The best Best Pictures
82 films have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and it is a superb list of films. It's true some of them aren't considered the best in their years anymore, and it's true that some of the greatest movies of all time (Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, etc.) didn't win Best Picture, but if one wanted to watch some classic movies, the Best Pictures is a perfect place to start. And that's exactly what I did several years ago.
Honorable Mentions
Amadeus (1984)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Easily the freakiest Best Picture winner ever and one of only three movies to have won the big five Oscars (picture, director for Jonathan Demme, screenplay, actor for Anthony Hopkins and actress for Jodie Foster). Keep reading and you'll discover the other two films to achieve that feat.
Top 10
10. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
What a crowd pleaser. Slumdog flirts with cheesiness the entire film, but it never gets there. It's an inspirational story of a poor kid from Mumbai who, with the help of destiny, is suddenly a quiz show champion on India's "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire." Jamal was never properly educated so his impressive run on the show seems impossible. But as he's asked each question, the viewer is taken back to his past to discover how he learned the answers. They all just seem like passing moments in his life, but fortunately he remembers them. This great tale involves the love of his life, Latika, and his brother, Salim, who momentarily ventures to the dark side. Though it's rather recent, it's truly timeless.
8. Gone With the Wind (1939)
In 1939, two eventually classic films with dazzling technicolor, some 20-plus years before color in film was the norm, went head-to-head for Best Picture at the Oscars. Wind took out The Wizard of Oz in a year considered one of the best in movie history. It's the longest best picture, clocking in at nearly four hours. It's a truly remarkable film in every way. We're not usually given the Confederate side of the Civil War story and we don't usually hear stories about what happened to Confederate states after the Civil War. Gone With the Wind gives us both. It's really a unique look at one of the most important time periods in our nation's history. There's a book naming 1,000 movies you should see before you die, Gone With the Wind would be on a short list of about 10.
The first movie to win the big five Oscars, It Happened One Night is romantic comedy at it's finest. Claudette Colbert (won Best Actress) is a spoiled heiress who runs away from home to journey back to her husband. She runs into journalist Clark Gable (won Best Actor) who, though annoyed by her, can't help but see a great story opportunity, so he offers to help her get to her husband as long as he can write about it. You can probably guess where the story goes from here, but on the way it features some of the funniest comedy scenes ever, the most famous being Gable's failed attempts to hitch hike when all Colbert has to do is expose her knee. Great stuff. Director Frank Capra won his third Best Director award.
This William Wyler film follows the stories of three servicemen returning from WWII (Fredric March, Dana Andrews and Harold Russell). Each man is at a different stage in his life. Al Stephenson (March) is the oldest of the three and has a wife and grown children, Fred Derry (Andrews) has an ungrateful girlfriend and can't seem to land a job and Homer Parrish (Russell) whose arms were blown off in battle returns to his fiancee who he thinks has replaced her love for him with pity. It's a bold look into the lives of men who sacrifice everything for their country and return to a world that seems completely different than when they left. Expertly acted all around with Teresa Wright as Al's daughter who has a thing for Fred and the great Myrna Loy as Al's loyal wife. Russell, who really was missing both arms, is the only person to win two Oscar awards for one performance. He won Best Supporting Actor that year as well as an honorary award for bringing hope and courage to fellow veterans.
3. Schindler's List (1993)
Steven Spielberg had a reputation for only making blockbusters involving aliens or giant, man-eating creatures (E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws and Jurassic Park). Though any chance people didn't take him seriously as a director were tossed out the window when he made Schindler's List. It's a truly honest look at the horrors humans are capable of. At times it feels like we're looking at actual footage from the holocaust. And at the anchor are a triad of awesome performances by Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.
2. Casablanca (1943)
Casablanca has probably the best screenplay of all time. About five of the most well known movie quotes come from this movie: "Here's lookin' at you. kid," "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine," "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By,'" "We'll always have Paris," and "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." With the brilliant script, great direction from Michael Curtiz and expert acting by Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains this is an absolute must see for all movie fans.
