While looking to add movies on our calendar to my Netflix account, and around the time of the Academy Awards this year, something in me decided to look up all of those films that had won the award for Best Picture. Begun in 1927, there have been now 85 movies that have come out on top in a race to be declared the BEST of all for the year. Some of those that won beat out movies that are beloved classics. Some of them it's hard to even understand how they won, but they did. While there is a large amount of press surrounding those movies nominated every year, I was surprised to see how many of those among the winners I wasn't necessarily aware had even won the award. Being a film fan, I recognized many of the titles - All Quiet On The Western Front. Gone With The Wind. Casablanca. On The Waterfront. Ben-Hur. West Side Story. Out Of Africa. Dances With Wolves. Schindler's List. More to my surprise, I had already seen 27 of the 85 - I even owned a number of them - and I only knew that a few among those were that year's Best Picture.
So I've decided that along the year, while keeping my list of the movies I'd watched, I will set out to watch all 85 Best Picture winners, in order, so long as I can find them. So far, most of them are readily still available, be they from Netflix, or buying them off the web from Amazon, or even going to places such as WalMart or Target. One has alluded me, however. Cavalcade, from 1933, has an unknown availability on Netflix and the only copies I could find were either dvds for regions other than the US, or were costly to obtain. That one may have to wait.
Hopefully I will have thoughts on all the films I watch, though with me there is no telling if those thoughts will be many and long-winded, or short and to the point. One or two that I've already seen I'm not really a fan of so watching them may not go so well. We'll see. I also have it in my head to try to find all the films that lost the Best Picture award and watch those as well. That's a LOT of films, given that sometimes as many as 10 films were nominated every year.
I hope you'll come along with me on this adventure :)
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