The Oscar Quest: A Viewer’s Guide — Best Director
Here is my subset of The Oscar Quest: A Viewer’s Guide, specifically for Best Director.
A reminder about the color code:
Films in RED are films that are essential. These are films you need to see, whether you like them or not. Though you’ll probably like most of them. A few of these may be part of a personal bias, but this is my list. Just think of the films in red as films you need to see if you want to be film literate (in the most basic sense). At least 70% of these are films that, if you haven’t seen them, you should be ashamed of yourself. These are the prerequisites you need to get into the class. (5-star films.)
Films in ORANGE are films that are my personal favorites (that aren’t already marked red). While not “essential” per say, these are films that I love dearly. They’re essential to me. They’re films that I will tell you that you need to see. I’d say that 80% of the time, these are going to be films that most people would enjoy. A few of them might be subjective to me, but on the whole, these are all very good films. I tried to limit the orange ones to only the best of the best, my absolute favorites. But either way, I love them, and you should definitely see at least 80% of them. (My 5-star films. At worst, most people’s 3-star films. Generally 4’s for everybody.)
Films in YELLOW are films I rate as “very good” films. Not too many people can deny that these films are good films, and whether or not they like them will come down to personal preference. The yellows are the most expansive category. They are by far the biggest bunch. Some of them are 5 stars, but just aren’t ones I love enough to make them orange. Most are solid 4s and come highly recommended. Some are weak 4s and high 3s and come recommended. The strength of the recommendation can be gauged by checking the articles. I’d say at least 60% of them are ones that most people would definitely enjoy, sight unseen. You may want to check a synopsis to be sure, but the rule of thumb is, you see yellow, it’s a good film. You should definitely check out a good portion of these. (4-star films. Maybe a 5 or a 3 here or there.)
Films in GREEN are films that are good films, but ones that probably won’t be for everybody. These probably cover the most ground in terms of my ratings. These will be anywhere from films I feel are solidly 4 stars, to films I don’t even like so much but understand and appreciate that they’re good films. I think the major commonality among the films is that they’re very divisive. They’re all good, but, some people might really like them, some people might not. You almost definitely want to check the synopses on these. Because some of these I love, and some of these I really don’t like, but I mark them green because I know they are good films on some level and don’t want to discount them entirely. These will be the hardest to gauge in terms of my opinion on them based solely on the color. I recommend you get more information on these. But generally most people would rate these at least a 3. (These are generally 3-4 star movies. Many 3s, many 4s, it depends.)
Films in BLUE are — well — the other films. These are films that I enjoyed, but didn’t really love all that much. They’re ones that are one step above the next level below this. Think of these as films that I enjoyed, but not more than a “meh, that was pretty good” kind of way. You’ll get a feel for it when you see which ones are marked blue. They’re ones that, while not totally for me, have their high points, and are not “bad” enough to be put in the final category. Do your homework on these. You may find ones you like here that I don’t like (it’s entirely possible), or you may find something that you like a lot more than I did. This is all based on my personal opinion. The first thing you should know before doing this is how my opinions match yours. NOTE: ALL WINNERS ARE AT LEAST BLUE. Having won, they carry at least that much of a coding. I may not feel so strongly about them, but they do earn that much. So, if you see a WINNER in blue, chances are I don’t like the film too much. (3 star films. Almost exclusively. <5% 4 stars and 2 stars combined here.)
Films NOT in any color (or, whatever the default color of this page is) are films that I don’t like. I won’t go so far as to say I hate them, since they are Oscar nominees, and that at least merits a certain amount of respect, but we’ll put it like this: these are ones I DO NOT recommend. Or, they’re films that just really weren’t for me. By elimination, there have to be a few of these on this list. So, the ones that are blank are ones that either I don’t like or are completely indifferent towards. And complete indifference means, they may be good, but I don’t care. I just didn’t care for it, whether because I think it’s a bad film, a boring film, or because it just really wasn’t for me. Read the articles if you want specifics. (3 stars or 2 star here. Nothing nominated for an Oscar gets a 1. They’re not completely inept. Mostly 2s, some 3s.)
(Note: Winners appear first and bolded. If a performance/directorial effort is italicized, I consider it to be one of the best. If an asterisk (*) appears after a film, it means it hasn’t been nominated before and is appearing for the first time (in the order of Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director). Also, the colors are uniform throughout. I’ve rated the films, not the performances.)
(Anything flush right on the page is a film I’ve yet to see.)
