# Oscar Madness - Best Picture Winners (R1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 27, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512 "2008-06-27T23:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/1 "2008-06-27T23:28:18Z")
This is one of 4 Oscar Madness showdowns running, with this one having Best Picture winners square off against each other in four different time periods. All seeds and line-ups determined by the user poll data from the IMDB. Only feature-length fiction films were under consideration, and a director is limited to one film in each era. Please make your answers legible. The deadline is Wed. July 2 at 9am PST. 1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) vs. [16] The Broadway Melody (Beaumont, 1929) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) vs. [15] The Great Ziegfeld (Leonard, 1936) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) vs. [14] Gentleman’s Agreement (Kazan, 1947) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) vs. [13] The Life of Emile Zola (Dieterle, 1937) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) vs. [12] Going My Way (McCarey, 1944) [6] Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) vs. [11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) vs. [10] Wings (Wellman, 1927) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) vs. [9] How Green Was My Valley (Ford, 1941) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) vs. [16] The Greatest Show on Earth(DeMille, 1952) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) vs. [15] Around the World in 80 Days (Anderson, 1958) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) vs. [14] Tom Jones (Richardson, 1963) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) vs. [13] An American in Paris (Minnelli, 1951) [5] Ben-Hur (Wyler, 1959) vs. [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) vs. [11] Marty (Mann, 1955) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) vs. [10] My Fair Lady (Cukor, 1964) [8] Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) vs. [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) vs. [16] Chariots of Fire (Hudson, 1981) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) vs. [15] Oliver! (Reed, 1968) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) vs. [14] Kramer vs. Kramer (Benton, 1979) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) vs. [13] Ordinary People (Redford, 1980) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) vs. [12] The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) vs. [11] The French Connection (Friedkin, 1971) [7] Gandhi (Attenborough, 1982) vs. [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) vs. [9] Rocky (Avildsen, 1976) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) vs. [16] Shakespeare in Love (Maddin, 1998) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) vs. [15] Driving Miss Daisy (Beresford, 1989) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) vs. [14] Dances with Wolves (Costner, 1990) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) vs. [13] Rain Man (Levinson, 1988) [5] Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) vs. [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) vs. [11] Crash (Haggis, 2005) [7] No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007) vs. [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [8] Gladiator (Scott, 2000) vs. [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/2 "2008-06-27T23:44:42Z")
1928-1947 [1] \*\*Casablanca \*\* (Curtiz, 1942) [2] \*\*Rebecca \*\* (Hitchcock, 1940) (Seriously, the Great Zigfield sucks.) [14] \*\*Gentleman’s Agreement \*\* (Kazan, 1947) (AHH so hard! So hard to chose. GAH!) [4] **The Best Years of Our Lives** (Wyler, 1946) [5] **The Lost Weekend** (Wilder, 1945) [6] \*\*Gone With the Wind \*\* (Fleming, 1939) [7] \*\*All Quiet on the Western Front \*\* (Milestone, 1930) [8] **Mutiny on the Bounty** (Lloyd, 1935) (Another killer matchup. I was THIS close to going the other way.) 1948-1967 [1] \*\*Lawrence of Arabia \*\* (Lean, 1962) (Seriously, The Greatest Show on Earth sucks) [2] **On the Waterfront** (Kazan ,1954) [3] **All About Eve** (Mankiewicz, 1950) [4] **The Apartment** (Wilder, 1960) (rough one for American in Paris. It just isn’t a match) [12] \*\*All the King’s Men \*\* (Rossen, 1949) (I will probably lose this one.) [6] \*\*In the Heat of the Night \*\* (Jewison, 1967) (Another really hard one. Going for the cultural signifigance on this.) [10] **My Fair Lady** (Cukor, 1964) (Really only winning because I am voting agains The Sound of Music in the next pair and at least one musical should advance) [8] \*\*Hamlet \*\* (Olivier, 1948) 1968-1987 [1]\*\* The Godfather\*\* (Coppola, 1972) (Too bad for Chariots) [2] **One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest** (Forman, 1975) [3] **The Sting** (Hill, 1973) (one of my favorite movies ever) [4] **Platoon** (Stone, 1986) (This one is personal, I never liked Ordinary People, I appreciate it, but I don’t like it.) [5] **The Deer Hunter** (Cimino, 1978) [11] \*\*The French Connection \*\* (Friedkin, 1971) (GAH!) [10] \*\*Midnight Cowboy \*\* (Schlesinger, 1969) (Double GAH!) [8] **Patton \*\* (Schaffner, 1970) (George C. Scott!) 