Favorite Best Pictures

Captures the Jules Verne novel in an incredible and realistic way. David Niven performs the punctual Phileas Fogg as if he was the character come alive. Equally good and the main "spectacle" of the film is the performance by Cantinflas as the French manservant Passepartout. The music is always in the style of the country that is currently being seen. Speaking of which the scenery and the cinematography is absolutely marvoulous with large cinescopic scenes capturing the fullest range of the lands being travelled through. The audience is allowed to experience foreign lands and traditions through this movie and have fun in the process. Adding to the fun is the multiple cameos within the film (producer Michael Todd is credited with coining the cameo role). The scenes flow smoothly together and the story never seems to lag - the director knows just how long to focus on scenery and then to move back to the story. An epic film that was picked as best picture by the Academy Awards, Golden Globe and most everyone else. One of the greats!

A classic. The music, the sound, the editing, the cinematography, the acting, the direction, the film is just great. The con story is taken to a new level and I still haven't seen a better film about a con. Great character actors to play the 'stereotypes' of con men works well with the duo of Newman and Redford. The film is like a ride - hop on and enjoy it till it's over. It is a well done film that is still fun and humorous. The set designs and costumes are incredible and make the 1930's come to life in the film. Great film.

Beautiful. Beautiful sets, color schemes, and story. A marvelous, heartfelt, beautiful film. Freeman, Tandy, and Aykroyd all give wonderful performances and the three of them capture and hold the emotion of the film all the way through as each of their characters ages over time and we see the friendships between them grow and change. Esther Rolle is equally good in her role, albeit in the background but still noticable. A film that starts out humorous moves into touching and becomes a beautiful classic. Music that matches the look and feel of the film as well as fitting with the characters. Cinematography that captures the grace and elogance of the film and set decorations that completely pull you into the world within the film help make this fully enjoyable and watchable. One of the most wonderful and easiest to watch of the best pictures.

Excellent film that feels best picture worthy. Follows the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a fictitious "could-have-happened" story. Abraham does a spectaclular performance as Salieri and Hulce gives an equally matching role as Mozart. Brilliant work.

What do we think of when WWII is mentioned? Perhaps it is the horrors that the Nazis did to the Jews. Perhaps it is the horrors of war and how it affected the soldiers. Perhaps we think of movies that show it in an exciting and interesting way. But how often do we think of the hardships and courage that the ordinary people (not soldiers, just citizens) had to go through? Perhaps not enough, but the 1942 Best Picture sure does and in a way that does not come off as forced or propaganda-like. Mrs. Miniver is a film about life and how war can come into it but life must continue on as always and it doesn't go on hold just because of war.

Mrs. Miniver is a touching and impactful film that shows how everyone is touched in a war. It shows how daily life may continue but in a shadow of fear and anxiety. Things may change or disappear but the essence of life will live and continue as long as the people are willing to let it and support it. Considering the film was made during the war it is based upon it seems that it may have been done as propaganda. I think not since it tells a story - England's story at the beginning of the war. It shows how even the small and remote areas were just as affected as big cities like London and how everyone could help in their own way in the war, whether as fighter or someone who stays home and encourages and supports others. The film does not say to fight and enter the war - it instead says that wars come and the people must remain strong and firm and stand up to it whether they fight or not. Wars are more than just soldiers and artillary but people - on the battlefield and off.

Mrs. Miniver tells the story of a family and the impact the war had on it. It tells of love, courage, togetherness, and most importantly the importance of having something good (a spouse, child, friend, prize-winning rose) even if it only lasts a moment. Life is precious and everyone deserves to have something wonderful at least for a time. The film beautifully shows how important it is not to take things for granted and to help others achieve something wonderful as well. Life is more than frivolities and self-pleasing things, it is about sharing, helping, caring, and building a community that can work together, stand strong together, and be there for one another. Even in the midst of darkness their can be rays of sunshine and hope in all kinds of forms when people love each other and work together.

