# Worst "Best Picture" Winner of the last 40 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095 "2018-10-17T14:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/1 "2018-10-17T14:15:03Z")
What film do do think is the worst film to win the “Best Picture” Acadamy award since 1979?. Poll coming, may take a while. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/2 "2018-10-17T14:18:56Z")
No need for a poll. The answer is _ **Crash.** _ ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/3 "2018-10-17T14:25:35Z")
Forgot to add in my OP, please only vote if you’ve seen at least 15 of them. Please do not vote for a film you have not seen, even if from reputation you think it is worse than all the films you **have** seen. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/4 "2018-10-17T14:28:20Z")
Well, you can make all the arguments you want but the freaking academy gave best picture to _Dances With Wolves_ and not _Goodfellas_. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/5 "2018-10-17T14:29:18Z")
I wish we could have multiple votes. But only 1? Chariots of Boring. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/6 "2018-10-17T14:31:13Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Well, you can make all the arguments you want but the freaking academy gave best picture to _Dances With Wolves_ and not _Goodfellas_. Also please don’t vote for the “most unjustly given” film. The level of the other nominees that year should not be a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/7 "2018-10-17T14:34:09Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > Also please don’t vote for the “most unjustly given” film. The level of the other nominees that year should not be a factor. Ah, good clarification. Would definitely have changed my answer if the question was interpreted as “worst choice of Best Picture.” ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/8 "2018-10-17T14:47:12Z")
**The Artist** , hands down. Can’t believe I’m the only one who’s voted for it so far. Even without taking into consideration that 2012 was a weak year for nominees, \*\*The Artist \*\*is the one winner from the last 40 years that I would least want to sit down and watch right now. **Crash** was not great, and \*\*The Shape of Water \*\*sucked, but I’d rather watch either of them. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/9 "2018-10-17T14:50:02Z")
I seen better than half of them I suppose. Shakespeare in Love did nothing for me. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/10 "2018-10-17T14:52:19Z")
I still have no idea how **Gladiator** is a Best Picture film. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/11 "2018-10-17T14:53:21Z")
I knew my movie watching really dropped off lately but this is an interesting bit of evidence. I’ve only seen 7 of these with the Lord of the Rings entry the most recent. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/12 "2018-10-17T14:54:38Z")
Birdman definitely! Sooooo much self indulgent, metaphoric crap. When he flings himself off the roof, I began celebrating, IT’S OVER ! But no! It went on for another eternity after that. Ugh! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/13 "2018-10-17T14:59:40Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > No need for a poll. The answer is _ **Crash.** _ This. What an ugly film. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/14 "2018-10-17T15:07:59Z")
I actually have seen all of 'em but one. The classic answer for many a year is of course _Titanic_. The one I haven’t seen? _The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King_. The first movie was so godawful bad that was the end of it. Even at the time people said it was a pity Oscar. So it’s a contender but since I didn’t see it … I have no idea what people’s problem with _Crash_ is. (Other than the title obscuring a better film with the same name.) There’s several good-but-not-great films on the list that are not nearly as good. E.g., the first two: _Kramer vs. Kramer_ and _Ordinary People_. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2018, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/15 "2018-10-17T15:13:41Z")
_Gladiator._ Overlong and tedious. People dislike _Crash_ because they don’t understand (or resist) its message. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/16 "2018-10-17T15:26:28Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Birdman definitely! > > Sooooo much self indulgent, metaphoric crap. When he flings himself off the roof, I began celebrating, IT’S OVER ! But no! It went on for another eternity after that. Ugh! Yeah, this. Not the worst movie I’ve ever seen but completely undeserving of an award. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/17 "2018-10-17T15:43:40Z")
_Birdman_ was contrived to appeal to academy voters for the sole purpose of winning an Oscar. It has no entertainment value outside that small audience. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/18 "2018-10-17T15:48:03Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I wish we could have multiple votes. But only 1? Chariots of Boring. I’ll stack rank the ones I have seen, favorite to least favorite (roughly): **Favorites** : Dances With Wolves The Departed No Country for Old Men **Very good** : Ordinary People Gandhi Amadeus **Pretty good** : Platoon The Silence of the Lambs Unforgiven Forrest Gump Braveheart Titanic Gladiator **Decent** : Kramer vs. Kramer Terms of Endearment Rain Man Schindler’s List A Beautiful Mind American Beauty Chicago Crash Slumdog Millionaire The Hurt Locker The King’s Speech Argo **Pretty bad** : if we got more than one vote, these would be them Million Dollar Baby Out of Africa The Last Emperor Driving Miss Daisy The English Patient **Awful** : Chariots of Fire — just awful **I have not seen** : not considered in my voting Shakespeare in Love The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King The Artist 12 Years a Slave Birdman Spotlight Moonlight The Shape of Water ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/19 "2018-10-17T15:52:11Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I have no idea what people’s problem with _Crash_ is. I don’t get it either. I thought Crash was great. Maybe they think it’s too preachy? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095/20 "2018-10-17T15:53:54Z")
There’s a bunch of films I didn’t care for but The Hurt Locker was one of the few that I really didn’t understand all the love for. Just felt like cliche driven crap. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-best-picture-winner-of-the-last-40-years/823095.md?page=2)