1988-2007 [16] Shakespeare in Love (Maddin, 1998) (Meh) [15] Driving Miss Daisy (Beresford, 1989) (again, meh) [3] American Beauty \*\* (Mendes, 1999) (Dances is a better movie than people give it credit for, but then so is American Beauty) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) (Two movies I really dislike, both Oscar winners ☹ ) [11] Crash** (Haggis, 2005) (See above) [10] \*\*Unforgiven \*\* (Eastwood, 1992) (Don’t know how No Country will hold up. Unforgiven is still great) [9] \*\*Braveheart \*\* (Gibson, 1995) (Seriously, Gladiator sucks) ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/3 "2008-06-27T23:47:41Z")
28-47 1. Casablanca 2. Rebecca 3. Gentlemen’s Agreement 4. The Best Years of Our Lives 5. Going My Way 6. Grand Hotel 7. All Quiet on the Western Front 8. Mutiny on the Bounty 48-67 1. Lawrence of Arabia 2. Around the World in 80 Days 3. Tom Jones 4. The Apartment 5. Ben-Hur 6. Marty 7. A Man For All Seasons 8. Hamlet 68-87 1. The Godfather 2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 3. The Sting 4. Platoon 5. The Deer Hunter 6. The French Connection 7. Midnight Cowboy 8. Patton 88-07 1. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2. Schindler’s List 3. American Beauty 4. Silence of the Lambs 5. Forrest Gump 6. The Departed 7. Unforgiven 8. Gladiator ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/4 "2008-06-27T23:50:52Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [9] How Green Was My Valley (Ford, 1941) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) [8] Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [14] Kramer vs. Kramer (Benton, 1979) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) [12] The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [8] Gladiator (Scott, 2000) Pretty straightforward this round, with the toughest match-up the Coens vs. Eastwood, and though I don’t like _American Beauty_ or either of the Russell Crowe films, they’re still better than the alternative. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/5 "2008-06-27T23:56:11Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) 11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) — (haven’t seen either) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) [13] An American in Paris (Minnelli, 1951) [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [10] My Fair Lady (Cukor, 1964) [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [13] Ordinary People (Redford, 1980) [12] The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [7] Gandhi (Attenborough, 1982) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [16] Shakespeare in Love (Maddin, 1998) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [13] Rain Man (Levinson, 1988) [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) vs. [11] Crash (Haggis, 2005) – **pass** [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [8] Gladiator (Scott, 2000) ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/6 "2008-06-28T00:25:02Z")
1928-1947 [1] _Casablanca_ (Curtiz, 1942) Greatest Film Ever [2] _Rebecca_ (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] _It Happened One Night_ (Capra, 1934) A very entertaining flick [4] _The Best Years of Our Lives_ (Wyler, 1946) [12] _Going My Way_ (McCarey, 1944) One of my all time favs [6] _Gone With the Wind_ (Fleming, 1939) Even if she never does learn anything… [7] _All Quiet on the Western Front_ (Milestone, 1930) [9] _How Green Was My Valley_ (Ford, 1941) I prefer the _Mutiny_ from recent times. 1948-1967 [1] _Lawrence of Arabia_ (Lean, 1962) Possibly my #2 ever [2]\* On the Waterfront\* (Kazan ,1954) Much as I love musicals, most of the ones that won Oscars were not really that good; Hollywood simply had a love affair with mediocre music for a while… [14] _Tom Jones_ (Richardson, 1963) Underrated movie [13] _An American in Paris_ (Minnelli, 1951) Scratch what I said about musicals. Kelley, Gershwin, Paris… perfect! [5] _Ben-Hur_ (Wyler, 1959) Best chariot scene ever [6] _In the Heat of the Night_ (Jewison, 1967) [7] _A Man for All Seasons_ (Zinnemann, 1966) Oh, ugh, mediocre musical. I OWN Man for all seasons, which should tell you something. [8] _Hamlet_ (Olivier, 1948) Olivier v. Julie Andrews. 'nuff said. 😉 1968-1987 [16] _Chariots of Fire_ (Hudson, 1981) I have never liked the Godfather movies [2] _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ (Forman, 1975) There goes that bad musical thing again. [3] _The Sting_ (Hill, 1973) \* Kramer\* was good, but _the Sting_ is classic [13] _Ordinary People_ (Redford, 1980) [12] _The Last Emperor_ (Bertolucci, 1987) Did I mention I hate war flicks? [11] _The French Connection_ (Friedkin, 1971) [7] _Gandhi_ (Attenborough, 1982) #3 movie of all time [9] _Rocky_ (Avildsen, 1976) Yo! Adrian! 