So rather than looking at the potential winners or nominees, which this year includes everything from The Green Knight to Spider-Man, instead we’re looking at previous winners and seeing where the Best Picture winners of the last 10 years rank against each other based on their IMDb and Metacritic ratings

10. The Shape of Water (2017)

Guillermo Del Toro’s homage to Creature From The Black Lagoon is a love story between the creature (Doug Jones) and Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute cleaning lady. One of the stranger films to have won, critics seemed to love it more than audiences, as it sits at a 7.3 on IMDb, but has 87 on Metacritic. The film was also nominated in several other categories for a total of thirteen nominations, winning four, including Best Picture, Best Director for Del Toro, Best Production Design and Best Orginal Score.

9. Moonlight (2016)

Widely considered one of the more progressive choices to win Best Picture. Based on an unpublished semi-autobiographical play, it shows the life of Chiron, at three separate stages of his life. Beginning as a child, through into adolescence and ending in early adulthood. While it may not have made a huge impression on audiences, judging by its 7.4 on IMDb, critics loved it, as it sits at a 99 on Metacritic. It was the first LGBTQ film to win Best Picture, as well as first to win featuring an all-black cast.

8. Nomadland (2020)

Another historic win at the Oscars. Based on a non-fiction book about the rise of older people living nomadic lifestyles in the US. The film follows Fern (Frances McDormand) as she loses both her job and her house after the death of her husband, and her life on the road living in a van and travelling the country. Most of the cast is made up of real-life nomads, who play themselves. While it only has a 7.4 from audiences on IMDb, it was the third highest-rated film of 2020 on Metacritic. Director Chloe Zhao became the second woman and first woman of colour to win Best Director.

07. Argo (2012)

Based on true events, although sometimes criticised for its historical accuracy. This dramatisation of the “Canadian Caper” was written by Chris Terrio, who also wrote the screenplays for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker. Terrio won the Best Adapted Screenplay, while Ben Affleck won Best Director, as well as starring. Critics loved Argo more than audiences, with a 7.7 on IMDb compared to a 86 on Metacritic.

06. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014)

The Oscars love a film with a huge technical challenge and a film about the arts. Birdman has both. Micheal Keaton lampshades his own career as an actor famous for playing a superhero tries to be taken seriously. Set in and around a theatre, the film is shot so that (with one exception) it appears to be done in one take. Interestingly this fared about as well as Argo with audiences and critics, also having a 7.7 rating and 87 respectively. As well as Oscars for Directing, Orginal Screenplay and Cinematography, director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s next film The Revenant finally won Leonardo DiCaprio his Oscar.

05. The Artist (2011)

Despite being released in 2011, The Artist invokes the silent film era of the 1920s. Shot in 4:3, black and white, as well as being mainly silent, it was certainly the most unique amongst the nominees of its year. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards it won five, including Best Director and Best Actor. It was the first mostly silent winner since the first-ever Academy Awards, back in 1929. Loved by both audiences and critics, with a 7.9 on IMDb and 89 on Metacritic.

04. Spotlight (2015)

Another film based on true events, this time focused on the power and importance of journalism. The script was based on various accounts and articles from the Spotlight team. The Boston Globe published several news pieces that revealed the widespread child sex abuse in the Catholic church in the Boston area in 2003. Praised for its screenplay and performances as well as its historical accuracy, it has an impressive 93 on Metacritic, as well as an 8.1 from audiences.

03. 12 Years A Slave (2013)

Based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The book details his experiences at market, cotton and sugar farming, as well as the life and experiences of being a slave. He was eventually freed, after getting information from friends and family. Widely praised by critics and audiences, it also won for its screenplay and a supporting actress win for Lupita Nyong’o. It also sits at 8.1 on IMDb, while it has a 96 on Metacritic.

02. Green Book (2018)

Another film about race relations in the US, and also based on a true story. The eponymous “Green Book” was a guide written for African-Americans and other non-whites, to help aid safe travel. Focusing on the friendship between pianist Don Shirley and his chauffuer/bodyguard Frank Vallelonga. Although there was some controversy, it was very positively received with an 8.2 from audiences. Interestingly most critics were not as impressed, with it only scoring a 69 on Metacritic.

