Best Picture Ratings

[Big Magilla]

****
Sunrise
All Quiet on the Western Front
It Happened One Night
Gone With the Wind
Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley
Casablanca
The Best Years of Our Lives
All About Eve
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
Marty
Gigi
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
Tom Jones
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
A Man for All Seasons
In the Heat of the Night
Oliver!
Midnight Cowboy
Annie Hall
Ordinary People

***1/3
Wings
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Life of Emile Zola
Mrs. Miniver
The Lost Weekend
All the King's Men
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Ben-Hur
Patton
The French Connection
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Deer Hunter
Kramer vs. Kramer
Chariots of Fire
Terms of Endearment
Platoon
The Last Emeror
Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler's List
Forrest Gump
Titanic
Chicago
Million Dollar Baby

***
Cavalcade
Going My Way
An American in Paris
The Sting
Gandhi
Amadeus
The English Patient
Shakespeare in Love
American Beauty
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

**1/2
The Broadway Melody
Cimarron
Grand Hotel
The Great Ziegfeld
You Can't Take It With You
Gentleman's Agreement
Hamlet
The Greatest Show on Earth
Around the World in 80 Days
Rocky
Out of Africa
Dances With Wolves
Crash

**
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind

*
Braveheart

[Sabin]

I saw 'Crash' with my girlfriend at the time and we both agreed that it seemed for every honest, impacting minute there were one or two of total bullshit. I wrote a few articles for the now-defunct Blur Magazine and gave it a somewhat generous **1/2. The response at Columbia College fell into two categories: "Dude, 'Crash' is ####ing awesome!" and "People really need to stop talking so much about 'Crash'." The latter outweighed the former to a ridiculous degree. Nobody I knew hated it least of all myself, but it was just an outright assault -- largely because all of our professors (I use the term lightly) were downright fanatical about it. My screenwriting teacher would not shut up about the "Invisible Magic Cloak" scene; right then I realized, hundreds down the drain on that class.

Haven't seen many of them in quite some time. I'll proceed in a Rosenbaumian scale. I'm astonished at the number of Best Picture winners I actually enjoy on a substantial level. I recognize 'Sunrise' as the "Greatest Best Picture Winner" but my favorite has to be 'Annie Hall' -- The Little, Nervous Movie That Could...beat 'Star Wars', and did, thank Christ. Murnau's victory may be the wisest move the Academy has ever made, but Woody Allen's absentee victory has to be the coolest.


**** -- Masterpiece
Sunrise
All Quiet on the Western Front
It Happened One Night
Casablanca
The Best Years of Our Lives
All About Eve
The Apartment
Lawrence of Arabia
The Godfather
The Godfather: Part II
Annie Hall
Unforgiven
Schindler's List

*** -- Strong Recommendation
On the Waterfront
The Bridge on the River Kwai
West Side Story
Midnight Cowboy
The French Connection
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy (lovely film)
Forrest Gump
The English Patient
Titanic (sigh...)
Shakespeare in Love
Chicago
Million Dollar Baby

** -- Worth Seeing, Not Worshipping
Gone with the Wind
The Lost Weekend
A Man for All Seasons
Oliver!
The Sting
Kramer vs. Kramer
Ordinary People
Terms of Endearment
Amadeus
Out of Africa
Platoon
The Silence of the Lambs (these two are fine films, close to *** but so hugely overrated it's obnoxious)
American Beauty
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

* -- Redeeming Virtues
Going My Way
Gentleman's Agreement
All the King's Men
An American in Paris
From Here to Eternity
Tom Jones
Patton
The Deer Hunter
Braveheart
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
Crash

O -- Bleh
Rocky
Dances with Wolves

Need to See Again
Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley
In the Heat of the Night
The Last Emperor

Haven't Seen
Wings
Broadway Melody of 1929
Cimarron
Cavalcade
Grand Hotel
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Great Ziegfeld
The Life of Emile Zola
You Can't Take It With You
Mrs. Miniver
Hamlet
The Greatest Show on Earth
Marty
Around the World in 80 Days
Gigi
Ben-Hur
The Sound of Music
Chariots of Fire
Gandhi

[FilmFan720]

I've been trying to catch up as of late, and have been reminded why those I had left to watch I had never seen: They are fairly uninteresting. Anyways, here would be my list (including Sunrise):


****
Sunrise
All Quiet on the Western Front
Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley
Casablanca
The Best Years of Our Lives
Marty
The Apartment
Lawrence of Arabia
A Man for All Seasons
Midnight Cowboy
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Annie Hall
Platoon
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven (need to see again)
Shakespeare in Love
Million Dollar Baby

***
Grand Hotel
It Happened One Night
Mutiny on the Bounty
Gone With the Wind
All About Eve
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
The Bridge on the River Kwai
West Side Story
My Fair Lady
Oliver!
Patton
The Godfather
The Godfather, Part II
The Deer Hunter
Ordinary People
Terms of Endearment
Amadeus
The Last Emporer
Driving Miss Daisy
Schindler's List
The English Patient
Titanic
American Beauty
Chicago