1988-2007 [16] _Shakespeare in Love_ (Maddin, 1998) I think most here know my feelings about the LotR movies. :rolleyes: [2] _Schindler’s List_ (Spielberg, 1993) [3] _American Beauty_ (Mendes, 1999) Dances was pretentious crap. [4] \*The Silence of the Lambs \* (Demme, 1991) One of the best ever [12] _A Beautiful Mind_ (Howard, 2001) I never got into _Gump_ much. Nostalgia not my thing really. But _Beautiful Mind_ convinced me that Russell Crowe really can act. [11] _Crash_ (Haggis, 2005) Despite the criticism heaped upon this movie, I find it very powerful commentary. Watched it for the first time as part of a class on cultural diversity [10] _Unforgiven_ (Eastwood, 1992) [9] _Braveheart_ (Gibson, 1995) Meh. But it is Scottish history. 😉 (for my tastes, I prefered _Rob Roy_ with Liam Neeson) ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/7 "2008-06-28T01:15:39Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 19 [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [14] Gentleman’s Agreement (Kazan, 1947) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [6] Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [11] Marty (Mann, 1955) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978 [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [9] Rocky (Avildsen, 1976) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [11] Crash (Haggis, 2005) [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [8] Gladiator (Scott, 2000) ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/8 "2008-06-28T01:33:51Z")
1928-1947 I’m taking a pass on voting in this bracket, because I haven’t seen enough of the films in it. 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [5] [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [7] [10] My Fair Lady (Cukor, 1964) [8] [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [4] Rain Man (Levinson, 1988) [5] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) [7] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [8] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/9 "2008-06-28T01:55:40Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [10] My Fair Lady (Cukor, 1964) [8] Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) [11] The French Connection (Friedkin, 1971) [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) [7] No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007) [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/10 "2008-06-28T02:18:57Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) vs. [16] The Broadway Melody (Beaumont, 1929) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) vs. [15] The Great Ziegfeld (Leonard, 1936) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) vs. [14] Gentleman’s Agreement (Kazan, 1947) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) vs. [13] The Life of Emile Zola (Dieterle, 1937) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) vs. [12] Going My Way (McCarey, 1944) [6] Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) vs. [11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) vs. [10] Wings (Wellman, 1927) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) vs. [9] How Green Was My Valley (Ford, 1941) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) vs. [16] The Greatest Show on Earth(DeMille, 1952) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) vs. [15] Around the World in 80 Days (Anderson, 1958) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) vs. [14] Tom Jones (Richardson, 1963) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) vs. [13] An American in Paris (Minnelli, 1951) [5] Ben-Hur (Wyler, 1959) vs. [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) vs. [11] Marty (Mann, 1955) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) vs. [10] My Fair Lady (Cukor, 1964) [8] Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) vs. [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) vs. [16] Chariots of Fire (Hudson, 1981) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) vs. [15] Oliver! (Reed, 1968) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) vs. [14] Kramer vs. Kramer (Benton, 1979) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) vs. [13] Ordinary People (Redford, 1980) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) vs. [12] The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) vs. [11] The French Connection (Friedkin, 1971) [7] Gandhi (Attenborough, 1982) vs. [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) vs. [9] Rocky (Avildsen, 1976) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) vs. [16] Shakespeare in Love (Maddin, 1998) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) vs. [15] Driving Miss Daisy (Beresford, 1989) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) vs. [14] Dances with Wolves (Costner, 1990) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) vs. [13] Rain Man (Levinson, 1988) [5] Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) vs. [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) vs. [11] Crash (Haggis, 2005) [7] No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007) vs. [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [8] Gladiator (Scott, 2000) vs. [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/11 "2008-06-28T02:35:41Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [14] Tom Jones (Richardson, 1963) [13] An American in Paris (Minnelli, 1951) [5] Ben-Hur (Wyler, 1959) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [10] My Fair Lady (Cukor, 1964) [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [15] Oliver! (Reed, 1968) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [13] Ordinary People (Redford, 1980) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) [11] The French Connection (Friedkin, 1971) [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [9] Rocky (Avildsen, 1976) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [14] Dances with Wolves (Costner, 1990) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [5] Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) [11] Crash (Haggis, 2005) [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/12 "2008-06-28T03:16:21Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [6] Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [5] Ben-Hur (Wyler, 1959) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) [8] Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [13] Ordinary People (Redford, 1980) [12] The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [[10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [9] Rocky (Avildsen, 1976) 1988-2007 [16] Shakespeare in Love (Maddin, 1998) [15] Driving Miss Daisy (Beresford, 1989) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [13] Rain Man (Levinson, 1988) [5] Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) 11] Crash (Haggis, 2005) [7] No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007) [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/13 "2008-06-28T03:28:54Z")
I tried this two year ago and the thread was shut down two hours before the final vote closed. Hopefully this time we won’t get cut off. Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) Ben-Hur (Wyler, 1959) In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) - a tough choice A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) Kramer vs. Kramer (Benton, 1979) Platoon (Stone, 1986) The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) Gandhi (Attenborough, 1982) Patton (Schaffner, 1970) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007) - another tough choice Gladiator (Scott, 2000) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/14 "2008-06-28T03:29:29Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca [2] Rebecca [3] It Happened One Night [4] The Best Years of Our Lives [5] The Lost Weekend [6] Gone With the Wind [7] All Quiet on the Western Front [8] Mutiny on the Bounty 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia [2] On the Waterfront [3] All About Eve [13] An American in Paris [5] Ben-Hur [11] Marty [7] A Man for All Seasons [9] The Sound of Music 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest [3] The Sting [13] Ordinary People [5] The Deer Hunter [6] Annie Hall [7] Gandhi [9] Rocky 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [2] Schindler’s List [14] Dances with Wolves [13] Rain Man [12] A Beautiful Mind [6] The Departed [10] Unforgiven [9] Braveheart ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/15 "2008-06-28T04:08:20Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [14] Tom Jones (Richardson, 1963) [13] An American in Paris (Minnelli, 1951) [5] Ben-Hur (Wyler, 1959) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) [8] Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [14] Kramer vs. Kramer (Benton, 1979) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [14] Dances with Wolves (Costner, 1990) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [5] Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) [7] No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007) - can’t believe you pinned these two against each other. They’re my two favorite movies in the entire category. [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/16 "2008-06-28T05:56:29Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca [2] Rebecca 14] Gentleman’s Agreement [4] The Best Years of Our Lives [5] The Lost Weekend [6] Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [9] How Green Was My Valley 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia [2] On the Waterfront [3] All About Eve [4] The Apartment [12] All the King’s Men [6] In the Heat of the Night [7] A Man for All Seasons [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) “Lawrence of Arabia” over “The Greatest Show On Earth” was far and away the easiest choice in the game. That’s like Muhammad Ali versus Urkel. I hate musicals, but “Hamlet” bored me. 