Academy Award for Best Picture: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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In the first year of the Academy Awards (1927-28, awarded in 1929), there was no "Best Picture" award. Instead, there were two separate awards, one called "Most Outstanding Production," won by the epic ''[[Wings (film)|Wings]]'', and one called "[[Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production|Most Artistic Quality of Production]]," won by the art film ''[[Sunrise (film)|Sunrise]]''. The awards were intended to honor different and equally important aspects of superior filmmaking, and in fact the judges and the studio bosses who sought to influence their decisions paid more attention to the latter - [[MGM]] head [[Louis |
In the first year of the Academy Awards (1927-28, awarded in 1929), there was no "Best Picture" award. Instead, there were two separate awards, one called "Most Outstanding Production," won by the epic ''[[Wings (film)|Wings]]'', and one called "[[Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production|Most Artistic Quality of Production]]," won by the art film ''[[Sunrise (film)|Sunrise]]''. The awards were intended to honor different and equally important aspects of superior filmmaking, and in fact the judges and the studio bosses who sought to influence their decisions paid more attention to the latter - [[MGM]] head [[Louis B. Mayer]], who had disliked the realism of [[King Vidor]]'s ''[[The Crowd]]'', pressured the judges not to honor his own studio's film, ''Sunrise'' instead. The next year, the Academy instituted a single award called "Best Production," and decided retrospectively that the award won by ''Wings'' had been the equivalent of that award, with the result that ''Wings'' is often erroneously listed as the winner of a sole "Best Picture" award for the first year. (The title was eventually changed to Best Picture for the 1931 awards.) Incidentally, ''Wings'' and ''Sunrise'' were the only [[silent film]]s to win Best Picture-equivalent awards. |
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Since 1944, the Academy has restricted nominations to five Best Picture nominees per year. |
Since 1944, the Academy has restricted nominations to five Best Picture nominees per year. |
Revision as of 00:37, 6 May 2007
The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only to vote on the final ballot, but also to nominate.
History
In the first year of the Academy Awards (1927-28, awarded in 1929), there was no "Best Picture" award. Instead, there were two separate awards, one called "Most Outstanding Production," won by the epic Wings, and one called "Most Artistic Quality of Production," won by the art film Sunrise. The awards were intended to honor different and equally important aspects of superior filmmaking, and in fact the judges and the studio bosses who sought to influence their decisions paid more attention to the latter - MGM head Louis B. Mayer, who had disliked the realism of King Vidor's The Crowd, pressured the judges not to honor his own studio's film, Sunrise instead. The next year, the Academy instituted a single award called "Best Production," and decided retrospectively that the award won by Wings had been the equivalent of that award, with the result that Wings is often erroneously listed as the winner of a sole "Best Picture" award for the first year. (The title was eventually changed to Best Picture for the 1931 awards.) Incidentally, Wings and Sunrise were the only silent films to win Best Picture-equivalent awards.
Since 1944, the Academy has restricted nominations to five Best Picture nominees per year.
To date, the first (and only) MPAA X-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar is Midnight Cowboy (1969). The first (and only) G-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar is Oliver! (1968). The first R-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar is The French Connection (1971); to date, 17 of the Best Picture winners have been rated R. The first PG-13-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar is The Last Emperor (1987); to date, eight of the Best Picture winners have been rated PG-13.
To date, Beauty and the Beast (1991) is the first (and only) animated film ever to be nominated for Best Picture.
Controversy
A point of contention is the lack of consideration of non-English language films for categories other than Best Foreign Language Film: very few foreign films have been nominated for any other categories, regardless of artistic merit. Thus the Academy Award for Best Picture is practically the "Academy Award for English-language Best Picture." As of 2006, only eight foreign language films have been nominated for Best Picture: Grand Illusion (French, 1938); Z (French, 1969); The Emigrants (Swedish, 1972); Cries and Whispers (Swedish, 1973); Il Postino (Italian/Spanish, 1995); Life Is Beautiful (Italian, 1998); Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (China, 2000); and Letters from Iwo Jima (Japanese, 2006).
Winners and nominees
In the lists below, the winner of the award for each year is shown first, followed by the other nominees. Except for the early years (when the Academy used a non-calendar year), the year shown is the one in which the film first premiered in Los Angeles County, California; normally this is also the year of first release, but it may be the year after first release (as with Casablanca and, if the film-festival premiere is considered, Crash). This is the year before the ceremony at which the award is given; for example, a film exhibited theatrically during 2005 was eligible for consideration for the 2005 Best Picture Oscar, awarded in 2006. The number of the ceremony (1st, 2nd, etc.) appears in parentheses after the awards year, linked to the Wikipedia article (if any) on that ceremony.
Each individual entry shows the title followed by the production company, and the producer. Before 1951, the Best Picture award was given to the production company; from 1951 on, it has gone to the producer. When the film was produced anywhere other than the United States, its country and original title, if applicable, are shown in parentheses.
