Ranking the Best Pictures, Part Three: 28-6

by Chris Marshall:

Finally, at long last, we come to the Tier One movies. The best of the best. The cream of the crop. Again, it’s really, really long, so I’m going to get straight into it. The shortest one of these rankings posts is still 500 words longer than the previous longest Oscar Project post, and it’s 1,000 words longer than the average.

In case you missed them, here are links for parts one and two:
Part One: #84 through #57
Part Two: #56 through #29

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28. The Lost Weekend (1945): This was one of the first Best Pictures to directly address an issue as heavy as alcoholism. Considering the period in which it was released, it treats its protagonist fairly sympathetically. In the depths of his sickness, he is a man to be pitied, not hated. It stops short of totally excusing his behavior; instead, it invites the viewer to understand the more complex reality of alcoholism.

27. Rocky (1976): Yes, it was only the third or fourth best movie out of its year, but what a year it was. Rocky really isn’t an underdog-overcoming-all-odds story, like most of the sequels are. It’s a character study about a man who learns that if he wants to make the most out of life, he has to take some chances. While he ultimately loses the fight against Apollo, it is by no means a failure. There would have been no shame in getting knocked out by the great champion, but by going the distance, he earned a respect that once would have been unimaginable.

26. Dances with Wolves (1990): Another one of the major surprises of The Oscar Project. I’ve never been a Western aficionado or a Kevin Costner fan, so I figured I’d just do my best to survive this one. As it turned out, I really liked it. There are plenty of legitimate complaints about the way the film portrays Native Americans, but it means well, and that’s more than can be said about most Westerns before this came out

25. The Sting (1973): In addition to inspiring one of my favorite Oscar Project posts, The Sting is a fun, lighthearted break between the two Godfather films. I’m a total Paul Newman fanboy to start with, and I’ve developed a much greater respect for Redford over the course of the project. The movie also contains one of the best, most involved capers out of all the Best Picture winners.

24. The Silence of the Lambs (1991): There are few villains more well-known than Hannibal Lecter. It’s been over 20 years since this film was released, and his lines still resonate. Who can eat fava beans or drink Chianti without thinking of him? Jodie Foster is a great actress (I’m still not buying the West Virginia accent), and her interactions with Anthony Hopkins made their Best Actor and Actress awards totally deserved.

23. Terms of Endearment (1983): If anything, I think I may have understated how much I liked this film when I first posted about it. I think Shirley MacLaine is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs in real life, but as an actress, she’s as good as anybody. Debra Winger is instantly lovable, and you can always count on Nicholson for a memorable role. All other movies that take place over a large number of years should use this as a template for how it’s done.

22. The Sound of Music (1965): The best of the musicals, The Sound of Music is one of the most famous films ever made; virtually every song is completely a part of mainstream culture now. Julie Andrews was only one year removed from being snubbed for the role of Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady. Instead, she played Mary Poppins and became an international sensation. Here she cemented her legacy in perhaps her finest role.

21. Rain Man (1988): Rain Man is a total piece of fluff, but it’s one that I like so, so much. I’m completely uninterested in the plot developments. My attention is completely focused on Hoffman. I don’t know how accurate his portrayal of autism is, but in any event, his Raymond Babbitt is one of the most unforgettable screen presences in the history of film.

20. Forrest Gump (1994): Take everything I said about Rain Man just now and apply it to Forrest Gump. Except instead of tooling around everywhere with Tom Cruise, we get Lieutenant Dan, Bubba, and Jenny. That’s an upgrade in every way, if you ask me. As a cinephile, I feel incredibly guilty about placing these films so much higher than, say, Lawrence of Arabia, but I can’t help what I like.

19. The Departed (2006): I always feel like I should be careful when talking about The Departed. When I said it wasn’t one of my favorite Scorsese films, that was completely true. But that’s more of a testament to how good many of his other movies are, not any sort of negative criticism toward this one, which is still extremely good.

18. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957): Here’s an example of a film that’s grown in my memory the past few weeks since I watched it. Originally, I thought it was good, not great. As I’ve reflected on it more, however, I’ve begun to appreciate Alec Guinness’s performance even more. He was so good at his job as a leader and a motivator that he completely forgot to think about the bigger picture of the war, and it ultimately cost him dearly.

17. The Lord of the Rings:Return of the King (2003): There are very few films that match up in terms of combined critical and financial success, and it remains the all-time Oscar champion, sweeping all 11 awards it was nominated for. It was the culmination of a truly masterful series, and that’s coming from somebody who’s not even a huge fantasy fan. It might not have even been my favorite of the trilogy, but its awards were nonetheless completely deserved.

