Best Picture Winners at the Algonquin Area Public Library District

Are you getting ready for the Academy Awards? 

Catch up on past award winners, like Best Picture winners since 2000.  All of these films can be found at the Algonquin Area Public Library.

2012, 84th Academy Awards

The Artist, Find it in the Library @ DVD ART

In 1927, George Valentin is a silent movie superstar. However, the advent of the talkies will kill his career and he will sink into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller, it seems the sky's the limit as major movie stardom awaits. Though their careers are taking different paths their destinies will become entwined. (PG13, 100 min)

2011, 83rd Academy Awards

The King’s Speech, Find it in the Library @ DVD KIN

The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it. (R, 118 min)

2010, 82nd Academy Awards

The Hurt Locker, Find it in the Library @ DVD HUR

An intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the word: disarming bombs in the heat of combat. (R, 131 min)

2009, 81st Academy Awards

Slumdog Millionaire, Find it in the Library @ DVD SLU

Jamal Malik is an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' (R, 120 min)

2008, 80th Academy Awards

No Country for Old Men, Find it in the Library @ DVD NO

Llewelyn Moss is a Vietnam vet who could use a break. One morning while hunting antelope, he spies several trucks surrounded by dead bodies. He decides to examine the site. He finds a case filled with $2 million and a truck loaded with heroin. Moss takes it with him, tells his wife he's going away for awhile, and hits the road until he can determine his next move. (R, 122 min)

2007, 79th Academy Awards

The Departed, Find it in the Library @ DVD DEP

In South Boston, the state police force are waging a war on Irish-American organized crime. Undercover cop Billy Costigan is assigned to infiltrate the mob syndicate, which is run by gangland chief Frank Costello. (R, 151 min)

2006, 78th Academy Awards

Crash, Find it in the Library @ DVD CRA

A car accident brings together a group of strangers in Los Angeles. Crash takes a provocative, unflinching look at the complexities of racial tolerance in contemporary America. (R, 112 min)

2005, 77th Academy Awards

Million Dollar Baby, Find it in the Library @ DVD MIL

Frankie is a former boxing manager, who initially refuses to train Maggie due to her gender and age. With her talent and his coaching the spirited young fighter rises through the ranks of women's boxing, the pair form a touching bond in the process. (PG-13, 132 min)

2004, 76th Academy Awards

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Find it in the Library @ DVD LOR

Frodo makes his way through the darkness to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Aragon learns of his destiny as the true King and the others prepare for a massive battle that will determine the fate of Middle-Earth. (PG-13, 201 min)

2003, 75th Academy Awards

Chicago, Find it in the Library @ DVD CHI

Nightclub sensation Velma Kelly and spotlight-seeking Roxie Hart both find themselves on Chicago's famed Murderess Row. They also share Billy Flynn, the town's slickest lawyer with a talent for turning notorious defendants into local legends. (PG-13, 113 min)

2002, 74th Academy Awards

A Beautiful Mind, Find it in the Library @ DVD BEA

Dramatic biography of John Nash, a mathematical genius, who made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery.  (PG-13, 135 min)

2001, 73rd Academy Awards

Gladiator, Find it in the Library @ DVD GLA

Maximus Decimus Meridias has been named keeper of Rome and its empire by dying emperor Marcus Aurelius. Marcus' son, Commodus, assassinates his father and seizes power. Escaping an ordered execution, Maximus hurries to his home in Spain, too late to save his wife and son from the same order. Taken into slavery and trained as a gladiator by Proximo, Maximus lives to take his revenge and fulfill the dying wish of his emperor. (R, 155 min)

2000, 72nd Academy Awards

American Beauty, Find it in the Library @ DVD AME

An emotionally & spiritually comatose suburban man reverts to living as he did when he was happiest--as a carefree teenager. His desperately uptight wife and sullen daughter can only look on as he quits his corporate job to become a burger flipper, starts getting high with a strange new neighbor and lusts after a pouty blonde teenager--his daughter's best friend. (R, 122 min)