Academy Award Winners
for Best Motion Picture/Production
1927/28 (1st)
1928/29 (2nd) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer -- The Broadway Melody
1929/30 (3rd) All Quiet on the Western Front -- Universal
Good, but very dark. It’s an anti-war movie if anything.
1930/31 (4th)
1931/32 (5th) Grand Hotel -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1932/33 (6th) Cavalcade -- Fox
1934 (7th) It Happened One Night --
A pleasant enough Frank Capra comedy staring Clarke Gable but I doubt this
was the best film of 1934. Frank Capra directed “It’s a Wonderful Life”
1935 (8th) Mutiny on the Bounty -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1936 (9th) The Great Ziegfeld -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1937 (10th) The Life of Emile Zola -- Warner Bros.
1938 (11th) You Can't Take It with You --
Another pleasant Frank Capra comedy which I believe I saw at the Stanford Theatre.
1939 (12th) Gone with the Wind -- Selznick International Pictures.
A classic of course for most people, but not my own favorite.
1940 (13th) Rebecca -- Selznick International Pictures
A dark Hitchcock film, his first in
his later work.
1941 (14th) How Green Was My Valley -- 20th Century-Fox
This movie beat out Citizen Kane for the best picture award in 1940. Its
a good movie, but I prefer Citizen Kane.
1942 (15th) Mrs. Miniver -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1943 (16th)
One of my favorites. I particularly like the dialog and that it wasn’t supposed to
be a block-buster.
1944 (17th) Going My Way --
1945 (18th) The Lost Weekend --
I haven’t seen this one, but I saw the “Days of Wine and Roses” winner 1962.
These are a forgotten genre of the
“perils of drinking films” that
to make. You typically won’t want a drink for a few weeks after seeing these films
as they are very dark.
1946 (19th) The Best Years of Our Lives -- Samuel Goldwyn Productions
1947 (20th) Gentleman's Agreement -- 20th Century-Fox
1948 (21st) Hamlet -- J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films
1949 (22nd) All the King's Men -- Robert Rossen Productions
1950 (23rd) All about Eve -- 20th Century-Fox
1951 (24th) An American in Paris -- Arthur Freed, Producer
A Gene Kelly musical. One of his best if you like that sort of thing.
1952 (25th) The Greatest Show on Earth -- Cecil B. DeMille, Producer
1953 (26th) From Here to Eternity -- Buddy Adler, Producer
1954 (27th) On the Waterfront -- Sam Spiegel, Producer
1955 (28th) Marty -- Harold Hecht, Producer
1956 (29th) Around the World in 80 Days -- Michael Todd, Producer
1957 (30th) The Bridge on the River Kwai -- Sam Spiegel, Producer
One of the best war films. My colleagues tell me the ending in the book is
quite different to the movie ending of “They’re all mad …”
1958 (31st) Gigi -- Arthur Freed, Producer
I unashamedly admit that I saw this and quite liked it.
1959 (32nd) Ben-Hur -- Sam Zimbalist, Producer
1960 (33rd) The Apartment -- Billy Wilder, Producer
1961 (34th)
1962 (35th)
One of my favorite films.
1963 (36th) Tom Jones -- Tony Richardson, Producer
1964 (37th) My Fair Lady -- Jack L. Warner, Producer
1965 (38th) The Sound of Music -- Robert Wise, Producer
1966 (39th) A Man for All Seasons -- Fred Zinnemann, Producer
1967 (40th) In the Heat of the Night -- Walter Mirisch, Producer
1968 (41st) Oliver! -- John Woolf, Producer
1969 (42nd)
Dustin Hoffman is excellent in this movie as is Jon Voight.
1970 (43rd) Patton -- Frank McCarthy, Producer
1971 (44th) The French Connection -- Philip D'Antoni, Producer
1972 (45th) The Godfather -- Albert S. Ruddy, Producer
Great film.
1973 (46th) The Sting -- Tony Bill, Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips, Producers
1974 (47th) The Godfather Part II -- Francis Ford Coppola, Producer; Gray Frederickson and Fred Roos, Co-Producers
1975 (48th) One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest -- Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, Producers
1976 (49th) Rocky -- Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, Producers
1977 (50th) Annie Hall -- Charles H. Joffe, Producer
A classic Woody Allen film.
1978 (51st) The Deer Hunter -- Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall, Producers
1979 (52nd) Kramer vs. Kramer --
1980 (53rd) Ordinary People -- Ronald L. Schwary, Producer
1981 (54th) Chariots of Fire -- David Puttnam, Producer
1982 (55th) Gandhi -- Richard Attenborough, Producer
1983 (56th) Terms of Endearment -- James L. Brooks, Producer
1984 (57th) Amadeus -- Saul Zaentz, Producer
1985 (58th) Out of
1986 (59th) Platoon --
1987 (60th) The Last Emperor -- Jeremy Thomas, Producer
1988 (61st) Rain Man -- Mark Johnson, Producer
1989 (62nd) Driving Miss Daisy -- Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck, Producers
1990 (63rd) Dances With Wolves -- Jim Wilson and Kevin Costner, Producers
1991 (64th) The Silence of the Lambs -- Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt and Ron Bozman, Producers
1992 (65th) Unforgiven -- Clint Eastwood, Producer
1993 (66th) Schindler's List -- Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen and Branko Lustig, Producers
1994 (67th) Forrest Gump -- Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch and Steve Starkey, Producers
1995 (68th) Braveheart -- Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd, Jr. and Bruce Davey, Producers
1996 (69th) The English Patient -- Saul Zaentz, Producer
1997 (70th) Titanic -- James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
1998 (71st) Shakespeare in Love -- David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick and Marc Norman, Producers
1999 (72nd) American Beauty -- Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks, Producers
2000 (73rd) Gladiator -- Douglas Wick, David Franzoni and Branko Lustig, Producers
2001 (74th) A Beautiful Mind -- Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, Producers
2002 (75th) Chicago -- Martin Richards, Producer
2003 (76th) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -- Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Producers
2004 (77th) Million Dollar Baby -- Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy and Tom Rosenberg, Producers