Alternative History
Advertisement
Best Picture

The Academy Award for Best Picture is the most important of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot. Best Picture is the final award of the night and is considered the most prestigious honor of the ceremony.

Ceremony Year Movie Producer Summary Notes
1st 1927/28 Wings Paramount Pictures Jack Powell and David Armstrong are rivals in the same small American town, both vying for the attentions of pretty Sylvia Lewis. Jack fails to realize that "the girl next door", Mary Preston, is desperately in love with him. The two young men both enlist to become combat pilots in the Air Service. When they leave for training camp, Jack mistakenly believes Sylvia prefers him. She actually prefers David and lets him know about her feelings, but is too kindhearted to turn down Jack's affection.
2nd 1928/29 The Patriot Ernst Lubitsch for Paramount

Pictures

In 18th-century Russia, the Czar, Paul, is surrounded by murderous plots and trusts only Count Pahlen. Pahlen wishes to protect his friend, the mad king, but because of the horror of the king's acts, he feels that he must remove him from the throne.
3rd 1929/30 Disraeli Jack L. Warner for Warner Bros. In 1874, Disraeli's ambitious foreign policy, aimed at extending the British Empire, is voted down by the House of Commons after a speech by his great rival, William Gladstone. Later, Disraeli receives the welcome news that the spendthrift Khedive of Egypt is in dire need of money and is willing to sell the controlling shares in the Suez Canal. The purchase of the canal would secure control of India, but Michael Probert, head of the Bank of England, makes it clear to Disraeli that he is vehemently opposed to any such plan. Disraeli then summons Hugh Myers, a leading Jewish banker.
4th 1930/31 Trader Horn Irving Thalberg for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The film depicts the adventures of real-life trader and adventurer Alfred Aloysius "Trader" Horn while on safari in Africa.
5th 1931/32 The Champ King Vidor for Hotex Motion Picture Company Andy "Champ" Purcell is the former world heavyweight champion, now down on his luck and living in squalid conditions with his eight-year-old son "Dink" in Tijuana, Mexico. Champ attempts to train and to convince promoters to set up a fight for him, but his efforts are consistently stymied by his alcoholism. Dink is repeatedly disappointed and let down by his father's irresponsible actions and frequent broken promises to quit drinking, but his utter devotion to his father nonetheless never wavers. First Confederate Movie to win Best Picture
6th 1932/33 42nd Street Darryl F. Zanuck for Warner Bros. It is 1932, the depth of the Depression, and noted Broadway producers Jones and Barry are putting on Pretty Lady, a musical starring Dorothy Brock. She is involved with wealthy Abner Dillon, the show's "angel" (financial backer), but while she is busy keeping him both hooked and at arm's length, she is secretly seeing her old vaudeville partner, out-of-work Pat Denning.
7th 1934 Flirtation Walk Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, and Robert Lord for First National Richard Palmer Grant Dorcy Jr. a.k.a. "the Canary" and "the singing bird of the tropics," is an enlisted man in the United States Army. Stationed in the Hawaiian Islands, he has a contentious but friendly relationship with his sergeant, Scrapper Thornhill. When General Fitts visits the post with his daughter Kit on their way to Manila, Dick is assigned to drive her to a reception that evening. Falling victim to the moonlit night, Kit and Dick attend a luau instead, and he sings Aloha ‘Oe. They are discovered in each other's arms by Scrapper and Lieutenant Biddle, who is also in love with Kit. Biddle accuses Dick of ruining Kit's reputation and forcing her to accompany him off post.
8th 1935 Captain Blood Hal B. Wallis, Harry Joe Brown, and Gordon Hollingshead for Warner Bros. In 17th-century England, Irish doctor Peter Blood is summoned to aid Lord Gildoy, a wounded patron who participated in the Monmouth Rebellion. Arrested while performing his duties as a physician, he is convicted of treason against King James II and sentenced to death by the infamous Judge Jeffreys. By the whim of the king, who sees an opportunity for profit, Blood and the surviving rebels are transported to the West Indies to be sold into slavery.
9th 1936 Anthony Adverse Henry Blanke for Warner Bros. In 1773, young Scottish beauty Maria Bonnyfeather is the new bride of the cruel and devious middle-aged Spanish nobleman Marquis Don Luis. Don Luis suffers horribly from gout, so the consummation of their marriage must be postponed until his cure at a famous spa is complete. Meanwhile, Maria's true love, Denis Moore, the man she loved before being forced to marry Don Luis, follows them and stays near the château where they are living
10th 1937 The Life of Emile Zola Henry Blanke for Warner Bros. Set in the mid through late 19th century, the film depicts Zola's early friendship with Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing. It explores his involvement late in the Dreyfus affair.
11th 1938 Jezebel Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke for Warner Bros. In 1852 New Orleans, spoiled, strong-willed belle Julie Marsden is engaged to banker Preston "Pres" Dillard. In an important meeting, Pres is trying to convince the board to invest in railroads, as Northerners are doing, and supporting Dr. Livingstone's plea for measures to prevent an otherwise inevitable outbreak of yellow fever.
12th 1939 Of Mice and Men 'John Steinbeck for Warner Bros. A film adaptation of the 1937 novel. This resulted in Steinbeck being the first person to receive both an Oscar and a Nobel Prize.
13th 1940 The Grapes of Wrath Darryl F. Zanuck and Nunnally Johnson for 20th Century Fox The film opens with Tom Joad released from prison and hitchhiking his way back to his parents' family farm in Kansas. Tom finds an itinerant ex-preachernamed Jim Casy sitting under a tree by the side of the road. Casy was the preacher who baptized Tom, but now Casy has "lost the spirit" and his faith.
