This list represents what Ben Woulds thinks. My own rankings would be very different. For instance, there is no way I would have The Departed so low and Munich so high.
Oscar Nominees Ranked, plus Rightful Nominees (below)
by Ben Woulds
I have seen all films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar except The Way of All Flesh, The Patriot and
The White Parade. I believe at least the first two are lost. Comments about my choices are at the end, and then list the films I believe should have been nominated each year (5 per year, even for 1932-1943, though sometimes have a few toss-ups).
*1/2
464 – Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
463 – JFK
462 – Scent of a Woman
461 – Fatal Attraction
460 – Love Story
459 – The Towering Inferno
458 – Cleopatra (1963)
457 – Crash
456 – Doctor Doolittle
455 – The Alamo
454 – A Touch of Class
**
453 – The Godfather III
452 – The Big Chill
451 – State Fair
450 – Here Comes the Navy
449 – A Few Good Men
448 – Gangs of New York
447 – Airport
446 – Nicholas and Alexandra
445 – The Racket
444 – In Old Arizona
443 – Hello, Dolly!
442 – Finding Neverland
441 – Flirtation Walk
440 – Around the World in 80 Days
439 – Cimarron
438 – Alibi
437 – Five Star Final
436 – The Smiling Lieutenant
435 – The Divorcee
434 – Anchors Aweigh
433 – The Broadway Melody
432 – Three Smart Girls
431 – The Goodbye Girl
430 – Viva Villa
429 – The Greatest Show on Earth
428 – A Thousand Clowns
427 – Three Coins in the Fountain
426 – On Golden Pond
425 – The Accidental Tourist
424 ‚Äì King Solomon’s Mines
423 – Dangerous LIasons
422 – Rain Man
421 – Ivanhoe
420 – Braveheart
419 – The Pied Piper
418 – Broadway Melody of 1936
417 – 100 Men and a Girl
416 – East Lynne
415 – The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming
414 – Decision Before Dawn
413 – Kitty Foyle
412 – One Night of Love
**1/2
411 – Il Postino
410 – Ghost
409 – Alfie
408 – The Robe
407 – The Sand Pebbles
406 – Hollywood Revue
405 – Working Girl
404 – Seabiscuit
403 – Picnic
402 – How the West Was Won
401 – Love Is a Many Splendored Thing
400 – Romeo and Juliet (1936)
399 – As Good As It Gets
398 – Children of a Lesser God
397 ‚Äì Alexander’s Ragtime Band
396 ‚Äì Smilin’ Through
395 – Ray
394 – Quo Vadis
393 – Chocolat
392 – Four Daughters
391 – The Turning Point
390 – Kramer vs. Kramer
389 – Erin Brockovich
388 – Juno
387 – Boys Town
386 – A Beautiful Mind
385 ‚Äì A Soldier’s Story
384 – The Human Comedy
383 – Gigi
382 – Born on the Fourth of July
381 – Julius Caesar
380 – Tender Mercies
379 – Alice Adams
378 – In Old Chicago
377 – Hold Back the Down
376 – Trader Horn
375 – One Foot in Heaven
374 – Anne of the Thousand Days
373 ‚Äì The Bishop’s Wife
372 – Peyton Place
371 – Four Weddings and a Funeral
370 – Lilies of the Field
369 ‚Äì The Bells of St. Mary’s
368 – The Thin Red Line
367 – Bound for Glory
366 – Battleground
365 – The Emigrants
364 – Blossoms in the Dust
363 – One Hour With You
362 – Cleopatra (1934)
361 ‚Äì King’s Row
360 – The Long Voyage Home
359 – The Great Ziegfield
358 – Sayonara
357 – Zorba the Greek
356 – The Talk of the Town
355 – The Big House
354 – Separate Tables
353 – Since You Went Away
352 – Skippy
351 – All This and Heaven Too
350 – Bad Girl
349 – She Done Him Wrong
348 – Love Parade
347 – The Invaders
346 – Heaven Can Wait (1943)
345 – Wake Island
344 – The Champ
343 – The Rose Tattoo
342 ‚Äì You Can’t Take It With You
341 – Dead End
340 – The Prince of Tides
339 – Anatomy of a Murder
338 – Anthony Adverse
