The "Saxcademy" is a group of film-enjoyers who happen to share the same last name. I thought it might be interesting to look at the "best" film across the past 3 decades (since 1990) but with a twist. Instead of stuffy, "Oscar-bait" type films dominating the nominations, 6 films across all genres were chosen as nominees and presented to the members of the Saxcademy. They were asked to rank each film in a grid from 1st to 6th with the option of writing in another film and indicating where it would finish. They were able to give multiple films votes at the same tier (so two 1st place films etc) and could also put a movie in multiple tiers although nobody did that. I then compiled the results and used the following formula to determine a winner.
1st Place - 6pts
2nd Place - 4pts
3rd Place - 3pts
2nd Place - 2pts
4th, 5th, and No Vote - 1 pt
So, here are the Saxcademy's Best Picture selections.
1990
In a close race, the first year was determined by a single point.The Hunt for Red October
John McTiernan's adaptation of Tom Clancy's novel by the same name starring Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery, Sam Neill, and James Earl Jones received 2 1st place votes and 2 2nd place votes.
Martin Scorsese's gangster epic Goodfellas received 3 1st place votes but no other votes leaving it one point short.
The other nominees ended up in this order: Arachnophobia; The Godfather, Part III; Home Alone; Days of Thunder; and write-in King of New York.
1991
3 films received 1st place votes but the leader was clear in '91.What About Bob?
The delightful Bill Murray/Richard Dreyfuss comedy from director Frank Oz got 2 1sts and 3 2nds.
James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day received 2 1sts, 2 3rds, and 1 5th finishing second while the thrilling Silence of the Lambs finished 3rd with a 1st, 2 2nds, and a 3rd.
The remaining films lined up like this: Beauty and the Beast; Hook; Point Break; and write-in Cape Fear.
1992
Another tight contest in '92 saw 4 films receive a 1st place vote.Reservoir Dogs
Tarantino's debut crime film edged out Aladdin by a single point. Dogs had 2 1sts, 1 2nd, and a 4th. Aladdin had a 1st, 2 2nds, and a 3rd.
The Last of the Mohicans got a 1st, a 2nd, a 3rd, and 2 4ths putting it tied for 3rd with The Muppet Christmas Carol which had a 1st, a 2nd, 2 3rds and a 5th. A Few Good Men, Glengarry Glen Ross, and write-in Malcolm X rounded off the list.
1993
Again 4 films got a 1st place vote in '93 but the winner was more clear.Jurassic Park
Spielberg's epic Crichton adaptation dominated with 3 1sts and 2 3rds.
The Harrison Ford thriller The Fugitive was next with a 1st, 3 2nds, and a 5th. The Civil War epic Gettysburg with a 1st, 2 3rds, and 2 4ths tied it with Spielberg's Holocaust tale Schindler's List which received a 1st, a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th. The rest were Tombstone; The Nightmare Before Christmas, and write-in Groundhog Day.
1994
Tarantino was back on top in '94.Pulp Fiction
3 1sts and a 2nd gave the masterpiece an easy victory.
The Lion King also got 2 1sts, a 4th, and a 5th. The rest were The Shawshank Redemption; Forrest Gump; Dumb and Dumber; write-in The Santa Clause; and Quiz Show.
1995
3 films got 1st place votes in '95.Apollo 13
3 1sts and 2 3rds gave the Tom Hanks-led biopic the win. Michael Mann's crime thriller Heat got 2 1sts and a 2nd and the Richard Dreyfuss drama Mr. Holland's Opus got a 1st, 3 3rds, and a 5th. The rest were Toy Story; Braveheart; Crimson Tide; and the write-in Se7en.
1996
A tight 2-horse race came down to 3 points in '96.Mission: Impossible
De Palma's franchise launcher got 3 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd to barely edge out the Sci-Fi thriller Independence Day and its 2 1sts, a 2nd, and 2 3rds.
The rest were The Ghost and the Darkness; Fargo; the write-in Jerry Maguire; James and the Giant Peach; and The Rock.
1997
Good Will Hunting3 1sts and a 2nd gave the Robin Williams/Matt Damon drama the win. Alien action-comedy Men In Black got 2 1sts and 2nds. The remaining films ended up like this: Air Force One; Jackie Brown; write-in Con Air; L.A. Confidential; and Gattaca.
