Best Pictures of Oscars Past

 

The Academy Awards, fondly known as the Oscars, are a beacon of excellence in the film industry. The institution traces its origins back to May 1927, when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was established. The inaugural ceremony took place in 1929, where awards were handed out for Best Actor and Actress, Cinematography, Directing (Comedy and Dramatic), Writing (Original and Adaptation), and more. Of course, the most sought after award was for Best Picture or, as it was originally called, Outstanding Picture.

Over the course of the next century, the Oscars have become a worldwide phenomenon, with millions of viewers tuning in to see their favorite films, actors, actresses, directors, and more get the recognition they deserve.

Here at the Grayslake Library, we are proud to offer up many of the films that have graced the Oscars’ stage. Listed below are the Best Picture winners from the very beginning, from “Wings” to “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” All of these films are either available at the Grayslake Library, or another area library. A fun challenge might be to watch all the films, and find out which film is the best of the best!

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Wings (1927/28)

The Broadway Melody (1928/29)

All Quiet on the Western Front (1929/30)

Cimarron (1930/31)

Grand Hotel (1931/32)

Cavalcade (1932/33)

It Happened One Night (1934)

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)

You Can't Take It with You (1938)

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Rebecca (1940)

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Casablanca (1943)

Going My Way (1944)

The Lost Weekend (1945)

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)

Hamlet (1948)

All the King’s Men (1949)

All About Eve (1950)

An American in Paris (1951)

The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

From Here to Eternity (1953)

On the Waterfront (1954)

Marty (1955)

Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Gigi (1958)

Ben-Hur (1959)

The Apartment (1960)

West Side Story (1961)

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Tom Jones (1963)

My Fair Lady (1964)

The Sound of Music (1965)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Oliver! (1968)

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Patton (1970)

The French Connection (1971)

The Godfather (1972)

The Sting (1973)

The Godfather Part II (1974)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Rocky (1976)

Annie Hall (1977)

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Ordinary People (1980)

Chariots of Fire (1981)

Gandhi (1982)

Terms of Endearment (1983)

Amadeus (1984)

Out of Africa (1985)

Platoon (1986)

The Last Emperor (1987)

Rain Man (1988)

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Dances with Wolves (1990)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Unforgiven (1992)

Schindler’s List (1993)

Forrest Gump (1994)

Braveheart (1995)

The English Patient (1996)

Titanic (1997)

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

American Beauty (1999)

Gladiator (2000)

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Chicago (2002)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Crash (2005)

The Departed (2006)

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

The Hurt Locker (2009)

The King’s Speech (2010)

The Artist (2011)

Argo (2012)

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Spotlight (2015)

Moonlight (2016)

The Shape of Water (2017)

Green Book (2018)

Parasite (2019)

Nomadland (2020)

CODA (2021)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)