Research in Progress: Oct 2, 2021
When Damien Chazelle, the creator of the highly acclaimed musical La La Land, won the Best Director Oscar, he became the youngest ever–only 32–to achieve that record.
The following essay is part of a bigger project dealing with age, productivity, and creativity in Hollywood.
I am using the age at which a filmmaker got his/her first Best Director Oscar as an indicator of peer recognition and professional success.
Name Film Year Age
Borzage, Frank– Seventh Heaven, 1927-28, 35
Milestone, Lewis–Two Arabian Knights, 1927-28, 33
Lloyd, Frank–The Divine Lady, 1928-29, 44
Milestone, Lewis–All Quiet on Western Front, 1929-30, 35
Norman Taurog–Skippy, 1930-31, 32
Borzage, Frank–Bad Girl, 1931-32, 38
Lloyd, Frank–Cavalcade, 1932-33, 48
Capra, Frank–It Happened One Night, 1934, 39
Ford, John–The Informer, 1935, 42
Capra, Frank–Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, 1936, 41
McCarey, Leo–The Awful Truth, 1937, 39
Capra, Frank–You Can’t Take It With You 1938, 41
Fleming, Victor–Gone with the Wind, 1939, 51
Ford, John–The Grapes of Wrath, 1940, 45
Ford, John–How Green Was My Valley, 1941, 47
Wyler, William–Mrs. Miniver, 1942, 40
Curtiz, Michael, Casablanca, 1943, 57
McCarey, Leo, Going My Way, 1944, 46
Wilder, Billy–The Lost Weekend, 1945, 39
Wyler, William–The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946, 44
Kazan, Elia==Gentleman’s Agreement, 1947, 38
Huston, John–The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948, 42
Mankiewicz, Joseph–Letter to Three Wives, 1949, 41
Mankiewicz, Joseph–All About Eve, 1950, 42
Stevens, George–A Place in the Sun, 1951, 47
Ford, John–The Quiet Man, 1952, 59
Zinnemann, Fred–From Here to Eternity, 1953, 46
Kazan, Elia–On the Waterfront, 1954, 45
Mann, Delbert–Marty, 1955, 36
Stevens, George–Giant, 1956, 52
Lean, David–The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957, 50
Minnelli, Vincente–Gigi, 1958, 56
William Wyler–Ben-Hur, 1959, 57
Wilder, Billy–The Apartment, 1960, 54
Wise, Robert–West Side Story, 1961, 47
Robbins, Jerome–West Side Story, 1961, 43
Lean, David–Lawrence of Arabia, 1962, 55
Richardson, Tony–Tom Jones, 1963, 35
Cukor, George–My Fair Lady, 1964, 65
Wise, Robert–The Sound of Music, 1965, 47
Zinnemann, Fred–A Man for All Seasons, 1966, 59
Nichols, Mike–The Graduate, 1967, 36
Reed, Carol–Oliver! 1968, 62
Schlesinger, John–Midnight Cowboy, 1969, 44
Schaffner, Franklin–Patton, 1970, 50
Altman, Robert–M.A.S. H. 1970, 45
Friedkin, William–The French Connection, 1971, 36
Fosse, Bob–Cabaret, 1972, 45
Hill, George Roy–The Sting, 1973, 52
Coppola, Francis–The Godfather, Part II 1974, 36
Forman, Milos–One Flew Over Cuckoos, 1975, 44
Avildsen, John–Rocky, 1976, 41
Allen, Woody–Annie Hall, 1977, 42
Cimino, Michael–The Deer Hunter, 1978, 30
Benton, Robert–Kramer Vs. Kramer, 1979, 47
Redford, Robert–Ordinary People, 1980, 44
Beatty, Warren–Reds, 1981, 44
Attenborough, Richard–Gandhi, 1982, 59
Brooks, James L.–Terms of Endearment, 1983, 43
Forman, Milos–Amadeus, 1984, 52 (second Oscar)
Pollack, Sydney–Out of Africa, 1985, 51
Stone, Oliver Platoon 1986 40
Bertolucci, B The Last Emperor 1987 48
Levinson, Barry Rain Man 1988 46
Stone, Oliver Born on Fourth of July 1989 43
Costner, Kevin Dances With Wolves 1990 36
Demme, Jonathan–Silence of the Lambs 1991, 48
Eastwood, Clint Unforgiven 1992 62
Spielberg, Steven–Schindler’s List 1993 47
Zemeckis, Robert Forrest Gump, 1994, 42
Gibson, Mel–Braveheart, 1995, 40
Minghella, Anthony The English Patient 1996 42
Cameron, James Titanic 1997 43
Spielberg, Steven Saving Private Ryan 1998 52
Mendes, Sam American Beauty 1999 34
Jonze, Spike Being John Malkovich 1999 30
Soderbergh, Steven–Traffic, 2000, 38
Howard, Ron–A Beautiful Mind, 2001, 48
Polanski, Roman–The Pianist, 2002, 69
Jackson, Peter–Lord of the Rings, 2003, 42
Eastwood, Clint–Million Dollar Baby, 2004, 74 (second Oscar)
Lee, Ang–Brokeback Mountain, 2005, 51
Scorsese, Martin–The Departed, 2006, 64
Coen, Joel–No Country for Old Men 2007, 53
Coen, Ethan–No Country for Old Men, 2007, 50
Boyle, Danny–Slumdog Millionaire, 2008, 52
Bigelow, Kathryn–The Hurt Locker, 2009, 58
Hooper, Tom–The King’s Speech, 2010, 38
Hazanovicius, Michel–The Artist, 2011, 44
Lee, Ang–Life of Pi, 2012, 58
Cuaron, Alfonso–Gravity, 2013, 52
Inarritu, Alejandro–Birdman, 2014, 51
Inarritu, Alejandro–The Revenant, 2015, 52
Damien Chazelle–La La Land, 2016, 32
Del Toro, Benicio–The Shape of Water, 2017, 53
Alfonso Cuaron–Roma, 2018, 57
Bong Joo-hon–Parasite, 2019, 50
Zhao, Chloe, Nmadland, 38
