Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award – Feature Film
The DGA Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction is an American film award presented by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) honoring career achievement in feature film direction. Formerly called D.W. Griffith Award, it was first awarded at the 5th Directors Guild of America Awards in 1953.[1] The award is considered the Directors Guild's highest honor and its recipients are selected by the present and past presidents of the DGA.[2][3][4][5]
History
Originally established in honor of D. W. Griffith, the award was called D.W. Griffith Award between 1953 and 1999. In 1999, the DGA national board voted unanimously to remove Griffith's name from the DGA's lifetime achievement award and replace the award.[6][3][7] DGA president Jack Shea stated that, although Griffith was an influential and innovative filmmaker, he also "helped foster intolerable racial stereotypes."[8][9] Particularly Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation is criticized for its heroic portrayal of the Ku Klux Klan and its negative depiction of black people.[6][10][3] The guild's decision to change the name of its highest honor caused controversy.[11] While NAACP president Kweisi Mfume called it "the right thing to do" and stated that the award "should have never been given under the name of D. W. Griffith,"[6][3] the National Society of Film Critics criticized the name change in a statement calling it "a depressing example of political correctness."[12][10]
Recipients
D.W. Griffith Award (1952–1998)
| Year | Recipient(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Cecil B. DeMille | [1] |
| 1953 | John Ford | [1] |
| 1954 | No award | |
| 1955 | Henry King | [1] |
| 1956 | King Vidor | [1] |
| 1957 | No award | |
| 1958 | Frank Capra | [1] |
| 1959 | George Stevens | [1] |
| 1960 | Frank Borzage | [1] |
| 1961 | No award | |
| 1962 | ||
| 1963 | ||
| 1964 | ||
| 1965 | William Wyler | [1] |
| 1966 | No award | |
| 1967 | Alfred Hitchcock | [1] |
| 1968 | No award | |
| 1969 | Fred Zinnemann | [1] |
| 1970 | No award | |
| 1971 | ||
| 1972 | David Lean and William A. Wellman | [1] |
| 1973 | No award | |
| 1974 | ||
| 1975 | ||
| 1976 | ||
| 1977 | ||
| 1978 | ||
| 1979 | ||
| 1980 | George Cukor | [1] |
| 1981 | Rouben Mamoulian | [1] |
| 1982 | John Huston | [13] |
| 1983 | Orson Welles | [1] |
| 1984 | Billy Wilder | [14] |
| 1985 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | [15] |
| 1986 | Elia Kazan | [2] |
| 1987 | Robert Wise | [16] |
| 1988 | No award | |
| 1989 | Ingmar Bergman | [17] |
| 1990 | No award | |
| 1991 | Akira Kurosawa | [18] |
| 1992 | Sidney Lumet | [19] |
| 1993 | Robert Altman | [20] |
| 1994 | James Ivory | [21] |
| 1995 | Woody Allen | [22] |
| 1996 | Stanley Kubrick | [23] |
| 1997 | Francis Ford Coppola | [24] |
| 1998 | No award | |
DGA Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction (1999–present)
| Year | Recipient(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Steven Spielberg | [1] |
| 2000 | No award | |
| 2001 | ||
| 2002 | Martin Scorsese | [25] |
| 2003 | Mike Nichols | [26] |
| 2004 | No award | |
| 2005 | Clint Eastwood | [4] |
| 2006 | No award | |
| 2007 | ||
| 2008 | ||
| 2009 | Norman Jewison | [27] |
| 2010 | No award | |
| 2011 | ||
| 2012 | Miloš Forman | [28] |
| 2013 | No award | |
| 2014 | ||
| 2015 | ||
| 2016 | Ridley Scott | [5] |
| 2017 | No award | |
| 2018 | ||
| 2019 | ||
| 2020 | ||
| 2021 | Spike Lee | [29] |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Steven Spielberg to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award, DGA's Highest Honor". Directors Guild of America. January 31, 2000. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Taylor, Clarke (March 9, 1987). "Elia Kazan Gets D. W. Griffith Award". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Farache, Emily (December 15, 1999). "Directors Guild Renames D.W. Griffith Award". E! News. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "Directors Guild to honour Eastwood". The Guardian. December 2, 2005. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b McNary, Dave (November 26, 2016). "Ridley Scott to Receive Directors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Guild drops film award named for 'Birth of a Nation' director". Deseret News. December 16, 1999. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ Loggia, Cynthia (December 14, 1999). "DGA retires Griffith kudo, seeks new award name". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ "DGA Retires D.W. Griffith Award - Guild to Create a New Career Achievement Award". Directors Guild of America. December 14, 1999. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ Hevrdejs, Judy (December 19, 1999). . Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Campbell, Duncan (March 11, 2000). "Film directors strip award of link to Klan epic". The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ Waxman, Sharon (March 16, 2000). "For Directors, a Prize By Any Other Name". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
- ^ Seymour Stern (2014). Gallen, Ira (ed.). D.W. Griffith's 100th Anniversary The Birth of a Nation. Victoria, BC, Canada: FriesenPress. p. 46. ISBN 978-1460236536.
- ^ Fraser, Gerald (March 14, 1983). "Attenborough Tops Director's Poll". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Harmetz, Aljean (March 11, 1985). "Milos Forman Wins Directors Guild Award". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Harmetz, Aljean (March 10, 1986). "Spielberg is Honored by Directors". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Cieply, Michael (March 14, 1988). "Bertolucci Wins Directors' Award". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Bernstein, Sharon (March 12, 1990). "Oliver Stone Wins Directors Award, Next the Oscar?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Fox, David (March 16, 1992). "Directors Scramble the Bets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Linan, Steven (March 6, 1993). "Movies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Fox, David (March 7, 1994). "Spielberg's 'List' a Call to 'Duty'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "James Ivory to Receive D.W. Griffith Award at 47th Annual DGA Awards Banquet". Directors Guild of America. January 28, 1995. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ "Woody Allen to Receive D.W. Griffith Award". Directors Guild of America. January 24, 1996. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (February 2, 1997). "DGA gives Kubrick D.W. Griffith Award". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Madigan, Nick (January 14, 1998). "Coppola wins DGA'S Griffith nod". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ McNary, Dave (January 16, 2003). "Scorsese honored by DGA". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Brevet, Brad (January 5, 2004). "Mike Nichols is Honored at 56th Annual DGA Celebration". ComingSoon. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ McNary, Dave (December 1, 2009). "DGA honors Norman Jewison". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Savage, Sophia (November 28, 2012). "Milos Forman to Receive Directors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award, 'One of the Greatest Filmmakers of Our Time'". IndieWire. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
- ^ Evans, Greg (January 19, 2022). "Spike Lee To Receive DGA Lifetime Achievement Award". Deadline. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
External links
- Official DGA website