2003:
Elephant, directed by Gus Van Sant

2002:
The Pianist, directed by Roman Polanski

2001:
La Stanza del figlio (The Son's Room), directed by Nanni Moretti

2000:
Dancer in the Dark

1999:
Rosetta, directed by Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne

1998:
Mia aiwniothta kai mia mera, directed by Theo Angelopoulos

1997:
Ta'm e guilass (Taste of Cherry)
Unagi (The Eel)

1996:
Secrets & Lies, directed by Mike Leigh

1995:
Underground, directed by Emir Kusturica

1994:
Pulp Fiction

1993:
Ba wang bie ji (Farewell My Concubine)
The Piano

1992:
Den Goda viljan (Best Intentions), directed by Bille August

1991:
Barton Fink, directed by Joel Coen

1990:
Wild at Heart, directed by David Lynch

1989:
Sex, Lies, and Videotape

1988:
Pelle erobreren (Pelle the Conquerer)

1987:
Sous le soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan), directed by Maurice Pialat

1986:
The Mission, directed by Roland Joffe

1985:
Otac na sluzbenom putu (When Father Was Away on Business), directed by Emir Kusturica

1984:
Paris, Texas, directed by Wim Wenders

1983:
Narayama bushiko (Ballad of Narayama), directed by Shohei Imamura

1982:
Missing, directed by Costa-Gavras
Yol

1981:
Czlowiek z zelaza (Man of Iron), directed by Andrzej Wajda

1980:
All That Jazz, directed by Bob Fosse
Kagemusha, directed by Akira Kurosawa

1979:
Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Die Blechtrommel (The Tin Drum), directed by Volker Schländorff

1978:
L' Albero degli zoccoli (Tree with the Wooden Clogs), directed by Ermanno Olmi

1977:
Padre padrone

1976:
Taxi Driver, directed by Martin Scorsese

1975:
Chronique des annes de braise (Chronicle of the Years of Fire)

1974:
The Conversation, directed by Francis Ford Coppola

1973:
The Hireling
Scarecrow

1972:
Il Caso Mattei (The Mattei Affair), directed by Francesco Rosi
La Classe operaia va in paradiso (Working Class Goes to Heaven), directed by Elio Petri

1971:
The Go-Between

1970:
M*A*S*H, directed by Robert Altman

1969:
If..., directed by Lindsay Anderson

1967:
Blowup, directed by Michelangelo Antonioni

1966:
Signore & signori (The Birds, the Bees and the Italians), directed by Pietro Germi
Un homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman)

1965:
The Knack, directed by Richard Lester

1964:
Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), directed by Jacques Demy

1963:
Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), directed by Lucino Visconti

1962:
O Pagador de Promessas (Keeper of Promises)

1961:
Une aussi longue absence (The Long Absence)
Viridiana, directed by Luis Bunuel

1960:
La Dolce vita, directed by Federico Fellini

1959:
Orfeu Negro

1958:
Letjat zhuravli

1957:
Friendly Persuasion

1956:
Le Monde du silence, directed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle

1955:
Marty

Before 1955, the top award at Cannes was known as Grand Prix du Festival International du Film.

1954:
Jigokumon

1953:
Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear)

1952:
Due soldi di speranza
The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice

1951:
Miss Julie
Miracolo a Milano, directed by Vittorio De Sica

1949:
The Third Man, directed by Carol Reed

1946:
Brief Encounter
Hets
Die Letzte Chance
The Lost Weekend
Maria Candelaria, directed by Emilio Fernandez
Neecha Nagar
Roma, Open City
De Rode enge (The Red Earth)
La Symphonie pastorale, directed by Jean Delannoy