337 – Gladiator
336 – Test Pilot
335 – The Fugitive
334 – Elizabeth
333 – Romeo and Juliet (1968)
332 – Missing
331 – Naughty Marietta
330 ‚Äì A Midsummer Night’s Dream
***
329 – Moonstruck
328 – The Queen
327 – Z
326 – Fanny
325 – The House of Rothchild
324 – Anatomy of a Murder
323 – Stage Door
322 – Arrowsmith
321 – Auntie Mame
320 – Love Affair
319 ‚Äì Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
318 – The Full Monty
317 – Father of the Bride
316 – Disraeli
315 – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
314 – Jezebel
313 – The Country Girl
312 – Ruggles of Red Gap
311 – Jerry Maguire
310 ‚Äì Dead Poet’s Society
309 – All That Jazz
-Chang – artistic nominee not nominated
308 – Lives of a Bengal Lancer
307 – The Green Mile
306 – Places in the Heart
305 – Rachel Rachel
304 – Little Women
303 – Libeled Lady
302 – The Sundowners
301 – Michael Clayton
300 – Good Will Hunting
299 – The Barretts of Wimpole Street
298 – The Front Page
297 – Shanghai Express
296 – Wilson
295 – Master and Commander: Far Side of the World
294 – Chicago
293 – San Francisco
292 – Babel
291 – American Beauty
290 – The Music Man
289 – In the Bedroom
288 – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
287 – Witness for the Prosecution
286 – Heaven Can Wait (1978)
285 – Frost/Nixon
284 – For Whom the Bell Tolls
283 – The Ten Commandments
282 – Sideways
281 – The Gay Divorcee
280 – Marty
279 – Madame Curie
278 – The Cider House Rules
277 – Capote
276 – A Farewell to Arms
275 – Hamlet
274 – Captain Blood
273 – The Caine Mutiny
272 – Ship of Fools
271 – Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
270 – Awakenings
269 – Sons and Lovers
268 – Grand Hotel
267 – Bugsy
266 – Born Yesterday
265 – Apollo 13
264 – The Snakepit
263 – Hannah and Her Sisters
262 – Moulin Rouge (1952)
261 – Driving Miss Daisy
260 – Forrest Gump
259 – Mystic River
258 – The Departed
257 – The Longest Day
256 – Cavalcade
255 – The King and I
254 – The Insider
253 – Coming Home
252 – The English Patient
251 – Going My Way
250 – Friendly Persuasion
249 – Titanic
248 – Shakespeare in Love
247 – Good Night, and Good Luck
246 ‚Äì Gentleman’s Agreement
245 – The Guns of Navarone
244 – The Reader
243 – The Diary of Anne Frank
242 ‚Äì All the King’s Men
241 – The Yearling
240 – Jaws
239 – Crossfire
238 – Our Town
237 – Foreign Correspondent
236 – Room at the Top
235 – The Hours
234 – Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
233 – Sense and Sensibility
232 – An American in Paris
231 – Shine
230 – Witness
229 ‚Äì The Razor’s Edge
228 – The Crying Game
227 – 42nd Street
226 – Random Harvest
225 – Pulp Fiction
224 – The Aviator
223 – Johnny Belinda
222 – Kiss of the Spider Woman
221 – In the Name of the Father
220 – Little Miss Sunshine
219 – Patton
218 – The Color Purple
***1/4
217 – Gosford Park
216 – Traffic
215 – The Conversation
214 – Lenny
213 ‚Äì The Nun’s Story
212 – The Exorcist
211 – Breaking Away
210 – An Unmarried Woman
209 – Sounder
208 – Mildred Pierce
207 – Deliverance
206- Here Comes Mr. Jordan
205 – Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
204 – The Verdict
203 – Of Mice and Men
202 – Mister Roberts
201 – Gaslight
200 – Tom Jones
199 – The French Connection
198 – Fiddler on the Roof
197 – The Sting
196 – Midnight Express
195 – The Piano
194 – Suspicion
193 ‚Äì Coal Miner’s Daughter
192 – Mississippi Burning
191 – Hope and Glory
190 – Of Mice and Men
189 – Seventh Heaven
188 – West Side Story
187 – The Hustler
186 ‚Äì Twelve O’Clock High
