10 Oscars we bet the Academy wishes they could take back
Can you really disagree with any of these mistakes?
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There is probably no peer organization that receives more blowback over their annual honors than the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. There is rarely a year when at least one Oscar winner is deemed unworthy by the media or moviegoers. Sometimes it's a question of taste. "Crash" vs. "Brokeback Mountain"? Boy,that's a debate that won't end anytime soon. Either you love "Dances with Wolves" or "American Beauty" or you don't. Either you think Sandra Bullock was deserving of a best actress Oscar or you don't. Many times, however, there is no debate. History is the greatest judge of all and the Academy has made a number of glaring mistakes over the show's past 84 installments. With that in mind, HitFix's editors have chosen 10 winners that truly weren't deserving in our eyes. These aren't necessarily the 10 most glaring mistakes, but 10 we would likely fix first.
Check out our picks in the embedded story gallery in this post.
Agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts below.
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Next 140 CommentsBVR
February 20, 2013 at 4:14AM EST Reply to CommentAgree the most with Tootsie/ET snub, Benigni's questionable win, and Kubrick's loss in '69.
How Green was my Rosebud
February 20, 2013 at 4:33AM EST Reply to CommentI feel like if Gods and Monsters came out after X-Men and Lord of the Rings made McKellen a household name, he would have been a shoo-in.
Some of these cases are revisionist history. A lot of people loved Life is Beautiful when it came out. Now it's completely uncool to say you even so much as like that movie.
And I don't recall people hating the jumping up on the chair thing at the time. It was just this wacky but memorable thing that happened. Like Cuba Gooding Jr's excited reaction after he won or Jack Palance doing one-armed push ups.
Now we act like everyone's reaction the next day was, "What an asshole!"
That being said, I think the greatest Oscar moment ever would be if Riva wins on Sunday and reacts exactly like Roberto Benigni did.
February 20, 2013 at 4:48AM ESTLousyPancakeEater
February 20, 2013 at 4:34AM EST Reply to CommentStrongly disagree with the LOTR mention. The nominees that year were indeed excellent, but so was the cinematography in the Lord of the Rings. Digital grading certainly had a lot to do with its look (the varying color tones for each setting), but I wouldn't knock Lesnie for that - on the contrary I think credit's due for the way his lensing implements the technology to serve the story. And I think in that sense his work on Fellowship and the trilogy collectively has proven influential over the past decade. The imagery is still stunning, I mean, look at the shot you included of Gandalf in Moria.
George Kaplan I'm with you. And what's with the authors of this silly list bolstering their arguments with phony endorsements...."any film historian will tell you".... bullcrap. The other nominees were excellent but I don't think its universal consensus that LOTR didn't deserve that Oscar.
February 20, 2013 at 7:43AM ESTBrendan I think "any film historian" would agree that the cinematography in FOTR had a much larger influence than the other nominees.
February 20, 2013 at 11:39AM ESTAmelie, Moulin Rouge and The Man Who Wasn't There all had very specific looks. They certainly had an influence, but it was pieces and parts. FOTR changed the way movies were shot.
Obviously hindsight is 20/20 and influence doesn't win an Oscar. But it's been so often imitated since its release that I think it's easy to forget just how groundbreaking it was on a visual level.
Danny I also disagree with the LOTR cinematography inclusion here, but I was wondering: was there some sort of backlash against Lesnie in the Cinematography branch after he won? Because he was not nominated again, and since LOTR:ROTK was nominated and even won in almost every other possible category, the cinematography "snub" seems particularly conspicuous. Certainly cinematography not even being nominated for ROTK after winning for FOTR raised many eyebrows that year. Perhaps if Lesnie hadn't won for Fellowship, there wouldn't have been a "backlash" (if there really was one) and he would have been nominated for King; and then that film might have swept a record breaking 12 Oscars (since it swept all 11 categories it had been nominated in)?
February 20, 2013 at 2:42PM ESTShaun A lot of stuff on this list is bullshit, but to single out LOTR, especially when it's for an award that the movie (and the whole trilogy, which is really what all those award wins were recognizing) was perfectly deserved. Certainly, the LOTR films were more influential, and historic, than any of the other nominees for cinematography that year.
February 20, 2013 at 11:08PM ESTSteven
February 20, 2013 at 4:37AM EST Reply to CommentI happen to enjoy The Full Monty's score quite a bit. I think it captured the essence of the movie.
