In honor of this weekend's Academy Awards, The Essential Films presents the 25 greatest films to ever win an Academy Award. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
1968 • Stanley Kubrick
Oscar Wins
Best Effects, Special Visual Effects
Oscar Nominations
Best Director - Stanley Kubrick
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
ALIEN
1979 • Ridley Scott
Oscar Wins
Best Effects, Visual Effects
Oscar Nominations
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
THE APARTMENT
1960 • Billy Wilder
Oscar Wins
Best Picture
Best Director - Billy Wilder
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White
Best Film Editing
Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Jack Lemmon
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Shirley Maclaine
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Jack Kruschen
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Best Sound
APOCALYPSE NOW
1979 • Francis Ford Coppola
Oscar Wins
Best Cinematography
Best Sound
Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert Duvall
Best Director - Francis Ford Coppola
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Film Editing
BACK TO THE FUTURE
1985 • Robert Zemeckis
Oscar Wins
Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
Oscar Nominations
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Best Sound
Best Music, Original Song - "The Power of Love"
CASABLANCA
1942 • Michael Curtiz
Oscar Wins
Best Picture
Best Director - Michael Curtiz
Best Writing, Screenplay
Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Humphrey Bogart
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Claude Rains
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
CHINATOWN
1974 • Roman Polanski
Oscar Wins
Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Jack Nicholson
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Faye Dunaway
Best Director - Roman Polanski
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Sound
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
CITIZEN KANE
1941 • Orson Welles
Oscar Wins
Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Orson Welles
Best Director - Orson Welles
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White
Best Sound, Recording
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture
THE DARK KNIGHT
2008 • Christopher Nolan
Oscar Wins
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Heath Ledger
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Oscar Nominations
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Best Achievement in Film Editing
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Best Achievement in Makeup
Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
1980 • Irvin Kershner
Oscar Wins
Best Sound
Best Visual Effects (Special Achievement)
Oscar Nominations
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Music, Original Score
FANNY AND ALEXANDER
1982 • Ingmar Bergman
Oscar Wins
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Costume Design
Best Foreign Language Film
Oscar Nominations
Best Director - Ingmar Bergman
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
THE GODFATHER
1972 • Francis Ford Coppola
Oscar Wins
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Marlon Brando
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - James Caan
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert Duvall
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Al Pacino
Best Director - Francis Ford Coppola
Best Costume Design
Best Sound
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
THE GODFATHER PART II
1974 • Francis Ford Coppola
Oscar Wins
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Robert DeNiro
Best Director - Francis Ford Coppola
Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Al Pacino
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Michael V. Gazzo
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Lee Strasberg
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Talia Shire
Best Costume Design
GOODFELLAS
1990 • Martin Scorsese
Oscar Wins
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Joe Pesci
Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Lorraine Bracco
Best Director - Martin Scorsese
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Best Film Editing
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
1962 • David Lean
Oscar Wins
Best Picture
Best Director - David Lean
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Sound
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Score - Substantially Original
Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Peter O'Toole
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Omar Sharif
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
1976 • Milos Forman
Oscar Wins
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Jack Nicholson
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Louise Fletcher
Best Director - Milos Forman
Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material
Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Brad Dourif
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Original Dramatic Score
PULP FICTION
1994 • Quentin Tarantino
Oscar Wins:
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Oscar Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role - John Travolta
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Samuel L. Jackson
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Uma Thurman
Best Director - Quentin Tarantino
Best Film Editing
RAN
1985 • Akira Kurosawa
Oscar Wins
Best Costume Design
Oscar Nominations
Best Director - Akira Kurosawa
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
THE RED SHOES
1948 • Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Oscar Wins
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
Best Writing, Motion Picture Story
Best Film Editing
SCHINDLER'S LIST
1993 • Steven Spielberg
Oscar Wins
Best Picture
Best Director - Steven Spielberg
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Original Score
Oscar Nominations
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Liam Neeson
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Ralph Fiennes
Best Costume Design
Best Sound
Best Make Up
SPIRITED AWAY
2001 • Hayao Miyazaki
Oscar Wins
Best Animated Feature
SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS
1928 • F.W. Murnau
Oscar Wins
Best Picture, Unique and Artistic Production
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Janet Gaynor
Best Cinematography
Oscar Nomination
Best Art Direction
SUNSET BLVD.
1950 • Billy Wilder
Oscar Wins
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Oscar Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor in a Leading Role - William Holden
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Gloria Swanson
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Erich von Stroheim
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Nancy Olson
Best Director
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Best Film Editing
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
2007 • Paul Thomas Anderson
Oscar Wins
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Oscar Nominations
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Best Achievement in Directing - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Best Achievement in Film Editing
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
THE THIRD MAN
1949 • Carol Reed
Oscar Wins
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Oscar Nominations
Best Director - Carol Reed
Best Film Editing
