The Golden Globe Award for Best Director – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that has been presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization composed of journalists who cover the United States film industry for publications based outside North America , since 1943.
Having won all four of his nominations, Elia Kazan has been honored most often in this category. Clint Eastwood , Miloš Forman , David Lean , Martin Scorsese , and Oliver Stone tie for second place with three wins each. Steven Spielberg has had the most nominations (thirteen) and has received the award twice. Barbra Streisand , Chloé Zhao and Jane Campion are the three only women to have won the award.
In the following lists, the first names, listed in bold type against a blue background, are the winners, and the following names are the remaining nominees. The years given are those in which the films under consideration were released, not the year of the ceremony, which takes place in January of the following year.
Winners and nominees [ ]
1940s [ ]
1950s [ ]
Year
Nominees
Film
1950
Billy Wilder
Sunset Boulevard
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
All About Eve
John Huston
The Asphalt Jungle
George Cukor
Born Yesterday
1951
László Benedek
Death of a Salesman
Vincente Minnelli
An American in Paris
George Stevens
A Place in the Sun
1952
Cecil B. DeMille
The Greatest Show on Earth
Richard Fleischer
The Happy Time
John Ford
The Quiet Man
1953 [7]
Fred Zinnemann
From Here to Eternity
1954 [8]
Elia Kazan
On the Waterfront
1955 [9]
Joshua Logan
Picnic
1956
Elia Kazan
Baby Doll
Michael Anderson
Around the World in 80 Days
George Stevens
Giant
Vincente Minnelli
Lust for Life
King Vidor
War and Peace
1957
David Lean
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Sidney Lumet
12 Angry Men
Fred Zinnemann
A Hatful of Rain
Joshua Logan
Sayonara
Billy Wilder
Witness for the Prosecution
1958
Vincente Minnelli
Gigi
Richard Brooks
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Stanley Kramer
The Defiant Ones
Robert Wise
I Want to Live!
Delbert Mann
Separate Tables
1959
William Wyler
Ben-Hur
Otto Preminger
Anatomy of a Murder
George Stevens
The Diary of Anne Frank
Fred Zinnemann
The Nun's Story
Stanley Kramer
On the Beach
1960s [ ]
1970s [ ]
Year
Nominees
Film
1970
Arthur Hiller
Love Story
Bob Rafelson
Five Easy Pieces
Robert Altman
M*A*S*H
Franklin J. Schaffner
Patton
Ken Russell
Women in Love
1971
William Friedkin
The French Connection
Stanley Kubrick
A Clockwork Orange
Norman Jewison
Fiddler on the Roof
Peter Bogdanovich
The Last Picture Show
Robert Mulligan
Summer of '42
1972
Francis Ford Coppola
The Godfather
Billy Wilder
Avanti!
Bob Fosse
Cabaret
John Boorman
Deliverance
Alfred Hitchcock
Frenzy
1973
William Friedkin
The Exorcist
George Lucas
American Graffiti
Fred Zinnemann
The Day of the Jackal
Bernardo Bertolucci
Last Tango in Paris
Peter Bogdanovich
Paper Moon
1974
Roman Polanski
Chinatown
Francis Ford Coppola
The Conversation
The Godfather Part II
Bob Fosse
Lenny
John Cassavetes
A Woman Under the Influence
1975
Miloš Forman
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Stanley Kubrick
Barry Lyndon
Sidney Lumet
Dog Day Afternoon
Steven Spielberg
Jaws
Robert Altman
Nashville
1976
Sidney Lumet
Network
Alan J. Pakula
All the President's Men
Hal Ashby
Bound for Glory
John Schlesinger
Marathon Man
John G. Avildsen
Rocky
1977
Herbert Ross
The Turning Point
Woody Allen
Annie Hall
Steven Spielberg
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Fred Zinnemann
Julia
George Lucas
Star Wars
1978
Michael Cimino
The Deer Hunter
Hal Ashby
Coming Home
Terrence Malick
Days of Heaven
Woody Allen
Interiors
Alan Parker
Midnight Express
Paul Mazursky
An Unmarried Woman
1979
Francis Ford Coppola
Apocalypse Now
