Top 84 Best Picture Winners Ever

14. Gladiator (2000 − 73rd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A general in the Roman army fights for revenge at the Coliseum when his family is murdered by the ruthless Emperor Commodus.
Why It’s Great: Everything you love about Roman history and fights-to-the-death through the lens of an amazing director in Ridley Scott. Joaquin Phoenix also steals the show as one of the more detestable movie villains. Other combatants for Oscar this year were Traffic, Erin Brockovich, Chocolat, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Oscar Wins: 5
Budget: $103 million ($132.833 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.5
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13. American Beauty (1999 − 72nd Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A man undergoing a mid-life crisis becomes enamored with his teen daughter’s friend.
Why It’s Great: American Beauty is one of those rare movies that can have you rolling on the floor in laughter one moment and utterly shocked and disturbed the next. The characters are real, and so are the situations. This beauty beat out The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider and The Sixth Sense for top honors.
Oscar Wins: 5
Budget: $15 million ($20 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.5
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12. The Departed (2006 − 79th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Remake of the Hong Kong crime flick Infernal Affairs. Two cops – one undercover, one a gangster – seek to uncover the other’s identity before it’s too late.
Why It’s Great: Martin Scorsese hasn’t lost a step here, and he’s working with a white-hot cast, each at the top of their games. On Feb. 25, 2007, the Academy righted a wrong long overdue in giving Scorsese the Best Director Oscar and also awarded the film with Best Picture, Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay. Other BP nominees included Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen.
Oscar Wins: 4
Budget: $90 million ($100 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.5
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11. Forrest Gump (1994 − 67th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: A “slow” Alabama native grows up from 1945 to 1982, experiencing a number of cultural milestones on his way to living a truly remarkable life.
Why It’s Great: Director Robert Zemeckis had some leftover sense of humor and affinity for the past from his days on the Back to the Future trilogy, and it hits a fever pitch in 1994’s warm, funny, sad and touching drama. Other BP nominees for the year were Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, Four Weddings and a Funeral and (the true Best Picture) The Shawshank Redemption. Still, even though the Academy botched it in a major way here – as they often do – their pick remains time well spent.
Oscar Wins: 6
Budget: $55 million ($82.167 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.7
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10. Lawrence of Arabia (1962 − 35th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Bio-pic on the life of British Army officer T.E. Lawrence, who served as a liaison to the Arab world, specifically in revolt to the Ottoman Turkish rule in 1916.
Why It’s Great: Any time you got David Lean behind the lens on a film, great things happened. Lawrence of Arabia is one of the best examples of his mastery. A stellar cast, which included Alec Guinness, Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn, certainly didn’t hurt either. Other nominees for the 1962 Best Picture: The Longest Day, The Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Oscar Wins: 7
Budget: $15 million ($110.014 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.5
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9. Gone with the Wind (1939 − 12th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Civil War-era romance follows the travails of manipulative drama queen Scarlett O’Hara.
Why It’s Great: It wasn’t the first sweeping film told on a grand scale – Birth of a Nation and Wings pre-dated it – but in 1939 it was the most ambitious film to date. GWTW gets a lot of mileage for being a huge production during an age when people were still getting used to what films could be. Having a terrific cast including one of the biggest movie stars of all time in Clark Gable didn’t hurt either. Other noms in 1939: Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz and Wuthering Heights.
Oscar Wins: 8
Budget: $3.85 million ($61.518 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.2
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8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991 − 64th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: FBI trainee Clarice Starling works with Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter to catch a serial killer.
Why It’s Great: This film works because of Jonathan Demme’s direction, Jodie Foster’s likability in the lead role, and Anthony Hopkins’ outrageous-but-never-over-the-top cannibal Lecter. Also, Craig McKay’s editing in the climactic moments raise the tension to a fever pitch. Silence defeated Bugsy, Beauty and the Beast, JFK and The Prince of Tides for the statue.
Oscar Wins: 5
Budget: $19 million ($30.896 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.7
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7. Rocky (1976 − 49th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Philadelphia club fighter Rocky Balboa gets a chance to fight the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
Why It’s Great: The original is a much better film than its five sequels indicate. While the others are good, Rocky is inarguably one of the greatest films ever made. On March 28, 1977, it captured the Best Picture Oscar against competition like Taxi Driver, Network, All the President’s Men, and Bound for Glory. It also won awards for Best Film Editing and Best Director.
Oscar Wins: 3
Budget: $1.1 million ($4.286 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.1
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6. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975 − 48th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Small-time criminal and anti-authority inmate goes to a State Mental Hospital and, one-by-one, brings the patients out of their shells.
Why It’s Great: Louise Fletcher’s Nurse Ratched villain is one of the best to grace the big screen and star Jack Nicholson is delightfully unhinged as “Mac” McMurphy. But for us, it’s the Chief (Will Sampson) giving this film its heart and soul. Other BP nominees included Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws and Nashville.
Oscar Wins: 5
Budget: $3 million ($12.367 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.8
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5. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003 − 76th Best Picture Winner)
Plot: Concluding chapter in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Why It’s Great: The Academy wasn’t just honoring one film when it gave Return of the Kind 11 awards. Few would argue ROTK is drastically better than its predecessors, but it is a fitting end to a meticulously crafted endeavor. Other nominees: Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River and Seabiscuit.
Oscar Wins: 11
Budget: $94 million ($114.348 million)
IMDB User Rating: 8.9
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