This weekend will see the 97th annual Academy Awards held in glitzy Los Angeles, California. And by the end of the night, one of 10 nominees will have joined the ranks of Best Picture winners, forever enshrining them in cinema history (for the record, I think it’ll be “Anora" taking home the big prize).
Whichever movie joins the exclusive club will be rubbing shoulders with movie royalty as some of the best films ever made have taken home the ultimate Oscar prize. But at the same time, over the almost century that the Academy Awards have been dished out, more than a couple of flicks have won the award that in hindsight probably didn’t quite deserve such an honor.
I’ve seen every single Best Picture winner, from the very first (1927’s “Wings”) to the most recent (2023’s “Oppenheimer”), and below I’m picking out the very best of the bunch, alongside those movies honored with a golden Oscar that are better left unwatched.
A quick note before diving into my picks. This was a very tough list to compile. Selecting my top five was especially brutal, and I need to stress these are far from the only five Best Picture winners worth watching.
Over the years, dozens of incredible movies have won the award, these are just five that I absolutely loved. Ask me to pick my top five tomorrow, and you’ll probably get an entirely different selection. Also, my picks are presented unranked.
My 5 favorite Best Picture winners
‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (1930)
“All Quiet on the Western Front” was only the third movie in history to win Best Picture (following “Wings” and “The Broadway Melody”, more on the latter later…), and 95 years later, it’s a pick that has aged as gracefully as Keanu Reeves.
This 1930 movie, based on the novel of the same name, is one of the most impactful anti-war flicks ever. It lays bare the sheer futility of conflict and the total loss of innocence experienced by its cast of young schoolboys.
Opening in the early months of World War I, it sees a group of boys convinced to enlist in the army after a rousing speech given to them by their professor.
Believing they are fulfilling their patriot duty, their noble illusions are instantly shattered when the brutal realities of life on the frontlines become all too real.
The 2022 remake is also impressive (and was nominated for Best Picture), but the original has remained so timeless that you really should watch it first.
Buy or rent on Amazon now
‘The Godfather’ (1972)
One of, if not the most, iconic movies in cinema history, “The Godfather” rightfully took home its Best Picture gong at the 45th Academy Awards.
This Francis Ford Coppola flick not only set the standard by which all mobster movies will be measured forevermore, but it also laid down a blueprint that countless modern crime dramas continue to follow (sometimes to a fault).
"The Godfather" is as influential as it is riveting. An almost three-hour epic that flies by in a flash.
If you somehow don’t know the basic setup, “The Godfather” centers on the Corleone family led by ruthless mafioso Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando, who won Best Actor), flanking him is his reluctant young son Michael (Al Pacino), who transformation over the movie (and it’s two sequels) is gripping but also tragic.
Also starring James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and more, “The Godfather” deserves its stellar reputation. Plus, its sequel won Best Picture just two years later, so why not make it a double feature? But you can skip Part 3...
Watch on Paramount Plus now
‘Titanic’ (1997)
Time for a confession: I was an “edgy” teenager who thought they were too cool for “Titanic.”
Aside from the fact that at no point in my 30 years on this planet have I ever come close to being genuinely cool, I can also now admit that this romantic drama is a sweeping achievement in filmmaking.
Not only does James Cameron manage to weave a genuinely compelling romance between likable characters, but about halfway through it shifts into a jaw-dropping disaster flick that sends your pulse racing, it’s two movies in one.
As the name suggests, “Titanic” is set on the eponymous luxury liner, a ship so vast in size it was declared “unsinkable” (spoilers: It sank). Onboard the doomed cruiser are Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt (Kate Winslet), two people from entirely different worlds who meet and fall in love onboard.
"Titanic" currently holds the record for the most Oscars won by a single movie after it scooped 11 Oscars at the 70th Academy Awards (jointly held with 1959’s “Ben-Hur” and 2003’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King).
Watch on Paramount Plus now
‘Moonlight’ (2016)
In the decade since winning Best Picture, “Moonlight” the movie has been overshadowed by the events surrounding its win.
Yes, you know what I’m talking about, the infamous snafu that saw presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway incorrectly announce that “La La Land” had won Best Picture after being handed the wrong envelope.
It’s a huge shame that the actual movie got a little lost in all the drama because it is a modern masterwork.
Directed by Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight" explores a young man's journey from childhood to adulthood and the struggles he faces as he grapples with his sexuality.
The performances across the board are excellent, but Mahershala Ali shines in a supporting turn as a father figure to the lead character, who is played by three different actors across the movie.
Its narrative is beautiful and emotionally devastating, but “Moonlight” is also a showcase of fearless filmmaking.
Watch on Kanopy now
‘Parasite’ (2019)
![Parasite [Official Trailer] – In Theaters October 11, 2019 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/isOGD_7hNIY/maxresdefault.jpg)
Perhaps there’s an element of recency bias that has led to me picking “Parasite,” but the first non-English-language movie to win Best Picture could not have gone to a more deserving winner.