Hal Ashby
Being There
Peter Yates
Breaking Away
James Bridges
The China Syndrome
Robert Benton
Kramer vs. Kramer
1980s [ ]
Year
Nominees
Film
1980
Robert Redford
Ordinary People
David Lynch
The Elephant Man
Martin Scorsese
Raging Bull
Richard Rush
The Stunt Man
Roman Polanski
Tess
1981
Warren Beatty
Reds
Louis Malle
Atlantic City
Mark Rydell
On Golden Pond
Sidney Lumet
Prince of the City
Miloš Forman
Ragtime
Steven Spielberg
Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982
Richard Attenborough
Gandhi
Steven Spielberg
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Constantin Costa-Gavras
Missing
Sydney Pollack
Tootsie
Sidney Lumet
The Verdict
1983
Barbra Streisand
Yentl
Peter Yates
The Dresser
Ingmar Bergman
Fanny and Alexander
Mike Nichols
Silkwood
Bruce Beresford
Tender Mercies
James L. Brooks
Terms of Endearment
1984
Miloš Forman
Amadeus
Francis Ford Coppola
The Cotton Club
Roland Joffé
The Killing Fields
Sergio Leone
Once Upon a Time in America
David Lean
A Passage to India
1985
John Huston
Prizzi's Honor
Richard Attenborough
A Chorus Line
Steven Spielberg
The Color Purple
Sydney Pollack
Out of Africa
Peter Weir
Witness
1986
Oliver Stone
Platoon
Woody Allen
Hannah and Her Sisters
Roland Joffé
The Mission
James Ivory
A Room with a View
Rob Reiner
Stand by Me
1987
Bernardo Bertolucci
The Last Emperor
James L. Brooks
Broadcast News
Richard Attenborough
Cry Freedom
Adrian Lyne
Fatal Attraction
John Boorman
Hope and Glory
1988
Clint Eastwood
Bird
Fred Schepisi
A Cry in the Dark
Alan Parker
Mississippi Burning
Barry Levinson
Rain Man
Sidney Lumet
Running on Empty
Mike Nichols
Working Girl
1989
Oliver Stone
Born on the Fourth of July
Peter Weir
Dead Poets Society
Spike Lee
Do the Right Thing
Edward Zwick
Glory
Rob Reiner
When Harry Met Sally...
1990s [ ]
Year
Nominees
Film
1990
Kevin Costner
Dances with Wolves
Francis Ford Coppola
The Godfather Part III
Martin Scorsese
Goodfellas
Barbet Schroeder
Reversal of Fortune
Bernardo Bertolucci
The Sheltering Sky
1991
Oliver Stone
JFK
Barry Levinson
Bugsy
Terry Gilliam
The Fisher King
Barbra Streisand
The Prince of Tides
Jonathan Demme
The Silence of the Lambs
1992
Clint Eastwood
Unforgiven
Rob Reiner
A Few Good Men
James Ivory
Howards End
Robert Altman
The Player
Robert Redford
A River Runs Through It
1993
Steven Spielberg
Schindler's List
Martin Scorsese
The Age of Innocence
Andrew Davis
The Fugitive
Jane Campion
The Piano
James Ivory
The Remains of the Day
1994
Robert Zemeckis
Forrest Gump
Edward Zwick
Legends of the Fall
Oliver Stone
Natural Born Killers
Quentin Tarantino
Pulp Fiction
Robert Redford
Quiz Show
1995
Mel Gibson
Braveheart
Rob Reiner
The American President
Ron Howard
Apollo 13
Martin Scorsese
Casino
Mike Figgis
Leaving Las Vegas
Ang Lee
Sense and Sensibility
1996
Miloš Forman
The People vs. Larry Flynt
Anthony Minghella
The English Patient
Alan Parker
Evita
Joel Coen
Fargo
Scott Hicks
Shine
1997
James Cameron
Titanic
Steven Spielberg
Amistad
James L. Brooks
As Good as It Gets
Jim Sheridan
The Boxer
Curtis Hanson
L.A. Confidential
1998
Steven Spielberg
Saving Private Ryan
Shekhar Kapur
Elizabeth
Robert Redford
The Horse Whisperer
John Madden
Shakespeare in Love
Peter Weir
The Truman Show
1999
Sam Mendes
American Beauty
Neil Jordan
The End of the Affair
Norman Jewison
The Hurricane
Michael Mann
The Insider
Anthony Minghella
The Talented Mr. Ripley
2000s [ ]
Year
Nominees
Film
2000
Ang Lee
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Steven Soderbergh
Erin Brockovich
Ridley Scott
Gladiator
István Szabó
Sunshine
Steven Soderbergh
Traffic
2001
Robert Altman
Gosford Park
Steven Spielberg
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Ron Howard
A Beautiful Mind
Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Baz Luhrmann
Moulin Rouge!