185 – The Story of Louis Pasteur
184 – The Quiet Man
183 – The Private Life of Henry VIII
182 – Amadeus
181 – Silence of the Lambs
180 – Life Is Beautiful
179 – In the Heat of the Night
178 – M*A*S*H
177 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
176 ‚Äì Prizzi’s Honor
175 – Gandhi
174 – Lady for a Day
173 – Wings
172 – A Star is Born (1937)
171 – Funny Girl
170 – Munich
169 – The Defiant Ones
168 – Elmer Gantry
167 – Darling
166 – The Lion in Winter
165 – The Little Foxes
164 – Becket
163 – Captains Courageous
162 – Milk
161 – Dances with Wolves
160 – Pygmalion
159 – Les Miserables
158 – Sergeant York
157 – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
156 – The Citadel
155 – Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
154 – Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
153 – The More the Merrier
152 – Miracle on 34th Street
151 – The Philadelphia Story
150 – It Happened One Night
149 – Ordinary People
148 – The Heiress
147 – Oliver!
146 – No Country for Old Men
145 – Ninotchka
144 – From Here to Eternity
143 – Judgment at Nuremburg
142 – A Letter to Three Wives
141 – Terms of Endearment
140 – The Lost Weekend
***1/2
139 – The Life of Emile Zola
138 – Watch on the Rhine
137 – Spellbound
136 – Lost in Translation
135 – Moulin Rouge (2000)
134 – E.T.
133 – Star Wars
132 ‚Äì Howard’s End
131 – Secrets and Lies
130 – Tess
129 – A Room with a View
128 – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
127 – Fargo
126 – Norma Rae
125 – Lost Horizon
124 – American Graffiti
123 – Platoon
122 – In Which We Serve
121 – Pride of the Yankees
120 – My Left Foot
119 – The Sixth Sense
118 – Tootsie
117 – Five Easy Pieces
116 – Dodsworth
115 – A Passage to India
114 – The Right Stuff
113 – The Thin Man
112 – The Red Shoes
111 – The Letter
110 ‚Äì All the President’s Men
109 – Dog Day Afternoon
108 – Letters from Iwo Jima
107 – The Last Commandments
106 – America America
105 – Nashville
104 – The Maltese Falcon
103 – Babe
102 – Julia
101 – The Informer
100 – The Graduate
99 – Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
98 – The Killing Fields
97 – Bridge on the River Kwai
96 – The Awful Truth
95 – Ben-Hur
94 – Atlantic City
93 – Mrs. Miniver
92 – Rocky
91 – My Fair Lady
90 – The Elephant Man
89 – Stagecoach
88 – A Tale of Two Cities
87 – David Copperfield
86 – The Apartment
85 – The Adventures of Robin Hood
84 – Henry V
83 – Million Dollar Baby
*** 3/4
82 – Mary Poppins
81 – The Great Dictator
80 – The Godfather II
79 – Roman Holiday
78 – Top Hat
77 – The Song of Bernadette
76 – Saving Private Ryan
75 – The Song of Bernadette
74 – Slumdog Millionaire
73 – Imitation of Life
72 – Taxi Driver
71 – Doctor Zhivago
70 – Midnight Cowboy
69 ‚Äì Schindler’s List
68 – Quiz Show
67 – LA Confidential
66 – Unforgiven
65 – Chariots of Fire
64 ‚Äì One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
63 – Double Indemnity
62 – Out of Africa
61 – A Man for All Seasons
60 – A Streetcar Named Desire
59 – Shane
58 – Broadcast News
57 – How Green Was My Valley
56 ‚Äì Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
****
55 – Beauty and the Beast
54 – Dr. Strangelove
53– The Godfather
52 – Rebecca
51 – I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang
50- Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
49 – 12 Angry Men
48 – The Ox-Bow Incident
47 – The Good Earth
46 – All Quiet on the Western Front
45 – The Remains of the Day
44 – The Best Years of Our Lives
43 – Yankee Doodle Dandy
42 – The Last Emperor
41 – The Sound of Music