14th 1941 Citizen Kane Orson Welles for Orson Welles Production In a mansion called Xanadu, part of a vast palatial estate in California, the elderly Charles Foster Kane is on his deathbed. Holding a snow globe, he utters a word, "Rosebud", and dies; the globe slips from his hand and smashes on the floor. A newsreel obituary tells the life story of Kane, an enormously wealthy newspaper publisher and industrial magnate. Kane's death becomes sensational news around the world, and the newsreel's producer tasks reporter Jerry Thompson with discovering the meaning of "Rosebud".
15th 1942 Yankee Doodle Dandy Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, and William Cagney for Warner Bros. Cohan comes out of retirement to star as President Roosevelt in the Rodgers and Hart musical I'd Rather Be Right. On the first night, he is summoned to meet the president at the White House, who presents him with a Congressional Gold Medal. Cohan is overcome and chats with Roosevelt, recalling his early days on the stage. The film flashes back to his supposed birth on July 4, whilst his father is performing on the vaudeville stage.
16th 1943 Madam Curie Sidney Franklin for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer The Movie follows the life a Marie Curie after she marries Pierre Curie
17th 1944 Going My Way Leo McCarey for Paramount Father Charles “Chuck” O'Malley, an incoming priest from East St. Louis, is transferred to St. Dominic's Church in New York City. On his first day, his unconventional style gets him into a series of mishaps; his informal appearance and attitude make a poor impression with the elder pastor, Father Fitzgibbon. The very traditional Fitzgibbon is further put off by O'Malley's recreational habits – particularly his golf-playing – and his friendship with the even more casual Father Timmy O'Dowd.
18th 1945 Mildred Pierce Jerry Wald for Warner Bros. Monte Beragon, the second husband of Mildred Pierce, is murdered. The police tell Mildred that her first husband, Bert Pierce, has confessed. Mildred protests that he is too kind to commit murder, and reveals her story to the officer in flashback. Mildred and Bert are unhappily married. Mildred must sell her baked goods to support the family after Bert splits with his business partner, Wally Fay. Bert accuses Mildred of favoring their two daughters over him. Their quarrel intensifies after a phone call from Bert's mistress, Maggie Biederhof, and they separate.
19th 1946 Henry V Laurence Olivier for United Artists A film about Henry V's reign as King of England
20th 1947 A Gentleman's Agreement Darryl F. Zanuckfor 20th Century Fox Philip Schuyler Green is a widowed journalist who has just moved to New York City with his son Tommy and mother. Green meets with magazine publisher John Minify, who asks Green, a Gentile, to write an article on anti-Semitism. He is not very enthusiastic at first, but after initially struggling with how to approach the topic in a fresh way, Green is inspired to adopt a Jewish identity and writes about his first-hand experiences. This was the first film to win Best Picture, Best Direct, Lead Actor and Lead Actress
21st 1948 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Henry Blanke for Warner Bros. In 1925, in the Mexican oil-town of Tampico, Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, two unemployed American drifters, survive by bumming for spare change. They are recruited by an American labor contractor, Pat McCormick, as roughnecks to construct oil rigs for $8 a day. When the project is completed, McCormick skips out without paying the men. This film saw a father and son receive an Oscar, John Huston (Best Director) and his father Walter Huston (Best Supporting

actor)

22nd 1949 Battleground Dore Schary for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer In mid-December 1924, Pvt. Jim Layton and his buddy Pvt. William J. Hooper are assigned to the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. As a newcomer, Layton receives a chilly welcome from his squad. PFC Holley returns to the company after recuperating from a wound.
23rd 1950 All About Eve Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox Margo Channing is one of the biggest stars on Broadway. But having just turned forty she is worried about what her advancing age will mean for her career. After a performance of Margo's latest play, Aged in Wood, Margo's close friend Karen Richards, wife of the play's author Lloyd Richards, brings in a besotted fan, Eve Harrington, to meet Margo.
24th 1951 A Streetcar named Desire Anatole Litvak and Frank McCarthy for 20th Century Fox  Blanche DuBois, a middle-aged high school English teacher, arrives in New Orleans. She takes a streetcar named "Desire" to the French Quarter, where her sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley Kowalski, live in a dilapidated tenement apartment. Blanche claims to be on leave from her teaching job due to her nerves and wants to stay with Stella and Stanley. Blanche's demure, refined manner is a stark contrast to Stanley's crude, brutish behavior, making them mutually wary and antagonistic. Stella welcomes having her sister as a guest, but Blanche often patronizes and criticizes her. Became the first film to win Best Picture, Best Director and all the acting categories
25th 1952 Moulin Rouge John Huston for United Artists  In 1890 Paris crowds pour into the Moulin Rouge nightclub as artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec finishes a bottle of cognac while sketching the club's dancers. The club's regulars arrive: singer Jane Avril teases Henri charmingly, dancers La Goulue and Aicha fight, and owner Maurice Joyant offers Henri free drinks for a month in exchange for painting a promotional poster. At closing time, Henri waits for the crowds to disperse before standing to reveal his four-foot six-inch stature. As he walks to his Montmartre apartment, he recalls the events that led to his disfigurement.
