Best Picture Vs. “Best Picture”: Mark’s picks (1927-2023)

You could do a sub-set list of the ones you've seen. I've seen most of them (3/4?) but I wonder how many people, even MoFo people, have seen all of them.

I haven't seen all the Best Pic noms, many of them but not all, especially the more recent.

I think you can pick a favorite Best Picture without seeing all the nominees but to pick a Best Picture you have to see all the nominees. JMO

I'll just share my favorites from each year. You can see whether they match with the actual winner...

1927: Have a couple ranked at the top here, including Wings. I also have The Unknown, The Lodger, and Sunrise.
1928: The Passion of Joan of Arc. Considering these first two years were bundled up, this would've probably been my pick.
1929: The Skeleton Dance and Un Chien Andalou. The Broadway Melody is actually my least favorite from the year.
1930: All Quiet on the Western Front
1931: M
1932: Freaks, Vampyr, and Three on a Match
1933: Duck Soup, The Invisible Man and King Kong
1934: It Happened One Night and The Man Who Knew Too Much
1935: Captain Blood. It's been a while since I saw Mutiny on the Bounty, but I remember liking it.
1936: Modern Times, Things to Come, and Secret Agent
1937: Young and Innocent
1938: The Lady Vanishes
1939: The Wizard of Oz and Le Jour se leve. I haven't seen Gone with the Wind in decades, but I remember liking it a lot.
1940: Foreign Correspondent and The Great Dictator
1941: Citizen Kane and The Maltese Falcon
1942: Casablanca
1943: Shadow of a Doubt
1944: Double Indemnity
1945: Mildred Pierce
1946: Gilda and The Big Sleep
1947: Out of the Past
1948: Bicycle Thieves and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
1949: Late Spring

Up to this point, list skews heavily towards Hitchcock and film noir. The 1940s is also one of the decades where I've seen the least Best Picture winners (have only seen 4)

__________________

Keeping on...

1950: Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve
1951: Ace in the Hole and A Streetcar Named Desire
1952: Ikiru
1953: Tokyo Story
1954: Rear Window and On the Waterfront
1955: Rififi
1956: Night and Fog and The Searchers
1957: Sweet Smell of Success
1958: Vertigo
1959: Ben-Hur and Anatomy of a Murder
1960: Psycho and The Apartment
1961: The Innocents
1962: Harakiri and The Manchurian Candidate
1963: The Haunting
1964: Woman in the Dunes and The Train
1965: Ship of Fools
1966: Persona
1967: The Whisperers, Cool Hand Luke, and The Graduate
1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey
1969: Midnight Cowboy
1970: Five Easy Pieces
1971: Lots of favorites here at the top: A Clockwork Orange, Walkabout, Shura, Carnal Knowledge, Harold and Maude
1972: The Godfather
1973: The Exorcist and The Sting
1974: The Godfather, Part II
1975: Jaws and Picnic at Hanging Rock
1976: Mikey and Nicky, The Omen, All the President's Men, and Taxi Driver. I should probably revisit Rocky.
1977: Sorcerer and Star Wars
1978: Superman and Blue Collar. It's been decades since I saw The Deer Hunter.
1979: Alien

The 1950s and 1960s are other decades where I haven't seen a bunch of Best Picture winners. I haven't seen 4 from each decade.

Final? batch...

1980: Ordinary People and The Empire Strikes Back
1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982: The Thing
1983: "Weak" year, as far as what I've seen: Return of the Jedi maybe? or Vacation.
1984: Blood Simple and Gremlins
1985: Ran and Back to the Future
1986: Aliens
1987: Full Metal Jacket
1988: Die Hard
1989: Do the Right Thing and When Harry Met Sally
1990: The Grifters
1991: The Silence of the Lambs
1992: Unforgiven
1993: Schindler's List and Jurassic Park. Spielberg is King!
1994: The Shawshank Redemption
1995: Seven
1996: Fargo
1997: L.A. Confidential and Titanic
1998: The Big Lebowski and The Truman Show
1999: What a year... The Blair Witch Project, Eyes Wide Shut, The Insider, Election, Three Kings...
2000: Memento and Requiem for a Dream
2001: Mulholland Drive, The Fellowship of the Ring, and Conspiracy
2002: Punch-Drunk Love, Lilo and Stitch, The Pianist, Road to Perdition, and Adaptation
2003: Kill Bill Vol. 1
2004: The Village
2005: A History of Violence and Syriana
2006: Pan's Labyrinth, The Prestige, and The Lives of Others
2007: Another banger year... There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Zodiac
2008: Synecdoche, New York
2009: Inglourious Basterds, Mother, and Dogtooth

Great list, Thief!


Mark C

Final for sure now!...

