Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film

The Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures is one of the annual awards given by Directors Guild of America. With 3 wins out of 11 nominations, Steven Spielberg is both the most awarded and most nominated director for this category in the history of DGA. Additionally, Alejandro G. Iñárritu is the only director to win consecutive awards. He was awarded in 2015 and 2016 for his directorial work in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Revenant, respectively.

The Directors Guild of America Award for Feature Film has traditionally been a near perfect barometer for the Academy Award for Best Director. Only seven times since the DGA Award's inception has the DGA Award winner not won the Academy Award; in 1968 (Carol Reed won the Oscar for directing Oliver!); 1972 (Bob Fosse won the Oscar for directing Cabaret); 1985 (Sydney Pollack won the Oscar for directing Out of Africa, as Steven Spielberg was not nominated for directing The Color Purple); 1995 (Mel Gibson won for directing Braveheart, as Ron Howard was not nominated for directing Apollo 13); 2000 (Steven Soderbergh won the Oscar for directing Traffic); 2002 (Roman Polanski won the Oscar for directing The Pianist); and 2012 (Ang Lee won the Oscar for directing Life of Pi as Ben Affleck was not nominated for directing Argo). This does not count 1948–49, when the DGA used a non-calendar award year (unlike the Academy Awards); both 1948 and 1949 DGA winners competed for the 1949 Academy Award for Best Director, which went to the 1948 DGA winner (Joseph L. Mankiewicz for A Letter to Three Wives).

Winners and nominees

† Won the Academy Award for Best Director
‡ Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director

1940s

• 1948: Joseph L. Mankiewicz – A Letter to Three Wives †
  • Howard Hawks – Red River
  • Anatole Litvak – The Snake Pit ‡
  • Fred Zinnemann – The Search ‡
• 1949: Robert Rossen – All the King's Men ‡
  • Carol Reed – The Third Man ‡
  • Mark Robson – Champion
  • Alfred L. Werker – Lost Boundaries

