, Gun Crazy, followed by: Akira Kurosawa, Rashomon; Anthony Mann, Winchester '73; Luis Bunuel, Los Olvidados; Joseph L. Mankiewicz, All About Eve; John Huston, The Asphalt Jungle; Nicholas Ray, In a Lonely Place; Max Ophuls, La Ronde; John Ford, Wagon Master) (10)

1951: Elia Kazan, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (2nd: Alfred Hitchcock, Strangers on a Train, followed by: Billy Wilder, Ace in the Hole; Yasujiro Ozu, Early Summer; George Stevens, A Place in the Sun; Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger, The Tales of Hoffmann; Vincente Minnelli, An American in Paris; Charles Crichton, The Lavender Hill Mob) (8)

1952: Akira Kurosawa, IKIRU (2nd: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, Singin’ in the Rain, followed by: Vittorio De Sica, Umberto D; Fred Zinnemann, High Noon; John Ford, The Quiet Man; René Clair, Forbidden Games; Vincente Minnelli, The Bad and the Beautiful; Charles Chaplin, Limelight) (8)

1953: Yasujiro Ozu, TOKYO STORY (2nd: Max Ophuls, Madame de…, followed by: Anthony Mann, The Naked Spur; Federico Fellini, I Vitelloni; Vincente Minnelli, The Band Wagon; George Stevens, Shane; Teinosuke Kinugasa, Gate of Hell; Jacques Tati, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday) (8)

1954: Alfred Hitchcock, REAR WINDOW (2nd: Akira Kurosawa, The Seven Samurai, followed by: Federico Fellini, La Strada; Elia Kazan, On The Waterfront; Herbert J. Bieberman, Salt of the Earth; Kenji Mizoguchi, Sansho The Baliff; Nicholas Ray, Johnny Guitar; Stanley Donen, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Douglas Sirk, Magnificent Obsession) (9)

1955: Charles Laughton, THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (2nd: Satyajit Ray, Pather Panchali, followed by: Robert Aldrich, Kiss Me Deadly; Elia Kazan, East of Eden; Douglas Sirk, All That Heaven Allows; Max Ophuls, Lola Montes; Jules Dassin, Rififi; Nicholas Ray, Rebel Without a Cause; Alexander MacKendrick, The Ladykillers; Carl Th. Dreyer, Ordet) (10)

1956: John Ford, THE SEARCHERS (2nd: George Stevens, Giant, followed by: Nicholas Ray, Bigger Than Life; Alfred Hitchcock, The Wrong Man; Stanley Kubrick, The Killing; Robert Bresson, A Man Escaped) (6)

1957: Stanley Kubrick, PATHS OF GLORY (2nd: Ingmar Bergman, Wild Strawberries, followed by: Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal; Mikhail Kalatozov, The Cranes are Flying; Sidney Lumet, 12 Angry Men; Alexander Mackendrick, Sweet Smell of Success; Akira Kurosawa, Throne of Blood; Elia Kazan, A Face in the Crowd; Federico Fellini, Nights of Cabiria; Andrzej Wajda, Kanal) (10)

1958: Orson Welles, TOUCH OF EVIL (2nd: Alfred Hitchcock, Vertigo, followed by: Andrzej Wajda, Ashes and Diamonds; Akira Kurosawa, The Hidden Fortress; Vincente Minnelli, Some Came Running; Jacques Tati, Mon Oncle; Karel Zeman, The Fabulous World of Jules Verne; Morton Da Costa, Auntie Mame) (8)

1959: Francois Truffaut, THE 400 BLOWS (2nd: Billy Wilder, Some Like it Hot, followed by: Alfred Hitchcock, North by Northwest; Howard Hawks, Rio Bravo; Robert Bresson, Pickpocket; Otto Preminger, Anatomy of a Murder; William Wyler, Ben Hur; George Stevens, The Diary of Anne Frank; Andre De Toth, Day of the Outlaw; Marcel Camus, Black Orpheus) (10)

1960: Alfred Hitchcock, PSYCHO (2nd: Jean-Luc Godard, Breathless, followed by: Ingmar Bergman, The Virgin Spring; Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita; Rene Clement, Purple Noon; Francois Truffaut, Shoot the Piano Player; Jacques Becker, Le Trou; Michelangelo Antonioni, L’Avventura; Nobuko Nakagawa, Jigoku; Michael Powell, Peeping Tom) (10)

1961: Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, WEST SIDE STORY (2nd: Jack Clayton, The Innocents. followed by: Robert Rossen, The Hustler; Akira Kurosawa, Yojimbo; Ingmar Bergman, Through a Glass, Darkly; Alain Renais, Last Year at Marienbad; Stanley Kramer, Judgment at Nuremberg; Pietro Germi, Divorce Italian Style) (8)