Greer Garson does a magnificent job as Mrs. Miniver and shows the stiff upper lip very well while also being a loving wife and mother. Walter Pidgeon supports her as Mr. Miniver and the rest of the cast play their parts vividly real and really well. Dame May Whitty as always gives a powerful performance as the top of society who comes to realize that her postition also allows her to be able to give to the community so others might have their own moment of hope come to fruition. The photography is gripping and fluid and the music is soft so as to not lead the picture but good enough to add support to the scenes it is used in. The edits are smooth and the whole film seems to have been done with care and expertise to further emphasize the impact it has about its issues. An encouraging film that helped to lift spirits during the war which is perhaps the most important form of fighting that can be - high hopes and the ability to recognize the losses and dangers present but to rise above them and continue on.

One of the most amazing scenes in the film to me is when the Miniver family is in their bomb shelter and we start to hear the dogfights of the planes up in the sky above. We can only see the Minivers and the inside of the bomb shelter and only hear what the Minivers hear. This is an extremely powerful scene as it rests mostly on sound and the sound depart does a most impressive job. All the sounds within the whole scene sound as if we were really there within that bomb shelter with a battle raging in the skies around us. When the first bomb is dropped my blood ran cold and I couldn't help but shiver as the sound of it whining through the air coming closer and closer to the ground occured seeming to stifle every other sound and I, as well as the Minivers, could only wait, with baited breath, for the final sound - the sound of it crashing into the ground and exploding. These sounds of the planes shooting at each other and the dropping of bombs to the ground continue through the whole eerie scene painting a perfect picture through sound of how horrible it must have been to have been in a bomb shelter during a battle. This family was not at a camp of soldiers but at their own house - a father, mother, and two children - and had to endure the same things that a soldier on the battlefield might.

This film opened my eyes to what true war is, not just for the soldier, but for the people. I have seen many war films with the horrors of war shown for the soldiers but rarely do I see one that impactfully shows what takes place on the home front. This was a most remarkable film and worthy of its six Oscars including Best Picture. I've said a lot and more could be said, but I will conclude with this: I highly recommend seeing this picture as it is one of the most realistic in telling about life. There is some romance, humor, and good storytelling, but also life-changing issues brought to mind. A must see.

Very entertaing and enjoyable. Alec Guinness plays the British colonel to a tee and the rest of the cast back up this performance and film. Great story and film with a classic ending. One of the best best pictures.

Amazing classic. THE American film in many ways. It has such an essence about it. It's wonderful.

You hear about this and hear how good it is. Then you watch it. That's when you know how good it is. A breathtaking story following a Jew during the same time as Christ. The symbolism and parallelisms are there not only between Judah Ben-Hur and Jesus, but also Ben-Hur and Joseph (Jacob's son in the OT). The acting is real and believable and Heston gives one of his best performances. The music is beautiful and fully encompassing without ever becoming dominant. The cinematography is perfect - especially the chariot race (and the "tramplings" of the dummy doubles is fantastic and seems so real). Dealing with issues from slavery to leprosy to revenge it truely is of epic proportions. The story being about the Christ makes it interesting to see how Christ affected this character and how their lives ran along the same time and how they interacted throughout. Merging real-life (Jesus) and the fictional (Ben-Hur) is handled remarkably well and with great respect. A film that must be seen by anyone who enjoys movies and especially those who loves them.

This film stands apart from any other I have seen this year. It is dark and haunting in the realisticness that it portrays so amazingly. Tommy Lee Jones excels as an aging policeman who realizes that the changing times have gone beyond his own abilities. Javier Bardem is a threatening villian who I found myself unable to laugh at like I can at so many other villians in movies today. The story is fast paced and intense but I do not believe that what appears to be the main plot is the actual story of the film at all. The dialogue contains the real theme of the movie and that is what makes this such a unique and stand alone type of film.

Great acting and a brilliant script given the opportunity to shine by director Milos Forman make this a great film. Nicholson gives a great performance and the film deals with a lot of interesting issues. Very funny though being serious where needed. A great film.

