30. “Marty” (1955)
Even now, “Marty” feels like an unlikely Best Picture winner—it’s a low-key romance between people who don’t look like movie stars, adapted from a TV drama that aired only two years earlier. But the film—one of only two to win both Best Picture and the Palme d’Or—was deserving. Sure, director Delbert Mann was a bit of a journeyman, but Paddy Chayefsky‘s magnificent script, and the performances by Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair, more than make up for it. Here’s producer Burt Lancaster to tell you about it:
29. “My Fair Lady” (1964)
A frothy, totally irresistible George Cukor musical with a never lovelier Audrey Hepburn (who admittedly is not hugely convincing as a cockney waif, and had her singing voice dubbed) and the irascible, exasperated Rex Harrison as her svengali, the film still breezes past our radar for the dodgy patriarchalism and classism of its premise with its lavishly costumed, hummable charm.
28. “Unforgiven” (1992)
Fascinating for the grim deconstruction of a myth of the American West that he’d been influential in creating, Clint Eastwood’s “final western” is a flawed film, but even its flaws speak to its ambition. While there are a few too many characters, and a few unexplored avenues that the film even at over two hours doesn’t have time to develop, what’s there is still pretty choice, with Eastwood himself bringing an appropriately broken, end-of-days feel to his role.
27. “Gladiator” (2000)
Relaunching the Hollywood swords ‘n’ sandals genre, Ridley Scott’s Ancient Rome-set epic also provided the defining role for Russell Crowe’s muscular, masculine appeal and brought him his first Best Actor Oscar (he’d been nominated the year before and would be again the year after). It’s a relatively straightforward story of a man’s rise to heroism to avenge his family, but elevated by the sheer scale of the endeavor, and by Crowe’s intense performance.
26. “The Last Emperor” (1987)
The lavish stateliness of this Bernardo Bertolucci film about the end of the last Chinese imperial dynasty may be unfashionable now, and at 2 hours 40 minutes it does require an investment of time, but the spectacle alone often saves the day. Even when the man is lost amid the trappings, the trappings (it was the first film ever permitted to shoot inside the magnificent Forbidden City) are worth it.
25. “Platoon” (1986)
The second Vietnam movie to win Best Picture (and the first made by an actual vet of the conflict), “Platoon” isn’t the most artful ‘Nam picture to contend for an Oscar (*cough* “Apocalypse Now“), but is one of the most visceral, authentic and deeply felt. Oliver Stone‘s own combat experience feeds into his powerful and elegaic tale of the young infantrymen (Charlie Sheen) torn between two mentors, as powerful an anti-war statement as ever graced the Academy’s stage.
24. “The Hurt Locker” (2009)
80 years into its history, the Academy finally deigned to give Best Picture to a movie directed by a woman, but Kathryn Bigelow‘s war drama about a risk-addicted bomb-defusing expert was no affirmative-action choice. It’s gripping, authentic, wryly funny and brilliantly directed. The narrative occasionally ends up in a cul-de-sac (the sub-plot involving Jeremy Renner‘s young Iraqi friend), but it’s otherwise a top-tier war movie.
23. “The Silence Of The Lambs” (1991)
One of the unlikeliest Oscar phenomena ever, Jonathan Demme‘s adaptation of Thomas Harris‘ serial killer thriller might not be the most nourishing or uplifting of the Best Picture winners, but it’s one of the most thrilling, and certainly the scariest. It’s been a little diminished by its imitators (especially in Anthony Hopkins‘ performance), but if only every studio thriller was this good…
22. “Amadeus” (1984)
A rare example of the Prestige Picture done right, Milos Forman’s retelling of Mozart’s story through the eyes of a rival is inspired precisely because strip away the lavish sets and costumes, and you’re left with a compelling two-hander: a fascinating take on the nature of artistic jealousy between an accomplished journeyman and a genius. It’s an added treat that the genius is played as an insufferable giggling manchild by Tom Hulce.
21. “No Country For Old Men” (2007)
Deeply satisfying and richly textured, this film really saw the Coen brothers, long favorites on the more culty side of things, come into their own in terms of mainstream acceptance and the honing of their uncompromising vision to reach a wider audience. Still the best adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy book, they also get career-best performances from most of the cast, including Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and an unforgettable Javier Bardem.