And while “Parasite” is only a little more than five years past its release, I’ve already lost track of how many times I’ve seen it. And crucially, I seem to only love it more with each watch. It’s a thriller that grips straight away and goes in directions you’ll never see coming.
There's many layers to unravel in “Parasite” but its brilliance is that if you don’t want to dive into its biting social commentary or deeper themes. You can merely enjoy it as a remarkably compelling thriller.
It really does cater to both audiences, those who just want entertainment, and those who want more substance.
The performances were also seriously underrated by the academy, and much of the cast should have received acting nominations.
Watch on Max now
5 worst Best Picture winners
‘The Broadway Melody’ (1929)
“The Broadway Melody” will always have a place in history as the first sound movie to win an Academy Award, but beyond this honor, there’s not really got a whole lot going for it.
Because of its sheer novelty at the time, it was able to find success just by nature of being an audible movie released at a time when silent films were still common. However, all these years later, all we’re left with is an incredibly dull story and bland characters that do very little but whine.
Now, I like a musical (heck, I even like a few bad musicals), and I love a classic movie, but “The Broadway Melody” was a real chore just to finish. And that’s despite the fact it’s a relatively trim 100 minutes long.
t was also popular because it included a Technicolor sequence, which I’m sure amazed viewers in the 1920s. Sadly, the footage of this scene hasn’t survived.
“The Broadway Melody” actually entered the public domain on January 1, 2025, allowing you to watch the entire thing online for free. But to be honest, it’s an easy skip.
Watch on YouTube now
‘Cimarron’ (1931)
“Cimarron” deserves to be considered among the worst movies to ever win Best Picture for several reasons, but much of the modern ire against this flick comes from its extremely offensive, and racist, stereotypes.
Some may argue that it’s unfair to judge a movie from 1931 by a modern standard, but even so, “Cimarron” is a very hard watch due to its glacial pacing. After an exciting opening set during the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush, it’s all downhill from there as the movie descends into a largely lifeless drama flecked with offense.
Based on the novel of the same name by Edna Ferber, it follows a newspaper editor Yancey (Richard Dix) and his new bride Sabra (Irene Dunne) who move to Oklahoma and eventually settle in Osage.
From there, the movie spans four decades as we see Yancey and Sabra separated and reunited. Credit to the movie for its ambition scale, but I'm happy for this one to be forgotten.
Buy or rent on Amazon now
‘Around the World in 80 Days’ (1956)
“Around the World in 80 Days” is another Best Picture winner that’s hard to recommend purely because it’s such a dull affair.
I imagine, the wonder of a globe-spanning adventure still captured attention back in the 1950s, but in 2025, you’d probably get more geographical excitement from flipping through Google Earth for an afternoon rather than watching this movie.
The film’s case is very much not helped by its butt-numbingly long three-hour runtime.
The movie follows Englishman Phileas Fogg (David Niven) as he takes on the challenge to navigate the entire globe in just 80 days.
Fogg bets a pretty penny with the members of his local gentlemen’s club that he can complete the feat in the allotted time, so he packs up the essentials and sets off to travel the world with his friend/servant Passepartout (Cantinflas).
There are a few moments of wonder, but nowhere near enough to justify the time investment. If you must watch, opt for the 2004 remake. It’s very bad, but an hour shorter.
Buy or rent on Amazon now
‘Crash’ (2004)
“Crash” is the preverbal bad Best Picture winner. Look up almost any ranking of Best Picture movies and I practically guarantee you’ll find “Crash” near the bottom (if not ranked dead last in many).
When there’s so much hate surrounding a movie, it’s logical to wonder if the criticism isn’t a little overblown, but rest assured, in this case, “Crash” deserves its infamous reputation. Its win looked ill-judged in 2005, and even worse decades later.
Directed by Paul Haggis, and starring Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser and Terrence Howard, it follows various Los Angeles residents over 36 hours as their lives collide in unexpected ways.
The movie is essentially a 110-minute long afterschool special that handles its core subject matter of racism with all the subtly of a sledgehammer.
Frankly, it makes “Green Book" — winner at the 91st Academy Awards and also criticized for its unsubtle approach to depicting discrimination — look understated.
Watch on Hoopla now
‘Nomadland’ (2020)
Perhaps I’m being a little harsh including “Nomadland” on my worst Best Picture winners list.
There are definitely a few other picks that could take this spot like the lackluster “The Greatest Show on Earth” or the melodramatic “Out of Africa,"
But I’m picking “Nomadland” because it’s a Best Picture winner I’ve pretty much forgotten entirely. And it’s not even five years old! There aren’t many recipients of the BP award that have faded away this fast.
To cut the movie some slack, it was released during a tricky time and won its Oscars during the COVID-era 93rd Academy Awards, held with little fanfare at Union Station.
Still, with an already relatively weak field of nominees that year, “Nomadlands” was one of the weakest of the bunch.
Frances McDormand was much lauded for her role as a van-living drifter named Fern. But even watching the trailer for "Nomadland" has me feeling sleepy. It’s a real snoozer.
Watch on Hulu now
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