1939
Union Pacific by Cecil B. DeMille
United States
1946
Torment (Hets) by Alf Sjöberg
Sweden
The Lost Weekend by Billy Wilder
United States
The Red Meadows (De røde enge) by Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr.
Denmark
Brief Encounter by David Lean
United Kingdom
Portrait of Maria (María Candelaria (Xochimilco) by Emilio Fernández
Mexico
Neecha Nagar (नीचा नगर) by Chetan Anand
India
The Turning Point (Великий перелом, Velikiy perelom) by Fridrikh Ermler
Soviet Union
La symphonie pastorale by Jean Delannoy
France
The Last Chance (Die Letzte Chance) by Leopold Lindtberg
Austria
Men Without Wings (Muži bez křídel) by František Čáp
Czechoslovakia
Rome, Open City (Roma, città aperta) by Roberto Rossellini
Italy
1949
The Third Man by Carol Reed
United Kingdom
1951
Miss Julie (Fröken Julie) by Alf Sjöberg
Sweden
Miracle in Milan (Miracolo a Milano) by Vittorio De Sica
Italy
1952
The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice by Orson Welles
United States
Two Cents Worth of Hope (Due soldi di speranza) by Renato Castellani
Italy
1953
The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur) by Henri-Georges Clouzot
France
1954
Gate of Hell (地獄門, Jigokumon) by Teinosuke Kinugasa
Japan
1955
Marty by Delbert Mann
United States
1956
The Silent World (Le monde du silence) by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle
France
1957
Friendly Persuasion by William Wyler
United States
1958
The Cranes Are Flying (Летят журавли, Letyat zhuravli) by Mikhail Kalatozov
Soviet Union
1959
Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) by Marcel Camus
France
1960
La dolce vita by Federico Fellini
Italy
1961
The Long Absence (Une aussi longue absence) by Henri Colpi
France
Viridiana by Luis Buñuel
Spain
1962
O Pagador de Promessas by Anselmo Duarte
Brazil
1963
The Leopard (Il gattopardo) by Luchino Visconti
Italy
1964
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les parapluies de Cherbourg) by Jacques Demy
France
1965
The Knack …and How to Get It by Richard Lester
United Kingdom
1966
A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme) by Claude Lelouch
France
The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (Signore e signori)
by Pietro Germi
Italy
1967
Blow-Up by Michelangelo Antonioni
Italy
1969
if.... by Lindsay Anderson
United Kingdom
1970
MASH by Robert Altman
United States
1971
The Go-Between by Joseph Losey
United States
1972
The Working Class Goes to Heaven (La classe operaia va in paradiso) by Elio Petri
Italy
The Mattei Affair (Il caso Mattei) by Francesco Rosi
Italy
1973
The Hireling by Alan Bridges
United Kingdom
Scarecrow by Jerry Schatzberg
United States
1974
The Conversation by Francis Ford Coppola
United States
1975
Chronicle of the Years of Fire (Chronique des années de braise) by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina
Algeria
1976
Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese
United States
1977
Padre Padrone by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani
Italy
1978
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (L'albero degli zoccoli) by Ermanno Olmi
Italy
1979
Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola
United States
The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel) by Volker Schlöndorff
West Germany
1980
All That Jazz by Bob Fosse
United States
Kagemusha (影武者) by Akira Kurosawa
Japan
1981
Man of Iron (Człowiek z żelaza) by Andrzej Wajda
Poland
1982
Missing by Costa-Gavras
Greece
The Way (Yol) by Yılmaz Güney and Şerif Gören
Turkey
1983
The Ballad of Narayama (楢山節考 / Narayama bushiko) by Shohei Imamura
Japan
1984
Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders
West Germany
1985
When Father Was Away on Business (Otac na službenom putu) [unanimously] by Emir Kusturica
Yugoslavia
1986
The Mission by Roland Joffé
United Kingdom
1987
Under the Sun of Satan (Sous le soleil de Satan) [unanimously] by Maurice Pialat
France
1988
Pelle the Conqueror (Pelle erobreren) by Bille August
Denmark
1989
Sex, Lies, and Videotape by Steven Soderbergh
United States
1990
Wild at Heart by David Lynch
United States
1991
Barton Fink [unanimously] by Joel and Ethan Coen
United States
1992
The Best Intentions (Den goda viljan) by Bille August
Sweden
1993
Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬 / Bàwáng bié jī) by Chen Kaige
China
The Piano by Jane Campion
New Zealand
1994
Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino
United States
1995
Underground (Подземље, Podzemlje) by Emir Kusturica
FR Yugoslavia
1996
Secrets & Lies by Mike Leigh
United Kingdom
1997
Taste of Cherry (طعم گيلاس /Ta'm-e gīlās) by Abbas Kiarostami
Iran
The Eel (''うなぎ, Unagi) by Shohei Imamura
Japan
1998
Eternity and a Day (Μια αιωνιότητα και μια μέρα / Mia aioniotita kai mia mera) [unanimously] by Theo Angelopoulos
Greece
1999
Rosetta by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Belgium
2000
Dancer in the Dark by Lars von Trier
Denmark
2001
The Son's Room (La stanza del figlio) by Nanni Moretti
Italy
2002
The Pianist by Roman Polanski
Poland
2003
Elephant by Gus Van Sant
United States
2004
Fahrenheit 9/11 [unanimously] by Michael Moore
United States
2005
The Child (L'enfant) by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Belgium
2006
The Wind That Shakes the Barley by Ken Loach
United Kingdom
2007
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile) by Cristian Mungiu
Romania
2008
The Class (Entre les murs) [unanimously] by Laurent Cantet
France
2009
The White Ribbon (Das weiße Band) by Michael Haneke
Austria
