This weekend, after months of frantic build-up, prognostication and guesswork, the 86th Academy Awards will take place. Of course, the main event will be awarding Best Picture (or, as the category was referred to back in the day, Outstanding Picture), and no matter who takes the prize, the winner joins a roster of films that veer from solid-gold classics to what-on-earth-were-the-Academy-thinking, and everything in between.
With Sunday’s Oscars fast approaching, we’re ranking every one of the 85 Academy Award Best/Outstanding Picture winners to date, from the very worst to the very best. It’s been an involved, highly unscientific procedure mostly involving a lot of shouting and throwing objects in the Playlist office, but we’ve arrived at a ranking that we think is something close to definitive. Today, you can check out the first part, from number 85 to number 41, and check back tomorrow for the rest. The .01% of our readership who thinks we’ve got this absolutely right, and the 99.99% who’ll inevitably think we’re insanely wrong on every possible level, are welcome to chime in in the comments section below.
85. “The Greatest Show On Earth” (1952)
A spectacular (not least when it comes to the impressive train crash sequence) but inert and insubstantial three-hour Cecil B. DeMille circus drama. Soapier than an all-day “Days Of Our Lives” marathon, and not all that much better acted, with the possible exception of Jimmy Stewart‘s tragic clown.
84. “The Broadway Melody” (1929)
The first talkie to win Best Picture, and the first musical, has its place in the history books, but even the most determined Oscar completist will find it hard to power through the creaky acting, dull staging and toxic sexual politics being passed off as frothy fun here. Much less spectacular than the other MGM musicals that followed. (Trivia: there was also a version that was Technicolor in parts that has apparently been lost.)
83. “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989)
The first film since 1932 to win Best Picture without a Best Director nomination, this mild-mannered drama about the friendship between an elderly Jewish lady and her black chauffeur is well-acted and well-meaning, but rightly became a byword for the Academy picking the bland over the brilliant. It beat “Born On The Fourth Of July,” “My Left Foot,” “Field Of Dreams” and “Dead Poets Society” that year.
82. “Going My Way” (1944)
The the story of a pioneering young priest being billeted to a troubled parish and the first film to feature Bing Crosby’s Father O’Malley character (the other being the superior “The Bells of Saint Mary’s”), your liking for this picture will depend on your tolerance for sentimentality channeled through a Catholic prism and sprinkled with crooning. To add insult, it beat out “Double Indemnity” to the Oscar.
81. “Crash” (2005)
In which Paul Haggis, creator of mountie-out-of-water drama “Due South,” explains that Racism Is Bad, but We’re All Just People Deep Down Inside. Sentimental, crude, and stuffed with coincidence, it rightly took a lot of heat for beating favorite “Brokeback Mountain,” but it would belong in the Hall Of Shame in any year.
80. “Cimarron” (1931)
Irene Dunne’s debut performance is typically endearing, but most everything else falls flat now, in what was the first Western to take Best Picture (and would remain so for almost 60 years until “Dances With Wolves”). Remade with just as much a lack of luster in 1960, the 1931 version is blighted by leaden scripting and lead Richard Dix’s overacting. The opening Oklahoma land rush scene is still exciting, though.
79. “Out Of Africa” (1985)
A turgid colonial romance, this misfire from Sydney Pollack somehow proved to be an Oscar behemoth. It’s hard to work out which is worse: Meryl Streep‘s mangled vowels, or that it’s a movie about Africa that couldn’t remotely care about Africans.
78. “Around The World In 80 Days’ (1956)
David Niven stars as Phileas Fogg in this lavish boondoggle of a Jules Verne adaptation which has arguably more interesting behind-the-scenes anecdotes than anything that actually made it onto the screen, especially involving impresario producer Michael Todd’s wheeling and dealing to get location approval and the involvement of a massive cast of cameo stars including Marlene Dietrich, Buster Keaton, Frank Sinatra and Edward R. Murrow.
77. “Forrest Gump” (1994)
Tom Hanks‘ dim-witted would-be-Zelig takes a sanitized, fairly reactionary tour of the second half of the 20th century in Robert Zemeckis‘ Capra-aping blockbuster epic. It’s occasionally technically inventive, and Hanks is winning, but the film’s mostly glib and patronizing.
