Oscars: Every Best Picture Winner Ever Ranked From Worst To Best

58. Dances With Wolves (1990)

Dances With Wolves
Orion Pictures

Kevin Costner's epic western melodrama catches a lot of flak from modern audiences for being a "white saviour" movie, and while it hasn't aged splendidly, it is still a sharply-executed stab at classic Hollywood material.

1991 was a weird year for nominees, really, with Ghost somehow making the final five alongside The Godfather Part III, but the real embarrassment here is the film somehow prevailing over Martin Scorsese's crime masterpiece Goodfellas. Even with cinema being subjective as it is, how many people really think the right film won these days?

While lacking the edge that a better film would, there is an agreeable earnestness to Costner's film, which is beautifully shot, superbly acted and soulful, even if also dramatically clumsy at times.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.