A ranking by Brooks Rich
Now we come to the other end of the Best Picture spectrum. There are different ways to judge these films. Some are just downright awful in my opinion. Others are fine but did not deserve over other films. Best Pictures should be big, have a feeling of grandeur and importance. So here are the worst films to win Best Picture.
20. Gone With the Wind (1939)
Controversy right out of the gate. It might be not be the worst film of all time but Gone With the Wind is an endless maudlin film that won Best Picture over a truly deserving timeless classic, The Wizard of Oz. The films lower on the list may not be technically awful but they won over something more deserving. I personally can't stand Gone With the Wind, it never ends it seems, but I understand that some people like it and it might have it's place. But over Wizard of Oz? Come on. Gone With the Wind goes down as one of those big crowd pleasers of the time that hasn't aged well.
19. Argo (2012)
A breakdown by Azzam Abdur-Rahman
Argo is a film that doesn’t matter. Compared to other Best Picture winner it is an example of a film being given the award because it is relation to the film industry. In that film movies are the hero and that is the only reason it rose to the level it did. The worst part is that this film white washes the lead from a man of Latino decent to being a chance for Ben Affleck to stroke his own ego. This film a perfect example of a film clearly not being worthy of best picture in a year were a lot of films were far better.
18. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Some people maybe have never heard of this film about a family of Welsh coal miners. It's a typical Hollywood drama of the time. It's directed by John Ford so it has a little power to it. So why is it on the list? It beat Citizen Kane, the film considered to be the greatest of all time. I personally don't think that but Citizen Kane is far more important than How Green Was My Valley. Welles is a pioneer of film and along with Alfred Hitchcock revolutionized film as it transitioned from silent to sound. Welles was doing camera tricks that were groundbreaking at the time. But what wins? A kind of boring film about Welsh miners. Nice Academy. Also nominated that year was The Maltese Falcon, a film considered to be the greatest film noir of all time.
17. The King's Speech (2010)
A breakdown by Azzam Abdur-Rahman
Few films draw my ire as much as the Kings Speech. It is an example of the kind of film making that is lauded for a time and then laughed at once the Oscar Buzz has faded and we see the film in sober eyes. This film is a joke. It's actors are wrapped around an awkwardly shot farce of filmmaking that deserves nothing but disrespect. Tom Hooper was always bad. The Damned United was bad. Les Mis was bad. The Danish Girl is trash but The Kings Speech is bad because it won an award for nothing. Cats showed you his true colors and let that never be forgotten!
16. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
This is a fine film. It's well acted and gave Meryl Streep her first Academy Award. But before I explain what it beat, does this feel like a Best Picture winner? Does it age as a pioneering and impactful film? No. It's just a nice film about a custody hearing and the problems that come from that. Also nominated that year is Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam masterpiece Apocalypse Now. It's just one of those baffling decisions by the Academy. Really? Kramer vs Kramer over one of the best war movies every made. It's great if you like Kramer vs Kramer. But what is the more historically significant movie?
15. American Beauty (1999)
This film has not aged well. It's insane to think a film about a middle aged man lusting over his teenage daughters friend won Best Picture. Not only did it win but it beat films like The Green Mile and The Insider and was the so called best film of the year 1999, which is considered one of the greatest years in film history. American Beauty is to me the same issue Azzam was talking about with King's Speech, it was beloved at the time and used it awards buzz to win, but looking back it's a pretty underwhelming film about unlikeable people doing unlikeable things. There's a pretentious feel to it.
14. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
This bizarre biopic about math genius John Nash pulled off the upset in 2001 when it beat The Fellowship of the Ring. Looking back that is a baffling decision. Not only is Fellowship a staggering epic film but Beautiful Mind is just not a very good film. Ron Howard is a good director sure but something feels off about this film. Russell Crowe is giving it his all but the film's odd tone doesn't do him any favors. It is shocking to me this film won Best Picture. At times it feels like a perfectly serviceable HBO movie, not something that should win Best Picture over Peter Jackson's staggering fantasy epic.
13. The Broadway Melody (1929)
This was the second film to win Best Picture, the year after World War I film Wings won the inaugural award. Where Wings is still a good movie and worth a watch if you have a taste for silent films. The Broadway Melody is the first sound film to win Best Picture. It's a pretty mediocre musical of the times for being the first sound film to win Best Picture. A lot of the films from back than in all honesty are lost to time but you'd think a Best Picture winner would stand out from them. Not so with The Broadway Melody. It's another relic of the past that might be interesting for a cinephile but as a Best Picture winner it's pretty lame.
12. Going My Way (1944)
This one is on the list for being a pretty forgettable winner and also winning over classics like Gaslight and Double Indemnity, the latter of which is considered to be one of the greatest film noirs of all time, if not the greatest. Going My Way is just not that exciting of a Best Picture winner. This story about a priest who inspires his new Parrish is an insipid little film that stars one of Hollywood's biggest bad guys. Sure Bing Crosby could sing and people loved in. But the man was a notorious rat bastard to his children. If Bing Crosby was working today, his personal life would have ruined his life like it did to actors like Bill Cosby and Mel Gibson.
11. The English Patient (1996)
I don't hate this film. In fact I like it a lot. It's well made and masterfully acted. It's an epic romantic story set in the second World War and told in flashbacks by a dying man. But two things puts it's on this list. One is in hindsight Fargo should have won that year over this. This was a typical Oscar bait film striving to win it all where Fargo is a brilliant small town crime story made by two of the greatest American directors of all time. I get why The English Patient won but Fargo was robbed. The second is the best episode of Seinfeld is about Elaine being forced to constantly sit through this film because she can't bring herself to say she hated it. Finally she shouts at the screen and tells Ralph Fiennes to just die already. Yeah, that's pretty much The English Patient.
