95 Years of Oscars: Ranking The Best Picture Winners Part Four – #25-1

Welcome to the thrilling conclusion of our analysis of the greatest Best Picture winners at the Academy Awards. In this final installment, we unveil the top 25 films that have left an enduring legacy on the world of cinema. From immortal film criterion to esteemed contemporary crafts, these cinematic gems have captivated audiences for generations. Let’s dive right into the grand finale of our 95-year odyssey and celebrate the artistry, storytelling, and enduring impact of these extraordinary films. and Part Three (50-26) here.

You can find Part One (95-76) here; Part Two (75-51) here; and Part Three (50-26) here.

25. The French Connection (1971)
Summary: In William Friedkin’s The French Connection, Gene Hackman stars as Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle, a bigoted and eccentric police officer consumed by his job. Alongside his partner Cloudy (Roy Scheider), he’s on the trail to bust a shipment of heroin on its way from France to New York. Embedded in the style and themes of classic film noir, The French Connection is a grim and relentless detective thriller that is celebrated as one of the most authentic films about police work (celebrated by all who would not censor it, that is). It also happens to feature the greatest car chase scene in film history.
What it beat: A Clockwork Orange, Fiddler on the Roof, The Last Picture Show, Nicholas and Alexandra
Hindsight’s a bitch: There isn’t a film on this portion of the list that I disagree with. All 25 of these films find a place in my own Top 100 films of all-time, so I make no arguments against any of them winning. My personal preference from 1971: Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. This is the fifth time I have argued for a Kubrick film as the best of its year. This doesn’t surprise me, as Kubrick is the director that I would cite as the greatest ever. What does surprise me is that none of his five masterpieces ever won Best Picture.

24. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Summary: Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings is one of the most astonishing achievements in the history of film. Creating a franchise that both revolutionized visual effects (Gollum) and was emotionally gripping enough to contain four finales is what led to The Return of the King tying the Oscar record of 11 wins.
What it beat: Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Sea Biscuit
Hindsight’s a bitch: The Academy got it correct. The third installment in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy probably won for the collective set of films, not just on its own merit. Because of this assumption – and due to all three films being shot at one time – I view the trilogy as one title when placing it on lists. Jackson’s massive accomplishment is nothing short of magical.

23. All Quiet on the Western Front (1929/1930)
Summary: No film detailed the horrors of World War I better than Lewis Milestone’s All Quiet on the Western Front. A technically groundbreaking film that doubles as an extremely powerful anti-war message, All Quiet is the oldest film on my own top 100 list. The 2022 remake was my number one film of the year, showing how outstanding Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel was in its time and to this day.
What it beat: The Big House, Disraeli, The Divorcee, The Love Parade
Hindsight’s a bitch: The Academy got it correct.

22. Rocky (1976)
Summary: The ultimate tale of the underdog might also be one of the great longshot films to ever win Best Picture, and there may never be a more stirring and energetic film to win the coveted prize. Full of montages and crowd-pleasing moments that have become clichés in sports films, Rocky is an incredible tale of a down-and-out boxer who gets a shot at the heavyweight title. Rocky beautifully encapsulates the essence of the blue-collar worker, drawing a striking parallel to Sylvester Stallone’s own journey before this monumental breakthrough. Stallone wrote, starred in, and handled the boxing choreography for one of the most benevolent films ever made. Want proof? I bet you thought about that Rocky theme as soon as you saw the image above. That’s just an example of the enduring legacy of the film.
What it beat: All the President’s Men, Bound for Glory, Network, Taxi Driver
Hindsight’s a bitch: When discussing the finest years in film history, 1976 undoubtedly emerges as a strong contender for the top of that list. I could argue for several of these nominees to win, but Martin Scorsese’s timeless Taxi Driver remains my favorite of the group.

21. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Summary: Midnight Cowboy was the perfect film to bring in the counter-culture vibe of the ’70s, and the mutable MPAA implementation that was still in flux makes for its often referenced stat as the only X-rated film to win Best Picture. Gritty, grimy, and groundbreaking for its time, John Schlesinger’s buddy film about two desolate and penniless characters – one a greasy con artist (Dustin Hoffman), the other a naïve gigolo (Jon Voight) – form a bizarre friendship. Paired with another film that year, Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy brought an end to the “Cultural Decade” and helped usher in the New Hollywood era of the “Me Decade.”
What it beat: Anne of a Thousand Days, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hello Dolly!, Z
Hindsight’s a bitch: The Academy got it correct. Few films have been more avant-garde in approach, nor more perpetually relevant than Midnight Cowboy.

20. The Sound of Music (1965)
Summary: In The Sound of Music, Julie Andrews is Maria, an Austrian nun who takes on an assignment as the governess to the seven Von Trapp children. She tends to their needs, romances their father, and teaches the children to sing. And if you don’t sing along to every word of the gorgeous Rodgers & Hammerstein soundtrack, what fan of movies are you really? One of the highest grossing blockbusters of all-time, Robert Wise’s The Sound of Music is a film that has resonated with audiences spanning several generations.
What it beat: Darling, Doctor Zhivago, Ship of Fools, A Thousand Clowns
Hindsight’s a bitch: The Sound of Music is one of those films I must have watched over a hundred times as a child. You know, way back when we only had like four channels and a closet full of VCR tapes (google it, youngins). The Academy got it correct.

19. Ben-Hur (1959)
Summary: The first film to set the record for winning 11 Oscars, William Wyler’s epic tale of Christ, Ben-Hur, remains one of the greatest stories ever told. From the antagonizing, Odysseyesque journey of the main protagonist (Oscar-winning performance by Charlton Heston), to the incredible cast of thousands, elaborate set designs, and one of the greatest sequences in film history (the spectacular chariot race), Ben-Hur is one of the most influential films on this list (just look at the list of epics that followed in its wake).
What it beat: Anatomy of a Murder, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Nun’s Story, Room at the Top
Hindsight’s a bitch: This is another film that shaped my youth. Being my father’s favorite movie ever made, I have seen Ben-Hur so many times I can quote just about every line. The fact that I never get tired of watching it (despite a 212-minute runtime) is proof enough that Ben-Hur is one of the greatest movies ever made. The Academy got it correct.

18. The Deer Hunter (1978)
Summary: Michael Cimino’s tale about the physical, emotional, and psychological impacts the Vietnam War had on a group of friends remains one of the ultimate masterpieces in film history. The Deer Hunter stars Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, John Savage, and John Cazale – who all give performances that are among the finest of their career. It’s a controversial film in the way it depicts the Viet Cong (the Russian roulette scenes, in particular), but in war, there are rarely good guys. The intense and dramatic turns that happen over the course of the film are as gut-wrenching and enthralling as anything I have ever seen. Very few films have ever captured the unsparing aftermath of war quite as devastatingly.
What it beat: Coming Home, Heaven Can Wait, Midnight Express, An Unmarried Woman
Hindsight’s a bitch: From the blue-collared, Pennsylvania town to the cruel and decimating jungles of Southeast Asia, The Deer Hunter is a perfectly compelling film. The Academy got it correct.

17. Annie Hall (1977)
Summary: One of the most brilliant and inventive comedies, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall is his most grounded and accomplished work. Bittersweet and hysterical, Allen plays the neurotic Alvy Singer, a divorcee reflecting on his past relationships, most notably the love of his life, Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). One of the quintessential romantic comedies to ever win Best Picture.
What it beat: The Goodbye Girl, Julia, Star Wars, The Turning Point
Hindsight’s a bitch: As much as I love Annie Hall, there was a little film called Star Wars that same year. Take nothing away from Annie Hall, a bona fide masterpiece, but Star Wars has a legacy that is unmatched in the cinematic universe.