01. Parasite (2019)

Sitting at number 31 on IMDb’s top 250 Movies of all time, Korean director Bong Joon-ho made history by directing the first non-English language film to win Best Picture. Telling the story of a poor family who slowly infiltrate a wealthy one, the film was universally acclaimed. Focusing on class relations and the wealth gap in Korea, it struck a chord with audiences and critics around the world, with a 8.6 and 96 respectively.

Also Read: Parasite Director Bong Joon-Ho Once Described The Oscars As “Very Local” Does He Have A Point?

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Spoiler Warning for The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Shape of Water, Jojo Rabbit and Good Omens

You Can Dance…Just Someone Told You Not To

These were the brilliant words of Jeff Bridges’ character Bill Django in The Men Who Stare At Goats, an uneven film that contains one of my favourite scenes of all-time. Django is an army officer who after the horrors of the Vietnam War searches for a new path for the US Army and essentially becomes a hippy. He recruits soldiers for a special unit who will learn to become “Jedi Knights” and the very first thing he asks this unit to do is dance. When one soldier, Lyn Cassady, insists he doesn’t like dancing, Django disagrees. A flashback to the soldier’s youth shows him happily dancing to The Beatles as a child until his father yells at him for dancing. Cassady starts dancing and this indeed frees him and brings him happiness. In 45 seconds this film summed up a huge amount of the unhappiness in the world – someone told you that you should feel bad about something that makes you happy.

He Sees Me For What I Am, As I Am

One of the most surprising Best Picture Oscar-winning films ever is The Shape Of Water. This is not because it is not worthy, it is, but because it’s not the sort of film that normally wins Oscars. It is hard to overstate the importance of dancing in this film. Elisa is a janitor in a secret government facility, she is also mute, unable to speak due to a neck injury. She has a deep love of music, films and dancing and after they arrive at the secret facility a mysterious creature, listed in the credits as Amphibian Man, who also cannot speak. As neither can speak they communicate through other means – sign language and, well, dancing. There is a fantasy sequence in the film where they dance in a very Golden Era Hollywood musical performance, but for me, the more telling moments are the simpler examples of dancing. Dancing brings small moments of joy to unhappy people – Elisa, her neighbour Giles, and Amphibian Man. It is a method of communication that transcends the divide that exists between Elisa and Amphibian Man as well as showing it’s something all people – whether human or an amphibian man enjoy.

Dancing’s For People Who Are Free

Jojo Rabbit has a lot to say about dancing. Jojo is a young boy in Nazi Germany with something of an obsession with Hitler, indeed his imaginary friend is Hitler. It becomes apparent quickly that Jojo isn’t really a Nazi but drawn to the most famous person in the country. Nevertheless when he finds out that his mother is hiding Elsa, a Jewish girl a few years older than him, he is in a difficult position. Jojo’s instincts are to turn Elsa in, but then his mother will be in a lot of trouble. Jojo’s mother, Rosie, does not fit in in Nazi Germany. She is very much a free spirit and opposed to fascism and equates dancing to joy and love and freedom whereas Jojo has the narrow view that “dancing is for people who don’t have a job”. Again whilst living in Nazi Germany towards the end of the war (while it means hopefully things will change for the better, it also means soldiers fighting in your town) Rosie can find joy in something like dancing. Even more heartbreaking is Elsa’s answer to the question as to what she will do when she’s free – dance. Which is exactly what she does.

Angels Don’t Dance. It’s one of their defining characteristics

Perhaps the best moment of dancing in recent years is not from film at all but television. The tv show Good Omens is about the upcoming apocalypse…well what it’s really about is the wonder of being human – but the plot is about the apocalypse.  An angel, Aziraphale and a demon, Crowley, decide to work together to stop the apocalypse. These two have been Heaven and Hell’s agents on Earth for millennia and have grown quite attached to Earth and the people there (and against all odds, each other). Also, both have departed from the traditional views of their celestial brethren and this is shown in no better way than the fact that Aziraphale dances. The narrator, who is God, discusses the classic theological question of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but starts by saying, well angels don’t dance, it is in fact, a defining characteristic. Aziraphale is the exception- defying his fellow angels, Heaven and God, just so he can dance. If you want to see the greatest portrayal of joy in the history of film and television watch Michael Sheen dancing in Good Omens.

Also Read: Did High-End TV Replace The Mid-Budget Indie Film?

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