1962: David Lean, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (2nd: Luis Bunuel, The Exterminating Angel, followed by: Sam Peckinpah, Ride the High Country; Robert Mulligan, To Kill a Mockingbird; Serge Bourguignon, Sundays and Cybele; Frank Perry, David and Lisa; John Ford, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; Masaki Kobayashi, Harakiri; Morton Da Costa, The Music Man; John Frankenheimer, The Manchurian Candidate) (10)

1963: Federico Fellini, 8½ (2nd: Jean-Luc Godard, Contempt, followed by: Martin Ritt, Hud; Ingmar Bergman, Winter Light; Luchino Visconti, The Leopard; Elia Kazan, America America; Akira Kurosawa, High and Low; Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds; Samuel Fuller, Shock Corridor; Ingmar Bergman, The Silence) (10)

1964: Stanley Kubrick, DR. STRANGELOVE, OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (2nd: Richard Lester, A Hard Day’s Night, followed by: Mikhail Kalatozov, I Am Cuba; Jacques Demy, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; Pier Paolo Pasolini, The Gospel According to St. Matthew; Peter Watkins, Culloden; Hiroshi Teshigahara, Woman in the Dunes; Michelangelo Antonioni, Red Desert; Sidney Lumet, Fail-Safe; Cy Endfield, Zulu) (10)

1965: Roman Polanski, REPULSION (2nd: Orson Welles, Chimes at Midnight, followed by: Sidney Lumet, The Hill; Richard Lester, The Knack, And How to Get It;  Jean-Luc Godard, Pierrot le Fou; Peter Watkins, The War Game; David Lean, Doctor Zhivago) (7)

1966: Ingmar Bergman, PERSONA (2nd: Michelangelo Antonioni, Blow Up, followed by: Mike Nichols, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; Sergio Leone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Fred Zinnemann, A Man for All Seasons; Robert Bresson, Au Hasard, Balthazar; Gillo Pontecorvo, The Battle of Algiers) (7)

1967: Mike Nichols, THE GRADUATE (2nd: Jacques Tati, Playtime, followed by: Jean-Luc Godard, Weekend; Frederick Wiseman, Titicut Follies; Arthur Penn, Bonnie and Clyde; Luis Bunuel, Belle de Jour; John Boorman, Point Blank; Robert Bresson, Mouchette; Stanley Donen, Bedazzled; Stuart Rosenberg, Cool Hand Luke) (10)

1968: Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (2nd: Sergio Leone, Once Upon a Time in the West, followed by: Richard Lester, Petulia; Carol Reed, Oliver!; Sergei Bondarchuck, War and Peace; Sergei Paradjanov, The Color of Pomegranates; Roman Polanski, Rosemary's Baby; Peter Bogdanovich, Targets; Lindsay Anderson, if...; Bob Rafelson, Head) (10)

1969: Sam Peckinpah, THE WILD BUNCH (2nd: John Schlesinger, Midnight Cowboy, followed by: Constantin Costa-Gavras, Z; Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, Salesman; Leonard Kastle, The Honeymoon Killers; George Roy Hill, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Haskell Wexler, Medium Cool) (7)

1970: Robert Altman, M*A*S*H (2nd: Bernardo Bertolucci, The Conformist, followed by: Bob Rafelson, Five Easy Pieces; Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, Gimme Shelter; Michael Wadleigh, Woodstock; Eric Rohmer, Claire’s Knee; Franklin J. Schaffner, Patton) (7)

1971: Stanley Kubrick, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (2nd: Peter Bogdanovich, The Last Picture Show, followed by: Robert Altman, McCabe and Mrs. Miller; Peter Watkins, Punishment Park; William Friedkin, The French Connection; Norman Jewison, Fiddler on the Roof; Roman Polanski, Macbeth; Monte Hellman, Two-Lane Blacktop; Mike Nichols, Carnal Knowledge; John Schlesinger, Sunday, Bloody Sunday) (10)

1972: Francis Ford Coppola, THE GODFATHER (2nd: Bob Fosse, Cabaret, followed by: Ingmar Bergman, Cries and Whispers; Werner Herzog, Aguirre, The Wrath of God; Andrei Tarkovsky, Solaris; John Boorman, Deliverance; Bernardo Bertolucci, Last Tango in Paris; Luis Bunuel, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie; Robert Altman, Images; George Roy Hill, Slaughterhouse-Five) (10)

1973: Lindsay Anderson, O LUCKY MAN! (2nd: Martin Scorsese, Mean Streets, followed by: George Lucas, American Graffiti; William Friedkin, The Exorcist; Ingmar Bergman, Scenes from a Marriage; Terrence Malick, Badlands; Peter Bogdanovich, Paper Moon; George Roy Hill, The Sting) (8)