1920s
- 1927-1928 (1st) Wings (Best Production) Paramount Famous Players-Lasky - Lucien Hubbard
- The Racket - Caddo, United Artists - Howard Hughes
- Seventh Heaven - Fox - William Fox
- Sunrise (Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production) Fox - William Fox
- Chang - Paramount - Merian Cooper and Ernest Schoedsack
- The Crowd - MGM - Irving Thalberg
- 1928-1929 (2nd) The Broadway Melody Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Harry Rapf
- Alibi - Feature Productions, United Artists -Roland West
- The Hollywood Revue of 1929 - MGM - Harry Rapf
- In Old Arizona - Fox - Winfield Sheehan, studio head
- The Patriot - Paramount - Ernst Lubitsch
1930s
The name of the award becomes Best Picture
- 1930-1931 (4th) Cimarron - RKO Radio - William LeBaron
- East Lynne - Fox - Winfield Sheehan, studio head
- The Front Page - Caddo, United Artists - Howard Hughes
- Skippy - Paramount - Adolph Zukor
- Trader Horn - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving G. Thalberg
- 1931-1932 (5th) Grand Hotel - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving Thalberg
- Arrowsmith - Goldwyn, United Artists - Samuel Goldwyn
- Bad Girl - Fox - Winfield Sheehan studio head
- The Champ - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - King Vidor
- Five Star Final - First National - Hal B. Wallis
- One Hour with You - Paramount - Ernst Lubitsch
- Shanghai Express - Paramount - Adolph Zukor
- The Smiling Lieutenant - Paramount - Ernst Lubitsch
- 1932-1933 (6th) Cavalcade - Fox - Winfield Sheehan studio head
- 42nd Street - Warner Bros. - Darryl F. Zanuck
- A Farewell to Arms - Paramount - Adolph Zukor
- I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis
- Lady for a Day - Columbia - Frank Capra
- Little Women - RKO Radio - Merian C. Cooper with Kenneth MacGowan
- The Private Life of Henry VIII - London Films, United Artists - Alexander Korda
- She Done Him Wrong - Paramount - William LeBaron
- Smilin' Through - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving Thalberg
- State Fair - Fox - Winfield Sheehan studio head
- 1934 (7th) It Happened One Night - Columbia - Harry Cohn
- The Barretts of Wimpole Street - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving Thalberg
- Cleopatra - Paramount - Cecil B. DeMille
- Flirtation Walk - First National - Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis with Robert Lord
- The Gay Divorcee - RKO Radio - Pandro S. Berman
- Here Comes the Navy - Warner Bros. - Lou Edelman
- The House of Rothschild - Twentieth Century Pictures, United Artists - Darryl F. Zanuck with William Goetz and Raymond Griffith
- Imitation of Life - Universal - John M. Stahl
- One Night of Love - Columbia - Harry Cohn with Everett Riskin
- The Thin Man - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Hunt Stromberg
- Viva Villa! - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - David O. Selznick
- The White Parade - Fox - Jesse L. Lasky
- 1935 (8th) Mutiny on the Bounty - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving Thalberg with Albert Lewin
- Alice Adams - RKO Radio - Pandro S. Berman
- Broadway Melody of 1936 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - John W. Considine Jr.
- Captain Blood - Warner Bros.-Cosmopolitan - Hal B. Wallis with Harry Joe Brown and Gordon Hollingshead
- David Copperfield - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - David O. Selznick
- The Informer - RKO Radio - Cliff Reid
- The Lives of a Bengal Lancer - Paramount - Louis D. Lighton
- A Midsummer Night's Dream - Warner Bros. - Henry Blanke
- Les Misérables - Twentieth Century Pictures, United Artists - Darryl F. Zanuck
- Naughty Marietta - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Hunt Stromberg
- Ruggles of Red Gap - Paramount - Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
- Top Hat - RKO Radio - Pandro S. Berman
- 1936 (9th) The Great Ziegfeld - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Hunt Stromberg
- Anthony Adverse - Warner Bros. - Henry Blanke
- Dodsworth - Goldwyn, United Artists - Samuel Goldwyn with Merritt Hulbert
- Libeled Lady - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Lawrence Weingarten
- Mr. Deeds Goes to Town - Columbia - Frank Capra
- Romeo and Juliet - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving Thalberg
- San Francisco - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - John Emerson and Bernard H. Hyman
- The Story of Louis Pasteur - Warner Bros. - Henry Blanke
- A Tale of Two Cities - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - David O. Selznick
- Three Smart Girls - Universal - Joe Pasternak with Charles R. Rogers
- 1937 (10th) The Life of Emile Zola - Warner Bros. - Henry Blanke
- The Awful Truth - Columbia - Leo McCarey with Everett Riskin
- Captains Courageous - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Louis Lighton
- Dead End - Goldwyn, United Artists - Samuel Goldwyn with Merritt Hulbert
- The Good Earth - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving Thalberg with Albert Lewin
- In Old Chicago - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck with Kenneth MacGowan
- Lost Horizon - Columbia - Frank Capra
- One Hundred Men and a Girl - Universal - Charles R. Rogers with Joe Pasternak
- Stage Door - RKO Radio - Pandro S. Berman
- A Star Is Born - Selznick International, United Artists - David O. Selznick
- 1938 (11th) You Can't Take It with You - Columbia - Frank Capra
- The Adventures of Robin Hood - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis with Henry Blanke
- Alexander's Ragtime Band - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck with Harry Joe Brown
- Boys' Town - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - John W. Considine, Jr.
