Oscars: 10 Best Pictures That Actually Were The Best

4. Schindler's List - 1994

With a film about the "Schindlerjuden" first suggested in 1963 and Thomas Keneally's non-fiction novel Schindler's Ark published in 1982, Schindler's List took a long time coming to the screen. Director Steven Spielberg, a master of populist entertainment, resisted making such a weighty film himself for a long time, but his eventual decision to direct paid off with what many consider the director's masterpiece. Beautifully and timelessly shot in black and white, Schindler's List was the first monochrome winner since Wilder's The Apartment. Wilder, a Polish-Austrian Jew who arrived in Hollywood fleeing the rise of Nazism, had been an early possible choice as director in the 1980s and described Spielberg's film as "absolute perfection". Other nominees: The Merchant-Ivory adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's modern classic The Remains of the Day was almost the opposite of Spielberg's skill with big movies. A brilliant work of intimacy and repression, it was possibly not grand enough to win and lost out on all 8 of its Oscar nominations. Mute musician drama The Piano won both lead and supporting actress awards and director Jane Campion was only the second woman to receive a Best Director nomination, but just didn't strike a chord with quite such a wide audience. Other deserving contenders: 1993 had been the greatest year of Spielberg's career. Not only did he direct the Oscar Best Picture winner, but also the biggest film of the year (indeed the highest earning film of all at that time). Jurassic Park is a perfect example of thoroughly entertaining blockbuster filmmaking, but dinosaur movies don't win Oscars. Away from Spielberg, romantic fantasy Groundhog Day is equally perfect at what it set out to do and deserved a chance at Best Picture too.