76. “Cavalcade” (1933)
Based on the Noel Coward play, a large pinch of the salt of historical context is needed to appreciate this dated soap opera now. Detailing three decades of the lives, loves and tragedies of an upper-class London family and their servants, it’s all so terribly terrible, and occasionally unintentionally funny, such as when a central pair are discovered to have been chatting about their future aboard the Titanic.
75. “A Beautiful Mind” (2001)
Takes the remarkable true story of paranoid schizophrenic Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash, and sands all the edges off until it feels like so much movie bullshit. Worth watching for Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly, but Russell Crowe feels fatally miscast.
74. “The Life Of Emile Zola” (1937)
An early pioneer of the Oscar biopic, the film takes fascinating subject matter (French writer Emile Zola, and his involvement in the Dreyfus affair) and makes the dullest possible version of that story. It’s hampered by the studio’s refusal to engage with anti-Semitism—the word ‘Jew’ is never used—though Paul Muni is very good in title role.
73. “The Great Ziegfeld” (1936)
A lavish musical biopic of theatrical impresario Flo Ziegfeld (of the Ziegfeld Follies), this wows in the spectacular song-and-dance sequences, but drags every time the music stops. At three hours long, that leaves about two that are entirely disposable, except for a terrific turn by Best Actress winner Luise Rainer in the first half.
72. “American Beauty” (1999)
A victim, perhaps, of its own overhyping, Sam Mendes’ film is by no means bad, it’s just hard to remember now quite what—aside from Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening’s caustically toxic performances and a terrific, often overlooked Chris Cooper—we all collectively lost our shit over.
71. “Hamlet” (1948)
A handsomely shot but unimaginatively stagy Shakespeare adaptation (the only one to win Best Picture to date), hurt by severe cuts to bring it down to two-and-a-half hours. Director/star Laurence Olivier is a wonder, but few of his co-stars command the screen in the same way.
What the hell was wrong with the final shot in The Departed or the red coat in Schindler\’s List?
Your list is bad and you should feel bad
Edgy list m8
Great job. But these are all very well known films that most people have seen. It\’d be mucj more interestin seeing you tackle the foreign language winners. Not to mention the shorts.
You mention that Ben-Hur is the longest movie to win Best Picture but its not. Lawrence of Arabia and Gone with the Wind are both longer. Hard to take the list seriously when they can\’t get the facts straight.
Great list. Other than "All About Eve" being, IMO, 12 positions too low and "Titanic" about 90 positions too high (ok, 89, as it\’s probably a bit better than "Crash").
Dead wrong about Chariots of Fire. What made it such a brilliant film was how it captured a moment in history. It was the intersection between regular people who were athletic and dedicated athletes. It\’s unfair to call it a sports movie because it\’s so much more.
This list is crap Annie Hall number 5 really? film didn\’t even deserve the oscar that year and the kings speech ahead of Return of the king like Annie Hall didn\’t deserve the Oscar Inception ,The Social Network and Toy Story 3 all had more right
know I\’m responding late but—Chariots of Fire-SUCKED! & I know Out of Africa isn\’t "cool" to love, but I do, specifically for the score and the story of Karen Blixen
Your top 4 is quite right – we could disagree about the exact order, but I can't see how any other Best Picture winner could rival those 4, and Lawrence should indeed be, as you say, an uncontroversial no.1.
The biggest flaw with this list is how low In The Heat Of The Night is. I have to watch its slap scene to cleanse my mind whenever I have the misfortune of seeing one of those awful 'great white person saves all the black people and solves racism' films, like The Help. In The Heat Of The Night may be almost 50 years old, but it remains the perfect antidote to that trope. Plus it's just a great film with crackling dialogue, fantastic acting, excellent cinematography and a cool song. Should be easily top 10.
Shit list! You guys really sick.. Such an absurd list! A beautiful mind, that far? Really? Russell Crowe didn't.suit? He was terrific. Godfather deserves to be at the top, along with The Silence Of the Lambs in the top 5!
