Crowded Caribou
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I was watching the movie Babylon toward the end of 2023 and started to wonder about what movies were popular at that time in America. After looking at the list of best picture winners and nominees back to 1928, I realized I had seen very few of them. After renting a few of the early winners, I decided to keep going and watch the whole list. I watched them in a completely random order, first so I wouldn’t disadvantage the early years, and second because I was dependent upon the library. I paid very little to do this and requested almost all of them through the Columbus Library. It took about 6 months to complete.
These are my rankings. I initially used tiers for categories before I started to individually rank. These are my opinions, and I would not change many of them by more than a few positions. Others would probably come up with very different lists. The 1970s and the 1990s were notably excellent film periods.
Tier 1 - Highly Recommended 1. The Godfather (1972) Best of 1970s 2. Schindler's List (1993) Best of 1990s 3. Forrest Gump (1994) 4. Braveheart (1995) 5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 6. Platoon (1986) Best of 1980s 7. Gladiator (2000) Best of 2000s 8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 9. Oppenheimer (2023) Best of 2020s 10. The Godfather Part II (1974) 11. Casablanca (1943) Best of 1940s 12. Gone with the Wind (1939) Best of 1930s
Tier 2 - Excellent 13. The Sound of Music (1965) Best of 1960s 14. All About Eve (1950) Best of 1950s 15. Parasite (2019) Best of 2010s 16. The Artist (2011) 17. 12 Years a Slave (2013) 18. The Departed (2006) 19. Chariots of Fire (1981) 20. In the Heat of the Night (1967) 21. Titanic (1997) 22. The Deer Hunter (1978) 23. No Country for Old Men (2007) 24. It Happened One Night (1934)
Tier 3 - Great 25. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 26. The Apartment (1960) 27. West Side Story (1961) 28. The Great Ziegfeld (1936) 29. Gandhi (1982) 30. Dances with Wolves (1990) 31. Million Dollar Baby (2004) 32. Gentleman's Agreement (1947) 33. CODA (2021) 34. The Sting (1973) 35. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) 36. Marty (1955)
Tier 4 - Good 37. Rocky (1976) 38. Spotlight (2015) 39. Patton (1970) 40. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 41. Annie Hall (1977) 42. The Last Emperor (1987) 43. The Hurt Locker (2009) 44. Argo (2012) 45. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 46. The Lost Weekend (1945) 47. The English Patient (1996) 48. On the Waterfront (1954)
Tier 5 - Pretty Good 49. Amadeus (1984) 50. Ben-Hur (1959) 51. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 52. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 53. Unforgiven (1992) 54. Green Book (2018) 55. Birdman (2014) 56. Midnight Cowboy (1969) 57. A Beautiful Mind (2001) 58. The French Connection (1971) 59. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) 60. Oliver! (1968)
Tier 6 - Interesting 61. You Can't Take It with You (1938) 62. Around the World in 80 Days (1956) 63. The King's Speech (2010) 64. Rain Man (1988) 65. Wings (1928) Best of 1920s 66. Mrs. Miniver (1942) 67. Going My Way (1944) 68. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) 69. My Fair Lady (1964) 70. Moonlight (2016) 71. All the King's Men (1949) 72. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Tier 7 - Not as Good 73. A Man for All Seasons (1966) 74. Chicago (2002) 75. American Beauty (1999) 76. Gigi (1958) 77. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) 78. How Green Was My Valley (1941) 79. Shakespeare in Love (1998) 80. The Life of Emile Zola (1937) 81. Crash (2005) 82. Grand Hotel (1932) 83. The Shape of Water (2017) 84. Out of Africa (1985)
Tier 8 - Not Recommended 85. From Here to Eternity (1953) 86. An American in Paris (1951) 87. Terms of Endearment (1983) 88. Nomadland (2020) 89. Rebecca (1940) 90. Cavalcade (1933) 91. Hamlet (1948) 92. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) 93. Ordinary People (1980) 94. The Broadway Melody (1929) 95. Cimarron (1931) 96. Tom Jones (1963)
I am considering a few other lists to spin off from this, like less popular hidden gems or movies that should have won. One thing that shocked me was how often subjects that I considered modern issues came up in these older movies. For example: addiction in The Lost Weekend, Antisemitism in Gentlemen’s Agreement, Indigenous discrimination in Cimmaron, and political intimidation riots in All The King’s Men (gave me Jan 6 flashbacks). Somethings were poorly portrayed, and there is obviously rampant racism in some movies, but overall, it gave me a greater respect for American cinema and overall movie history.
