Best Movies By Farr: When Oscar Screws Up
Just a week remains till this year's fabled Oscar night, and the tension is building. For the first time in several years, we actually have a handful of strong titles in contention, which should make the ceremony's predictably long run time at least count for something.
The very first Academy Awards began much more humbly (sanely, some might say) at Hollywood's Roosevelt Hotel on May 16, 1929. The winners had all been named prior to the event, so nobody had the jitters. People seemed more concerned with the menu, which was elaborate. There was even dancing.
No windy acceptance speeches threatened the evening's bonhomie (ah, for the old days!), except for some brief remarks from Darryl F. Zanuck, who deserved a little airtime, since he'd just introduced the industry to sound pictures with "The Jazz Singer". And the star of that film, Al Jolson, got the first big guffaw in Oscar history when he observed, "For the life of me, I can't see what Jack Warner can do with one of these awards. It can't say yes."
Eighty years later, the Oscars endure, fueled by more hoopla and hype than Barack Obama. Love them or shun them, you can hardly avoid noting their approach. And inevitably, fans root vocally for their favorite stars and films, helping build suspense all the way to the cracking of that envelope seal...
While many thrive on the nerve-jangling expectancy leading up to the event, I personally favor the Monday morning quarterbacking that comes when the lights finally dim on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. It's then I get my small chance to pinpoint any and all instances when Academy voters fell down on the job and backed the wrong horse.
Given this milestone year, I thought it might be fun and revealing to go back over all those Oscar ceremonies, and focusing on past recipients of the three major awards (Best Picture, Actor and Actress), identify- with full benefit of hindsight- just when Oscar fell down on the job.
So here's my own not-so-humble list. Feel free to correct, amend, and add your own perspectives.
1936- Inexplicably, "My Man Godfrey", one of our finest screwball comedies, wasn't nominated for Best Picture and should have been, though the film did get nods (but no wins!) in all acting categories. (Another William Powell film, "The Great Ziegfeld", won top prize.) In her only Oscar nomination, Carole Lombard lost out to Luise Rainer. For her work in "Godfrey", she should certainly have won. Worse yet, Chaplin's "Modern Times" received no nominations!
1944- Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity" should have triumphed over "Going My Way" in the Best Picture category. For that film, Barbara Stanwyck should have won the Oscar, and her co-stars, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson, should at least have been nominated.
1952- Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show On Earth" was a lousy choice for Best Picture. Watch it today and see if you don't want to strangle Betty Hutton and shoot Cornel Wilde. What about the iconic "High Noon" ? Oh, that's right- it was too controversial, drawing parallels to the rampant blacklisting of the time. Phooey! And "Singin In The Rain" should have been nominated (for Best Picture).
1956- "Around The World In Eighty Days" should not have won Best Picture over "Giant". Also, I'd have awarded James Dean a posthumous Oscar for his final film over Yul Brynner's work in "The King and I". Finally, John Ford's "The Searchers" should have been nominated for Best Picture, and from it, John Wayne for Best Actor.
1960- Best Picture winner "The Apartment" should have swept the three top categories-both Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine were wholly deserving of Oscars that year. Instead, statuettes went to Burt Lancaster who played it broad (even for him) in "Elmer Gantry", and Elizabeth Taylor in the forgettable "Butterfield 8" .
1964- Not that I dislike musicals, but Stanley Kubrick's inspired "Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" should have won Best Picture over "My Fair Lady". Also, for his brilliant work essaying three roles in that film, Peter Sellers should have received Best Actor over "Sexy Rexy" Harrison. (Sweet revenge: Julie Andrews, who'd been passed over for "Lady", won the Oscar that year for a different movie: "Mary Poppins". Studio chief Jack Warner had considerable egg on his face over that one.)
1973- I love "The Sting", but as the more memorable and groundbreaking film, think "The Exorcist" should have garnered Best Picture. For her gut-wrenching work in it, Ellen Burstyn should also have snagged Best Actress over Glenda Jackson, slumming it pleasantly in "A Touch Of Class". Also, Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon" should have been Best Picture nominated.
