Amen to that. Tastes differ, but I think it's fair to say that this list is loaded with the sort of "important" movies (Gandhi, Dances With Wolves, The Last Emperor, Amadeus, The English Patient, to name a few) and spectacles (Titanic, Ben Hur, Gigi, Out of Africa) that Oscar voters seem to love. Thirty or fifty years later they just don't look so good. I would list only five of these (On the Waterfront, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, From Here To Eternity and The Best Years of Our Lives) as classics -- but your mileage may differ.
got 100%. I guess it would be interesting to compare the results here with the results on my own quiz, given that I gave clues on my quiz. And what do you mean about the good taste remark? All of these movies were good except maybe The English Patient. And of course big epics have the best shot at winning the largest number of Oscars... they attract high-caliber actors often in demanding roles, they test the skills of directors and producers because of their scale, so they often nab best actor/director/film awards. Plus they often have elaborate costumes, sweeping scores, meticulous art direction, impressive cinematography, etc. So... they get nominated in a lot of different categories.
The author of this quiz actually e-mailed me to say that you should be credited if I ever decide to feature it. He got the idea from you, but just wanted a different format.
Yes, I know these movies, but under the pressure of a time limit and with limited hints, I crashed. I finished with a score of 11/25. Disappointed, oh well. Thanks for the quiz!