Best movies that are oscar winners or nominees in directing category

Lawrence of Arabia(1962)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 88

The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.



The Power of the Dog(2021)

Combined Rating:
91
Combined Critics Rating: 91

Charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.





Mystic River(2003)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 85

With a childhood tragedy that overshadowed their lives, three men are reunited by circumstance when one has a family tragedy.



The Queen(2006)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 88

After the death of Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II struggles with her reaction to a sequence of events nobody could have predicted.



United 93(2006)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 88

A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.



Letters from Iwo Jima(2006)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 87

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.



Milk(2008)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 87

The story of Harvey Milk, and his struggles as an American gay activist who fought for gay rights and became California's first openly gay elected official.



Black Swan(2010)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 86

A committed dancer wins the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" only to find herself struggling to maintain her sanity.



True Grit(2010)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 86

A stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.



Hugo(2011)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 86

In Paris in 1931, an orphan named Hugo Cabret who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.



The Descendants(2011)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 87

A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.



Silver Linings Playbook(2012)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 86

After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.



Nebraska(2013)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 88

An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.



The Revenant(2015)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 86

A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.



BlacKkKlansman(2018)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 90

Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer from Colorado Springs, CO, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of a Jewish surrogate who eventually becomes its leader. Based on actual events.



Minari(2020)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 91

A Korean family starts a farm in 1980s Arkansas.



Amadeus(1984)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 86

The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.



L.A. Confidential(1997)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 85

As corruption grows in 1950s LA, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.



American Beauty(1999)

Combined Rating:
90
Combined Critics Rating: 85

A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.




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