1976- I'd have favored "Taxi Driver" over "Rocky" for Best Picture, and DeNiro over the late Peter Finch in "Network", for Best Actor.
1989- I'd have chosen "My Left Foot" for Best Picture over "Driving Miss Daisy", or failing that, even "Field Of Dreams".
1994- "Pulp Fiction" should have triumphed over "Forrest Gump" in the Picture category, and likewise for Actor, "Comeback Kid" Travolta should have trumped "Box Of Chocolates" Hanks. (I never got the appeal of "Gump"...am I alone?)
1996- I believe "Fargo" should have beat "The English Patient" for Best Picture.
1997- Top of the world, my eye. More like bottom of the barrel. Either "As Good As It Gets" or "L.A Confidential" should have netted Best Picture before the bloated, dumbed-down "Titanic". Not a proud moment in Academy history. I'm still mad over that one.
1998- For me, 1998 was a year when foreigners ruled. For Best Picture, I'd have picked "Life Is Beautiful" over "Shakespeare In Love". I'd also have given Fernanda Montenegro from "Central Station" the Best Actress award.
2000- Come on, you savvy film folks: Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic" was the best film of that year, not that effects-laden, sword and sandals re-tread, "Gladiator". I also thought Ed Harris warranted Best Actor for his incredible work in "Pollack". And for Actress, I'd have picked Joan Allen in "The Contender" over Julia Roberts's cheesy "Erin Brockovich".
2002- Would have tapped "The Hours" over "Chicago" for Best Picture. Not a stellar year anyhow.
2004- The often sappy, formulaic "Million Dollar Baby" was overrated, in my opinion. Of the nominees, I favored "Hotel Rwanda", though my favorite film of the year, "Vera Drake", wasn't even nominated. Its star, Imelda Staunton, also deserved Best Actress, I think.
2005- For Picture, give me "Capote" over "Crash" any ol' time. Another uninspiring year, I thought.
2006- "The Departed" as Best Picture? With respect to Mr. Scorsese, the original Chinese film on which it was based, 2002's "Infernal Affairs", was both leaner and meaner, with no hammy Jack Nicholson performance to distract you. Either "Letters From Iwo Jima" or "Little Miss Sunshine" would have worked better for me.
This year, I'm rooting for "Milk", "Slumdog Millionaire", and "The Wrestler", in that order. Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets!
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For me, "The color purple' goes down as one of the biggest Oscar travestys of all time. I mean, all those nominations and zero - count 'em, zero - wins? Whether it was fear of bias, or actual bias, that drove the so called film experts to deny this dramatic and cinematography masterpiece it's due, I'm not sure, but one thing I do know is that this was an industry injustice that a couple of token awards over a decade later don't even come close to making up for.
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This was a great column. I cannot get enough Oscar trivia and history, to say nothing of film history, distant and recent.
I think Jim Carrey was totally snubbed for "The Truman Show," "Man in the Moon" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." I can sort of let "MitM" slide, but the other two remain two of my favorite movies ever, especially "ESotSM." And I hate to be a hater, but Gwyneth Paltrow did not deserve an Oscar over Cate Blanchett that year. "Shakespeare in Love" was a lovely movie, but against "Saving Private Ryan," it shouldn't have stood a chance. (And in retrospect, while the story is touching and well-told, I still think "Life is Beautiful" is a bit sappy and cloying. Sorry.)
This year I really want Sean Penn to win for "Milk," but Best Picture for the same movie would be an awesome upset over "Slumdog Millionaire," which was a great story and a feast for the eyes. I would be thrilled with a win for either one.
How could you miss 1967? What beat out The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde for best picture? In the Heat of the Night.
Perhaps Farr didn't see it that way?
Titanic is definitely the worst Oscar mistake of all time. I've appreciated other work of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (loved Revolutionary Road), but there was so much overacting in this movie, it was like a high school play. Billy Zane was an absurd caricature. The complete lack of interest in character development and story couldn't be hidden by loud, distracting special effects. I thought it average to bad when I saw it and came to hate it after it and that obnoxious James Cameron got Oscars. I didn't know 12-year-old girls got a vote.