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These are my rankings. I initially used tiers for categories before I started to individually rank. These are my opinions, and I would not change many of them by more than a few positions. Others would probably come up with very different lists. The 1970s and the 1990s were notably excellent film periods.
Tier 1 - Highly Recommended 1. The Godfather (1972) Best of 1970s 2. Schindler's List (1993) Best of 1990s 3. Forrest Gump (1994) 4. Braveheart (1995) 5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 6. Platoon (1986) Best of 1980s 7. Gladiator (2000) Best of 2000s 8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 9. Oppenheimer (2023) Best of 2020s 10. The Godfather Part II (1974) 11. Casablanca (1943) Best of 1940s 12. Gone with the Wind (1939) Best of 1930s
Tier 2 - Excellent 13. The Sound of Music (1965) Best of 1960s 14. All About Eve (1950) Best of 1950s 15. Parasite (2019) Best of 2010s 16. The Artist (2011) 17. 12 Years a Slave (2013) 18. The Departed (2006) 19. Chariots of Fire (1981) 20. In the Heat of the Night (1967) 21. Titanic (1997) 22. The Deer Hunter (1978) 23. No Country for Old Men (2007) 24. It Happened One Night (1934)
Tier 3 - Great 25. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 26. The Apartment (1960) 27. West Side Story (1961) 28. The Great Ziegfeld (1936) 29. Gandhi (1982) 30. Dances with Wolves (1990) 31. Million Dollar Baby (2004) 32. Gentleman's Agreement (1947) 33. CODA (2021) 34. The Sting (1973) 35. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) 36. Marty (1955)
Tier 4 - Good 37. Rocky (1976) 38. Spotlight (2015) 39. Patton (1970) 40. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 41. Annie Hall (1977) 42. The Last Emperor (1987) 43. The Hurt Locker (2009) 44. Argo (2012) 45. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 46. The Lost Weekend (1945) 47. The English Patient (1996) 48. On the Waterfront (1954)
Tier 5 - Pretty Good 49. Amadeus (1984) 50. Ben-Hur (1959) 51. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 52. Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 53. Unforgiven (1992) 54. Green Book (2018) 55. Birdman (2014) 56. Midnight Cowboy (1969) 57. A Beautiful Mind (2001) 58. The French Connection (1971) 59. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) 60. Oliver! (1968)
Tier 6 - Interesting 61. You Can't Take It with You (1938) 62. Around the World in 80 Days (1956) 63. The King's Speech (2010) 64. Rain Man (1988) 65. Wings (1928) Best of 1920s 66. Mrs. Miniver (1942) 67. Going My Way (1944) 68. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) 69. My Fair Lady (1964) 70. Moonlight (2016) 71. All the King's Men (1949) 72. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Tier 7 - Not as Good 73. A Man for All Seasons (1966) 74. Chicago (2002) 75. American Beauty (1999) 76. Gigi (1958) 77. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) 78. How Green Was My Valley (1941) 79. Shakespeare in Love (1998) 80. The Life of Emile Zola (1937) 81. Crash (2005) 82. Grand Hotel (1932) 83. The Shape of Water (2017) 84. Out of Africa (1985)
Tier 8 - Not Recommended 85. From Here to Eternity (1953) 86. An American in Paris (1951) 87. Terms of Endearment (1983) 88. Nomadland (2020) 89. Rebecca (1940) 90. Cavalcade (1933) 91. Hamlet (1948) 92. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) 93. Ordinary People (1980) 94. The Broadway Melody (1929) 95. Cimarron (1931) 96. Tom Jones (1963)
I am considering a few other lists to spin off from this, like less popular hidden gems or movies that should have won. One thing that shocked me was how often subjects that I considered modern issues came up in these older movies. For example: addiction in The Lost Weekend, Antisemitism in Gentlemen’s Agreement, Indigenous discrimination in Cimmaron, and political intimidation riots in All The King’s Men (gave me Jan 6 flashbacks). Somethings were poorly portrayed, and there is obviously rampant racism in some movies, but overall, it gave me a greater respect for American cinema and overall movie history.
submitted by /u/WereTakingWater
[link] [comments]
Continue reading...