1974: Francis Ford Coppola, THE GODFATHER PART II (2nd: Roman Polanski, Chinatown, followed by: Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation; John Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence; Alan J. Pakula, The Parallax View; Tobe Hooper, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; Jacques Rivette, Celine and Julie Go Boating; Bob Fosse, Lenny) (8)

1975: Robert Altman, NASHVILLE (2nd: Milos Forman, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, followed by: Stanley Kubrick, Barry Lyndon, Sidney Lumet, Dog Day Afternoon; Steven Spielberg, Jaws; Lina Wertmuller, Seven Beauties) (6)

1976: Martin Scorsese, TAXI DRIVER (2nd: Sidney Lumet, Network, followed by: Alan J. Pakula, All The President’s Men; Martin Ritt, The Front; Hal Ashby, Bound for Glory; John G. Avildsen, Rocky; Francois Truffaut, Small Change; Alan Parker, Bugsy Malone) (8)

1977: Woody Allen, ANNIE HALL (2nd: David Lynch, Eraserhead, followed by: Steven Spielberg, Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Robert Altman, 3 Women; Luis Bunuel, That Obscure Object of Desire; George Lucas, Star Wars; William Friedkin, Sorcerer; John Cassavetes, Opening Night) (8)

1978: Michael Cimino, THE DEER HUNTER (2nd: Terrence Malick, Days of Heaven, followed by: Martin Scorsese, The Last Waltz; Woody Allen, Interiors; John Carpenter, Halloween; Paul Mazursky, An Unmarried Woman; Alan Parker, Midnight Express; Paul Schrader, Blue Collar) (8)

1979: Bob Fosse, ALL THAT JAZZ (2nd: Woody Allen, Manhattan, followed by: Francis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now; Ira Wohl, Best Boy; Volker Schlondorff, The Tin Drum; Roman Polanski, Tess; Robert Benton, Kramer Vs. Kramer; Ridley Scott, Alien; Peter Yates, Breaking Away; George Roy Hill, A Little Romance) (10)

1980: Martin Scorsese, RAGING BULL (2nd: Stanley Kubrick, The Shining, followed by: Robert Redford, Ordinary People; Akira Kurosawa, Kagemusha; David Lynch, The Elephant Man; Richard Rush, The Stunt Man; Walter Hill, The Long Riders; Alan Parker, Fame) (8)

1981: Warren Beatty, REDS (2nd: Sidney Lumet, Prince of the City, followed by: Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot; Steven Spielberg, Raiders of the Lost Ark; Albert Brooks, Modern Romance; Brian De Palma, Blow Out; Hector Babenco, Pixote; Bill Forsyth, Gregory's Girl) (8)

1982: Ingmar Bergman, FANNY AND ALEXANDER (2nd: Ridley Scott, Blade Runner, followed by: Steven Spielberg, E.T. The Extraterrestrial; Sidney Lumet, The Verdict; Joan Micklin Silver, Chilly Scenes of Winter; Constantin Costa-Gavras, Missing; Sydney Pollack, Tootsie; John Carpenter, The Thing; Alan J. Pakula, Sophie’s Choice; Richard Attenborough, Gandhi) (10)

1983: Bill Forsyth, LOCAL HERO (2nd: Philip Kaufman, The Right Stuff, followed by: Martin Scorsese, The King of Comedy; Diane Kurys, Entre Nous; Woody Allen, Zelig; Bob Fosse, Star 80; Mike Nichols, Silkwood; Peter Yates, The Dresser) (8)

1984: Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads, STOP MAKING SENSE (2nd: Woody Allen, Broadway Danny Rose, followed by: Roland Joffe, The Killing Fields; Rob Reiner, This is Spinal Tap; Milos Forman, Amadeus; David Lean, A Passage to India; Mick Jackson, Threads; Jim Jarmusch, Stranger Than Paradise; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Blood Simple) (9)

1985: Akira Kurosawa, RAN (2nd: Terry Gilliam, Brazil, followed by: Martin Scorsese, After Hours; Woody Allen, The Purple Rose of Cairo; John Huston, Prizzi’s Honor; Albert Brooks, Lost in America; Lasse Hallstrom, My Life as a Dog; Tim Burton, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure) (8)

1986: David Lynch, BLUE VELVET (2nd: Ross McElwee, Sherman’s March, followed by: Claude Berri, Jean De Florette/Manon of the Spring; Eric Rohmer, The Green Ray; Andrei Tarkovsky, The Sacrifice; Woody Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters; Bertrand Tavernier, Round Midnight; Alex Cox, Sid and Nancy) (8)

