| 61 | 1987 | Bernardo Bertolucci, The Last Emperor | John Boorman - Hope and Glory, Lasse Hallström - My Life as a Dog, Norman Jewison - Moonstruck, Adrian Lyne - Fatal Attraction |
| 62 | 1988 | Barry Levinson, Rain Man | Charles Crichton - A Fish Called Wanda, Mike Nichols - Working Girl, Alan Parker - Mississippi Burning, Martin Scorsese - The Last Temptation of Christ |
| 63 | 1989 | Oliver Stone, Born on the Fourth of July | Woody Allen - Crimes and Misdemeanors, Kenneth Branagh - Henry V, Jim Sheridan - My Left Foot, Peter Weir - Dead Poets Society |
| 64 | 1990 | Kevin Costner, Dances with Wolves | Francis Ford Coppola - The Godfather, Part III|The Godfather: Part III, Stephen Frears - The Grifters, Barbet Schroeder - Reversal of Fortune, Martin Scorsese - Goodfellas |
| 65 | 1991 | Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs | Barry Levinson - Bugsy, Ridley Scott - Thelma and Louise, John Singleton - Boyz N the Hood, Oliver Stone - JFK |
| 66 | 1992 | Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven | Robert Altman - The Player, Martin Brest - Scent of a Woman, James Ivory - Howards End, Neil Jordan - The Crying Game |
| 67 | 1993 | Steven Spielberg, Schindler's List | Robert Altman - Short Cuts, Jane Campion - The Piano, James Ivory - The Remains of the Day, Jim Sheridan - In the Name of the Father |
| 68 | 1994 | Robert Zemeckis, Forrest Gump | Woody Allen - Bullets Over Broadway, Krzysztof Kieslowski - Trois Couleurs Rouge Three Colors: Red, Robert Redford - Quiz Show, Quentin Tarantino - Pulp Fiction |
| 69 | 1995 | Mel Gibson, Braveheart | Mike Figgis - Leaving Las Vegas, Chris Noonan - Babe, Michael Radford - Il Postino, Tim Robbins - Dead Man Walking |
| 70 | 1996 | Anthony Minghella, The English Patient | Joel Coen - Fargo, Miloš Forman - The People vs. Larry Flynt, Scott Hicks - Shine, Mike Leigh - Secrets & Lies |
| 71 | 1997 | James Cameron, Titanic | Peter Cattaneo - The Full Monty, Atom Egoyan - The Sweet Hereafter, Curtis Hanson - L.A. Confidential, Gus Van Sant - Good Will Hunting |
| 72 | 1998 | Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan | Roberto Benigni - La Vita è Bella Life Is Beautiful, John Madden - Shakespeare in Love, Terrence Malick - The Thin Red Line, Peter Weir - The Truman Show |
| 73 | 1999 | Sam Mendes, American Beauty | Lasse Hallström - The Cider House Rules, Spike Jonze - Being John Malkovich, Michael Mann - The Insider, M. Night Shyamalan - The Sixth Sense |
| 74 | 2000 | Steven Soderbergh, Traffic | Stephen Daldry - Billy Elliot, Ang Lee - Wo hu cang long Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ridley Scott - Gladiator, Steven Soderbergh - Erin Brockovich |
| 75 | 2001 | Ron Howard, A Beautiful Mind | Robert Altman - Gosford Park, Peter Jackson - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, David Lynch - Mulholland Çıkmazı, Ridley Scott - Black Hawk Down |
| 76 | 2002 | Roman Polanski, The Pianist | Pedro Almodóvar - Hable con ella Talk to Her, Stephen Daldry - The Hours, Rob Marshall - Chicago, Martin Scorsese - Gangs of New York |
| 77 | 2003 | Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Sofia Coppola - Lost in Translation, Clint Eastwood - Mystic River, Fernando Meirelles - Cidade de Deus a City of God, Peter Weir - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World |
| 78 | 2004 | Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby | Taylor Hackford - Ray, Mike Leigh - Vera Drake, Alexander Payne - Sideways, Martin Scorsese - The Aviator |
| 79 | 2005 | Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain | George Clooney - Good Night, and Good Luck., Paul Haggis - Crash, Bennett Miller - Capote, Steven Spielberg - Munich |
| 80 | 2006 | Martin Scorsese, The Departed | Clint Eastwood - Letters from Iwo Jima, Stephen Frears - The Queen, Alejandro González Iñárritu - Babel, Paul Greengrass - United 93 |
| 81 | 2007 | Joel Coen ve Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men | Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood, Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton, Jason Reitman - Juno, Julian Schnabel – Dalgıç ve Kelebek |
| 82 | 2008 | Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire | Stephen Daldry – The Reader, David Fincher – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ron Howard – Frost/Nixon, Gus Van Sant – Milk |
| 83 | 2009 | Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker | James Cameron – Avatar, Lee Daniels – Precious, Jason Reitman – Up in the Air, Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds |