In honor of the 86th Annual Academy Awards taking place on Sunday, I though it would be fitting to give you all my Top 10 favorite films to win best picture at the Oscars. So without further ado...
10. Lawrence of Arabia
After a prologue showing us T.E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole)'s ultimate fate, we flash back to Cairo in 1917. A bored general staffer, Lawrence talks his way into a transfer to Arabia. Once in the desert, he befriends Sherif Ali Ben El Kharish (played by Omar Sharif) and draws up plans to aid the Arabs in their rebellion against the Turks. No one is ever able to discern Lawrence's motives in this matter: Prince Feisal (played by Alec Guinness) dismisses him as yet another "desert-loving Englishman," and his British superiors assume that he's either arrogant or mad. Using a combination of diplomacy and bribery, Lawrence unites the rival Arab factions of Feisal and Auda Abu Tayi (played by Anthony Quinn). After successfully completing his mission, Lawrence becomes an unwitting pawn of the Allies, as represented by Gen. Allenby (played by Jack Hawkins) and Dryden (played by Claude Rains), who decide to keep using Lawrence to secure Arab cooperation against the Imperial Powers. While on a spying mission to Deraa, Lawrence is captured and tortured by a sadistic Turkish Bey (played by Jose Ferrer). In the heat of the next battle, a wild-eyed Lawrence screams "No prisoners!" and fights more ruthlessly than ever. Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing and Best Sound while winning 7 (Best Picture, Best Director, Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing and Best Sound) and it has a rating of 99% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. The Godfather
The first time that I saw this film I was amazed and it instantly became one of my favorite films. When a mob war breaks out and Don Vito (played by Marlon Brando) is seriously wounded, it falls to son Michael (played by Al Pacino), previously uninvolved in the family "business," to pull the irons out of the fire. The Godfather was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Original Score while winning 3 (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor) and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. No Country for Old Men
This film is fantastic and the character of Anton Chigurh freaks me out still to this day. Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) finds a pickup truck surrounded by a sentry of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back trunk. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law — namely aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones) — can contain. Moss tries to evade his pursuers, in particular a mysterious mastermind named Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem) who flips coins for human lives, as the crime drama broadens. No Country for Old Men was nominated for 8 Academy awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Edting, Best Director, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay while winning 4 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. The Departed
In my opinion this is Martin Scorsese's best film to date. South Boston cop Billy Costigan (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (played by Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster's trust, a career criminal named Colin Sullivan (played by Matt Damon) infiltrates the police department and reports on its activities to his syndicate bosses. When both organizations learn they have a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin must figure out each other's identities to save their own lives. The departed was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay while winning 4 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Rocky
Most consider this movie to be the greatest sports movie and one of the top 10 movies of all-time. It tells the story of underground Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) and how he wants to be more then a low-life no name boxer. The opportunity of a lifetime arises when world champion boxer Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) challenges Rocky to fight for the Heavyweight Championship. Though nobody thinks Rocky can win he trains with an old friend and gym owner Mickey Goldmill ( Burgess Meredith). One of the subplots is Rocky trying to draw his best friend Paulie's (played by Burt Young) sister Adrian (played by Talia Shire) out of her shyness and tries to show her that she is beautiful woman. The film received 9 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, while winning three (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Braveheart
This film is one of the most passionate films I have ever seen. The film tells the story of William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson), a 13th Century Scottish warrior who led the Scots into the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England while also telling the story of Robert the Bruce's struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. This film is absolutely amazing and eventhough it has a running time of 3 hours its still fun to sit through and watch. Braveheart was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design while winning 5 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up and Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Platoon-
