The list of films that have taken home the coveted Best Picture award at the Oscars is small and exclusive. In theory, these are the best films of each year dating back to the late 1920s, although some years have had winners that were deemed controversial.
Many of Letterboxd’s users are huge moviegoers who have seen many of these Best Picture winners. These Academy Award winners have been critiqued, with some of them being among the highest average rating movies on the website. Those with the best average scores come from a variety of eras and genres.
10 All about Eva (4.3)
Many of the previous Best Picture winners that scored high on Letterboxd are considered true classics from decades past. Among them is All about Eve, which was released in 1950. At the time, the 14 Oscar nominations it received were a record and it won six of them.
Among those nominations were four for actresses. The story follows a fan who delves into the life of a famous Broadway star. In Letterboxd, All about Eve It has mostly received the perfect five-star rating (31%), but four stars are close behind (30%).
9 The Apartment (4.3)
Fast forward a decade, 1960 Apartment took home the prestigious Academy Award for Best Picture. Starring acting legends like Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, the movie is a great story even though the subject is somewhat controversial.
The film centers on an insurance clerk who allows his senior co-workers to use his residence for their business in the hopes that it will help him move up in the company. Along with Best Picture, it won Best Director and Best Screenplay. 34% of the ratings have it at five stars, while 28% have four stars.
8 No country for old men (4.3)
There is no doubt that the Coen brothers are among the greatest filmmakers in history. His films are often well received immediately or become cult hits over time. 2007 No country for old men it was one that was an instant sensation.
A critical and commercial success, this crime thriller focuses on three characters. One is a war veteran who finds a bag full of cash, another is a sheriff investigating him, and the other is a hit man looking to get the money back. Five stars appear 33% of the time for this modern classic.
7 The Silence of the Lambs (4.3)
History was made in 1991 when The silence of the lambs took home the Oscar for Best Picture. It became the first (and remains the only) horror film to win the award. To add to how impressive it was, the film also won for Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The outstanding film remains an icon of the genre thanks to the work of Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. The plot sees an FBI agent get help from a cannibal killer as he goes after a different serial killer. Again, five stars is the most common rating (35%).
6 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (4.3)
Jack Nicholson is one of the best actors in Hollywood for several reasons and one of them was his performance in One flew over the cuckoo’s nest. Released in 1975, this film did what The silence of the lambs He did so years later, winning in the top five categories.
Among those victories was Nicholson for Best Actor. The film tells the story of a new aide in a mental institution who irritates his fellow patients into rebelling against the system. Four-star reviews happen often (30%) but, like most Best Picture winners, five stars is the most common (32%).
5 Schindler’s List (4.4)
It would be difficult to find a powerful movie that Schindler’s list. Hitting theaters in 1993, this Steven Spielberg epic wowed audiences as soon as they saw it. Taking place during World War II, it followed a German industrialist who cared for his Jewish workers.
The reviews of Schindler’s list are overwhelmingly positive, with hardly anyone giving it less than three stars and a whopping 44% of users give it the perfect five stars. Along with Best Film, it won awards for Best Original Score, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and three others.
4 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (4.4)
2003 was a year in which true history was made at the Academy Awards. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King it set a record by sweeping the awards, winning all eleven Oscars for which it was nominated, the two most important being Best Picture and Best Director.
It’s still the biggest Oscar sweep in history. This Peter Jackson epic managed to end The Lord of the rings trilogy in a way that was true to the original material and a movie masterpiece. An incredible 46% of user ratings have this at five stars.
3 The Godfather, Part 2 (4.5)
Only two sequels have taken home the best picture trophy. Almost 30 years before The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King took out the feat, The Godfather II did. Directed again by Francis Ford Coppola, the 1974 drama is considered as good, if not better, than the original.
The film functioned as a sequel and a prequel, recounting the travels of Vito and Michael Corleone during the 1910s and 1950s, respectively. The middle stage of this trilogy racked up six Oscars, including Best Director, and on Letterboxd, more than half of the ratings (53%) consider it perfect.
two The Godfather (4.6)
In 1972, moviegoers first got to know the world of the Corleone family between the 1940s and 1950s. Hollywood has seen many mob movies throughout history, but arguably it has never been done better than with The Godfather, which still stands decades later.
The film took home three key Oscars, winning Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay along with Best Picture. It is considered one of the best films ever made and the ratings reflect that an incredible 57% of the reviews have given it a five-star rating.
1 Parasite (4.6)
Most of the top-rated Best Picture winners are the ones who made history. From 2019 Parasite is one of them, as it was the first and only non-English film to win Best Picture. Bong Joon-ho’s film is one of the most unique ever nominated for such major awards.
Telling the story of a poor Korean family that infiltrates a wealthy family by playing key roles in their lives, he delivered in terms of acting, direction, and emotion. Parasite it also won Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and on Letterboxd it received five stars 57% of the time.
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