1998
'98 was the first year with a unanimous decision.Saving Private Ryan
5 1st place votes slam-dunked the Spielberg-Hanks War epic. Second place was also unanimous going to Jim Carrey's dramedy The Truman Show.
The rest were A Bug's Life; The Big Lebowski; Rushmore; write-in Mulan; and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
1999
The MatrixThe Sixth Sense received 2 1sts, 2 2nds, and a 4th but that fell short of The Matrix's 3 1sts and 2 2nds.
The rest were Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace; Magnolia; The Mummy; Fight Club; and write-in The Insider.
2000
Another unanimous victory in '00.Gladiator
5 1sts for Ridley Scott's actual Best Picture Oscar winner.
The rest were Remember the Titans; The Patriot; Memento; O Brother, Where Art Thou?; and The Emperor's New Groove.
2001
Strong finishes from the Peter Jackson trilogy highlight the next three years.The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
4 1sts and a 2nd gave the first Tolkein adaptation the win over A Beautiful Mind which got a 1st, 2 2nds, and a 5th.
The rest were Ocean's Eleven; Training Day; Enemy at the Gates; Black Hawk Down; and write-in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
2002
The ability to award multiple films the same tier created an interesting situation in '02. 4 films received 1st place votes but the winner was unanimously given 5 1sts.Signs
I've written at length about how much I love Signs so I appreciated the respect it received from the Saxcademy. The other 1st place vote-getters were The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers with a 1st, 2 2nds, a 3rd, and a 4th; The Bourne Identity with a 1st, a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th; and We Were Soldiers with a 1st, a 2nd, a 3rd, a 4th, and a 5th.
Minority Report; Gangs of New York; and write-in Ice Age wrapped up the list.
2003
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe trilogy got 2 Best Pictures and a 2nd place finish in 3 years. A much better reflection of reality here with the Saxcademy than with that Oscar crowd. Master and Commander of the Far Side of the World got a 1st, 2 3rds, and a 4th but only managed to finish third behind The Last Samurai with 2 2nds and 3 3rds.
The rest were Elf; write-in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Kill Bill. Vol 1; and Mystic River.
2004
'04 has the first write-in 1st place vote.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The third Potter film got 3 1sts, a 2nd, and a 5th. The gave it a comfortable win over second-place finisher Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with 1 1st and 2 3rds. Write-in Spider-Man 2 got a 1st place vote which put it fifth overall.
The others were Napoleon Dynamite; National Treasure; Miracle; and Man on Fire.
2005
Batman BeginsChristopher Nolan's reboot got 4 1st and a 2nd to give it a clear win over Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and its 1 1st, 2 3rds, and a 4th.
The rest lined up The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; War of the Worlds; write-in Hoodwinked; Munich; and Good Night, and Good Luck.
2006
Nolan went back to back in '06.The Prestige
3 1sts and 2 2nds gave the Bale/Jackman magician mystery the win over Scorsese's The Departed and its 2 1sts, 1 2nd, and 2 3rds. Stranger Than Fiction also got a 1st, a 2nd, and a 4th.
The rest were Amazing Grace; Pan's Labyrinth; Children of Men; and write-in Inside Man.
2007
3 films got 1st place votes in 2007 but the winner was clear once again.No Country for Old Men
The Coens Brother's western got 4 1sts and a 3rd. Will Smith's Zombie thriller I Am Legend got a 1st, a 2nd, and 3 4ths and Paul Thomas Anderson's Updike adaptation There Will Be Blood got a 1st, a 3rd, and a 5th.
The rest were 3:10 to Yuma; Zodiac; Juno; and write-in Hot Rod.
2008
Nolan took a year off but was back on top in '08.The Dark Knight
The sequel was unanimously on top.
The rest of the year listed as follows: Kung Fu Panda; Taken; The Hurt Locker; Burn After Reading; write-in Wall-E, and The Brothers Bloom.
2009
Inglourious BasterdsTarantino's WWII piece got 4 1st place and 1 4th. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince got a 1st, 2 2nds, a 3rd, and a 5th.
Sherlock Holmes; Star Trek; Avatar; write-in Zombieland; and The Men Who Stare at Goats were the rest.
2010
4 of 6 to Nolan. Quite a run.Inception
4 1sts and a 2nd solidified a dominant win for the time-bending mind heist. The King's Speech got a 1st, a 2nd, a 4th, and a 6th.
The rest were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1; Despicable Me; write-in Megamind; Shutter Island; The Social Network.
