20 Oscar Winning Films in the 21st Century

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

"Gladiator", "Lord of the Rings", "Birdman" and other works that won the nomination for "Best Film".

2000: American Beauty

• USA, 1999.
• Drama.
• Duration: 122 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

Lester Burnham is going through a midlife crisis. He is 42 years old, he hates his job and has completely cooled down to his wife, who is also cheating on him. The hero falls into depression, but soon he develops an interest in life. Lester falls in love with his daughter's classmate.

This picture with the now disgraced Kevin Spacey in the title role received an Oscar unexpectedly. Everyone predicted that the main prize would be taken by the more traditional drama "The Rules of Winemakers" based on the novel by John Irving. But the statuette was given to a provocative unusual film.

2001: Gladiator

• USA, UK, Malta, Morocco, 2000.
• Drama, peplum.
• Duration: 155 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

General Maximus was the greatest military leader of the Roman Empire. But the betrayal of the new emperor Commodus deprived him of his family and name. Now Maximus fights in the arena as a simple gladiator. He uses all his military experience and strength to one day face a longtime enemy and restore justice.

Ridley Scott's historical film combines large-scale filming, realistic brutality and real human drama. And the main roles are played by excellent actors: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and many others. This combination allowed "Gladiator" to receive the title of the best film of the year.

2002: "A Beautiful Mind"

• USA, 2001.
• Drama, melodrama, biography.
• Duration: 135 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

John Nash showed an aptitude for mathematics from his youth. He became a university professor and married one of his students. Soon he was approached by a CIA secret agent with a request to help in the search for encrypted messages in open sources. But then it turned out that in reality the situation is completely different.

Surprisingly, for two years in a row, the best films turned out to be, where the main role was played by Russell Crowe. Although it is almost impossible to recognize a brutal gladiator in the hero of A Games of Mind. In this tape, it is not only the twisted dramatic story that captivates, but also the fact that some of the events described took place in reality.

2003: Chicago

• USA, Germany, Canada, 2002.
• Drama, musical, comedy.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Roxy Hart dreams of becoming a stage star and being on a par with the famous singer Velma Kelly. And they really end up nearby - in a prison cell. Roxy shot her lover, who promised to help her with her career, and Velma killed her husband and sister in a fit of jealousy. Now both of them can only rely on the famous lawyer Billy Flynn.

The famous Broadway musical was repeatedly tried to be transferred to the big screens since the 70s, but production stopped every time. And in the end, the authors chose the most appropriate time. At the beginning of the XXI century, a new wave of interpretations of musical performances appeared, and "Chicago" not only collected a huge box office, but also received the coveted statuette.

2004: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

• New Zealand, USA, 2003.
• Fantasy, drama, adventure.
• Duration: 201 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 9.

In the third part of the film adaptation of the legendary book by John R. R. Tolkien, the hobbits are already approaching Mount Doom in order to destroy the Ring of Power and save Middle-earth. Meanwhile, Aragorn needs to regain the throne of Gondor and deal with the troops of Sauron.

The first two parts of The Lord of the Rings were also nominated for an Oscar in previous years. But the creation of Peter Jackson managed to defeat only the third time. The highest-grossing hit of the year even surpassed Lost in Translation by Sofia Coppola and The Mysterious River by Clint Eastwood.

2005: "Million Dollar Baby"

• USA, 2004.
• Drama, athletic.
• Duration: 132 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

Waitress Maggie dreams of becoming a boxer. And in the role of her coach, she wants to see only the unsociable elderly Dunn. But he refuses her over and over again, because he considers boxing not a woman's business.

Clint Eastwood managed to rehabilitate himself the following year. His sports drama, about love and loneliness, was out of competition in 2005, taking four Oscars. Including in the main category.

2006: "Collision"

• USA, Germany, 2004.
• Drama.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8

Eight short stories are united by car accidents and car robberies. The characters have to face racism, cultural confrontation and reconsider their attitude towards life.

