With the latest round of Oscars just behind us, you’re probably hearing some grumbling about which movies and actors won what, especially when it comes to Best Picture. There’s always discontent about the Best Picture winner, and it’s easy to criticize the choices but to be fair, sometimes the Academy gets it right.
Following are 15 movies, listed chronologically, that won Best Picture and really did deserve it. This is respective to the other nominees since the list of allegedly deserving movies that didn’t get nominated can be virtually endless.
Casablanca
Casablanca had a great story, a stellar cast, some of the best dialogue ever written, and one of the best endings in movie history. It’s also stood the test of time, and it deserved the honor then and still deserves its place among the very best films ever made.
From Here to Eternity
1953 rivals such as Roman Holiday and Shane were excellent films and also lived to become classics. Still, From Here to Eternity holds up as the right choice for its storytelling and how it tested the boundaries of the time. It well deserves its place on the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.
On the Waterfront
Only rarely does the Academy get Best Picture right two years in a row, and 1954 was an example. While On the Waterfront may not be so relevant to the current day, it documents real issues of its time and features one of Marlon Brando’s most powerful roles, which includes one of the best series of lines ever.
Ben-Hur
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
This classic basically established the blueprint for Hollywood epics. It was great at the time and still is, and its blueprint has worked over and over again even if critics tire of the Academy falling for it.
Lawrence of Arabia
Horizon Pictures (II).
Gregory Peck deservedly won Best Actor for his portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the movie was nominated for Best Picture. Had it come out the following year, it might have won, but 1962’s honor rightly went to Lawrence of Arabia, one of the most visually stunning movies ever made and arguably the greatest epic film of all time.
In the Heat of the Night
The Mirisch Corporation.
1967 featured a strong stable of Best Picture nominees, and you can find good arguments that Bonnie and Clyde or The Graduate should have won. However, the year belonged to Sidney Poitier, who had ground-breaking roles in not just the year’s winner but also in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, which also got a Best Picture nomination.
The Godfather
This iconic film regularly appears among the top 5 on lists of the best movies of all time, and it has had a lasting effect on its genre and on our culture. Its competitors for the Oscars were no slouches, but they never had a chance.
The Godfather Part II
Paramount Pictures.
Chinatown is an excellent film and a noir classic, but the 1974 sequel to the original Mafia epic is simply the better film and has also had a deeper and more lasting impact. In fact, many place this among the rare sequels that are better than the originals.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Fantasy Films.
1974 and 1975 produced another rare instance of the Academy getting Best Picture right two years in a row. Many have protested that Jaws should have won because of its enduring impact on movies and culture, and the points they make are valid, but on the merits One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is superior, and it also gave us some of the best roles and and one of the best endings of all time.
Terms of Endearment
Paramount Pictures.
The Right Stuff superbly portrayed the space race between America and the Soviets, and it was the patriotic choice for Best Picture in 1981. Terms of Endearment, though, was by far more powerful, and it’s still one of those films you can’t help but watch anytime you come across it, no matter what point of the film it is.
Amadeus
The Saul Zaentz Company.
1982 marked yet another occasion of seeing the rightful winner two years in a row. Tom Hulce was great as the eccentric musical genius Mozart, but the real star was F. Murray Abraham as resentful rival musician Antonio Salieri, who, as many have put it, was brilliant enough to realize that he wasn’t brilliant enough.
The Silence of the Lambs
Even though the competition wasn’t that strong, few would argue that this film wouldn’t have prevailed over a stiffer field of rivals. Anthony Hopkins turned in one of the greatest all-time performances as the genius serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter, but Jodie Foster delivered an equally exceptional performance as a young FBI agent tasked with trying to stop another serial killer while seeking help from the evil Dr. Lecter.
Unforgiven
The year following The Silence of the Lambs, the Academy nailed it again by awarding the most coveted Oscar to Unforgiven. Clint Eastwood, well after having almost single handedly defined the role of the cold-eyed gunfighter of the American Western, turned around and delivered this complete revision of the genre and its themes.
Titanic
You could argue that this movie was practically made for the Oscars and that’s why it should have been rejected, but it was simply too good for that. And it has only gotten better over time.
Million Dollar Baby
Legendary film critic described this 2004 winner about the relationship between a troubled and cynical boxing coach and his young female protege as “a masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true.” That pretty much says it all.
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