26th 1953 Roman Holiday William Wyler for Paramount Pictures  Ann, a crown princess from an unnamed European nation, is on a state visit to Rome, becomes frustrated with her tightly scheduled life, and secretly leaves her country's embassy. The delayed effect of a sedative makes her fall asleep on a bench, where Joe Bradley, an expatriate reporter for the "American News Service", finds her, without recognizing who she is. Thinking that she is intoxicated, Joe lets her spend the night in his apartment.
27th 1954 On the Waterfront Sam Spiegel for Columbia Pictures  Mob-connected union boss Johnny Friendly gloats about his iron-fisted control of the waterfront. The police and the Waterfront Crime Commission know that Friendly is behind a number of murders, but witnesses play "D and D" ("deaf and dumb"), accepting their subservient position, rather than risking the danger and shame of informing.
28th 1955 Marty Harold Hecht for United Artists In 1955, Marty Piletti is an Italian American butcher who lives in The Bronx with his mother. Unmarried at 34, the good-natured but socially awkward Marty faces constant badgering from family and friends to settle down, pointing out that all his brothers and sisters are already married with children. Not averse to marriage but disheartened by his lack of prospects, Marty has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood.
29th 1956 The Race which Kills Careers Sargent Shriver for Shriver Entertainment Jefferson Derringer as a Speaker of the House whose worked his entire life for the Presidency and Fredrick Jersey as a newly elected Mayor of New York who was originally a actor who starts to gain support.
30th 1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai Sam Spiegel, producer In early 1923, American POWs arrive by train at a Japanese prison camp in Burma. The commandant, Colonel Saito, informs them that all prisoners, regardless of rank, are to work on the construction of a railway bridge over the River Kwai that will help connect Bangkok and Rangoon. The senior British officer, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson, informs Saito that the Geneva Conventions exempt officers from manual labour. Nicholson later forbids any escape attempts because they had been ordered by headquarters to surrender, and escapes could be seen as defiance of orders.
31st 1958 Auntie Mame Jack L. Warner, producer Patrick Dennis, orphaned in 1928 when his father unexpectedly dies, is placed in the care of Mame Dennis, his father's sister in Manhattan. Mame is a flamboyant and exuberant woman, who hosts frequent parties with eclectic, bohemian guests.
32nd 1959 Ben-Hur Sam Zimbalist, producer In AD 26, Judah Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem, who lives with his mother, Miriam; his sister, Tirzah; and their female servant Amrah. The family's loyal slave, the merchant Simonides who manages Judah's affairs, pays a visit with his daughter, Esther.
33rd 1960 The Alamo John Wayne, producer The film depicts the Battle of the Alamo and the events leading up to it. Sam Houston leads the forces fighting for Texas independence and needs time to build an army. The opposing Mexican forces, led by General Santa Anna, numerically are stronger as well as better armed and trained.
34th 1961 The Hustler Robert Rossen, producer Small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson travels cross-country with his partner Charlie to challenge the legendary player "Minnesota Fats". Arriving at Fats' home pool hall, Eddie declares he will win $10,000 that night. Fats arrives and he and Eddie agree to play straight pool for $200 a game. After initially falling behind, Eddie surges back to being $1,000 ahead and suggests raising the bet to $1,000 a game; Fats agrees.
35th 1962 The Music Man Darryl F. Zanuck, producer The film opens in July 1912, with a traveling salesman being chased onto a train just about to depart. As the train gets underway, the salesmen on the train get into a rhythmic conversation about credit that veers off to discussion of the con man 'Professor' Harold Hill.
36th 1963 The Cardinal Walter Huston A newly ordained Irish Catholic priest, Stephen Fermoyle, returns home to Boston in 1917. He discovers that his parents are upset about daughter Mona having become engaged to marry a Jewish man, Benny Rampell. Mona seeks Stephen's counsel as a priest.

Concerned about the young priest's ambition, the archbishop assigns Stephen to an out-of-the-way parish where it is hoped he will learn humility. There he meets the humble pastor, Father Ned Halley, and Fermoyle observes the unpretentious way he lives his life and treats his parishioners. Father Halley is very sick with multiple sclerosis. Fermoyle learns humility from him and his housekeeper, Lalage.

37th 1964 Zorba the Greek Michalis Cacoyannis Basil is a British-Greek writer raised in Britain who bears the hallmarks of an uptight, middle-class Englishman. He is waiting at the Athens port of Piraeus on mainland Greece to catch a boat to Crete when he meets a gruff, yet enthusiastic Greek-Macedonian peasant and musician named Zorba. Basil explains to Zorba that he is traveling to a rural Cretan village where his father owns some land, with the intention of reopening a lignitemine and perhaps curing his writer's block. Zorba relates his experience with mining and persuades Basil to take him along.
38th 1965 Doctor Zhivago Carlo Ponti The film takes place mostly against a backdrop since the Great War years, the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the Russian Civil War. A narrative framing device, set in the late 1940s or early 1950s, involves KGB Lieutenant General Yevgraf Andreyevich Zhivago searching for the daughter of his half brother, Doctor Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago, and Larissa ("Lara"). Yevgraf believes a young woman, Tonya Komarova, may be his niece and tells her the story of her father's life.
39th 1966 Alfie Lewis Gilbert A handsome Cockney, self-centered, narcissistic chauffeur in London named Alfred (Alfie) Elkins enjoys the sexual favours of married and single women, while avoiding any commitment. He ends an affair with a married woman, Siddie, just as he gets his submissive single girlfriend, Gilda, pregnant. Alfie thinks nothing of pilfering fuel and money from his employer, and tells Gilda to do the same. Although Alfie refuses to marry Gilda and cheats on her constantly, Gilda decides to have the child, a boy named Malcolm Alfred, and keep him rather than give him up for adoption.