- The Citadel - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Victor Saville
- Four Daughters - Warner Bros.-First National - Hal B. Wallis with Henry Blanke
- The Grande Illusion (La Grande illusion) - R. A. O., World Pictures - Frank Rollmer, and Albert Pinkovitch
- Jezebel - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis with Henry Blanke
- Pygmalion - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Gabriel Pascal
- Test Pilot - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Louis Lighton
- 1939 (12th) Gone with the Wind - Selznick, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - David O. Selznick
- Dark Victory - Warner Bros. - David Lewis
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Victor Saville
- Love Affair - RKO Radio - Leo McCarey
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Columbia - Frank Capra
- Ninotchka - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sidney Franklin
- Of Mice and Men - Roach, United Artists - Lewis Milestone
- Stagecoach - United Artists - Walter Wanger
- The Wizard of Oz - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Mervyn LeRoy
- Wuthering Heights - Goldwyn, United Artists - Samuel Goldwyn
1940s
- 1940 (13th) Rebecca - Selznick, United Artists - David O. Selznick
- All This and Heaven Too - Warner Bros. - Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis, with David Lewis
- Foreign Correspondent - Wanger, United Artists - Walter Wanger
- The Grapes of Wrath - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck with Nunnally Johnson
- The Great Dictator - Chaplin, United Artists - Charles Chaplin
- Kitty Foyle - RKO Radio - David Hempstead
- The Letter - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis
- The Long Voyage Home - Argosy Wanger, United Artists - John Ford
- Our Town - Lesser, United Artists - Sol Lesser
- The Philadelphia Story - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- 1941 (14th) How Green Was My Valley - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck
- Blossoms in the Dust - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Irving Asher
- Citizen Kane - RKO Radio - Orson Welles
- Here Comes Mr. Jordan - Columbia - Everett Riskin
- Hold Back the Dawn - Paramount - Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
- The Little Foxes - Goldwyn, RKO Radio - Samuel Goldwyn
- The Maltese Falcon - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis
- One Foot in Heaven - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis
- Sergeant York - Warner Bros. - Jesse L. Lasky and Hal B. Wallis
- Suspicion - RKO Radio - Alfred Hitchcock
- 1942 (15th) Mrs. Miniver - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sidney Franklin
- Forty-Ninth Parallel - Ortus, Columbia - Michael Powell
- King's Row - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis
- The Magnificent Ambersons - Mercury, RKO Radio - Orson Welles
- The Pied Piper - 20th Century-Fox - Nunnally Johnson
- The Pride of the Yankees - Goldwyn, RKO Radio - Samuel Goldwyn
- Random Harvest - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sidney Franklin
- The Talk of the Town - Columbia - George Stevens
- Wake Island - Paramount - Joseph Sistrom
- Yankee Doodle Dandy - Warner Bros. - Jack Warner, Hal B. Wallis, William Cagney
- 1943 (16th) Casablanca - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis
- For Whom the Bell Tolls - Paramount - Sam Wood
- Heaven Can Wait - 20th Century-Fox - Ernst Lubitsch
- The Human Comedy - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Clarence Brown
- In Which We Serve - Two Cities, United Artists - Noel Coward
- Madame Curie - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sidney Franklin
- The More the Merrier - Columbia - George Stevens
- The Ox-Bow Incident - 20th Century-Fox - Lamar Trotti
- The Song of Bernadette - 20th Century-Fox - William Perlberg
- Watch on the Rhine - Warner Bros. - Hal B. Wallis
- 1944 (17th) Going My Way - Paramount - Leo McCarey
- Double Indemnity - Paramount - Joseph Sistrom
- Gaslight - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
- Since You Went Away - Selznick, United Artists - David O. Selznick
- Wilson - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck
- 1945 (18th) The Lost Weekend - Paramount - Charles Bracken
- Anchors Aweigh - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Joe Pasternak
- The Bells of St. Mary's - Rainbow, RKO Radio - Leo McCarey
- Mildred Pierce - Warner Bros. - Jerry Wald
- Spellbound - Selznick, United Artists - David O. Selznick
- 1946 (19th) The Best Years of Our Lives - Goldwyn, RKO Radio - Samuel Goldwyn
- Henry V - Rank-Two Cities, United Artists - Laurence Olivier
- It's a Wonderful Life - Liberty, RKO Radio - Frank Capra
- The Razor's Edge - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck
- The Yearling - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sidney Franklin
- 1947 (20th) Gentleman's Agreement - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck
- The Bishop's Wife - Goldwyn, RKO Radio - Samuel Goldwyn
- Crossfire - RKO Radio - Adrian Scott
- Great Expectations - Rank-Cineguild, U-I - Ronald Neame
- Miracle on 34th Street - 20th Century-Fox - William Perlberg
- 1948 (21st) Hamlet - J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films, U-I - Laurence Olivier
- Johnny Belinda - Warner Bros. - Jerry Wald
- The Red Shoes - Rank-Archers, Eagle-Lion - Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
- The Snake Pit - 20th Century-Fox - Anatole Litvak and Robert Bassler
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Warner Bros. - Henry Blanke
- 1949 (22nd) All the King's Men - Rossen, Columbia - Robert Rossen
- Battleground - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Dore Schary
- The Heiress - Paramount - William Wyler
- A Letter to Three Wives - 20th Century-Fox - Sol C. Siegel
- Twelve O'Clock High - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck
1950s
- 1950 (23rd) All About Eve - 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck
- Born Yesterday - Columbia - S. Sylvan Simon
- Father of the Bride - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Pandro S. Berman
- King Solomon's Mines - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sam Zimbalist
- Sunset Boulevard - Paramount - Charles Brackett
From 1951 on, the individual producer (rather than the production company) receives this award.