Alex_B but in that case, you remember more the popular songs like "You Can Leave You Hat On" more than the actual music written for the movie (though, I enjoyed more the "I Say a Little Pray For You" scene from "My Best Friend's Wedding")
February 20, 2013 at 5:19AM ESTBrian S I'm just impressed that "The Full Monty" managed to win an Oscar in 1988, considering it wasn't released until 1997.
February 20, 2013 at 10:54AM ESTSteven Cuevas No, I very much remember the down-on-his-luck saxophone theme that plays throughout the movie. I'm a musician and can tell the difference between score and pop song.
February 20, 2013 at 1:16PM ESTCharlieChang The Titanic's band gets no respect.
March 15, 2013 at 6:02PM ESTRiley
February 20, 2013 at 4:41AM EST Reply to CommentI don't think the Academy wish they could give an Oscar to Transformers particularly after the reputation of the sequels.
Seasider We're talking about visual effects not story, acting or writing or anything else about those movies.
February 20, 2013 at 12:35PM ESTMulderism I've never watched a Transformers film but the little footage I've seen of them looks like a huge mess. And the transformers themselves don't even seem like things that weigh millions of tons.
February 20, 2013 at 3:39PM ESTDezbot I agree with Mulderism (especially about them not looking like they weigh tons). What bits I've seen of TRANSFORMERS had action that was confusing as all get out (just like most Michael Bay "action" sequences). I think the Academy was right to snub it.
February 20, 2013 at 5:51PM ESTMark Also agree. The robots looked awesome in still images, but the action sequences were a mess. Could barely tell what was going on, let alone who was winning the fight.
February 20, 2013 at 8:41PM ESTVince Smetana I don't think the AMPAS are losing sleep for snubbing a "bloated" summer movie, especially one directed by Michael Bay. Weird choice to single out Golden Compass. Kind of glad it won.
February 20, 2013 at 11:13PM ESTDefRef
February 20, 2013 at 4:41AM EST Reply to CommentThe Golden Compass probably won due to the vote being split between Transformers and Pirates 3. With the rise of Weta and some plain old hating, ILM has been blanked a lot since the mid-90s, most egregiously with The Matrix and its "Gap ad on steroids" bullet time effect beating The Phantom Menace.
One of my picks would have been Michael Caine over Haley Joel Osment in 2000 for Best Supporting Actor. HJO made The Sixth Sense; Caine got to say, "Good night you Princes of Maine, you Kings of New England." Please. Even Caine seemed embarrassed as he accepted it.
Another goof was Al Pacino getting a pity Oscar for his stupid, one-note, and roundly hated performance - consisting of "Hoowah!" and little more - over Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven.
Finally, Gladiator over Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Why does the Academy hate movies so much?
Aaron McMahon The Transformer's effects look expensive but do you actually think they look good? They look like ugly chrome machines to me.
February 20, 2013 at 5:55AM ESTEven in the entertaining original I couldn't tell the good robots or the bad ones apart. In a pretty weak year for visual effects, The Golden Compass at least looked pretty.
That Werewolf Guy @Aaron But they looked like 100% photorealistic ugly chrome machines! If complete realism for something that wasn't even there while they filmed it shouldn't be awared with an FX Oscar, I don't know what should
February 20, 2013 at 3:12PM ESTAaron McMahon When I look a FX creations like these, I appreciate the character and artistry that the Transformers lacked.
February 20, 2013 at 4:38PM ESTAs for being photo realistic, movies are about movement and the Transformers jump around weightlessly, a common complaint ILM used to get (Spider Man, Star Wars prequels, Ang Lee's Hulk)
DefRef >"the Transformers jump around weightlessly"
February 20, 2013 at 4:49PM ESTYou have no idea what that word means or looks like, do you? They're freaking alien robots, are they supposed to lumber around like the things on Robot Wars or whatever that SyFy show is?
ILM didn't do Spider-Man and the problem with Hulk was the color, not the weight. We get it, you hate Transformers, but you don't need to beclown yourself in the process. Besides, perhaps more votes split toward Pirates? If the vote was 33% for Transformers and 33% for Pirates, Battlin' Atheist Polar Bears could win with a scant 34%.
Shaun As a big fan of the books in the His Dark Materials trilogy (which includes The Golden Compass), I can tell you I was deeply disappointed with the Golden Compass movie, but the effects in the film weren't undeserving.
