# The Best Director Oscar winners of the 1980s

The directors who won the Academy Award for Best Director for films from 1980 to 1989, with two wins for Oliver Stone.

- 1521 votes · 10 items
- Mar 24, 2026 · Alberto P.
- https://even.best/en/l/1196/the-best-director-oscar-winners-of-the-1980s

## Top 10

1. **Robert Redford — Ordinary People** (231 · ▲242 ▼11) — 1980 film. His directing debut.
2. **Warren Beatty — Reds** (187 · ▲200 ▼13) — 1981 film. Journalist John Reed and the Russian Revolution.
3. **Richard Attenborough — Gandhi** (181 · ▲191 ▼10) — 1982 film. Eight Oscars.
4. **James L. Brooks — Terms of Endearment** (128 · ▲143 ▼15) — 1983 film. His first feature.
5. **Miloš Forman — Amadeus** (116 · ▲128 ▼12) — 1984 film. His second Oscar after One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
6. **Sydney Pollack — Out of Africa** (93 · ▲109 ▼16) — 1985 film. Meryl Streep and Robert Redford in Kenya.
7. **Oliver Stone — Platoon** (87 · ▲107 ▼20) — 1986 film. Vietnam through a veteran's eyes.
8. **Bernardo Bertolucci — The Last Emperor** (68 · ▲85 ▼17) — 1987 film. Puyi, shot in the Forbidden City; nine Oscars out of nine nominations.
9. **Barry Levinson — Rain Man** (65 · ▲83 ▼18) — 1988 film. Two brothers on a road trip across America.
10. **Oliver Stone — Born on the Fourth of July** (57 · ▲79 ▼22) — 1989 film. Tom Cruise as veteran Ron Kovic.

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