40th 1967 Bonnie and Clyde Warren Beatty In the middle of the Great Depression, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker of Texas meet when Clyde tries to steal the car belonging to Bonnie's mother. Bonnie, who is bored by her job as a waitress, is intrigued by Clyde, and decides to take up with him and become his partner in crime. They pull off some holdups, but their amateur efforts, while exciting, are not very lucrative. Also won Best Actor for Warren Beatty and Best Actress for Faye Dunaway
41st 1968 Oliver! John Woolf A film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist
42nd 1969 Hello Dolly! Ernest Lehman In 1890, all of New York City is excited because widowed and brassy Dolly Levi is in town. Dolly makes a living through matchmaking and numerous sidelines. She is currently seeking a wife for grumpy Horace Vandergelder, the well-known "half-a-millionaire", but it becomes clear that Dolly intends to marry Horace herself.
43rd 1970 Airport Ross Hunter Melodrama about a bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
44th 1971 A Clockwork Orange Stanley Kubrick In a futuristic Britain, Alex DeLarge is the leader of a gang of "droogs": Georgie, Dim and Pete. One night, after getting intoxicated on drug-laden "milk-plus", they engage in an evening of "ultra-violence", which includes a fight with a rival gang. They drive to the country home of writer F. Alexander and beat him to the point of crippling him for life. Alex then rapes Alexander's wife while singing "Singin' in the Rain". The next day, while truant from school, Alex is approached by his probation officer P. R. Deltoid, who is aware of Alex's activities and cautions him. Also won Best Direction for Stanley Kubrick
45th 1972 The Godfather Albert S. Ruddy In 1945 New York City, at his daughter Connie's wedding to Carlo, Vito Corleone in his role as don of the Corleone crime family listens to requests. His youngest son Michael introduces his girlfriend Kay Adams to his family at the reception. Johnny Fontane, a popular singer and Vito's godson, seeks Vito's help in securing a movie role; Vito dispatches his consigliere, Tom Hagen, to Los Angeles to persuade studio head Jack Woltz to give Johnny the part. Woltz refuses until he wakes up in bed with the severed head of his prized stallion.
46th 1973 The Exorcist William Peter Blatty 12-year-old Regan MacNeil begins to adapt an explicit new personality as strange events befall the local area of Georgetown. Her mother becomes torn between science and superstition in a desperate bid to save her daughter, and ultimately turns to her last hope: Father Damien Karras, a troubled priest who is struggling with his own faith. Also won Best Direction for William Friedkin
47th 1974 The Godfather Part II Francis Ford Coppola, Gray Frederickson, and Fred Roos In 1958, during his son's First Communion party at Lake Tahoe, Michael has a series of meetings in his role as the don of the Corleone crime family. Frank Pentangeli, a Corleone capo, is dismayed that Michael refuses to help defend his territory against the Rosato brothers, who work for Michael's business partner Hyman Roth. That night, Michael leaves Nevada after surviving an assassination attempt at his home.
48th 1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest Michael Douglas and Saul Zaentz In 1963 Oregon, recidivist malefactor Randle Patrick McMurphy is moved to a mental institution after serving a short sentence on a prison farm for several charges of assault, and statutory rape of a 15-year-old. Though not actually mentally ill, McMurphy hopes to avoid hard labor and serve the rest of his sentence in a relaxed environment. Upon arriving at the hospital, he finds the ward run by nurse Mildred Ratched, a cold, passive-aggressive tyrant who uses her rules and authority to intimidate her charges into a restrictive, joyless existence.
49th 1976 Taxi Driver Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips Travis Bickle is a lonely, depressed 26-year-old honorably discharged U.S. Marine and Vietnam War veteran living in isolation in New York City. Travis takes a job as a night shift taxi driver to cope with his chronic insomnia, driving passengers around the city's boroughs. He frequents the porn theaters on 42nd Street and keeps a diary in which he consciously attempts to include aphorisms, such as "you're only as healthy as you feel."
50th 1977 Star Wars Gary Kurtz The galaxy is in a period of civil war. Rebel spies have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Starkiller, a moon-sized space station capable of destroying an entire planet. Princess Leia, secretly one of the Rebellion's leaders, has obtained its schematics, but her starship is intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of the ruthless Sith Lord Darth Vader, an agent to the Empire. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory of astromech droid R2-D2, who, along with protocol droid C-3PO, flees in an escape pod to the desert planet Tatooine.
51st 1978 Heaven Can Wait Warren Beatty Joe Pendleton, a backup quarterback for the American football team Los Angeles Rams, is looking forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl. While riding his bicycle through the older west side of tunnel one on Kanan-Dume Road in Malibu, California, an over-anxious guardian angel (known only as The Escort) on his first assignment sees Joe heading into the tunnel, and a large truck heading into the other end of the tunnel towards Joe and his bicycle. The Escort plucks Joe out of his body early in the mistaken belief that Joe was about to be killed. Pendleton immediately arrives in the afterlife.
