The 6 Worst Oscar-Winning Best Pictures

Before the Academy Awards ceremonies, we see lots of lists — best movie ever, best movie by decade, and so on. But after Hollywood’s big night, the lists go dark. To brighten things up, here are the six absolutely worst, ever, Best Picture winners. I’ve seen them all, and though they might have been Best Picture on Oscar night, these are stinkers:

6. The Lost Weekend (1945)

Before The Lost Weekend, moviegoers hadn’t seen sloppy drunkenness on the big screen.  Billy Wilder’s binge more than made up for two decades of big-screen sobriety.  By the end of the movie, you’ll want to get on the wagon.  What carried such shock value in 1945 is a long, boozy bore.

5. Out of Africa (1985)

So pretty. So boring. At 161 minutes, it is good for one thing: getting to sleep.

4. Tom Jones (1963)

Benny Hill meets the Three Stooges meets Pride and Prejudice meets Monty Python.  This zany romp beat out serious classics like Kazan’s America, America and Lilies of the Field for Best Picture, unfortunately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbH96NJ_VIQ

3. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

This movie had it all — big 1950s-style sweep, big stars, big three-hour running time, and big color.  What it doesn’t have is staying power.

2. Cimarron (1931)

This western held the lead for worst Best Picture until recently.  Dull. Meandering. And after the opening scene, totally not worth your time.

1. Birdman (2014)

So it’s come to this.  Narcissistic. Nihilistic. Self-congratulatory.  That’s the stuff Oscar is made of these days — especially when a popular patriotic story of an American solider is the alternative Best Picture winner.  “How did we end up here, in this dump?” Michael Keaton asks.  We’d all like to know, Hollywood.  How did you end up in this dump?  The one-shot gimmick of Birdman takes you on a journey of unsympathetic and damaged actors — sort of like watching the Academy Awards ceremony on television.