- 1951 (24th) An American in Paris - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Arthur Freed
- Decision Before Dawn - 20th Century-Fox - Anatole Litvak and Frank McCarthy
- A Place in the Sun - Paramount - George Stevens
- Quo Vadis - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sam Zimbalist
- A Streetcar Named Desire - Feldman, Warner Bros. - Charles K. Feldman
- 1952 (25th) The Greatest Show on Earth - DeMille, Paramount - Cecil B. DeMille
- High Noon - United Artists - Stanley Kramer
- Ivanhoe - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Pandro S. Berman
- Moulin Rouge - United Artists - John Huston
- The Quiet Man - Argosy, Republic - John Ford and Merian C. Cooper
- 1953 (26th) From Here to Eternity - Columbia - Buddy Adler
- Julius Caesar - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - John Houseman
- The Robe - 20th Century-Fox - Frank Ross
- Roman Holiday - Paramount - William Wyler
- Shane - Paramount - George Stevens
- 1954 (27th) On the Waterfront - Horizon-American, Columbia - Sam Spiegel
- The Caine Mutiny - Kramer, Columbia - Stanley Kramer
- The Country Girl - Perlberg-Seaton, Paramount - William Perlberg
- Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Jack Cummings
- Three Coins in the Fountain - 20th Century-Fox - Sol C. Siegel
- 1955 (28th) Marty - Hecht-Lancaster, United Artists - Harold Hecht
- Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing - 20th Century-Fox - Buddy Adler
- Mister Roberts - Orange, Warner Bros. - Leland Hayward
- Picnic - Columbia - Fred Kohlmar
- The Rose Tattoo - Wallis, Paramount - Hal B. Wallis
- 1956 (29th) Around the World in Eighty Days - Todd, United Artists - Michael Todd
- Friendly Persuasion - Allied Artists - William Wyler
- Giant - Warner Bros. - George Stevens and Henry Ginsberg
- The King and I - 20th Century-Fox - Charles Brackett
- The Ten Commandments - DeMille, Paramount - Cecil B. DeMille
- 1957 (30th) The Bridge on the River Kwai - Horizon, Columbia - David Lean
- Peyton Place - 20th Century-Fox - Jerry Wald
- Sayonara - Goetz, Warner Bros. - William Goetz
- 12 Angry Men - Orion-Nova, United Artists - Henry Fonda, and Reginald Rose
- Witness for the Prosecution - Small-Hornblow, United Artists - Arthur Hornblow, Jr.
- 1958 (31st) Gigi - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Arthur Freed
- Auntie Mame - Warner Bros. - Jack L. Warner
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Lawrence Weingarten
- The Defiant Ones - Kramer, United Artists - Stanley Kramer
- Separate Tables - Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, United Artists - Harold Hecht
- 1959 (32nd) Ben-Hur - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Sam Zimbalist
- Anatomy of a Murder - Preminger, Columbia - Otto Preminger
- The Diary of Anne Frank - 20th Century-Fox - George Stevens
- The Nun's Story - Warner Bros. - Henry Blanke
- Room at the Top - Romulus, Continental - John Woolf and James Woolf
1960s
- 1960 (33rd) The Apartment - Mirisch, United Artists - Billy Wilder
- The Alamo - Batjac, United Artists - John Wayne
- Elmer Gantry - Lancaster-Brooks, United Artists - Bernard Smith
- Sons and Lovers - Wald, 20th Century-Fox - Jerry Wald
- The Sundowners - Warner Bros. - Fred Zinnemann
- 1961 (34th) West Side Story - Mirisch-B&P Enterprises, United Artists - Robert Wise
- Fanny - Mannsfield, Warner Bros. - Joshua Logan
- The Guns of Navarone - Foreman, Columbia - Carl Foreman
- The Hustler - Rossen, 20th Century-Fox - Robert Rossen
- Judgment at Nuremberg - Kramer, United Artists - Stanley Kramer
- 1962 (35th) Lawrence of Arabia - Horizon-Spiegel-Lean, Columbia - Sam Spiegel
- The Longest Day - Zanuck, 20th Century-Fox - Darryl F. Zanuck
- The Music Man - Warner Bros. - Morton DaCosta
- Mutiny on the Bounty - Arcola, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Aaron Rosenberg
- To Kill a Mockingbird - Pakula, Mulligan, Brentwood, U-I - Alan J. Pakula
- 1963 (36th) Tom Jones - Woodfall, United Artists-Lopert - Tony Richardson
- America, America - Athena, Warner Bros. - Elia Kazan
- Cleopatra - Wanger, 20th Century-Fox - Walter Wanger
- How the West Was Won - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Cinerama - Bernard Smith
- Lilies of the Field - Rainbow, United Artists - Ralph Nelson
- 1964 (37th) My Fair Lady - Warner Bros. - Jack L. Warner
- Zorba the Greek - Rochley, International Classics/20th Century-Fox - Michael Cacoyannis
- Becket - Wallis, Paramount - Hal B. Wallis
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - Hawk Films, Columbia - Stanley Kubrick
- Mary Poppins - Disney, Buena Vista - Walt Disney, Bill Walsh
- 1965 (38th) The Sound of Music - Argyle, 20th Century-Fox - Robert Wise
- Darling - Anglo-Amalgamated, Embassy - Joseph Janni
- Doctor Zhivago - Ponti, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Carlo Ponti
- Ship of Fools - Kramer, Columbia - Stanley Kramer
- A Thousand Clowns - Harrell, United Artists - Fred Coe