I love how 'My Fair Lady' is 29 on this list – such a bad film. I guess everyone has an opinion but I would have thought a 'critical list' would have been more, well, informed and insightful
Gone With the Wind is the longest best picture winner…not Ben-Hur…just saying
Overall, a solid job with the list. But to put Grand Hotel as #67 is such a miss, its like ranking Michael Jordan the 67th best basketball player ever.
Plus, personally Lawrence of Arabia has great scenery / camera work, but the movie is too long and boring for the development of the plot. Shouldn't be in the top 20.
I don't agree with a lot of this, but that is the point. Lists can be a conversational version of a drinking game, and should be taken no more seriously.
The only real piece of ignorance I found was having Bridge Over the River Kwai described as a "…near-definitive look at Japanese POW camps." Maybe it is for PC reasons, or economic ones (big Japanese market), but there has never been a movie that has come close to depicting the inhumanity and degradation faced by Japanese POW's. This movie is the Holocaust as musical.
Whoa, that was a lot of white men.
Forgot to mention that that awful Soap Opera CAVALCADE (Winner for 1933) was chosen over … the original KING KONG, folks !!!!
For the love of humanity, it's a list….all of this is subjective geeze!! I could see if FF Coppola or Woody read this and were "outraged" about their place….all you other over emoting trolls chill the F out and/or make your own F'in list.
All these "lists" suck big time. I just skipped to the last page to see the first five. Let me guess… Playlist staff all dudes who loved the Godfather movies, boy was I right. Now let's make another list: Stupid articles that want to drive internet traffic, ranked worst to the best…
Let's be honest here, folks. This has zero to do with discussing movies. This is all about driving traffic to the website and getting people to click away. Godfather II as the second greatest movie? Seriously? The "staff" offers no criteria for ranking their picks. It's just "let's make up a list and see what kind of comments we can get going because we need more advertising." Final point: Schindler's LIst is woefully overrated at No. 6. Spielberg sanitized that story so dramatically–the shower scene with the women was unconscionable. Billy Wilder tried to make the movie, but Spielberg wouldn't give up the rights. Sad.
I recently purchased your 2014 Movie Guide, and have the following comments to make:
Of the first twenty films I searched for, half of them were nowhere to be found, and the others were dismissed by your "expert" editors as being too long.
Obviously, what is needed are some women on your staff in order to get some fair and just opinions. I paid eleven dollars for this diarrhea of stilted words from all those constipated male minds. Needless to say, I am grossly disappointed.
Kindly return the cost of this overrated illegitimacy to Dr. Jane Foxx, PhD. 416 Alberta Drive,
Commercial Point, OH 43116.
Thank you, JF
What's the point of making a list of harsh subjective ratings? For any film, there's soneone who loves them, someone who hates them, and opinions by posers. A better list would be of categories of general public perception, e.g. "forgotten", "controversial", "average Oscar bait", "love/hate", "generally enjoyed", "influential", and "classics". That tells a better story.
I'm sure glad you guys at The Playlist watch films and don't make em.
I'm here for the rants. #blessed
Ah yes, the Rulers Of All Highness have imparted definitive wisdom regarding MMMOOOOOVIEEESSS, the singular business endeavor where they have absolutely no legitimate input.
God Bless America.
Correction. The first year of the Academy Awards there was no best picture award category. According to IMDB Wings won for Best Production for its special effects. Sunrise by Murneau won three Oscars including Unique and Artistic Picture and Best Cinematography. Murneau was gay and so unliked that the only person from Hollywood that attended his funeral in 1931 was Greta Garbo, so the fact that some straight men decided a year after the awards to claim Wings actually won best picture and for you to go along with that is ignorant and or revisionist. Sunrise is a masterpiece, and Murneau was the mentor to many of the greatest filmmakers that came after him including Borzage, John Ford, Alan Dwan and Raoul Walsh.
I thought Woody Allen was the comedian, the I found you ranked 'Annie Hall' number 5.
Now that's funny!
