I've actually never seen any of the other nominees that year, but even I know this was an awful pick. Crash was the type of movie that the 14-year old me who saw it in theaters would've thought was deep, but was actually so damn surface level. I'm sure there are worse Best Picture winners that I've never seen, but out of the ones I have, there's a huge gap between this and the next.
36.) Ordinary People (1980)
I guess the acting was good, and the subject was a pointed look at a taboo subject (teen suicide) at the time, much like the best picture winner the year before was on divorce. But in reality, this movie just never really captured me, and the fact it won over Raging Bull is just a disgrace. This isn't the worst movie to beat out a Scorsese film for best picture. But this is the type of movie that the Oscars gave too much love to over the years.
35.) American Beauty (1999)
My view on this movie got a lot lower over time, and not only because this was Spacey the creep acting creepy. Anyway, this was another pointed look at a small issue, much like the Ordinary People of its day. At the end of the day, either The Green Mile or The Sixth Sense would've have been better chjoices (granted, if it was The Sixth Sense, I don't know how much higher it would've been).
34.) Forrest Gump (1994)
I think over the years the backlash against Forrest Gump has been largely either misplaced or mixed up. I think Tom Hanks very much deserved that Best Actor oscar for lifting up a paper thin, ridiculous movie and making it watchable. The plot, the silliness, the surfaceness, it was just slightly more viable than Crash was all those years later. But let's not drag Tom Hanks down.
33.) The Sound of Music (1965)
This is not an anti-musical pick - I have a bunch of the other musicals that have won best picture higher up the list. What I've come to realize after watching it a couple times is how little of the movie actually featured music and how overly drawn out the plot was of the actual story. It's wholly made up, and even worse than that really it was trying to tell a redemptive WWII story without focusing on any Jewish characters. The best songs are great, but everything else is overrated. Admittedly, I haven't seen any of the other movies from that year.
32.) The King's Speech (2010)
Fine story, fine acting, spotlighting a somehow undertold and not well known story about the Royals. All of that is true. Still a bit surprised this won best picture. From here on out, I would say these are all good movies, all worthy of watching, if not outright rewatchable, but still a bit shocked it won. Maybe it's because I've seen a bunch of the 2010 nominees, but I would've gone for Black Swan, The Fighter, The Social Network, Inception or Toy Story 3 over this one.
31.) An American in Paris (1951)
I love these types of movies, am a huge fan of Gene Kelly, and found myself totally engrossed in every bit of that 20-minute dance sequence to end it. Call this a protest drop of a few spots because I'm still retroactively annoyed the superior Gene Kelly flick, Singing in teh Rain, wasn't just not named best picture in 1952, but not even nominated. That's blasphemy.
30.) Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
At the time, I was excited that this movie won Best Picture. Over time, my emotions are more mixed as I don't know how to think about how they represent India, the slums, and everything else. What I do know is it was a well acted, stunningly well shot, and quite fun movie at the end of the day. The song, the dancing, the moments - it was a soft entry to many into Bollywood, and a worthy winner given the other candidates that year.
29.) The Sting (1973)
Was it a bit too silly? Yes. Was the big reveal a bit too choreographed? Maybe. But was it superbly well acted, well scripted and an incredibly good time? Yes, 100%. I have not yet seen American Graffiti, but The Sting deserves its place for pairing up Butch & Sundance one more time in a very different movie and still making it about as well made and entertaining as you would want.
28.) Gladiator (2000)
Was it a bit too over the top? Yes. Was it a bit too masculine? Maybe. But was it superbly well shot, acted and an incredibly good time? Yes, yes it was. Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix were on one in this film. Honestly, I think Traffic was better (I'm a Soderberg-stan in general) but even then Gladiator was a more than fine film achievement. Spectacle matters, as we'll get too in more serious detail in The Titanic section.
27.) Gigi (1958)
It was a small movie in terms of plot, but was just so sweetly made, and in a weird way really progressive for its time, with the titular Gigi fighting to be something more than a courtesan which all expected her to be. Not going to say its some #FemaleEmpowerment film, but it comes close for its day. I was somewhat surprised to learn it won all nine oscars it was nominated for, but it was excellently made and looked stunning and had great music - for both it won most of its oscars.
26.) Platoon (1986)
I'm not a huge War Movie guy (admittedly, I have a war movie much higher up the list) but few movies actually showed the real, in the moment, front-lines cruelty of the Vietnam War with more raw honesty than Platoon. Yes, watching it in 2010s eyes it was a bit tough to look at Charlie Sheen as a dramatic actor, but he was good and the rest of the cast excellent. The direction and action was amazing. It was probably a bit too dour for my liking to be higher up, but it was an excellent movie.
25.) In the Heat of the Night (1967)
It's a beautiful bit of brilliance that both this and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? was nominated for best picture in the same year. Both feature Sidney Poitier cast as a black man in a white world, and had the movie lean 100% into that angle. It was risky, it was defiant, it was brilliant. The mystery storyline itself was a bit weak (though mystery plots in the 1960s were rarely all too deep), but the audacity of it all, and the brilliance of Poitier himself, makes it all work well.
24.) Rain Man (1988)
Oh yes, this was a great one. Honestly, after a couple watches, I think Tom Cruise is the better performance here. Was Dustin Hoffman did was very raw and portrayed with great intention, but in terms of the tougher role, us not absolutely despising the Cruise character is a testament to how effective at being smarmy and likeable he was in his co-leading man days (see A Few Good Men also). The plot is also better written and more intricate than I remembered after first viewing.
23.) Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
This is the highest ranking movie where I'm fully against it winning - in this case it should've been Apocalypse Now. Anyway, Kramer vs. Kramer itself is a testament to great acting, and man was it great. Sure, on its face just watching Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep act out a couple breaking apart, not through infidelity but just through natural separation, was worth the price of admission, but it really was. I don't know still if I've seen a better look at divorce than this one, and having it played out by two of the all time greats just make it all the better.
22.) The Apartment (1960)
It's amazing looking back just how many romantic comedies used to win best picture. I guess a much higher percentage of movies back in the day were in that camp, but anyway while I think The Apartment is a tad overrated, it's that it is truly excellent vs. incredible. Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine were both excellent, especially Lemmon is so perfectly playing the down-on-his-luck climber. The plot itself was quite risque for its time and definitely humorous. In the end, it is a fantastic movie that has become a bit of a touchstone as being one of the best old classic hollywood movies, which I jsut think is not true.
21.) Birdman (2015)
Sure, the big takeaway was the one-er of it all, but even outside of that, I thought this was just a very good movie with some excellent performances, from Keaton to Norton to the understated star of it all to me in Emma Stone. Even some of the lesser roles in the ensemble were just perfectly acted. Add in the direction, which probably is overrated but still commendable, and you get an excellent winner that I actually find a bit underrated historically by this point. To me, it is one of the better winners of the 2010s.
