The 39th Directors Guild of America Awards, honoring the outstanding directorial achievements in film and television in 1986, were presented on March 7, 1987, at the Sheraton Premiere Hotel in Los Angeles and the nightclub 4D in New York.

[1][2][3][4][5] The feature film nominees were announced on January 28, 1987.

[6][7][8] Oliver Stone – Platoon Will Mackenzie – Moonlighting for "Atomic Shakespeare" Terry Hughes – The Golden Girls for "Isn't It Romantic?"

Lee Grant – Nobody's Child Walter C. Miller – Liberty Weekend Catlin Adams – ABC Afterschool Special for "Wanted: The Perfect Guy" Perry Miller Adato – American Masters for "Eugene O'Neill: A Glory of Ghosts" Harry J. Coyle – 1986 World Series Joe Pytka – John Hancock Financial's "Brothers", Henry Weinhard's' "Chuck Wagon", and Pepsi's "Floats"