If I was told there was only one perfect movie ever made, I would guess it was Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Based on Mario Puzo's novel, it's a story of Vito Corleone, the patriarch of a crime family in 1950s New York, who contemplates pushing aside his old-world values for the new wave of crime: drugs. His youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) is a war hero, and unlike his brothers Sonny (James Caan), Fredo (John Cazale) and adopted brother Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) he is reluctant to join the family business. Michael is easily the most stubborn of the bunch, which ultimately makes him the perfect candidate to head the family business. Vito is the foundation, but Michael is the centerpiece of the movie and is one of the most compelling characters in movie history. He's smart and has great instincts like his father, but unlike his father he's willing to go down darker roads to succeed. The characters are so gripping and real, that we know them very well by the end of the movie. They each have defined personalities; Hagen is rationale and logical, Sonny is passionate and hot-headed, Fredo is quiet and good-natured and Michael is cunning and determined. There's a little scene that speaks volumes about Michael. When he visits the hospital his father is at after being shot, he notices the guards have gone and nobody is around. He realizes this is shady, so he asks a nurse to help him move his father to another room for his protection, then he, along with Enzo the baker, stand outside looking like hoods to keep would-be assassins from entering. After a car slows down in front of the hospital, Michael reaches inside his coat as if he's got a gun. The car drives off. Enzo is so shaken, he attempts to smoke a cigarette, but can't light it because his hands are trembling. Michael takes the lighter and lights it for him. He then pauses and looks at his hands and notices they're not shaking one bit. A masterpiece in every sense of the word and as good a candidate as any for the best film ever made.
Since we're on the verge of the 83rd Oscars, I would like to count down my list of the best films to win the Best Picture award. I came up with 15 titles and ranked the top ten, but first here are the honorable mentions.
Best PicturesHonorable Mentions
Amadeus (1984)
Though it's supposedly very inaccurate, it's still a tremendous film. It looks great, it sounds great and it's performed by great actors. The key, of course, is the brilliant music by Mozart which is heard throughout the movie. Watch for F. Murray Abraham in a superb performance.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Serving as both a sequel and a prequel to the first Godfather, this film carries much of the magic from the first film. Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, John Cazale and Talia Shire reprise their roles from the first, the newest addition being Robert DeNiro, as the younger Vito Corleone, in a performance for the ages.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The perfect definition of epic, Lawrence is especially captivating to look at. It's filled with beautifully shot long takes and stunning cinematography. Peter O'Toole, as T.E. Lawrence, is amazing and Omar Sharif and Alec Guinness lend a helping hand. This is as big as movies get.
On the Waterfront (1954)
Mostly powered by a brilliant turn by Marlon Brando as an ex-prize fighter attempting to stand up to his union bosses, Waterfront is a dreary look into blue-collar America. Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger and Eva Marie Saint fill out the major roles (all were nominated for Oscars), which gives this movie a cast directors dream about.
Easily the freakiest Best Picture winner ever and one of only three movies to have won the big five Oscars (picture, director for Jonathan Demme, screenplay, actor for Anthony Hopkins and actress for Jodie Foster). Keep reading and you'll discover the other two films to achieve that feat.
Top 10
10. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
What a crowd pleaser. Slumdog flirts with cheesiness the entire film, but it never gets there. It's an inspirational story of a poor kid from Mumbai who, with the help of destiny, is suddenly a quiz show champion on India's "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire." Jamal was never properly educated so his impressive run on the show seems impossible. But as he's asked each question, the viewer is taken back to his past to discover how he learned the answers. They all just seem like passing moments in his life, but fortunately he remembers them. This great tale involves the love of his life, Latika, and his brother, Salim, who momentarily ventures to the dark side. Though it's rather recent, it's truly timeless.
9. Forrest Gump (1994)
For whatever reason this film has entered what I like to call the "cool to hate" category. That means it has become a trend to despise it, much like Titanic. Forrest Gump is story telling in its purest form. Forrest, played brilliantly by Tom Hanks, has a below-average IQ, but is extremely good-natured. He doesn't wish harm on anyone unless they wish harm on the people he loves. Director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Eric Roth tell a moving and funny story while chronicling important moments in American history. Though overall very serious, I think it's probably the funniest movie you'll find in the drama section of a DVD store.
In 1939, two eventually classic films with dazzling technicolor, some 20-plus years before color in film was the norm, went head-to-head for Best Picture at the Oscars. Wind took out The Wizard of Oz in a year considered one of the best in movie history. It's the longest best picture, clocking in at nearly four hours. It's a truly remarkable film in every way. We're not usually given the Confederate side of the Civil War story and we don't usually hear stories about what happened to Confederate states after the Civil War. Gone With the Wind gives us both. It's really a unique look at one of the most important time periods in our nation's history. There's a book naming 1,000 movies you should see before you die, Gone With the Wind would be on a short list of about 10.
7. It Happened One Night (1934)
The first movie to win the big five Oscars, It Happened One Night is romantic comedy at it's finest. Claudette Colbert (won Best Actress) is a spoiled heiress who runs away from home to journey back to her husband. She runs into journalist Clark Gable (won Best Actor) who, though annoyed by her, can't help but see a great story opportunity, so he offers to help her get to her husband as long as he can write about it. You can probably guess where the story goes from here, but on the way it features some of the funniest comedy scenes ever, the most famous being Gable's failed attempts to hitch hike when all Colbert has to do is expose her knee. Great stuff. Director Frank Capra won his third Best Director award.
