Joey Magidson
All good things must unfortunately come to an end, and we’ve reached the end of this series. A new one will start soon (probably), but first, a final reminder. Yes, this is a tradition I’ve been keen on for years, ranking the new crop of Academy Award winners. For nearly all of the Oscar categories, you’ll see me list the top 25 recipients of that prize. Sometimes, our newest winner will appear. Other times, they’ll be relegated to the Honorable Mention category. Who knows, maybe one or two won’t even make the cut? It’s a list series that I’ll do each and every single year, in the weeks after the ceremony concludes. So, while this is a fun way to think about the Oscars in the aftermath of the latest telecast, it’s also a beginning for another column here on the site. Of course, definitely show us your own lists as well, in the comments section below. We’re definitely keen to know what you think!
It’s all come down to this…Best Picture. The big one. Any Oscar ceremony, barring the last one, wraps up with this massive category. Historically, my favorite films of any given year are not what win Best Picture at the Oscars, but occasionally, it does happen. Argo and Spotlight are two such examples. In terms of the best winners of this Academy Award, I think the upper echelon includes Annie Hall, The Apartment, Parasite, Schindler’s List, and The Silence of the Lambs. Not far behind are the likes of American Beauty, Casablanca, The Departed, The Hurt Locker, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky, and obviously plenty more (including the aforementioned Argo and Spotlight). Where did I place Nomadland two years ago as compared to today? What about our prior Picture winner, CODA? Does Everything Everywhere All At Once debut in a high spot? Find out below, but I’ll only guarantee that it made the Top 25. Read on for more, but also be sure to chime in as well…
Here now are what I consider to be the 25 best winners of the Oscar for Best Picture, to date:
25. Rain Man
24. Platoon
23. The Godfather
22. The Godfather Part II
21. Midnight Cowboy
20. The French Connection
19. On the Waterfront
18. No Country for Old Men
17. Everything Everywhere All At Once
16. Moonlight
15. CODA
14. The Departed
13. Spotlight
12. Million Dollar Baby
11. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
10. Argo
9. Casablanca
8. Rocky
7. The Hurt Locker
6. American Beauty
5. The Apartment
4. Schindler’s List
3. Parasite
2. The Silence of the Lambs
1. Annie Hall
Honorable Mentions: 12 Years a Slave, All About Eve, The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Deer Hunter, Forrest Gump, Kramer vs Kramer, Marty, Nomadland, Ordinary People, and Shakespeare in Love
Stay tuned for all of our Oscar coverage here at Awards Radar!
My list are subject to change because my prefrences change but some remain solid and consistent even if they move up or down. Many of my favorites don’t get nominated or win but there are still a lot of favorites here. To be honest if all my favorites made it would it be harder or easier to rank I am not sure.
1.The Apartment
2.The Sound of Music
3.Everything Everywhere All At Once
4.The Best Years of Our Lives
5.Chicago
6.It Happened One Night
7.Spotlight
8.Casablanca
9.The Silence of The Lambs
10.Parasite
11.Schindler’s List
12.The Artist
13.Shakespeare In Love
14.Ordinary People
15.Argo
16.CODA
17.No Country For Old Men
18.Gladiator
19.Moonlight
20.In The Heat of The Night
21.An American In Paris
22.Oliver!
23.Nomadland
24.Unforgiven
25.The Shape of Water
HM Slumdog Millionaire,One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest ,From Here To Eternity,The English Patient ,Rebecca,West Side Story ,All The Kings Men
Another quality list!