16. The Apartment (1960): I love Billy Wilder so much. Much like with Scorsese, his Oscar winners aren’t even my favorites of his work, and I still classify them both as Tier One winners. The beloved Jack Lemmon stars in this (mostly) comedy as a guy who gets ahead in his job by letting his bosses use his apartment for their own purposes while at the same time trying to develop a relationship with the elevator girl, played by—here she is again—Shirley MacLaine.

15. Million Dollar Baby (2004): One of my favorite developments of The Oscar Project is that my respect and appreciation for Clint Eastwood has grown tenfold. And Million Dollar Baby is the lower-ranked of this two directorial wins! Eastwood is great here, but Hilary Swank is the star of the show as a down-on-her-luck aspiring boxer. As good as Rocky is, this is the gold standard of Best Picture boxing films.

14. In the Heat of the Night (1967): No, it’s not just because it’s set in Mississippi. In fact, it’s often the case that that’s detrimental to a film’s quality. The greatest strength of this film is the relationship between the characters played by Rod Steiger and Sidney Poitier. It’s not a bad little whodunit, either.

13. Marty (1955): The smallest of the Best Pictures, both in running time and in scale, Marty also has the biggest heart. In a monumental turnaround from the villain he played in From Here to Eternity, Ernest Borgnine is fantastic as the title character, a lonely, middle-aged Italian butcher who still lives at home with his mother. He meets a girl at a dance—a “dog,” according to his friends—but he quickly realizes that she’s perfect, despite what everyone else, including his mother, tells him.

12. Schindler’s List (1993): Ok, now that Schindler’s List has shown up, you know we’re starting to get into pretty heavy stuff for the rest of these rankings. I’m not totally happy about putting it this far down the list, but I think it’s the right call. Again, not that I loved Caesar less but that I loved Rome more; the films ahead of it are just that good, no offense to Mr. Spielberg. Ralph Fiennes is one of the greatest of all villains in this movie, though.

11. Rebecca (1940): Although it’s not often considered to be one of Hitchcock’s greatest works, I think it can go toe-to-toe with Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, etc., and those are some spectacular movies. Even though it’s based on the Du Maurier novel, Rebecca looks and feels like classic Hitchcock. Olivier and Fontaine—buoyed by a strong supporting cast—are perfect in their roles.

10. On the Waterfront (1954): Million Dollar Baby may be the best “boxing movie,” but On the Waterfront is the best movie about a former boxer. Maybe it was a veiled attempt to justify Elia Kazan’s testimony before the HUAC; all I know for sure is that’s a nearly perfect movie, featuring a pre-insanity (well, as far as I know) Marlon Brando. I’m not entirely positive he had class, but he is certainly a contender for the title of Greatest Actor of All Time.

9. Gone with the Wind (1939): Even today, 73 years after it was released, it remains the gold standard by which all large-scale Hollywood productions are measured. For years I dreaded watching this movie, but I found that it, somehow, some way, lived up to the hype. It also demonstrated that, even though a film might be long, it doesn’t have to feel long, a lesson that the Great Ziegfelds of the world should take to heart.

8. All About Eve (1950): Hollywood is a rough business. You try to do a good deed for somebody, as Bette Davis does in this film, and then she turns out to be a sociopath. Isn’t that really what Eve is in this film? She manipulates and bamboozles people to become the biggest star in the world, and she doesn’t care who she destroys in the process. The title may be All About Eve, but to me the real star of the film is Davis, one of the greatest of all actresses.

7. The Godfather Part Two (1974): There is a great deal of popular debate about which Godfather is the best. Well, maybe nobody ever says the third one, but the debate really does exist between the original two. I like the original better, so it’s saying something that I still have the sequel ranked as my seventh favorite Best Picture winner. Francis Ford Coppola had a decent couple of years here.

6. It Happened One Night (1934): It actually happened over a few nights, despite what the title claims, but regardless, this remains one of the greatest romantic comedies ever put to film. Clark Gable gets two appearances in my top ten, which is fitting. He completely deserved all the fame and accolades he collected during his life. Claudette Colbert shouldn’t be overlooked, though. She held her own for the entire film, playing the runaway spoiled rich kid.

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Remember a couple of days ago, when I said these rankings would run in three parts? I lied. I decided I wanted to give the top five a little more attention than I would otherwise be able to give them. They deserve it! Besides, if you’ve been paying attention, you already know what’s coming. The only question left is what order they will be in…