Adding to the Bucket List

The 2013 Academy Awards will air on February 24. For the first time in a long time, I’ve actually seen a couple of nominees for Best Picture as well as several other films that have been nominated. Also for the first time, I want to see more of the nominees.

I’ve seen Lincoln and Les Miserables. I’m sure that I won’t have time to see the remaining films on the list between now and the ceremony. But I will make an attempt to see them as I can.

Which brings me back to another item for my Bucket List. Truth be told, this was on the list, then it came off. Now it’s back.

My new goal, with no particular deadline other than “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” is to see all of the films that have received the Academy Award for Best Picture. I’ve got a decent start, but a long way to go.

Here’s the full list. The one’s I’ve seen are in bold. And even of those, a couple I need to see again to actually remember. Don’t judge me, Dances With Wolves was painful to sit through. It’s probably more accurate that I slept through it.

Anyway, how many of these have you seen?

Best Pictures From 1927/1928 – 2020

(years are when the film was released)

2023 – “Oppenheimer”

2022 – “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

2021 – “CODA”

2020 – “Nomadland”

2019 – “Parasite”

2018 – “Green Book”

2017 – “The Shape of Water”

2016 “La La Land”…no…”Moonlight”

2015 – “Spotlight”

2014 – “Birdman”

2013 – “12 Years a Slave”

2012 – “Argo”
2011 – “The Artist”
2010 – “The King’s Speech”
2009 – “The Hurt Locker”
2008 – “Slumdog Millionaire”
2007 – “No Country for Old Men”
2006 – “The Departed”
2005 – “Crash”
2004 – “Million Dollar Baby”
2003 – “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
2002 – “Chicago”
2001 – “A Beautiful Mind”
2000 – “Gladiator”
1999 – “American Beauty”
1998 – “Shakespeare in Love”
1997 – “Titanic”
1996 – “The English Patient”
1995 – “Braveheart”
1994 – “Forrest Gump”
1993 – “Schindler’s List”
1992 – “Unforgiven”
1991 – “The Silence of the Lambs”
1990 – “Dances With Wolves”
1989 – “Driving Miss Daisy”
1988 – “Rain Man”
1987 – “The Last Emperor”
1986 – “Platoon”
1985 – “Out of Africa”
1984 – “Amadeus”
1983 – “Terms of Endearment”
1982 – “Gandhi”
1981 – “Chariots of Fire”
1980 – “Ordinary People”
1979 – “Kramer vs. Kramer”
1978 – “The Deer Hunter”
1977 – “Annie Hall”
1976 – “Rocky”
1975 – “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”
1974 – “The Godfather Part II”
1973 – “The Sting”
1972 – “The Godfather”
1971 – “The French Connection”
1970 – “Patton”
1969 – “Midnight Cowboy”
1968 – “Oliver!”
1967 – “In the Heat of the Night”
1966 – “A Man for All Seasons”
1965 – “The Sound of Music”
1964 – “My Fair Lady”
1963 – “Tom Jones”
1962 – “Lawrence of Arabia”
1961 – “West Side Story”
1960 – “The Apartment”
1959 – “Ben-Hur”
1958 – “Gigi”
1957 – “The Bridge on the River Kwai”
1956 – “Around the World in 80 Days”
1955 – “Marty”
1954 – “On the Waterfront”
1953 – “From Here to Eternity”
1952 – “The Greatest Show on Earth”
1951 – “An American in Paris”
1950 – “All About Eve”
1949 – “All the Kings Men”
1948 – “Hamlet”
1947 – “Gentleman’s Agreement”
1946 – “The Best Years of Our Lives”
1945 – “The Lost Weekend”
1944 – “Going My Way”
1943 – “Casablanca”
1942 – “Mrs. Miniver”
1941 – “How Green Was My Valley”
1940 – “Rebecca”
1939 – “Gone with the Wind”
1938 – “You Can’t Take It with You”
1937 – “The Life of Emile Zola”
1936 – “The Great Ziegfeld”
1935 – “Mutiny on the Bounty”
1934 – “It Happened One Night”
1932/1933 – “Cavalcade”
1931/1932 – “Grand Hotel”
1930/1931 – “Cimarron”
1929/1930 – “All Quiet on the Western Front”
1928/1929 – “The Broadway Melody”
1927/1928 – “Wings”

UPDATED 12/06/13:  I plan to accomplish this before the next Best Picture winner is announced.  I’m updating the list as I check them off.

UPDATED 03/01/14: I’ve been checking them off, but I’m not going to make the full list by the time the 2013 winner is announced tomorrow night.  I’m still working on it.

UPDATED 02/15/16:  Taking longer than I thought because some are hard to find.  Working my way through 31 Days of Oscar on TCM.

UPDATED: 07/06/2017

UPDATED: 12/09/2017

UPDATED: 01/06/2018

UPDATED: 02/27/2022: I think the turbulent 60s can be summed up by the fact that in 1964, “Tom Jones” beat “Cleopatra,” “How the West Was Won,” and “Lilies of the Field” for Best Picture. What were they smoking?

UPDATED: 03/08/2022

UPDATED: 04/11/2024: This year I did manage to catch all of the nominees with the exception of one.  And I’ve realized that the reason I’ve not watched a couple of the most recent winners is because of the subtitles.  If I can’t multitask, I’m not inclined to watch.  I need to work on that.