February 20, 2013 at 11:13PM ESTAs Aaron put it up above: "ugly chrome machines," or armored polar bears? Fuck yeah, I'll take armored (atheist) polar bears every time!
Alex_B
February 20, 2013 at 5:16AM EST Reply to Commentsome Oscars I'd take back:
- Gwyneth Paltrow's. Winning over Cate Blachett for a just OK performance... unforgiven.
- Julia Roberts'. Sure, she's a star, but it was nothing compared to what Ellen Burstyn went through on "Requiem for a Dream". Even unnominated Björk acted circles around Roberts (Juliette Binoche's nod was such a nasty filler...).
- "Hard Out There For a Pimp"'s. Neglecting an Oscar to Dolly Parton? Really? Where's Three 6 Maffia and where's Dolly right now?
- "Crash"'s.... nuff said.
- Sandra Bullock's. I'm a huuuuuge Sandra fan. Love her to tears. Her speech is among one of the best ever, but really...? is that her truly best...?
- Al Pacino's. Can you say "compensation"? He has better performance and won over others' better performances.
- Art Carney's. Same as Pacino AND HE WON OVER PACINO! Oh, and over Jack Nicholson for "Chinatown".
The Academy has made so many mistakes over the years and some are truly understandable cause of the period they were rewarded, but they really need to start thinking in advance of their decisions.
RichardZ I think "Hard Out There For a Pimp" and "Lose Yourself" are the perfect examples of Best Original Song. The songs were organic to the narrative and were used throughout the movie.
February 20, 2013 at 10:53AM ESTAlex_B "Lose Yourself" was completely deserving. "HOTFAP" (LOL)... not so much. But Tajari does a great job at singing.
February 20, 2013 at 4:18PM ESTCash Bailey
February 20, 2013 at 5:40AM EST Reply to CommentIan McKellan should absolutely have won Best Actor for his role in GODS AND MONSTERS. He was monumental in that role.
Roberto Benigni should never have won anything for his vulgar 'Happy Holocaust' folly.
Lisa First of all, "Full Monty" was at the 1998 oscars not "1988" as you listed.
February 20, 2013 at 5:56AM ESTAnd the Oscar winners i would take back in all categories would be for last year's - "The Artist"!!!!
Cash Bailey I don't give a fuck about THE FULL MONTY.
February 20, 2013 at 5:59AM ESTWhat the hell are you on about?
Aaron McMahon
February 20, 2013 at 5:50AM EST Reply to CommentI thought Oscar writer's learned their lesson when Dave Karger had a reader re-vote of the Oscars at Entertainment Weekly (news flash! all the indies and foreign films won with 20/20 hindsight!)
It's one thing to grumble about snubs and who's worthy on blogs and message boards. It's just rude and disrespectful to the winners to post articles saying their Oscars should be taken back.
Mark Since artistic contribution is so subjective, the entire concept of giving awards to the "best" is flawed to begin with. It ends up being about politics, not art. Hindsight just makes it abundantly clear.
February 20, 2013 at 11:23AM ESTGuy Lodge
February 20, 2013 at 6:13AM EST Reply to CommentNot that he was my favourite in the category (that'd be Edward Norton, not McKellen or Nolte), but I still like Roberto Benigni's win. I think that performance, like the film, is negotiating a tricky tonal balance that's more daring and difficult than it's given credit for being.
People also speak of Life is Beautiul as if it's some negligible Italian obscurity that Weinstein adopted and polished into an awards player. It won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes -- it was pretty heavyweight, even if a lot of people understandably disliked it from the get-go.
Also, I'd have voted for The Golden Compass too.
ROCK I liked Transformers visual effects a lot. But there was a lot of artristry in The Golden Compass animals. Such a fine work. I would have voted for this one too.
February 20, 2013 at 7:22AM ESTDylanS I agree with you on both counts, Guy. And so glad you mentioned Ed Norton, because it should have been HIS Oscar.
February 20, 2013 at 8:47AM ESTOptimus Prime was Robbed Yeah, people act like everyone hated Life is Beautiful and Harvey bribed everyone into voting for it or something.
February 20, 2013 at 1:08PM ESTWhat's interesting about Norton's nod was that it was the surprise nomination. Jim Carrey for Truman Show was assumed to be nominated that year. I think he might still be the only person to win Best Actor in a Drama at the Globes and not even get nominated for the Oscar. I wonder which performance has aged better: Carrey in Truman Show or Ed Norton in American History X?