This film comes to us from another great director f the modern era Oliver Stone. Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen) is a college student who quits school to volunteer for the Army in the late '60s. He's shipped off to Vietnam, where he serve with a culturally diverse group of fellow soldiers under two men who lead the platoon: Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger), whose facial scars are a mirror of the violence and corruption of his soul, Sgt.Elias (played by Willem Dafoe), who maintains a Zen-like calm in the jungle and fights with both personal and moral courage even though he no longer believes in the war. After a few weeks "in country," Taylor begins to see the naivete of his views of the war, especially after quick search for the enemy troops develops into a round of murder and rape. This film is pretty epic and has one of the most memorable death scenes in film history. Platoon was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Two nominees for Best Supporting Actor, Sound, Cinematography, Film Editing while winning 4 (Best Picture, Director, Sound and Film Editing) and also has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
In what is the best film in my favorite trilogy off all-time and what many consider one of the greatest films of all-time, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King continues the story of the fellowship as they have gone their separate ways in the quest to destroy the one ring. As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth, Gandalf the Wizard (played by Sir Ian McKellen) and Theoden King of Rohan (played by Bernard Hill) rally their forces to help defend Gondors capital Minas Tirith from the looming threat. Aragron (played by Viggo Mortensen) finally claims the throne of Gondor and, with the aid of Legolas the Elf (played by Orlando Bloom) and Gimli the Dwarf (played by John Rhys-Davies) summons the army of the Dead to help him defeat Sauron. Ultimately, even with full strength of arms, they realize they cannot win; so it comes down to the Hobbits Frodo (played by Elijah Wood) and Sam (played by Sean Astin), to bear the burden of the Ring and deal with the treachery of Gollum (played by Andy Serkis). After a long journey they finally arrive in the dangerous lands of Mordor, seeking to destroy the One Ring in the place it was created , the volcanic fires of Mount Doom. I loved the trilogy and this film in particular and it was the film that made me absolutely love movies. Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Make-Up, Best Sound Mixing and Best Editing while winning all 11 awards it was nominated for and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
2.American Beauty-
This film is magnificent and it really dives in the emotions of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey) is a gainfully employed suburban husband and father. Fed up with his boring, stagnant existence, he quits his job and decides to reinvent himself as a pot-smoking, responsibility-shirking teenager. What follows is at once cynical, hysterical, and, eventually, tragically uplifting. American Beauty was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score while winning 5 awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography) and it also has a rating of 88% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. The Godfather Part 2
In what is considered the greatest sequel of all-time and what is also a prequel as well, The Godfather Part 2 continues the story of Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) (the new Don of the Corleone crime family) trying to hold his business ventures together from 1958 to 1959. The prequel parts of the film are flashbacks to a younger Vito Corleone (played by Robert DeNiro), from his childhood in Sicily in 1901 to the founding of the Corleone crime family in New York City. I will admit that the film is a little over 3 hours long and for some people I can see why you might get bored or uninterested, but believe me when I say that the film needs to be that long because of the story they are telling. The Godfather Part 2 was nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 3 for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction and Best Music while winning 6 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction and Best Music) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of my list, do you agree or disagree and what are your favorite films to win best Picture at the Oscars? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
10. Lawrence of Arabia
After a prologue showing us T.E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole)'s ultimate fate, we flash back to Cairo in 1917. A bored general staffer, Lawrence talks his way into a transfer to Arabia. Once in the desert, he befriends Sherif Ali Ben El Kharish (played by Omar Sharif) and draws up plans to aid the Arabs in their rebellion against the Turks. No one is ever able to discern Lawrence's motives in this matter: Prince Feisal (played by Alec Guinness) dismisses him as yet another "desert-loving Englishman," and his British superiors assume that he's either arrogant or mad. Using a combination of diplomacy and bribery, Lawrence unites the rival Arab factions of Feisal and Auda Abu Tayi (played by Anthony Quinn). After successfully completing his mission, Lawrence becomes an unwitting pawn of the Allies, as represented by Gen. Allenby (played by Jack Hawkins) and Dryden (played by Claude Rains), who decide to keep using Lawrence to secure Arab cooperation against the Imperial Powers. While on a spying mission to Deraa, Lawrence is captured and tortured by a sadistic Turkish Bey (played by Jose Ferrer). In the heat of the next battle, a wild-eyed Lawrence screams "No prisoners!" and fights more ruthlessly than ever. Lawrence of Arabia was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing and Best Sound while winning 7 (Best Picture, Best Director, Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing and Best Sound) and it has a rating of 99% on rottentomatoes.com.
