Has a 'Best Picture' winner ever been your fav movie of the year?

[PopcornTreeCt]

Looking back at the list of Best Picture winners I'd have to say, that none of them I would consider my favorite movie of the year.

A few come close though. More recently, Return of the King, which I enjoyed but I simply enjoyed Master & Commander more.

1927-28 - Wings
1928-29 - Broadway Melody
1929-30 - All Quiet on the Western Front
1930-31 - Cimarron
1931-32 - Grand Hotel
1932-33 - Cavalcade
1934 - It Happened One Night
1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty
1936 - The Great Ziegfeld
1937 - The Life of Emile Zola
1938 - You Can't Take It With You
1939 - Gone With the Wind
1940 - Rebecca
1941 - How Green Was My Valley
1942 – Mrs. Miniver
1943 - Casablanca --Ok, maybe this one wins.
1944 - Going My Way
1945 - The Lost Weekend
1946 - The Best Years of Our Lives
1947 - Gentlemen's Agreement
1948 - Hamlet
1949 - All the King's Men
1950 - All about Eve --Sunset Boulevard
1951 - An American in Paris
1952 - The Greatest Show on Earth --High Noon
1953 - From Here to Eternity
1954 - On the Waterfront --Rear Window
1955 - Marty
1956 - Around the World in 80 Days
1957 - The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958 - Gigi
1959 - Ben-Hur --Some Like It Hot
1960 - The Apartment --Psycho
1961 - West Side Story
1962 - Lawrence of Arabia
1963 - Tom Jones
1964 - My Fair Lady
1965 - The Sound of Music
1966 - A Man for All Seasons
1967 - In the Heat of the Night
1968 - Oliver
1969 - Midnight Cowboy
1970 - Patton
1971 - The French Connection --Clockwork Orange
1972 - The Godfather
1973 - The Sting
1974 - The Godfather Part II
1975 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest --Jaws
1976 - Rocky --Taxi Driver
1977 - Annie Hall --Star Wars
1978 - The Deer Hunter
1979 - Kramer vs Kramer
1980 - Ordinary People --Raging Bull
1981 - Chariots of Fire
1982 - Gandhi
1983 - Terms of Endearment
1984 - Amadeus
1985 - Out of Africa --Back to the Future
1986 - Platoon
1987 - The Last Emperor
1988 - Rain Man
1989 - Driving Miss Daisy --Batman
1990 - Dances With Wolves
1991 - The Silence of the Lambs
1992 - Unforgiven
1993 - Schindler's List
1994 - Forrest Gump --Leon The Professional
1995 - Braveheart
1996 - The English Patient
1997 - Titanic
1998 - Shakespeare in Love
1999 - American Beauty --The Matrix
2000 - Gladiator --Traffic
2001 - A Beautiful Mind --Unbreakable
2002 - Chicago --Punch Drunk Love
2003 - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King --Master & Commander
2004 – Million Dollar Baby --Garden State

That's just a few of the movies I prefer to the Academy's pick.

[calhoun07]

I don't keep track of my favorites by year, nor do I even think in terms of what the best movie for me personally is in any given year, but I can honestly say that while I like a good number of the movies the Academy has chosen, none of them are in my personal top ten. Or twenty, for that matter. Many of them are solid films, many of them I own on DVD, but they aren't what I think of as the best movies.

[ivelostr2]

American Beauty was my favorite movie that year, but just because i like other movies better doesn't mean certain ones didnt deserve to win. I mean i think MDB was the best picture from last year, but i had prolly 5-6 ones that i enjoyed more.

[ivelostr2]

of all the movies on that list, these are the only ones in my top twenty...

1943 - Casablanca
1977 - Annie Hall
1992 - Unforgiven
1999 - American Beauty

...and let me give one vote for the conversation over the godfather in '72, I love that movie...

Nick

[BigDan]

My favorite of the year has never won Best Picture, though many have been nominated for Best Picture, so they've come relatively close.

Actually now that I look at the list closer, some of those early 1970s Best Picture winners might have been my favorites for the year. I've not researched those years enough to know for certain if there's one I like better.

