| | 1928 - Lewis Milestone - Two Arabian Knights |
| | 1928 - Frank Borzage - 7th Heaven |
| | 1929 - Frank Lloyd - The Divine Lady |
| | 1930 - Lewis Milestone - All Quiet On The Western Front |
| | 1931 - Norman Taurog - Skippy |
| | 1932 - Frank Borzage - Bad Girl |
| | 1933 - 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 - The Grapes Of Wrath |
| | 1941 - John Ford - How Green Was My Valley |
| | 1942 - William Wyler - Mrs. Miniver |
| | 1943 - Michael Curtiz - Casablanca |
| | 1944 - Leo McCarey - Going My Way |
| | 1945 - Billy Wilder - The Lost Weekend |
| | 1946 - William Wyler - The Best Years Of Our Lives |
| | 1947 - Elia Kazan - Gentleman'S 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 - The Quiet Man |
| | 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 - Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise - West Side Story |
| | 1962 - David Lean - Lawrence Of Arabia |
| | 1963 - Tony Richardson - Tom Jones |
| | 1964 - George Cukor - My Fair Lady |
| | 1965 - Robert Wise - The 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 2 - 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 - Jonathan Demme - The Silence Of The Lambs |
| | 1992 - Clint Eastwood - Unforgiven |
| | 1993 - Steven Spielberg - Schindler's List |
| | 1994 - Robert Zemeckis - Forrest 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 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| | 2004 - Clint Eastwood - Million Dollar Baby |
| | 2005 - Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain |
| | 2007 - Martin Scorsese - The Departed |
| | 2008 - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men |