52nd 1979 Kramer vs Kramer Stanley R. Jaffe Ted Kramer is a workaholic advertising executive who has just been assigned a new and very important account. Ted arrives home and shares the good news with his wife Joanna only to find that she is leaving him. She leaves Ted to raise their son Billy by himself. Ted and Billy initially resent one another as Ted no longer has time to carry his increased workload, and Billy misses his mother's love and attention. After months of unrest, Ted and Billy learn to cope and gradually bond as father and son. Also won Best Direction for Robert Benton, Best Actor for Dustin Hoffman and Best Actress for Meryl Streep
53rd 1980 Ordinary People Ronald L. Schwary The Jarretts are an upper-middle-class family in suburban Chicago trying to return to normal life after the accidental death of their older teenage son, Buck, and the attempted suicide of their younger and surviving son, Conrad. Conrad, who has recently returned home from a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital, feels alienated from his friends and family and begins seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger. Berger learns that Conrad was involved in the sailing accident that took the life of Buck, whom everyone idolized. Conrad now deals with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor's guilt.
54th 1981 Chariots of Fire David Puttnam In 1919, Harold Abrahams enters the University of Cambridge, where he experiences anti-Semitism from the staff, but enjoys participating in the Gilbert and Sullivan club. He becomes the first person ever to complete the Trinity Great Court Run, running around the college courtyard in the time it takes for the clock to strike 12, and achieves an undefeated string of victories in various national running competitions. Although focused on his running, he falls in love with Sybil, a leading Gilbert and Sullivan soprano.
55th 1982 Gandhi Richard Attenbourgh On 30 January 1948, after an evening prayer, an elderly Gandhi is helped out for his evening walk to meet a large number of greeters and admirers. One visitor, Nathuram Godse, shoots him point blank in the chest. Gandhi exclaims, "Oh, God! ", and then falls dead. In 1893, the 23-year-old Gandhi is thrown off a South African train for being an Indian sitting in a first-class compartment despite having a first-class ticket. Realising the laws are biased against Indians, he then decides to start a non-violent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa.
56th 1983 Terms of Endearment James L. Brooks Widowed Aurora Greenway keeps several suitors at arm's length in Houston, focusing instead on her close, but controlling, relationship with daughter Emma. Anxious to escape her mother, Emma marries callow young college professor Flap Horton over her mother's objections, moves away, and has three children. Despite their frequent spats and difficulty getting along, Emma and Aurora have a tie between them that cannot be broken, and keep in touch by telephone.
57th 1984 Amadeus Saul Zaentz Antonio Salieri believes that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music is divine and miraculous. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. He began his career as a devout man who believes his success and talent as a composer are God's rewards for his piety. He's also content as the respected, financially well-off, court composer of Austrian Emperor Joseph II. But he's shocked to learn that Mozart is such a vulgar creature, and can't understand why God favored Mozart to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is ready to take revenge against God and Mozart for his own musical mediocrity. Also won Best Direction for Miloš Forman, Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham and Best Adapted Screenplay
58th 1985 The Color Purple Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Quincy Jones In 1909, Celie is an African-American girl in rural Georgia who has had two children by her abusive father, both of whom have been taken from her. Her father then gives her away as a wife to widower Albert "Mister" Johnson, who already has three children and who also abuses Celie and the children treat her badly. Celie's younger sister, Nettie, the only person who loves her, runs away from home when their father starts abusing her and seeks shelter at Celie and Mister's home. The sisters promise to write each other should they ever be separated. Nettie teaches Celie to read and the two are happy together until Mister tries to rape Nettie while on her way to school. She successfully fights him off and is forcibly removed by him from the property.
59th 1986 Hannah and her Sisters Robert Greenhut The story is told in three main arcs, with most of it occurring during a 24-month period beginning and ending at Thanksgiving parties, held at The Langham, hosted by Hannah, and her husband, Elliot. Hannah serves as the stalwart hub of the narrative; most of the events of the film connect to her.
60th 1987 Moonstruck Patrick J. Palmer and Norman Jewison Thirty-seven-year-old Loretta Castorini, an Italian-American widow, works as a bookkeeper and lives in Brooklyn Heights, New York, with her family: father Cosmo; mother Rose; and paternal grandfather. Her boyfriend, Johnny Cammareri, proposes to her before leaving for Sicily to be with his dying mother; Loretta is insistent that they carefully follow tradition as she believes her first marriage was cursed by her failure to do so, resulting in her husband's death after two years. Johnny asks Loretta to invite his estranged younger brother Ronny to the wedding. Loretta returns home and informs her parents of the engagement. Cosmo dislikes Johnny and is reluctant to pay for the "real" wedding that Loretta insists on, while Rose is pleased that Loretta likes Johnny but does not love him; she believes that one can easily be hurt by a partner whom one loves.
61st 1988 Rain Man Mark Johnson Charlie Babbitt is in the middle of importing four Lamborghinis to Los Angeles for resale. He needs to deliver the vehicles to impatient buyers who have already made down payments in order to repay the loan he took out to buy the cars, but the EPA is holding the cars at the port due to the cars failing emissions regulations. Charlie directs an employee to lie to the buyers while he stalls his creditor.
62nd 1989 Dead Poets Society Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas Painfully shy Todd Anderson has been sent to the school where his popular older brother was valedictorian. His roommate, Neil Perry, although exceedingly bright and popular, is very much under the thumb of his overbearing father. The two, along with their other friends, meet Professor Keating, their new English teacher, who tells them of the Dead Poets Society, and encourages them to go against the status quo. Each does so in his own way, and is changed for life. Also won Best Direction for Peter Weir, Best Actor for Robin Williams and Best Original Screenplay
63rd 1990 Goodfellas Irwin Winkler In 1955, a young Henry Hill becomes enamored of the criminal life and Mafia presence in his working class Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn. He begins working for local caporegime Paul "Paulie" Cicero and his associates: James "Jimmy" Conway, an Irish truck hijacker and gangster, and Tommy DeVito, a fellow juvenile delinquent. Henry begins as a fence for Jimmy, gradually working his way up to more serious crimes. The three associates spend most of their nights in the 1960s at the Copacabana nightclub carousing with women. Henry starts dating Karen Friedman, a Jewish woman. She is initially troubled by Henry's criminal activities but is eventually seduced by his glamorous lifestyle. She marries him, despite her parents' disapproval.