- 1966 (39th) A Man for All Seasons - Highland, Columbia - Fred Zinnemann
- Alfie - Sheldrake, Paramount - Lewis Gilbert
- The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming - Mirisch, United Artists - Norman Jewison
- The Sand Pebbles - Argyle-Solar, 20th Century-Fox - Robert Wise
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Chenault, Warner Bros. - Ernest Lehman
- 1967 (40th) In the Heat of the Night - Mirisch, United Artists - Walter Mirisch
- Bonnie and Clyde - Tatira-Hiller, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts - Warren Beatty
- Doctor Dolittle - Apjac, 20th Century-Fox - Arthur P. Jacobs
- The Graduate - Nichols-Turman, Embassy - Lawrence Turman
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - Kramer, Columbia - Stanley Kramer
- 1968 (41st) Oliver! - Romulus, Columbia - John Woolf
- Funny Girl - Rastar, Columbia - Ray Stark
- The Lion in Winter - Hawarth, Avco Embassy - Martin Poll
- Rachel, Rachel - Kayos, Warner Bros. - Paul Newman
- Romeo and Juliet - B.H.E.-Verona-De Laurentis, Paramount - Anthony Havelock-Allan, John Brabourne
- 1969 (42nd) Midnight Cowboy Hellman-Schlesinger, United Artists - Jerome Hellman
- Anne of the Thousand Days - Wallis, Universal - Hal B. Wallis
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Hill-Monash, 20th Century-Fox - John Foreman
- Hello, Dolly! - Chenault, 20th Century-Fox - Ernest Lehman
- Z - Reggane Films-O.N.C.I.C., Cinema V - Jacques Perrin, Ahmed Rachedi
1970s
- 1970 (43rd) Patton - 20th Century-Fox - Frank McCarthy
- Airport - Hunter, Universal - Ross Hunter
- Five Easy Pieces - BBS Productions, Columbia - Bob Rafelson, Richard Wechsler
- Love Story - Paramount - Howard G. Minsky
- MASH - Aspen, 20th Century-Fox - Ingo Preminger
- 1971 (44th) The French Connection - D'Antoni-Schine-Moore, 20th Century-Fox - Philip D'Antoni
- A Clockwork Orange - Haek Films, Warner Bros. - Stanley Kubrick
- Fiddler on the Roof - Mirisch-Cartier, United Artists - Norman Jewison
- The Last Picture Show - BBS Productions, Columbia - Stephen J. Friedman
- Nicholas and Alexandra - Horizon, Columbia - Sam Spiegel
- 1972 (45th) The Godfather - Ruddy, Paramount - Albert S. Ruddy
- Cabaret - ABC Pictures, Allied Artists - Cy Feuer
- Deliverance - Warner Bros. - John Boorman
- Sounder - Radnitz/Mattel, 20th Century-Fox - Robert B. Radnitz
- The Emigrants (Utvandrarna) - Svensk Filmindusttri, Warner Bros. (Swedish)- Bengt Forslund
- 1973 (46th) The Sting - Bill/Phillips-Hill, Zanuck/Brown, Universal - Tony Bill, Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips
- American Graffiti - Lucasfilm/Coppola Company, Universal - Francis Ford Coppola and Gary Kurtz
- The Exorcist - Hoya, Warner Bros. - William Peter Blatty
- A Touch of Class - Brut Prods., Avco Embassy - Melvin Frank
- Cries and Whispers - Svenska Filminstitutet-Cinematograph AB Prod., New World Pictures (Swedish) - Ingmar Bergman
- 1974 (47th) The Godfather, Part II - Coppola Company, Paramount - Francis Ford Coppola, Gray Frederickson, Fred Roos
- Chinatown - Evans, Paramount - Robert Evans
- The Conversation - Directors Company, Paramount - Francis Ford Coppola
- Lenny - Worth, United Artists - Marvin Worth
- The Towering Inferno - Irwin Allen, 20th Century-Fox/Warner Bros. - Irwin Allen
- 1975 (48th) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Fantasy Films, United Artists - Saul Zaentz, Michael Douglas
- Barry Lyndon - Hawk Films, Warner Bros. - Stanley Kubrick
- Dog Day Afternoon - Warner Bros. - Martin Bregman, Martin Elfand
- Jaws - Zanuck/Brown, Universal - Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown
- Nashville - ABC Entertainment-Weintraub-Altman, Paramount - Robert Altman
- 1976 (49th) Rocky - Chartoff-Winkler, United Artists - Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff
- All the President's Men - Wildwood, Warner Bros. - Walter Coblenz
- Bound for Glory - United Artists - Robert F. Blumofe, Harold Leventhal
- Network - Gottfried/Chayefsky, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists - Howard Gottfried
- Taxi Driver Bill/Phillips-Scorsese - Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips
- 1977 (50th) Annie Hall - Rollins-Joffe, United Artists - Charles H. Joffe
- The Goodbye Girl - Stark, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Warner Bros. - Ray Stark
- Julia - 20th Century-Fox - Richard Roth
- Star Wars - Lucasfilm, 20th Century-Fox - Gary Kurtz
- The Turning Point - Hera Productions, 20th Century-Fox - Herbert Ross and Arthur Laurents
- 1978 (51st) The Deer Hunter - EMI Films/Cimino, Universal - Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino, John Peverall
- Coming Home - Hellman, United Artists - Jerome Hellman
- Heaven Can Wait - Dogwood, Paramount - Warren Beatty
- Midnight Express - Casablanca-Filmworks, Columbia - Alan Marshall and David Puttnam
- An Unmarried Woman - 20th Century-Fox - Paul Mazursky and Tony Ray
- 1979 (52nd) Kramer vs. Kramer - Jaffe, Columbia - Stanley R. Jaffe