1987: Wim Wenders, WINGS OF DESIRE (2nd: Stanley Kubrick, Full Metal Jacket, followed by: John Huston, The Dead; John Sayles, Matewan; John Boorman, Hope and Glory; James L. Brooks, Broadcast News; Steven Spielberg, Empire of the Sun; Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Raising Arizona) (8)

1988: Martin Scorsese, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (2nd: Philip Kaufman, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, followed by: Giuseppe Tornatore, Cinema Paradiso; Errol Morris, The Thin Blue Line; George Sluzier, The Vanishing; Terrence Davies, Distant Voices, Still Lives; John McTiernan, Die Hard; Francis Ford Coppola, Tucker: The Man and His Dream) (8)

1989: Spike Lee, DO THE RIGHT THING (2nd: Woody Allen, Crimes and Misdemeanors, followed by: Gus Van Sant, Drugstore Cowboy; Jim Jarmusch, Mystery Train; Kenneth Branagh, Henry V; Steven Soderburgh, Sex, Lies and Videotape; Peter Greenaway, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover; Denys Arcand, Jesus of Montreal) (8)

1990: Martin Scorsese, GOODFELLAS (2nd: Agnieszka Holland, Europa Europa, followed by: Mike Leigh, Life is Sweet; Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Miller’s Crossing; Stephen Frears, The Grifters; James Ivory, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge; Phillip Ridley, The Reflecting Skin) (7)

1991: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, BARTON FINK (2nd: Zhang Yimou, Raise the Red Lantern, followed by: Lars Von Trier, Europa; Krzysztof Kieslowski, The Double Life of Veronique; Albert Brooks, Defending Your Life; Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs; Michael Tolkin, The Rapture; Oliver Stone, JFK) (8)

1992: Clint Eastwood, UNFORGIVEN (2nd: James Ivory, Howards End, followed by: Terrence Davies, The Long Day Closes; Neil Jordan, The Crying Game; Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs; James Foley, Glengarry Glen Ross; John Woo, Hard Boiled; Keith Gordon, A Midnight Clear) (8)

1993: Steven Spielberg, SCHINDLER’S LIST (2nd: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Three Colors: Blue, followed by: Ross McElwee, Time Indefinite; Mike Leigh, Naked; James Ivory, The Remains of the Day; Robert Altman, Short Cuts; Martin Scorsese, The Age of Innocence; Richard Linklater, Dazed and Confused; Peter Weir, Fearless; Steven Soderburgh, King of the Hill) (10)

1994: Quentin Tarantino, PULP FICTION (2nd: Tim Burton, Ed Wood, followed by: Terry Zwigoff, Crumb; Krzysztof Kieslowski, Three Colors: Red; Oliver Stone, Natural Born Killers; Zhang Yimou, To Live; Frank Darabont, The Shawshank Redemption; Steve James, Hoop Dreams; Abbas Kierostami, Through the Olive Trees) (9)

1995: John Lasseter, TOY STORY (2nd: David Fincher, Seven, followed by: Chris Noonan, Babe; Martin Scorsese, Casino; Michael Mann, Heat; Mike Figgis, Leaving Las Vegas; Claude Chabrol, La Ceremonie; Todd Haynes, Safe; Ron Howard, Apollo 13) (9)

1996: Lars Von Trier, BREAKING THE WAVES (2nd: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Fargo, followed by: Mike Leigh, Secrets and Lies; Jacques Doillon, Ponette; Billy Bob Thornton, Sling Blade; Danny Boyle, Trainspotting; David O. Russell, Flirting With Disaster; Anthony Minghella, The English Patient; John Sayles, Lone Star) (9)

1997: Atom Egoyan, THE SWEET HEREAFTER (2nd: Curtis Hanson, L.A. Confidential, followed by: Abbas Kierostami, A Taste of Cherry; Michael Haneke, Funny Games; Quentin Tarantino, Jackie Brown; Ang Lee, The Ice Storm; Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights) (7)

1998: Terrence Malick, THE THIN RED LINE (2nd: Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, The Big Lebowski, followed by: Thomas Vinterberg, The Celebration; Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan; James Ivory, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries; Wes Anderson, Rushmore; Sam Raimi, A Simple Plan; Terry Gilliam, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) (8)

1999: Paul Thomas Anderson, MAGNOLIA (2nd: Mike Leigh, Topsy-Turvy, followed by: Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut; Michael Mann, The Insider; Richard Sandler, The Gods of Times Square; Alexander Payne, Election; Pedro Almodovar, All About My Mother; Brad Bird, The Iron Giant; David Lynch, The Straight Story; Spike Jonze, Being John Malkovich) (10)