DylanS Both Carrey and Norton should have been nominated, and I would have been fine with either of them winning.
February 20, 2013 at 1:29PM ESTGuy Lodge Optimus: Carrey isn't the only person to miss out on an Oscar nod after winning the Globe for Actor in a Drama (others include Omar Sharif, Anthony Franciosa and Spencer Tracy), but it's certainly an odd distinction in this era.
February 20, 2013 at 1:45PM ESTAnd to answer your question: both are good, but I'd still go for Norton.
Josh Agree. Life is Beautiful is a much stronger movie than some give it credit for. I would have given the Oscar to Edward Norton for a gutsy performance, but I feel someone should stand up for Life is Beautiful as a movie because it works on several levels.
February 20, 2013 at 7:52PM ESTRock
February 20, 2013 at 7:20AM EST Reply to CommentHow about the two Santaolalla's wins for 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'Babel', this last score being totally ineligible due to previous material released in 'The Insider' and for being a totally unbearable, plain and boring score when you listen to it (noisy). The 'Brokeback' win was also an unexplicably mistake. John Williams made his last masterpiece with 'Memoirs of a Geisha', a truly gem for film score fans.
Also Emmanuel Lubezki losing for 'Children of Men' and 'Tree of Life' was also a bit depressing. Two of the best cinematography works being snubbed...
And finally, 'Planet of the Apes' not being nominated for Best Make Up and 'Moulin Rouge' and 'A beautiful Mind' getting in.
matsunaga I agree with you regarding John Williams "Memoirs of a Geisha" score! I would actually rank it as one of his best! But Santaolalla's "Babel" win is acceptable to me, I still hope it was Navarette's "Pan's Labyrinth"...
February 20, 2013 at 10:06AM ESTAnd with all due respect to Lubezki's work in "Children of Men", Navarro's beautiful camerawork in "Pan's Labyrinth" is well deserved...
Monty Jack Not only were Santolala's cores to Brokeback Mountain and Babel plain and dull to listen to, but Brokeback's win essentially caused John Williams to retire from film scoring altogether (aside from Steven Spielberg movies), which is a crime against cinema. Even worse was Trent Reznor winning for The Social Network. Quick, hum the theme from The Social Network.
February 20, 2013 at 11:19AM ESTYeah, I thought so.
steve I had no trouble humming the theme.
February 20, 2013 at 11:33AM ESTJohn Whoa there, Brokeback has a wonderfully heartbreaking and subtle score, one of the few that instantly comes to mind when recalling the film.
February 20, 2013 at 11:38AM ESTGuy Lodge Yeah, John Williams totally half-retired from film scoring because he was so very sore about not winning a sixth Oscar.
February 20, 2013 at 1:00PM ESTGiven how much you obviously admire the man, one would think you'd give him a little more credit than that.
Monty Jack Um, I don't think it's a coincidence that the only director Williams has worked with since 2005 is one of the only directors still working who still sees the value of genuine MUSIC in films instead of aural wallpaper/sound design (like the Zimmer Batman scores). Prior to that, he still did the occasional "for hire" job for other filmmakers, usually on a "prestige", Oscar-baity drama released in the fall. The last time Williams scored a non-Spielberg, non-Lucas, non-Harry Potter movie (Spielberg produced Memoirs Of A Geisha) was The Patriot...way back in 2000.
February 20, 2013 at 1:14PM ESTGuy Lodge And now you're making a separate argument.
February 20, 2013 at 1:46PM ESTThat Werewolf Guy Whenever Trent Reznor looks at his Oscar, he thinks: "Man, I'm so glad that for any reason Daft Punk weren't nominated."
February 20, 2013 at 3:16PM ESTsomeperson @That Werewolf guy: There's no way in hell Daft Punk would have won had they been nominated.
February 20, 2013 at 7:41PM ESTOh, and the main theme of The Social Network came to me almost immediately, as did the main theme of Babel. I remember being very excited that Babel won best score, because it stuck out more than any other score I had heard that year.
RichardZ
February 20, 2013 at 7:23AM EST Reply to CommentWell, Gandhi was a perfect example of a movie with gravitas. It really is no wonder why Lincoln might still have a chance to win BP.
