Films that should not have won Best Picture
by lord-naseby | created - 06 Jun 2011 | updated - 06 Jun 2011 | PublicThese are films that won Best Picture but should not have for various reasons.
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1. The Broadway Melody (1929)
Passed | 100 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A pair of sisters from the vaudeville circuit try to make it big time on Broadway, but matters of the heart complicate the attempt.
Director: Harry Beaumont | Stars: Bessie Love, Anita Page, Charles King, Eddie Kane
Votes: 8,002 | Gross: $6.12M
If I have to hear the words "gee that's swell" In a movie again...
2. Cimarron (1931)
Passed | 123 min | Drama, Western
A newspaper editor settles in an Oklahoma boom town with his reluctant wife at the end of the nineteenth century.
Director: Wesley Ruggles | Stars: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, Nance O'Neil
Votes: 6,923
It was just boring as all else.
3. Cavalcade (1933)
Passed | 112 min | Drama, Romance, War
A portrayal of the triumphs and tragedies of two English families, the upper-crust Marryots and the working-class Bridgeses, from 1899 to 1933.
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor, Herbert Mundin
Votes: 5,981 | Gross: $7.63M
It was an interesting film but "I am a Fugitive from A Chain Gang" was far better.
4. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
Passed | 176 min | Drama, Musical
The ups and downs of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., famed producer of extravagant stage revues, are portrayed.
Director: Robert Z. Leonard | Stars: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Luise Rainer, Frank Morgan
Votes: 8,989
Visually stunning for the time but another William Powell film from that year called "My Man Godfrey" was far better (and un-nominated)
5. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Passed | 118 min | Drama, Family
At the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O'Hara, Anna Lee, Donald Crisp
Votes: 26,478
It was good but you know, Citizen Kane is much better.
6. Going My Way (1944)
Passed | 126 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
When young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, Frank McHugh, James Brown
Votes: 13,444 | Gross: $16.30M
A nice film with a good performance by Bing Crosby, but Gaslight was better.
7. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Approved | 170 min | Drama, Romance, War
Three World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Fredric March, Teresa Wright
Votes: 70,515 | Gross: $23.65M
This is one of the earlier examples of Oscar politics. check the year, 1946. This film came out when WWII was barely over. It is about GIs returning from war. Draw your own conclusions. It's a good film but It's a Wonderful Life has aged much better.
8. Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Romance
A reporter pretends to be Jewish in order to cover a story on anti-Semitism, and personally discovers the true depths of bigotry and hatred.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm
Votes: 17,768
It's good but Miracle on 34th street just has charm and quality that this film cannot match.
9. Hamlet (1948)
Approved | 154 min | Drama
Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.
Director: Laurence Olivier | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, John Laurie, Esmond Knight
Votes: 18,385 | Gross: $7.09M
An excellent performance by Olivier is all that saves this film for me. Maybe I just can't appreciate Shakespeare. But I still think that The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is far superior.
10. An American in Paris (1951)
Passed | 114 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Three friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary
Votes: 36,860 | Gross: $4.50M
Another example of the Academy giving it to a flashy movie instead of a good one. The visuals in this film are amazing. A Streetcar named Desire is one of the best films ever.
11. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Passed | 152 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: James Stewart, Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde
Votes: 16,039 | Gross: $36.00M
Again, visually good but lacking any other qualities (aside from Jimmy Stewart). Singing in the Rain was a fantastic film that should have been nominated at least.
12. Marty (1955)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.
Director: Delbert Mann | Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli
Votes: 27,004
Of the 1955 nominees this one was the best. I'm glad it won. but if I ruled the universe The Night of the Hunter would have gotten it instead.
13. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
G | 175 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A Victorian Englishman bets that with the new steamships and railways he can circumnavigate the globe in eighty days.
Directors: Michael Anderson, John Farrow | Stars: David Niven, Cantinflas, Finlay Currie, Robert Morley
Votes: 29,680 | Gross: $42.00M
This is a film that you get bored watching and then you look at the clock and realize you still have 2 1/2 hours left to go. The King and I has excellent visuals AND great performances which makes its long running time go faster.
14. Gigi (1958)
G | 115 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.
Directors: Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters | Stars: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan, Hermione Gingold
Votes: 24,487
This one was a bit creepy actually. The opening song is sung by a 40 year old man who is singing "Thank heaven for little girls" Fine then, creepy now. The Defiant Ones with Poitier and Curtis was far better.
15. The Apartment (1960)
Approved | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston
Votes: 196,702 | Gross: $18.60M
This is another one that of the nominees, I'm glad this one got it. But an Un-nominated Psycho is still much better.
16. Tom Jones (1963)
Not Rated | 129 min | Adventure, Comedy, History
The romantic and chivalrous adventures of adopted bastard Tom Jones in 18th-century England.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Albert Finney, Susannah York, George Devine, Rachel Kempson
Votes: 14,251 | Gross: $37.60M
This is a movie where the titular character just bones every woman he meets and searches for his true family. That's it. That's the whole movie. Mostly the former. An un-nominated "The Great Escape" is far superior.