**
The Great Ziegfeld
You Can't Take It With You
Going My Way
All the King's Men
An American in Paris
Ben-Hur
The Sound of Music
In the Heat of the Night
The French Connection
The Sting (need to see again)
Kramer vs. Kramer (need to see again)
Rain Man
Dances with Wolves
Forrest Gump
Gladiator
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Crash

*
The Greatest Show on Earth
Rocky
Braveheart
A Beautiful Mind

HAVEN'T SEEN
Wings (although it is sitting on my pile of videos)
Broadway Melody of 1929
Cimarron
Cavalcade
The Life of Emile Zola
Mrs. Miniver
The Lost Weekend (sitting on my DVR)
Gentleman's Agreement
Hamlet
Around the World in 80 Days
Gigi
Tom Jones (sitting on my DVR...watched the first 40 minutes so far)
Chariots of Fire
Gandhi
Out of Africa

[criddic3]

When Crash was in theatres, I remember people mostly saying they liked it, with a few people saying they didn't. When it was released on dvd, it was roughly half and half from customers where I work. After its nomination for best picture, a number of people said that even though they liked it, they were surprised it was up for best picture.

I was impressed by a number of elements in the film, particularly the mood and some of the performances (most notably, Matt Dillon and Terrence Howard). I ultimately gave the movie a four star rating, but I believe there were better titles released in 2005. So I am fairly certain I will not be choosing it as the best of the year in my personal choices. I am holding out until some more are released on dvd, like The New World and Three Burials of the Melquides Estrada.

[The Original BJ]

I mean, come on, no one really started outright hating Crash until it became a serious threat to Brokeback Mountain's win for Best Picture.

No, no, no.

I didn't like Crash the first time I saw it, which was opening weekend in LA. Maybe I didn't HATE it yet, but I never thought it was a good film at all. I really started hating it when everyone I spoke to in the next few weeks couldn't stop babbling about how Crash was such an incredible movie and that everyone should run to go see it. Every time I found a fellow Crash-hater we sighed in relief and usually exchanged an "I knew YOU wouldn't fall for it!" (And, as a side note, I've never seen so many of my film professors baffled at how their students could have so feverishly loved a film they flat-out hated.)

The film was only really considered a very dark horse for an Oscar nomination until Memoirs of a Geisha, King Kong, Walk the Line, The New World, Match Point, and even Munich revealed their weak legs, at which point I foolishly believed Brokeback Mountain's win would be unstoppable.

Of course, now that Crash has stolen the Oscar, the hatred toward it has grown immensely, but believe me, there was MUCH hatred toward the film far before it ever became an inconceivable threat to Brokeback's Oscar.

Sonic, I think it is hilarious that you thought Crash was supposed to be a satire. I think it speaks perfectly well of you. Of the film? Not so much . . .

[Sonic Youth]

I mean, come on, no one really started outright hating Crash until it became a serious threat to Brokeback Mountain's win for Best Picture.

Oh, you and Ebert. Let's not exaggerate, please.

I remember Eric having Crash in the Worst Film of the Year slot since Spring, and I saw that sentiment elsewhere. But most people didn't really see the movie until the DVD came out in September. Then, all throughout autumn, up sprang the articles, reviews, message board rantings of people who genuinely loathed Crash, and some people voiced concern about how the film handled the subject of racism and what were the implications. And this was September and October, when no one knew whether Brokeback was going to win for Best Picture. No one knew what the public response to BBM was going to be, Munich and other films hadn't been released yet, and Crash wasn't considered a serious threat for Best Picture until at least 2006. I understand that this visceral response to Crash did take on momentum as Oscar night approached; no question it attained considerable heights AFTER Oscar night. But it was borne from a legitimate response to the film itself, way before it was perceived as an Oscar contender.

That said, I remember when Oscar Guy's one star adjustment to A Beautiful Mind, from ***1/2 to **1/2, was quite drastic. An adjustment from ***1/2 to ** is even more perilous. I can understand adding or removing half-a-star, even after just a few weeks of seeing the film. That said, I gave Crash a low *** when I initially saw it - I thought the first half was quite strong... well, to be honest, I actually thought it was meant to be a satire, which may not speak well of me or the film. I don't deny I'm tempted to downgrade it because of Oscar night, but until I see the movie again I'll resist that. (For the record, A Beautiful Mind was and will always remain a * one-star film.)

[OscarGuy]

**
Crash

Quite a serious drop from your ***1/2 reviews earlier in the year. Did you just get a distaste for it because of Oscar Night? I mean, come on, no one really started outright hating Crash until it became a serious threat to Brokeback Mountain's win for Best Picture.