Thanks for putting American Beauty, one of the finest films ever made, so low on your list. You saved me the trouble of having to finish reading it and the trouble of having to take it seriously AT ALL. I still very much remember why I "lost my shit" over it. Its one of the most richly drawn, bittersweet and life affirming movies ever made!
I'm sorry but there is just no way Titanic is a better movie than the Departed. Titanic IMO is up there as one of the most overrated best picture winners of all time. I will say it is a truly awful movie. Let the hate towards me begin 🙂
I disagree with your assessment that "American Beauty" is "by no means bad". It's beyond bad, it's infuriatingly awful. It's a sneering movie that revels in the most facile stereotypes. It makes the most sophomoric points possible with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. It's beyond pretentious, it's patronizing. It's the kind of eyerollingly awful movie an annoying, privileged undergraduate would make in their first term at Bard while Mommy and Daddy back at home in Winnetka are footing the bills.
This list took a lot of guts so I commend you, and everyone's always going to have their own opinions…but seriously, GLADIATOR #27???! That is a travesty. It's odd, because your Top 10 are well picked…so it's unlikely you suffer from head trauma or a substance abuse problem that would lead you to make such a fumble as Gladiator's 27th ranking. So I'm stumped. 🙂
When Gladiator won best picture it was also tragic — beating out "Traffic" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." I have no words.
Good list I would say Godfather pt. 1 or Casablanca deserve the top spot. On the Waterfront should be higher, undoubtedly a Kazan masterpiece.
This is a particularly inane article (or list). Context is everything, and as wrong headed as some choices may seem today (and seemed then), denigrating films for "aging" poorly is ridiculous.
Chicago ahead of American Beauty? Hahahaha! One of the worst movies ever even nominated for Best Picture ahead of an instant classic that is still relevant over 14 years later!? This list is garbage. I'm going to print it out and burn it.
Stopped reading after seeing Forrest Gump at 77. Eat balls.
anyone who says GWTW is an hour too long is not qualified to pick "best" films.
All I cared about on your list was number one and you hit it perfectly. Lawrence of Arabia was simply the best of the Best Pictures. The cinematography by Fred Young was classic, the screenplay by Robert Bolt is one the best ever and the music score by Maurice Jarre is my favorite of all-time. The technical aspects were all world-class, but the most incredible achievement was the acting, especially by Peter O'Toole–the greatest performance ever in cinema. When the reconstructed version engineered by David Lean was released in 1989, several film critics picked it as the best film of the year–19 years after its release. Steven Spielberg wanted to be a neurosurgeon, until he saw Lawrence and found his passion. Great film, great pick–thank you!
"Annie Hall" may be #5 on this list but AFI still says "Star Wars" was a better movie
How Green Was My Valley and The Best Years Of Our Lives are both amazing movies that should be higher ranked than Gladiator, Chariots Of Fire, Dances With Wolves, Gandhi, Slumdog Millionaire and all the other pieces of middle-brow mediocrity you placed between the former pair and their deserved spots in the top twenty.
Agreed. Some of these commenters take hyperbole to new heights.
HORRIFIC!
Decent list. It's the comment section that's one of the worst ever.
One of the worst rankings or list I've ever seen on any site. There is no rhyme or reason to it and the dartboard analogy is accurate. Just awful film taste happening here. Platoon is absolutely godawful btw.
This is patetic! This list sucks and the person who wrote it also sucks! I never read so many bullshit about the oscar movies in my life.
I'm not sure what the five best Best Movies are but here are the five worst: (1) "Terms of Endearment," a bad afternoon soap opera that wastes its stars (2) "The English Patient," two hrs. of bad soap opera and 40 min. of WWII spy clichés, (3) "Slumdog Millionaire," the overwhelming stench of poverty porn, (4) "The Godfather, Part II," so obviously just an excuse to squeeze more $ from the original, (5) "The Deer Hunter," demeaning to our Vietnam experience and offensive to lovers of truly great war movies!
Far and away the best feature about movies ever written on the Internet, ever, ever, ever. Every pick 100% correct.