David Lynch
Mulholland Drive
2002
Martin Scorsese
Gangs of New York
Alexander Payne
About Schmidt
Spike Jonze
Adaptation .
Rob Marshall
Chicago
Stephen Daldry
The Hours
Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2003
Peter Jackson
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Anthony Minghella
Cold Mountain
Sofia Coppola
Lost in Translation
Peter Weir
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood
Mystic River
2004
Clint Eastwood
Million Dollar Baby
Martin Scorsese
The Aviator
Mike Nichols
Closer
Marc Forster
Finding Neverland
Alexander Payne
Sideways
2005
Ang Lee
Brokeback Mountain
Fernando Meirelles
The Constant Gardener
George Clooney
Good Night, and Good Luck .
Peter Jackson
King Kong
Woody Allen
Match Point
Steven Spielberg
Munich
2006
Martin Scorsese
The Departed
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Babel
Clint Eastwood
Flags of Our Fathers
Letters from Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears
The Queen
2007
Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Ridley Scott
American Gangster
Joe Wright
Atonement
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
No Country for Old Men
Tim Burton
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
2008
Danny Boyle
Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard
Frost/Nixon
Stephen Daldry
The Reader
Sam Mendes
Revolutionary Road
2009
James Cameron
Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow
The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino
Inglourious Basterds
Clint Eastwood
Invictus
Jason Reitman
Up in the Air
2010s [ ]
Year
Nominees
Film
2010
David Fincher
The Social Network
Darren Aronofsky
Black Swan
David O. Russell
The Fighter
Christopher Nolan
Inception
Tom Hooper
The King's Speech
2011
Martin Scorsese
Hugo
Michel Hazanavicius
The Artist
Alexander Payne
The Descendants
George Clooney
The Ides of March
Woody Allen
Midnight in Paris
2012
Ben Affleck
Argo
Quentin Tarantino
Django Unchained
Ang Lee
Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg
Lincoln
Kathryn Bigelow
Zero Dark Thirty
2013
Alfonso Cuarón
Gravity
Steve McQueen
12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell
American Hustle
Paul Greengrass
Captain Phillips
Alexander Payne
Nebraska
2014
Richard Linklater
Boyhood
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
David Fincher
Gone Girl
Wes Anderson
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ava DuVernay
Selma
2015
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
The Revenant
Todd Haynes
Carol
George Miller
Mad Max: Fury Road
Ridley Scott
The Martian
Tom McCarthy
Spotlight
2016
Damien Chazelle
La La Land
Mel Gibson
Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins
Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan
Manchester by the Sea
Tom Ford
Nocturnal Animals
2017
Guillermo del Toro
The Shape of Water
Ridley Scott
All the Money in the World
Christopher Nolan
Dunkirk
Steven Spielberg
The Post
Martin McDonagh
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
2018
Alfonso Cuarón
Roma
Spike Lee
BlacKkKlansman
Peter Farrelly
Green Book
Bradley Cooper
A Star Is Born
Adam McKay
Vice
2019
Sam Mendes
1917
Martin Scorsese
The Irishman
Todd Phillips
Joker
Quentin Tarantino
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon-ho
Parasite
2020s [ ]
Multiple nominations [ ]
13 nominations
9 nominations
7 nominations
Clint Eastwood (7/3)
Fred Zinnemann (7/2)
6 nominations
Francis Ford Coppola (6/2)
Sidney Lumet (6/1)
5 nominations
Woody Allen (5/0)
John Huston (5/2)
Stanley Kramer (5/1)
Mike Nichols (5/1)
Billy Wilder (5/2)
