Fri 31 Jan
Sunrise (1927)
There were two best picture winners at the first Oscars ceremony on 16 May, 1929; William Wellman’s Wings, a box-office hit which scooped the main prize; and FW Murnau’s Sunrise, which was recognised as best “unique and artistic picture” (and received two other awards) despite failing to court large audiences. The battle for the soul of the best picture category – ticket sales v artistic clout – has raged ever since
Available on Amazon Photograph: RGA
Sat 1 Feb
The Godfather (1972)
Settle into Saturday night with this best film big hitter. Marlon Brando stars as Vito Corleone, earning his second statuette for best actor after On the Waterfront. Boycotting the 45th Academy Awards, where the film won three Oscars, Brando sent Native American Sacheen Littlefeather to reject his award in protest at “the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry” and “recent incidents at Wounded Knee”. In the end, presenter Roger Moore took the statuette home – the only one he ever got his hands on
Available on Netflix Photograph: Cinetext/Allstar
Sun 2 Feb
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Perfect Sunday afternoon viewing for all the family! To date, no animated feature has ever won the Oscar for best picture – a major oversight by the Academy. But Walt Disney’s first feature-length animation was nominated for “music (scoring)” at the 10th Academy Awards, and the next year Walt himself was honoured with eight statuettes – one tall, seven small, in recognition of “a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field
Available on iTunes Photograph: Walt Disney Co/Ronald Grant Archive
Sun 3 Feb
Dangerous (1935)
Having received an unofficial “write-in” nomination for her powerful lead performance in Of Human Bondage, the incomparable Bette Davis won her first best actress Oscar in the tempestuous, hard living role of Joyce Heath (“Knowing her was like shaking hands with the devil!”). A second Oscar, for Jezebel, followed. Years later, Steven Spielberg bought both of Davis’s statuettes at auction and returned them to the academy to “prevent further commercial exploitation”
Available on Amazon Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features
Mon 4 Feb
The Year Of Living Dangerously (1983)
Proving there is no limit to the versatility of a talented performer, American Linda Hunt earned a best supporting actress Oscar playing Chinese-Australian man Billy Kwan, becoming the first person to win an Oscar portraying a member of the opposite sex. Peter Weir’s critically acclaimed political thriller, adapted from Christopher Koch’s source text, remained banned in Indonesia until 1999
Available for free on ovguide.com Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features
Wed 5 Feb
Rebecca (1940)
“Last night I dreamed I went to Manderley again…” Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar for best director (he got five nominations before finally receiving the Irving G Thalberg memorial award in 1968). But this dazzling adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s story picked up gongs for “outstanding production” (today’s best picture category) and “cinematography – black and white” (George Barnes), along with several nominations including music, art direction and special effects
Full movie available on YouTube Photograph: Cinetext/Allstar
Thurs 6 Feb
Limelight (1952)
Chaplin’s masterpiece was released internationally in the 50s, when the US had closed its doors to the film pioneer amid allegations of communist sympathies. It wasn’t until 20 years later, when Limelight received a belated US release, that the academy awarded Chaplin and collaborators Ray Rasch and Larry Russell the Oscar for best dramatic score. It was Chaplin’s only Oscar win - his other statuettes (including one for “the incalculable effect he has had making motion pictures the art form of the 20th century) were honorary
Available on iTunes Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Fri 7 Feb
Jaws (1975)
When his mechanical shark (nicknamed Bruce) failed him on screen, director Steven Spielberg turned to composer John Williams to give his man-eating drama some teeth. Williams responded with a theme now synonymous with underwater terror – two notes powerful enough to scare a generation of moviegoers out of the sea! As memorable as Bernard Herrmann’s stabbing strings from Psycho, the score for Jaws earned one of its three Oscars
Available on iTunes Photograph: Everett /Rex Features
Sat 8 Feb
Chinatown (1974)
“Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown.” Screenwriter Robert Towne was Chinatown’s only winner at the 47th Academy Awards, his script for Roman Polanski’s neo-noir masterpiece becoming a blueprint for note-perfect screenwriting; it is still used in workshops and teaching seminars for aspiring writers today. Towne and Polanski fought over many elements of the now legendary script, including the ending, which was darkened to Polanski’s taste
Available on iTunes Photograph: Moviestore Collection/Rex Features
Sun 9 Feb
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Nearly four hours long, this Hollywood epic, awarded several Oscars, will fill an entire Sunday afternoon. Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win, triumphing as supporting actress in this adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s story of the old south. Recently rereleased in the UK, this “outstanding production” winner makes for uncomfortable viewing alongside this year’s favourite, 12 Years a Slave - startling indication of just how much cinema and social attitudes have changed over 60 years
Available on iTunes Photograph: Everett /Rex Features
Mon 10 Feb
Thelma & Louise (1991)
“I don’t remember ever feeling this awake…” A home run for screenwriter Callie Khouri at the 64th Academy Awards for her brilliantly vibrant and defiant road movie about two women on the run from the police. “I just got fed up with the passive role of women,” Khouri later said of writing the movie. “They were never driving the story, as they were never driving the car.” Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis were both nominated for best actress, with Ridley Scott (who has yet to win an Oscar) earning the first of three best director nominations
Available on iTunes Photograph: Everett /Rex Features
Tues 11 Feb
The French Connection (1971)
Key to its haul of awards (which included best picture, director, actor, and adapted screenplay) was the work of Oscar-winning editor Gerald Greenberg, who cut the celebrated car/train chase. During the shooting, stunt driver Bill Hickman ran real red lights, weaved through traffic, and creased a city bus. Meanwhile, Gene Hackman was accidentally broadsided by a driver – which Greenberg used in the final cut
Available on iTunes Photograph: Cinetext/Allstar
Weds 12 Feb
Mildred Pierce (1945)
“Please don’t tell anyone what Mildred Pierce did!” begged the publicity for Michael Curtiz’s adaptation of James M Cain’s novel. On the night of the 18th Academy Awards, Joan Crawford lay in bed, allegedly feigning pneumonia, firmly believing that she would lose to Ingrid Bergman in The Bells of St Mary’s. After hearing that she had won, Crawford allowed the press to photograph her holding her statuette in her sickbed – looking fabulous! As she told the press: “I deserved it!”