2000: Wong Kar-Wai, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2nd: Darren Aronofsky, Requiem for a Dream, followed by: Terrence Davies, The House of Mirth; Kenneth Lonergan, You Can Count on Me; Edward Yang, A One and a Two; Lars Von Trier, Dancer in the Dark; Steven Soderburgh, Traffic; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Amores Perros; Christopher Nolan, Memento) (9)

2001: David Lynch, MULHOLLAND DR. (2nd: Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko, followed by: Michael Haneke, The Piano Teacher; Robert Altman, Gosford Park; Todd Field, In The Bedroom; Baz Luhrmann, Moulin Rouge!; Alfonso Cuaron, Y Tu Mama Tambien; Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down) (8)

2002: Todd Haynes, FAR FROM HEAVEN (2nd: Aleksandr Sokurov, Russian Ark, followed by: Mike Leigh, All or Nothing; Fernando Meirelles, City of God; Steven Spielberg, Catch Me If You Can; Roman Polanski, The Pianist; Paul Thomas Anderson, Punch-Drunk Love; Spike Lee, 25th Hour) (8)

2003: Gus Van Sant, ELEPHANT (2nd: Thom Andersen, Los Angeles Plays Itself, followed by: Park Chan-wook, Oldboy; Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation; David Gordon Green, All The Real Girls; Jane Anderson, Normal; Vincent Gallo, The Brown Bunny) (7)

2004: Mike Leigh, VERA DRAKE (2nd: Alexander Payne, Sideways, followed by: Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Nobody Knows; Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby; Jared Hess, Napoleon Dynamite) (6)

2005: Terrence Malick, THE NEW WORLD (2nd: Michael Haneke, Cache, followed by: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain; Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, L’Enfant; Steven Spielberg, Munich; Werner Herzog and Timothy Treadwell, Grizzly Man; Bennett Miller, Capote) (7)

2006: Paul Greengrass, UNITED 93 (2nd: Tarsem Singh, The Fall, followed by: Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men; Kelly Reichardt, Old Joy; Florian Henkel von Donnensmark, The Lives of Others; Todd Field, Little Children; Apiachapong Weerasethakul, Syndromes and a Century) (7)

2007: Andrew Dominik, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2nd: Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood, followed by: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men; David Fincher, Zodiac; Julian Schabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; Carlos Reygadas, Silent Light; Cristian Mungiu, 4 Months 3 Weeks & 2 Days) (7)

2008: Kelly Reichardt, WENDY AND LUCY (2nd: Charlie Kaufman, Synecdoche New York, followed by: Tomas Alfredson, Let the Right One In; Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky; Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker (won in 2009); Andrew Stanton, WALL-E; Agnès Varda, The Beaches of Agnès) (7)

2009: Quentin Tarantino, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2nd: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man, followed by: Jacques Audiard, A Prophet; Gaspar Noe, Enter the Void; Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox; Jane Campion, Bright Star; Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon) (7)

2010: David Fincher, THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2nd: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, followed by: Mike Leigh, Another Year; Noah Baumbach, Greenberg; Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech; Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture; Christopher Nolan, Inception; Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan) (8)

2011: Terrence Malick, THE TREE OF LIFE (2nd: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, followed by: Lars Von Trier, Melancholia; Asghar Farhedi, A Separation; Bennett Miller, Moneyball; Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Robert Persons, General Orders No. 9; Kenneth Lonergan, Margaret) (8)

2012: Paul Thomas Anderson, THE MASTER (2nd: Malik Bendjelloul, Searching for Sugar Man, followed by: Michael Haneke, Amour; Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty; Craig Zobel, Compliance; Leos Carax, Holy Motors; Pablo Larrain, No; Yasim Ustaoglu, Araf/Somewhere in Between) (8)

2013: Steve McQueen, 12 YEARS A SLAVE (2nd: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity, followed by: Spike Jonze, Her; Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street; Abdellatif Kechiche, Blue is the Warmest Color; Jonathan Glazer, Under the Skin; Andrew Bujalski, Computer Chess; Ari Folman, The Congress) (8)

2014: Richard Linklater, BOYHOOD (2nd: Damián Szifron, Wild Tales, followed by: Alejandro Inarritu,  Birdman, or: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance; Paul Thomas Anderson, Inherent Vice; Lukas Moodysson, We Are the Best!; Ruben Ostland, Force Majeure; Andrey Zvyagintsev, Leviathan; Damien Chazelle, Whiplash; Raymond St. Jean, A Chair Fit for an Angel) (9)

