Academy Award Best Picture Winners

Alexander Wiley

6 August 2021

This year, I saw twenty-one Best Picture winners, including “Nomadland”; I finished seeing all Best Picture winners on August 3rd, 2021. Seeing these films is a staple of any cinephile’s bucket list. I made this goal in 2007 when I made my goal of seeing at least 10,ooo different films in my lifetime. I viewed some Best Picture winners before 2007; all of them were with my family. There are many mini goals inside of this larger goal, which keeps me motivated, educated, intrigued, and energized in this journey.

Many Best Picture winners are magnificent, while others are questionable as to why they won. Critiquing and choosing Best Pictures nominees is subjective, which is the beauty of film. The Academy is criticized for only accepting “art house” and “hardly seen” films while leaving out the crowd-pleasers and box-office blockbusters. To address this a few years ago, “Black Panther”, a film earning over $1.3 Billion at the box office, was nominated for Best Picture (BoxOfficeMojo). The next year, “Avengers: Endgame” wasn’t nominated for any big Oscar, which is surprising since it achieved numerous accolades in the film industry. This is why many people are turning away from watching/following the Academy Awards because it includes numerous films only a few thousand people viewed as opposed to the millions and millions who viewed “Avengers: Endgame.” Others are not interested in the Academy Awards because of the “Hollywood elite” and political views associated with many people in Hollywood. I know I’m beating a dead horse by talking about this because I don’t see the Academy and Hollywood vastly changing.

There were two Best Picture winners I just couldn’t stand, “Cavalcade” (1933) and “Going My Way” (1944). Both films meandered and did not going anywhere. “Cavalcade” attempted to look at two English families over three decades but got lost in its attempt to showcase character development. “Going My Way” was too sweet and innocent to make anything about it compelling or interesting; it was just a showcase for Bing Crosby’s singing talents.

Three of my favorite Best Picture winners I saw this year are, “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” (1927), “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946), and “Marty” (1955).

“Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” is in the Best Picture winner list because it won the award, “Unique and Artistic Picture” in 1929, an award only awarded in 1929. It is about a farmer seduced by a woman who urges him to conspire to murder his wife, but instead finds himself rekindling his marriage. This film is regarded as one of the best silent films made. Although I love film, I’m not chomping at the bit to see silent films. Wow, I was blown away by the production design, acting, and direction of the film. The production design was complex, wildly imaginative, and used well. There are parts of the film where the production team constructed an entire city for the film, including a city fair. This film is a visual treat and I ate it all up.

“The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946) is directed by the illustrious William Wyler. He is known for directing three Best Picture winners, “Mrs. Miniver” (1942), “Best Years of Our Lives” (1946)”, and “Ben-Hur” (1959). “The Best Years of Our Lives” portrays the lives of three World War II veterans returning home from the war to find them and their families are irreparably changed. While this sounds straightforward, it is a layered, heartbreaking, and thoughtful film. It tributes veterans and showcases Wyler’s experience in World War II as a documentarian. The most compelling elements of the film are the central performances by Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, and Fredric March. I can still see Dana’s character struggle to get a job as a salesman, Harold’s character showing his disability to his love, and Fredric trying to get to know his children, again. This is filmmaking at its finest.

“Marty” (1955) is an unconventional Best Picture winner because people often imagine sprawling set designs, epic locations, long runtime, attractive leads, complex stories, and/or stylistic shots. “Marty” goes against much of these expectations because it is a simple film about a butcher and schoolteacher who meet at a dance and fall in love. Simple? Yes. Boring? No. From the starting scene to the touching ending directed by the skillful Delbert Mann, I was captivated by Ernest Borgnine’s and Betsy Blair’s performances. The vulnerability, honesty, and rich character displayed by both leads is something rare even today. The predictability of the film is its strength because it is aware of the simplicity of the love story it crafts and shines with the performances, deft direction, splendid cinematography, and concise story. I still see Borgnine’s enthralling and immensely touching performance as the lonely butcher.

