Winning the best picture Oscar at the Academy Awards doesn't just say that a movie is regarded by Hollywood as the top achievement in the medium for the year; it cements a movie with past winners that have gone on to become classics such as “The Godfather, ” “Lawrence of Arabia, ” and “On the Waterfront.”
But the Academy voters don't always get it right. Tucked away in the 89 years of Oscar ceremonies are best picture winners that quickly vanish from the zeitgeist, never to be heard from again. That's often because they weren't as good as originally thought.
10. “Around the World in 80 Days” (1956)
Based on the Jules Verne novel, this film used all of Hollywood's resources (a $6 million budget in the 1950s was far from cheap) to create a sprawling look at the world, but the story of a super-rich English gentleman Phileas Fogg (David Niven) who attempts to win his wager to navigate the globe is silly and far from memorable.
SHOULD HAVE WON: “The Ten Commandments”
Cecil B. DeMille's final directing effort still holds strong today. With its all-star cast, particularly the incredible performance by Charlton Heston as Moses (he didn't even get an Oscar nomination for the role), and its remarkable effects for that era, it's a movie that should have been recognized with the top prize.
9. “Ordinary People” (1980)
The late 1970s and early 1980s were when the melodrama was at its zenith in movie theaters, and “Ordinary People” came around at the perfect time. The film didn't just win best picture — it also achieved best director for Robert Redford and best actor for Timothy Hutton. Granted, the film has explosive performances in it, but there needs to be more than great acting to win best picture.