The film gets a bad rap. Yes, I wouldn't have expected it to be best picture (though there are quite a few I wouldn't but anyway) but it did showcase Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey Circus in an almost documentary type way with a large cast featuring Charlton Heston and James Stewart in memorable roles (especially Stewart as the clown). The film is more of an epic of circus life with romance and danger and mystery with Stewart's clown. Highlights are the scenes of the big top coming up, the different acts, and the big train wreck. An enjoyable film (if you enjoy the circus and learning some more about it) and is what is expected of some big "epic" type films (hello King Kong in 2005?). Don't watch expecting best picture quality - watch for the fact that it is a film and tells a story about the greatest circus to ever be on the planet!

Extremely well done. The visuals are great and the story reaches a nice climax and thrilling and appropriate conclusion. Sadly they left out some cool and interesting things from the book (especially concerning the Shire) but still a very good film. Extended edition is still better.

An interesting film to win best picture - it wouldn't win today sadly. Wonderful story of normal people who are looking for companionship. It isn't the best looking actors of the time and it's not a complicated or hard to follow plot but the simplistic nature of the film is what gives it its charm and appeal. Borgnine gives a great performance as Marty and the whole thing is such an enjoyment to watch.

From feather oppening to feather closing this film is a work of art on many levels. Chronicling the life of one man and his adventures and love it also showcases each decade in terms of notable events, presidents, and most noticably music. Hanks again does a truly remarkable and incredible performance and the film is simply beautiful. Robert Zemeckis brings us another classic.

The colors and sets are the real great parts of the film. The story is decent but not that exceptional and there are parts that don't get developed or finished. Kelly and crew perform well and play likable characters. Good fun.

Great thriller(ish) movie. Anthony Hopkins is amazing as Hannibal. Jodie Foster impresses with her screen time and the whole thing goes off really great.

An intricate look at what happens when someone wants something bad enough and the evil things they will do to get it. A great cast with wonderful performances all around, notably Bette Davis in a great role, and the superb George Sanders in a role which he captures in a real and enjoyable way. A great film (though I personally would have rather seen Sunset Boulevard beat it for best picture) which deserves a respected spot in film history.

Very good movie. Hitchcock's only film to win best picture and it deserved it.

Funny and clever but weak on a real good plot. Typical guy and girl fall in love but girl is supposed to be marrying someone else except this was such an early film that it may have been the original and beginning of those types of films. Clark Gable gives great lines and a great performance and the film is a well done one.

Hoffman gives a wonderful performance in this touching film. Streep is very good too despite not being seen much. The film deals with a subject that many have experienced or gone through in a real and solemn way while still having an entertainment factor. The film is beautiful in the way it is shot, acted, and written and it comes off feeling real and alive. The film flows so smoothly that you forget that it is a film at all. A great film and Hoffman really gives a heartfelt portrayal of a dad struggling to learn, change, adapt, and become more than what he started as.

Gritty and real. A crisp script that's carried out well and the cinematography is excellent. The music and acting all help add to the whole.

Great special effects for the time and a great cast (many recognizable faces and character actors help make this good yet not over the top). The dialogue is often a bit staged and goofy, but the actors make the most of it. A bit longer than necessarily needed, but captures emotions and what time must have felt like in certain situations. Nice way of telling the tale through memories and all. Tends to rely too much on the romance and heroism of the two main characters towards the end but still manages to keep the sinking of the boat the focus. Good film.

A huge achievement in film. Considering Victor Fleming directed this and The Wizard of Oz in the same year it's really impressive how they both came out as great films, classics, and best picture nominees!

Clark Gable is witty and charming as Rhett Butler and has a flair about him making his scenes amongst the most enjoyable. Vivien Leigh plays the part of Scarlett O'Hara very well and captures the pouty, shrewd-minded, and snooty type of woman in a very believable (albeit annoying) way. Hattie McDaniel is wonderful and fun in this film and deserved her Oscar for her role. Olivia de Havilland is equally good, as are all the actors in the film.