2015: Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen, INSIDE OUT (2nd: Andrew Haigh, 45 Years, followed by: Ryan Googler, Creed; Alejandro Inarritu, The Revenant; George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road; Asif Kapidia, Amy; Josh Mond, James White; Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, The Tribe) (8)

2016: Damien Chazelle, LA LA LAND (2nd: Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea, followed by: Whit Stillman, Love and Friendship; James Schamus, Indignation; Jim Jarmusch, Paterson; Mike Mills, 20th Century Women; Ken Loach, I, Daniel Blake; Clint Eastwood, Sully) (8) 

2017: Darren Aronofsky, mother! (2nd: Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk, followed by: Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread; Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird; Cristian Mungiu, Graduation; Sean Baker, The Florida Project) (6)

10 directorial achievements noted in the years 1941, 49, 50, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 71, 72, 79, 82, 93, 99, making these the best years for film direction, and making the 1960s the best decade for visionary filmmaking.

THE FINAL TALLY:

14 nominations, 3 wins
Alfred Hitchcock--Blackmail (sound version), Murder, The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Foreign Correspondent, SHADOW OF A DOUBT, Lifeboat, Strangers on a Train, REAR WINDOW, The Wrong Man, Vertigo, North by Northwest, PSYCHO, The Birds

11 nominations, 4 wins (tied with Stanley Kubrick as the director with the most wins)
Martin Scorsese--Mean Streets, TAXI DRIVER, The Last Waltz, RAGING BULL, The King of Comedy, After Hours, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, GOODFELLAS, The Age of Innocence, Casino, The Wolf of Wall Street

10 nominations, 2 wins
Ingmar Bergman--Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, The Virgin Spring, Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, The Silence, PERSONA, Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, FANNY AND ALEXANDER
John Ford--The Informer, Stagecoach, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, How Green Was My Valley, They Were Expendable, My Darling Clementine, Wagon Master, The Quiet Man, THE SEARCHERS, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Akira Kurosawa--Stray Dog, Rashomon, IKIRU, The Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, High and Low, Kagemusha, RAN

9 nominations, 4 wins (making Kubrick the most successful director of all time)
Stanley Kubrick--The Killing, PATHS OF GLORY, DR. STRANGELOVE, OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut

9 nominations, 1 win
Steven Spielberg--Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Empire of the Sun, SCHINDLER’S LIST, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Munich

8 nominations, 1 win
Woody Allen--ANNIE HALL, Interiors, Manhattan, Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen--Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, BARTON FINK, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country For Old Men, A Serious Man
Mike Leigh--Life is Sweet, Naked, Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy, All or Nothing, VERA DRAKE, Happy-Go-Lucky, Another Year
Michael Powell--The Thief of Bagdad, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, "I Know Where I’m Going!", A Matter of Life and Death, BLACK NARCISSUS, The Red Shoes, The Tales of Hoffmann, Peeping Tom

7 nominations, 2 wins
Robert Altman--M*A*S*H, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Images, NASHVILLE, 3 Women, Short Cuts, Gosford Park

7 nominations
Howard Hawks--The Criminal Code, Scarface, or: The Shame of a Nation, Twentieth Century, Bringing Up Baby, Ball of Fire, Red River, Rio Bravo 
Sidney Lumet--12 Angry Men, Fail-Safe, The Hill, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Prince of the City, The Verdict

6 nominations, 2 wins
Paul Thomas Anderson--Boogie Nights, MAGNOLIA, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, THE MASTER, Inherent Vice
Charles Chaplin--The Gold Rush, CITY LIGHTS, MODERN TIMES, The Great Dictator, Monsuier Verdoux, Limelight

6 nominations, 1 win
Roman Polanski--REPULSION, Rosemary's Baby, Macbeth, Chinatown, Tess, The Pianist
Emeric Pressberger--The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, "I Know Where I’m Going!", A Matter of Life and Death, BLACK NARCISSUS, The Red Shoes, The Tales of Hoffmann 

6 nominations 
George Stevens--Swing Time, The More The Merrier, A Place in the Sun, Shane, Giant, The Diary of Anne Frank
Luis Buñuel--L’Age d’Or, Los Olvidados, The Exterminating Angel, Belle de Jour, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, That Obscure Object of Desire 

5 nominations, 3 wins (making Malick the second most successful director)
Terrence Malick--Badlands, Days of Heaven, THE THIN RED LINE, THE NEW WORLD, THE TREE OF LIFE 
 
5 nominations, 2 wins
Francis Ford Coppola--THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER PART II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, Tucker: The Man and His Dream
David Lynch--Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, BLUE VELVET, The Straight Story, MULHOLLAND DR.
Billy Wilder--DOUBLE INDEMNITY, The Lost Weekend, SUNSET BLVD., Ace in the Hole, Some Like it Hot