Megamind was a big oversight for the nomination committee.
2011
The next two were much closer races.Moneyball
3 1sts and 2 2nds gave the Michael Lewis adaptation the edge over Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2's 2 1sts, 1 2nd, 1 3rd, and 1 5th.
The rest were Drive; write-in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; and The Ides of March.
2012
Even closer was '12 which saw 4 films get a 1st place vote.Lincoln
Spielberg's epic got 2 1sts, a 2nd, and 2 3rds. That barely beat Argo and its 1 1st, 2 2nds, and 2 4ths; Django Unchained's 1 1st, 2 2nds, and 1 5th and the second write-in 1st place vote for Dark Knight Rises.
The others were Zero Dark Thirty; The Place Beyond the Pines; and Life of Pi.
2013
No question in '13 with another unanimous winner.The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The rest fell in this order: World War Z; Inside Llewyn Davis; Gravity; Snowpiercer; write-in 12 Years a Slave; and 42.
2014
Nolan again! Truly a Saxcademy favorite.Interstellar
3 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd set it clearly above the others. John Wick and its 1st, 2 3rds, and a 4th and another write-in 1st to Guardians of the Galaxy were next.
The rest were The Lego Movie; Love & Mercy; Nightcrawler; and Whiplash.
2015
The narrowest of margins determined the winner in '15 as it was the first single-point victory since 1990.Spotlight
2 1sts and 2 2nds gave the journalism expose the single point it needed to beat Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and its 2 1sts, 1 2nd, 1 3rd, and 1 5th.
The Big Short also got a 1st, 2 2nds, a 4th, and a 5th. The rest were The Martian; The Revenant; write-in Inside Out; and Mad Max: Fury Road.
2016
While Star Wars was on the losing end of a 1 point matchup in '15 it ended up on top in '16.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
1 1st and 3 2nds made the spin-off the first winner to not actually get the most 1st place votes since the first year, 1990. Scorsese ended up in second again (a bit of a theme perhaps?) as Silence got 2 1sts, a 3rd, and a 4th.
Arrival also got a 1st, a 2nd, and 2 4ths to finish third and Hell or High Water took fourth with 1 1st, 2 3rds, and a 5th.
The rest were write-in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Deadpool; and Hidden Figures.
2017
It seems like its been a while since Nolan won (2 years) but he's back.Dunkirk
The film Tarantino called the 2nd best of the decade got 3 1sts and 2 2nds. It won easily over Get Out's 1 1st and 2 2nds and Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi's 1 1st, 1 2nd, 1 3rd, and 1 4th.
The others were mother!; Logan; write-in Blade Runner 2049; and The Death of Stalin.
2018
A tie sat at the top of '18 but in cases of a tie the film with the most 1st place votes gets the win.Avengers: Infinity War
The only Avengers film to get a Saxcademy Best Picture (Saxcar?) award (spoilers), Infinity War got 2 1sts and 2 4ths. That tied Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman in total score, but it only got 1 1st, along with 2 2nds, and a 4th.
A Star is Born also got a 1st, 2 2nds, and a 6th and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs got a 1st and a 3rd.
The rest were Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Vice; and write-in Annihilation.
2019
This past year the Saxcar made it back to Tarantino, his 4th in the 30 years.Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
3 1sts and a 4th set it above Joker and its 1 1st, 1 2nd, and 1 4th. Knives Out also got a 1st, a 3rd, and a 5th but finished fourth behind The Irishman's 3 2nds and 1 5th.
The others were The King; Ford v Ferrari; and write-in Avengers: Endgame.
So, the winners were:
1990 - The Hunt for Red October
1991 - What About Bob?
1992 - Reservoir Dogs
1993 - Jurassic Park
1994 - Pulp Fiction
1995 - Apollo 13
1996 - Mission: Impossible
1997 - Good Will Hunting
1998 - Saving Private Ryan
1999 - The Matrix
2000 - Gladiator
2001 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002 - Signs
2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2005 - Batman Begins
2006 - The Prestige
2007 - No Country for Old Men
2008 - The Dark Knight
2009 - Inglourious Basterds
2010 - Inception
2011 - Moneyball
2012 - Lincoln
2013 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2014 - Interstellar
2015 - Spotlight
2016 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2017 - Dunkirk
2018 - Avengers: Infinity War
2019 - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Let us know where we were wrong.