16. Amadeus (1984)
Summary: Winner of eight Academy Awards, Miloš Forman’s Amadeus is a fascinating study of the real-life rivalry of 18th-century composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce) and Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham). Lavish and flamboyant in every manner, Amadeus is the rare period piece costume drama that made me fall in love with it. F. Murray Abraham’s vile and sinister performance as the envious Salieri, a man with more desire to produce music than God gave him talent to create, is one for the ages.
What it beat: The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart, A Soldier’s Story
Hindsight’s a bitch: Never has there been a more extravagant tale of jealousy and contempt than what is formed between two artists in Amadeus. The Academy got it correct.

15. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Summary: In the aftermath of a botched drug deal, a weathered Sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) contemplates the nature of violence as he races against time to locate a missing man (Josh Brolin) before the sinister figure of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) hunts him down. Based on the neo-western Cormac McCarthy novel, No Country for Old Men is the Coen Brothers’ masterpiece. Filled with violence, suspense, and the dark comedy that has made the Coens famous, No Country remains a deeply profound look at how time passes us all by, and no matter how hard we try, we can’t stop what’s coming.
What it beat: Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood
Hindsight’s a bitch: The Coens’ best film remains the greatest film of the 21st century. No Country works as an ode to West Texas, thanks in large part to the devastatingly gorgeous landscapes shot by the incomparable Roger Deakins. As much as I also love There Will Be Blood, the Academy got it correct.

14.  The Apartment (1960)
Summary: Billy Wilder’s The Apartment works as both poignant tragedy and romantic comedy. Hoping to climb the corporate ladder, Jack Lemmon plays CC Baxter, an office shill who loans out his apartment to his bosses so they can carry out their affairs without getting caught. Things become complicated when one of the bosses (Fred MacMurray) wants to use the apartment to take Baxter’s workplace crush, Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), there for the evening.
What it beat: The Alamo, Elmer Gantry, Sons and Lovers, The Sundowners
Hindsight’s a bitch: The Apartment is smart as a whip, as enchanting as it is thought-provoking. A terrific examination of the desperation to get ahead in corporate America as well as a study in melancholy, Billy Wilder and his legendary co-writer, I.A.L. Diamond, prove once again why they are the greatest screenwriting duo of all-time. As much as I love The Apartment (as seen by its high placing on this list), Alfred Hitchcock’s immortal and hair-raising thriller, Psycho (which wasn’t even nominated), was the best film of 1960.

13. West Side Story (1961)
Summary: Jerome Robbins and William Wise’s West Side Story, a musical re-interpretation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, takes place on the streets of 1950s New York City. Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer star as the modern-day versions of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers. Societal class and teenage angst are central themes as a group of white kids match wits – and cutting-edge dance choreography – with a group of Puerto Rican youth, fighting for supremacy over the neighborhood they share. Loaded with innumerable and distinguished songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim (each one an earworm of its own), West Side Story is a tale of race and social decorum and is an incredibly inventive adaptation of the legendary love story.
What it beat: Fanny, The Guns of Navarone, The Hustler, Judgement at Nuremberg
Hindsight’s a bitch: One of the two or three greatest musicals of all-time (and the best to ever win Best Picture), the Academy got it correct.

12. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Summary: Fredric March, Dana Andrews, and Harold Russell star as a trio of veterans returning home from war in William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives. Perhaps no film has detailed the struggles of our heroes returning home from battle as well as Best Years. Post-traumatic stress disorders and difficulties with reintegrating into society are just a couple of challenges these men face. Its groundbreakingly authentic views of veterans was bolstered by Harold Russell’s Oscar-winning performance. Russell, an actual veteran who lost his hands in the war, is playing himself, and as such provides a visceral and tender-hearted core to the film.
What it beat: Henry V, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Razor’s Edge, The Yearling
Hindsight’s a bitch: The Best Years of Our Lives makes for an incredible companion piece to Michel Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (see #18 on this list). Both films portray the impacts of war in unique and paramount ways. Like The Apartment, it’s hard to say that a film ranked this high wasn’t the one I would have voted for. The sentimentalist in me can’t help but slightly prefer It’s a Wonderful Life for all its mushy heart and tenderness.

11. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Summary: Rather than spending his time crushing rocks and doing hard time in prison, habitual criminal Randall P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) decides to take “the easy way out” by committing himself to a mental institution. Little did he know he’d run into the caretaker from his worst nightmares, Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). Adapted from Ken Kesey’s novel of the same name, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is an electrifying observation of the need for reform in our mental institutions. Along with It Happened One Night and The Silence of the Lambs, Cuckoo’s Nest is one of three films to win the Big Five at Oscar: Picture, Director (Miloš Forman), Actor (Nicholson), Actress (Fletcher), and Screenplay.
What it beat: Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Nashville
Hindsight’s a bitch: Oh boy. Now we are reaching into movies that would be in my top 15 or so films of all time. As much as I love Jaws, the Academy got it correct. There are few characters I connect with more than Nicholson’s McMurphy (what the hell does that say about me?), making Cuckoo’s Nest a tough one to leave outside my top ten. In one scene, McMurphy comes to realize that most of the crackpots around him are all at the asylum voluntarily. The shock of this discovery quickly transitions into a disquieting realization that as kooky as all these men around him are, McMurphy is the one who is required to be there. That’s a feeling I have been all too familiar with throughout my life, and the way Nicholson pulls it off makes for one of the greatest performances in all of film.

10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Summary: The Silence of the Lambs is the only horror film to ever win Best Picture. It is also one of the three films I mentioned above that won the Big Five. Jonathan Demme’s eerie film stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, a young FBI recruit who wrestles wits and power dynamics with the famed genius and convict Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to help track down another serial killer. Suspenseful and shrewd, Hopkins’ Lecter is one of the most fascinating villains in film (despite less than 20 minutes of screentime). In spite of his contemptible reproach and steely demeanor, there’s just something about Lecter that makes us root for him.
What it beat: Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK, The Prince of Tides
Hindsight’s a bitch: Fava beans and chianti will never be regarded without a lizard-tongued shiver. The Academy got it correct.

9. Schindler’s List (1993)
Summary: Known primarily for his huge blockbusters, Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece is his contemplative adaptation of Ken Keneally’s solemn chronicle of the Holocaust, Schindler’s List. Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), like most German manufacturers at the time, was a member of the Nazi party. But unlike the average entrepreneur, Schindler was a complex individual who went from capitalizing on the times by operating war factories for the Nazis, only to end up saving more than 1,000 Polish Jews from certain death. Spielberg’s most personal film is also his finest and most altruistic.
What it beat: The Fugitive, In the Name of the Father, The Piano, The Remains of the Day
Hindsight’s a bitch: Crazy to think that in the same year that Spielberg made Schindler’s List, he also delivered the enormous hit, Jurassic Park. The Academy got it correct.

8. On the Waterfront (1954)
Summary: Known for the powerful portrayal of anguish that permanently changed acting, Marlon Brando is Terry Malloy, a former heavyweight contender who has been reduced to a struggling longshoreman in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront. Corruption employs the docks where Terry works, led by mob boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). While Johnny is the devil on Terry’s left shoulder, Father Barry (Karl Malden) is the angel on the right. Terry is torn between his loyalties to Johnny’s gang – where his older brother Charley (Rod Steiger) is a top man – and his moral outrage urging him to stand up to the exploitation of the mob. What makes Waterfront even more fascinating is that Budd Schulberg’s screenplay is an allegory for his decision to identify 17 names to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (revealing them as Communists).
What it beat: The Caine Mutiny, The Country Girl, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Three Coins in the Fountain
Hindsight’s a bitch: This feels like one of the easiest choices, looking back. And one that is cemented by one of – if not THE – greatest performances of all time. On the Waterfront “coulda been a contender” for the top spot on a list like this. The Academy got it correct.

7. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Summary: David Lean directed three of the greatest films of all time, including two in my top ten. Bridge on the River Kwai stars Alec Guinness as Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson, a British officer charged with constructing a strategically important bridge for the Japanese who have incarcerated him and his men in a Burmese prison camp. While this task places Nicholson in a precarious and morally -conflicted spot, his view is to defy his captors by showing them the superiority of English men through erecting the perfect overpass. Here is a man so consumed with pride and honor that he forgets which side he is on, and only realizes the errors of his ways too late.
What it beat: Peyton Place, Sayonara, 12 Angry Men, Witness for the Prosecution
Hindsight’s a bitch: One of the great, action-packed epics of the late 50s, The Bridge on the River Kwai is an exceptional case study about the hysteria of war and the pride that comes before the fall. The Academy got it correct.

6. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Summary: Dubbed the “Golden Year of Cinema,” 1939 is often cited as the greatest year in the history of film. Five movies from 1939 made the original American Film Institute’s Top 100 Films list. Many of these movies hold up extraordinarily well, but none more stunningly than Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind. Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable star as the southern belle and her wily and charismatic love interest, set amongst the backdrop of the antebellum South as the Confederacy meets its ruin. The performances, set designs, costumes, Technicolor photography, and Max Steiner’s exhilarating score keep this film as bewildering and extravagant a film today as it ever was.
What it beat: Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights
Hindsight’s a bitch: The lunacy of this era can be summarized with the way Gone with the Wind – long thought of as one of the two or three greatest American films – has attained a patina of disrepute for the way it depicted black characters and romanticized the South at the time. The time of the film, of course, being the Civil War, for Christ’s sake. But I digress from such asinine and irresponsible revisionist politics that choose to sterilize our history rather than take the complicated and nuanced approach of studying it for what it was. While I would not argue against The Wizard of Oz, the Academy got it correct.

5. All About Eve (1950)
Summary: No one ever sizzled on the silver screen quite like Bette Davis in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s All About Eve. A fierce and fiery emulation of swanky, Broadway socialites, Anne Baxter stars as Eve Harrington, an ambitious young actress who will do anything it takes to become a star. Margo Channing (Davis) is the biggest star of her era, and the one Eve looks to supplant. A penetrating anecdote on the viciousness of narcissism, cynicism, deceit, and celebrity, All About Eve is one of the most revolutionary and sharp-edged screenplays ever written.
What it beat: Born Yesterday, Father of the Bride, King Solomon’s Mines, Sunset Boulevard
Hindsight’s a bitch: It is in my top five Best Picture winners ever, so I clearly admire and love this film. I would have, however, cast my vote a different way, if you can believe that. For as brilliant as All About Eve is, Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard remains as untouchable as any film on this list.

4. The Godfather Part II (1974)
Summary: Francis Ford Coppola’s follow-up to the 1972 Best Picture winner remains the greatest sequel ever made. Detailing the Corleone saga by broadening their tale with two overlapping narratives, The Godfather Part II presents the rise of both Vito (Robert DeNiro) and his son, Michael (Al Pacino), as two generations of mob bosses. Through a compelling dual character study, the sequel beautifully explores the intertwined yet distinct paths of its protagonists, mirroring and diverging from its predecessor. The result is a breathtaking display of filmmaking that leaves us in awe of its expansive scope, meticulous attention to detail, and sheer perfection.
What it beat: Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, The Towering Inferno
Hindsight’s a bitch: Some would argue Part II outshines the first Godfather. I wouldn’t take that side of the argument, but that just tells you how incredible Coppola’s films are. Consider the fact that he also directed Best Picture nominee The Conversation the same year? Holy moly. Despite my eternal love for Chinatown, one of the three greatest screenplays ever written, the Academy got it correct.