1950s

• 1950: Joseph L. Mankiewicz – All About Eve †
  • John Huston – The Asphalt Jungle ‡
  • Vincente Minnelli – Father's Little Dividend
  • Billy Wilder – Sunset Boulevard ‡
• 1951: George Stevens – A Place in the Sun †
  • László Benedek – Death of a Salesman
  • Michael Gordon – Cyrano de Bergerac
  • Alfred Hitchcock – Strangers on a Train
  • Elia Kazan – A Streetcar Named Desire ‡
  • Henry King – David and Bathsheba
  • Mervyn LeRoy – Quo Vadis
  • Anatole Litvak – Decision Before Dawn
  • George Sidney – Show Boat
  • Richard Thorpe – The Great Caruso
  • William Wyler – Detective Story ‡
• 1952: John Ford – The Quiet Man †
  • George Cukor – Pat and Mike
  • Michael Curtiz – I'll See You in My Dreams
  • Cecil B. DeMille – The Greatest Show on Earth ‡
  • Hugo Fregonese – My Six Convicts
  • Howard Hawks – The Big Sky
  • Elia Kazan – Viva Zapata!
  • Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen – Singin' in the Rain
  • Henry King – The Snows of Kilimanjaro
  • Akira Kurosawa – Rashomon
  • Albert Lewin – Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
  • Vincente Minnelli – The Bad and the Beautiful
  • George Sidney – Scaramouche
  • Richard Thorpe – Ivanhoe
  • Charles Vidor – Hans Christian Andersen
• 1953: Fred Zinnemann – From Here to Eternity †
  • Melvin Frank – Above and Beyond
  • Henry Koster – The Robe
  • Walter Lang – Call Me Madam
  • Joseph L. Mankiewicz – Julius Caesar
  • Daniel Mann – Come Back, Little Sheba
  • Jean Negulesco – Titanic
  • George Sidney – Young Bess
• 1954: Elia Kazan – On the Waterfront †
  • George Cukor – A Star Is Born
  • Edward Dmytryk – The Caine Mutiny
  • Stanley Donen – Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
  • Melvin Frank and Norman Panama – Knock on Wood
  • Samuel Fuller – Hell and High Water
  • Henry King – King of the Khyber Rifles
  • Anthony Mann – The Glenn Miller Story
  • Jean Negulesco – Three Coins in the Fountain
  • Don Siegel – Riot in Cell Block 11
  • Robert Wise – Executive Suite
• 1955: Delbert Mann – Marty †
  • Richard Brooks – Blackboard Jungle
  • John Ford – The Long Gray Line
  • Henry Koster – A Man Called Peter
  • Daniel Mann – The Rose Tattoo
  • Mark Robson – The Bridges at Toko-Ri
  • Charles Vidor – Love Me or Leave Me
  • Billy Wilder – The Seven Year Itch
• 1956: George Stevens – Giant †
  • Michael Anderson – Around the World in 80 Days ‡
  • John Huston – Moby Dick
  • Joshua Logan – Bus Stop
  • Daniel Mann – Teahouse of the August Moon
  • King Vidor – War and Peace ‡
  • Robert Wise – Somebody Up There Likes Me
  • William Wyler – Friendly Persuasion ‡
• 1957: David Lean – The Bridge on the River Kwai †
  • George Cukor – Les Girls
  • Stanley Donen – Funny Face
  • José Ferrer – The Great Man
  • John Huston – Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison
  • Elia Kazan – A Face in the Crowd
  • Stanley Kramer – The Pride and the Passion
  • Anthony Mann – Men in War
  • Leo McCarey – An Affair to Remember
  • Robert Mulligan – Fear Strikes Out
  • John Sturges – Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
  • Fred Zinnemann – A Hatful of Rain
• 1958: Vincente Minnelli – Gigi †
  • George Abbott and Stanley Donen – Damn Yankees
  • Richard Brooks – The Brothers Karamazov
  • Delmer Daves – Cowboy
  • Edward Dmytryk – The Young Lions
  • Richard Fleischer – The Vikings
  • Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo
  • Martin Ritt – The Long, Hot Summer
  • George Seaton – Teacher's Pet
  • William Wyler – The Big Country
• 1959: William Wyler – Ben-Hur †
  • Charles Barton – The Shaggy Dog
  • Frank Capra – A Hole in the Head
  • Richard Fleischer – Compulsion
  • John Ford – The Horse Soldiers
  • Howard Hawks – Rio Bravo
  • Alfred Hitchcock – North by Northwest
  • Leo McCarey – Rally Round the Flag, Boys!
  • Otto Preminger – Anatomy of a Murder
  • Douglas Sirk – Imitation of Life
  • George Stevens – The Diary of Anne Frank ‡
  • Billy Wilder – Some Like It Hot ‡
  • Fred Zinnemann – The Nun's Story ‡

