Best Oscar Winners — No. 6


Earlier in March I discussed a series of 10 posts on the best winners for Best Picture since 1970. Each Saturday for the next six weeks I'll be counting down my favorites and discussing the rationale. As always, if you have thoughts, or other favorites, please feel free to comment and share.

6. Forrest Gump (1994)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field
Director: Robert Zemeckis
About: And now we get our first of three entries from the 1990s. And this one might be controversial. It's also definitely possible that this film carries a more special place for me because of my age. I was in middle school when I first saw it, and I thought the story was magical. I still think the performances are great and there's some beauty and magic to the way the film was made, even if it isn't as great as I once thought. Also, it probably wasn't the best film nominated for Best Picture the year it won. 1994 was an exceptional year for film, and when I look at my 10 favorite nominees not to win, expect one or two of those that lost to "Forrest" to be on that list. But let's consider this film, which is one of the most enduring of the 1990s. And even more than 20 years later, it's still a beloved and memorable film. That's one of the reasons it's on this list. It's also a film that is a great look at history, and a lot of fun from that respect. (In fact, I watched this film in my AP U.S. History class.) The film won six Academy Awards, for editing, special effects and screenplay. Additionally it earned an Oscar for Hanks for Best Actor and for Zemeckis for Best Director, and, of course, Best Picture. This is an iconic film in a lot of ways, and when I looked at the options that was why this film belonged on this list for me. And if you haven't seen it recently, now might be a good time to give it a look.
Rating: PG-13 for drug content, some sensuality and war violence.

The Top 10:
10. The French Connection (1971)
9. Gladiator (2000)
8. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest (1975)
7. Spotlight (2015)

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