This week’s Jump Cut is all about determining the best year ever in cinema.

“But how can you figure that out?!” you shout at whatever device you’re reading this on. “Film is too subjective an art form for you to make overarching statements like that!”

That’s a very good point, but you’re overlooking two things: 1) the Oscar best picture nominations, and 2) film ratings on the Internet Movie Database. Both obviously have degrees of subjectivity, but that’s levelled off somewhat with each institution’s sheer number of voters or raters.

So, to work out what year was the best ever for cinema, we’ve taken all the films nominated for each year’s Best Picture Oscar, and then worked out their average IMDb rating. I’ll just point out that these were the ratings as of the week of the 88th Academy Awards on 22nd February 2016. If you’re reading this in the crazy future, like 2017, some of these ratings might have changed. The full countdown from 88 to 1 are below, or you can cheat and watch the Top 5 in the video below. We won’t judge you.

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88.

1928/29 (2nd) 6.475 The Broadway Melody (W) 6.4 Alibi 6 Hollywood Revue 7.7 In Old Arizona 5.8 The Patriot No rating (lost film)

87.

1930/31 (4th) 6.56 Cimarron (W) 6 East Lynne 7.1 The Front Page 6.9 Skippy 6.3 Trader Horn 6.5

86.

1934 (7th) 7.0083 It Happened One Night (W) 8.2 The Barretts of Wimpole Street [I] 7.1 Cleopatra 6.9 Flirtation Walk 5.8 The Gay Divorcee 7.6 Here Comes the Navy 6.5 The House of Rothschild [I] 6.8 Imitation of Life 7.6 One Night of Love 6 The Thin Man 8.1 Viva Villa! 6.6 The White Parade 6.9

85.

1932/33 (6th) 7.12 Cavalcade (W) 6.1 42nd Street 7.7 A Farewell to Arms [H] 6.6 I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang 8.1 Lady for a Day 7.5 Little Women [H] 7.4 The Private Life of Henry VIII 7.3 She Done Him Wrong 6.5 Smilin’ Through 7 State Fair 7

84.

1929/30 (3rd) 7.2 All Quiet on the Western Front (W) 8.1 The Big House 7.2 Disraeli 6.5 The Divorcee 6.9 The Love Parade 7.3

83.

1931/32 (5th) 7.225 Grand Hotel (W) 7.6 Arrowsmith 6.2 Bad Girl 6.7 The Champ 7.3 Five Star Final 7.3 One Hour with You 7.4 Shanghai Express 7.5 The Smiling Lieutenant 7.8

82.

1987 (60th) 7.28 The Last Emperor (W) 7.8 Broadcast News 7.2 Fatal Attraction 6.9 Hope and Glory 7.4 Moonstruck 7.1

81=.

1955 (28th) 7.3 Marty (W) 7.7 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing 6.6 Mister Roberts 7.8 Picnic 7.2 The Rose Tattoo 7.2

1963 (36th) 7.3 Tom Jones (W) 6.8 America America 7.9 Cleopatra 7 How the West Was Won 7.1 Lilies of the Field 7.7

79.

1970 (43rd) 7.32 Patton (W) 8 Airport 6.6 Five Easy Pieces 7.5 Love Story 6.9 M*A*S*H 7.6

78.

1936 (9th) 7.35 The Great Ziegfeld (W) 6.8 Anthony Adverse 6.6 Dodsworth 8.1 Libeled Lady 7.9 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town 8 Romeo and Juliet 6.7 San Francisco 7.3 The Story of Louis Pasteur 7.4 A Tale of Two Cities 7.9 Three Smart Girls 6.8

77=.

1952 (25th) 7.36 The Greatest Show on Earth (W) 6.7 High Noon 8.1 Ivanhoe 6.9 Moulin Rouge 7.2 The Quiet Man 7.9

1985 (58th) 7.36 Out of Africa (W) 7.2 The Color Purple 7.8 Kiss of the Spider Woman 7.5 Prizzi’s Honor 6.8 Witness 7.5

Head to the next page for 75-67, or skip a few if you’re impatient…

75-67, 65-56, 53-46, 45-38, 32-27, 25-17, 15-6, the Top 5.