[Elldubtoo]

Yes.
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II

That's about it.

[Al_Tahoe]

Yes, 4 times. Coincidentally all 4 times were in the '70s:

1972 - The Godfather
1973 - The Sting
1974 - The Godfather Part II
1977 - Annie Hall


Ivelostr2... the theatrical release date for The Conversation was New Year's Day, 1974.

[Linko]

Nope, although I did like Braveheart and Forrest Gump. Almost all best pictures are dramas, a genre I can rarely even stand.

[Forum Troll]

I wanted Moulin Rouge to win in 2001, but the zombies in the MPAA liked A Beautiful Mind better. I will never understand why. That movie was a veritable mindrape. The mental scars still havent healed. :mad: :mad:

[wendersfan]

<b>Annie Hall</b> and <b>The Godfather</b>, and maybe a few others, like <b>The Best Years of Our Lives</b> and <b>Lawrence of Arabia</b>.

[conscience]

My favorites that won based only on the films I have seen during each year (so I won't include the ones before 1960 - as I haven't seen too many films before then - although Casablanca, of course, would be on the list).

1960 - The Apartment
1969 - Midnight Cowboy
1972 - The Godfather
1974 - The Godfather Part II
1975 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1977 - Annie Hall
<b>1984 - Amadeus</b> My favorite to ever win
1986 - Platoon
1991 - The Silence of the Lambs
1994 - Forrest Gump
1995 - Braveheart
1999 - American Beauty
2004 – Million Dollar Baby

[Dr. DVD]

Return of the King for 2003, and before that American Beauty for 1999.

Schindler's List won it for 1993, and it deserved it, but it wasn't my favorite movie of the year, that would have been Spielberg's dino opus. ;)

[ivelostr2]

Ivelostr2... the theatrical release date for The Conversation was New Year's Day, 1974.

I'm sorry, I knew it was overshadowed by the Godfather, I was just wrong about which one :foot: .

[dick_grayson]

Silence of the Lambs

[Lou Sytsma]

Silence of the Lambs
Return of the King

[RockStrongo]

The following are in my top 10 of all time....

Casablanca
Unforgiven
The Godfather
LOTR - ROTK

I also really liked (probably were my faves from those years)....

Titanic
Braveheart
Schindler's List
Gladiator
Silence of the Lambs

[Johnny Zhivago]

American Beauty and Unforgiven for sure. Not sure about the rest, but I'd say that Lawrence of Arabia is a pretty safe bet.

[Rockmjd23]

ROTK
Gladiator
Braveheart
Forrest Gump
Silence of the Lambs
Rocky
Both Godfathers

[chente]

1992 - Unforgiven

If I was alive in 1934, I could say yes with It Happened One Night. I love that movie.

[matome]

<b>The Silence Of The Lambs
Platoon</b>

<b>Million Dollar Baby</b> would've been on this list if <b>Kill Bill Vol. 2</b> hadn't come out the same year.

[Josh H]

Off the top of my head.

The Aviator
ROTK
Gladiator
Braveheart
Shakespeare in Love

[Shannon Nutt]

I'll start in 1980, since I was 12 then, and it seems silly to pick before then, since I wasn't a regular movie goer until about that age...and I'm picking films that I liked THAT year...meaning 1982's pick was my favorite movie of the year when I was 12, and so on - so if some of my picks seem "silly", keep in mind the age I was...but I thought this was the best way to honestly answer the original poster's question.

1982: Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
1983: War Games
1984: Romancing The Stone
1985: Back To The Future
1986: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1987: The Untouchables
1988: Rain Man (Oscar Winner)
1989: Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
1990: Ghost
1991: The Silence Of The Lambs (Oscar Winner)
1992: A Few Good Men
1993: The Fugitive
1994: Forrest Gump (Oscar Winner)
1995: Apollo 13
1996: Independence Day (yes, you can start flaming me now!)
1997: L.A. Confidential
1998: Saving Private Ryan
1999: The Blair Witch Project (this should take care of the rest of the flamers!)
2000: Thirteen Days
2001: Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone
2002: Catch Me If You Can
2003: Mystic River
2004: Spider-Man 2

[Nuff]

1992 - Unforgiven
1995 - Braveheart
2000 - Gladiator
2003 - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Were all my favorite movies of their respective years.

