In this article, we list the celebrated directors who were nominated for (and won) an Academy Award for movies made between 1970 and 1989.
Did your favourite directors miss out on an Oscar? Let us know in the comments below.
43rd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1970
Nominated Directors
Arthur Hiller – Love Story
Federico Fellini – Fellini Satyricon
Franklin J. Schaffner – Patton
Ken Russell – Women in Love
Robert Altman – M*A*S*H
Best Director Winner
Franklin J. Schaffner – Patton
44th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1971
Nominated Directors
John Schlesinger – Sunday Bloody Sunday
Norman Jewison – Fiddler on the Roof
Peter Bogdanovich – The Last Picture Show
Stanley Kubrick – A Clockwork Orange
William Friedkin – The French Connection
Best Director Winner
William Friedkin – The French Connection
45th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1972
Nominated Directors
Bob Fosse – Cabaret
Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather
Jan Troell – The Emigrants
John Boorman – Deliverance
Joseph L. Mankiewicz – Sleuth
Best Director Winner
Bob Fosse – Cabaret
46th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1973
Nominated Directors
Bernardo Bertolucci – Last Tango in Paris
George Lucas – American Graffiti
George Roy Hill – The Sting
Ingmar Bergman – Cries and Whispers
William Friedkin – The Exorcist
Best Director Winner
George Roy Hill – The Sting
47th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1974
Nominated Directors
Bob Fosse – Lenny
Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Part II
François Truffaut – Day for Night
John Cassavetes – A Woman Under the Influence
Roman Polanski – Chinatown
Best Director Winner
Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Part II
48th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1975
Nominated Directors
Federico Fellini – Amarcord
Miloš Forman – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Robert Altman – Nashville
Sidney Lumet – Dog Day Afternoon
Stanley Kubrick – Barry Lyndon
Best Director Winner
Miloš Forman – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
49th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1976
Nominated Directors
Alan J. Pakula – All the President’s Men
Ingmar Bergman – Face to Face
John G. Avildsen – Rocky
Lina Wertmüller – Seven Beauties
Sidney Lumet – Network
Best Director Winner
John G. Avildsen – Rocky
50th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1977
Nominated Directors
Fred Zinnemann – Julia
George Lucas – Star Wars
Herbert Ross – The Turning Point
Steven Spielberg – Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Woody Allen – Annie Hall
Best Director Winner
Woody Allen – Annie Hall
51st Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1978
Nominated Directors
Alan Parker – Midnight Express
Hal Ashby – Coming Home
Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter
Warren Beatty and Buck Henry – Heaven Can Wait
Woody Allen – Interiors
Best Director Winner
Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter
52nd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1979
Nominated Directors
Bob Fosse – All That Jazz
Édouard Molinaro – La Cage aux Folles
Francis Ford Coppola – Apocalypse Now
Peter Yates – Breaking Away
Robert Benton – Kramer vs. Kramer
Best Director Winner
Robert Benton – Kramer vs. Kramer
53rd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1980
Nominated Directors
David Lynch – The Elephant Man
Martin Scorsese – Raging Bull
Richard Rush – The Stunt Man
Robert Redford – Ordinary People
Roman Polanski – Tess
Best Director Winner
Robert Redford – Ordinary People
54th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1981
Nominated Directors
Hugh Hudson – Chariots of Fire
Louis Malle – Atlantic City
Mark Rydell – On Golden Pond
Steven Spielberg – Raiders of the Lost Ark
Warren Beatty – Reds
Best Director Winner
Warren Beatty – Reds
55th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1982
Nominated Directors
Richard Attenborough – Gandhi
Sidney Lumet – The Verdict
Steven Spielberg – E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Sydney Pollack – Tootsie
Wolfgang Peterson – Das Boot
Best Director Winner
Richard Attenborough – Gandhi
56th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1983
Nominated Directors
Bruce Beresford – Tender Mercies
Ingmar Bergman – Fanny and Alexander
James L. Brooks – Terms of Endearment
Mike Nichols – Silkwood
Peter Yates – The Dresser
Best Director Winner
James L. Brooks – Terms of Endearment
57th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1984
Nominated Directors
David Lean – A Passage to India
Miloš Forman – Amadeus
Robert Benton – Places in the Heart
Roland Joffé – The Killing Fields
Woody Allen – Broadway Danny Rose
Best Director Winner
Miloš Forman – Amadeus
58th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1985
Nominated Directors
Akira Kurosawa – Ran
Héctor Babenco – Kiss of the Spider Woman
John Huston – Prizzi’s Honor
Peter Weir – Witness
Sydney Pollack – Out of Africa
Best Director Winner
Sydney Pollack – Out of Africa
59th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1986
Nominated Directors
David Lynch – Blue Velvet
James Ivory – A Room with a View
Oliver Stone – Platoon
Roland Joffé – The Mission
Woody Allen – Hannah and Her Sisters
Best Director Winner
Oliver Stone – Platoon
60th Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1987
Nominated Directors
Adrian Lyne – Fatal Attraction
Bernardo Bertolucci – The Last Emperor
John Boorman – Hope and Glory
Lasse Hallström – My Life as a Dog
Norman Jewison – Moonstruck
Best Director Winner
Bernardo Bertolucci – The Last Emperor
61st Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1988
Nominated Directors
Alan Parker – Mississippi Burning
Barry Levinson – Rain Man
Charles Crichton – A Fish Called Wanda
Martin Scorsese – The Last Temptation of Christ
Mike Nichols – Working Girl
Best Director Winner
Barry Levinson – Rain Man
62nd Academy Awards
Best Director: Films of 1989
Nominated Directors
Jim Sheridan – My Left Foot
Kenneth Branagh – Henry V
Oliver Stone – Born on the Fourth of July
Peter Weir – Dead Poets Society
Woody Allen – Crimes and Misdemeanours
Best Director Winner
Oliver Stone – Born on the Fourth of July
How many of these movies have you seen? Let us know in the comments below.