The Mortal sins of the Academy....Best Picture?
Everyone agrees that citizen Kane should have won best picture for 1941 over How green Was my Valley, and that Raging Bull was the best picture of 1980. This list expands that notion. It is my personal list of mortal omissions and questionable best picture winners! And, of course, what should have won!!
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- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.The movie, Rebecca, Hitchcock's first foray into American film making was awarded best picture for 1940, and it was a quality film. But the better choice should have been John Ford's masterpeice, The Grapes of Wrath.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsWalter PidgeonMaureen O'HaraAnna LeeAt the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.Again, the Academy missed the mark and overlooked the remarkable
and far superior, Citizen Kane, for Best picture for the year 1941. - DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyBarry FitzgeraldFrank McHughWhen young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.This one is really flagrant, ignoring the wonderful Double Indemnity, which should have prevailed as best picture for 1944.
- DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsJohn LauriePrince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.Olivier's masterpeice is moving and timeless, but best film of the decade was shunned and should have won; the wonderful "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" was the best picture for 1948.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.A good, entertaining well acted film, but the better choice is, yet another William Wyler classic, The Heiress,
was the best picture for 1949. - DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsJames StewartCharlton HestonBetty HuttonThe dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.Admittedly, 1952, was a very light weight year in terms of best picture caliber movies. But, "Greatest show..."? It should not have been nominated. The best of the off year were High Noon, the Quiet Man, and my personal choice, Moulin Rouge, John Huston's fine film, which should have captured the award.
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsErnest BorgnineBetsy BlairEsther MinciottiA middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.A fine and entertaining film, and historically significant, as the first Indie film to make it big, but, not worthy of the big prize with
competition the likes of Man with the Golden Arm, Picnic, and my choice, the wonderful "Mr. Roberts", the choice for best pic for 1955. - DirectorMichael AndersonJohn FarrowStarsDavid NivenCantinflasFinlay CurrieA Victorian Englishman bets that with the new steamships and railways he can circumnavigate the globe in eighty days.1956 was the most curiously weird year for Oscar. Not the greatest field of best picture entries, but many better than "Around the world
in 80 days". My choice, "The Ten Commandments" should have won! - DirectorVincente MinnelliCharles WaltersStarsLeslie CaronMaurice ChevalierLouis JourdanWeary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.Delightful romp, with the beautiful Leslie Caron, but best picture for 1958 was between Separate tables, Vertigo and Defiant Ones.
My choice... "Vertigo". - DirectorWilliam WylerStarsCharlton HestonJack HawkinsStephen BoydAfter a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.For length, it crushes the other great films, but 1959 was a year that paralleled 1939 for incredibly good entries, "Some Like It Hot",
North by Northwest, Anatomy of a Murder. My choice, Preminger's best, "Anatomy of a Murder.' Jimmy Stewart, never better! - DirectorGeorge CukorStarsAudrey HepburnRex HarrisonStanley HollowayIn 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.Amusing, well done and entertaining, but he best picture for 1964 was Dr. Strangelove, the very best of Kubrick.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.This is one really frosts me. The movie is a fine musical but 1965 is the year of the wonderful and timeless "Doctor Zhivago" easily the best picture of the year, and arguably the decade.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSidney PoitierRod SteigerWarren OatesA black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.One of my favorite movies of all time, but the better choice is
"The Graduate", a top ten of all time classic. - DirectorCarol ReedStarsMark LesterRon MoodyShani WallisAfter being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.1968 was another lean year (see 1952, 1956, 1949 and 1977). Nevetheless, better films than the winner include 2001: A Space Odyssey, Charly and my choice, "Rosemary's Baby".
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.Another lesser year, and limited choices for best film, but the better choice than the winner is my personal choice for best picture, "Julia".