[Kerborus]

Yup, lots of times. For me, if the film I like is nominated for Best Picture, it's the same as winning. Those 5 movies tend to be neck and neck and the academy can't make them 'bad movies' by not picking them. It's an honor and a win, just to be nominated.

[dhmac]

1984: Amadeus
1991: Silence of the Lambs

1977 (close): Annie Hall is my 2nd favorite movie from that year (even though I didn't actually see it for the 1st time until about 8 years later); my fav is some little sci-fi fantasy called Star somethingoranother

[dhmac]

I'll start in 1980...

1982: Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
...


Hey, where's 1980 and 1981?!?

[dhmac]

Off the top of my head.

The Aviator


Uhmm, The Aviator didn't win Best Picture. (I agree that it was robbed, but facts are facts)

[naitram]

I would say Casablanca, Godfather, French Connection, Rocky, and Silence of the Lambs are probably my favorites from their respective years.

As good as Godfather II is, Chinatown is just a smidge more perfect (if that's possible). And I did agree with RotK at the time, but I actually watch Master and Commander far more, so maybe I should change my view on that. -wink-

Some of that list is just puzzling though (no Apocalypse Now?). :hscratch:

[Cornelius1047]

The only one I can think of is Titanic.

K

[nightmaster]

Several best picture winners have coincided with being my favorite movies for their respective years; it's when the academy gives that award to something of 'high art' that I usually am not in agreement. This year was close for me as a previous poster wrote, I think MDB is great but I'm an awfully big fan of Kill Bill Vol. 2. As far as others off the top of my head where my fave was the top pick-

The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
Gladiator
Rocky
The French Connection
Forest Gump
Kramer Vs. Kramer
Unforgiven

[B.A.]

Gladiator
Braveheart
Schindler's List
Unforgiven
Silence of the Lambs
Patton
Casablanca

and I own all of them if that tells you anything.

[Bugg]

1983 - Terms of Endearment
1964 - My Fair Lady
1939 - Gone With the Wind

[Maxflier]

Just Gladiator.

[Legolas]

Maybe Forrest Gump.

Although the biggest injustice is LA Confidential losing out to Titanic.

Also, Mystic River got screwed because the Academy decided to wait until Return of the King to award the Lord of the Rings movies, when clearly it should've gone either of the first two, and if it had gone to The Two Towers, then we wouldn't have gotten Chicago for a best picture. :(

[mookiemeister]

My all time favorite movie is Casablanca and it won the best picture of that year.

[Mr. Cinema]

Saving Private Ryan would have been for me. :(

[astrochimp]

1975 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

1986 - Platoon

1992 - Unforgiven

1999 - American Beauty

2001 - A Beautiful Mind

just missing would be 1976 with Rocky winning,love it but i would give the edge to Taxi Driver :)

[SuprVgeta]

Yup, Braveheart and Return of the King.

[Dean Kousoulas]

Rocky

[Kerborus]

Yeah lots of em. However, I do keep in mind that 'Best Picture' doesn't necessarily mean 'picture that was most enjoyable' or 'pciture I liked the most'.

They're chosen on a broad variety of merits, like acting, directing, etc. etc. (and how much money Ron Howard payed you backstage).

I always thought that if a movie got nominated for best picture it was practically best picture. That's why I collect all nominees as well as winners.

[ianholm]

Million Dollar Baby (though Kill Bill 2 was very close)
Gladiator
Unforgiven
The Silence of The Lambs
Platoon

[Filmmaker]

TITANIC; not only my favorite film of 1997, but of all time (alongside 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, a robbed-for-Best-Picture winner if ever there was one).

[kitkat]

This is my subjective list based on faulty memory of what I think I enjoyed most at the time.