Helene Gandhi is on my list of favorite movies of all time. I watch it at least once per year and i think it always stands up. Are the complaints based on length? The topic easily filled the time. I don't remember being bored for a second. The arc of Gandhi's life and career (lawyer to martyr) and influence outstanding. The cast a joy to watch. I really don't understand the complaint over that win. I remember being thrilled at the time. My only complaint now is rewatching it on a small screen. It well deserved the win. (Good luck to Lincoln!)
February 20, 2013 at 8:02AM ESTMJS I don't know why they're picking on Gandhi either. It's not a groundbreaking film or anything but it's a lot more enjoyable than most biopics and its got great acting and production values. There have certainly been many many many worse BP winners.
February 20, 2013 at 8:40AM ESTRichardZ E.T. was bordering-fantasy scifi and Tootsie was a romantic comedy. Even by today's standards, it's hard to see either win Best Picture. I love Tootsie (but I don't really care for E.T.). As for Best Picture that year, was Missing vs. Gandhi the closest competition for Best Picture. I ask because Argo reminds me of Missing (and Gandhi of Lincoln).
February 20, 2013 at 11:03AM ESTFor the record, I find these types of "who should have won post" a little pointless and kinda mean---some authors were successful staying away from the 'mean' tone --Kris was a standout in that regard.
prettok Does that make 'Silver Linings Playbook' this years Tootsie? And 'Amour' this years 'Sophies Choice"?
February 20, 2013 at 5:43PM ESTI think Tootsie was Gandhi's biggest s
competition. Missing was very small, and people were really REALLY sick of E.T. everywhere by the time Oscars came around in March 1983.
Dominik
February 20, 2013 at 7:52AM EST Reply to CommentIn the "Gandhi"-year, I´d truly have prefered either "Missing" (alongside "Z", Costa-Garvras best) or "The Verdict". At least the Academy should have given the award to Paul Newman for his stunning portrayal (and not for Gandhi-lookalike Ben Kingsley).
Spaking about the more recent past, the Award that almost made me wanted to puke was "Chicago" (such a blatant banality of a movie) winning over "The Pianist", one of the two most impressive cinematic examinations of the Holocaust (the other one is Lanzmann´s "Shoah").
Another obscurity: Dustin Hoffman winning for "Rain Man" (such a manipulative pain in the ass-movie) and Jeremy Irons not even nominated (!) for "Dead Ringers"... holy mess!
DylanS Pick on the film all you want, but Kingsley totally deserved his Oscar, and if they did it over again he'd still win.
February 20, 2013 at 8:48AM ESTFilmGrrrl
February 20, 2013 at 8:05AM EST Reply to CommentWhat about Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive over Ralph Fiennes for Schindler's List? Robbed!
Dominik Totally agree.
February 20, 2013 at 8:16AM ESTDylanS over DiCaprio in "Gilbert Grape" as well. Probably DiCaprio's best performance.
February 20, 2013 at 8:49AM ESTmsd I actually support Tommy Lee Jones winning. He made a character that was nothing special on paper into something more interesting and in turn made the film itself much better. I'm a fan of Fiennes but his character was already a fascinating one on paper and I don't think his performance elevated the film overall in that way.
February 20, 2013 at 9:16AM ESTGuy Lodge I'd have voted for Fiennes too, but Jones is pretty terrific in The Fugitive. Add DiCaprio, Postlethwaite and Malkovich, and that's the single best lineup the Academy ever assembled for Best Supporting Actor.
February 20, 2013 at 9:20AM ESTmsd Boy that WAS a great lineup. It's so hard with acting to separate the writing from the actual performance. Impossible really... But I'm content with Jones winning because I think he did such a lot with a very conventional role, which is sometimes harder to do than when the character is already richly complex in the script.
February 20, 2013 at 9:42AM ESTDon't Care Yeah, I tried doing a little research to see if I could find another year that had a stronger lineup but not really. The year with Pacino, Duvall, Caan for Godfather, Joel Grey for Cabaret is close as is the year Michael Caine won for Cider House Rules and you had Haley Joel Osment for Sixth Sense, Cruise for Magnolia, Michael Clarke Duncan for Green Mile, and Jude Law for Ripley.
February 20, 2013 at 1:39PM ESTI was watching a little Fugitive last night on AMC. They had the pop-up video version on where they had litte story notes as it went along. When it got to the scene at the dam when Harrison Ford shouts to Tommy Lee Jones that he didn't kill his wife and Tommy Lee Jones take a beat and says the famous line from the movie, "I don't care!" they had the note pop up that "I don't care!" wasn't in the script. That was an ab-lib from Jones. Add that to he's the only character of the five that got his own spin-off movie and I think they were right to give it to Jones that year.
