Best Picture Winners In Chronological Order
I thought I'd compile a chronological list of the Best Pictures, of which I've seen them all, and my numbers, and a little blurb, if I so care to add one. Here goes!
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- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.7/10
While good, I didn't love this one. The acting is good, but the pacing, and overall idea, isn't great. I don't know - it felt a little hokey. - DirectorWilliam A. WellmanHarry d'Abbadie d'ArrastStarsClara BowCharles 'Buddy' RogersRichard ArlenTwo young men, one rich, one middle class, who are in love with the same woman, become fighter pilots in World War I.7/10
Good war film. The battle scenes are really good, though the visuals weren't exciting in the edition I watched. Still, it's good. - DirectorHarry BeaumontStarsBessie LoveAnita PageCharles KingA pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.6/10
Boring, but not horrible. I've seen better. - DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.10/10!
This movie is awesome! I love everything about it. There's downtime for the soldiers, home time for the soldiers, and some of the best battle scenes ever for the soldiers. I can see inspiration gained from this film's battle scenes. They're great. All Quiet on the Western Front is my second favourite Best Picture winner. - DirectorWesley RugglesStarsRichard DixIrene DunneEstelle TaylorA newspaper editor settles in an Oklahoma boom town with his reluctant wife at the end of the nineteenth century.5/10
Rather boring. Bleh. - DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsGreta GarboJohn BarrymoreJoan CrawfordA group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.8/10
Interesting character drama. The characters interacted very well, and it flows nicely, but I have no intention of watching it again. Grand Hotel was fine for a watch, but I'm not invested enough to watch it a lot. I do find it amusing that this film was nominated for one Oscar - Best Picture, and it won. - DirectorFrank LloydStarsDiana WynyardClive BrookUna O'ConnorA portrayal of the triumphs and tragedies of two English families, the upper-crust Marryots and the working-class Bridgeses, from 1899 to 1933.6/10
Boring. I've seen worse, but I've seen loads better. - DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.8/10
Very enjoyable. It Happened One Night is rather fluffy, but it's good fluff. I wouldn't mind watching this one again. - DirectorFrank LloydStarsCharles LaughtonClark GableFranchot ToneFirst mate Fletcher Christian leads a revolt against his sadistic commander, Captain Bligh, in this classic seafaring adventure, based on the real-life 1789 mutiny.8/10
A little slow, but very well-acted and striking visually. The progression isn't incredibly strong, but Mutiny on the Bounty is a strong film. - DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyLuise RainerThe ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., famed producer of extravagant stage revues, are portrayed.4/10
It took me three tries to not fall asleep during this one. Yeah, it isn't good. Bleh. - DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniGale SondergaardJoseph SchildkrautThe biopic of the famous French muckraking writer and his involvement in fighting the injustice of the Dreyfus Affair.6/10
Why did they make a biopic based on a boring person? - DirectorFrank CapraStarsJean ArthurJames StewartLionel BarrymoreThe son of a snobbish Wall Street banker becomes engaged to a woman from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family not realizing that his father is trying to force her family from their home for a real estate development.8/10
Very enjoyable and charming. Surprisingly, James Stewart isn't the best part. I just can't remember the name of the main character who steals the show. I quite liked this one. - DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.7/10
Everyone knows about this film, but not everyone wants to spend the four hours to watch it. I did, and I liked it well enough, but Gone with the Wind is a meandering and not great. I'd be okay if I never sought out this film again, but I'm glad I watched it. - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.9/10
Hitchcock's only Best Picture winner, and I love it. Everything is great about this film. While not my favourite anything, I dig this film. - DirectorJohn FordStarsWalter PidgeonMaureen O'HaraAnna LeeAt the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.6/10
How boring was my film? This boring. - DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonTeresa WrightA British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.7/10
A nice look at war at the home front. Not spectacular, and the ending is sad, but I liked Mrs. Miniver. - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.8/10
Another film everyone knows! This film deserves its acclaim, but maybe not the exact amount. While I don't love this film, as many seem to do, I dig it. Bogart is good, but Bergman is my favourite part. - DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyBarry FitzgeraldFrank McHughWhen young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.7/10
Not bad, but not great, either. I liked the cast, but I wasn't too into the story. Still, there are worse. - DirectorBilly WilderStarsRay MillandJane WymanPhillip TerryThe desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.5/10
Slow and boring. I got tired of his incessant drinking after about half an hour. I wanted to watch something else. - DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMyrna LoyDana AndrewsFredric MarchThree World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.7/10
Not a lot happens in this film. It was nice to see a war film focused on returning vets, but it was just kind of there, and not spectacular. - DirectorElia KazanStarsGregory PeckDorothy McGuireJohn GarfieldA reporter pretends to be Jewish in order to cover a story on anti-Semitism, and personally discovers the true depths of bigotry and hatred.7/10
Well-acted, good drama, and strong writing, but not my type of film. I liked this here film, but I wasn't in love with any of it. Still, there are plenty of worse films to watch. - DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsJohn LauriePrince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.8/10
Quite good, quite good. I liked Olivier's adaption of my favourite Shakespeare play. I liked this a fair amount. I liked how Olivier kept everything in the same place and time, and I knew he would have trimmed a lot, which didn't really affect its quality. - DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.9/10
I was hesitant to even watch this because it sounded horrible, but I loved All the King's Men the first time I watched it. Not sure why, really, but it's just awesome. Everything works from the dialogue to the editing. It's just excellent. My third-favourite Best Picture winner. - DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.7/10
Well-written, but my praise doesn't go much farther. I suppose All about Eve isn't horrible or a waste of time, but I wasn't that impressed. It has some good aspects, but some poor ones. I don't really want to revisit this, but it isn't bad - just not my thing. - DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGene KellyLeslie CaronOscar LevantThree friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.8/10
I'm not surprised a 50s musical won Best Picture, especially this one. I quite liked it. While not a favourite, An American in Paris is a good watch. Far from perfect, it's entertaining.