5 nominations, 1 win
Frank Capra--It Happened One Night, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Lost Horizon, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Federico Fellini--I Vitelloni, La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, La Dolce Vita, 8½
John Huston--The Maltese Falcon, THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, The Asphalt Jungle, Prizzi’s Honor, The Dead
Elia Kazan--A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, On The Waterfront, East of Eden, A Face in the Crowd, America America
David Lean--Brief Encounter, Oliver Twist, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, Doctor Zhivago, A Passage to India

5 nominations 
Michael Haneke--Funny Games, The Piano Teacher, Cache, The White Ribbon, Amour
Fritz Lang--Metropolis, Spione, M, Fury, Man Hunt
Ernst Lubitsch--The Love Parade, Trouble in Paradise, Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner, To Be or Not To Be
Vincente Minnelli--Meet Me in St. Louis, An American in Paris, The Bad and the Beautiful, The Band Wagon, Some Came Running 
William Wyler--Dodsworth, Wuthering Heights, The Little Foxes, The Heiress, Ben Hur

4 nominations, 2 wins
Sergei Eisenstein--BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, October, ALEXANDER NEVSKY, Ivan the Terrible, Part One: Ivan Grozyni
Quentin Tarantino--Reservoir Dogs, PULP FICTION, Jackie Brown, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Orson Welles--CITIZEN KANE, The Magnificent Ambersons, TOUCH OF EVIL, Chimes at Midnight

4 nominations, 1 win
Carl Th. Dreyer--THE PASSION OF JEANNE D'ARC, Vampyr, Day of Wrath, Ordet
Bob Fosse--Cabaret, Lenny, ALL THAT JAZZ, Star 80
Mike Nichols--Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, THE GRADUATE, Carnal Knowledge, Silkwood
Preston Sturges--Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve, THE PALM BEACH STORY, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
Lars Von Trier--Europa, BREAKING THE WAVES, Dancer in the Dark, Melancholia

4 nominations
Robert Bresson--A Man Escaped, Pickpocket, Au Hasard Balthazar, Mouchette
Stanley Donen--On The Town, Singin’ in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Bedazzled
Jean-Luc Godard--Breathless, Contempt, Pierrot le Fou, Weekend
George Roy Hill--Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Sting, A Little Romance
James Ivory--Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, Howards End, The Remains of the Day, A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries
Max Ophuls--Letter from an Unknown Woman, La Ronde, Madame de…, Lola Montes
Nicholas Ray--In a Lonely Place, Johnny Guitar, Rebel Without a Cause, Bigger Than Life
William A. Wellman--Wings, The Public Enemy, Nothing Sacred, Battleground

3 nominations, 1 win
Clint Eastwood--UNFORGIVEN, Million Dollar Baby, Sully
David Fincher--Seven, Zodiac, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Yasujiro Ozu--Late Spring, Early Summer, TOKYO STORY
Jean Renoir--Boudu Saved from Drowning, GRAND ILLUSION, The Rules of the Game
Francois Truffaut--THE 400 BLOWS, Shoot the Piano Player, Small Change 
Darren Aronofsky--Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan, MOTHER!

3 nominations 
Michelangelo Antonioni--L’Avventura, Red Desert, Blow Up
Peter Bogdanovich--Targets, The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon
John Boorman--Point Blank, Deliverance, Hope and Glory,
Albert Brooks--Modern Romance, Lost in America, Defending Your Life
Alfonso Cuaron--Y Tu Mama Tambien, Children of Men, Gravity
George Cukor--Dinner at Eight, Sylvia Scarlett, The Women
Michael Curtiz--Captain Blood, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Casablanca
Terrence Davies--Distant Voices Still Lives, The Long Day Closes, The House of Mirth
Vittorio De Sica--Shoeshine, Bicycle Thieves, Umberto D
William Friedkin--The French Connection, The Exorcist, Sorcerer
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu--Amores Perros, Birdman, or: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, The Revenant
Jim Jarmusch--Stranger Than Paradise, Mystery Train, Paterson
Buster Keaton--Seven Chances, The General, Steamboat Bill Jr.
Krzysztof Kieslowski--The Double Life of Veronique, Three Colors: Blue, Three Colors: Red
Richard Lester--A Hard Day’s Night, The Knack, And How to Get It, Petulia
Kenneth Lonergan--You Can Count on Me, Margaret, Manchester by the Sea
Leo McCarey--Duck Soup, The Awful Truth, Make Way for Tomorrow
Christopher Nolan--Memento, Inception, Dunkirk
Alan J. Pakula--The Parallax View, All The President’s Men, Sophie’s Choice
Alan Parker--Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, Fame
Carol Reed--The Fallen Idol, The Third Man, Oliver!
Ridley Scott--Alien, Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down
Steven Soderburgh--Sex Lies and Videotape, King of the Hill, Traffic
Jacques Tati--Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Mon Oncle, Playtime
King Vidor--The Crowd, Hallelujah!, Street Scene 
Peter Watkins--Culloden, The War Game, Punishment Park
James Whale--Frankenstein, The Old Dark House, The Bride of Frankenstein