2010: Black Swan
2011: Hugo, Source Code, and A Separation
2012: Holy Motors
2013: Ida
2014: Whiplash, Nightcrawler, and Kill the Messenger
2015: Room
2016: Moonlight
2017: A Ghost Story, Phantom Thread, and First Reformed
2018: Aniara and Hereditary
2019: Parasite and Us
2020: Spontaneous
2021: The Mitchells vs. the Machines
2022: The Banshees of Inisherin
2023: The Zone of Interest
2024: Civil War and Rebel Ridge

I tend to slack on recent releases so there are a lot I haven't seen from these past few years.

Nice to see some love for Strays…that movie had me on the floor.

I wholeheartedly agree with All Quiet on the Western Front, Rebecca, All the King's Men, Lawrence of Arabia, Schindler's List, No Country for Old Men, and Parasite (my overall favorite Best Picture) winning the award. Others are really good too. These are just the shiniest.

__________________
I destroyed the dastardly dairy dame! I made mad milk maid mulch!

Yes, that was just one of my priorities when I started my alt-Oscar page... I also explored as many awards as possible from around the world, in an attempt to gain a broader, global perspective when tackling the thing. Unlike Oscar (surviving films of course), those are not all completed, but I'm plowing through them, bit by bit. (And I go beyond awards. I search lists and rankings and forums - and will accidently stumble on things I never heard of - every year MUBI throws a few of those types at me, for one)

And that was the best thing about it, the discovery Picking my awards is fun, but that's become secondary to the journey to get there for each and every film season.

Also, the agreeing, not agreeing, that's all stuff and nonsense, none of us will be on the same page 100% of the time - so I'm mostly looking for ideas on what to watch. Did I miss something good?

Either way, I respect the effort.

__________________
Completed Extant Filmographies: Luis Buñuel, Federico Fellini, Satyajit Ray, Fritz Lang, Andrei Tarkovsky, Buster Keaton, Yasujirō Ozu - (for favorite directors who have passed or retired, 10 minimum)

I agree on Citizen Kane over How Green was My Valley from 1941
Rio Bravo over Ben Hur for 1959?
I agree on the Third Man over All The Kings Men for 1949
Still can't believe Hamlet won out over The Treasure of the Sierra Madre for 1948
Agree on Ace In The Hole over An American In Paris for 1951
Agree on Touch of Evil over Gigi for 1958

to name a few

1927/1928
Official Best Picture: Wings
Real Best Picture: -
Robert's Best Picture: Sunrise A Song of Two Humans

1928/1929
Official Best Picture: The Broadway Melody
Real Best Picture: -
Robert's Best Picture: -

1929/1930
Official Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
Real Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
Robert's Best Picture: -

1930/1931
Official Best Picture: Cimarron
Real Best Picture: City Lights
Robert's Best Picture: The Blue Angel

1931/1932
Official Best Picture: Grand Hotel
Real Best Picture: Dracula
Robert's Best Picture: Vampyr

1932/1933
Official Best Picture: Cavalcade
Real Best Picture: King Kong
Robert's Best Picture: M

1934
Official Best Picture: It Happened One Night
Real Best Picture: It Happened One Night
Robert's Best Picture: Twentieth Century

1935
Official Best Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
Real Best Picture: Triumph of the Will
Robert's Best Picture: A Night At the Opera

1936
Official Best Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
Real Best Picture: Modern Times
Robert's Best Picture: Modern Times

1937
Official Best Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
Real Best Picture: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Robert's Best Picture: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1938
Official Best Picture: You Can’t Take It with You
Real Best Picture: The Adventures of Robin Hood
Robert's Best Picture: The Adventures of Robin Hood

1939
Official Best Picture: Gone with the Wind*
Real Best Picture: The Wizard of Oz
Robert's Best Picture: The Wizard of Oz

1940
Official Best Picture: Rebecca
Real Best Picture: The Great Dictator
Robert's Best Picture: Rebecca

1941
Official Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley
Real Best Picture: Citizen Kane
Robert's Best Picture: Citizen Kane

1942
Official Best Picture: Mrs. Miniver
Real Best Picture: Yankee Doodle Dandy
Robert's Best Picture: -

1943
Official Best Picture: Casablanca
Real Best Picture: Casablanca
Robert's Best Picture: Casablanca

1944
Official Best Picture: Going My Way
Real Best Picture: Double Indemnity
Robert's Best Picture: Laura

1945
Official Best Picture: The Lost Weekend
Real Best Picture: Our Vines Have Tender Grapes
Robert's Best Picture: Leave Her to Heaven

1946
Official Best Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
Real Best Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
Robert's Best Picture: My Darling Clementine

1947
Official Best Picture: Gentleman’s Agreement
Real Best Picture: Gentleman’s Agreement
Robert's Best Picture: Out of the Past

