Ranking the Best Pictures, Part Two: 56-29

by Chris Marshall:

I realized a little too late yesterday that these articles are going to be super long, so I’m just going to jump right into the rankings. Tier two movies commence!

In case you missed it, here's part one, which ranks the winners from 84 to 57.

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56. The Last Emperor (1987): Surprisingly entertaining, considering the subject material. My favorite scenes are at the beginning, when the film deals with the sometimes comical, sometimes terrible ramifications of having a small child with absolute, unquestionable power.

55. Gladiator (2000): It’s overly melodramatic, and I thought much of the story was pretty pedestrian, but there are some cool fight scenes, if you’re into that sort of thing. If there was some sort of deeper message, I don’t think it worked. Joaquin Phoenix was delightfully sinister, at least.

54. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930): Three decades before Catch-22, there was All Quiet on the Western Front, a beautiful (and sometimes brutal) reflection on the experience of being a soldier in the First World War Some of the dialogue might seem corny, but it was tremendously effective at expressing the doubts and concerns of the men whose lives were on the line every day.

53. Gandhi (1982): The bloated biopic of one of the world’s most beloved leaders features a tremendous performance from the (non-Indian) Ben Kingsley, but it drags on a little too long for my tastes. As portrayed in the film, Gandhi remains an almost saintly icon, but his personality was a little pricklier than I would have expected.

52. Ben-Hur (1959): I once read that one of the great things about Ben-Hur was that it seemed like Charlton Heston was the only person not in on the joke. Nevertheless, Heston being Heston works in a film like this, and even if it’s not the most historically accurate movie on Earth, it mostly manages to entertain throughout its gargantuan running time.

51. Ordinary People (1980): It gets a bad rap for beating Raging Bull, but taken on its own, it works pretty well. Yes, it’s a depressing family melodrama, but the acting and writing keep it from turning into complete glurge. Did it deserve to beat Scorsese’s masterpiece? No, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good film.

50. Driving Miss Daisy (1989): At the other end of the 1980s, Driving Miss Daisy did what Crash could not: have an anti-racism message without beating you over the head with a sledgehammer. There are a few parts that are a little heavy-handed, but it was tolerable throughout and even, at times, actually pretty good.

49. Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Oh, what could have been. Centering a movie on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is such a great idea in theory. Unfortunately, it was mostly unable to capitalize on its concept. Most of the problem was that I was angry at Jamal just as often as I was sympathizing with him.

48. Lawrence of Arabia (1962): I’ve been over this before, but it bears repeating. On a technical level, few films come close to the mastery on display in the David Lean epic. As a piece of entertainment, though, it is not a success. I’m not arguing that one is more important than the other; it’s just that the best films work on both levels.

47. The King’s Speech (2010): This is the type of film that causes people to make fun of the Academy, and not without reason. It’s a British period piece without any particular sense of style, and there is absolutely nothing spectacular about it, outside of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush’s chemistry. Is that enough to merit winning Best Picture? Apparently in 2010 it was.

46. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979): The King’s Speech succeeded because of its strong cast, and the same would be true of Kramer vs. Kramer, if not for that horrible kid. Still, two superstars in Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep were able to save the film, which turned out to be a solid, even-handed look at a disintegrating marriage.

45. You Can’t Take It with You (1938): This was the lesser of Frank Capra’s Best Picture winners, which is not an insult. Very few movies match up to It Happened One Night. This was the only winner in which Jimmy Stewart appeared sans clown make-up, and he had an uncanny ability to make any character likeable. It gets a little too bogged down in its eccentricity, but as expected with Capra, it’s a guaranteed to warm your cold, cold heart.

44. My Fair Lady (1964): My third favorite of the slew of musicals from the 50s and 60s. It was the subject of controversy when the producers chose Audrey Hepburn, a proven box office star, to play the lead instead of Julie Andrews, who played the role on Broadway. Andrews starred in Mary Poppins instead, and you know how that turned out. That’s no fault of Hepburn’s, however, who turned out to be perfectly capable in this film.