1960s

• 1960: Billy Wilder – The Apartment †
  • Richard Brooks – Elmer Gantry
  • Vincent J. Donehue – Sunrise at Campobello
  • Lewis Gilbert – Sink the Bismarck!
  • Walter Lang – Can-Can
  • Delbert Mann – The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
  • Carol Reed – Our Man in Havana
  • Alain Resnais – Hiroshima mon amour
  • Charles Walters – Please Don't Eat the Daisies
• 1961: Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins – West Side Story †
  • Marlon Brando – One-Eyed Jacks
  • Frank Capra – Pocketful of Miracles
  • Jack Clayton – The Innocents
  • Peter Glenville – Summer and Smoke
  • John Huston – The Misfits
  • Elia Kazan – Splendor in the Grass
  • Henry Koster – Flower Drum Song
  • Stanley Kramer – Judgment at Nuremberg ‡
  • Philip Leacock – Hand in Hand
  • Mervyn LeRoy – A Majority of One
  • Joshua Logan – Fanny
  • Anthony Mann – El Cid
  • Robert Mulligan – The Great Impostor
  • Daniel Petrie – A Raisin in the Sun
  • Robert Stevenson – The Absent-Minded Professor
  • Peter Ustinov – Romanoff and Juliet
  • William Wyler – The Children's Hour
• 1962: David Lean – Lawrence of Arabia †
  • Robert Aldrich – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
  • Morton DaCosta – The Music Man
  • Lewis Milestone – Mutiny on the Bounty
  • Robert Mulligan – To Kill a Mockingbird ‡
  • Ralph Nelson – Requiem for a Heavyweight
  • Arthur Penn – The Miracle Worker ‡
  • Tony Richardson – A Taste of Honey
• 1963: Tony Richardson – Tom Jones †
  • Federico Fellini – 8½ ‡
  • Elia Kazan – America America ‡
  • Ralph Nelson – Lilies of the Field
  • Martin Ritt – Hud ‡
• 1964: George Cukor – My Fair Lady †
  • Peter Glenville – Becket ‡
  • John Huston – The Night of the Iguana
  • Stanley Kubrick – Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb ‡
  • Robert Stevenson – Mary Poppins ‡
• 1965: Robert Wise – The Sound of Music †
  • Sidney J. Furie – The Ipcress File
  • Sidney Lumet – The Pawnbroker
  • John Schlesinger – Darling ‡
  • Elliot Silverstein – Cat Ballou
• 1966: Fred Zinnemann – A Man for All Seasons †
  • Richard Brooks – The Professionals ‡
  • John Frankenheimer – Grand Prix
  • Lewis Gilbert – Alfie
  • James Hill – Born Free
  • Norman Jewison – The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming
  • Claude Lelouch – A Man and a Woman ‡
  • Silvio Narizzano – Georgy Girl
  • Mike Nichols – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ‡
  • Robert Wise – The Sand Pebbles
• 1967: Mike Nichols – The Graduate †
  • Robert Aldrich – The Dirty Dozen
  • Richard Brooks – In Cold Blood ‡
  • James Clavell – To Sir, with Love
  • Stanley Donen – Two for the Road
  • Norman Jewison – In the Heat of the Night ‡
  • Stanley Kramer – Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ‡
  • Arthur Penn – Bonnie and Clyde ‡
  • Stuart Rosenberg – Cool Hand Luke
  • Joseph Strick – Ulysses
• 1968: Anthony Harvey – The Lion in Winter ‡
  • Paul Almond – Isabel
  • Stanley Kubrick – 2001: A Space Odyssey ‡
  • Jiří Menzel – Closely Watched Trains
  • Paul Newman – Rachel, Rachel
  • Roman Polanski – Rosemary's Baby
  • Carol Reed – Oliver! †
  • Gene Saks – The Odd Couple
  • William Wyler – Funny Girl
  • Franco Zeffirelli – Romeo and Juliet ‡
• 1969: John Schlesinger – Midnight Cowboy †
  • Richard Attenborough – Oh! What a Lovely War
  • Costa-Gavras – Z ‡
  • George Roy Hill – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ‡
  • Dennis Hopper – Easy Rider
  • Gene Kelly – Hello, Dolly!
  • Sam Peckinpah – The Wild Bunch
  • Larry Peerce – Goodbye, Columbus
  • Sydney Pollack – They Shoot Horses, Don't They? ‡
  • Haskell Wexler – Medium Cool