Available on iTunes Photograph: Everett /Rex Features
Thurs 13 Feb
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
John Schlesinger’s tale of a hustler (Jon Voight) and his sickly friend (Dustin Hoffman) struggling to earn a living on the freezing streets of New York remains the only X-rated feature (in the US classification system) to win best picture. Schlesinger won best director in absentia, and Waldo Salt earned an adapted screenplay award. John Barry’s harmonica-led theme and Harry Nilsson’s version of Fred Neil's Everybody’s Talkin’ became film soundtrack standards
Available on Netflix Photograph: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis
Fri 14 Feb
Casablanca (1942)
“Here’s looking at you, kid.” Celebrate Valentine’s Day with the winner of the “outstanding motion picture” prize at the 16th Academy Awards. A timeless love triangle between Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid provides the vehicle for some of the most quotable lines in movie history, although debate still rages about who wrote what (Howard Koch shared the screenplay Oscar with the Epstein brothers). And when Bergman reported that she played many key scenes without knowing which man she was supposed to love, with director Michael Curtiz (who also won for best director) frustratingly telling her to “play it inbetween”
Available on iTunes Photograph: Cinetext/Allstar
Sat 15 Feb
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” The 64th Academy Awards have earned a place in history as the only time a horror film (always a Saturday-night treat) bagged the top prize – although many insist that this grisly adaptation of Thomas Harris’s novel only won because academy voters were convinced (by publicists) that “it ISN’T a horror movie!” Stars Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster took home statuettes. It won five in total
Available on iTunes Photograph: Cinetext/Allstar
Sun 16 Feb
Mary Poppins (1964)
Julie Andrews was one of the very few things PL Travers liked about Disney’s adaptation of her books – as viewers of Saving Mr Banks (which is up for several awards at tonight’s Baftas) will know. Andrews took home one of five prizes for Poppins at the 37th Academy Awards for the role of magical nanny in which she was practically perfect in every way. Her rendition of Feed the Birds remains a matchless treat, and watching this wonderful family film is still the best way to spend any Sunday afternoon. Follow up by watching coverage of this year’s Bafta awards ceremony
Available on Netflix Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Mon 17 Feb
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
In the history of the Oscars, only 12 films financed outside the US have won best picture, of which 11 were (in part or whole) backed by the UK. Danny Boyle’s brilliant tale of Mumbai street life nearly went straight to video in the US following the closure of Warner Independent Pictures. Rescued by Fox Searchlight, it became a worldwide hit, taking more than $360m and a total of eight Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards. AR Rahman and Gulzar made history for becoming the first Indians to win an Oscar in any music category
Available on iTunes Photograph: AP
Tues 18 Feb
La Strada (1954)
The academy ushered in the official foreign language film category (previous awards had been honorary) at its 29th ceremony, with Fellini’s bittersweet tale of a brutish strong man (Anthony Quinn) and the young charge (Giulietta Masina) whom he takes with him on the titular road. Although the category remains a regular source of controversy (the qualification and selection process is, frankly, absurd), many subtitled films have benefited from the Oscars’ attentions in terms of international box-office
Available on iTunes Photograph: Cinetext /Allstar
Wed 19 Feb
On Golden Pond (1984)
Regular Oscar nominee (and ceremony non-attender) Katharine Hepburn set two records at the 54th Academy Awards: the most wins for any performer (this was her fourth; all her wins were for best actress), and the longest gap between first and last wins (48 years). Despite being recognised as “the most honoured actress of all time”, Hepburn generally avoided the Oscar stage, appearing only once to present the Irving G Thalberg memorial award to producer Lawrence Weingarten. On Golden Pond also won best actor and best screenplay
Available on iTunes Photograph: AFP/Getty
Thurs 20 Feb
Lilies of the Field (1963)
Sidney Poitier (who celebrates his 87th birthday today) became the first African American to win best actor, starring in “perhaps the most extraordinary story of courage, conflict and devotion ever filmed!” Poitier plays former GI Homer Smith, who helps five nuns to build a church in this oddball, upbeat affair. “Prepare yourself for something deliciously, refreshingly different,” enthused the trailer
Available on iTunes Photograph: AP
Fri 21 Feb
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