BEST DIRECTOR
2013 – Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
2012 – Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Michael Haneke, Amour
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
2011 – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
2010 – Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
David Fincher, The Social Network
David O. Russell, The Fighter
2009 – Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
2008 – Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant, Milk
2007 – Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman, Juno
Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly *
2006 – Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Clint Eastwood, Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93 *
Alexander Gonzalez Iñárritu, Babel
2005 – Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Paul Haggis, Crash
Bennett Miller, Capote
Steven Spielberg, Munich
2004 – Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
Marc Forster, Finding Neverland
Taylor Hackford, Ray
Alexander Payne, Sideways
Martin Scorsese, The Aviator
2003 – Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River
Fernando Meirelles, City of God *
Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2002 – Roman Polanski, The Pianist
Pedro Almodóvar, Talk to Her *
Stephen Daldry, The Hours
Rob Marshall, Chicago
Martin Scorsese, Gangs of New York
2001 – Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind
Robert Altman, Gosford Park
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
David Lynch, Mulholland Drive *
Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down *
2000 – Steven Soderbergh, Traffic
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Ridley Scott, Gladiator
Steven Soderbergh, Erin Brockovich
1999 – Sam Mendes, American Beauty
Lasse Hallström, The Cider House Rules
Spike Jonze, Being John Malkovich
Michael Mann, The Insider
M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense
1998 – Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan
Roberto Benigni, Life is Beautiful
John Madden, Shakespeare in Love
Terrence Malick, The Thin Red Line
Peter Weir, The Truman Show
1997 – James Cameron, Titanic
Peter Cattaneo, The Full Monty
Atom Egoyan, The Sweet Hereafter *
Gus Hanson, L.A. Confidential
Gus Van Sant, Good Will Hunting
1996 – Anthony Minghella, The English Patient
Joel & Ethan Coen, Fargo
Miloš Forman, The People vs. Larry Flynt
Scott Hicks, Shine
Mike Leigh, Secrets and Lies
1995 – Mel Gibson, Braveheart
Mike Figgis, Leaving Las Vegas
Chris Noonan, Babe
Michael Radford, Il Postino
Tim Robbins, Dead Man Walking
1994 – Robert Zemeckis, Forrest Gump
Woody Allen, Bullets Over Broadway
Krystof Kieślowski, Three Colors: Red *
Robert Redford, Quiz Show
Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
1993 – Steven Spielberg, Schindler’s List
Robert Altman, Short Cuts *
Jane Campion, The Piano
James Ivory, The Remains of the Day
Jim Sheridan, In the Name of the Father
1992 – Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven
Robert Altman, The Player *
Martin Brest, Scent of a Woman
James Ivory, Howards End
Neil Jordan, The Crying Game
1991 – Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs
Barry Levinson, Bugsy
Ridley Scott, Thelma and Louise
John Singleton, Boyz N the Hood *
Oliver Stone, JFK
1990 – Kevin Costner, Dances with Wolves
Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part III
Stephen Frears, The Grifters
Barbet Schroeder, Reversal of Fortune
Martin Scorsese, Goodfellas
1989 – Oliver Stone, Born on the Fourth of July
Woody Allen, Crimes and Misdemeanors
Kenneth Branagh, Henry V
Jim Sheridan, My Left Foot
Peter Weir, Dead Poet’s Society
1988 – Barry Levinson, Rain Man
Charles Crichton, A Fish Called Wanda
Mike Nichols, Working Girl
Alan Parker, Mississippi Burning
Martin Scorsese, The Last Temptation of Christ *
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
1986 – Oliver Stone, Platoon
Woody Allen, Hannah and Her Sisters
James Ivory, A Room with a View
Roland Joffé, The Mission
David Lynch, Blue Velvet *
1985 – Sydney Pollack, Out of Africa
Héctor Babenco, Kiss of the Spider Woman
John Huston, Prizzi’s Honor
Akira Kurosawa, Ran *
Peter Weir, Witness
1984 – Miloš Forman, Amadeus
Woody Allen, Broadway Danny Rose *
Robert Benton, Places in the Heart
Roland Joffé, The Killing Fields
David Lean, A Passage to India
1983 – James L. Brooks, Terms of Endearment
Bruce Beresford, Tender Mercies
Ingmar Bergman, Fanny and Alexander *
Mike Nichols, Silkwood
Peter Yates, The Dresser
1982 – Richard Attenborough, Gandhi
Sidney Lumet, The Verdict
Wolfgang Petersen, Das Boot *
Sydney Pollack, Tootsie
Steven Spielberg, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
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
1980 – Robert Redford, Ordinary People
David Lynch, The Elephant Man
Roman Polanski, Tess
Richard Rush, The Stunt Man
Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull
1979 – Robert Benton, Kramer vs. Kramer
Francis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now
Bob Fosse, All That Jazz
Édouard Molinaro, La Cage aux Folles *
Peter Yates, Breaking Away
1978 – Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter
Woody Allen, Interiors
Hal Ashby, Coming Home
Warren Beatty & Buck Henry, Heaven Can Wait
Alan Parker, Midnight Express
1977 – Woody Allen, Annie Hall
George Lucas, Star Wars
Herbert Ross, The Turning Point
Steven Spielberg, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Fred Zinnemann, Julia
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
1975 – Miloš Forman, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Robert Altman, Nashville
Federico Fellini, Amarcord *
Stanley Kubrick, Barry Lyndon
Sidney Lumet, Dog Day Afternoon
1974 – Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part II
John Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence
Bob Fosse, Lenny
Roman Polanski, Chinatown
François Truffaut, Day for Night
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
1972 – Bob Fosse, Cabaret
John Boorman, Deliverance
Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather
Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Sleuth
Jan Troell, The Emigrants
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
1970 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Patton
Robert Altman, MASH
Federico Fellini, Satyricon *
Arthur Hiller, Love Story
Ken Russell, Women in Love
1969 – John Schlesinger, Midnight Cowboy
Costa Gravas, Z
George Roy Hill, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Arthur Penn, Alice’s Restaurant *
Sydney Pollack, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
1968 – Carol Reed, Oliver!