1970s

• 1970: Franklin J. Schaffner – Patton †
  • Robert Altman – M*A*S*H ‡
  • Arthur Hiller – Love Story ‡
  • David Lean – Ryan's Daughter
  • Bob Rafelson – Five Easy Pieces
• 1971: William Friedkin – The French Connection †
  • Peter Bogdanovich – The Last Picture Show ‡
  • Stanley Kubrick – A Clockwork Orange ‡
  • Robert Mulligan – Summer of '42
  • John Schlesinger – Sunday Bloody Sunday ‡
• 1972: Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather ‡
  • John Boorman – Deliverance ‡
  • Bob Fosse – Cabaret †
  • George Roy Hill – Slaughterhouse-Five
  • Martin Ritt – Sounder
• 1973: George Roy Hill – The Sting †
  • Bernardo Bertolucci – Last Tango in Paris ‡
  • William Friedkin – The Exorcist ‡
  • George Lucas – American Graffiti ‡
  • Sidney Lumet – Serpico
• 1974: Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Part II †
  • Francis Ford Coppola – The Conversation
  • Bob Fosse – Lenny ‡
  • Sidney Lumet – Murder on the Orient Express
  • Roman Polanski – Chinatown ‡
• 1975: Miloš Forman – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest †
  • Robert Altman – Nashville ‡
  • Stanley Kubrick – Barry Lyndon ‡
  • Sidney Lumet – Dog Day Afternoon ‡
  • Steven Spielberg – Jaws
• 1976: John G. Avildsen – Rocky †
  • Sidney Lumet – Network ‡
  • Alan J. Pakula – All the President's Men ‡
  • Martin Scorsese – Taxi Driver
  • Lina Wertmüller – Seven Beauties ‡
• 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 ‡
• 1978: Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter †
  • Hal Ashby – Coming Home ‡
  • Warren Beatty and Buck Henry – Heaven Can Wait ‡
  • Paul Mazursky – An Unmarried Woman
  • Alan Parker – Midnight Express ‡
• 1979: Robert Benton – Kramer vs. Kramer †
  • Woody Allen – Manhattan
  • James Bridges – The China Syndrome
  • Francis Ford Coppola – Apocalypse Now ‡
  • Peter Yates – Breaking Away ‡

1980s

• 1980: Robert Redford – Ordinary People †
  • Michael Apted – Coal Miner's Daughter
  • David Lynch – The Elephant Man ‡
  • Richard Rush – The Stunt Man ‡
  • Martin Scorsese – Raging Bull ‡
• 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 ‡
• 1982: Richard Attenborough – Gandhi †
  • Taylor Hackford – An Officer and a Gentleman
  • Wolfgang Petersen – Das Boot ‡
  • Sydney Pollack – Tootsie ‡
  • Steven Spielberg – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ‡
• 1983: James L. Brooks – Terms of Endearment †
  • Bruce Beresford – Tender Mercies ‡
  • Ingmar Bergman – Fanny and Alexander ‡
  • Lawrence Kasdan – The Big Chill
  • Philip Kaufman – The Right Stuff
• 1984: Miloš Forman – Amadeus †
  • Robert Benton – Places in the Heart ‡
  • Norman Jewison – A Soldier's Story
  • Roland Joffé – The Killing Fields ‡
  • David Lean – A Passage to India ‡
• 1985: Steven Spielberg – The Color Purple
  • Ron Howard – Cocoon
  • John Huston – Prizzi's Honor ‡
  • Sydney Pollack – Out of Africa †
  • Peter Weir – Witness ‡
• 1986: Oliver Stone – Platoon †
  • Woody Allen – Hannah and Her Sisters ‡
  • Randa Haines – Children of a Lesser God
  • James Ivory – A Room with a View ‡
  • Rob Reiner – Stand by Me
• 1987: Bernardo Bertolucci – The Last Emperor †
  • James L. Brooks – Broadcast News
  • Lasse Hallström – My Life as a Dog ‡
  • Adrian Lyne – Fatal Attraction ‡
  • Steven Spielberg – Empire of the Sun
• 1988: Barry Levinson – Rain Man †
  • Charles Crichton – A Fish Called Wanda ‡
  • Mike Nichols – Working Girl ‡
  • Alan Parker – Mississippi Burning ‡
  • Robert Zemeckis – Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• 1989: Oliver Stone – Born on the Fourth of July †
  • Woody Allen – Crimes and Misdemeanors ‡
  • Rob Reiner – When Harry Met Sally...
  • Phil Alden Robinson – Field of Dreams
  • Peter Weir – Dead Poets Society ‡

1990s

2000s

2010s

See also

• BAFTA Award for Best Direction
• Academy Award for Best Director
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director
• Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Director