The Top 10 Best Picture Winners of the last 20 years

September 19, 11:45 AMAtlanta Movies ExaminerRyan McNally

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Sasha Stone over at the Awards Daily website recently posted her list of the Top 10 Best Picture winners since 1980 … OK, I’ll bite. But since I’ve inexplicably only seen one of the Best Pic winners from 1980 to 1987, I’m going to make this a “Top 10 Best Picture Winners Of The Last 20 Years” list. Sounds easy, right? Not so much … but here goes.

10) Forrest Gump (1994). Yes, I’m kicking off the list with a bang, selecting perhaps the most-maligned Best Picture winner of the last two decades. Yes, I’ve heard the uber-negative interpretations of the movie, and a lot of film fans I respect dislike—and even hate—this flick. And yes, I’m as surprised as anyone to find this film clinging to the #10 spot, since I rank Gump a distant #4—at best—from ’94 alone, behind the true masterpieces of that year: Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption and Quiz Show.

So why the inclusion of Gump? For starters, selecting a film from my bottom 11 was basically a crapshoot. While many film aficionados—myself included—relish bashing the Oscars, it’s tough to find a Best Pic winner from the last 20 years that isn’t highly entertaining and boasts at least some semblance of artistic value. So there were a few other movies I was very, very close to penciling in here.

But when it boils down to it, I’ve revisited Gump more than I have the other films on the list, and that has to count for something. Surprisingly, it’s aged pretty decently in the last 15 years. It’s a well-made film with great performances and a sweet message. True, I may be kicking myself in the ass for this one next time I watch Titanic or Return of the King or Rain Man. But for now, I’m going with it—like they say, stupid is as stupid does.

9) Chicago (2002). Another selection I’m far from comfortable with—I’m not even sure this was in my top 5 the year it came out. But the dance numbers are great, the songs are memorable, Catherine Zeta-Jones is dynamite, and even Richard Gere rocks the house. Chicago is just flat-out fun, enough to lure me back for several repeat viewings, whereas many of the other Best Pic winners haven’t tempted me to revisit them.

 8) The Departed (2006). Scorsese finally got his Oscar with this one, and while I don’t consider it his best movie (I’m partial to Taxi Driver), it’s certainly impressive filmmaking, anchored by a pair of superlative leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, delivering career-best or near-best performances. Its standing in the top 10 is still a little precarious, however—I need to watch this one again.

 7) No Country for Old Men (2007). This film marks the beginning of what I consider a rock-solid top 7. Admittedly, much to the chagrin of my fellow film friends, I’ve never been a huge Coen brothers fan, but they nailed it with this one. It’s a worthy Best Picture winner, although the Academy should have spread some more acting love around via noms for Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and maybe even Kelly MacDonald.

 6) Million Dollar Baby (2004). While not a perfect film, Clint Eastwood’s boxing saga delivers an emotional gut punch that left me reeling. It’s also beautifully shot and edited, and the acting by the three leads (Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank) is flawless. Unlike some of the detractors who call MDB manipulative, I’ve never felt it crossed that line. To me it’s just a tough tearjerker with a final shot that ends the movie on the perfect note.

 5) Dances with Wolves (1990). Admittedly, I haven’t seen this film in a decade or so. But I’m thinking it’s been sorely underrated due to the negativity surrounding a) the fact that it beat out Scorsese’s beloved Goodfellas, depriving Marty of his first Oscar, and 2) the fact that Costner’s career has basically tanked since the mid-‘90s. But looking at the film on its own merits, I still think it broke new ground, telling the devastating story of American Indians losing their land in epic, risky fashion.

 4) American Beauty (1999). This seems to be a trendy pick these days for “one of the worst Best Picture winners ever,” and I’m not quite sure why. I remember coming out of the theater and immediately thinking “masterpiece.” For me this beautifully written, wonderfully directed tale of suburban disillusionment is still potent today. True, the troika of promising young leads (Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari) hasn’t done much since—though Birch did deliver in Ghost World—but I don’t understand the backlash against this film. And Spacey has never been better.

 3) Schindler's List (1993). Remarkably powerful stuff, with Spielberg at the absolute top of his game, commanding all aspects of the medium on a project that was obviously personal to him. I know some people have a beef with the “Spielberg ending,” but I think it works better and is far less egregious than some of the finales of his other works (e.g. War of the Worlds). Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and a deeply disturbing Ralph Fiennes provide unforgettable performances in depicting perhaps the most horrific episode of the 20^th century.

 2) The Silence of the Lambs (1991). I saw this one five times in the theaters (don’t ask), and despite inspiring many lackluster imitators, it hasn’t gotten old since. It’s also one of the few films that significantly improved on the source material. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins give performances at a higher level, but the small roles are also indelible, from Ted “Put the lotion in the basket” Levine to Brooke Smith as his rebellious prisoner and Anthony Heald as the slimy Dr. Chilton. Director Jonathan Demme has never made another film quite this good, but he seemed to strike all the right notes here, showcasing a restraint that was sorely missing from Ridley Scott’s disastrous Hannibal.

 1) Unforgiven (1992). One of the few films I consider flawless from start to finish, this revisionist western marked Eastwood’s critical and commercial breakthrough after a pair of strong experimental efforts, Bird and White Hunter, Black Heart, screened at Cannes but failed to track at the box office. Like many of Clint’s efforts, this shattering meditation on revenge, violence and redemption grows more rewarding with each viewing.