64th 1991 The Silence of the Lambs Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, and Ron Bozman Clarice Starling is pulled from her FBI training at the Quantico, Virginia FBI Academy by Jack Crawford of the Bureau's Behavioral Science Unit. He assigns her to interview Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist and incarcerated cannibalistic serial killer, whose insight could prove useful in the pursuit of a psychopath serial killer nicknamed "Buffalo Bill," who kills young women and then removes their skin. This movie won the ”Big Five”
65th 1992 Unforgiven Clint Eastwood In 1881 in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, two cowboys—Quick Mike and "Davey-Boy" Bunting—attack and disfigure prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald with a knife after she laughs at Quick Mike's small penis. As punishment, local sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett orders the cowboys to bring several horses as compensation for the brothel owner, Skinny Dubois. The rest of the prostitutes are outraged by the sheriff's decision, and offer a $1,000 reward to anyone who kills the cowboys. Also won Best Direction and Best Actor for Clint Eastwood and Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman
66th 1993 The Fugitive Arnold Kopelson A well respected Chicago surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble has found out that his wife, Helen, has been murdered ferociously in her own home. The police found Kimble and accused him of the murder. Then, Kimble (without Justifiable Reason) was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. However, on the way to prison, Kimble's transport crashed. Kimble escapes and is now on the run. Deputy Samuel Gerard from Chicago takes charge of the chase of Kimble. Meanwhile, Kimble takes up his own investigation to find who really killed his wife, and to lure Gerard and his team into it as well. 
67th 1994 Pulp Fiction Lawrence Bender Pulp Fiction's narrative is told out of chronological order, and follows three main interrelated stories: Mob contract killer Vincent Vega is the protagonist of the first story, prizefighter Butch Coolidge is the protagonist of the second, and Vincent's partner Jules Winnfield is the protagonist of the third. Also won Best Director for Quentin Tarantino and Best Supporting Actor for Samuel L. Jackson
68th 1995 Babe George Miller, Doug Mitchell, and Bill Miller  Farmer Hoggett wins a runt piglet at a local fair and Babe, as the piglet decides to call himself, befriends and learns about all the other animals on the farm. He becomes special friends with Fly, one of the sheep dogs. With her help and Farmer Hoggett's intuition, Babe embarks on a career in sheepherding with some surprising and spectacular results.
69th 1996 Shine Jane Scott A young man wanders through a heavy rainstorm, finding his way into a nearby restaurant. The restaurant's employees try to determine if he needs help. Despite his manic mode of speech being difficult to understand, a waitress, Sylvia, learns that his name is David Helfgott and that he is staying at a local hotel. Sylvia returns him to the hotel, and despite his attempts to engage her with his musical knowledge and ownership of various musical scores, she leaves.
70th 1997 L.A. Confidential Arnon Milchan, Curtis Hanson and Michael Nathanson 1950's Los Angeles is the seedy backdrop for this intricate noir-ish tale of police corruption and Hollywood sleaze. Three very different cops are all after the truth, each in their own style: Ed Exley, the golden boy of the police force, willing to do almost anything to get ahead, except sell out; Bud White, ready to break the rules to seek justice, but barely able to keep his raging violence under control; and Jack Vincennes, always looking for celebrity and a quick buck until his conscience drives him to join Exley and White down the one-way path to find the truth behind the dark world of L.A. crime.
71st 1998 The Truman Show Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman and Adam Schroeder Since birth, a big fat lie defines the well-organised but humdrum life of the kind-hearted insurance salesman and ambitious explorer, Truman Burbank. Utterly unaware of the thousands of cleverly hidden cameras watching his every move, for nearly three decades, Truman's entire existence pivots around the will and the wild imagination of the ruthlessly manipulative television producer, Christof--the all-powerful TV-God of an extreme 24/7 reality show: The Truman Show. As a result, Truman's picturesque neighbourhood with the manicured lawns and the uncannily perfect residents is nothing but an elaborate state-of-the-art set, and the only truth he knows is what the worldwide television network and its deep financial interests dictate. Do lab rats know they are forever imprisoned?
