Oscar's Top Ten Best "Best Pictures" of All Time

On Sunday February 24^th, 2008, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will be holding their 80^th Oscar ceremony to honor the year's best achievement in cinema. The telecast/infomercial is one of the biggest worldwide events, and according to Wikipedia, "holds the distinction of having won the most Emmys in history, with 38 wins and 167 nominations."

Of the 79 Best Pictures named, some films have stood the test of time and remain classics while others are have become duds that leave the viewer scratching their head, wondering what the voters of the time saw. While it's completely unfair to compare the spectacle of Ben-Hur alongside the intimacy of Marty, this hasn't stopped the Academy from their annual apples-to-oranges competition.

With this list, I chose to attempt to showcase the breadth of the honorees. Having the list reduced to ten means a great many titles are left out.

#10 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Best Picture award for Peter Jackson's final chapter in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was really an award to recognize the work done on all three films since it was in essence one giant project. It is one of four films to sweep the categories it was nominated in, going 11 for 11, tying the record of wins held by Ben-Hur and Titanic.

#9 All About Eve

Joseph L. Mankiewicz' film of deceit and betrayal is still compelling as the world of celebrity and show business forever continues to fascinate and draw people to take part. Eve pretends to be a fan, but she's really come to take the life of Margo Channing in a figurative sense. Hard to believe Bette Davis came in to replace Claudette Colbert shortly before filming because it's one of her greatest roles. The film won six awards.

#8 Midnight Cowboy

The ten best films out of the 79 winners.

Credit: Alan Light, via WikiMedia.org

Copyright: Alan Light, via WikiMedia.org