Sometimes it is great to support the underdog, by watching obscure films that none of our friends have ever heard of. However, there are times when we are drawn in by the prestige and popularity of big awards shows, such as the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. It is an achievement to win even one of these esteemed accolades, but some movies have managed to go above and beyond that! Here is the best of the best, as far as the critics are concerned, with films that have brought home multiple trophies from these prestigious awards shows.
Titanic (1997)
Titanic received eleven Oscars and is tied with Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for the films with the most Academy Awards. It became a roaring success in 1997, becoming the highest grossing film ever, only surpassed in 2009 by another James Cameron flick, Avatar. Titanic was also the most expensive film ever at the time, so it was important that it reaped as many awards as it could!
Ben-Hur (1959)
Ben-Hur is considered a cinematic classic, that is as long as it is revered, with a runtime of over 3.5 hours. This historical epic won eleven Academy Awards, and similarly to Titanic, Ben-Hur also had the highest budget at the time of its release. So much talent was involved with the creation of this film, including hundreds of artists for set and costume design, as well as 200 camels, 2500 horses and 10000 extras!
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The third film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as the third film to receive eleven Academy Awards, The Return of the King is another epic adventure movie (we’re sensing a pattern here) from the highly successful adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkein’s works. It also is the film with the highest sweep at the Oscars, winning all of the categories it was nominated in. This third instalment was not the only award winner out of the trilogy, with The Fellowship of the Ring receiving four Academy Awards, and The Two Towers receiving two.
All About Eve (1950)
Tying with Titanic and La La Land for the three films with the most Academy Award nominations, All About Eve received fourteen nominations, however, it fell short of Titanic’s critical success, and won six out of the fourteen categories, which is still impressive! This highly esteemed American drama film is less action-packed than the previous award winners in this list, All About Eve presents a Broadway star’s path to Hollywood, explaining why critics adored it so much.
La La Land (2016)
Despite being sixty-six years apart, La La Land and All About Eve both feature someone who ends up as a Hollywood star, and each received fourteen Academy Award nominations. La La Land is also the film with the most Golden Globes, winning seven as it took that year’s awards season by storm. It surprised everyone watching when Moonlight won Best Picture at the Oscars, especially as there was a mix-up during the announcement, when they accidentally announced La La Land as the winner!
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
This classic Disney romance was the first full-length animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, and whilst it missed out on that to The Silence of the Lambs, it did take home Best Score and Best Song. Speaking of Disney, Walt Disney holds the record for the most Academy Awards won by an individual, winning twenty-two Oscars during his lifetime. Disney has created an enormous legacy, encompassing some of the most popular franchises ever.
It Happened One Night (1934), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
These three films are the only ones to have ever won ‘the big five’ at the Academy Awards, which consists of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. These categories are considered to be the main categories at the prestigious awards night, so any film that wins all five could definitely be perceived as ‘flawless’! In total, forty-three have been nominated for all five, but with only three actually winning them all.
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