72nd 1999 The Green Mile Frank Darabont and David Valdes A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people’s ailments. When the cell block’s head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey’s miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man’s execution. Also won Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan and Best Adapted Screenplay
73rd 2000 American Psycho Edward R. Pressman, Chris Hanley and Christian Halsey Solomon In 1987, wealthy New York investment banker Patrick Bateman's life revolves around dining at trendy restaurants while keeping up appearances for his fiancée Evelyn and his circle of wealthy and shallow associates, most of whom he hates. Bateman describes the material accoutrements of his lifestyle, including his morning exercise, beautification routine, designer wardrobe and expensive furniture. He also discusses his music collection by mimicking phrases he's seen in music reviews. Also won Best Actor for Christian Bale
74th 2001 Training Day Bobby Newmyer and Jeffrey Silver In Los Angeles, a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, those who have sworn to uphold the law are breaking them to clean up the streets. Denzel Washington plays L.A.P.D. detective Alonzo Harris, a veteran narcotics officer whose methods of enforcing the law are questionable, if not corrupt. 'Training Day' follows Harris as he trains rookie Jake Hoyt over a 24-hour period. Ethical dilemmas arise for Hoyt as well as the audience as questions present themselves as to whether or not Harris' methodology for ridding the streets of South Central Los Angeles of drugs is right or wrong. Also won Best Direction for Antoine Fuqua, Best Actor for Denzel Washington and Best Original Screenplay
75th 2002 Road to Perdition Richard D. Zanuck, Dean Zanuck and Sam Mendes Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him. Also won Best Actor for Tom Hanks, Best Supporting Actor for Paul Newman and Best Adapted Screenplay
76th 2003 Mystic River Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt and Clint Eastwood Three boys, Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine, and Dave Boyle play hockey in a Boston street in 1975. Spotting wet concrete, they start writing their names into it when a car pulls up with two men, one pretending to be a police officer and the other a priest. One gets out and berates the boys for their actions, and tells Dave to get into the car. The men kidnap Dave and sexually abuse him for four days until he escapes. Also won Best Actor for Sean Penn, Best Supporting Actor for Tim Robbins and Best Adapted Screenplay
77th 2004 Million Dollar Baby Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, and Tom Rosenberg Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald, a waitress from a Missouri town in the Ozarks, shows up in the Hit Pit, a run-down Los Angeles gym owned and operated by Frankie Dunn, an old Irish-American, cantankerous boxing trainer. Maggie asks Frankie to train her, but he initially refuses. Maggie works out tirelessly each day in his gym, even after Frankie tells her she's "too old" to begin a boxing career at her age. Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, Frankie's friend and employee—and the film's narrator—encourages and helps her. Also won Best Direction for Clint Eastwood, Best Actress for Hilary Swank and Best Supporting Actor for Morgan Freeman
78th 2005 Brokeback Mountain Diana Ossana and James Schamus In 1963, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist are hired by Joe Aguirre to herd his sheep through the summer in the Wyoming mountains. After a night of heavy drinking, Jack makes a pass at Ennis, who is initially hesitant but eventually responds to Jack's advances. Despite Ennis' telling Jack that it was a one-time incident, they develop a passionate sexual and emotional relationship. After Jack and Ennis eventually part ways, Ennis marries his longtime fiancée Alma Beers and has two daughters with her. Jack returns the next summer seeking work, but Aguirre, who had observed Jack and Ennis on the mountain, refuses to rehire him. Also won Best Direction for Ang Lee, Best Actor for Heath Ledger and Best Adapted Screenplay
79th 2006 The Devil Wears Prada Wendy Finerman After graduating from university, Andy lands the dream job that "a million girls would kill for": assistant to Miranda - the chief editor of Runway, the top-selling fashion magazine in the industry. It is a job set to fast-track her career in journalism, if she can survive a year working for Miranda. From here, Andy, with no sense of fashion at all, begins a fish-out-of-water drama as she is thrown into a lifestyle full of the fast-paced, three-inch-minimum-heel-height, diet coke and coffee substance abuse. Andy works really hard to deal with Miranda's endless unimaginable demands. She even becomes trendy and classy. However, she gradually finds she is working 24/7 and soon her life with boyfriend Nate and best friend Lily is slipping away from her. Then, she realizes that she is losing what really matters. She does not want to lose herself no matter how many pairs of Monolos and Jimmy Choos she can score along the way.
80th 2007 No Country for Old men Scott Rudin, Joel Coen, and Ethan Coen In Texas, 1980, hitman Anton Chigurh strangles a deputy sheriff to escape custody and uses a captive bolt pistol to kill a driver and steal his car. He spares the life of a gas station owner who accepts a challenge and successfully guesses the result of Chigurh's coin flip.

Hunting pronghorns in the desert, Llewelyn Moss comes across the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad. He finds several dead men and dogs, a wounded Mexican man begging for water, and two million dollars in a briefcase. He takes the money and returns home. That night, Moss returns to the scene with water. He is pursued by two men in a truck and escapes. At home, he sends his wife, Carla Jean, to stay with her mother, then drives to a motel in Del Rio, where he hides the case in his room's air duct.

81st 2008 Tropic Thunder Stuart Cornfeld, Ben Stiller and Eric McLeod Vietnam veteran ‘Four Leaf’ Tayback’s memoir, Tropic Thunder, is being made into a film, but Director Damien Cockburn can’t control the cast of prima donnas. Behind schedule and over budget, Cockburn is ordered by a studio executive to get filming back on track, or risk its cancellation. On Tayback’s advice, Cockburn drops the actors into the middle of the jungle to film the remaining scenes but, unbeknownst to the actors and production, the group have been dropped in the middle of the Golden Triangle, the home of heroin-producing gangs. 
82nd 2009 District 9 Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends Also won Best Direction for Neill Blomkamp and Best Adapted Screenplay
83rd 2010 True Grit Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen The father of 14-year old Mattie Ross is murdered by hired hand Tom Chaney while on a trip to Fort Smith, Arkansas to purchase horses. While collecting her father's body, Mattie asks the local sheriff about the search for Chaney. He tells her that Chaney has, likely, fled with "Lucky" Ned Pepper and his gang into Indian Territory, where the sheriff has no authority, so she inquires about hiring a Deputy U.S. Marshal. The sheriff gives three recommendations, and Mattie chooses the "meanest" of the three, Rooster Cogburn. Cogburn initially rebuffs her offer, disbelieving both her grit and her wealth, but she raises the money by aggressively horse-trading with Colonel Stonehill. Also won Best Direction for Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Best Actor for Jeff Bridges and Best Supporting Actress for Hailee Steinfeld
84th 2011 The Descendants Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron, Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.