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest [3] The Sting [4] Platoon [12] The Last Emperor [11] The French Connection [10] Midnight Cowboy [8] Patton It’s interesting that people complain about Oscar winners like “Titanic” and “Gladiator,” which I freely admit were not the best choices, but forget that they used to give the Best Picture award to crap like The Greatest Show on Earth and Oliver! “Annie Hall” vs. “The French Connection” was tough. I wasn’t fussy about the Last Emperor but it snuck on; “Gandhi” did not. Epic biopics get a lot of Oscar attention, but in my experience they’re often just not very good movies. “Gandhi” wasn’t really a good movie at all, IMHO; Ben Kingsley puts on an absolutely riveting performance, but other than that it feels like a three-hour History Channel special. [16] Shakespeare in Love [2] Schindler’s List [14] Dances with Wolves [4] The Silence of the Lambs [5] Forrest Gump [11] Crash [10] Unforgiven [9] Braveheart I know people shit on “Dance With Wolves” but (a) it was not the crap movie people remember it being, and had compelling characters, and (b) I thought “American Beauty” was pretentious and repulsive and stupid. I was sorry to drop the Coens, but “No Country for Old Men” was not their best movie anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/17 "2008-06-28T14:38:03Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [6] Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [9] How Green Was My Valley (Ford, 1941) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [5] Ben-Hur (Wyler, 1959) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [10] My Fair Lady (Cukor, 1964) [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) [12] The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [7] Gandhi (Attenborough, 1982) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [16] Shakespeare in Love (Maddin, 1998) [15] Driving Miss Daisy (Beresford, 1989) [14] Dances with Wolves (Costner, 1990) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [5] Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) …and curse you, **ArchiveGuy** , for putting _Patton_ up against _Rocky_ in the first round. I love 'em both. Ditto _No Country for Old Men_ and _Unforgiven_. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/18 "2008-06-28T16:18:32Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] …and curse you, **ArchiveGuy** , for putting _Patton_ up against _Rocky_ in the first round. I love 'em both. Ditto _No Country for Old Men_ and _Unforgiven_. [/QUOTE] Like I said, all ranking (and subsequent seeding) was strictly dictated by the IMDB (so blame them, all you _Chicago_ & _English Patient_ lovers). My hands are clean! (until the eventuality of a tie; THEN the power is indeed mine! 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/19 "2008-06-28T17:20:37Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [3] It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [6] Gone With the Wind (Fleming, 1939) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [9] How Green Was My Valley (Ford, 1941) 1948-1967 [1] Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [3] All About Eve (Mankiewicz, 1950) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) [8] Hamlet (Olivier, 1948) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [3] The Sting (Hill, 1973) [13] Ordinary People (Redford, 1980) [12] The Last Emperor (Bertolucci, 1987) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [1] The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Jackson, 2003) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [4] The Silence of the Lambs (Demme, 1991) [12] A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) [10] Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992) [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512/20 "2008-06-28T19:47:06Z")
1928-1947 [1] Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942) [2] Rebecca (Hitchcock, 1940) [14] Gentleman’s Agreement (Kazan, 1947) [4] The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946) [5] The Lost Weekend (Wilder, 1945) [11] Grand Hotel (Goulding, 1932) [7] All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone, 1930) [8] Mutiny on the Bounty (Lloyd, 1935) 1948-1967 [16] The Greatest Show on Earth (DeMille, 1952) [2] On the Waterfront (Kazan ,1954) [14] Tom Jones (Richardson, 1963) [4] The Apartment (Wilder, 1960) [12] All the King’s Men (Rossen, 1949) [6] In the Heat of the Night (Jewison, 1967) [7] A Man for All Seasons (Zinnemann, 1966) [9] The Sound of Music (Wise, 1965) 1968-1987 [1] The Godfather (Coppola, 1972) [2] One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Forman, 1975) [14] Kramer vs. Kramer (Benton, 1979) [4] Platoon (Stone, 1986) [5] The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) [6] Annie Hall (Allen, 1977) [10] Midnight Cowboy (Schlesinger, 1969) [8] Patton (Schaffner, 1970) 1988-2007 [16] Shakespeare in Love (Maddin, 1998) [2] Schindler’s List (Spielberg, 1993) [3] American Beauty (Mendes, 1999) [13] Rain Man (Levinson, 1988) [5] Forrest Gump (Zemeckis, 1994) [6] The Departed (Scorsese, 2006) [7] No Country for Old Men (Coen/Coen, 2007) [9] Braveheart (Gibson, 1995) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-madness-best-picture-winners-r1/454512.md?page=2)