The movies that only won Academy Awards for ‘Best Director’
The Oscars continue to be a source of debate, contention and emotion every single year, with everyone celebrating as their favourite actor finally wins an award or watching in complete confusion as the Academy votes fuck up for the hundredth time by selecting a project whose ‘genius’ escapes you.
However, despite the strange nominees and wins, the award ceremony always creates some of the most entertaining and heart-warming moments, with acceptance speeches that move you to tears and uncomfortable drama that fuels the tabloids for weeks. While there are some films that sweep at the awards, with the likes of Damien Chazelle and Christopher Nolan winning in multiple categories, there have been fewer projects that have won the coveted award of ‘Best Director’ and nothing else.
The ‘Best Director’ award is one of the most prestigious at the Academy Awards, with many filmmakers dying for the chance to be recognised among the greats of the industry. While directors like Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg have all been awarded this honour, legends like Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino and David Lynch have never won this award, which shows that the perspective of the esteemed Academy isn’t always just and fair.
But over the years, there have only been a handful of projects to win ‘Best Director’ while receiving no other awards, which is curious given that the product of “the best director” is surely to make the best film.
So, which movies are on this list?
Jane Campion is most recognised for her 1993 film The Piano, a story of desire and romance that stole the hearts of global audiences, and when her 2021 project The Power of the Dog was announced with Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons, audiences eagerly awaited another masterpiece from the director. The result was a slow-burning story about sexuality and repression set against a western backdrop, putting a twist on the conventions of a very well-trodden genre.
However, Campion was given the ‘Best Director’ award and nothing else, with ‘Best Picture’ going to Nomadland directed by Chloe Zhao. It was a great year for female directors, with a number of women garnering nominations, something that was highly talked about after Barbie was snubbed during last year’s awards.
Another curious instance of this was in 1967 with The Graduate, in which Mike Nichols won ‘Best Director’. While the film was also nominated for ‘Best Picture’, In the Heat of the Night ended up winning in this category, which Richard Dunlap directed.
Perhaps winning the ‘Best Director’ award and nothing else can be interpreted as having another meaning. Maybe the Academy sees it as recognition of their objectively exceptional work but doesn’t see the film as being a widely loved project. The Graduate wasn’t immediately understood after its release, with many criticising the controversial relationship at the heart of the movie.
The Power of the Dog was also met in a similar way, with the film being a slow-burning story that doesn’t appeal to mainstream audiences. At the time of its release, the latest Spider-Man movie was breaking box office records and sweeping cinemas, resembling a new era in cinema as people debated the artistry of comic-book flicks and popcorn pictures.
So, while these directors might be somewhat disappointed by being awarded one title, many factors go into these decisions, and given the Academy’s history and sometimes very skewed sense of judgement, all of this has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