Ricardo
February 20, 2013 at 9:12AM EST Reply to CommentTransformers not winning an Oscar is never not good.
Stefan
February 20, 2013 at 9:48AM EST Reply to CommentIn regards to the Citizen Kane loss, that film was in the midst of a major controversy and considering Hearst's power at the time, a lot of Hollywood grew a dislike for the film. The audience even booed whenever its name was announced as a nominee at the ceremony. The Academy tends to avoid voting for controversial films for Best Picture, so looking at it from an historical perspective, of course they were going to go for a light-weight feel-good film during wartime over Orson Welles' masterpiece.
Guy Lodge I'm not a huge fan of How Green Was My Valley, but I wouldn't quite call it "lightweight" or "feelgood."
February 20, 2013 at 10:27AM ESTSilencio Sounds like the ZDT story this year.
February 20, 2013 at 4:24PM ESTScottferguson How Green With My Valley is for me, along with Sunrise, the greatest film ever to win Best Picture (despite maybe being John Ford's 10th best or so film).
February 20, 2013 at 7:45PM ESTTo dismiss the only Best Picture win from America's greatest native born director is to me plain wrong.
As Dave Kehr wrote in the NYTimes a couple weeks ago (with How Green coming out on Blu-Ray), many of the devices that Welles is credited from in Kane were clearly on display in How Green.
When Welles was preparing for Kane, he was asked how he was learning to direct. He said he was studying the masters, by which he meant, he said, John Ford, John Ford, John Ford.
Citizen Kane is as great a film as ever could be made by a 25 year old. It is great. But How Green Was My Valley - a profound and emotionally deep film (far more than Kane) is also a masterpiece.
Me.
February 20, 2013 at 9:51AM EST Reply to CommentIf anyone should be here, it's Sandra Bullock for beating, well, anyone, for "The Blind Side". She shouldn't even have been nominated. Her performance sucked. That movie sucked. "Ya mess with ma son. Ya mess with meh". That scene was beyond stupid. And people say she had two "hits" that year with "The Proposal". Commercial hits maybe, but how are these crappy movies Oscar worthy. If being commercial is so important, we may as well start giving Oscars to The Twilight Franchise, or Transformers.
I mean seriously, even if I don't like some of the winners, I can see why they would get picked. Bullock though, I really don't get how you can have her name and Best Actress next to each other.
Sean
February 20, 2013 at 10:09AM EST Reply to CommentI'm gonna call bullshit on the Lord of the Rings mention. Yes, the other nominees were fantastic, but so is Andrew Lesnie's work in LOTR, particularly Fellowship which marries new technology with traditional lensing so fluidly with often stunning imagery. The later two relied on special effects more and more, but fellowship had a perfect balance of the practical and the imagined. And the way that Lesnie framed and lit those shots brought it all together. Plus the outdoors work and those signature LOTR sweeping panoramic camera shots are not soon to be forgotten. We've given Oscars to films that rely almost entirely on special effects, like Avatar, the best cinematography Oscar before and are probably going to do it again with Life of Pi this year. I would say that Lord of the Rings definitely paved the way for that. I know its now fun for bloggers and critics to try and pretend Lord of the Rings wasn't influential or even all that great especially in the wake of the new hobbit films. But when you do that you really are talking out of your asses. I'm pretty sure film scholars will see the importance and significance of how these films revived a genre and shaped the industry.
Jan
February 20, 2013 at 10:25AM EST Reply to CommentI saw Suspicion for the first time last week, and... Kris, do you really think it's a good film, let alone a great one? It's by far the weakest Hitchcock I've seen: Joan Fontaine's character is just plain stupid, and the ending was a total cop-out - I read afterwards that it was insisted on by the studio and Hitchcock himself disliked it.
Guy Lodge I kind of agree with this -- one of his weaker efforts, and Fontaine's Best Actress win was a blatant make-up award for far superior work in Rebecca the previous year.
February 20, 2013 at 10:29AM ESTJohn There are a ton of worse Hitchock films (Under Capricorn, Lifeboat, Rope, Stage Fright, and I Confess for starters) but I agree it was far from a great film, though it was very well acted.
