Never let it be said that I ask questions and don’t give the answers. Here are the results, from most-seen to least-seen, of my poll a month ago of Oscar winners for Best Picture.
| Ranking | film | # |
| 1 | 2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | 113 |
| 2 | 1965: The Sound of Music | 100 |
| 3 | 1943: Casablanca | 95 |
| 4 | 2000: Gladiator | 94 |
| 5 | 1964: My Fair Lady | 92 |
| =5 | 1998: Shakespeare in Love | 92 |
| 7 | 1991: The Silence of the Lambs | 83 |
| 8 | 1997: Titanic | 82 |
| 9 | 1961: West Side Story | 80 |
| =9 | 1993: Schindler’s List | 80 |
| 11 | 1968: Oliver! | 78 |
| =11 | 1994: Forrest Gump | 78 |
| =11 | 1995: Braveheart | 78 |
| 14 | 1984: Amadeus | 77 |
| 15 | 1988: Rain Man | 74 |
| 16 | 1939: Gone with the Wind | 72 |
| 17 | 1990: Dances With Wolves | 70 |
| =17 | 2010: The King's Speech | 70 |
| 19 | 1975: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest | 69 |
| 20 | 1981: Chariots of Fire | 69 |
| =20 | 1972: The Godfather | 68 |
| 22 | 1999: American Beauty | 67 |
| 23 | 1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai | 66 |
| 24 | 1959: Ben-Hur | 66 |
| =24 | 1982: Gandhi | 65 |
| 26 | 1962: Lawrence of Arabia | 64 |
| 27 | 1973: The Sting | 61 |
| 28 | 2002: Chicago | 60 |
| 29 | 1956: Around the World in 80 Days | 57 |
| =29 | 1992: Unforgiven | 57 |
| 31 | 1996: The English Patient | 53 |
| 32 | 1987: The Last Emperor | 52 |
| 33 | 2001: A Beautiful Mind | 51 |
| 34 | 1974: The Godfather Part II | 50 |
| =34 | 1989: Driving Miss Daisy | 50 |
| 36 | 1940: Rebecca | 49 |
| 37 | 1966: A Man for All Seasons | 48 |
| =37 | 1977: Annie Hall | 48 |
| =37 | 2008: Slumdog Millionaire | 48 |
| 40 | 1979: Kramer vs. Kramer | 45 |
| =40 | 1986: Platoon | 45 |
| 42 | 1976: Rocky | 44 |
| =42 | 2007: No Country for Old Men | 44 |
| 44 | 1971: The French Connection | 41 |
| 45 | 1929/1930: All Quiet on the Western Front | 39 |
| 46 | 1958: Gigi | 38 |
| =46 | 1978: The Deer Hunter | 38 |
| 48 | 1935: Mutiny on the Bounty | 37 |
| =48 | 1985: Out of Africa | 37 |
| 50 | 1967: In the Heat of the Night | 36 |
| =50 | 1970: Patton | 36 |
| 52 | 1950: All About Eve | 34 |
| =52 | 1951: An American in Paris | 34 |
| 54 | 1969: Midnight Cowboy | 33 |
| 55 | 1934: It Happened One Night | 32 |
| =55 | 2011: The Artist | 32 |
| 57 | 1948: Hamlet | 30 |
| =57 | 1960: The Apartment | 30 |
| 59 | 1954: On the Waterfront | 29 |
| 60 | 1983: Terms of Endearment | 26 |
| =60 | 2009: The Hurt Locker | 26 |
| 62 | 2005: Crash | 25 |
| =62 | 2006: The Departed | 25 |
| 64 | 1941: How Green Was My Valley | 24 |
| 65 | 1952: The Greatest Show on Earth | 23 |
| 66 | 1942: Mrs. Miniver | 22 |
| =66 | 1953: From Here to Eternity | 22 |
| 68 | 1963: Tom Jones | 21 |
| 69 | 2004: Million Dollar Baby | 20 |
| 70 | 2012: Argo | 18 |
| 71 | 1980: Ordinary People | 17 |
| 72 | 1949: All the Kings Men | 13 |
| 73 | 1931/1932: Grand Hotel | 11 |
| =73 | 1945: The Lost Weekend | 11 |
| =73 | 1946: The Best Years of Our Lives | 11 |
| 76 | 1938: You Can't Take It with You | 10 |
| 77 | 1944: Going My Way | 10 |
| =77 | 1955: Marty | 10 |
| 79 | 1947: Gentleman's Agreement | 6 |
| 80 | 1928/1929: The Broadway Melody | 5 |
| =80 | 1930/1931: Cimarron | 5 |
| =80 | 1932/1933: Cavalcade | 5 |
| =80 | 1936: The Great Ziegfeld | 5 |
| 84 | 1927/1928: Wings | 3 |
| =84 | 1937: The Life of Emile Zola | 3 |
The 1990s are the best-performing decade, with four films in the top ten (Shakespeare in Love, The Silence of the Lambs, Titanic and Schindler’s List) and another three in the top twenty (Forrest Gump, Braveheart and Dances With Wolves). This possibly says more about the ages of those answering rather than the timeless qualities of movies from the nineties.
The decade that seems to have real staying power (or possibly the power of being shown a lot on TV when the controllers were the age that most of my readers are now) is the 1960s, with three in the top ten (The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady and West Side Story) and another at 11th place (Oliver!). The noughties contribute the poll-topping Return of the King and fourth-placed Gladiator. And rounding out the top ten is the 1940s with Casablanca, though the only other film from that decade in the top half of the table is Rebecca, at #36.
I am interested to learn if Wings (the first ever winner of the Oscar for Best Picture) and The Life of Emile Zola from ten years later deserve their comparative obscurity!
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