Best Picture Winners, Ranked: Nos. 80-75

In this fourth part of my retrospective Oscar Outlook, I’ll be eliminating movies that took big creative or aesthetic swings, but were a bit shaky in their execution.

80. “The Artist” (2011)

A lesson in style over substance, “The Artist” was basically irrelevant to movie audiences the second it was released. It’s a technical gimmick, being black and white and silent. The Academy was obsessed with the French in 2011, as Best Picture nominees “The Artist,” “Hugo,” and “Midnight in Paris” all played on that nation’s imagery and sensibilities, and I have to assume the broader Franco-vibe was the backbone of this movie’s hype. Otherwise, the gimmick alone should not have been enough. In 2024, I doubt “The Artist” would have even been nominated for Best Picture. There’s just no staying power here.

79. “Going My Way” (1944)

Bing Crosby is legendarily suave, and he brings that energy to “Going My Way,” one of the perfectly fine, but hardly extraordinary, Best Picture winners. The standout sequence and song in the musical is one and the same – the Oscar-winning tune “Swinging on a Star.” Even still, the song is stronger and more timeless than the film itself. “Going My Way” drips with 1940s, wartime, escapist energy, and that’s a mood that tends to pass right by me.

78. “My Fair Lady” (1964)

The British Invasion was practically old news by the time “My Fair Lady” won the Best Picture prize, but the Academy was still all in. Audiences’ amusement towards this story is kind of strange. With modern eyes, it’s a pretty dated concept. “Why can’t the English learn to speak?,” Rex Harrison asks a fellow snoot while impersonating Stewie Griffin. The film appears to frame Harrison’s question as valid, but I reject that starting point. The ensuing events are too much of a bore to redeem the uninspired launch.

77. “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008)

“Slumdog Millionaire” was a massive hit with Oscar voters, but I’ve never met a real person who adores it. Aside from the soundtrack and the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” framing device, the film is pretty forgettable fare. It did introduce us to Dev Patel, who has developed over the past 15-plus years to become a very interesting artist. This probably would have been more interesting — especially in its depiction of Indian culture — had the behind-the-camera talent been more connected to the subject matter. I find the film’s style to be very distant, and the product suffers for it.

76. “The Sting” (1973)

Scott Joplin makes his presence known in this romp starring the duo of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Without its soundtrack of ragtime bangers, I’m afraid “The Sting” would be another tossed into the forgettable category for me. But with its soundtrack in place, it does elicit a very distinct moment in time. Though set in the 1930s, the grit of New Hollywood remains intact, and the two styles mix pretty well together. Yet, considering the legendary quality of the other Best Picture winners of the 1970s, “The Sting” doesn’t hold up too well.

75. “The Last Emperor” (1987)

The highlight of “The Last Emperor” is definitely the real Forbidden City being used as the primary filming location. It’s a fascinating look at China’s crumbling monarchical system. “Fascinating” is probably the right word, rather than “entertaining” or “engaging.” Bernardo Bertolucci crafted something that will appear very unusual to the average Western audience, and I’ll admit to being a bit stunned by the dynamics of the Chinese ruler’s world, and how Bertolucci chooses to portray it. Is it accurate? I’m not qualified to say, but probably not. Is it a particularly enjoyable watch? I can say it falls a bit short.

Sam Zavada is counting down his ranking of every Best Picture winner in the history of the Academy Awards in the lead up to this year’s ceremony on March 2. Participate in the Times Leader Readers’ Ballot for the 97th Oscars by filling out the form at https://bit.ly/4hd8n6F. The Readers’ Ballot will close on Friday, Feb. 27, at 8 p.m. and will be revealed in the Saturday, March 1, edition of the Times Leader.