The 50 most-deserving Oscar winners of all time
Movies, actors, directors, soundtracks: one list to rule them all.
Mon Feb 15 2010
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Oscar winners: Click to the next image to see our 50 most-deserving Oscar winners of all time
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Oscar winners: The Third Man, Best Cinematography, 1951
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Oscar winners: Joel and Ethan Coen, Best Directors, 2008, No Country for Old Men
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Oscar winners: The Sting, Best Song Score, 1974
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Oscar winners: George Arliss, Best Actor, 1930, Disraeli
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Oscar winners: The Omen, Best Original Score, 1977
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Oscar winners: Diane Keaton, Best Actress, 1978, Annie Hall
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Oscar winners: The Virgin Spring, Best Foreign Language Film, 1961
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Oscar winners: All That Jazz, Best Editing, 1980
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Oscar winners: Barry Lyndon, Best Cinematography, 1976
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Oscar winners: Katharine Hepburn, Best Actress, 1982, On Golden Pond
Trust us, every year we hear the whining, and we sympathize: How could such an ass-terpiece win an Oscar? And of all possible human beings, why was that actor or director allowed to ramble endlessly at the podium? Rather than wallow in misery, though, we thought we'd gather the 50 instances when, unequivocally, the Academy got it right. And rank them. Did we forget your favorite? Of course we did. Tell us.
The Third Man, Best Cinematography, 1951
Carol Reed's 1949 noir boasts a svelte Orson Welles playing a man of mystery, along with a killer zither score. But it's Robert Krasker's luscious black-and-white imagery that truly sets the tone: a nightmarish Vienna of canted angles, dark shadows and romantic fog.—Joshua Rothkopf
Joel and Ethan Coen, Best Directors, 2008, No Country for Old Men
Having wowed audiences with their signature sense of black humor and borderline misanthropy for 20 years, the Coens finally nudged their way into the winners' circle with this stellar adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's pulp-existentialist novel. It's about time these guys were recognized, friendo.—David Fear
The Sting, Best Song Score, 1974
Never mind the fact that Scott Joplin's rags weren't even popular during the 1930s when this comic caper is set—they somehow made perfect sense. A popular craze was born: "The Entertainer" reached the Billboard top five, and Marvin Hamlisch was responsible for millions of unhappy piano lessons.—Joshua Rothkopf
George Arliss, Best Actor, 1930, Disraeli
Arliss's to-the-rafters performance suffers from a certain stiffness, as does most of this earnest biopic about the groundbreaking British prime minister. But the Oscar win signaled the first time a portrayal of a real-life figure nabbed a gold guy—a lesson would-be award-winners have taken to heart ever since.—David Fear
The Omen, Best Original Score, 1977
What sticks out most in this Antichrist-among-us horror flick is Jerry Goldsmith's memorable score, bowing deep to Bernard Herrmann with its insistent gothic hysteria: chanting choirs, shrieking violins, booming drums. It will scare you. And so will the nasty decapitation scene.—Keith Uhlich
Diane Keaton, Best Actress, 1978, Annie Hall
"La-di-da," offers an adorable Keaton, instantly giving the world an icon of NYC semisophistication that's never been eclipsed. The "Annie Hall look"—blazers and ties on women—affected culture profoundly, as did Keaton's relaxed air. Her ease makes sense: She was born Diane Hall and the role was pretty much herself.—Joshua Rothkopf
The Virgin Spring, Best Foreign Language Film, 1961
Ingmar Bergman's superb medieval morality tale took the prize and cemented the Swedish master's stateside reputation. Its influence would be felt most prominently—and rather bizarrely—at the grindhouse: Wes Craven adapted the revenge story to contemporary America and called it The Last House on the Left.—Keith Uhlich
All That Jazz, Best Editing, 1980
Musical numbers burst beyond the limitations of the stage—and gloriously so—in Bob Fosse's semiautobiographical triumph, edited by Alan Heim. The dances are cut together irregularly, though never incoherently; every discontinuous beat takes us deeper inside the tormented soul of our hero, choreographer Joe Gideon.—Keith Uhlich
Barry Lyndon, Best Cinematography, 1976
For their stately costume drama, director Stanley Kubrick and cinematographer John Alcott procured three of NASA's Zeiss lenses (developed for moon landings), enabling them to film certain sequences by candlelight. The results? Luminous. Inspired by the example, future filmmakers like James Cameron pushed the boundaries of technology.—Keith Uhlich
Katharine Hepburn, Best Actress, 1982, On Golden Pond
It wasn't so much the grande dame's win here that makes this particular coup so extraordinary—though her feisty delivery of "You old poop!" still makes us giggle. Rather, it's that this was her fourth Best Actress Oscar, a record that Meryl Streep and Hilary Swank are still trying to match.—David Fear
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