Robert Wise (5/0)
4 nominations
Robert Altman (4/1)
David Fincher (4/1)
Miloš Forman (4/3)
Peter Jackson (4/1)
Elia Kazan (4/4)
Stanley Kubrick (4/0)
David Lean (4/3)
Ang Lee (4/2)
Alexander Payne (4/0)
Robert Redford (4/1)
Rob Reiner (4/0)
Ridley Scott (4/0)
Oliver Stone (4/3)
Quentin Tarantino (4/0)
Peter Weir (4/0)
William Wyler (4/1)
3 nominations
Hal Ashby (3/0)
Richard Attenborough (3/1)
Bernardo Bertolucci (3/1)
James L. Brooks (3/0)
George Cukor (3/1)
Ron Howard (3/0)
Alejandro González Iñárritu (3/1)
James Ivory (3/0)
Norman Jewison (3/0)
Sam Mendes (3/2)
Anthony Minghella (3/0)
Vincente Minnelli (3/1)
Alan Parker (3/0)
Sydney Pollack (3/0)
John Schlesinger (3/0)
George Stevens (3/0)
2 nominations
Kathryn Bigelow (2/0)
Peter Bogdanovich (2/0)
John Boorman (2/0)
Richard Brooks (2/0)
James Cameron (2/2)
Jane Campion (2/1)
George Clooney (2/0)
Joel Coen (2/0)
Alfonso Cuarón (2/2)
Stephen Daldry (2/0)
Bob Fosse (2/0)
William Friedkin (2/2)
John Frankenheimer (2/0)
Mel Gibson (2/1)
Roland Joffé (2/0)
Spike Lee (2/0)
Barry Levinson (2/0)
Joshua Logan (2/1)
George Lucas (2/0)
David Lynch (2/0)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (2/0)
Robert Mulligan (2/0)
Christopher Nolan (2/0)
Roman Polanski (2/1)
Otto Preminger (2/0)
Martin Ritt (2/0)
David O. Russell (2/0)
Mark Rydell (2/0)
Steven Soderbergh (2/0)
Barbra Streisand (2/1)
Peter Yates (2/0)
Edward Zwick (2/0)
Multiple winners [ ]
4 awards
3 awards
Clint Eastwood
Miloš Forman
David Lean
Martin Scorsese
Oliver Stone
2 awards
James Cameron
Francis Ford Coppola
Alfonso Cuarón
William Friedkin
John Huston
Ang Lee
Sam Mendes
Steven Spielberg
Billy Wilder
Fred Zinnemann
See also [ ]
References [ ]
Current awards (Film) Current awards (Television) Retired awards Ceremonies
(years are of film release; ceremonies are following year)
Miscellaneous
1943–1975
Henry King (1943)
Leo McCarey (1944)
Billy Wilder (1945)
Frank Capra (1946)
Elia Kazan (1947)
John Huston (1948)
Robert Rossen (1949)
Billy Wilder (1950)
László Benedek (1951)
Cecil B. DeMille (1952)
Fred Zinnemann (1953)
Elia Kazan (1954)
Joshua Logan (1955)
Elia Kazan (1956)
David Lean (1957)
Vincente Minnelli (1958)
William Wyler (1959)
Jack Cardiff (1960)
Stanley Kramer (1961)
David Lean (1962)
Elia Kazan (1963)
George Cukor (1964)
David Lean (1965)
Fred Zinnemann (1966)
Mike Nichols (1967)
Paul Newman (1968)
Charles Jarrott (1969)
Arthur Hiller (1970)
William Friedkin (1971)
Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
William Friedkin (1973)
Roman Polanski (1974)
Miloš Forman (1975)
1976–2000
Sidney Lumet (1976)
Herbert Ross (1977)
Michael Cimino (1978)
Francis Ford Coppola (1979)
Robert Redford (1980)
Warren Beatty (1981)
Richard Attenborough (1982)
Barbra Streisand (1983)
Miloš Forman (1984)
John Huston (1985)
Oliver Stone (1986)
Bernardo Bertolucci (1987)
Clint Eastwood (1988)
Oliver Stone (1989)
Kevin Costner (1990)
Oliver Stone (1991)
Clint Eastwood (1992)
Steven Spielberg (1993)
Robert Zemeckis (1994)
Mel Gibson (1995)
Miloš Forman (1996)
James Cameron (1997)
Steven Spielberg (1998)
Sam Mendes (1999)
Ang Lee (2000)
2001–present
Robert Altman (2001)
Martin Scorsese (2002)
Peter Jackson (2003)
Clint Eastwood (2004)
Ang Lee (2005)
Martin Scorsese (2006)
Julian Schnabel (2007)
Danny Boyle (2008)
James Cameron (2009)
David Fincher (2010)
Martin Scorsese (2011)
Ben Affleck (2012)
Alfonso Cuarón (2013)
Richard Linklater (2014)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu (2015)
Damien Chazelle (2016)
Guillermo del Toro (2017)
Alfonso Cuarón (2018)
Sam Mendes (2019)
Chloé Zhao (2020)
Jane Campion (2021)