Top 84 Best Picture Winners Ever

44. Crash (2004 − 78th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Ensemble cast explores racial tensions in modern L.A.
Why It’s Great: Crash handles all the different stories as aptly as any film of this type with the varied characterizations wringing quite true, but for us, Spielberg’s Munich deserved the nod. Other nominees included Brokeback Mountain, Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck.
Oscar Wins: 3
Budget: $7 million ($8.243 million)
IMDB User Rating: 7.9
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43. Patton (1970 − 43rd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Bio-pic of the famed American general, set during his stint in World War II.
Why It’s Great: There are some movies that derive most all of their magic from the performance of the lead actor, and such is the case here. George C. Scott was born to play Patton, and while he channeled the American general in other roles throughout his career, you really buy into it with this film. On a side note, Scott refused the award, basically telling the Academy to stick it, and calling the ceremony, “a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons.” Brando followed his lead two years later with The Godfather. Other 1970 nominees were MASH, Love Story, Airport and Five Easy Pieces.
Oscar Wins: 7
Budget: $12.625 million ($72.118 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.0
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42. Midnight Cowboy (1969 − 42nd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A naive young man arrives in New York City with dreams of hustling for a living and establishes an unlikely friendship with a con artist along the way.
Why It’s Great: Talk about groundbreaking, this film is to date the only X-Rated movie to win the top prize. In 1969, stories about male gigolos and gang rape were quite unexpected, and John Schlesinger’s drama handles both elements with more taste than the rating would indicate. Other nominees were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hello, Dolly!, Z and Anne of the Thousand Days.
Oscar Wins: 3
Budget: $3.6 million ($21.777 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.0
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41. Rain Man (1988 − 61st Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A yuppie unaware of his older savant brother becomes painfully aware when his father dies and bequeaths the money to his sibling.
Why It’s Great: America – and the ladies – still loved Tom Cruise because they weren’t aware of just how crazy he was. Dustin Hoffman gives the performance of his career. What’s not to like? Rain Man is a solid drama with good acting and solid direction. Other nominees: Working Girl, Dangerous Liaisons, Mississippi Burning and The Accidental Tourist.
Oscar Wins: 4
Budget: $25 million ($46.791 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.0
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40. The Sound of Music (1965 − 38th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A woman accepts an offer from a Naval officer widower to become the new governess for his children.
Why It’s Great: The musical numbers lodge in your head and take up a permanent residence there. It’s also a well-crafted feel-good movie in the old Hollywood tradition. Is it better than Dr. Zhivago, which captured the same number of awards? Probably not, but the two are certainly comparable, and each rose above Darling, A Thousand Clowns and Ship of Fools – the other nominees.
Oscar Wins: 5
Budget: $8.2 million ($57.684 million)
IMDB User Rating: 7.9
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39. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 − 3rd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Film portrays a contrast between the glory and reality of war set against the backdrop of World War I. Based on the acclaimed novel by Erich Maria Remarque.
Why It’s Great: It may not reach the same level of blood and gore as a Saving Private Ryan, but the stark tone of the film is spot-on and hard to duplicate even for films today. It was an easy pick for the Best Picture award when compared to its competition – The Big House, Disraeli, The Divorcee and The Love Parade – and it remains one of the best war movies ever made.
Oscar Wins: 2
Budget: $1.5 million ($13.68 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.1
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38. The Lost Weekend (1945 − 18th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: An alcoholic writer deals with his sickness over one life-changing weekend.
Why It’s Great: The Lost Weekend’s greatness lies largely in its simplicity. By focusing less on plot points and giving the character of Don Birnam (Ray Milland) room to breathe and grow, director Billy Wilder tells a story that speaks to us all. The Lost Weekend faced down Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Mildred Pierce and Spellbound for the win.
Oscar Wins: 4
Budget: $1.25 million ($15.412 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.1
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37. Dances with Wolves (1990 − 63rd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Lt. John Dunbar befriends Native Americans at a Civil War outpost and receives the ire of his military.
Why It’s Great: The story and the interaction between Dunbar and the Native Americans are compelling. We really want to see what happens next, and Dances doesn’t disappoint. However, it was up against a superior film in Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Nevertheless, it earned the top prize also beating out Awakenings, The Godfather Part III and Ghost.
Oscar Wins: 7
Budget: $22 million ($37.277 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.0
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36. Slumdog Millionaire (2008 − 81st Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A young man from the slums of India has a chance to win a fortune on a popular game show, but he must first recount the turbulent events and an unrequited love.
Why It’s Great: The movie has grit and whimsy and emotion. It grounds the idea of destiny into an all-too-real, all-too-ugly world. Even so, that world is unable to break the human spirit – the inner self separating us from the animals. Slumdog Millionaire beat out Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon and The Reader to earn the top prize, and it deserved every accolade.
Oscar Wins: 8
Budget: $15 million ($15.619 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.1
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35. Million Dollar Baby (2004 − 77th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A grizzled boxing trainer takes a chance on a talented female fighter with a troubled family history.
Why It’s Great: The Academy saw fit to give Million Dollar Baby top honors in 2005, and while it is a skilled production in front of and behind the camera, life is too short to watch stuff like this. MDB tears you down and makes you want to shoot yourself in the face by the end. Sideways, Ray, Finding Neverland and The Aviator were its competition and, frankly, we see watching any one of those movies again before ever taking another crack at MDB. One of the most depressing films ever made.
Oscar Wins: 4
Budget: $30 million ($35.328 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.1
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