- Apocalypse Now - Omni Zoetrope, United Artists - Francis Ford Coppola with Fred Roos, Gray Frederickson and Tom Sternberg
- All That Jazz - Columbia/20th Century-Fox - Robert Alan Aurthur
- Breaking Away - 20th Century-Fox - Peter Yates
- Norma Rae - 20th Century-Fox - Tamara Aseyev and Alex Rose
1980s
- 1980 (53rd) Ordinary People - Wildwood, Paramount - Ronald L. Schwary
- Coal Miner's Daughter - Schwartz, Universal - Bernard Schwartz
- The Elephant Man - Brooksfilms, Paramount - Jonathan Sanger
- Raging Bull - Chartoff-Winkler, United Artists - Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff
- Tess - Renn-Burrill Société Française de Production (S.F.P.), Columbia - Claude Berri and Timothy Burrill
- 1981 (54th) Chariots of Fire - Enigma, The Ladd Company/Warner Bros. - David Puttnam
- Atlantic City - International Cinema Corporation, Paramount - Denis Heroux
- On Golden Pond - ITC Films/IPC Films, Universal/Associated Film Distribution - Bruce Gilbert
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - Lucasfilm, Paramount - Frank Marshall
- Reds - J.R.S., Paramount - Warren Beatty
- 1982 (55th) Gandhi - Indo-British Films, Columbia - Richard Attenborough
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial - Universal - Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy
- Missing - Universal/PolyGram, Universal - Edward Lewis and Mildred Lewis
- Tootsie - Mirage/Punch, Columbia - Sydney Pollack and Dick Richards
- The Verdict - Fox-Zanuck/Brown, 20th Century Fox - Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown
- 1983 (56th) Terms of Endearment - Brooks, Paramount - James L. Brooks
- The Big Chill - Carson Productions Group, Columbia - Michael Shamberg
- The Dresser - Goldcrest/Television Limited/World Film Services, Columbia - Peter Yates
- The Right Stuff - Chartoff-Winkler, Ladd Company, Warner Bros. - Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff
- Tender Mercies - EMI-Antron Media, Universal/AFD - Philip S. Hobel
- 1984 (57th) Amadeus - Barrandov Studios - Zaentz, Orion - Saul Zaentz
- The Killing Fields - Goldcrest/International Film Investors, Warner Bros. - David Puttnam
- A Passage to India - G. W. Films Ltd., Columbia - John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin
- Places in the Heart - Tri-Star - Arlene Donovan
- A Soldier's Story - Caldix, Columbia - Norman Jewison, Ronald L. Schwary and Patrick Palmer
- 1985 (58th) Out of Africa - Universal - Sydney Pollack
- The Color Purple - Warner Bros. - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Quincy Jones
- Kiss of the Spider Woman - H. B. Filmes/Sugarloaf Films, Island Alive - David Weisman
- Prizzi's Honor - ABC Motion Pictures, 20th Century Fox/Producers Sales Organization - John Foreman
- Witness - Feldman, Paramount - Edward S. Feldman
- 1986 (59th) Platoon - Hemdale, Orion - Arnold Kopelson
- Children of a Lesser God - Sugarman, Paramount - Burt Sugarman, Patrick J. Palmer
- Hannah and Her Sisters - Rollins-Joffe, Orion - Robert Greenhut
- The Mission - Warner Bros./Goldcrest/Kingsmere, Warner Bros. - Fernando Ghia, David Puttnam
- A Room with a View - Merchant Ivory, Cinecom - Ismail Merchant
- 1987 (60th) The Last Emperor - Hemdale, Columbia - Jeremy Thomas
- Broadcast News - 20th Century-Fox - James L. Brooks
- Fatal Attraction - Jaffe/Lansing, Paramount - Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing
- Hope and Glory - Davros Production Services Ltd., Columbia/Nelson Entertainment - John Boorman
- Moonstruck - Palmer & Jewison, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - Patrick J. Palmer, Norman Jewison
- 1988 (61st) Rain Man - Mirage Entertainment, Star Partners II, United Artists - Mark Johnson
- The Accidental Tourist - Warner Bros. - Lawrence Kasdan, Charles Okun, Michael Grillo
- Dangerous Liaisons - Lorimar Film Entertainment, NFH Productions, Warner Bros. - Norma Heyman, Hank Moonjean
- Mississippi Burning - Orion Pictures Corp. - Frederick Zollo, Robert F. Colesberry
- Working Girl - 20th Century Fox - Douglas Wick
- 1989 (62nd) Driving Miss Daisy - Majestic Films International, Zanuck Company., Warner Bros. - Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck
- Born on the Fourth of July - Ixtlan Corp., Universal - A. Kitman Ho, Oliver Stone
- Dead Poets' Society - Silver Screen Partners IV, Touchstone Pictures - Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas
- Field of Dreams - Gordon Company, Universal - Lawrence Gordon, Charles Gordon
- My Left Foot - Ferndale Films, Granada, Raidio Teilifis Éireann - Noel Pearson
1990s
- 1990 (63rd) Dances with Wolves - Tig Productions, Majestic Films International, Orion Pictures Corp. - Michael Flynn, Kevin Costner
- Awakenings - Columbia Pictures Corp. - Walter F. Parkes, Lawrence Lasker
- Ghost - Paramount Pictures - Lisa Weinstein
- The Godfather, Part III - Paramount Pictures, Zoetrope Studios - Francis Ford Coppola
- Goodfellas - Warner Bros. - Irwin Winkler