1973 - The Sting

1976 - Rocky (what? i was 12)

1979 - Kramer vs Kramer

1984 - Amadeus

1990 - Dances With Wolves

1991 - The Silence of the Lambs

1995 - Braveheart

1996 - The English Patient

[darkhawk]

of all the movies on that list, these are the only ones in my top twenty...

1943 - Casablanca
1977 - Annie Hall
1992 - Unforgiven
1999 - American Beauty

...and let me give one vote for the conversation over the godfather in '72, I love that movie...

Nick
The Conversation was 1974. The Godfather II won.

The only ones I agree with are:

Platoon
Gladiator
ROTK

[Michael Corvin]

Braveheart

[Sondheim]

Quite a few - just in the past 15 years:

The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Million Dollar Baby

My top 10 includes four Best Picture winners - Casablanca, Amadeus, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and The Return of the King.

Yes, the Academy has made some awfully questionable choices, but overall I've think they've done a pretty good job. Of course, "Best" film can be very subjective...

[Mondo Kane]

Godfather
Platoon
Midnight Cowboy
Bridge/River Kwai

[darkhawk]

A few I disagree with are:

Was Good but was better

Forrest Gump - The Shawshank Redemption
Shakespear In Love - Saving Private Ryan
Chicago - LOTR - The Two Towers or Gangs of New York
A Beautiful Mind - LOTR - The Fellowship of the Ring

[nny]

You could probably take it one step farther and say, "Has a 'Best Picture' nominee ever been your fav movie of the year?" I never cease to be amazed at how bad best picture nominated movies are. The 2 worst movies I've seen recently are Sideways and Finding Neverland. I haven't gotten around to seeing the 3 other nominees yet.

I'm surprised about all the people agreeing with American Beauty. It's definitely one of the best films the academy has nominated in the past 10 years or so, but 99 was one of the best years of film ever. It would have been hard for them to nominate anything really bad that year. A few of the movies that year that I would say were at least as good as American Beauty:

Being John Malkovich
The Insider
Boys Don't Cry
Magnolia
Run Lola Run
Fight Club
The Blair Witch Project
The Sixth Sense
The War Zone
Ghost Dog
Office Space
Twin Falls Idaho
Virgin Suicides

[BassDude]

The last movie I agreed with the academy on was American Beauty. Before that maybe Silence of the Lambs. Many of the older ones I agree on, but that could be because I saw them after the fact and not in theaters.

[TCG]

Gladiator
ROTK
French Connection
Godfather 1 & 2
casablanca
rocky
ben-hur

and probably some other, but i cant remember now

[Al_Tahoe]

The Conversation was 1974. The Godfather II won.Ummm, yesss... we covered that on page one :rolleyes:

Kitkat... nice call with The Sting (1973). I'm absolutely stunned that you and I are the only people in the entire thread to agree with that one -confused-

[Fincher Fan]

Only Unforgiven and Return of the King for me.

[a handle]

Seems we are all in the same general boat

GWTW
Casablanca
My Fair Lady
Patton
Platoon
God F
Rocky
Deer Hunter
One Flew Over the Cuckoos nest
Titanic
LOTR

[darkhawk]

Seems we are all in the same general boat

My Fair Lady

It was good, even though Hepburn wasn't singing all her songs. I still liked Mary Poppins better that year.

[gmal2003]

Forest Gump and A Beautiful Mind.

[Charlie Goose]

Since West Side Story is my favorite movie of all time, that's a yes.

[Red Dog]

Godfather
The Sting
Godfather II
Rocky
American Beauty

[smirnoff]

The Sting, Amadeus, Unforgiven

[Trevor]

1951 - An American in Paris
1959 - Ben-Hur (favorite film of all time probably)
1976 - Rocky
1981 - Chariots of Fire
1988 - Rain Man
1991 - The Silence of the Lambs
1992 - Unforgiven
1995 - Braveheart
1998 - Shakespeare in Love
2003 - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King


I don't remember the years movies come out, or think of them in those terms, but the above movies are among my favorites, so its likely that they would fit the query.