43. Patton (1970): This is a good movie that has absolutely no business being three hours long. Patton died just a few months after the end of World War II, so the events depicted in the film were based on the memories of Omar Bradley, who didn’t get along with the mercurial general so well. I just wish Bradley would have remembered less and made the movie shorter.

42. From Here to Eternity (1953): This is often thought of as a romance, which couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s nothing romantic about the stuff going on here. It’s mostly just depressing. The film contains the perfect 1950s cast, though. Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Ernest Borgnine, Frank Sinatra: who else could you ask for?

41. American Beauty (1999): What was once the most profound movie ever made—in my late teen eyes, anyway—now mostly comes across as silly. But silly can still be entertaining, especially when it involves Kevin Spacey smoking drugs and working at a fast food restaurant. Floating plastic bags aren’t beautiful, though. They’re just dumb.

40. Braveheart (1995): The slightly better kissing cousin of Gladiator, the story of William Wallace’s battle against (and execution by) the British was surprisingly good. If nothing else, it’s nice to watch Mel Gibson not being crazy for once. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen that.

39. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935): This was one of the first film versions of the classic rebellion led by Christian Fletcher against the villainous Captain Bligh. Clark Gable was particularly dashing in this role. It’s hard to believe that this film, which is actually good, was made by the same guy who directed Cavalcade.

38. Gigi (1958): This musical from the late 1950s doesn’t have the same reputation as the others that won around the same time period, but for my money, it’s one of the best. It’s very small scale, relying more on the chemistry between the proto-manic pixie dream girl Gigi and the commitment-phobic gentleman lead.

37. Platoon (1986): I’ve yet to develop a real affection for Oliver Stone’s work. I did enjoy Platoon, however, even though it forced me to accept Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger as real actors. Also enjoyable was Willem Dafoe’s early role as the “good father figure” to Sheen. Dafoe is one of my favorite actors, so I’m always glad when he turns up.

36. The Deer Hunter (1978): I said yesterday that Out of Africa was the most viewed Oscar Project post, but it turns out that, upon further review, that title actually goes to The Deer Hunter. Again, I have no idea why. This film is no barrel of laughs, but there are few works more effective at representing the horrors of war.

35. The Hurt Locker (2009): I just noticed that this is three war movies in a row, which is completely unintentional. Then again, it really is difficult to decide which one I like the best. All are more or less excellent, but each has its flaws. If I had to choose one of the three to watch again, though, I’m pretty sure it would be The Hurt Locker.

34. The Life of Emile Zola (1937): Perhaps the biggest surprise of The Oscar Project, even counting my non-hate for The English Patient. This is one of those movies I knew absolutely nothing about, but as a combination biopic/courtroom drama, I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. And that doesn’t even take into account how much I learned from the movie; I was totally ignorant of the Dreyfus Affair beforehand.

33. A Beautiful Mind (2001): Part of me thinks that there’s no way this should be ranked so high. But on the other hand, I really enjoy it, despite my reservations. I’m not a big fan of Russell Crowe as an actor, or Ron Howard as a director, but the combination works pretty well here.

32. Midnight Cowboy (1969): I had my problems with this movie, but certain scenes, particularly those featuring Dustin Hoffman, stood out. Perhaps most importantly, it set a precedent for the kinds of films that would take home Best Picture in the 1970s. Gone were the days of the family friendly musical, as it ushered in an era of darker, grittier fare.

31. The Artist (2011): So much better than I ever expected a French-produced silent movie to be. Most of my favorite silent films are comedies; I think the form lends itself to humor much more than drama. Plus I have a series soft spot for Uggie the Dog.

30. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946): So many war films have offered a glimpse into the wartime experiences of soldiers, but so few have really dealt with what happens after they return home. The three main characters in The Best Years of Our Lives all came from very different backgrounds, but they shared many of the same emotional traumas from their years overseas. This film showed them at their best and at their worst in their post-war lives.

29. The French Connection (1971): Although it is very much a product of the early 1970s, The French Connection is the kind of movie that never would have won in an earlier era. Pauline Kael may have hated it with every fiber of her being, but I thought it was a decent crime thriller. Popeye Doyle’s amoral approach to capturing his suspect lies in stark contrast to police officers in previous years.