2007: There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson)
2006: The Departed (Martin Scorsese)
2005: Good Night, and Good Luck. (George Clooney)
2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)
2003: Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola)
2002: The Pianist (Roman Polanski)
2001: Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch)
2000: Memento (Christopher Nolan)
1999: The Insider (Michael Mann)
1998: Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg)
1997: L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson)
1996: Fargo (Joel Coen)
1995: Seven (David Fincher)
1994: The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont)
1993: Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg)
1992: Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
1991: Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise)
1990: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese)
1989: Heathers (Michael Lehmann)
1988: Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata)
1987: Evil Dead II (Sam Raimi)
1986: Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
1985: Pee-wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton)
1984: This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner)
1983: Zelig (Woody Allen)
1982: The Thing (John Carpenter)
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg)
1980: The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner)
1979: Life of Brian (Terry Jones)
1978: Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero)
1977: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg)
1976: Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)
1975: Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet)
1974: Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks)
1973: The Exorcist (William Friedkin)
1972: The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
1971: Dirty Harry (Don Siegel)
1970: Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner)
1969: ???
1968: The Producers (Mel Brooks)
1967: Cool Hand Luke (Stuart Rosenberg)
1966: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leone)
1965: For a Few Dollars More (Sergio Leone)
1964: Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick)
1963: Charade (Stanley Donen)
1962: Seppuku (Masaki Kobayashi)
1961: The Hustler (Robert Rossen)
1960: Psycho (Albert Hitchcock)
1959: Sleeping Beauty (Clyde Geronimi)
1958: Vertigo (Albert Hitchcock)
1957: 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet)
1956: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel)
1955: The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton)
1954: Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock)
1953: Roman Holiday (William Wyler)
1952: Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly)
1951: Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock)
1950: Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder)
1949: The Third Man (Carol Reed)
1948: Rope (Alfred Hitchcock)
1947: ???
1946: Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock)
1945: The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder)
1944: Laura (Otto Preminger)
1943: Guadalcanal Diary (Lewis Seiler)
1942: Casablanca (Michael Curtiz)
1941: The Maltese Falcon (John Huston)
1940: The Great Dictator (Charlie Chapin)
1939: The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming)
1938: ???
1937: A Day at the Races (Sam Wood)
1936: Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin)
1935: A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood)
1934: The Thin Man (W.S. Van Dyke)
1933: Duck Soup (Leo McCarey)
1932: Horse Feathers (Norman Z. McLeod)
1931: City Lights (Charlie Chaplin)
1930: Animal Crackers (Victor Heerman)
1929: Un chien andalou (Luis Buñuel)
1928: Steamboat Bill, Jr. (Charles Reisner)
1927: The General (Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton)