Here is a list of my favorite Best Picture Winners of the Academy Awards and my opinions on the nominations and winners of years past.
1973 – The Sting
Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
1975 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Jack Nicholson’s performance is “insanely” good. It questioned psychiatric hospitals and how almost anybody can be “insane.”
Still the best sports movie of all-time. Period. The great thing about it is that Rocky actually doesn’t win the fight at the end.
Also, Robert DeNiro should have won Best Actor for Taxi Driver, instead of Peter Finch in Network.
1977 – Star Wars
should have won instead of Annie Hall.
1982 – I think E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial should have won over Gandhi. Which film do you remember more?
Still the best movie about the Vietnam war ever made.
1988 – Rain Main
I actually thought Tom Cruise’s performance was better than Dustin Hoffman’s.
1990 – I still think Goodfellas should have won Best Picture instead of Dancing With Wolves and I think Robert DeNiro should have won Best Actor for his role in Awakenings, instead of Jeremy Irons in Reversal of Fortune.
A great western, although I personally think The Outlaw Josey Wales was better.
1994 – Forrest Gump won Best Picture but The Shawshank Redemption should have won along with Morgan Freeman as Best Actor for his role in that film.
1996 – The English Patient won Best Picture but Fargo was the better movie by far. Also, Elisabeth Shue’s performance in Leaving Las Vegas was outstanding and she deserved the Best Actress award over Susan Sarandon.
1998 – How could Saving Private Ryan possibly lose to Shakespeare in Love for Best Picture?
1999 – I still think The Green Mile should have won instead of American Beauty.
2000 – I thought Tom Hanks should have won Best Actor for his role in Cast Away instead of Russell Crowe for Gladiator.
2002 – Daniel Day-Lewis should have won Best Actor for Gangs of New York; Diane Lane should have won Best Actress for Unfaithful.
2003 – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won best picture, but I liked Lost in Translation and Mystic River better.
2004 – I would have chosen Sideways for best picture over Million Dollar Baby.
It made up for Martin Scorcese’s snub in previous award nominations. I thought the Best Actor award should have gone to either Leonardo DiCaprio for Blood Diamond or Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness.
2007 – No Country for Old Men
Michael Clayton is a good second choice from that year.
But then again, what the heck do I know…
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