Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award – Feature Film

Special award given to film directors

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]
2022 No award
2023

See also

References

  1. ^ 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. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Taylor, Clarke (March 9, 1987). "Elia Kazan Gets D. W. Griffith Award". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 8, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Farache, Emily (December 15, 1999). "Directors Guild Renames D.W. Griffith Award". E! News. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Directors Guild to honour Eastwood". The Guardian. December 2, 2005. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  5. ^ a b McNary, Dave (November 26, 2016). "Ridley Scott to Receive Directors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award". Variety. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "Guild drops film award named for Birth of a Nation director". Deseret News. December 16, 1999. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  7. ^ Loggia, Cynthia (December 14, 1999). "DGA retires Griffith kudo, seeks new award name". Variety. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "DGA Retires D.W. Griffith Award – Guild to Create a New Career Achievement Award". Directors Guild of America. December 14, 1999. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Hevrdejs, Judy (December 19, 1999). "Griffith Award Retired". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Campbell, Duncan (March 11, 2000). "Film directors strip award of link to Klan epic". The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  11. ^ Waxman, Sharon (March 16, 2000). "For Directors, a Prize By Any Other Name". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Fraser, Gerald (March 14, 1983). "Attenborough Tops Director's Poll". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  14. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (March 11, 1985). "Milos Forman Wins Directors Guild Award". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  15. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (March 10, 1986). "Spielberg is Honored by Directors". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  16. ^ Cieply, Michael (March 14, 1988). "Bertolucci Wins Directors' Award". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  17. ^ Bernstein, Sharon (March 12, 1990). "Oliver Stone Wins Directors Award, Next the Oscar?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  18. ^ Fox, David (March 16, 1992). "Directors Scramble the Bets". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  19. ^ Linan, Steven (March 6, 1993). "Movies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  20. ^ Fox, David (March 7, 1994). "Spielberg's List a Call to 'Duty'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  21. ^ "James Ivory to Receive D.W. Griffith Award at 47th Annual DGA Awards Banquet". Directors Guild of America. January 28, 1995. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  22. ^ "Woody Allen to Receive D.W. Griffith Award". Directors Guild of America. January 24, 1996. Archived from the original on October 22, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  23. ^ Johnson, Ted (February 2, 1997). "DGA gives Kubrick D.W. Griffith Award". Variety. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  24. ^ Madigan, Nick (January 14, 1998). "Coppola wins DGA'S Griffith nod". Variety. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  25. ^ McNary, Dave (January 16, 2003). "Scorsese honored by DGA". Variety. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  26. ^ Brevet, Brad (January 5, 2004). "Mike Nichols is Honored at 56th Annual DGA Celebration". ComingSoon. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  27. ^ McNary, Dave (December 1, 2009). "DGA honors Norman Jewison". Variety. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  28. ^ Savage, Sophia (November 28, 2012). "Milos Forman to Receive Directors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award, 'One of the Greatest Filmmakers of Our Time'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on April 19, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  29. ^ Evans, Greg (January 19, 2022). "Spike Lee To Receive DGA Lifetime Achievement Award". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 19, 2022.

External links

  • Official DGA website
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Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award – Feature Film