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.One of the great mysteries of the academy, Chariots was the compromise dark horse winner, given the deadlock between On Golden Pond, Reds, and Atlantic city. I sugggest the best three movies of 1981 were not even nominated, Milos Foreman's Ragtime,
Sidney Lumet's gritty, Prince of the City and my choice, the underrated, "Body Heat", my best picture for 1981. - DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.Good acting and directing, an interesting biopic, but not quite best picture material. Better choice, the not even nominated and wildly underrated, "The Pope of Greenwich Village", my choice for best picture of 1984.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsMeryl StreepRobert RedfordKlaus Maria BrandauerIn 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.Out of tequila, out of valium, out of entertainment, this overly long but well acted soaper is simply not best picture caliber. My choice: "Prizzi's Honor" a great offering in the twilight of the memorable career of the wonderful John Huston.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJohn LoneJoan ChenPeter O'TooleBernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.See 1985 for similar comments on the historically significant but overly long, and plodding Emperor. Only the fine work of Peter O'Toole saves this picture. Better movies and best picture caliber
offerings include "Wall Street" and my personal choice, the wildly entertaining and well acted, "Broadcast News", my choice for 1987. - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsMorgan FreemanJessica TandyDan AykroydAn old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.Jessica and Morgan shine in this likeable tale of the post war South and human relationships that surprise, but the movie was not best of 1989. Better choices were "Glory" and my personal choice, "Dead Poets Society" as best picture for 1989.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.The academy seemed to award overly long and boring epics during this ten year run, and it's unimaginable that "Dances" won best picture. Better choices include "Awakenings", "Reversal of Fortune"
and my personal choice, the compelling "Goodfellas", my choice as
best picture for 1990. - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.Nice film, great acting and wonderful support from true pros Sally Field and Gary Sinise, but Gump was simply not nearly as good as
two standouts, the intelligent offering from the wonderful Robert
Redford, "Quiz Show" and my choice, "Shawshank Redemption",
my selection for best picture of 1994 (a very good year). - DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.Easily one of the top five misteps of the Academy, and maybe the
most egregious (see also 1990, 2000, 1952, 1956 and 1998), the year 1995 was graced with one of the best movies of all time, Ron Howard's best, the wonderful Apollo 13, should have won the prize. - DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.Two great films were released in 1996 and English patient was not one of them. The movies were "Jerry Maguire" and my personal choice, the Coen Brothers quirky classic, "Fargo", my selection as best picture for 1996.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletBilly ZaneA seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.1997 was a great year for movies, rivaling 1939, 1959, 1974 and 1976 in terms of numbers of best picture caliber releases. I like at least three movies better for best picture: L.A. Confidential, Good Will Hunting and my choice for best picture of the great year, 1997, "As Good as it Gets"
another winner for James L. Brooks directing iconic Jack Nicholson. - DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.Maybe the most egregious error in Academy History. Shakespeare had no business winning over the far superior and timeless,
"Saving Private Ryan" my choice for best pic of 1998. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.Another incomprehensible blunder. Gladiator? Are you kidding me;
you are killing me Academy! Better choices: Erin Brockovich and my personal favorite and selection, "Traffic", a masterpeice and my choice for 2000's best picture. - DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodViggo MortensenIan McKellenGandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.This was an award for the cumulative effort of of the three film "Rings" trilogy. The better choice is yet another Clint Eastwood gem, the gritty and entertaining, "Mystic River" my pick for best picture of 2003.
- DirectorDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaA teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.Slumdog is entertaining and innovative, loaded with Danny Boyle flourishes, which I enjoy, but the better films for 2008 were Frost/Nixon, and my personal choice, "Milk", as best picture for 2008.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.The Hurt Locker won best picture in perhaps the leanest year for best picture contenders in history. It was an historically awful year.
I liked "The Blind side" and "Up in the Air" although neither qualify as best picture caliber films. Given the necessity of needing a winner, my vote is for "Up in the Air" for the best of lot for 2009.
I am very pleased that movies rebounded with an astonishing comback and offered some true classics in 2010!!!