40 – Apocalypse Now
39 – The Deer Hunter
38 – Great Expectations
37 ‚Äì It’s a Wonderful Life
36 – Giant
35 – Field of Dreams
34 – Goodfellas
33 – There Will Be Blood
32 – Atonement
31 – Chinatown
30 – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
29 – A Clockwork Orange
28 – The Last Picture Show
27 – Reds
26 – Annie Hall
25 – Cabaret
24 – Cries and Whispers
23 – Barry Lyndon
22 – The Shawshank Redemption
21 – Treasure of the Sierra Madre
20 – High Noon
19 – Bonnie and Clyde
18 – Casablanca
17 – On the Waterfront
16- A Place in the Sun
15 – The Magnificent Ambersons
–The Crowd and Sunrise– artistic quality not nominated
****
14 – To Kill a Mockingbird
13 – Lawrence of Arabia
12 – Wuthering Heights
11 – Raging Bull
10 – Network
9 – The Grapes of Wrath
8 – All About Eve
7 – Sunset Boulevard
6 – The Wizard of Oz
5 – Gone with the Wind
4 – The Pianist
3 – Brokeback Mountain
2 – Citizen Kane
1 – Grand Illusion
Some Defensive Comments
-Only about 40-50 of these movies are in my top 100.
-Have seen the Godfathers several times. While artful and well-done, feel they are wildly overrated. Part II is boring during the Hyman Roth hearings, which go on forever, and while the Italy scenes are the best part, I feel their forerunner America America was just as good. The gorgeous music is the best element.
-Pulp Fiction is immature, self-conscious the third act is awful. I rank it as high as I do because I have to respect its influence, and the second act twist is very clever. Not a Tarantino fan.
-Not a Spielberg fan either. Despite his technical brilliance, don’t feel he’s good with human beings. Its sacrilege to say Schindler’s List wasn’t the best of 1993 (my #4 including foreign Farewell, My Concubine, my #2), but didn’t feel it was since most of the characters were forgettable, except Ralph Fiennes, who reduced the nazis to cartoons. The ending was needlessly manipulative like most Spielberg stuff. If you watch it next to stronger Holocaust-related films like The Pianist and Fateless, it feels a bit fake. Still a very fine film. Saving Private Ryan was the strongest of a very weak year for English-language films but Central Station and The Celebration were finer. The middle of Ryan lags and is, in part, derivative of Full Metal Jacket. Found Close Encounters too slow, Jaws unscary (even as a little kid the shark looked fake, Dreyfus as a scientist was ridiculous, and Robert Shaw was a cartoon). Spielberg also ruined The Color Purple, which was moving despite the awful out-of-touch direction, thanks to the strong story and acting. In the hands of somebody who understands people, it would have been a Best Picture winner, the Academy got it very right in not nominating him.
-Yeah, by 2008 standards Gone with the Wind’s politics are not good, but by 1939 standards they are ‚Äúacceptable‚Äù. Remember, the one person whose respect Rhett Butler wants is Mammy’s. And yes, slavery is unashamedly glossed over, but again, in 1939, that wasn’t a movie the public was ready for, and it wasn’t the book. The film remains a sweeping, captivating epic, with true movie glam that has never been equaled, hence its high ranking. To me, it and Wizard of Oz are a virtual tie. Both in my top 10 ever. Wuthering Heights used to be revered too (won NY Film crix, was in AFI Top 50 in 1977 and AFI Top 100 in 1997), don’t know why its rating has slipped, I think it is a moody, incredibly effective film that isn’t afraid to expose class prejudices and the harm they cause.