"Clash" is one of those films that, despite major awards, remained unheard of. At the same time, the film bypassed the obvious favorite - Brokeback Mountain with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal - at the awards. This is a rather complex drama that is replete with plot twists and unexpected interweaving of destinies. But, probably, a significant role was played by the fact that one of the central themes of "Clash" is racism.

2007: "The Departed"

• USA, 2006.
• Thriller, drama, crime.
• Duration: 151 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

The adaptation of the Hong Kong film "Castling Double" follows two of the best graduates of the Police Academy. One of them was sent by a criminal group to law enforcement agencies to leak data from the mafia. Another deliberately commits crimes in order to get into a gang and pass information on to the police. Both are forced to pretend. But gradually it turns out that the world on both sides is very ambiguous.

Almost every film by Martin Scorsese has been nominated for an Oscar. But year after year, the awards went to stronger competitors. However, the film "The Departed", in which Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and many other excellent actors played excellently, received awards at once for the best film and for the best director.

2008: "No Country for Old Men"

• USA, 2007.
• Thriller, western.
• Duration: 122 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

An ordinary guy Llewellyn Moss discovers a truck full of heroin and several dead bodies. And besides that, there is also a bag with two million dollars. Moss decides to keep the valuable finds for himself, but the assassin Anton Chigur is already following his trail.

Many of the Coen brothers' tapes are filled with good humor that fits perfectly into life situations. But one of their darkest films won recognition from film academics. Few expected that the thriller, and even in the style of neo-western, will be given the main award of the year. However, the tape turned out to be too good.

2009: Slumdog Millionaire

• UK, USA, France, Germany, India, 2008.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old slum orphan from Mumbai, has almost won the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game. He has only one question left to answer, but then he is arrested by the police on suspicion of fraud. During interrogation, Jamal tells a touching story of his life: thanks to each event, he learned the answers to the most difficult quiz questions.

Interestingly, the producers initially did not pin any hopes on Danny Boyle's film and even planned to release it immediately on media, bypassing cinemas. Saved only by the stubbornness of the director. And only when the film paid off at the box office more than 10 times, everyone realized that the picture was definitely a hit.

2010: "The Lord of the Gale"

• USA, 2008.
• Drama, thriller, military.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

War in Iraq. After the death of the leader of the demining team, management sends in a new professional, William James. He copes well with the most difficult work, but cannot find a common language with colleagues. The thing is that James is too reckless and constantly endangers himself and his partners.

This picture might not have been among the Oscar nominees at all, since its premiere took place a little earlier than it should be. But still, the film was released later, and as a result, academics nominated it in nine categories. The Hurt Locker took away six statuettes, including one for Best Picture. And Katherine Bigelow became the first woman to win an award for Best Director.

2011: "The King Speaks!"

• UK, USA, Australia, 2010.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

George VI ascends to the throne of the King of Great Britain. He is reluctant to take office, because he very much doubts his leadership qualities, and besides, he also stutters a lot. But thanks to a talented speech therapist and a huge amount of training, the monarch gets rid of speech defects.

The film was nominated for an Oscar in as many as 12 categories. He won, however, only four, but these were the most important awards: "Best Film", "Best Director", "Best Original Screenplay" and "Best Actor".

2012: "Artist"

• France, Belgium, 2011.
• Drama, melodrama, comedy.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Mid-twenties of the XX century. The era of silent films is inevitably coming to an end. But talented actor George Valentine just can't get used to change. Statistician Pippi Miller helps him adapt to rapidly changing conditions. In fact, she is madly in love with Valentine.

In 2012, at the Oscars, something completely unexpected happened. High-profile premieres from legendary directors were nominated for the Best Film award: Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen, War Horse by Steven Spielberg, Keeper of Time by Martin Scorsese. But the prize went to a little-known French director Michel Hazanavicius, who made a black-and-white silent film in retro style. But the picture really deserves it.

