One film to rule them all...
Along with its eleven Oscars -- including Best Picture -- and its piles and piles of cash, Peter Jackson's epic saga of wizards, hobbits, and lethal jewelry can claim one more prize: according to Yahoo! Movies users it is "The Ultimate Best Picture." With over a total of over 700,000 votes cast, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" vanquished Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" to win the coveted title.

The Ultimate Best Picture - 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'

Yahoo! users no doubt responded to LOTR's groundbreaking effects (Gollum, anyone?), the brilliantly choreographed battle scenes, the great performances by the likes of Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, and Elijah Wood, and the top-drawer source material. The trilogy itself proved to be a landmark of moviemaking if only because of its mind-boggling complex production -- simultaneously shooting all three films, using 150 locations and seven film crews, over a period of 274 days. The Academy was apparently just as bowled over by LOTR as Yahoo! Users -- it garnered 30 Oscar nominations, and seventeen wins, making it the most decorated trilogy in film history.
The road to victory for "The Lord of the Rings" as "The Ultimate Best Picture" was almost as grueling as its production. Round One featured eight brackets of five Best Picture Oscar winners fighting to the death. And it was about as gory as the Battle of Helm's Deep. The victims of Round One included such favorites as "Gladiator," which was barely bested by finalist "The Godfather," along with others like "Casablanca," "Silence of the Lambs," "Lawrence of Arabia," and "Gone with the Wind."
The eight films still standing squared off in Round Two. "The Lord of the Rings" faced its most fearsome foe in "Forrest Gump" in the tightest race of the series. At the time we called the race, "LOTR" lead by less than 1%. After voting officially ended, "Forrest" made a late surge, but the results had already been confirmed. In the semi-finals, "The Godfather, Part II" went down to "LOTR," as the first "Godfather" crushed "Schindler's List," setting the stage for this weekend's contest.
Though "The Lord of the Rings" is no doubt a major movie, I was personally disappointed that "The Godfather" didn't win. Though perhaps it lacks the impressive effects and moral certitude of "LOTR," "The Godfather" is a sweeping tale about the complicated bonds of family and corrosive effects of pursuing the American Dream at all costs. In my book, it's a movie for the ages. What I really don't understand is fervent loyalty some audiences have for "Forrest Gump." But one person's masterpiece can be another's muddle-headed treacle. In a perfect world, "Casablanca" would have beaten "Gump." But then in a perfect world, "Forrest Gump" wouldn't have won Best Picture in the first place -- "Pulp Fiction" or "The Shawshank Redemption" would have taken home the gold that year.
The other part of this entire effort we here at Yahoo! Movies have enjoyed is the thousands of user comments the topic has generated. Are you happy with the final decision or was there another film you think deserves it more? Let us know below.

"The Lord of the Rings" faced its most fearsome foe in "Forrest Gump" in the tightest race of the series.