-I loved Fellowship of the Ring. You felt the Fellowship. However, parts two and three were brilliantly crafted but repetitive and, in the case of Return, something of an overrated monster movie (that spider). Those who defended the choice of Beautiful Mind over Fellowship based on the rationale that the Academy was waiting to honor Return for the entire trilogy are misguided; honor the best of the year, in the year; and what if some finer masterpiece was released against Return, or if Return wasn’t as good (which it wasn’t)? The Academy’s practice of make-up awards since they idiotically goofed in 1934 by ignoring Bette Davis in Of Human Bondage (according to Life, the greatest performance captured on screen til that time) and then giving it to her the following year for mediocre work, has been a major reason why the Academy’s winners are usually wrong (as these things go).
-No apologies for Brokeback Mountain ranking #3. It took me two viewings to realize that it is a quietly devastating film about loneliness and fear of being true to one’s self on account of the constraints of society. It is quiet, poised, and unfolds as virtual cinema verite. And no apologies for ranking Crash so low. I hated it when I first saw it in the movie theater, shocked that people liked it. I hated it more when I watched it again when it got nominated. I do not hate it even more because it won, that is the Academy’s fault (so its the Academy I hate…failing to distance themselves from their members who boasted they wouldn’t even watch front-runner BBM because John Wayne would roll over in his grave is disgraceful).
-Bridge on the River Kwai is well directed but the dialogue is terribly dated and the William Holden sequences are boring.
-My other virtual Best Picture tie is Sunset Boulevard and All About Eve. Both in my top 25 ever.
-Oliver!, Mrs. Miniver and Out of Africa are underrated, usually ranked among the worst Best Picture winners. None deserved it (1985: Ran), but all are artful and/or rousing and/or moving films.
-It Happened One Night just doesn’t hold up as well as people say. Without those major Oscars it would be far less popular. On the other hand, Imitation of Life was way ahead of its time, and the ultimate tear-jerker. Most say the Douglas Sirk remake is better but I disagree.
-If you look at the Academy’s history in choosing Best Picture winners it sucks. Often the best lost on account of politics, like Citizen Kane (don’t offend William Randolph Hearst), High Noon (don’t offend Joe McCarthy), Reds (don’t offend Ronald Reagen) and Brokeback Mountain (don’t offend homophobes). The Oscars are a fashion show but have little to do with honoring great art, I no longer watch.
RIGHTFUL NOMINEES (in approximate order of preference, Best first)
Rules: Foreigns included only if nominated by the Academy for Picture, Director, Screenplay. This shows these films were seen by the Academy and on their Best Picture radar, whether they chose well (e.g., Grand Illusion, Cries & Whispers) or not (e.g., no 8 ¬Ω or Fanny and Alexander for Picture but nominated for director, screenplay, so listed here). Best Foreign Film Nominees and Winners not eligible here if have only that nomination/win alone since nominated by committee and not entire Academy. This list would be very different if all foreign language films were included.
2008: Wall-e (by far); Slumdog Millionaire; Milk; The Visitor; The Reader
2007: Atonement; There Will Be Blood; No Country for Old Men; Sweeney Todd; Diving Bell & Butterfly
2006: United 93; Letters from Iwo Jima; Children of Men; V for Vendetta; Pan’s Labyrinth
2005: Brokeback Mountain; A History of Violence; The Constant Gardner; Munich: Good Night and Good Luck
2004: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Million Dollar Baby; The Aviator; Sideways; The Notebook
2003: City of God; Lost in Translation; Finding Nemo; House of Sand and Fog; Return of the King or Elephant