I often change my ratings after I have had time to put significant reflection into a film. Especially after I've seen other films in a given year. I used to use a spreadsheet that would weight my feelings about script, performance, direction and technicals. What I didn't take into account was how each film balances differently and while technicals weigh heavily on films like King Kong, they disproportionately inflate my ratings. So, I tossed out my previous rating-creation tool and went through all of my reviews for last year and altered the rating I gave each film to better exemplify how I felt about the film's weakest elements and how they stood in relation to other elements.

In addition, my reflection of the film Crash thinking about what other people have said (people here and at work) and I realized just how hollow it was. Sometimes we give a film a terrific rating based on initial viewing but its quality diminishes on subsequent viewings. There are also cross-comparisons with other films, comparisons with that year's films as well as those over the history of film and I've since realized that Crash wasn't nearly as high of quality as I initially gave it credit for.

[Damien]

Did anyone bring this blog survey up? There's certainly opportunity for some Crash ballot-box stuffing... though I bet it'll win anyway. That or Titanic.

http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/

Who is this guy, Eric? His 10 Best lists are pathetic and very Academy-esque.

[Hollywood Z]

**
Crash

Quite a serious drop from your ***1/2 reviews earlier in the year. Did you just get a distaste for it because of Oscar Night? I mean, come on, no one really started outright hating Crash until it became a serious threat to Brokeback Mountain's win for Best Picture.

[Eric]

Did anyone bring this blog survey up? There's certainly opportunity for some Crash ballot-box stuffing... though I bet it'll win anyway. That or Titanic.

http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/

[Reza]

Sunrise probably was the best picture of the year but since the Academy chose to nominate and award it in a different category, we may as well include it as a ''winner'' on the list.

[rudeboy]

Here's a question I have. Does Sunrise's "Artistic Production" award qualify it as a "Best Picture" winner; or, was Wings the only "Best Picture" winner of that year?

Its a grey area, isn't it? I suppose technically it doesn't really count - but its perhaps my favourite movie of those listed below, and seeing as Eric stuck it in, I followed suit.

[Greg]

Here's a question I have. Does Sunrise's "Artistic Production" award qualify it as a "Best Picture" winner; or, was Wings the only "Best Picture" winner of that year?

[rudeboy]

All of those I've seen. My more embarassing omissions (of many) include All Quiet and The Lost Weekend - many of the others I feel I would struggle to sit through (I've tried Out of Africa on multiple occasions, always failing miserably in the early stages), but I'd like to be able to say I'd seen them all one day.

10/10
All About Eve
The Apartment
Casablanca
The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King
Oliver!
Sunrise
West Side Story

9/10
Amadeus
Annie Hall
The Best Years of Our Lives
From Here to Eternity
How Green Was My Valley
Midnight Cowboy
Million Dollar Baby
Rebecca
Schindler’s List
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven

8/10
Ben-Hur
Dances With Wolves
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
Lawrence of Arabia
Mutiny on the Bounty
On the Waterfront
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
The Sound of Music

7/10
Chicago
Gone With the Wind
Hamlet
It Happened One Night
Kramer vs. Kramer
The Last Emperor
A Man For All Seasons
Platoon
Shakespeare in Love
Titanic

6/10
American Beauty
An American in Paris
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Deer Hunter
The English Patient
Gladiator
Going My Way
In the Heat of the Night
Ordinary People
Rain Man
The Sting
Terms of Endearment
You Can’t Take It With You

5/10
All the King’s Men
Crash
Driving Miss Daisy
Forrest Gump
The French Connection
Gigi
Mrs. Miniver
My Fair Lady
Tom Jones

4/10
A Beautiful Mind
Patton
Rocky

3/10
Braveheart
Gandhi

2/10
The Greatest Show on Earth

1/10
Around the World in 80 Days
Chariots of Fire

[Eric]

Really like or perhaps even... Love?
Sunrise
Rebecca
How Green Was My Valley
The Best Years of Our Lives
All About Eve
The Godfather, Part II
Annie Hall
Titanic
Million Dollar Baby

We'll stop at 'like' and not too much more
Gone With the Wind
On the Waterfront
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
The Godfather
Ordinary People
Driving Miss Daisy
Unforgiven
Schindler's List

Don't hate 'em, don't much love 'em
Casablanca
Gentleman's Agreement
Marty
Midnight Cowboy
The French Connection
The Deer Hunter
Amadeus
Platoon

Don't particularly even like
The Sound of Music (I'll cop to this one being a guilty pleausre for personal reasons)
Oliver!
Patton
The Sting
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Kramer vs. Kramer
Gandhi
Terms of Endearment
Rain Man
Dances with Wolves
The Silence of the Lambs
The English Patient
Shakespeare in Love
Chicago

Loathe
Ben-Hur
My Fair Lady
Rocky
Out of Africa
Forrest Gump
Braveheart
American Beauty
Crash

The two BPs I guess I feel most guilty for not having seen are All Quiet on a Western Front and The Apartment.