Anthony Harvey, The Lion in Winter
Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey *
Gillo Pontecorvo, The Battle of Algiers *
Franco Zeffirelli, Romeo and Juliet
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
1966 – Fred Zinnemann, A Man for All Seasons
Michelanelo Antonioni, Blowup *
Richard Brooks, The Professionals *
Claude Lelouch, A Man and a Woman
Mike Nichols, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1965 – Robert Wise, The Sound of Music
David Lean, Doctor Zhivago
John Schlesinger, Darling
Hiroshi Teshigahara, Woman in the Dunes *
William Wyler, The Collector
1964 – George Cukor, My Fair Lady
Michael Cacoyannis, Zorba the Greek
Peter Glenville, Becket
Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Robert Stevenson, Mary Poppins
1963 – Tony Richardson, Tom Jones
Federico Fellini, 8½ *
Elia Kazan, America, America
Otto Preminger, The Cardinal
Martin Ritt, Hud
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 *
1961 – Robert Wise and 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
1960 – Billy Wilder, The Apartment
Jack Cardiff, Sons and Lovers
Jules Dassin, Never on Sunday
Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho
Fred Zinnemann, The Sundowners
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
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!
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
1956 – George Stevens, Giant
Michael Anderson, Around the World in 80 Days
Walter Long, The King and I
King Vidor, War and Peace *
William Wyler, Friendly Persuasion
1955 – Delbert Mann, Marty
Elia Kazan, East of Eden
David Lean, Summertime
Joshua Logan, Picnic
John Sturges, Bad Day at Black Rock
1954 – Elia Kazan, On the Waterfront
Alfred Hitchcock, Rear Window *
George Seaton, The Country Girl
William A. Wellman, The High and the Mighty
Billy Wilder, Sabrina
1953 – Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity
George Stevens, Shane
Charles Walters, Lili
Billy Wilder, Stalag 17
William Wyler, Roman Holiday
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
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
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
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
1948 – John Huston, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Anatole Litvak, The Snake Pit
Jean Negulesco, Johnny Belinda
Laurence Olivier, Hamlet
Fred Zinnemann, The Search
1947 – Elia Kazan, Gentleman’s Agreement
George Cukor, A Double Life
Edward Dmytryk, Crossfire
Henry Koster, The Bishop’s Wife
David Lean, Great Expectations
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 *
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 *
1944 – Leo McCarey, Going My Way
Alfred Hitchcock, Lifeboat
Henry King, Wilson
Otto Preminger, Laura
Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity
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
1942 – William Wyler, Mrs. Miniver
Michael Curtiz, Yankee Doodle Dandy
John Farrow, Wake Island
Mervyn LeRoy, Random Harvest
Sam Wood, Kings Row
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
1940 – John Ford, The Grapes of Wrath
George Cukor, The Philadelphia Story
Alfred Hitchcock, Rebecca
Sam Wood, Kitty Foyle
William Wyler, The Letter
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
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
1937 – Leo McCarey, The Awful Truth
William Dieterle, The Life of Emile Zola
Sidney Franklin, The Good Earth
Gregory La Cava, Stage Door
William A. Wellman, A Star is Born
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
1935 – John Ford, The Informer
Michael Curtiz, Captain Blood (write-in)
Henry Hathaway, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer
Frank Lloyd, Mutiny on the Bounty
1934 – Frank Capra, It Happened One Night
Victor Schertzinger, One Night of Love
W. S. Van Dyke, The Thin Man
1932- 1933 – Frank Lloyd, Cavalcade
Frank Capra, Lady for a Day
George Cukor, Little Women
1931-1932 – Frank Borzage, Bad Girl
King Vidor, The Champ
Josef von Sternberg, Shanghai Express
1930-1931 – Norman Taurog, Skippy
Clarence Brown, A Free Soul
Lewis Milestone, The Front Page
Wesley Ruggles Cimarron
Josef von Sternberg, Morocco
1929-1930 – Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front
Clarence Brown, Anna Christie & Romance
Robert Z. Leonard, The Divorcée
Ernst Lubitsch, The Love Parade
King Vidor, Hallelujah *
1928-1929 – Frank Lloyd, The Divine Lady
Lionel Barrymore, Madame X
Harry Beaumont, The Broadway Melody
Irving Cummings, In Old Arizona
Frank Lloyd, Drag & Weary River *
Ernst Lubitsch, The Patriot (LOST)
1927-1928, Comedy – Lewis Milestone, Two Arabian Nights *
Ted Wilde, Speedy *
1927-1928, Dramatic – Frank Borzage, Seventh Heaven
Herbert Brenon, Sorrell and Son *
King Vidor, The Crowd
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