The Best Pictures
September 19th, 2007
Movies are not really my thing. I have an annoying habit of falling asleep almost every time I go to the cinema, even if it is during the middle of the day. My guess is it has something to do with the lights going out, and my brain thinking that it is night time. As a result, I have seen the start and end of dozens of movies, but missed out on the crucial middle sections.
So goal 92 will prove to be very difficult. This is the goal to see every movie to have won the Best Picture Academy Award. When I went through the list, I had seen only 6 of the 80, so I have a long way to go (Nat is my opposite. She had seen 39 movies from the list, and is obsessed with old movies from the 40s, which I find terribly boring).
So here is the list. Movies in green, I have seen (yes I know, nice rhyme).
How many have you seen?

2007 No Country for Old Men
2006 The Departed
2005 Crash
2004 Million Dollar Baby
2003 The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2002 Chicago
2001 A Beautiful Mind
2000 Gladiator
1999 American Beauty
1998 Shakespeare in Love
1997 Titanic
1996 The English Patient
1995 Braveheart
1994 Forrest Gump
1993 Schindler’s List
1992 Unforgiven
1991 The Silence of the Lambs
1990 Dances with Wolves
1989 Driving Miss Daisy
1988 Rain Man
1987 The Last Emperor
1986 Platoon
1985 Out of Africa
1984 Amadeus
1983 Terms of Endearment
1982 Gandhi
1981 Chariots of Fire
1980 Ordinary People
1979 Kramer v Kramer
1978 The Deer Hunter
1977 Annie Hall
1976 Rocky
1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1974 The Godfather Part II
1973 The Sting
1972 The Godfather
1971 The French Connection
1970 Patton
1969 Midnight Cowboy
1968 Oliver!
1967 In the Heat of the Night
1966 A Man for all Seasons
1965 The Sound of Music
1964 My Fair Lady
1963 Tom Jones
1962 Lawrence of Arabia
1961 West Side Story
1960 The Apartment
1959 Ben Hur
1958 Gigi
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai
1956 Around the World in Eighty Days
1955 Marty
1954 On the Waterfront
1953 From Here to Eternity
1952 The Greatest Show on Earth
1951 An American in Paris
1950 All about Eve
1949 All the King’s Men
1948 Hamlet
1947 Gentleman’s Agreement
1946 The Best Years of our Lives
1945 The Lost Weekend
1944 Going My Way
1943 Casablanca
1942 Mrs Miniver
1941 How Green Was My Valley
1940 Rebecca
1939 Gone with the Wind
1938 You can’t take it with you
1937 The life of Emile Zola
1936 The Great Ziegfeld
1935 Mutiny on the Bounty
1934 It Happened One Night
1933 Cavalcade
1932 Grand Hotel
1931 Cimarron
1930 All Quiet on the Western Front
1929 The Broadway Melody
1928 Wings
1927 Sunrise

September 23rd, 2007 at 2:06 pm
I have seen over 40 of those on the list. I enjoyed most of them, except the scary ones like ‘Silence of the Lambs’, which I ended up having to watch during the day and mostly only listened to it whilst ironing. Does that count?
September 25th, 2007 at 5:09 am
I believe when it comes to movies as scary as Silence of the Lambs, just listening is definitely fine. I think even just watching the preview should count.
I think the horror movies will be among the last ones I see, and I will definitely be watching them during the lightest part of the day!
June 17th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
This has been one of my goals for the last few years too! I’ve only got about 10 movies to go - have seen all the rest.
The hard part is actually getting your hands on copies of the ones from the 20s and 30s. Some of them I just can’t seem to find anywhere.
Good luck!
June 17th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I would not recommend seeing English Patient, one of the worlds most boring movies. Just have something happen will you. I like that challenge, Good Luck.