if Critics gave Best Picture.. and not Hollywood
I'll have to admit that I prefer most of the top ranked films, and some of the Oscar® winners, but overall the test of time has seemingly allowed the cream to rise to the top, especially in the early years with classics such as Sunrise, Man With the Movie Camera, M, Trouble in Paradise, and King Kong.
..[ Year ].. Film (rank in the top 1000) - Director
- [1919] - Broken Blossoms #147 - Griffith, D.W.
- [1921] - Kid, The #228 - Chaplin, Charles
- [1922] - Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens #48 - Murnau, F.W.
- [1923] - Our Hospitality #568 - Keaton, Buster/John Blystone
- [1924] - Greed #79 - von Stroheim, Erich
- [1925] - Gold Rush, The #39 - Chaplin, Charles
- [1926] - Faust #585 - Murnau, F.W.
- [1927] - Metropolis #23 - Lang, Fritz
- [1928] - Sunrise #38 - Murnau, F.W.
Best Picture: Wings
- [ 1929 ] - Man With a Movie Camera, The #78 - Vertov, Dziga (photo rt)Best Picture: Broadway Melody
- [ 1930 ] - All Quiet on the Western Front #164 - Milestone, Lewis
Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
- [ 1931 ] - M #11 - Lang, Fritz
Best Picture: Cimarron
- [ 1932 ] - Trouble in Paradise #234 - Lubitsch, Ernst
Best Picture: Grand Hotel
- [ 1933 ] - King Kong #40 - Cooper, Merian C./Ernest B. Schoedsack
Best Picture: Cavalcade
- [ 1934 ] - L'Atalante #49 - Vigo, Jean
Best Picture: It Happened One Night
- [ 1935 ] - Bride of Frankenstein #140 - Whale, James
Best Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
- [ 1936 ] - Modern Times #36 - Chaplin, Charles
Best Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
- [ 1937 ] - Grande Illusion, La #198 - Renoir, Jean
Best Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
- [ 1938 ] - Bringing Up Baby #118 - Hawks, Howard
Best Picture: You Can't Take It With You
- [ 1939 ] - Wizard of Oz, The #18 - Fleming, Victor
Best Picture: Gone With the Wind
- [ 1940 ] - Grapes of Wrath, The #95 - Ford, John
Best Picture: Rebecca
- [ 1941 ] - Citizen Kane #5 - Welles, Orson
Best Picture: How Green Was My Valley
- [ 1942 ] - Casablanca #47 - Curtiz, Michael
Best Picture: Mrs. Miniver
- [ 1943 ] - Shadow of a Doubt #104 - Hitchcock, Alfred
Best Picture: Casablanca (released in 42, Oscar awarded for 43)
- [ 1944 ] - Double Indemnity #56 - Wilder, Billy
Best Picture: Going My Way
- [ 1945 ] - Brief Encounter #127 - Lean, David
Best Picture: The Lost Weekend
- [ 1946 ] - It's a Wonderful Life #10 - Capra, Frank
Best Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
- [ 1947 ] - Out of the Past #236 - Tourneur, JacquesBest Picture: Gentlemen's Agreement
- [ 1948 ] - Third Man, The #15 - Reed, Carol
Best Picture: Hamlet
- [ 1949 ] - Bicycle Thief, The #16 - De Sica, Vittorio
Best Picture: All the King's Men
- [ 1950 ] - Sunset Boulevard #14 - Wilder, Billy
Best Picture: All About Eve
- [ 1951 ] - Strangers on a Train #121 - Hitchcock, Alfred
Best Picture: An American in Paris
- [ 1952 ] - Singin' in the Rain #26 - Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly
Best Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
- [ 1953 ] - Tokyo Story #57 - Ozu, Yasujiro
Best Picture: From Here to Eternity
- [ 1954 ] - Seven Samurai, The #7 - Kurosawa, Akira
Best Picture: On the Waterfront
- [ 1955 ] - Pather Panchali / Apu Trilogy I #32 - Ray, Satyajit
Best Picture: Marty
- [ 1956 ] - Seventh Seal, The #29 - Bergman, Ingmar
Best Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
- [ 1957 ] - Paths of Glory #83 - Kubrick, Stanley Best Picture: Bridge on the River Kwai, The
- [ 1958 ] - Vertigo #6 - Hitchcock, Alfred
Best Picture: Gigi
- [ 1959 ] - North by Northwest #19 - Hitchcock, Alfred
Best Picture: Ben-Hur
- [ 1960 ] -Psycho #8 - Hitchcock, Alfred
Best Picture: The Apartment
- [ 1961 ] -Jules et Jim #59 - Truffaut, François
Best Picture: West Side Story
- [ 1962 ] -Manchurian Candidate, The #43 - Frankenheimer, John
Best Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
- [ 1963 ] -8½ #37 - Fellini, Federico
Best Picture: Tom Jones
- [ 1964 ] -Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb #17 - Kubrick, Stanley
Best Picture: My Fair Lady
- [ 1965 ] -Pierrot le fou #129 - Godard, Jean-Luc
Best Picture: Sound of Music, The
- [ 1966 ] -Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, The #73 - Leone, Sergio
Best Picture: A Man for All Seasons
- [ 1967 ] -Bonnie and Clyde #105 - Penn, Arthur
Best Picture: In the Heat of the Night
- [ 1968 ] -2001: A Space Odyssey #2 - Kubrick, Stanley (photo top)
Best Picture: Oliver!
- [ 1969 ] -Wild Bunch, The #87 - Peckinpah, Sam
Best Picture: Midnight Cowboy
- [ 1970 ] -Conformist, The #76 - Bertolucci, Bernardo
Best Picture: Patton
- [ 1971 ] -Clockwork Orange, A #69 - Kubrick, StanleyBest Picture: French Connection, The
- [ 1972 ] -Godfather, The #1 - Coppola, Francis
Best Picture: Godfather, The
- [ 1973 ] -Mean Streets #142 - Scorsese, Martin
Best Picture: Sting, The
- [ 1974 ] -Chinatown #3 - Polanski, Roman
Best Picture: Godfather: Part II, The
- [ 1975 ] -One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest #54 - Forman, Milos
Best Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- [ 1976 ] -Taxi Driver #12 - Scorsese, Martin
Best Picture: Rocky
- [ 1977 ] -Annie Hall #77 - Allen, Woody
Best Picture: Annie Hall
- [ 1978 ] -Star Wars #4 - Lucas, George
Best Picture: Deer Hunter, The
- [ 1979 ] -Apocalypse Now #25 - Coppola, Francis
Best Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
- [ 1980 ] -Raging Bull #24 - Scorsese, Martin
Best Picture: Ordinary People
- [ 1981 ] -Raiders of the Lost Ark #34 - Spielberg, Steven
Best Picture: Chariots of Fire
- [ 1982 ] -Blade Runner #13 - Scott, Ridley
Best Picture: Gandhi
- [ 1983 ] -Argent, L' #437 - Bresson, Robert
Best Picture: Terms of Endearment
- [ 1984 ] -Amadeus #63 - Forman, Milos
Best Picture: Amadeus
- [ 1985 ] -Ran #86 - Kurosawa, Akira
Best Picture: Out of Africa
- [ 1986 ] -Aliens #159 - Cameron, James
Best Picture: Platoon
- [ 1987 ] -Full Metal Jacket #206 - Kubrick, Stanley
Best Picture: The Last Emperor
- [ 1988 ] -Cinema Paradiso #158 - Tornatore, Giuseppe
Best Picture: Rain Man
- [ 1989 ] -Do The Right Thing #112 - Lee, Spike
Best Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
- [ 1990 ] -Goodfellas #31 - Scorsese, MartinBest Picture: Dances With Wolves
- [ 1991 ] -Silence of the Lambs, The #90 - Demme, Jonathan
Best Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
- [ 1992 ] -Unforgiven #91 - Eastwood, Clint
Best Picture: Unforgiven
- [ 1993 ] -Schindler's List #27 - Spielberg, Steven
Best Picture: Schindler's List
- [ 1994 ] -Shawshank Redemption, The #155 - Darabont, Frank
Best Picture: Forrest Gump
- [ 1995 ] -Pulp Fiction #20 - Tarantino, Quentin
Best Picture: Braveheart
- [ 1996 ] -Fargo #61 - Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen
Best Picture: English Patient, The
- [ 1997 ] -L.A. Confidential #45 - Hanson, Curtis
Best Picture: Titanic
- [ 1998 ] -Saving Private Ryan #116 - Spielberg, Steven Best Picture: Shakespeare in Love
- [ 1999 ] -American Beauty #139 - Mendes, Sam
Best Picture: American Beauty
- [ 2000 ] -Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon #152 - Lee, Ang
Best Picture: Gladiator
- [ 2001 ] -Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The #84 - Jackson, Peter
Best Picture: A Beautiful Mind
- [ 2002 ] -Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The #144 - Jackson, Peter
Best Picture: Chicago
- [ 2003 ] -Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The #97 - Jackson, Peter
Best Picture: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The
- [ 2004 ] -Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind #225 - Gondry, Michael
Best Picture: Million Dollar Baby
- [ 2005 ] -Brokeback Mountain #451 - Lee, Ang
Best Picture: Crash
- [ 2006 ] -Pan's Labyrinth #154 - del Toro, Guillermo
Best Picture: The Departed
- [ 2007 ] -No Country for Old Men #165 - Coen Ethan and Joel
Best Picture: No Country for Old Men
- [ 2008 ] -WALL-E #181 - Stanton, Andrew
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
The observant will note only 12 matches above:
All Quiet on the Western Front, Casablanca (*listed in 2 separate years), The Godfather, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Annie Hall, Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Schindler's List, American Beauty, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, No Country for Old Men
Max von Sydow plays chess with Death in Bergman's classic The Seventh Seal (1956)
