80 Years of Oscars

[EZM22]

The film magazine I write for recently decided to do a poll of the best Academy Award winners for Best Picture, which meant that everyone there had to vote for their best.

I've barely seen half of them... 80 pictures is A LOT to watch, and even then some of the winners are overrated duds, or have aged poorly. I just wanted to share with everyone here and see what everyone thinks, what your favorite Best Picture winners are.

I do plan to watch all of them eventually, at least for culture's sake, so I was also wondering which ones would you suggest are actually worth watching and which ones... well, suck.

For now, here's my list (deadline was today and I'm just tired of sitting through so many 2 hour plus films... I need to watch a mindless action movie now! So I made it with what I have seen up to now):

1. The Godfather
2. Unforgiven
3. The Godfather Part II
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
5. On the Waterfront
6. The Departed
7. The Apartment
8. Platoon
9. The French Connection
10. Braveheart

[echo_bravo]

From a technical standpoint and overall filmmaking, I stand by Schindler's List as being the greatest film ever made.

Its not something I would pop in the DVD player with my friends and watch it. You obviously have to be in the right frame of mind and mood to watch it but its a truely fascinating and heartbreaking film.

10/10

[JJFlamingo]

My number 1: American Beauty, though most of that Top Ten is pretty fucking good...

[ilovemovies]

Top 10 Oscar winning movies:

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2. The Godfather Part II
3. The Godfather
4. Schindler's List
5. Casablanca
6. Forrest Gump
7. Rocky
8. American Beauty
9. Platoon
10. Unforgiven

[APzombie]

The difference between best and favorite is notable. Like echo said, Schindler's List is probably the best. Every frame is genius and heartbreaking.

my opinion for 'best'

1. Schindler's List
2. The Apartment
3. The Godfather
4. Amadeus
5. The Deer Hunter
6. Lawrence of Arabia
7. The Silence of the Lambs
8. The Bridge on the River Kwai
9. The Best Years of Our Lives
10. One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest

[sirdizzy]

I have seen 68 of the best picture winners and I disagree that 80 films is a lot to watch, unless of course you are doing it a month or maybe even one year. I have the Greatest Show on Earth sitting on my desk from netflix that will make it 69.

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
2. American Beauty
3. The Godfather
4. Rebecca
5. Schindler's List
6. The Deer Hunter
7. Midnight Cowboy
8. The French Connection
9. The Lost Weekend
10. No Country for Old Men


I want to finish up the best picture winners this year, shouldn't take me much except I am worried about films like Wings which can't be found on Netflix.

[God of War]

To this day, I still have not seen "Schindler's List." I see it for rent every time I go to the Dvd shop. And every time I make a mental not to myself 'Must rent that movie, damnit." This process began about 8 years ago. :rolleyes:

I've seeb fuckall of any of these movies. Still haven't seen the Godfather. And it's been sitting on my Pc table for the last 2-3 years. I'm so bad for that. :o

[cl0n3b4by]

American Beauty

then there is the rest

I have only seen 25 though xD

[EZM22]

I have seen 68 of the best picture winners and I disagree that 80 films is a lot to watch, unless of course you are doing it a month or maybe even one year. I have the Greatest Show on Earth sitting on my desk from netflix that will make it 69.

I had about three weeks to watch all that. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH was by far the weakest one... it's actually a very early blueprint for a blockbuster: everything is grand, majestic, colorful, and loud (well, it is about a circus), which is fine until you get to the plot in between these circus scenes... true to blockbuster tradition, it is incredibly weak. But to each his own.

[athf1980]

to me the Oscars best pictures that I have seen have been at least decent here is my fav. out of the best pictures

1. The Lord of the Rings:Return of the King
2. Casablanca
3. One Flew over the cuckoo nest
4. Forrest Gump
5. The Bridge of the River Kwai
6. The Godfather
7. On the waterfront
8. American Beauty
9. The Departed
10. Lawerence fo Arabia

[Le_Big_Mac]

1. The Bridge on the River Kwai
2. Annie Hall
3. The Godfather
4. The Silence of the Lambs
5. The Deer Hunter
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
7. The Departed
8. The Best Years of Our Lives
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
10. Schindler's List

[Monotreme]

From a technical standpoint and overall filmmaking, I stand by Schindler's List as being the greatest film ever made.

Its not something I would pop in the DVD player with my friends and watch it. You obviously have to be in the right frame of mind and mood to watch it but its a truely fascinating and heartbreaking film.

10/10

Wow, I totally agree with this sentiment. Although it doesn't top my list of favourites, Schindler's List does sit at the very top spot of my list of the greatest films ever made. I definitely think (and agree with you, bravo) that based on everything from its technical values to its emotional ones, it is the best film ever made, and thus also the best Oscar winner.

Other front-runners would have to be Casablanca, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, The Godfathers, The Sting, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Forrest Gump, American Beauty, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and maybe in 10 years or so, No Country for Old Men (just too recent to put on a list like that, but after it'll sink in, it's place will be there).

[DaMovieMan]

Citizen Kane is the better technical movie that comes to mind immediately as far as American cinema goes. Schindler's List is amazing and superb, definitely among the top but I couldn't let two comments saying 'best film ever made' go unnoticed :p Spielberg is a bit of pet-peeve because I feel as if I see right through him and find him vastly overrated but Schindler's List is definitely his masterpiece.

As far as the Best Pictures,

One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest
The Godfather
Lawrence of Arabia
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Godfather Part II
The Deer Hunter
The Bridge on the River Kwai

sound about the most rightful Best Picture winners. While they were going through the Best Pictures segment at this year's Oscars I did make a note of about 10 films I really want to see so the list might just change.

[bigred760]

Unforgiven (no big surprise there really :D). I haven't come close to seeing all the best pics, if I had to guess I probably have seen about half. Some of my faves include The Godfather, Bridge on the River Kwai, LOTR: Return of the King, Gladiator, and Braveheart.

[Natty]

Hmm, of course I haven't seen all of them but the films that I think are truly deserving of 'Best Picture' are:

1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather part 2
3. Schindler's List
4. The Deer Hunter
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
6. Platoon
7. No Country for Old Men
8. Lawrence of Arabia
9. Casablanca
10. Braveheart

Although there are films that I prefer to some of the above such as Gladiator, Crash, Midnight Cowboy, The Apartment and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

[echo_bravo]

And if I had to rank the top ten Best Picture winners it would be...

1. Schindler's List
2. Lawerance of Arabia
3. The Godfather
4. The Godfather II
5. Casablanca
6. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
7. On the Waterfront
8. Amadeus
9. Rebecca
10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest