Gone with the Wind (1939)

Directed by Victor Fleming, George Cukor, and Sam Wood

Starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas Mitchell, Hattie McDaniel, Barbara O'Neil, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, George Reeves, Fred Crane, Butterfly McQueen, Oscar Polk, Victor Jory, Everett Brown, Rand Brooks, Laura Hope Crews, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Harry Davenport, Leona Roberts, Jane Darwell, Carroll Nye, Ona Munson, Cliff Edwards, and Ward Bond

Gone with the Wind is a landmark in filmmaking, so it is appropriate that it was named the Best Picture of 1939, a landmark year in American film. It beat out such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and deservedly so. It is the definition of epic filmmaking, with a gigantic cast, many ornate locations, a four hour running time, and even one of the most majestic scores of all time, by Max Steiner. Clark Gable starred in his third and last Best Picture winner, and Vivien Leigh won her first of two Oscars for one of the best performances ever put to film. Probably makes the top five for all-time film classics, so if you haven't seen it yet, move it to the top of your list.

Other nominees: Dark Victory (Edmund Goulding), Goodbye, Mr. Chips (Sam Wood), Love Affair (Leo McCarey), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra), Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch), Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone), Stagecoach (John Ford), The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, Mervyn LeRoy, Richard Thorpe, and King Vidor), and Wuthering Heights (William Wyler)