Best Oscar Winners — No. 1



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

The Godfather (1972)
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, John Cazale, and Robert Duvall
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
About: We've come to the end of the countdown, and we're back where we started in the 1970s. "The Godfather" didn't win the most total awards of films on this list, but it's arguably the most enduring and the most respected. It won a total of three Academy Awards — Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Coppola and Mario Puzo). It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and could have won many more. Arguably it should have won for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor at least, too. But this isn't about arguing what it should have won, it's about praising a film that continues to stand out, even more than 45 years later. The story is powerful, as are the performances and the way it's all put together. "The Godfather" is atop nearly every list for favorite films of all time and classic films for all time, and that's a testament to its quality. There are a lot of movies on the list I liked, but only one that deserved to be atop this list.
Rating: R for strong violence and some sexuality/nudity.

Top 10 Countdown:
10. The French Connection (1971)
9. Gladiator (2000)
8. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest (1975)
7. Spotlight (2015)
6. Forrest Gump (1994)
5. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
4. Schindler's List (1993)
3. No Country for Old Men (2007)
2. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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