85th 2012 Django Unchained Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone In early 1858 Texas, brothers Ace and Dicky Speck drive a group of shackled black slaves on foot. Among them is Django, sold off and separated from his wife Broomhilda von Shaft, a house slave who speaks German and English. They are stopped by Dr. King Schultz, a German dentist-turned-bounty hunter seeking to buy Django for his knowledge of the three outlaw Brittle brothers, overseers at the plantation of Django's previous owner and for whom Schultz has a warrant. When Ace levels his gun at him, Schultz kills him and shoots Dicky's horse. As a result, the horse falls on top of Dicky, pinning him to the ground. Schultz insists on paying a fair price for Django before leaving Dicky to the newly freed slaves, who kill him and follow the North Star to freedom. Schultz offers Django his freedom and $75 in exchange for help tracking down the Brittles. Also won Best Supporting Actor for Christoph Waltz and Best Original Screenplay
86th 2013 American Hustle Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, and Jonathan Gordon A conman and his seductive partner are forced to work for a wild FBI agent, who pushes them into a world of Jersey power-brokers and the Mafia.
87th 2014 Birdman Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, and James W. Skotchdopole Riggan Thomson is a faded American actor famous for playing a superhero named Birdman in a film trilogy in the 1990s. He is tormented by the mocking and critical internal voice of Birdman and frequently visualizes himself performing feats of levitation and telekinesis. Riggan is trying to gain recognition as a serious actor for writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway adaptation of Raymond Carver's short story, "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." However, the Birdman voice wants Riggan to return to blockbuster cinema and insists that he is an essential part of Riggan's identity.
88th 2015 Room Ed Guiney In Akron, Ohio, 24-year-old Joy Newsome and her 5-year-old son Jack live in a squalid shed they call Room. They share a bed, toilet, bathtub, television, and rudimentary kitchen; the only window is a skylight. They are captives of a man they call "Old Nick", Jack's biological father, who abducted Joy seven years prior and routinely rapes her while Jack sleeps in the closet. She tries to stay optimistic for her son but suffers from malnutrition and depression. She allows Jack to believe that only Room and its contents are real, and that the rest of the world exists only on television.
89th 2016 Hell or High Water Sidney Kimmel, Peter Berg, Carla Hacken and Julie Yorn In West Texas, two brothers go on a bank-robbing rampage. They are targeting the branches of one bank in particular, The Texas Midland Bank. This bank is about to foreclose on the mortgage on their ranch and claim the property, and robbing the bank to pay its own loan seems appropriate. On the trail of the brothers is a Texas Ranger, Marcus Hamilton, with only a few weeks to retirement. Also won Best Original Screenplay
90th 2017 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, and Martin McDonagh In the (fictional) town of Ebbing, Missouri, Mildred Hayes is grieving over the rape and murder of her teenage daughter, Angela, several months earlier. Angry over the lack of progress in the investigation, Mildred rents three abandoned billboards near her home and posts on them: "Raped While Dying", "And Still No Arrests?", and "How Come, Chief Willoughby?" The billboards upset many townspeople, including Chief Bill Willoughby and the racist, violent, alcoholic Officer Jason Dixon. The open secret that Bill suffers from terminal pancreatic cancer adds to everyone's disapproval. Despite incurring harassment and threats, and the objections of her son Robbie, Mildred remains determined to keep up her billboards.
91st 2018 Hereditary Kevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen and Buddy Patrick When her mentally ill mother passes away, Annie, her husband, son, and daughter all mourn her loss. The family turn to different means to handle their grief, including Annie and her daughter both flirting with the supernatural. They each begin to have disturbing, otherworldly experiences linked to the sinister secrets and emotional trauma that have been passed through the generations of their family.
92nd 2019 Avengers: Endgame Kevin Feige After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store. Also won Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr.
93rd 2020 Judas and the Black Messiah Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King and Shaka King In 1968, 19-year-old petty criminal William O'Neal is arrested in Chicago after attempting to steal a car while posing as a federal officer. He is approached by FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell, who offers to have O'Neal's charges dropped if he works undercover for the bureau. O'Neal is assigned to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and its leader, Fred Hampton. Daniel Kaluuya won Best Supporting actor
94th 2021 Dune Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter A mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, "Dune" tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive. Also won Best Direction for Denis Villeneuve and Best Adapted Screenplay
95th 2022 Babylon Marc Platt, Matthew Plouffe and Olivia Hamilton A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters in an era of unbridled decadence and depravity during Hollywood’s transition from silent films and to sound films in the late 1920s. Also won Best Direction for Damien Chazelle, Best Actress for Margot Robbie and Best Original Screenplay
96th 2023 John Wick: Chapter 4 Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Chad Stahelski Condemned by the tyrannical High Table to be on the run for the rest of his life, deadly assassin maestro John Wick embarks on a Sisyphean mission of suicidal fury to decide his fate after the merciless carnage in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum. At last, John's violent journey, fuelled by vengeance and grief, ultimately leads him to a fateful confrontation with his former employers, the crime masters that forced him into exile. And as the blood-stained vendetta to destroy those who pull the strings continues, old companions face the brutal consequences of friendship, and all-powerful, well-connected adversaries emerge to bring Wick's head on a platter. But talk is cheap--now guns have the final say. Baba Yaga, the grim messiah of death, must make every bullet count in this bloody, once-and-for-all struggle for freedom. Also won Best Direction for Chad Stahelski


Advertisement