12 greatest Oscar best pictures

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By Tom O'Neil

Growl. I don't care at all what that wolf pack of film snobs say are tops among the Oscars' choices for best picture. Go 'head — try to bite my head off. I adore "Titanic," "Marty," "The Sound of Music," "Shakespeare in Love" and even — can you hear the gnashing of fangs? — "Oliver!" I also rank high more politically correct fare like "The Godfather" and "The Apartment." But in what order, you wonder? And why? Click through this gallery to view my top 12 favorites in ascending order. And growl away, as you wish. I can't hear you.

(Miramax, Columbia, Paramount Pictures, MGM)

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Tom O'Neil, Gold Derby

Tom O'Neil is the author of "Movie Awards," "The Emmys" and "The Grammys" (Penguin Putnam Books) and has reported on showbiz awards for the L.A. Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Variety, TV Guide, Reader's Digest and other major media. In 1999, he launched GoldDerby.com, the first website devoted to predicting all top showbiz awards. It was acquired by the Los Angeles Times in November 2005 and folded into the launch of TheEnvelope.com.

O'Neil's special interest is how the awards affect each other, particularly the top film prizes that can be viewed as one single gold derby with the Oscars as the finish line. Consider what happened to "Chariots of Fire," for example. In 1981, it emerged from obscurity to win awards at the Cannes Film Festival and the National Board of Review, then fell behind "Reds" and "Atlantic City" at the film critics' awards and Golden Globes, then trotted ahead as best-picture champ at the Oscars. Contact O'Neil: GoldDerby@gmail.com.