Now we come to the other end of the Best Picture spectrum. There are different ways to judge these films. Some are just downright awful in my opinion. Others are fine but did not deserve over other films. Best Pictures should be big, have a feeling of grandeur and importance. So here are the worst films to win Best Picture.
20. Gone With the Wind (1939)
Controversy right out of the gate. It might be not be the worst film of all time but Gone With the Wind is an endless maudlin film that won Best Picture over a truly deserving timeless classic, The Wizard of Oz. The films lower on the list may not be technically awful but they won over something more deserving. I personally can't stand Gone With the Wind, it never ends it seems, but I understand that some people like it and it might have it's place. But over Wizard of Oz? Come on. Gone With the Wind goes down as one of those big crowd pleasers of the time that hasn't aged well.
19. Argo (2012)
A breakdown by Azzam Abdur-Rahman
Argo is a film that doesn’t matter. Compared to other Best Picture winner it is an example of a film being given the award because it is relation to the film industry. In that film movies are the hero and that is the only reason it rose to the level it did. The worst part is that this film white washes the lead from a man of Latino decent to being a chance for Ben Affleck to stroke his own ego. This film a perfect example of a film clearly not being worthy of best picture in a year were a lot of films were far better.
18. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Some people maybe have never heard of this film about a family of Welsh coal miners. It's a typical Hollywood drama of the time. It's directed by John Ford so it has a little power to it. So why is it on the list? It beat Citizen Kane, the film considered to be the greatest of all time. I personally don't think that but Citizen Kane is far more important than How Green Was My Valley. Welles is a pioneer of film and along with Alfred Hitchcock revolutionized film as it transitioned from silent to sound. Welles was doing camera tricks that were groundbreaking at the time. But what wins? A kind of boring film about Welsh miners. Nice Academy. Also nominated that year was The Maltese Falcon, a film considered to be the greatest film noir of all time.
17. The King's Speech (2010)
A breakdown by Azzam Abdur-Rahman
Few films draw my ire as much as the Kings Speech. It is an example of the kind of film making that is lauded for a time and then laughed at once the Oscar Buzz has faded and we see the film in sober eyes. This film is a joke. It's actors are wrapped around an awkwardly shot farce of filmmaking that deserves nothing but disrespect. Tom Hooper was always bad. The Damned United was bad. Les Mis was bad. The Danish Girl is trash but The Kings Speech is bad because it won an award for nothing. Cats showed you his true colors and let that never be forgotten!
16. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
This is a fine film. It's well acted and gave Meryl Streep her first Academy Award. But before I explain what it beat, does this feel like a Best Picture winner? Does it age as a pioneering and impactful film? No. It's just a nice film about a custody hearing and the problems that come from that. Also nominated that year is Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam masterpiece Apocalypse Now. It's just one of those baffling decisions by the Academy. Really? Kramer vs Kramer over one of the best war movies every made. It's great if you like Kramer vs Kramer. But what is the more historically significant movie?
15. American Beauty (1999)
This film has not aged well. It's insane to think a film about a middle aged man lusting over his teenage daughters friend won Best Picture. Not only did it win but it beat films like The Green Mile and The Insider and was the so called best film of the year 1999, which is considered one of the greatest years in film history. American Beauty is to me the same issue Azzam was talking about with King's Speech, it was beloved at the time and used it awards buzz to win, but looking back it's a pretty underwhelming film about unlikeable people doing unlikeable things. There's a pretentious feel to it.
14. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
This bizarre biopic about math genius John Nash pulled off the upset in 2001 when it beat The Fellowship of the Ring. Looking back that is a baffling decision. Not only is Fellowship a staggering epic film but Beautiful Mind is just not a very good film. Ron Howard is a good director sure but something feels off about this film. Russell Crowe is giving it his all but the film's odd tone doesn't do him any favors. It is shocking to me this film won Best Picture. At times it feels like a perfectly serviceable HBO movie, not something that should win Best Picture over Peter Jackson's staggering fantasy epic.
13. The Broadway Melody (1929)
This was the second film to win Best Picture, the year after World War I film Wings won the inaugural award. Where Wings is still a good movie and worth a watch if you have a taste for silent films. The Broadway Melody is the first sound film to win Best Picture. It's a pretty mediocre musical of the times for being the first sound film to win Best Picture. A lot of the films from back than in all honesty are lost to time but you'd think a Best Picture winner would stand out from them. Not so with The Broadway Melody. It's another relic of the past that might be interesting for a cinephile but as a Best Picture winner it's pretty lame.
12. Going My Way (1944)
This one is on the list for being a pretty forgettable winner and also winning over classics like Gaslight and Double Indemnity, the latter of which is considered to be one of the greatest film noirs of all time, if not the greatest. Going My Way is just not that exciting of a Best Picture winner. This story about a priest who inspires his new Parrish is an insipid little film that stars one of Hollywood's biggest bad guys. Sure Bing Crosby could sing and people loved in. But the man was a notorious rat bastard to his children. If Bing Crosby was working today, his personal life would have ruined his life like it did to actors like Bill Cosby and Mel Gibson.
11. The English Patient (1996)
I don't hate this film. In fact I like it a lot. It's well made and masterfully acted. It's an epic romantic story set in the second World War and told in flashbacks by a dying man. But two things puts it's on this list. One is in hindsight Fargo should have won that year over this. This was a typical Oscar bait film striving to win it all where Fargo is a brilliant small town crime story made by two of the greatest American directors of all time. I get why The English Patient won but Fargo was robbed. The second is the best episode of Seinfeld is about Elaine being forced to constantly sit through this film because she can't bring herself to say she hated it. Finally she shouts at the screen and tells Ralph Fiennes to just die already. Yeah, that's pretty much The English Patient.
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