Best Picture Winners Ranked

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I've now seen all best picture winners. They recently showed the only two I hadn't seen, Calvacade and Broadway Melody. Both were just average, and wouldn't have won in better years. Updated through 2010 (added The King's Speech)

(the ratings are just for ranking these films relative to each other) * = Director also won Oscar

Best Picture Winners – Ranked 1. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean*, 1962) 100 [photos above] Adventure, history, war, biography; no other picture has transported me out of my world and into the film as did this one when first released. Winner of 7 Oscars

2. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler*, 1946) 99 - Perhaps the finest anti-war film ever made, Wyler's best, winner of 7 Oscarsand Hollywood's finest hours; it's amazing that this film came out just after our 'victory' in WW2. Wyler had 13 films nominated for best picture, a record likely to remain unbroken.

3. All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz*, 1950) 98 - a superb cast of actors led by Bette Davis and Anne Baxter made this the best film about the entertainment industry ever made
4. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola*, 1974) 96
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson*, 2003) 94
6. My Fair Lady (George Cukor*, 1964) 93
7. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood*, 2004) 92
8. Annie Hall (Woody Allen*, 1977) 90
9. Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme*, 1991) 89
10. Gandhi (Richard Attenborough*, 1982) 88
11. Shakespeare in Love (John Madden, 1998) 87
12. The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean*, 1957) 86
13. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Milos Forman*, 1975) 85
14. On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan*, 1954) 84
15. Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger*, 1969) 83
16. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz*, 1943) 82
17. Dances with Wolves (Kevin Costner*, 1990) 81
18. Platoon (Oliver Stone*, 1986) 80
19. Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2002) 79
20. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen*, 2007) 78
21. Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner*, 1970) 77
22. Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg*, 1993) 76
23. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) 75
24. Amadeus (Milos Forman*, 1984) 74
25. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino*, 1978) 73
26. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow*, 2009) 72
27. The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci*, 1987) 71
28. Mrs. Miniver (William Wyler*, 1942) 70
29. The Departed (Martin Scorcese*, 2006) 69
30. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle*, 2008) 68
31. A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard*, 2001) 67
32. An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli, 1951) 66
33. Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming*, 1939) 65
34. A Man for All Seasons (Fred Zinnemann*, 1966) 64
35. Oliver! (Carol Reed*, 1968) 63
36. Out of Africa (Sydney Pollack*, 1985) 62
37. Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks*, 1983) 61
38. Driving Miss Daisy (Bruce Beresford, 1989) 60
39. American Beauty (Sam Mendes*, 1999) 58
40. All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone*, 1930) 57
41. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood*, 1992) 55
42. Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000) 54
43. You Can't Take It with You (Frank Capra*, 1938) 52
44. In the Heat of the Night (Norman Jewison, 1967) 51
45. Ben-Hur (William Wyler*, 1959) 50
46. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella*, 1996) 49
47. The Apartment (Billy Wilder*, 1960) 48
48. The French Connection* (William Friedkin*, 1971) 46
49. Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, 1948) 44
50. The Life of Emile Zola (William Dieterle, 1937) 42
51. West Side Story (Jerome Robbins & Robert Wise*, 1961) 41
52. All the King's Men (Robert Rossen, 1949) 40
53. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis*, 1994) 39
54. From Here to Eternity (Fred Zinnemann*, 1953) 38
55. Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981) 37
56. The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder*, 1945) 36

57. Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 1935) 35
58. Marty (Delbert Mann*, 1955) 34
59. Around the World in Eighty Days (Michael Anderson, 1956) 33
60. Cavalcade (Frank Lloyd*, 1933) 32
61. Wings (William A. Wellman, 1928) 31
62. Gigi (Vincente Minnelli*, 1958) 30
63. Gentleman's Agreement (Elia Kazan*, 1947) 29
64. Grand Hotel (Edmund Goulding, 1932) 28
65. Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940) 27
66. The King's Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010) 26
67. Ordinary People (Robert Redford*, 1980) 25
68. Rain Man (Barry Levinson*, 1988) 24
69. Titanic (James Cameron*, 1997) 23
70. Cimarron (Wesley Ruggles, 1931) 22
71. How Green Was My Valley (John Ford*, 1941) 21
72. Braveheart (Mel Gibson*, 1995) 20
73. The Sting (George Roy Hill*, 1973) 19
74. It Happened One Night (Frank Capra*, 1934) 18
75. Going My Way (Leo McCarey*, 1944) 16
76. The Sound of Music (Robert Wise*, 1965) 14
77. Tom Jones (Tony Richardson*, 1963) 13
78. The Great Ziegfeld (Robert Z. Leonard, 1936) 12
79. Crash (Paul Haggis, 2005) 10
80. Kramer vs Kramer (Robert Benton*, 1979) 8
81. Rocky (John G. Avildsen*, 1976) 6
82. The Broadway Melody (Harry Beaumont, 1929) 5
83. The Greatest Show on Earth (Cecil B. DeMille, 1952) 2
DeMille had to have bought this Oscar (or gotten massive 'studio voting'); this was a terrible film, predictable, uninspiring, and a dumb story to boot; Oscar's biggest bomb as a best anything - James Stewart spends the entire film in clown makeup as he's a wanted doctor hiding from the law - Betty Hutton is, well.. Betty Hutton