Is Oscar the gold standard in its anointing of the best pic laurel? We juxtapose the Academy’s choice with the four major critics’ organizations (the National Board of Review, usually first out of the gate, is a hybrid of critics, academics and industry players) that helps shape public opinion and create momentum in the Oscar race.
| 2005 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Crash |  |
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| Capote | |
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| Good Night, and Good Luck | |
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| Brokeback Mountain | |
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| 2004 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Million Dollar Baby | |
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| Sideways | |
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| Finding Neverland | |
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| 2003 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| LOTR: Return of the King | |
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| American Splendor | |
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| Mystic River | |
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| 2002 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Chicago | |
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| Far From Heaven | |
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| The Pianist | |
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| About Schmidt | |
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| The Hours | |
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| 2001 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| A Beautiful Mind | |
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| Mulholland Drive | |
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| In the Bedroom | |
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| Moulin Rouge | |
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| 2000 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Gladiator | |
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| Traffic | |
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| Crouching TIger, Hidden Dragon | |
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| Yi yi (One and a Two) | |
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| Quills | |
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| 1999 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| American Beauty | |
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| The Insider | |
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| Topsy-Turvy * | |
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| Being John Malkovich * | |
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| 1998 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Shakespeare in Love | |
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| Saving Private Ryan | |
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| Out of Sight | |
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| God and Monsters | |
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| 1997 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Titanic | |
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| L.A. Confidential | |
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| 1996 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| The English Patient | |
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| Secrets & Lies | |
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| Fargo | |
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| Breaking the Waves | |
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| Shine | |
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| 1995 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Braveheart | |
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| Leaving Las Vegas | |
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| Babe | |
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| Sense and Sensibility | |
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| 1994 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Forrest Gump * | |
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| Quiz Show | |
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| Pulp Fiction * | |
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| 1993 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Schindler’s List | |
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| 1992 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Unforgiven | |
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| The Player | |
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| Howard’s End | |
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| 1991 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| The Silence of the Lambs | |
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| Bugsy | |
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| Life Is Sweet | |
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| 1990 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Dance With Wolves | |
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| Goodfellas | |
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| 1989 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Driving Miss Daisy | |
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| My Left Foot | |
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| Do the Right Thing | |
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| Drugstore Cowboy | |
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| 1988 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Rainman | |
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| The Accidental Tourist | |
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| LIttle Dorrit | |
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| The Unbearable Lightness… | |
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| Mississippi Burning | |
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| 1987 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| The Last Emperor | |
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| Broadway News | |
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| Hope and Glory | |
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| The Dead | |
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| Empire of the Sun | |
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| 1986 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Platoon | |
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| Hannah and Her Sisters | |
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| Blue Velvet | |
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| A Room With a View | |
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| 1985 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Out of Africa | |
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| Prizzi’s Honor | |
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| Brazil | |
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| Ran | |
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| The Color Purple | |
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| 1984 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Amadeus | |
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| Passage to India | |
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| Stranger than Paradise | |
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| 1983 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Terms of Endearment | |
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| The Night of the Shooting Stars | |
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| Betrayal | |
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| 1982 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Gandhi | |
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| E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | |
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| Tootsie | |
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| 1981 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Chariots of Fire | |
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| Reds | |
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| Atlantic City | |
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| 1980 | Oscar | NSFC | NBR | NYFC | LAFC |
| Ordinary People | |
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| Raging Bull | |
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| Melvin and Howard | |
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NSFC = National Society of Film Critics
NBR = National Board of Review
NYFC = New York Film Critics Circle
LAFC = Los Angeles Film Critics
*Note: There were ties for the top pic in 1994 (NBR) and in 1999 (NSFC)