The second part of our Sidney Poitier birthday double-bill. Oscar glory in five categories, including best picture, for this broiling tale of murder and racial tension, which twinned previous winner Poitier (in the role of Mr Tibbs) with Rod Steiger, named best actor as police chief Bill Gillespie. Stirling Siliphant’s screenplay was also a winner, while Hal Ashby (director of Harold and Maude, Coming Home and Being There) earned his only Oscar – for editing
Available on iTunes Photograph: Moviestore Collection
Fri 21 Feb
The Hurt Locker (2008)
It wasn’t until the 82nd Academy Awards that a woman would be recognised as best director – yet another reminder of just how archaic and slow to change these awards can be. Winning six Oscars in total, Kathryn Bigelow’s brilliantly tense and gruelling Iraq war drama beat the behemoth Avatar in the best picture category, meaning that if Gravity triumphs this year, it will be the first science fiction movie to take home the top prize
Available on iTunes Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Sun 23 Feb
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Is this the best looking film ever made? David Lean’s sweeping epic (which bagged several Oscars including best picture) contains some of the most memorable images of modern cinema (Omar Sharif’s arrival still dazzles), beautifully captured by Academy Award winner Freddie Young. A Blu-ray is available, but ideally this masterpiece should be viewed in a theatrical 70mm presentation – the format of which it remains the crowning glory
Available on iTunes Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images
Mon 24 Feb
Wuthering Heights (1939)
Cinematographer Gregg Toland changed the face of film with his extraordinary use of lighting and deep focus on Citizen Kane, with many film historians crediting the revolutionary genius of that film to the director of photography rather than to Orson Welles. Before being been nominated for Kane, Toland earned a statuette at the 12th Oscars for William Wyler’s classic Bronte adaptation, the first production to be shot with the new Mitchell BNC camera
Available on iTunes Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Tues 25 Feb
Monster’s Ball (2001)
“This moment is so much bigger than me.” In the 74th year of the Academy Awards, Halle Berry became the first African American to win the prize for best actress for her barnstorming performance in Marc Forster’s powerful drama. In a historic acceptance speech, she declared that: “This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll… And it’s for every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.”
Available on iTunes Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Features
Wed 26 Feb
Training Day (2001)
38 years after Sidney Poitier made history (and on the same night that Halle Berry scooped best actress), Denzel Washington became the second African American to win the Oscar for best actor – and the first to do so under an African American director, Antoine Fuqua. Washington’s portrayal of a corrupt LA cop initiating a “newbie” in the ways of the street is full-throttle and fearsome fare. Poitier was also honoured that night “for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence”
Available on iTunes Photograph: Robert Zuckerman/AP
Thurs 27 Feb
Raging Bull (1980)
With his usual dedication to total immersion, Robert De Niro performed an act of self-taxidermy for this biopic of boxer Jake LaMotta, eating his way through northern Italy to pile on 60lb for the heavier segments of the role. He also brushed up on his boxing, entering three Brooklyn boxing matches, of which he won two. Director Martin Scorsese initially balked at the project, on the grounds that “even as a kid, I always thought boxing was boring”. It also picked up best editing
Available on iTunes Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
Fri 28 Feb
My Left Foot (1989)
Daniel Day-Lewis earned his first best actor Oscar with this brilliant portrayal of Christy Brown in Jim Sheridan’s moving and insightful picture (for which Brenda Fricker also scooped best supporting actress). Later wins for There Will Be Blood and Lincoln made Day-Lewis a record-breaker. He is also that rare thing: an Oscar winner who has been portrayed by a president. “The cosmetics were challenging,” said Barack Obama, playing Day-Lewis playing Obama, in a short Spielbergian spoof. “You wouldn’t believe how long it takes to put these ears on...”
Available on iTunes Photograph: Rex Features
Sat 1 Mar
The Artist (2011)
The first “silent film” (though it does include some synched sound-effects and fleeting end dialogue) to win best picture since the first ceremony in 1929, The Artist proved that it’s still possible for the Oscars to provide pleasant surprises. In an age of ever-more spectacular 3D digital effects, who would have predicted that a black-and-white, French-backed film would win five awards and become the toast of Hollywood?
Available on iTunes Photograph: Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar
