1927 / 28 : COMEDY = Lewis Milestone for TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS, DRAMA = Frank Borzage for 7TH HEAVEN
and a special directorial award to Charles Chaplin, for his efforts on THE CIRCUS
1928 / 29 : Frank Lloyd for THE DIVINE LADY
1929 / 30 : Lewis Milestone for ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
1930 / 31 : Norman Taurog for SKIPPY
1931 / 32 : Frank Borzage for BAD GIRL
1932 / 33 : Frank Lloyd for CAVALCADE
1934 : Frank Capra for IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
1935 : John Ford for THE INFORMER
1936 : Frank Capra for MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN
1937 : Leo McCarey for THE AWFUL TRUTH
1938 : Frank Capra for YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU
1939 : Victor Fleming for GONE WITH THE WIND
1940 : John Ford for THE GRAPES OF WRATH
1941 : John Ford for HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY
1942 : William Wyler for MRS. MINIVER
1943 : Michael Curtiz for CASABLANCA
1944 : Leo McCarey for GOING MY WAY
1945 : Billy Wilder for THE LOST WEEKEND
1946 : William Wyler for THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
1947 : Elia Kazan for GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT
1948 : John Huston for THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
1949 : Joseph L. Mankiewicz for A LETTER TO THREE WIVES
1950 : Joseph L. Mankiewicz for ALL ABOUT EVE
1951 : George Stevens for A PLACE IN THE SUN
1952 : John Ford for THE QUIET MAN
1953 : Fred Zinnemann for FROM HERE TO ETERNITY
1954 : Elia Kazan for ON THE WATERFRONT
1955 : Delbert Mann for MARTY
1956 : George Stevens for GIANT
1957 : David Lean for THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
1958 : Vincente Minnelli for GIGI
1959 : William Wyler for BEN-HUR
1960 : Billy Wilder for THE APARTMENT
1961 : Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for WEST SIDE STORY
1962 : David Lean for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
1963 : Tony Richardson for TOM JONES
1964 : George Cukor for MY FAIR LADY
1965 : Robert Wise for THE SOUND OF MUSIC
1966 : Fred Zinnemann for A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
1967 : Mike Nichols for THE GRADUATE
1968 : Carol Reed for OLIVER!
1969 : John Schlesinger for MIDNIGHT COWBOY
1970 : Franklin J. Schaffner for PATTON
1971 : William Friedkin for THE FRENCH CONNECTION
1972 : Bob Fosse for CABARET
1973 : George Roy Hill for THE STING
1974 : Francis Ford Coppola for THE GODFATHER PART II
1975 : Milos Forman for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
1976 : John G. Avildsen for ROCKY
1977 : Woody Allen for ANNIE HALL
1978 : Michael Cimino for THE DEER HUNTER
1979 : Robert Benton for KRAMER VS. KRAMER
1980 : Robert Redford for ORDINARY PEOPLE
1981 : Warren Beatty in REDS
1982 : Richard Attenborough for GANDHI
1983 : James L. Brooks for TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
1984 : Milos Forman for AMADEUS
1985 : Sydney Pollack for OUT OF AFRICA
1986 : Oliver Stone for PLATOON
1987 : Bernardo Bertolucci for THE LAST EMPEROR
1988 : Barry Levinson for RAIN MAN
1989 : Oliver Stone for BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
1990 : Kevin Costner for Dances With Wolves
1991 : Jonathan Demme for The Silence of the Lambs

1992 : Clint Eastwood for Unforgiven
1993 : Steven Spielberg for Schindler's List
1994 : Robert Zemeckis for Forrest Gump
1995 : Mel Gibson for Braveheart
1996 : Anthony Minghella, The English Patient
1997 : James Cameron,Titanic
1998 : Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan
1999 : Sam Mendes for American Beauty
2000 : Steven Soderbergh, 'Traffic (also nominated for "Erin Brockavich" for the same year)
2001 : Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind
2002 : Roman Polanski, The Pianist Polanski was not present at the awards ceremony, being a fugitive from U.S. justice since fleeing the country in 1978 from statutory rape charges. Presenter Harrison Ford accepted the award on his behalf.
2003 : Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King