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
This is the second film to win the big five Oscars. Cuckoo's Nest is all about Jack Nicholson. I believe it's the best performance of all time and I'll never get sick of watching it. Nicholson plays, R.P. McMurphy, a prisoner sent to a mental hospital because he's been considered too mentally ill for prison. The surrounding characters and viewers alike, never know for sure if it's true or if McMurphy is putting on a show to get out of prison. Best Director winner Milos Forman paces the film in such a way that we feel we're going through the same situations as the characters. Scenes in the hospital are slow-moving, which bores McMurphy and other patients. But the basketball and boating scenes are joyfully entertaining. It's funny at times, sad at others, but always authentic and moving. Louise Fletcher won Best Actress portraying the evil Nurse Ratched.
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
20 years before he played Obi-Wan Kenobi, Sir Alec Guinness was British Col. Nicholson, a noble WWII prisoner of war. Japanese Col. Saito forces British and American soldiers to build a bridge. They treat it as slave work until Nicholson overthrows Saito and instructs his men to, not only continue building the bridge, but build it better and post a sign notifying all who pass that it was built by the British. William Holden's character, an American soldier who escaped under Saito's watch, is sent back to the camp to destroy the bridge. It's exhilarating to watch as allied sides unknowingly work against each other. It's such a great concept, I'm surprised it isn't used more often.
4. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
This William Wyler film follows the stories of three servicemen returning from WWII (Fredric March, Dana Andrews and Harold Russell). Each man is at a different stage in his life. Al Stephenson (March) is the oldest of the three and has a wife and grown children, Fred Derry (Andrews) has an ungrateful girlfriend and can't seem to land a job and Homer Parrish (Russell) whose arms were blown off in battle returns to his fiancee who he thinks has replaced her love for him with pity. It's a bold look into the lives of men who sacrifice everything for their country and return to a world that seems completely different than when they left. Expertly acted all around with Teresa Wright as Al's daughter who has a thing for Fred and the great Myrna Loy as Al's loyal wife. Russell, who really was missing both arms, is the only person to win two Oscar awards for one performance. He won Best Supporting Actor that year as well as an honorary award for bringing hope and courage to fellow veterans.Steven Spielberg had a reputation for only making blockbusters involving aliens or giant, man-eating creatures (E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jaws and Jurassic Park). Though any chance people didn't take him seriously as a director were tossed out the window when he made Schindler's List. It's a truly honest look at the horrors humans are capable of. At times it feels like we're looking at actual footage from the holocaust. And at the anchor are a triad of awesome performances by Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.
2. Casablanca (1943)
Casablanca has probably the best screenplay of all time. About five of the most well known movie quotes come from this movie: "Here's lookin' at you. kid," "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine," "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By,'" "We'll always have Paris," and "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." With the brilliant script, great direction from Michael Curtiz and expert acting by Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains this is an absolute must see for all movie fans.
1. The Godfather (1972)
If I was told there was only one perfect movie ever made, I would guess it was Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Based on Mario Puzo's novel, it's a story of Vito Corleone, the patriarch of a crime family in 1950s New York, who contemplates pushing aside his old-world values for the new wave of crime: drugs. His youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) is a war hero, and unlike his brothers Sonny (James Caan), Fredo (John Cazale) and adopted brother Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) he is reluctant to join the family business. Michael is easily the most stubborn of the bunch, which ultimately makes him the perfect candidate to head the family business. Vito is the foundation, but Michael is the centerpiece of the movie and is one of the most compelling characters in movie history. He's smart and has great instincts like his father, but unlike his father he's willing to go down darker roads to succeed. The characters are so gripping and real, that we know them very well by the end of the movie. They each have defined personalities; Hagen is rationale and logical, Sonny is passionate and hot-headed, Fredo is quiet and good-natured and Michael is cunning and determined. There's a little scene that speaks volumes about Michael. When he visits the hospital his father is at after being shot, he notices the guards have gone and nobody is around. He realizes this is shady, so he asks a nurse to help him move his father to another room for his protection, then he, along with Enzo the baker, stand outside looking like hoods to keep would-be assassins from entering. After a car slows down in front of the hospital, Michael reaches inside his coat as if he's got a gun. The car drives off. Enzo is so shaken, he attempts to smoke a cigarette, but can't light it because his hands are trembling. Michael takes the lighter and lights it for him. He then pauses and looks at his hands and notices they're not shaking one bit. A masterpiece in every sense of the word and as good a candidate as any for the best film ever made.
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