2 nominations, 2 wins
Robert Wise--THE SET-UP, WEST SIDE STORY

2 nominations, 1 win
Darren Aronofsky--Requiem for a Dream, MOTHER!
Lindsay Anderson--if..., O LUCKY MAN! 
Tod Browning--The Unholy Three, FREAKS 
Damien Chazelle--Whiplash, LA LA LAND
Jonathan Demme--STOP MAKING SENSE, The Silence of the Lambs 
Victor Fleming--GONE WITH THE WIND, The Wizard of Oz
Bill Forsyth--Gregory's Girl, LOCAL HERO
Todd Haynes--Safe, FAR FROM HEAVEN 
Spike Lee--DO THE RIGHT THING, 25th Hour 
Richard Linklater--Dazed and Confused, BOYHOOD 
F.W. Murnau--FAUST, Sunrise 
Sam Peckinpah--Ride the High Country, THE WILD BUNCH
Kelly Reichardt--Old Joy, WENDY AND LUCY
Leni Riefenstahl--TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, Olympia
Gus Van Sant--Drugstore Cowboy, ELEPHANT
Jean Vigo--Zero for Conduct, L'ATALANTE

2 nominations
Wes Anderson--Rushmore, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Busby Berkeley--42nd Street, Babes in Arms
Bernardo Bertolucci--The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris
Kathryn Bigelow--The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty
Tim Burton--Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Ed Wood
John Carpenter--Halloween, The Thing
John Cassavetes--A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night
Rene Clement--Forbidden Games, Purple Noon 
Constantin Costa-Gavras--Z, Missing
Morton Da Costa--Auntie Mame, The Music Man
Jules Dassin--Brute Force, Rififi
Todd Field--In The Bedroom, Little Children
Milos Forman--One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus
Terry Gilliam--Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
David Hand--Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi
Werner Herzog--Aguirre The Wrath of God, Grizzly Man
Spike Jonze--Being John Malkovich, Her
Mikhail Kalatozov--The Cranes are Flying, I Am Cuba
Philip Kaufman--The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Gene Kelly--On The Town, Singin’ in the Rain
Abbas Kierostami--Through the Olive Trees, A Taste of Cherry
Ang Lee--The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain
Sergio Leone--The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West
George Lucas--American Graffiti, Star Wars
Alexander MacKendrick--The Ladykillers, Sweet Smell of Success
Joseph L. Mankiewicz--A Letter to Three Wives, All About Eve
Albert Maysles--Salesman, Gimme Shelter
David Maysles--Salesman, Gimme Shelter
Ross McElwee--Sherman’s March, Time Indefinite
Anthony Mann--Winchester '73, The Naked Spur
Michael Mann--Heat, The Insider
Bennett Miller--Capote, Moneyball
Kenji Mizoguchi--The 47 Ronin, Sansho The Baliff 
G.W. Pabst--Pandora's Box, Diary of a Lost Girl
Alexander Payne--Election, Sideways
Sydney Pollack--They Shoot Horses Don't They?, Tootsie
Otto Preminger--Laura, Anatomy of a Murder
Bob Rafelson--Head, Five Easy Pieces
Martin Ritt--Hud, The Front
Eric Rohmer--Claire’s Knee, The Green Ray (aka Summer)
Roberto Rossellini--Rome: Open City, Germany Year Zero
John Sayles--Matewan, Lone Star
John Schlesinger--Midnight Cowboy, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Douglas Sirk--Magnificent Obsession, All That Heaven Allows
Oliver Stone--JFK, Natural Born Killers
Andrei Tarkovsky--Solaris, The Sacrifice
Jacques Tourneur--I Walked With a Zombie, Out of the Past 
Josef Von Sternberg--The Blue Angel, The Scarlet Empress
Erich Von Stroheim--The Merry Widow, The Wedding March
Andrzej Wajda--Kanal, Ashes and Diamonds
Raoul Walsh--They Drive by Night, White Heat
Apiachapong Weerasethakul--Syndromes and a Century, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Peter Yates--Breaking Away, The Dresser
Zhang Yimou--Raise the Red Lantern, To Live
Fred Zinnemann--High Noon, A Man for All Seasons
Charlotte Zwerin--Salesman, Gimme Shelter

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