Considering the excellent "No Country For Old Men" was up against the equally excellent "There Will Be Blood" (one of the great American films about America, ever), and in a year when Fincher's "Zodiac" was (gasp!) not nominated over more trite fare, is saying a LOT about the Coen's (arguable) masterpiece. It's only going to grow in stature over time.
Any list that doesn't have "How Green Was My Valley" as #85 and "An American In Paris" as #84 can't be taken seriously. Also, punishing Forrest Gump for beating Shawshank is cathartic, but #77, really? It wasn't the best movie the year it won, but it's not THAT bad.
Can't agree with the placement of several of the movies at all. My Fair Lady is placed much too high. Though I did agree Crash belongs at the bottom of the heap.
I liked the Top Ten immensely–very glad West Side Story made the cut. My only change would be All About Eve being included in the Ten as well, and maaaaybe The Apartment being left off.
Quite possibly the worst movie related list I have ever seen. And trust me, I have seen countless. LOL the opinion of the playlist staff will not hold much credit with me. I mean An American in Paris over … well anything really, and the rest: hahahahaha
Schindler's List is #6? LMAO. So it' sbetter than On the Warrforont and Full Metal Jacket? HAHAHAHAHA.
Possibly the WORST -Worst to Best Best Picture List I'ver ever seen! Whoever wrote this article knows nothing about Oscar Winners. Any and all Oscar voters would disown this critic..LOL 🙂
This list sucks. Seriously. Titanic better than The Departed? Is that a joke? Slumdog Millionaire better than The Sting? Gladiator better than Patton? What in gods name, who is the idiot who devised this? My 12 year old cousin, wasn't it?
Also, it seems like the only reason you put Hurt Locker at #25 is because Kathryn was the first woman to win. That is beyond stupid. That movie is extremely forgettable, bland, and cliche, and to rank it better than Unforgiven is… wait for it…. unforgivable.
I'm here all day, thank you.
Wow, how is Network not in the top 5? Are you crazy??
OHHHH!! Yeah. I forgot, Network didn't win best picture. It somehow lost to the completely inferior film that is ROCKY! Dope! Of course. Silly me.
I disagree with a lot on that list, but I so agree with your number 1 pick.
Unforgiven not in top five? YOU CRAZY.
I find myself agreeing with most of the assessments made in your list and I while the exact order is of course debatable, I think you nailed the top 22 films in the list. I might order them slightly differently, but I think they are the best 22 films in the list. I get kind of depressed looking at #'s 23-100 and thinking that those were called the best films of their given years.
Great list! However one nitpick – only the bloated Italian TV version of The Last Emperor (which was briefly marketed, incorrectly as "The Director's Cut" in the 1990s) lasts 3:45:00. The theatrical version, which is also the director's cut, per Bertolucci's comments on the Criterion DVD, lasts 2:40:00.
Well done. Nice job.
I'll have to rewatch Lawrence of Arabia. I remember being head over heels for the first half and then finding the second half anti-climactic. My same reaction to Dr Zhivago.
"This list is in the wrong order!" – The Internet, Also Me.
The idea that "Titanic" and "Terms of Endearment" are better than "The Departed" is absurd. All are good films but "The Departed" is so loaded with unseen quality and meaning that can get lost underneath the action and profanity. It's one of the most underrated Best Picture Winners. Also, "The French Connection" is way too high on this list. While it was new for the time, the 1971 film was ultimately lazy and basic, bringing no real substance with it, thus not deserving of the prize or a high place on this list. There, I'll leave now.
Oof. Some of these make me a little bit depressed.
I was going along with most of your choices, but then you dissed THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES which is among the best Hollywood movies ever made. There goes your credibility. I'm guessing you did not re-watch it before doing this list.
LOTR def. need's to be in the top 25
A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS should be in the top ten Best Picture winners. Get a clue.
I like the list, although I do not agree with a lot of things, especially the place attributed to "Out of Africa". Despite the colonial ambiance and the somewhat paternalist tone, the film is a masterpiece. Beautifully directed by Sydney Pollack, "Out of Africa" is lavishly romantic and moving. Nearly every scene is unforgettable and story never lapses into pretentiousness and sentimentality. The soundtrack is haunting; it remains in your ears for a very long time. If this is not enough, Meryl Streep gives one of her best performances; she is mesmerizing as Karen Blixen.