The first time that I saw this film I was amazed and it instantly became one of my favorite films. When a mob war breaks out and Don Vito (played by Marlon Brando) is seriously wounded, it falls to son Michael (played by Al Pacino), previously uninvolved in the family "business," to pull the irons out of the fire. The Godfather was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Original Score while winning 3 (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor) and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. No Country for Old Men
This film is fantastic and the character of Anton Chigurh freaks me out still to this day. Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) finds a pickup truck surrounded by a sentry of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back trunk. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law — namely aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones) — can contain. Moss tries to evade his pursuers, in particular a mysterious mastermind named Anton Chigurh (played by Javier Bardem) who flips coins for human lives, as the crime drama broadens. No Country for Old Men was nominated for 8 Academy awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Edting, Best Director, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay while winning 4 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. The Departed
In my opinion this is Martin Scorsese's best film to date. South Boston cop Billy Costigan (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (played by Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster's trust, a career criminal named Colin Sullivan (played by Matt Damon) infiltrates the police department and reports on its activities to his syndicate bosses. When both organizations learn they have a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin must figure out each other's identities to save their own lives. The departed was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay while winning 4 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Rocky
Most consider this movie to be the greatest sports movie and one of the top 10 movies of all-time. It tells the story of underground Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) and how he wants to be more then a low-life no name boxer. The opportunity of a lifetime arises when world champion boxer Apollo Creed (played by Carl Weathers) challenges Rocky to fight for the Heavyweight Championship. Though nobody thinks Rocky can win he trains with an old friend and gym owner Mickey Goldmill ( Burgess Meredith). One of the subplots is Rocky trying to draw his best friend Paulie's (played by Burt Young) sister Adrian (played by Talia Shire) out of her shyness and tries to show her that she is beautiful woman. The film received 9 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing, while winning three (Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Editing) and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Braveheart
This film is one of the most passionate films I have ever seen. The film tells the story of William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson), a 13th Century Scottish warrior who led the Scots into the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England while also telling the story of Robert the Bruce's struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. This film is absolutely amazing and eventhough it has a running time of 3 hours its still fun to sit through and watch. Braveheart was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and Best Costume Design while winning 5 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up and Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 81% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. Platoon-
This film comes to us from another great director f the modern era Oliver Stone. Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen) is a college student who quits school to volunteer for the Army in the late '60s. He's shipped off to Vietnam, where he serve with a culturally diverse group of fellow soldiers under two men who lead the platoon: Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger), whose facial scars are a mirror of the violence and corruption of his soul, Sgt.Elias (played by Willem Dafoe), who maintains a Zen-like calm in the jungle and fights with both personal and moral courage even though he no longer believes in the war. After a few weeks "in country," Taylor begins to see the naivete of his views of the war, especially after quick search for the enemy troops develops into a round of murder and rape. This film is pretty epic and has one of the most memorable death scenes in film history. Platoon was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Two nominees for Best Supporting Actor, Sound, Cinematography, Film Editing while winning 4 (Best Picture, Director, Sound and Film Editing) and also has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
In what is the best film in my favorite trilogy off all-time and what many consider one of the greatest films of all-time, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King continues the story of the fellowship as they have gone their separate ways in the quest to destroy the one ring. As Sauron launches the final stages of his conquest of Middle-earth, Gandalf the Wizard (played by Sir Ian McKellen) and Theoden King of Rohan (played by Bernard Hill) rally their forces to help defend Gondors capital Minas Tirith from the looming threat. Aragron (played by Viggo Mortensen) finally claims the throne of Gondor and, with the aid of Legolas the Elf (played by Orlando Bloom) and Gimli the Dwarf (played by John Rhys-Davies) summons the army of the Dead to help him defeat Sauron. Ultimately, even with full strength of arms, they realize they cannot win; so it comes down to the Hobbits Frodo (played by Elijah Wood) and Sam (played by Sean Astin), to bear the burden of the Ring and deal with the treachery of Gollum (played by Andy Serkis). After a long journey they finally arrive in the dangerous lands of Mordor, seeking to destroy the One Ring in the place it was created , the volcanic fires of Mount Doom. I loved the trilogy and this film in particular and it was the film that made me absolutely love movies. Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Make-Up, Best Sound Mixing and Best Editing while winning all 11 awards it was nominated for and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
2.American Beauty-
This film is magnificent and it really dives in the emotions of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey) is a gainfully employed suburban husband and father. Fed up with his boring, stagnant existence, he quits his job and decides to reinvent himself as a pot-smoking, responsibility-shirking teenager. What follows is at once cynical, hysterical, and, eventually, tragically uplifting. American Beauty was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score while winning 5 awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography) and it also has a rating of 88% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. The Godfather Part 2
In what is considered the greatest sequel of all-time and what is also a prequel as well, The Godfather Part 2 continues the story of Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) (the new Don of the Corleone crime family) trying to hold his business ventures together from 1958 to 1959. The prequel parts of the film are flashbacks to a younger Vito Corleone (played by Robert DeNiro), from his childhood in Sicily in 1901 to the founding of the Corleone crime family in New York City. I will admit that the film is a little over 3 hours long and for some people I can see why you might get bored or uninterested, but believe me when I say that the film needs to be that long because of the story they are telling. The Godfather Part 2 was nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 3 for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction and Best Music while winning 6 (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction and Best Music) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of my list, do you agree or disagree and what are your favorite films to win best Picture at the Oscars? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
No comments:
Post a Comment