The use of color is striking and the costumes and set decorations are superb. Masterfully edited and filmed it flows smoothly (despite the length). The grand scope of this epic is amazing and is executed flawlessly. Capturing the emotions of personal stories as well as real historical events help to draw the audience in.

Definitely a classic and one of the great films of Hollywood even to this day.

Interesting look into the psyches of two brothers in this well developed story. Hoffman is excellent as Raymond (Rain Man) and Cruise gives a good performance as well. It deals with the issues of the disease, etc. very eloquently. Funny and yet containing real life drama this film delivers to an interested audience.

Definitely an epic. The film is paced decently well though it does have some slow moments (like the desert crossing which feels a little to long). Still, it has incredible music and cinematography and the real locations add so much to its authenticity. Getting great actors like Alec Guinness, Claude Rains, and Omar Sharif guarantees good performances and Peter O'Toole in his first role blows away the thought that first time actors can never be great, on the contrary, he shows that one's first role can become the greatest film role in history. A beautiful and sweeping epic that takes us from deserts to snowy mountains and everywhere in between. One of the diffinitive epic films that stands as a reference point or beacon within the timeline of film history.

I love so many other musicals better but this one is one of the technical best. Rex Harrison really is what makes this film worth watching.

Normally sea films seem long to me and hard to sit through. Mutiny on the Bounty is not one of those. Laughton gives an incredible performance as the evil, sadistic, tourtoring Captain Bligh who has no qualms about treating his men like dogs (or flogging already dead sailors). Gable plays the exact opposite - a man who flashes a smile and gives an encouraging word to get the best result out of the men. The two obviously clash and thus begins an uneasy voyage across the seas. It develops the story well and though we know a mutiny will come it is intriguing how it builds to it and how it develops within the characters. A captivating film with a villianous character you will hate enourmously by the end of the film.

I was impressed with the film, but not as much as most people seem to be. Perhaps because it's a different culture then I grew up in or the time period, but it couldn't fully pull me in. The acting was great and the film is well done. The issues discussed in the film are what make it really interesting. The ideas of telling the truth or keeping safe and your way of life safe. The portrayal of the priest is the most intriguing to me and the scene where he is talking to the people despite having things thrown at him is very impressive. A great film.

A worthy film to be the first Oscar-winning Best Picture. Good acting, intriguing story, and a young Gary Cooper. Some weird moments (bubbles) but overall a good story and a good war film. Interesting how the bonds of friendship can be formed and has some interesting scenarios that arise. Excellent plane battles which did surprise me for a early film but not that I haven't been surprised with other early, silent films. (Did kind of remind me of the early forerunner to Pearl Harbor - but obviously different).

It is very good and the film is one of the best I have seen. The scenes with Brando really shine and the film shows a whole other world in life that many of us do not see. The whole Italy part just seems weird to me - not sure what it is trying to do or say or whatever. Still, a great film.

One of the great early war films. It captures the initial emotions and excitement at the beginning and the way war then affects those. The film captures the price of war very well.

Better than the first. It flows better but still has some hard to follow moments. DeNiro does a great job as the young Vito Corleone. The comparison between now Don Michael and his father - The Godfather - is striking seeing as how Vito built his empire out of making friends and using influence more than violence as opposed to Michael's way of using violence and elimintating any possible threats (often appearing out of paranoya).

Jack Lemmon is hilarious and Fred MacMurray delivers as usual in a superb way. Great film for a romantic drama/comedy.

A suprisingly involving film with Voight and Hoffman both giving great performances. Shows NY life for a bit more of what it really is (not all glamour and niceness like in some movies). Not what I expected but it was still very good. I really like the interaction between the characters and the way they play off each other. Not necessarily what I would have win best picture but it is a very good film. Like the scene where they go to a Warhol-like party since I learned about that in an Independent Film class!

Great performances throughout the film and a good western film. Hackman plays a very dislikable character well. Takes from the Western genre but doesn't fully meld into it. A decent story with some good themes that make it better than the many cliche westerns.