Eighty-five movies in elite club, but some stand taller than others: Our picks

25.

A gut-punch of a film.

Chris Nashawaty

24.

Easily the best film made about the psychological cost of America’s involvement in Vietnam, Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter also features some of the finest

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ButKingset a new standard for epic grandeur on screen with the impossibly massive Battle of Pelennor Fields.

And how many other Best Picture winners feature a giant spider?

Darren Franich

23. between Joe Buck and Rizzo makes for one of cinema’s great duets.

King dominated the 2004 Oscars, winning all 11 prizes for which it was nominated. The win was seen as a de facto award for the

Darren Franich

22.

Darren Franich

21.

The Academy eliminated the ‘‘Unique and Artistic’’ prize and retroactively declaredWingsthe first Best Picture.

The only X-rated movie to ever win Best Picture, John Schlesinger’s corrosive classic follows young Texan Joe Buck (John Voight) into the New York of

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Decades later,Wingsshows its age, whileSunrisehas become one of the high-water marks of early cinema.

Darren Franich

20.

The film remains an eerie exploration of grotesque mental instability.

Two years after Henry V — Laurence Olivier’s ebullient Technicolor feast-for-the-eyes filmed during wartime as pro-Brit propaganda — fell short of the Best Picture statuette,

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Darren Franich

19.

And if you haven’t seen it, then what the hell are you waiting for?

At turns, rousing and heartbreakingly tragic.

The very first Oscar ceremony featured two top prizes: ‘‘Outstanding Picture’’ and ‘‘Unique and Artistic Production.’’ The former was seen as a way to reward

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Chris Nashawaty

18.

A haunting metaphor for the doomed rebel spirit of the ’60s.

Chris Nashawaty

17.

Released in the February doldrums to shockingly huge grosses, Lambs wound up sweeping the Big Five categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Adapted Screenplay.) The

Ken Regan/Camera 5

Darren Franich

16.

Because the main character isn’t Mozart at all.

It’s his bile-souled rival, Antonio Salieri.

If you’ve seen David Lean’s haunting war movie, then just seeing the title here probably has you whistling the film’s signature tune. And if you

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F. Murray Abraham won an Oscar for his staggering turn as Salieri.

And why shouldn’t he have?

After all, he’s the film’s hero, villain, and green-eyed monster all in one.

Jack Nicholson had one of the greatest runs of any film actor ever between 1969 and 1975. Consider: Easy Rider , Five Easy Pieces ,

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Chris Nashawaty

15.

Darren Franich

14.

Denise Warner

13.

When someone says, ‘‘They don’t make them like they used to,’’ they’re talking about It Happened One Night , a road movie about the world’s

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Denise Warner

12.

All of that, plus ‘‘I know it was you, Fredo.

You broke my heart! '’

Miloš Forman’s biopic of the Austrian composer prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a brilliant bait-and-switch. Why? Because the main character isn’t Mozart at all. It’s

What more could you want?

Chris Nashawaty

11.

West Side Story (1961)

The Manhattan-set riff onRomeo & Juliethad a fascinating, somewhat fraught production.

Director William Wyler actually flew in bombing missions during World War II while filming a documentary, which probably explains why his tale of veterans returning

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Director Robert Wise was an old studio pro.

Also, try not to snap your fingers during the opening number.

Darren Franich

10.

Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, … | Before Chicago and Les Misérables breathed new life into the movie musical, My Fair Lady was the music of America’s hearts. Pitch-perfect performances from Rex

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Denise Warner

9.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

People use the word ‘‘epic’’ a little too casually.

It made every film that came before it seem?small.

Source: Schindler’s Ark (1982) Though Steven Spielberg received some criticism on the historical accuracy of his film, in the book from which it was adapted,

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Chris Nashawaty

8.

Denise Warner

7.

Denise Warner

6.

Many consider Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather sequel to be superior to the original, but why split hairs? Both are perfect. Al Pacino takes us deeper

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But it’s Brando’s raw, electric performance that will haunt you when it’s over.

Chris Nashawaty

5.

All About Eve (1950)

Has anyone ever talked the way people talk inAll About Eve?

The Manhattan-set riff on Romeo & Juliet had a fascinating, somewhat fraught production. Director Robert Wise was an old studio pro. Legendary Broadway choreographer Jerome

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(‘‘You’re maudlin and full of self-pity.

You’re magnificent!’’

Just score it as an incomplete forward pass. ‘')

Rose told Jack she’d never let go, but it was James Cameron’s sweeping, rapturous tale of eternal love that gripped the hearts of audiences around

Rick Lynch

It remains a devastatingly acerbic vision of ambition and decay.

And it’s damn funny, too.

Darren Franich

4.

People use the word ‘‘epic’’ a little too casually. But this widescreen piece of eye-candy casts a spell you?ll never be able to (or want

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Annie Hall (1977)

It’s the neurotic love story we didn’t know we needed.

Denise Warner

3.

Frankly, my dear, how could we not give a damn?

After corporate ladder-climbing Baxter lends his bachelor pad to his married superiors so they can discreetly cheat on their wives, he realizes he’s fallen for

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Denise Warner

2.

Denise Warner

1.

Casablanca (1942)

Hands down, the greatest Hollywood love story ever made.

The Coen Brothers’ taut thriller not only gave us one of cinema’s most terrifying villains (with an equally horrifying bowl cut) but also redefined Westerns

Here’s a movie that has it all (Romance!

And it just gets better and better…as time goes by.

If you want to see what all the fuss surrounding Marlon Brando is about, then check out Elia Kazan’s bareknuckle drama about a lone palooka

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Has anyone ever talked the way people talk in All About Eve ? Some films have a few memorable quotes, but it’s hard to think

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It’s the neurotic love story we didn’t know we needed. Woody Allen’s signature style proved that romantic comedies can be smart, sweet, sexy, sad, and

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David O. Selznick’s luscious love story throws us into the privileged life of Scarlett O’Hara, whose strength, sex appeal, and ruthlessness propel her through riches,

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Source: The Godfather (1969) Francis Ford Coppola took author Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel about the life and crimes of Mafia boss Don Vito Corleone and

Directed by Michael Curtiz WWII movie perfection. Hollywood’s most celebrated love story was made as just an average studio pic but now exemplifies old-movie magic.

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