Overall, picking a favorite Best Picture winner is difficult because comparing various decades, technological advancements, directors, actors/actresses, and more is unfair. It is a natural question people ask me. “All Quiet on the Western Front” (1930), “It Happened One Night” (1934), “Rebecca” (1940), “Marty” (1955), “Ben-Hur (1959), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), “The Sound of Music” (1965), “The French Connection” (1971), “The Godfather” (1972), “The Godfather Part II” (1974), “Annie Hall” (1977), “Platoon” (1986), “Dances with Wolves” (1990), “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003), “No Country for Old Men” (2007), and “Parasite” (2019) are films I highly regard and respect.

I will stick with my #4 favorite film of all time, “The Godfather Part II” (1974) as my all time favorite Best Picture winner; this is filmmaking at its upmost finest by telling a terrifyingly brutal story in a visually stunning and beautiful way. Coppola crafted a flawless film featuring unforgettable performances by Pacino, DeNiro, Keaton, Cazale, Shire, Strasberg, Gazzo, Spradlin, Chianese and Duvall.

I look forward to hearing about your favorite or least appreciated Best Picture winner(s).

Oscars.org – List of all nominees and winners

Chronological Order of Best Picture Winners – imdb.com

List of Best Picture Winners

Underline = seen in 2021

2020s "Nomadland" (2020)

2010s

"Parasite" (2019)

"Green Book" (2018)

"The Shape of Water" (2017)

"Moonlight"(2016)

"Spotlight" (2015)

"Birdman" (2014)

"12 Years a Slave" (2013)

"Argo" (2012)

"The Artist" (2011)

"The King's Speech" (2010)

2000s

"The Hurt Locker" (2009)

"Slumdog Millionaire" (2008)

"No Country for Old Men" (2007)

"The Departed" (2006)

"Crash" (2005)

"Million Dollar Baby" (2004)

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003)

"Chicago" (2002)

"A Beautiful Mind" (2001)

"Gladiator" (2000)

1990s

"American Beauty" (1999)

"Shakespeare in Love" (1998)

"Titanic" (1997)

"The English Patient" (1996)

"Braveheart" (1995)

"Forrest Gump" (1994)

"Schindler's List" (1993)

"Unforgiven" (1992)

"The Silence of the Lambs" (1991)

"Dances with Wolves" (1990)

1980s

"Driving Miss Daisy" (1989)

"Rain Man" (1988)

"The Last Emperor" (1987)

"Platoon" (1986)

"Out of Africa" (1985)

"Amadeus" (1984)

"Terms of Endearment" (1983)

"Gandhi" (1982)

"Chariots of Fire" (1981)

"Ordinary People" (1980)

1970s

"Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979)

"The Deer Hunter" (1978)

"Annie Hall" (1977)

"Rocky" (1976)

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975)

"The Godfather Part II" (1974)

"The Sting" (1973)

"The Godfather" (1972)

"The French Connection" (1971)

"Patton" (1970)

1960s

"Midnight Cowboy" (1969)

"Oliver!" (1968)

"In the Heat of the Night" (1967)

"A Man for All Seasons" (1966)

"The Sound of Music" (1965)

"My Fair Lady" (1964)

"Tom Jones" (1963)

"Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)

"West Side Story" (1961)

"The Apartment" (1960)

1950s

"Ben-Hur" (1959)

"Gigi" (1958)

"The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957)

"Around the World in 80 Days" (1956)

"Marty" (1955)

"On the Waterfront" (1954)

"From Here to Eternity" (1953)

"The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952)

"An American in Paris" (1951)

"All About Eve" (1950)

1940s

"All the King's Men" (1949)

"Hamlet" (1948)

"Gentleman's Agreement" (1947)

"The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946)

"The Lost Weekend" (1945)

"Going My Way" (1944)

"Casablanca" (1943)

"Mrs. Miniver" (1942)

"How Green Was My Valley" (1941)

"Rebecca" (1940)

1930s

"Gone with the Wind" (1939)

"You Can't Take It with You" (1938)

"The Life of Emile Zola" (1937)

"The Great Ziegfeld" (1936)

"Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935)

"It Happened One Night" (1934)

"Cavalcade" (1933)

"Grand Hotel" (1932)

"Cimarron" (1931)

"All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930)

1920s

“The Broadway Melody" (1929)

"Wings" (1927)

“Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” (1929)