17. My Fair Lady (1964)
G | 170 min | Drama, Family, Musical
In 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Votes: 101,790 | Gross: $72.00M
This was during the age of the Best Picture musicals. Dr. Strangelove should have won instead.
18. Oliver! (1968)
G | 153 min | Drama, Family, Musical
After being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Shani Wallis, Oliver Reed
Votes: 41,391 | Gross: $16.80M
A very fun film that I enjoyed watching. Best Picture material? Nope. Not even close. Particularly when matched with a masterpiece like The Lion in Winter.
19. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
R | 113 min | Drama
A naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver
Votes: 120,687 | Gross: $44.79M
Yes, this is an excellent film and is a worthy runner-up to the true deserving film, Anne of A Thousand Days.
20. Rocky (1976)
PG | 120 min | Drama, Sport
A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 628,155 | Gross: $117.24M
In a different year, this one would have deserved it and no one could debate it. In a year with powerhouses such as Taxi Driver, All the President's Men, and Network, it pales in comparison.
21. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
PG | 105 min | Drama
After his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
Votes: 154,633 | Gross: $106.26M
A quality film with outstanding performances. when matched up with Apocalypse Now, it will lose every time.
22. Ordinary People (1980)
R | 124 min | Drama
The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
Votes: 56,661 | Gross: $54.80M
Like Kramer, Ordinary People is an excellent film with excellent performances. Matched against Raging Bull it shouldn't have won.
23. Chariots of Fire (1981)
PG | 125 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
Director: Hugh Hudson | Stars: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers
Votes: 65,864 | Gross: $58.97M
It was a good film with a very iconic score. But On Golden Pond had the charm and powerhouse performances by Hepburn and Fonda.
24. Gandhi (1982)
PG | 191 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth
Votes: 240,165 | Gross: $52.77M
Of the 1982 nominees this one easily deserved it and Ben Kingsley's performances is one of the best I have ever seen...ever. Blade Runner is just a mite better.
25. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 427,799 | Gross: $51.97M
I know a lot of people who really like this movie a lot. Most of them haven't seen The Killing Fields though.
26. Out of Africa (1985)
PG | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen
Votes: 86,321 | Gross: $87.10M
This movie is as boring as you can imagine. it is just a flat film. It took away many Oscars from The Color Purple which is much better. (o-11!? Come on!)
27. The Last Emperor (1987)
PG-13 | 163 min | Biography, Drama, History
Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying
Votes: 111,469 | Gross: $43.98M
Once again the Academy went for visuals as opposed to heart and overall quality. I do feel that O'Toole should have gotten a nomination for this one. That was an oversight. I just enjoy Hope and Glory more.
28. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
Votes: 117,513 | Gross: $106.59M
This film has a lot of heart and charm and it is backed by some stellar performances. But again, matched up against My Left Foot, Dead Poets Society, and an un-nominated Do the Right Thing, it doesn't do as well.
29. Dances with Wolves (1990)
PG-13 | 181 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 290,473 | Gross: $184.21M
An outstanding film to be sure. Scorsese's Goodfellas was better.
30. Forrest Gump (1994)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
Votes: 2,255,589 | Gross: $330.25M
Now this one is a close call and I am rather flexible on this one. I'll leave it up to you to decide if this, Pulp Fiction, or The shawshank Redemption should have won this year. I don't want to hear anyone denying that Tom Hanks deserved his Oscar for this one though.
31. The English Patient (1996)
R | 162 min | Drama, Romance, War
At the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 200,765 | Gross: $78.65M
It was a flat movie to me. a few good performances but Fargo blows past this one.
32. Titanic (1997)
PG-13 | 194 min | Drama, Romance
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates
Votes: 1,279,596 | Gross: $659.33M
Argue if you want, but Good Will Hunting has performances to match the ones in here AND it has a good screenplay (something this film totally lacks). This one had visuals so it won.
33. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, History
The world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 234,274 | Gross: $100.32M
I will devote the rest of my life to letting the world know that this film winning is the biggest mistake the Oscars have ever made. It would by like My Big fat Greek wedding beating out Schindler's List for best Picture. it's the same thing. A nice Rom-com beating out a powerful film that lets you understand what humans are capable of doing and how we can avoid it. Plus, Private Ryan is a better film all around. It always will be.
34. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery
A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 986,553 | Gross: $170.74M
Only 7 years after it came out, the American Film Institute ranked The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as one of the best films ever made. No such luck for A Beautiful Mind. However, Russel Crowe is excellent in this and this is a fine runner-up
35. Chicago (2002)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Musical
Two death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.
Director: Rob Marshall | Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Taye Diggs
Votes: 243,283 | Gross: $170.69M
The Pianist is better. The Lord of the Rings is better. However, if you ignore those two films this one is still excellent with some really good performances and an outstanding score.
36. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan | Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor
Votes: 877,568 | Gross: $141.32M
This film is absolutely amazing. I just prefer The Dark Knight that's all.
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