3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Summary: David Lean created an epic masterpiece with his biopic, Lawrence of Arabia, a movie that has become influential to generations of filmmakers. With breathtaking desert landscapes, an incredible cast, and a triumphant Maurice Jarre score, it’s hard to imagine Lawrence of Arabia existing without the great Peter O’Toole. As the larger-than-life, controversial, and complicated titular T.E. Lawrence, Peter O’Toole gives one of the singular performances in the history of film. His immense onscreen presence is a worthy juxtaposition for the man he portrays – a hero in the British army who led the Arabs against the Turks during the First World War. An astounding masterpiece of colossal proportions, Lawrence of Arabia is one of the five greatest films ever made.
What it beat: The Longest Day, Meredith Willson’s The Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty, To Kill a Mockingbird
Hindsight’s a bitch: What more can you say about the winners at this point? These top three (along with Citizen Kane and 2001: A Space Odyssey) remain the only films I have ever given a perfect score to (10/10). The Academy got it correct.

2. The Godfather (1972)
Summary: There is not a single inharmonious note in The Godfather’s nearly three-hour runtime. Always the 1B to the film that I have listed in the top spot, The Godfather is in many ways the greatest movie ever made. The innovative use of shadowy lighting and cinematography by Gordon Willis, a cast that includes multiple Oscar-winners (along with a list as long as my arm of other amazing character actors), a perfect screenplay adaptation, and Nino Rota’s brooding and authoritative score make it hard not to place this film at number one. The Godfather works like a masterfully conducted orchestra, whose immaculate symphony is a meticulously crafted and extraordinarily integral thread in the fabric of cinema history.
What it beat: Cabaret, Deliverance, The Emigrants, Sounder
Hindsight’s a bitch: Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather was brilliantly detailed in Paramount’s miniseries, The Offer. If you have not seen it yet, I would highly recommend it, whether you are a fan of this film or not (but if you aren’t a fan of this film, are you really a fan of anything?) The Academy got it correct.

1. Casablanca (1943)
Summary: Casablanca not only stands as a timeless masterpiece, but its screenplay is widely regarded as the pinnacle of cinematic writing. With iconic quotes like “Here’s looking at you, kid,” “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine,” and “We’ll always have Paris,” the film’s dialogue is embedded into our cultural consciousness. Directed by Michael Curtiz, Casablanca weaves together romance, suspense, drama, and political intrigue with perfection. With an incredibly gripping narrative, filled with unforgettable characters and endlessly quotable dialogue, Casablanca is a heart-wrenching and inspiring tale of sacrifice, love, integrity, and the power of patriotism. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman are captivating and thrilling together. Their chemistry adding immense depth to the complex love triangle at the center of the film. Casablanca’s wartime atmospheric setting adds intrigue and danger to its timeless allure and gives weight to a group of people who might otherwise not amount to a hill of beans.
What it beat: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Heaven Can Wait, The Human Comedy, In Which We Serve, Madame Curie, The More the Merrier, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Song of Bernadette, Watch on the Rhine
Hindsight’s a bitch: What more can I say about the film I consider to be the greatest ever made? The Academy got it correct.

Great movies possess the extraordinary ability to transport us to captivating worlds, stirring our hearts and inspiring us to greatness. Over the course of 95 years, the Best Picture winners have delivered unforgettable stories, performances, music, and entertainment that have enthralled audiences worldwide.

I firmly uphold the belief that art should never be subjected to censorship. The freedom of expression and the embrace of diverse perspectives not only nurtures great storytelling but also provides invaluable opportunities for us to learn from our mistakes and grow as a society. Without that freedom, art is lost and history is destined to repeat itself.

As we bring this series to a close, I hope you have enjoyed the countdown of the greatest Best Picture winners in the 95-year history of the Academy. Thank you for reading along and for some great conversation. I’ve enjoyed hearing about your rankings and the films you love. Whether we agree or differ in big or small ways, that’s what makes this whole thing fun. When we communicate with respect and tolerance, we create community. That’s what makes the work genuinely meaningful and fulfilling.