BEST BEST PICTURE WINNERS pt. 2 (1966-present) Aug 28 '03    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Movies 1776 From $8 Alias - The Complete Fifth Season From $20 The Bottom Line As promised, the second half--I just realized, if I did a 10 favorites of all time, roughly half would be on these 2 lists! 10. "American Beauty" (1999) History will look kinder on this Kevin Spacey gem than I am, but I have to mention it--how often do a first time screenwriter and first time film director combine on an award winner? Save your trip to imdb, the answer is NEVER! 9. "Midnight Cowboy" (1969) Tame by today's standards, the only X-rated film to win Best Picture is worth in- cluding if for no other reason than Dustin Hoffman's career-making Ratzo Rizzo ("I'm WALKIN' here!). 8. "Silence Of The Lambs" (1991) Two things are signif- icant here. One is that it came out in February (most Best Pictures come out in December or at the very earliest, November) meaning that voters actually REMEMBERED it. And two, in Hannibal Lecter (the great Anthony Hopkins), we had the coolest movie bad guy since Norman Bates! 7. "Annie Hall" (1977) Not quite Woody Allen's best movie, but probably as close as he's ever come to play- ing a recognizable human being on screen. And Diane Keaton has never been more luminous before or since. 6. "Unforgiven" (1992) Please, if we have to pick a film to "redefine" the Western, can't it be this one instead of "Dances With Wolves?" It can be argued that the only reason Costner's new one, "Open Range," is any good is because it owes so much to Clint's earlier work. And who's a more believable gunfighter, Clint Eastwood or the guy who did "Message In A Bottle?" I rest my case! 5. "Rocky" (1976) Sports Illustrated called this the SECOND best sports film EVER? What are they smoking over at Time-Life? But hype aside, there's no denying it was a wonderful story and Stallone was great before he became fodder for every impressionist in America! 4. "Schindler's List" (1993) Steven Spielberg's crown- ing glory. Ben Kingsley succeeds in making Liam Neeson accessible (no small feat, or do I need to remind you of stiffs like "Michael Collins" and "The Good Mother"?). And Ralph Fiennes puts himself on the map as an urbane Nazi (talk about your oxymorons!). 3. "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" (1975) Jack at his Jack-iest! (I know it's not a word--how would YOU sum up the ultimate Nicholson performance?) And Louise Fletcher's been playing variations on Nurse Ratched for the nearly 30 years since. Incredibly smart, funny, moving film. 2. "Amadeus" (1984) Don't be scared off by the class- ical music--this eternal story of envy and jealousy could just as easily have been about two insurance salesmen or two rock stars. Plus, it was a heck of a lot wittier than you would ever expect it to be! 1. "Godfather/Godfather 2" (1972/1974) (coupled for obvious reasons) I've expressed my admiration for this masterpiece before, so I won't take up a lot of your time again, except to say that I'm convinced the world can be divided into two groups--those that love "GF/GF2" and those that have never seen them! (And if all you know of the story is "Godfather THREE," then you're in the latter group!)

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