National Board of Review Award for Best Director
| National Board of Review Award for Best Director | |
|---|---|
![]() Current recipient: Jon M. Chu  | |
| Awarded for | Best Director | 
| Country | United States | 
| Presented by | National Board of Review | 
| First award | Jean Renoir  The Southerner (1945)  | 
| Currently held by | Jon M. Chu  Wicked (2024)  | 
| Website | nationalboardofreview | 
The National Board of Review Award for Best Director is one of the annual film awards given (since 1945) by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.[1]
Winners
1940s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Jean Renoir | The Southerner | 
| 1946 | William Wyler | The Best Years of Our Lives | 
| 1947 | Elia Kazan | Boomerang! | 
| Gentleman's Agreement [2] | ||
| 1948 | Roberto Rossellini | Paisan | 
| 1949 | Vittorio De Sica | Bicycle Thieves | 
1950s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | John Huston | The Asphalt Jungle | 
| 1951 | Akira Kurosawa | Rashōmon | 
| 1952 | David Lean | The Sound Barrier | 
| 1953 | George Stevens | Shane | 
| 1954 | Renato Castellani | Romeo and Juliet | 
| 1955 | William Wyler | The Desperate Hours | 
| 1956 | John Huston | Moby Dick | 
| 1957 | David Lean | The Bridge on the River Kwai | 
| 1958 | John Ford | The Last Hurrah | 
| 1959 | Fred Zinnemann | The Nun's Story | 
1960s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Jack Cardiff | Sons and Lovers | 
| 1961 | Jack Clayton | The Innocents | 
| 1962 | David Lean | Lawrence of Arabia | 
| 1963 | Tony Richardson | Tom Jones | 
| 1964 | Desmond Davis | Girl with Green Eyes | 
| 1965 | John Schlesinger | Darling | 
| 1966 | Fred Zinnemann | A Man for All Seasons | 
| 1967 | Richard Brooks | In Cold Blood | 
| 1968 | Franco Zeffirelli | Romeo and Juliet | 
| 1969 | Alfred Hitchcock | Topaz | 
1970s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | François Truffaut | The Wild Child | 
| 1971 | Ken Russell | The Boy Friend | 
| The Devils [3] | ||
| 1972 | Bob Fosse | Cabaret | 
| 1973 | Ingmar Bergman | Cries and Whispers | 
| 1974 | Francis Ford Coppola | The Conversation | 
| 1975 | Robert Altman | Nashville | 
| Stanley Kubrick | Barry Lyndon | |
| 1976 | Alan J. Pakula | All the President's Men | 
| 1977 | Luis Buñuel | That Obscure Object of Desire | 
| 1978 | Ingmar Bergman | Autumn Sonata | 
| 1979 | John Schlesinger | Yanks | 
1980s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Robert Redford | Ordinary People | 
| 1981 | Warren Beatty | Reds | 
| 1982 | Sidney Lumet | The Verdict | 
| 1983 | James L. Brooks | Terms of Endearment | 
| 1984 | David Lean | A Passage to India | 
| 1985 | Akira Kurosawa | Ran | 
| 1986 | Woody Allen | Hannah and Her Sisters | 
| 1987 | Steven Spielberg | Empire of the Sun | 
| 1988 | Alan Parker | Mississippi Burning | 
| 1989 | Kenneth Branagh | Henry V | 
1990s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Kevin Costner | Dances with Wolves | 
| 1991 | Jonathan Demme | The Silence of the Lambs | 
| 1992 | James Ivory | Howards End | 
| 1993 | Martin Scorsese | The Age of Innocence | 
| 1994 | Quentin Tarantino | Pulp Fiction | 
| 1995 | Ang Lee | Sense and Sensibility | 
| 1996 | Joel Coen | Fargo | 
| 1997 | Curtis Hanson | L.A. Confidential | 
| 1998 | Shekhar Kapur | Elizabeth | 
| 1999 | Anthony Minghella | The Talented Mr. Ripley | 
2000s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Steven Soderbergh | Erin Brockovich | 
| Traffic | ||
| 2001 | Todd Field | In the Bedroom | 
| 2002 | Phillip Noyce | The Quiet American | 
| Rabbit-Proof Fence [4] | ||
| 2003 | Edward Zwick | The Last Samurai | 
| 2004 | Michael Mann | Collateral | 
| 2005 | Ang Lee | Brokeback Mountain | 
| 2006 | Martin Scorsese | The Departed | 
| 2007 | Tim Burton | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | 
| 2008 | David Fincher | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 
| 2009 | Clint Eastwood | Invictus | 
2010s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | David Fincher | The Social Network | 
| 2011 | Martin Scorsese | Hugo | 
| 2012 | Kathryn Bigelow | Zero Dark Thirty | 
| 2013 | Spike Jonze | Her | 
| 2014 | Clint Eastwood | American Sniper | 
| 2015 | Ridley Scott | The Martian | 
| 2016 | Barry Jenkins | Moonlight[5] | 
| 2017 | Greta Gerwig | Lady Bird | 
| 2018 | Bradley Cooper | A Star Is Born | 
| 2019 | Quentin Tarantino | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | 
2020s
| Year | Winner | Film | 
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Spike Lee | Da 5 Bloods | 
| 2021 | Paul Thomas Anderson | Licorice Pizza[6] | 
| 2022 | Steven Spielberg | The Fabelmans[7] | 
| 2023 | Martin Scorsese | Killers of the Flower Moon[8] | 
| 2024 | Jon M. Chu | Wicked[9] | 
Multiple winners
- David Lean - 4
 - Martin Scorsese - 4
 - Ingmar Bergman - 2
 - Clint Eastwood - 2
 - David Fincher - 2
 - John Huston - 2
 - Akira Kurosawa - 2
 - Ang Lee - 2
 - John Schlesinger - 2
 - Steven Spielberg - 2
 - Quentin Tarantino - 2
 - William Wyler - 2
 - Fred Zinnemann - 2
 
References
- ^ "Best Director Archives – National Board of Review". National Board of Review. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
 - ^ The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan - Elia Kazan - Google Books (pg.622)
 - ^ AFI|Catalog - The Devils
 - ^ Acclaimed Director, Writer, and Producer Phillip Noyce Joins New York Film Academy (NYFA) Faculty as Master Class Instructor
 - ^ Moonlight's Barry Jenkins Makes History As First Black Director To Win National Board Of Review Directing Award - Essence
 - ^ 'Licorice Pizza' Wins Best Pictures At National Board Of Review — Deadline
 - ^ Top Gun: Maverick Named Best Movie of 2022 by National Board of Review - The Hollywood Reporter
 - ^ National Board of Review Names ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Best Film of 2023
 - ^ ‘Wicked’ Named Best Picture by National Board of Review, Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman Among Acting Winners
 