2002: The Pianist; Road to Perdition; Talk to Her; Rabbit-Proof Fence; Far From Heaven
2001: Fellowship of the Ring; Memento; Mulholland Drive; Moulin Rouge; Black Hawk Down
2000: Almost Famous; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon; Traffic; Sunshine; Requiem for a Dream
1999: Fight Club; The Sixth Sense; All About My Mother; Topsy Turvy; Being John Malkovich
1998: Saving Private Ryan; Life Is Beautiful; Gods and Monsters; The Truman Show; Out of Sight
1997: LA Confidential; The Sweet Hereafter; Titanic; The Ice Storm; Boogie Nights
1996: Breaking the Waves; Fargo; Secrets and Lies; Lone Star; Trainspotting or Shine
1995: Toy Story; Babe; Dead Man Walking; The Usual Suspects; Leaving Las Vegas or Safe
1994: The Shawshank Redemption; Quiz Show; Red; Pulp Fiction; The Madness of King George or Heavenly Creatures
1993: The Remains of the Day; The Age of Innocence; Schindler’s List; The Piano; Short Cuts
1992: The Player; Unforgiven; Howard’s End; The Crying Game; Husbands and Wives
1991: Beauty and the Beast; Thelma and Louise; Silence of the Lambs; Europa, Europa; The Fisher King;
1990: Goodfellas; Avalon; The Grifters; Dances with Wolves; Edward Scissorhands
1989: Do the Right Thing; Field of Dreams; My Left Foot; Glory; Drugstore Cowboy or Crimes and Misdemeanors
1988: A Cry in the Dark; A Fish Called Wanda; Dead Ringers; The Unbearable Lightness of Being; Mississippi Burning
1987: The Last Emperor; Broadcast News; Full Metal Jacket; The Dead; Hope and Glory or The Princess Bride or Au Revoir, les Enfants
1986: The Mission; A Room with a View; Blue Velvet; Peggy Sue Got Married; Platoon
1985: Ran; Out of Africa; Brazil; The Official Story; Prizzi’s Honor;
1984: A Passage to India; The Killing Fields; Once Upon a Time in America; Greystoke; Amadeus
1983: Fanny and Alexander; The Right Stuff; Local Hero; Terms of Endearment; King of Comedy
1982: Sophie’s Choice; Blade Runner; Victor/Victoria; Tootsie; E.T. Or Das Boot
1981: Reds; Atlantic City; Chariots of Fire; Raiders of the Lost Ark; Prince of the City
1980: Raging Bull; The Elephant Man; Tess; The Shining; Melvin and Howard or Mon Oncle d’Amerique
1979: Apocalypse Now; Manhattan; Norma Rae; Breaking Away; Hair or Being There or Alien
1978: Days of Heaven; The Deer Hunter; Interiors; An Unmarried Woman; Midnight Express
1977: Annie Hall; Killer of Sheep; Julia; Star Wars; Providence or Close Encounters of the Third Kind or That Obsqure Object of Desire
1976: Network; Taxi Driver; Seven Beauties; All the President’s Men; Rocky or The Front or Face to Face
1975: Barry Lyndon; Amarcord; Nashville; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Dog Day Afternoon
1974: Chinatown; A Woman Under the Influence; Day for Night; The Godfather II; Young Frankenstein or Badlands or Mean STreets
1973: Cries and Whispers; The Way We Were; American Graffiti; The Sting; The Exorcist or Last Tango in Paris
1972: Cabaret; The Godfather; What’s Up, Doc?; Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie; The Ruling Class or Deliverance or Sounder
1971: The Last Picture Show; A Clockwork Orange; McCabe and Mrs. Miller; The Conformist; Sunday Bloody Sunday
1970: M*A*S*H; Five Easy Pieces; My Night at Maud’s; Little Big Man; Patton
1969: The Wild Bunch; Midnight Cowboy; Butch Cassidy; Easy Rider; They Shoot Horses, Don’t They
1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey; Rosemary’s Baby; Faces; Battle of Algiers; Planet of the Apes
1967: Bonnie and Clyde; The Graduate; Cool Hand Luke; In the Heat of the Night; La Guerre est Finie
1966: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; A Man for All Seasons; Chimes at Midnight; Blow-Up; A Man and a Woman
1965: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; The Sound of Music; Doctor Zhivago; Darling; The Pawnbroker or The Collector
1964: Dr. Strangelove; Mary Poppins; My Fair Lady; Becket; A Hard Day’s Night or Marnie
1963: 8 ¬Ω; America America; Hud; The Great Escape; The Birds