I always thought of "Out of Africa" as a true and instant classic. In my opinion, "Out of Africa" is not worse than "A Beautiful Mind", "The Sound of Music", "Chicago", "Braveheart", "Kramer versus Kramer", "The King's Speech", "Chariots of Fire" (for me, the worst Oscar winner ever!), "Shakespeare in Love", "Slumdog Millionaire", "Argo" (comprehensive, intelligent and uncontroversial American propaganda with a leftish tone), "The Departed", "The Artist", "Rain Man", and "Titanic".
P.S. Why is "Forrest Gump" so down on the list? Why are you considering of "Chariots of Fire"? Gosh, is "Gandhi", one best biopics ever made, really worse than "Argo" or, more shockingly, "Titanic" and "Rain Man"? Why is "Ben Hur" in the middle of the list?
Good list – entertaining read. Don't agree with all of them (personally I rate Forrest Gump – it maybe occasionally cloying but it works well on that gutpunch emotional level that cinema should always aim for) – but anyone who gets personally offended by these journalists' subjective opinions needs to find a more constructive way to channel their anger. Good work Playlist, thanks.
I agree with this list a lot more than I've agreed with other ones like this. While I would never put Rocky so high, I also wouldn't put Driving Miss Daisy so low (especially below Crash). I'm happy with the placing of Forrest Gump. A film I never liked, so happy to see it wasn't ranked so high. I feel like the Sting, Ben-Hur and Titanic could've been a lot higher (a few of my personal favourites) but it's not bad placements overall. Same with Argo and the Artist
Chariots of Fire, Return of the King, The King's Speech, Titanic, Gandhi, Slumdog Millionaire, Shakespeare in Love and Argo are all better than Braveheart?
Nope.
People have already expressed their disagreement about The Return of the King, but I'm curious as to how you find less emotional and focused than its predecessors. There are dozens of scenes that are deeply moving.
EXTREMELY disagree about A Beautiful Mind, LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE that film!
The Artist is way too high. Belongs in the bottom ten. I watched Mrs. Miniver for the first time recently and thought it was very bland and generic work – a dumbed down look at how Americans viewed British life complete with some inexplicable American accents. Also watched Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives again just yesterday and I'm happy to report it holds up very well.
so crash ain't #1? obvisly yall don't get that movie cuz its prolly one of the best i ever seen.
Slumdog Millionaire better than American Beauty? Serious LOLs.
Why do y'all read lists if you hate them? Do I agree with all the choices here? Of course not. Is it fun to read and have a think about? Yes. That's why I clicked on it. Everyone needs to calm down. Nice work Indiewire, I found this entertaining.
Luckily these picks are personal opinions selected by the author of this post. My selection would be very different from this list. Liking or disliking any film will always be based on one's personal preference and opinions.
/THF
You rate Rain Man above The Sting? C'mon!!!!
This is good. nice job indiewire (Though I'd argue The Departed is one of Scorsese's finest). looking forward to part 2
Return of the King worse than Titanic?
… what?
I cringed at a few of these but the real questions is, why make this list at all??
How on Earth isn't Shakespeare in Love the last one on the list? Is it better than The Return of the King or American Beauty? Even a blind man could see that's not the case.
This list is nonsense. Sorry you don't understand classic films – choosing these films with a dartboard would have been better than this analysis.
Without Titanic in at least the top 10, I know I'm in the hands of people who don't understand cinema. Looking forward to how the rest of the schlock will be arranged. Indeed, you guys have arrived at "something close to definitive"
Only halfway through and we can already call this a terrible list.
Going through this list, all I wondered was when the little blurbs would switch from negative to positive…
You should mention that the King's Speech beat the objectively better Social Network
C'mon, the already forgotten The Artist and Argo are better than The Return of the King? Honestly.
god, i'm so sick of all the criticism to The return of the king, people who actually read the book know that it doesn't end after the ring is destroyed, there's a lot more after that and Jackson did a good job with the ending