- 1991 (64th) The Silence of the Lambs - Orion Pictures Corp. - Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ron Bozman
- Beauty and the Beast - Walt Disney Pictures - Don Hahn
- Bugsy - Baltimore Pictures, Desert Vision, Mulholland Productions, TriStar Pictures - Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson, Warren Beatty
- JFK - Alcor Films, Camelot, Ixtlan Corp., Le Studio Canal+, Regency Enterprises, Warner Bros. - A. Kitman Ho, Oliver Stone
- The Prince of Tides - Barwood Films, Columbia Pictures, Longfellow Pictures - Barbra Streisand, Andrew S. Karsch
- 1992 (65th) Unforgiven - Malpaso Productions, Warner Bros. - Clint Eastwood
- The Crying Game - British Screen, Channel Four Films, Eurotrustees, Nippon Film Development and Finance, Palace, Miramax Films - Stephen Woolley
- A Few Good Men - Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Corp. - David Brown, Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman
- Howards End - Channel Four Films, Cinema 10, Ide Films, Imagica, Japan Satellite Broadcasting, Merchant-Ivory Productions, Nippon Film Development and Finance, Sumitomo, Sony Pictures Classics - Ismail Merchant
- Scent of a Woman - City Light Films, Universal Pictures - Martin Brest
- 1993 (66th) Schindler's List - Amblin Entertainment, Universal Pictures - Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, Branko Lustig
- The Fugitive - Warner Bros. - Arnold Kopelson
- In the Name of the Father - Hell's Kitchen Films, Universal Pictures - Jim Sheridan
- The Piano - Australian Film Commission, CiBy 2000, New South Wales Film and Television Office - Jane Campion
- The Remains of the Day - Columbia Pictures Corp., Merchant-Ivory Productions - Mike Nichols, John Calley, Ismail Merchant
- 1994 (67th) Forrest Gump - Paramount Pictures - Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey
- Four Weddings and a Funeral - Channel Four Films, PolyGram Film Entertainment, Working Title Films - Duncan Kenworthy
- Pulp Fiction - A Band Apart, Jersey Films, Miramax Films - Lawrence Bender
- Quiz Show - Baltimore Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Wildwood Enterprises - Michael Jacobs, Julian Krainin, Michael Nozick, Robert Redford
- The Shawshank Redemption - Castle Rock Entertainment, Columbia Pictures Corp. - Niki Marvin
- 1995 (68th) Braveheart - 20th Century Fox, B. H. Finance C. V., Icon Entertainment International, Paramount Pictures, The Ladd Company - Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd, Jr., Bruce Davey
- Apollo 13 - Imagine Entertainment, Universal Pictures - Brian Grazer
- Babe - Kennedy Miller Productions, Universal Pictures - Bill Miller, George Miller, Doug Mitchell
- Il Postino (The Postman) - Blue Dahlia Productions, Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, Esterno Mediterraneo Film, Penta Films S. L., Miramax - Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Gaetano Danieli
- Sense and Sensibility - Columbia Pictures Corp., Mirage - Lindsay Doran
- 1996 (69th) The English Patient - J&M Entertainment, Miramax Films, Tiger Moth Productions - Saul Zaentz
- Fargo - Gramercy Pictures, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films - Ethan Coen
- Jerry Maguire - Gracie Films, TriStar Pictures - James L. Brooks, Laurence Mark, Richard Sakai, Cameron Crowe
- Secrets & Lies - Channel Four Films, CiBy 2000, Thin Man Films, October Films - Simon Channing-Williams
- Shine - AFFC, Film Victoria, Momentum Films, Fine Line Features - Jane Scott
- 1997 (70th) Titanic - 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment, Paramount Pictures - James Cameron, Jon Landau
- As Good as It Gets - Gracie Films, TriStar Pictures - James L. Brooks, Bridget Johnson, Kristi Zea
- The Full Monty - 20th Century Fox, Channel Four Films, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Redwave Films - Umberto Pasolini
- Good Will Hunting - Be Gentlemen Limited Partnership, Lawrence Bender Productions, Miramax Films - Lawrence Bender
- L.A. Confidential - Monarchy Enterprises B. V., Regency Enterprises, Warner Bros. - Curtis Hanson, Arnon Milchan, Michael G. Nathanson
- 1998 (71st) Shakespeare in Love - Bedford Falls Productions, Miramax Films, Universal Pictures - David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marc Norman
- Elizabeth - Channel Four Films, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Working Title Films - Alison Owen, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan
- Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) - Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, Melampo Cinematografica, Miramax Films - Elda Ferri, Gianluigi Braschi
- Saving Private Ryan - Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks SKG, Mark Gordon Productions, Mutual Film Company, Paramount Pictures - Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn
- The Thin Red Line - Fox 2000 Pictures, Geisler-Roberdeau, Phoenix Pictures - Robert Michael Geisler, John Roberdeau, Grant Hill.