February 20, 2013 at 11:55AM ESTjcalhoun Yeah, agree that Maltese Falcon and of course Citizen Kane were more deserving, but no way is Suspicion a better film than How Green Was My Valley. Just 'cause Hitchcock directed it doesn't mean it's a masterpiece.
February 20, 2013 at 12:12PM ESTJan I actually thought that it was Fontaine's uninspired performance combined with the repetitiveness of the script that made her character seem half-witted.
February 20, 2013 at 12:13PM ESTprettok Make-up awards were happening aoll the time those years.
February 20, 2013 at 5:49PM ESTjimmy stewart won for the philadelphia story because he lost the year before (for Mr.Smith) to Robert Donat, who should have won the year before THAT for the Citadel.
Intellectual Ninja
February 20, 2013 at 10:32AM EST Reply to CommentThe three biggest Oscar Crimes happened in the same year:
Paltrow winning over Blanchett.
Benigni beating McKellan or Hanks (sorry, like him better in Ryan than Nolte in Affliction)
And Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan.
But Shakespeare in Love is still a much better film than the 2002 Best Picture winner, A Beautiful Mind, which might be (all apologies to The Greatest Show on Earth) the single worst Best Picture winner of all time. The film is the most saccharine, phony film I think I've ever seen. Not one note of it rings true. That film winning is just a make-up for the Academy screwing Ron Howard for Apollo 13, which should have won everything (Tom Hanks is still waiting for his Oscar for that film, too). But the worst thing, is that awarding A Beautiful Mind screwed the Fellowship of the Ring, which out of the theatrical releases of LOTR (not the extended editions), is probably the best of the trilogy.
I kind of take Drew's take on the Oscars: the most deserving films, the actual "best" in their categories, hardly ever win.
It's just the way it goes. While the most egregious slights still bother, like Saving Private Ryan and the other three or four Oscars Tom Hanks should've won, it's all kind of nonsense, isn't it? Just pretty people playing inside-baseball with who gets what award, and not usually anyone who's actually best.
Guy Lodge "I kind of take Drew's take on the Oscars: the most deserving films, the actual 'best' in their categories, hardly ever win."
February 20, 2013 at 10:40AM ESTIsn't that pretty much EVERYBODY'S take on the Oscars?
I can't agree, however, that Tom Hanks should have won six or seven Oscars. Two is more than enough.
Intellectual Ninja Haha, Guy, that's more hyperbole than anything else.
February 20, 2013 at 10:56AM ESTHonestly, I'd say, out of Big, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away, he should have won ONE of those.
I'm more inclined to say he was kind of robbed for Cast Away.
Nothing wrong with Hanks winning three. If he's the best, he's the best. The Yankees won 4 WS in 5 years recently. I'd have loved if my team did that, but they won because they're the best.
The Oscars is too much like College Football circa 2004, where a team got a title shot based on hype (Oklahoma) not talent and ability (Auburn).
If rappers can have rap-battles, and the NFL can have playoffs, shouldn't we take acting nominees and make them battle it out? It's the American way! ;-)
Josh
February 20, 2013 at 10:41AM EST Reply to CommentDefinitely agree with E.T. over Gandhi; I've felt that way my whole life.
However, you omitted:
-Francis Ford Coppola (who lost Best Director for The Godfather to Bob Fosse for Cabaret)
-"The Rainbow Connection" for Best Song from The Muppet Movie (which lost to "It Goes Like It Goes" from Norma Rae...seriously, can anyone even hum that today?)
-"Amelie" for Best Foreign Language Film (which lost to No Man's Land)
Isaac I can. It's actually a beautiful song ("and maybe what's good gets a little bit better, and maybe what's bad gets gone..."). I do agree that The Rainbow Connection is better, but I really like It Goes Like It Goes (there's always someone who will be able to hum a score or know the words to a song, so try not to make an ass of you or me (aka, assume))....
February 20, 2013 at 3:07PM ESTGuy Lodge Yeah, 'It Goes Like It Goes' is lovely.
February 20, 2013 at 3:32PM ESTtrippyhop I completely disagree with the Bob Fosse shouldn't have won sentiment. While I agree that Coppola was totally deserving as well, Fosse completely changed the way films work with "Cabaret." He changed the way that film editing is used in telling a story, and really revolutionized the way a movie musical is made, much more than "Les Mis" this year. Not that many movie musicals followed "Cabaret"'s formula, but still. It's a strong, deserving win, and for any director to make a movie musical set in Berlin in the 1930s into something as dark, twisted, and disturbing as it is definitely is worthy of the recognition he got.
