10 on Tuesday

The 10 Best Oscar Races Ever

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Often when I watch the Oscars, I slap my head and disparage the Academy's choice. But there have been some years, and some categories, where all the nominees were deserving and the race would have been too hard to call, even for Oscar geeks like me. For example:

2003 -- Best Picture
The Aviator
Finding Neverland
Million Dollar Baby (Winner)
Ray
Sideways

1991 -- Best Picture
Beauty and the Beast
Bugsy
JFK
The Prince of Tides
The Silence of the Lambs

1977 -- Best Actress
Anne Bancroft -- The Turning Point
Jane Fonda -- Julia
Diane Keaton -- Annie Hall
Shirley MacLaine -- The Turning Point
Marsha Mason -- The Goodbye Girl

1982 -- Best Picture
ET
Gandhi
Missing
Tootsie
The Verdict

1972 -- Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Albert -- The Heartbreak Kid
James Caan -- The Godfather
Robert Duvall -- The Godfather
Joel Grey -- Cabaret
Al Pacino -- The Godfather

1968 -- Best Picture
Funny Girl
Lion in Winter
Oliver!
Rachel, Rachel
Romeo & Juliet

1967 -- Best Actor
Warren Beatty -- Bonnie & Clyde
Dustin Hoffman -- The Graduate
Paul Newman -- Cool Hand Luke
Rod Steiger -- In The Heat of the Night
Spencer Tracy -- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

1950 -- Best Actress
Anne Baxter -- All About Eve
Bette Davis -- All About Eve
Judy Holliday -- Born Yesterday
Eleanor Parker -- Caged
Gloria Swanson -- Sunset Blvd.

1940 -- Best Actor
Charlie Chaplin -- The Great Dictator
Henry Fonda -- The Grapes of Wrath
Raymond Massey -- Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Laurence Olivier -- Rebecca
James Stewart -- The Philadelphia Story

1939 -- Best Director
Frank Capra -- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Victor Fleming -- Gone with the Wind
John Ford -- Stagecoach
Sam Wood -- Goodbye, Mr. Chips
William Wyler -- Wuthering Heights

With the Oscars this Sunday,
this is this year's last 10 on Tuesday devoted to the Academy Awards