2013: "Operation" Argo ""

• USA, 2012.
• Political thriller, historical.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

After the revolution in Iran, Islamists seize the US embassy in Tehran and take 52 Americans hostage. The six manage to escape and hide in the house of the Canadian Ambassador. Now the CIA agent must come up with a plan to evacuate these people. He decides to disguise the removal of employees as the filming of the movie "Argo".

The plot of this picture may seem too implausible. And it is all the more surprising that all the events took place in real life. True, Ben Affleck was later heavily criticized for adding too much typical Hollywood action to the action. Still, the combination of historical facts and the tense atmosphere of the thriller allowed the film to receive a major Oscar.

2014: "12 years of slavery"

• USA, UK, 2013.
• Drama, biography, historical.
• Duration: 133 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The plot is based on the autobiography of the American violinist Solomon Northup. The tape is set in 1841. Free African American Solomon lives with his wife and children in Saratoga Springs, New York. During the tour, the protagonist is sold as a slave and taken to New Orleans. There he worked on plantations for 12 years, trying to maintain human dignity.

Steve McQueen has shot one of the most emotional slavery movies ever. And from the very beginning he did not plan to film anyone's biography, but simply wanted to tell the story of a free man who found himself in a similar situation. But after he read Northup's book, it became clear that it was necessary to shoot based on it.

2015: Birdman

• USA, 2014.
• Drama, comedy.
• Duration: 119 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The former actor, once famous for his role as the superhero Birdman, is desperately trying to get his life back on track. He wants to return to his former popularity, and at the same time to deal with family affairs.

It is surprising that this film largely repeats the biography of Michael Keaton, who played the main role. He became famous playing Batman, but gradually almost disappeared from the big screens. And it was "Birdman" that brought the actor back to popularity. It is also necessary to note the unusual technical approach of director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu to filming. Almost the entire picture is staged as if there were no montage stitches in it, and this creates the feeling of one continuous scene.

2016: "In the spotlight"

• USA, 2015.
• Drama, crime, biography.
• Duration: 129 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The movie is based on real events. Four journalists from The Boston Globe learn about several cases of child molestation by priests of the Boston Metropolitanate. As they try to understand the story in more detail, they uncover the daunting scope of the case.

For the second year in a row, the Oscar for Best Picture was taken by the tape starring Michael Keaton. However, this time on a completely different topic. And Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu took the award for directing in 2016 - he just released The Survivor.

2017: Moonlight

• USA, 2016.
• Drama.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

A dark-skinned young man lives in Miami - a city ruled by drugs, money and villains. From birth he has to fight for survival and look for his own path and moral guidelines, surrounded by not the best people.

At the presentation of this prize, an unpleasant incident occurred: the organizers confused the envelopes and first announced the musical "La La Land", which was considered the favorite, as the winner. Then the presenters had to quickly correct themselves, and "Moonlight" received a well-deserved statuette.

2018: "The Shape of Water"

• USA, 2017.
• Drama, fantasy.
• Duration: 123 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

The dumb girl Eliza works as a cleaner in the laboratory. Once a new object is brought to the institution - a recently captured amphibian man. Moreover, the methods of learning from employees are the most brutal. But Eliza falls in love with the prisoner and helps him escape.

The director Guillermo del Toro was often criticized for this tape: he seemed to have collected all important social themes in the film, just to please the academics. There are racial prejudices, the Cold War, and much more. But at least visually, the work turned out to be very successful and definitely deserved a prize.

2019: Green Book

• USA, 2018.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

Early sixties. Italian-American Tony Vallelonga, nicknamed Chatterbox, works as a bouncer. After the closure of the club, he was offered a very profitable business - to be a driver and bodyguard on a two-month tour of the famous black pianist Don Shirley.

Amazingly, director Peter Farrelli, known for such works as "Dumb and Dumber" and "Movie 43", made a very touching, funny and at the same time important film about the times of segregation. The film, based on the real history of Don Shirley's tour, received well-deserved recognition, although Roma, one of the main favorites of the award, was among the candidates.