Happy Tuesday, dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.
No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?
This past weekend, the Makeup and Hairstyling Guild (MUAH) handed out its prizes honoring the best work of the year. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein emerged as one of the expected big winners, and now sits firmly atop the Oscar race in this category.
After ranking the greatest directors of all-time ahead of the DGA and the greatest costume designs ahead of the CDG, it’s time to turn to the finest makeup and hairstyling achievements in film history, following MUAH’s big weekend.
The Oscar for Best Makeup was first introduced at the 54th Academy Awards, honoring films released in 1981, when Rick Baker’s groundbreaking work on An American Werewolf in London claimed the inaugural statuette over Stan Winston’s Heartbeeps. The category briefly disappeared two years later before returning for good, eventually expanding to include Hairstyling in 2012.
From transformative creature work to subtle period detail, this craft has shaped some of cinema’s most unforgettable images and performances.
With that in mind, here are ten films whose makeup and hairstyling stand among the very finest ever put on screen.
10. The Fly (1986) – Makeup by Shonagh Jabour
9. Beetlejuice (1988) – Makeup by Ve Neill, Steve La Porte, and Robert Short
8. The Elephant Man (1980) – Makeup by Christopher Tucker and Walter Schneiderman
7. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) – Makeup by Peter Owen, Richard Taylor, and Peter King
6. Frankenstein (1931) – Makeup by Jack Pierce
5. The Thing (1982) – Makeup by Rob Bottin
4. The Exorcist (1973) – Makeup by Dick Smith
3. The Phantom of the Opera (1925) – Makeup by Lon Chaney
2. Planet of the Apes (1968) – Makeup by John Chambers
1. An American Werewolf in London (1981) – Makeup by Rick Baker
