Note: There are dozens of best picture winners I have not seen (including many classics), so they could not be included.
"American Beauty" is simply one of the greatest satires ever put on the big screen. The story follows a man going through a mid life crisis while being surrounded by his dysfunctional family. The movie plays off the so called perfect American family; an upper middle class family in a nice house in a safe neighborhood, both parents have white collar jobs, and the daughter is a cheerleader at a good school. Everything is supposed to be perfect, and yet each one of them is miserable. Sporting several great performances and one of the best screenplays of the past twenty years, "American Beauty" has already cemented itself as an American classic; and will be remembered as one of the best films of the 1990's.
Back in early 2009, a friend invited me to a small film festival outside of Dallas. The one movie that every said we had to see was a new war thriller called "The Hurt Locker;" when we arrived at the screening, the room was completely full and had to add seats to fit everyone. The second the movie started, we knew it was something special; and at the end it got a standing ovation. "The Hurt Locker" was the little movie that could; it was a small time film, that going into award season, no one had seen or new anything about. Everyone was saying that just about every award would go to "Up in the Air," "Avatar," or "Precious." But when the Oscar's rolled around, there was a clear winner. "The Hurt Locker" is one of the best movies of the past decade, and one of my all time favorite films.
Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time and was the man behind several of the best movies ever made, there aren't many people who would argue against that; but it took him most of his career to finally get the best picture and director Oscar he rightfully deserved. Based off of a Hong Kong movie called "Internal Affairs;" "The Departed" is the story of a mob boss, his inside man, and an undercover cop trying to put them behind bars. Often cited as one of the best films of the decade, this crime thriller is a blast from start to finish. Filled with brutality and a whole lot of swearing, this is one of Scorsese's best. While he should have won for "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas" many years before, I'm just glad he got an Oscar eventually.
The entire trilogy is absolutely amazing, it's one of my all time favorite film series; "Fellowship of the Ring" is even in my top five favorite movies. But of the three films "The Return of the King" is the best, it was so good it won best picture to many people's surprise. Based off the book series of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Return of the King" is the epic conclusion to TLOTR movies. In case you've never seen any of the movies (which means you must be insane), let me catch you up. A young hobbit named Frodo Baggins is tasked with throwing a ring that belonged to an evil force thousands of years ago into the volcano that forged the ring, otherwise Middle Earth is doomed. "The Return of the King made history when it won best picture; it was nominated for 11 Oscars and won them all, meaning it's tied with "Titanic" and "Ben-Hur" for the most Oscar wins. Everything about this movie is epic, from the scope of the film to the jaw dropping war scenes; it really is a film not to be missed.
Personally, I think it should actually be illegal to dislike "Annie Hall." Released in 1977 and written and directed by Woody Allen; this is easily one of the best romantic comedies of all time, and the best film of Allen's amazing career. The story follows the ups and downs of a relationship between two rather dysfunctional people, a squeamish Jewish writer named Alvy and a younger woman who's to smart for her own good named Annie. Most of the film takes place as a flash back chronicling their relationship before a break up, with the conclusion being the two finally come to terms with each other after the relationship. This is just about everyone's favorite Woody Allen movie, and for good reason; it is just a joy to watch.
The Coen brothers are the most celebrated directing duo in the history of cinema; they are the minds behind movies like "Fargo," "Raising Arizona," "True Grit," "The Big Lebowski," and "Inside Lllewyn Davis." Yet of all the amazing movies they've made, there 2007 best picture winner "No Country for Old Men" is their undisputed masterpiece. The movie is based off of Cormac McCarthy's novel by the same name, which is one of my personal favorite books. Upon its release, the movie was met with universal critical acclaim. At the end of the year, it was on more top ten lists and named the best movie of the year more than any other film from 2007. "No Country for Old Men" is an amazing film and one of the best films of the 2000's, and certainly deserves a place on this list.
"Schindler's List" is one of the most powerful and emotional films a person could ever sit through, it's also one of the greatest films of all time. The movie is based off the true life events following Oskar Schindler, a German factory owner who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. Directed by Steven Spielberg, just about everyone knew "Schindler's List" was an instant classic from the second it premiered back in 1992. This is a movie that rips your heart out of your chest and then slowly eats it in front of you for the entire one hundred and ninety seven minute run time; but at the end, you realize it was worth it. Oskar Schindler was a great man that many people didn't know about; if this movie accomplished one thing, it was that it helped people realize the hero he was.
There's just something special about "Amadeus," I don't know what it is but it's there. The film chronicles the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and a man that was his self proclaimed rival. When you think of Mozart, you probably think of a musical genius that was in a league of his own; if so you would be right, but the movie also shows that he was an arrogant young man whose pride ended up being his downfall. I'm not exactly sure how to classify this movie, it works as a drama, musical, comedy, and period piece all at the same time. In my opinion, this is an extremely underrated movie. When people talk about the greats, "Amadeus" is always missing from those lists. Personally, it's in my top 15 of all time. This movie just works on every level: acting, directing, screenplay, set pieces, and music come together perfectly. "Amadeus" is a masterpiece, and I'd call it the single best movie from the 1980's.
Lawrence of Arabia is the most daring and ambitious epic of all time, it truly was a stroke of mad genius. At the time of its creation it was one of the most expensive movies ever made. Years after the film's release one of the stars said on the films ambition "If you are the man with the money and somebody comes to you, and says he wants to make a film that's four hours long, with no stars, and no women, and no love story, and not much action either, and he wants to spend a huge amount of money to go film it in the desert--what would you say?" But in the end it all paid off by winning seven Oscars as well as becoming the highest grossing movie of all time (not accounting for inflation). Everything about this film is perfect, but the most notable aspect is the star Peter O' Toole. In my opinion, he put on the finest performance in the history of cinema. Lawrence of Arabia is a movie that truly defines its genre, and will go down in history as one of the greatest.
On any other day of the week, this could have made the top spot. "The Godfather Part 2" is the sequel to the equally amazing film "The Godfather," and continues where that story left off. There are actually a lot of people who would say Part 2 is even better than the original, calling it a more entertaining and better paced film. And what they are saying is completely valid. That is one thing that this movie improved over the original, it has a faster pace and cuts back on the slow scenes. Another thing this movie did right was including Robert De Niro to play a young Vito Corleone, who absolutely killed it in the part and is to this day one of his best performances. "The Godfather Part 2" is an amazing movie and arguably the best movie to win best picture, but there is one that is better.
It's
almost a cliché at this point, but "The Godfather" is the greatest
movie of all time; it's the closest thing we've ever gotten to a truly perfect
film. I'd say that Part 2 is every bit as good as the original, but Part 2
doesn't have Marlon Brando. In the original, Marlon Brando Vito "Don"
Corleone and is easily one of the greatest performances ever captured on film.
I've watched this movie several times, and with each viewing my respect for
this movie grows; it's perfect, there isn't a single thing I can think of that
director Francis Ford Coppola could have done better. From start to finish, it
is a marvel of cinema. If you were to go up to a thousand random people on the
street and ask them “what is the greatest movie ever made?” Most would say the
"The Godfather." It's the greatest film ever, and certainly the best
Oscar winner.
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