That Oscars poll from last month
Never let it be said that I ask questions and don’t give the answers. Here are the results, from most-seen to least-seen, of my poll a month ago of Oscar winners for Best Picture.
Rankingfilm#12003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King11321965: The Sound of Music10031943: Casablanca9542000: Gladiator9451964: My Fair Lady92=51998: Shakespeare in Love9271991: The Silence of the Lambs8381997: Titanic8291961: West Side Story80=91993: Schindler’s List80111968: Oliver!78=111994: Forrest Gump78=111995: Braveheart78141984: Amadeus77151988: Rain Man74161939: Gone with the Wind72171990: Dances With Wolves70=172010: The King's Speech70191975: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest69201981: Chariots of Fire69=201972: The Godfather68221999: American Beauty67231957: The Bridge on the River Kwai66241959: Ben-Hur66=241982: Gandhi65261962: Lawrence of Arabia64271973: The Sting61282002: Chicago60291956: Around the World in 80 Days57=291992: Unforgiven57311996: The English Patient53321987: The Last Emperor52332001: A Beautiful Mind51341974: The Godfather Part II50=341989: Driving Miss Daisy50361940: Rebecca49371966: A Man for All Seasons48=371977: Annie Hall48=372008: Slumdog Millionaire48401979: Kramer vs. Kramer45=401986: Platoon45421976: Rocky44=422007: No Country for Old Men44441971: The French Connection41451929/1930: All Quiet on the Western Front39461958: Gigi38=461978: The Deer Hunter38481935: Mutiny on the Bounty37=481985: Out of Africa37501967: In the Heat of the Night36=501970: Patton36521950: All About Eve34=521951: An American in Paris34541969: Midnight Cowboy33551934: It Happened One Night32=552011: The Artist32571948: Hamlet30=571960: The Apartment30591954: On the Waterfront29601983: Terms of Endearment26=602009: The Hurt Locker26622005: Crash25=622006: The Departed25641941: How Green Was My Valley24651952: The Greatest Show on Earth23661942: Mrs. Miniver22=661953: From Here to Eternity22681963: Tom Jones21692004: Million Dollar Baby20702012: Argo18711980: Ordinary People17721949: All the Kings Men13731931/1932: Grand Hotel11=731945: The Lost Weekend11=731946: The Best Years of Our Lives11761938: You Can't Take It with You10771944: Going My Way10=771955: Marty10791947: Gentleman's Agreement6801928/1929: The Broadway Melody5=801930/1931: Cimarron5=801932/1933: Cavalcade5=801936: The Great Ziegfeld5841927/1928: Wings3=841937: The Life of Emile Zola3
The 1990s are the best-performing decade, with four films in the top ten (Shakespeare in Love, The Silence of the Lambs, Titanic and Schindler’s List) and another three in the top twenty (Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Dances With Wolves). This possibly says more about the ages of those answering rather than the timeless qualities of movies from the nineties.
The decade that seems to have real staying power (or possibly the power of being shown a lot on TV when the controllers were the age that most of my readers are now) is the 1960s, with three in the top ten (The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady and West Side Story) and another at 11th place (Oliver!). The noughties contribute the poll-topping Return of the King and fourth-placed Gladiator. And rounding out the top ten is the 1940s with Casablanca, though the only other film from that decade in the top half of the table is Rebecca, at #36.
I am interested to learn if Wings (the first ever winner of the Oscar for Best Picture) and The Life of Emile Zola from ten years later deserve their comparative obscurity!
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