With the year of 2021 over, movie fans are looking ahead to awards season and starting to predict what will win the Oscar for Best Picture this year. The winner will join the long legacy of past Best Picture titles, but with 93 movies to have already won the award, some stand out more than others.
There are certain Best Picture winners, both old and more recent, who are necessarily regarded as deserving. But in that long list of the winners, there are some truly great movies that not only earned the award but are considered among the very best of the Best Picture winners.
The Apartment (1960)
It is very rare for a comedy to win the Best Picture Oscar with only a select few from the genre earning that top prize. But leave it to acclaimed filmmaker Billy Wilder to make one of the best with The Apartment. It stars Jack Lemmon in the hilarious and touching story as a man who lets his boss use his apartment for his affairs only to fall for the man's mistress.
The movie won Best Picture at the 33rd Oscar ceremony while Wilder also won as director and writer. Redditor decon1313 expressed their love for the movie and even claimed they watch it "a couple of times a year."
Amadeus (1984)
There are some Best Picture winners that have maintained a strong legacy over the years while others have faded a little. While this can sometimes speak to the quality of the movie, Amadeus seems to be a somewhat forgotten winner that is nonetheless regarded as a classic.
The movie tells the fictionalized rivalry between brilliant composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his jealous contemporary, Antonio Salieri. Redditor JimSFV agreed with it as the best of the Best Picture winners, simply referring to "That ending…" as still holding a big impact.
Annie Hall (1977)
Yet another of the rare comedies to have won Best Picture is Annie Hall and some fans believe it remains among the best of the winners of all time. The Woody Allen movie follows a divorced comedian reflecting on his past relationship with the titular woman, played by Diane Keaton.
The movie was a big winner at the 50th Oscars, taking home four trophies in total. Redditor mitchelgreen34 chose it as the best of the Best Picture winners, pointing out that it "did something new with the romantic comedy genre."
Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003)
It is often discussed how the movies considered among the best movies of the year at the Oscars are rarely the biggest box office hits of the year. That trend was changed when Lord of the Rings: Return of the King walked home with the top prize at the 76th Oscars.
The movie was the epic conclusion to the Lord of the Rings trilogy which saw the heroes fighting the final battle to save Middle Earth. Redditor NightcrawlerKing called it a "masterpiece and "part of the greatest trilogy ever."
Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
Another genre that often gets overlooked at the Oscars is horror movies. There have only been a handful nominated in the Oscar's long history with Get Out being the most recent. Redditor WaywardWriter cites this as a reason The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best of the Best Picture winners as it is the "only horror movie to ever win."
The gripping movie stars Jodie Foster as young FBI trainee Clarice Starling who conducts interviews with the intimidating serial killer Hannibal Lecter in order to catch a new killer.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Oscars are known for focusing on intense movies, some of which deal with difficult subject matter. Such was the case when it crowned The Deer Hunter as the Best Picture of 1978. The movie stars Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken as friends whose experiences in the Vietnam War change them in shocking ways.
Redditor CaptainDAAVE highlighted The Deer Hunter as a hugely affecting experience that stood out from other Best Picture winners. At the same time, they admitted that they couldn't "bear to ever watch it again."
Casablanca (1942)
Though there are some Best Picture winners most people probably never heard of, there are also past winners that have reached truly iconic statuses in the movie world. One such title is the epic romance story of Casablanca.
The movie is set in the titular city during World War II and follows a cynical American bar owner who is tangled up in a conspiracy when his lover returns to his life. Though Redditor Typical_Humanoid wonders if naming the "best" of this list of movies can be "definitively determined," they consider Casablanca a worthy choice.
Moonlight (2016)
Though it was part of one of the most infamous moments in the history of the Oscars, Moonlight has still earned its own legacy as a terrific movie. Despite being a relatively new Best Picture winner, Redditors like blindpiano name it as one of the best, adding the "cinematography is incomparable."
The intimate story follows a young boy through three various stages of his life as he deals with heartbreak, forgiveness, and coming to terms with his true self.
The Godfather (1972)
Often considered by many as the best movie of all time, it is not surprising that many also consider The Godfather the best movie to hold the Oscar's top award. Redditor Patrico-8 feels it is an easy choice as "hands down" the best of the winners while another Redditor suggests any other answer "just seems wrong."
Francis Ford Coppola directed the epic crime story about the youngest son of the Corleone mafia family who is lured into the dangerous family business when there is an attempt on the life of his father.
The Godfather Part II (1974)
It is very difficult to make a movie deemed worthy enough to be named Best Picture, but it is even harder to make two of them. The Godfather Part II made history as the first sequel to win the award as it follows Michael Corleone's rise to power in the crime world mirrored by flashbacks of his father's own rise.
As with many fans, one Redditor had difficulty choosing between the two Godfather movies as the best to hold the title of Best Picture. However, they ultimately chose the sequel, calling it a "captivating story about change and loss."