1948
Official Best Picture: Hamlet
Real Best Picture: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Robert's Best Picture: Key Largo

1949
Official Best Picture: All the King’s Men*
Real Best Picture: The Third Man (NOTE: THIS WAS RELEASED IN US IN 1950)
Robert's Best Picture: -

1950
Official Best Picture: All About Eve*
Real Best Picture: Sunset Boulevard
Robert's Best Picture: The Third Man

1951
Official Best Picture: An American in Paris
Real Best Picture: Ace in the Hole
Robert's Best Picture: A Streetcar Named Desire

1952
Official Best Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
Real Best Picture: Singin’ in the Rain
Robert's Best Picture: Singin' in the Rain

1953
Official Best Picture: From Here to Eternity
Real Best Picture: Shane
Robert's Best Picture: Shane

1954
Official Best Picture: On the Waterfront*
Real Best Picture: A Star is Born
Robert's Best Picture: On the Waterfront OR Rear Window?

1955
Official Best Picture: Marty
Real Best Picture: Rebel Without a Cause
Robert's Best Picture: Strangers/Journey to Italy

1956
Official Best Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
Real Best Picture: The Ten Commandments
Robert's Best Picture: The King ad I

1957
Official Best Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai*
Real Best Picture: 12 Angry Men
Robert's Best Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai

1958
Official Best Picture: Gigi
Real Best Picture: Touch of Evil
Robert's Best Picture: Touch of Evil

1959
Official Best Picture: Ben-Hur*
Real Best Picture: Rio Bravo
Robert's Best Picture: Anatomy of a Murder

1960
Official Best Picture: The Apartment
Real Best Picture: Peeping Tom
Robert's Best Picture: Psycho

1961
Official Best Picture: West Side Story*
Real Best Picture: Judgment at Nuremburg
Robert's Best Picture: -

1962
Official Best Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
Real Best Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
Robert's Best Picture: Lawrence of Arabia

1963
Official Best Picture: Tom Jones
Real Best Picture: The Haunting
Robert's Best Picture: Bay of Angels

1964
Official Best Picture: My Fair Lady*
Real Best Picture: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Robert's Best Picture: Onibaba OR The Umbrellas of Cherbourg?

I'd feel you'd need to have seen a LOT more than that.
Sometimes my best of the year didn't even get a wide-release.

Only eligible if it was released in California.

Loads of my best pictures of the year aren't eligible for Best Picture.

I always found that curious, when you see these books and websites, and they talk about being angry with Oscar, and Oscar is wrong, and drop an anvil on Oscar and Grrrrr, Oscar... and then they follow Oscar rules. Hell no, blow up the rules too. Go by international release dates, put Casablanca in 1942 even though it played in the NY area, not L.A, take directors like Bunuel whose movies seemed to get banned as often as they got a proper release.... whatever.

And the Academy has since expanded the rule, last I saw, if a picture plays for a week in one of 6 metropolitan areas it's eligible, it's no longer L.A. area only.

Thanks, Robert. Love looking at other people's lists.



Mark C

Most stuff is better than Minority Report... I absolutely loved the premise and the sequence with the eyes, but beyond that ughhh... too much CGI in the early days and should have gone with practical effects. The chase scene looks embarrassingly bad today. Some of the stuff with the precogs just didn't work well for me.

It's a great premise, because the source material is great. Steven Spielberg is not the director for that type of film. I know he was in his sci-fi period between that an A.I., but no thanks.

__________________
"A candy colored clown!"
Member since Fall 2002
Top 100 Films, clicky below

http://www.movieforums.com/community...ad.php?t=26201

I actually prefer All the King's Men to Third Man, although I acknowledge the latter is more popular, and I also recognize it's an awesome film too. Actually sometimes I think my opinion would switch which one I prefer. Both are such great films. I don't think either would have been a bad choice for Best Picture.

I don't know how to do these "Best Picture redo" things. Do I go with my favorite overall? Do I go with my favorites nominated, or technically eligible? I watch weird films that aren't really Oscar-material even though I prefer them to the Oscary films.

For instance I'd give Human Condition the nod for 1959's season and Ran for 1985. Now Ran was in fact nominated for Oscars, in fact it won one, so it'd work for this debate, I think. Human Condition has an Oscar feel although it wasn't nominated for any. And then I love Parasite that won Best Picture and The Good, the Bad, the Weird is my favorite film and it's almost an antithesis for an Oscar film.

Minority Report should have been great and for some reason it isn't. I haven't read the source material although the premise alone, as you mention, lends itself to be a great film. It just... falls flat. I wanted to love it and I don't even like it. What a disappointment. It's been a while since I watched it to remember it well and what I do remember makes me wonder why it isn't any good.