February 20, 2013 at 5:54PM ESTGuy Lodge Yeah, I remain very happy that the top two awards were split that year. Both films were equally deserving, for my money.
February 20, 2013 at 9:29PM ESTtrippyhop I agree, Guy, and I believe that the split happened the right way.
February 20, 2013 at 10:59PM ESTShaun Maybe my heart has turned into a lump of coal since my childhood, but E.T. is incredibly overrated. I liked it when I was 12, but it just doesn't hold up all that well now. YMMV.
February 20, 2013 at 11:29PM EST"The Rainbow Connection" not winning an Oscar is a total crime though.
Seasider
February 20, 2013 at 10:41AM EST Reply to CommentI would've also added Chariots of Fire getting picked over Raiders of the Lost Ark for Best Picture or Shakespeare in Love stealing the Oscar from Saving Private Ryan.
Shaun Even though I came to really like Annie Hall when I got older, the child I was in 1977 never forgave the Academy for naming it Best Picture over Star Wars.
February 20, 2013 at 11:16PM ESTMonty Jack
February 20, 2013 at 11:13AM EST Reply to CommentThe Full Monty won Best Score (in 1998, not '88 BTW) just becase voters remembered all of the fun SONGS from the film, and can apparently not tell the difference between songs and dramatic underscore. Happens all the time.
Seasider
February 20, 2013 at 11:37AM EST Reply to CommentOne minor correction. Benigni's climbing on the chairs stunt was the reaction of him movie winning the Best Foreign Language Film not Best Actor. His Best Actor win however had his embarrassing speech about going to Jupiter and making love to everybody or whatever he said.
Paul Outlaw
February 20, 2013 at 11:47AM EST Reply to CommentThe only ones on that list that can't be argued with are Going My Way and Benigni, although I see that Guy has already disputed the Benigni inclusion, ;-)
Lenny
February 20, 2013 at 11:49AM EST Reply to CommentDidn't A Beautiful Mind nab a film editing nomination as well?
Guy Lodge Yep.
February 20, 2013 at 1:05PM ESTMonty Jack I will NEVER understand why movies up for Best Picture automatically get a Best Editing nod every damn year. Honestly, The King's Speech for Best Editing? Where was Inception's nomination that year?
February 20, 2013 at 1:16PM ESTtrippyhop Monty: no worse than Precious nabbing an Editing nomination over something like Nine, which, awful a film as it was, was still edited really well. Precious was so standard, aside from the sequence of Mary dancing downstairs while Precious is getting ready to go to bed.
February 20, 2013 at 7:12PM ESTGuy Lodge I agree that Precious didn't deserve an editing nod, but the work in that film is anything but "standard" -- it's positively demented.
February 20, 2013 at 9:31PM ESTtrippyhop Guy, I meant to say that the editing of Precious was standard, not the film itself. God, that film... demented is one word for it.
February 20, 2013 at 9:41PM ESTGuy Lodge No, I'm specifically talking about the editing, which is completely unhinged. Watch it again (if you dare).
February 21, 2013 at 9:54AM ESTGeorge
February 20, 2013 at 11:54AM EST Reply to CommentI doubt that the same organization that gave Art Carney an Oscar over Michael Corleone and Jake Gittes is going to lose sleep for giving a kinda deserving cinematography oscar to LOTR.
Isaac I know this is sacrilege, but I love Art Carney's performance in Harry & Tonto. The film is quite lovely and I don't mind him winning as much (even if my pick would have been Jack Nicholson)....
February 20, 2013 at 3:09PM ESTHoustonRufus
February 20, 2013 at 12:00PM EST Reply to CommentI was a child when ET lost to Gandhi. It was my first oscar heartbreak. I guess we can take solace in the fact that history has a way of setting things right, at least in terms of reputation and influence.
Some of these are mindboggling, in retrospect of course.
Vince Smetana I sobbed tears that night! (I was 9)
February 21, 2013 at 12:25AM ESTLenny
February 20, 2013 at 12:05PM EST Reply to CommentCrash over Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich, and of course Brokeback Mountain. To me, that's hard to justify...
Silencio
February 20, 2013 at 12:14PM EST Reply to CommentI've had no qualms with Benigni winning. His depth was underrated in that film. But then, Edward Norton was great, too. Maybe better. Haven't seen the other nominees in that category.
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