1962: Lawrence of Arabia; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Manchurian Candidate; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; Through a Glass Darkly
1961: Ballad of a Soldier; La Dolce Vita; Breakfast at Tiffany’s; Judgment at Nuremberg; General Della Rovere or The Hustler
1960: Psycho; Spartacus; Hiroshima Mon Amour; The Apartment; Elmer Gantry
1959: Some Like It Hot; The 400 Blows; North by Northwest; Ben-Hur; Rio Bravo or Odds Against Tomorrow
1958: Vertigo; Wild Strawberries; Touch of Evil; The Defiant Ones; Some Came Running
1957: Paths of Glory; Twelve Angry Men; Sweet Smell of Success; An Affair to Rember; Bridge on the River Kwai or A Hatful of Rain
1956: The Searchers; La Strada; Giant; Umberto D; Written on the Wind or Bigger Than Life or The Man Who Knew Too Much
1955: Night of the Hunter; Rebel Without a Cause; Bad Day at Black Rock; East of Eden; The Ladykillers or Kiss Me Deadly
1954: On the Waterfront; Rear Window; Johnny Guitar; A Star is Born; Forbidden Games or The Barefoot Contessa or Salt of the Earth
1953: Roman Holiday; Shane; The Band Wagon; From Here to Eternity; Stalag 17
1952: High Noon; Singin’ in the Rain; The Quiet Man; The Lavendar Hill Mob; Breaking the Sound Barrier
1951: A Place in the Sun; A Streetcar Named Desire; The African Queen; Strangers on a Train; The Big Carnival (a/k/a Ace in the Hole)
1950: Sunset Boulevard; All About Eve; The Gunfighter; The Asphalt Jungle; Adam’s Rib
1949: The Third Man; Kind Hearts and Coronets; Paisan; White Heat; A Letter to Three Wives or The Heiress or Gun Crazy
1948: Treasure of the Sierra Madre; Letter from an Unknown Woman; The Search; Red River; The Red Shoes
1947: Odd Man Out; Great Expectations; Monsieur Verdoux; Shoeshine; Black Narcissus or Out of the Past
1946: Notorious; Open City; Its a Wonderful Life; The Best Years of Our Lives; Stairway to Heaven or My Darling Clementine
1945: Children of Paradise; Brief Encounter; Henry V; The Southerner; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or The Lost Weekend
1944: The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek; Meet Me in St. Louis; Double Indemnity; Laura; Hail the Conquering Hero or To Have and Have Not
1943: Casablanca; The Ox Bow Incident; The Song of Bernadette; Shadow of a Doubt; Watch on the Rhine or The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
1942: The Magnificent Ambersons; Sullivan’s Travels; Now Voyager; Yankee Doodle Dandy; To Be or Not To Be or One of Our Aircraft Is Missing or Mrs. Miniver
1941: Citizen Kane; The Lady Eve; The Maltese Falcon; Pinocchio; How Green Was My Valley or The Little Foxes
1940: The Grapes of Wrath; Fantasia; The Great Dictator; Rebecca; His Girl Friday or The Letter
1939: Gone with the Wind; The Wizard of Oz; Wuthering Heights; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; Stagecoach
1938: Grand Illusion; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Bringing Up Baby; The Adventures of Robin Hood; The Citadel or The Lady Vanishes
1937: Make Way for Tomorrow; The Good Earth; The Awful Truth; The Life of Emile Zola; Captains Courageous
1936: Modern Times; Fury; Dodsworth; Swing Time; Mr. Deeds Goes to Town or My Man Godfrey
1935: Top Hat; Bride of Frankenstein; A Night at the Opera; The Informer; The 39 Steps or David Copperfield
1934: Imitation of Life; The Thin Man; Twentieth Century; The Scarlett Empress; It Happened One Night or Of Human Bondage or The Man Who Knew Too Much
1933: King Kong; I Am A Fugitive From a Chain Gang; Duck Soup; Dinner at Eight; Lady for a Day
1932: Trouble in Paradise; Love Me Tonight; Scarface; Freaks; Blonde Venus;
1931: City Lights; Frankenstein; Tabu; The Front Page; Morocco
1930: All Quiet on the Western Front; Disraeli; The Big House; Hell’s Angels; Anna Christie
1929: Hallelujah!; The Wind; The Wedding March; Applause; White Shadows in the South Seas
1928: The General; Sunrise; The Crowd; Underworld (top 4 in personal top 100); The Last Command or Seventh Heaven