- 1999 (72nd) American Beauty - DreamWorks SKG, Jinks/Cohen Company - Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks
- The Sixth Sense - Hollywood Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, The Kennedy/Marshall Company - Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel
- The Cider House Rules - Film Colony, Miramax Films - Richard N. Gladstein
- The Green Mile - Castle Rock Entertainment, Darkwoods Productions, Warner Bros. - Frank Darabont, David Valdes
- The Insider - Blue Light Productions, Forward Pass, Kaitz Productions, Mann/Roth Productions, Touchstone Pictures - Pirter an Brugge, Michael Mann
2000s
- 2000 (73rd) Gladiator - Universal & DreamWorks -Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, & Branko Lustig
- Chocolat - Miramax - David Brown, Kit Golden, & Leslie Holleran
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) - Sony Pictures Classics - William Kong, Li-Kong Hsu, & Ang Lee
- Erin Brockovich - Columbia & Universal -Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, & Stacey Sher
- Traffic - USA Films - Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, & Laura Bickford
- 2001 (74th) A Beautiful Mind - Universal & DreamWorks - Brian Grazer & Ron Howard
- Gosford Park - USA Films - Robert Altman, Bob Balaban & David Levy
- In the Bedroom - Miramax - Graham Leader, Ross Katz & Todd Field
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - New Line - Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh & Barrie M. Osborne
- Moulin Rouge! - 20th Century Fox - Martin Brown, Baz Luhrmann & Fred Baron
- 2002 (75th) Chicago - Miramax - Martin Richards
- Gangs of New York - Miramax - Alberto Grimaldi & Harvey Weinstein
- The Hours - Paramount & Miramax - Scott Rudin & Robert Fox
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - New Line - Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh & Peter Jackson
- The Pianist - Focus Features - Roman Polanski, Robert Benmussa & Alain Sarde
- 2003 (76th) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - New Line - Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, & Fran Walsh
- Lost in Translation - Focus Features - Ross Katz & Sofia Coppola
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - Universal, 20th Century Fox & Miramax - Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., Peter Weir & Duncan Henderson
- Mystic River - Warner Bros. - Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt & Clint Eastwood
- Seabiscuit - Universal, DreamWorks, Spyglass - Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall & Gary Ross
- 2004 (77th) Million Dollar Baby - Warner Bros. - Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, & Tom Rosenburg
- The Aviator - Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group, Warner Bros. - Michael Mann & Graham King
- Finding Neverland - Miramax - Richard N. Gladstein & Nellie Bellflower
- Ray - Universal - Taylor Hackford, Stuart Benjamin & Howard Baldwin
- Sideways - Fox Searchlight, 20th Century Fox - Michael London
- 2005 (78th) Crash - Lions Gate, DEJ Productions, Bob Yari Productions & ApolloProScreen GmbH & Co. Filmproduktion KG (Canada & Germany) - Paul Haggis & Cathy Schulman
- Brokeback Mountain - Focus Features - Diana Ossana & James Schamus
- Capote - United Artists & Sony Pictures Classics - Caroline Baron, William Vince, & Michael Ohoven
- Good Night, and Good Luck - Warner Bros. - Grant Heslov
- Munich - DreamWorks & Universal - Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy & Barry Mendel
- 2006 (79th) The Departed - Warner Bros. - Graham King
- Babel - Paramount Vantage - Alejandro González Iñárritu, Steve Golin, & Jon Kilik
- Letters from Iwo Jima - Warner Bros. - Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, & Robert Lorenz
- Little Miss Sunshine - Fox Searchlight - David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, & Marc Turtletaub
- The Queen - Pathé Pictures - Andy Harries, Christine Langan, & Tracey Seaward
Trivia
- If one visits the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, The Grand Staircase columns showcase every movie that has won the Best Picture title since the first Academy Awards in 1928.
See also
- BAFTA Award for Best Film - The British Academy of Film's counterpart to the Academy Award for Best Picture
- Films that have been considered the greatest ever
- Lists of films
- List of film directors by name
- List of film production companies