Top 10 International Feature Oscar Winners of All Time

It’s important to remember that the Oscars are both an American AND a global phenomenon. For almost 100 years the Academy has made space to award a Foreign-Language film, so, of course, that means we here at CineFix are overdue to do the same. So here, in an order that’s even more meaningless than usual because we’re doing it chronologically, are our picks for the 10 Best International Feature Film Winners in the history of the Academy Awards.

While the award wasn’t regularly presented until 1957, non-American and non-English films got plenty of recognition prior to that, going all the way back to the very first Oscar ceremony. From Italy, Czechoslovakia, Japan, The Soviet Union (at the time) and even the Ivory Coast, Foreign-Language Film award winners are as varied as the cultures from which they arrive at Oscars.

The Picks:

10 - Italy - Ladri di biciclette / Bicycle Thieves (1949) dir. Vittorio De Sica
9 - France - Orfeu Negro / Black Orpheus (1959) dir. Marcel Camus
8 - Czechoslovakia - Ostře sledované vlaky / Closely Watched Trains (1966) dir. Jiří Menzel
7 - Soviet Union - Dersu Uzala (1975) dir. Akira Kurosawa
6 - Ivory Coast - La Victoire en chantant / Black and White in Color (1976) dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
5 - Denmark - Babettes Gæstebud / Babette's Feast (1987) dir. Gabriel Axel
4 - The Netherlands - Antonia / Antonia’s Line (1995) dir. Marleen Gorris
3 - Bosnia & Herzegovina - Ničija zemlja / No Man’s Land (2001) dir. Danis Tanović
2 - Iran - Forushandeh / The Salesman (2016) dir. Asghar Farhadi
1 - Japan - Drive My Car (2021) dir. Hamaguchi Ryusuke

This movie list was written by Siddhant Adlakha and edited by Justin Donaldson and Nick Mundy.

For more 100% totally related film snob content, check out most of the rest of CineFix (I’ll link some here to give you a head start…)

[benjaminforman]

These top ten lists are always so powerful. The writing is extremely adept.

[marshaprice]

I saw “Closely Watched Trains” in the theater when it came out in 1966 and enjoyed it. I was so glad to see it on the list!

[romilrh]

So glad you acknowledged Drive My Car. What a staggeringly gorgeous film. I watched it shortly after ending a complicated relationship, and it blew me away.

[PlatyNews]

My favorite tale about how the academy deals with international movies is that once a journalist asked Meryl Streep what was her feelings towards Gwyneth Paltrow winning best actress in the 1999's ceremony for Shakespear in Love, expecting Streep to say that she deserved to win instead. But Streep's reponse was that the actual best actress there was Fernanda Montenegro on Central Station, which lost the foreign language movie oscar to Life is Beautiful

[LorenTR]

Great video as always. I love your top 10 lists.

[noahboiv]

Love that every entry transitions into the next one

[TheSaltydog]

The man stole the bike because his was stolen. He is a hardworking man with a wife and family. The film is a masterpiece. Two films that I love are here that I had forgotten ("Dersu Uzala" and "No Mans Land.". Thank you❤❤❤

[anotheryoutubeuser]

A Separation should have been the one on the list intead of The Salesman. It is not only the better film, but also a top three film of the 2010s.

[ArijanMiletić]

Great to see Balkan cinema getting some recognition!

[dobredavid]

Great ! Please make top 10 movies per decades. That would be amazing

[johnnzboy]

Always a pleasure to see the gentle and tender Babette's Feast get some love.

[ScrooVonLoose]

Nice to see Antonia's Line getting some love, not enough people have seen that one.

[jackiepike]

1. Seven Samurai - Kurozawa
2. Parasite
3. Breathless
4. Love and Anarchy
5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
6. Amélie
7. Y tu mamá también
8. City of God
9. Bicycle Thieves
10. Anatomy of a Fall
11. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
12. The Seventh Seal
13. Run, Lola, Run
14. Children of Paradise
15. Train to Busan
16. Nowhere in Africa
17. Brotherhood of the Wolf
18. The Emigrants
19. Hardcore Henry
20. OSS 117

[HaagentheDazs]

Closely Watched Trains is soooo gooood! Way underrated!

[SeekingFilm]

While I do appreciate the channel's commitment to subverting typical Top 10 mindsets, I have to admit that having an overarching narrative towards the choices beyond which ones are "the best" does sometimes result in some questionable picks and snubs. Choosing Black Orpheus over any of Fellini's first 3 wins, jumping right over Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for No Man's Land and picking easily the second-best of the 2 available Farhadi wins were all definitely... choices.

[blabla]

I love that you guys don't go for the obvious choices. And how hard would that be: the winners in the Best International Feature Film category are probably more impressive than those in the Best Picture category. The list of winning classics is practically endless.

[miguelrosado]

I am happy that we finished with Drive my Car as this category has been mostly dominated by social-political movies as proven by the films elected as best in this category. Those movies are important and masterpieces but we also need foreign films about regular people living regular lives with their small everyday dramas. Not everything needs to be a war movie or an examination of society.

[frankunodostres]

wow some of these movies sound extremely interesting especially with the background information, others not so much.
nevertheless the research and passion put into this video deserves all the praise. impressive stuff

[flenst]

Always happy to see Babette's Feast get some love. Wonderful movie 🐢

[tommybardwell]

I just want the best/most memorable/most rewatchable/most enjoyable international film winners. Not a list of top 10 movies that were groundbreaking or movies that you could learn a thing or two from them. I don’t mind this list but classify the title of the video differently. I feel duped. I’ll get over it though. :)