English Patient is close second... I think. I was so bored when I watched it on video, I fell asleep and never went back to finish. Maybe the rest of it was The Godfather. Who knows.
I was also disappointed with Dances With Wolves winning. That movie bored me to tears. But then, I don't like Kevin Costner.
I can see why people feel the way they do about Forrest Gump, but I don't think it celebrated stupidity. I think it was celebrating a simple approach to life without "clever" artifice and manipulation. I saw it as more of a fable. I liked the movie, but wouldn't have been shocked if hadn't been nominated, let alone won. There's an addendum to the Holocaust rule. Playing mentally challenged also greases the way to an Oscar (see the faux trailers to Tropic Thunder). I think that explains Tom Hanks' win.
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I am with you tho did like dances...as to gump, you're right. cliff robertson won best actor for "charly" in '68...and let's not forget dusty in "rain man".
TITANIC was the most overrated Best Picture of all time, but the WORST Best Picture of all time was BRAVEHEART. I went to the can twice and was angry that I couldn't make more pee with an hour left to go.
Congratulations, Farr, on another blockbuster column.
The biggest Oscar injustice is that I don't have one....and I've been practicing my speech since I was nine.
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and god knows you deserve one mr. foxx.
I'm with you on "Forrest Gump" being overrated. That was a competitive year, and I, too, hold a bit of contempt for "Forrest Gump" for winning - but in my opinion "Shawshank Redemption" should have won Best Picture. My all-time favorite movie.... it's a travesty it didn't pick up a single award.
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tim robbins's best film (that he starred in)
also the player
So many travesties and snubs.
Folks, these are the ACADEMY Awards, given by movie industry members to fellow industry members. As with any award given by insiders to insiders, they are influenced by many factors besides the nominated performance: how well-liked the performer is; how well-connected the performer is; who the voter's friends are voting for; who has the buzz, who got snubbed last year. Voters routinely admit they didn't even see the movies they are voting on, or voted for an actor based on a prior performance or body of work.
It is our fault as lovers of movies for buying into the idea that the Oscars are the most important movie awards. But who do we trust more to give out the highest awards: popular opinion? This year's People's Choice winners included Kate Hudson, Adam Sandler and "27 Dresses."
So we're left with the critics' awards. That okay with everyone? But which one? Wikipedia lists hundreds of them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_awards#United_States
Your ideas are welcome...
"Let the Right One In" is superior movie making. Can't believe it did not get a nod. I haven't seen anything on the best movie list. I'll watch "Slumdog" when it comes out on vid.
I've never put much credence in the Academy Awards. It's a fun television night as far as spectacle goes, but it's never been a gauge.
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the oscars will always represent what the public wants them to represent: the most prsetigious awards for any given year's best work in film.
the fact is, you're right about all those other considerations, but the industry should try to remain true to what the Oscars are supposed to mean.
Otherwise, people lose faith in them, and from this blog, it appears many already have.
I still can't stomach that no actor got anything for Return of the King!
You'r ejoking, right? The best performance in that movie was by a CGI character.
And winning 11 out of 11 Oscars wasn't enough for you? That overblown soap opera even won best song. Can you hum a few bars of "Into the West" by Annie Lennox? I thought not.
How about George Chakiris taking Best Supporting Actor in 1961 for West Side Story? He won over three of the most memorable character performances I've ever seen: Monty Clift in Judgment at Nuremberg, and Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott, both in The Hustler. (Also in the running that year was Peter Falk, for Pocketful of Miracles, a funny performance in a film nobody liked).
Considering the talent of the other four nominees, and the high esteem their peers held them, Chakiris's is one of the great dark-horse wins in Oscar history--albeit not nearly as impressive as Ernie Borgnine winning for Marty over Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Jimmy Cagney, and Spencer Tracy.
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and his dancing partner rita moreno won too.
You are so right re Ed Harris in Pollack. It was a great performance. The other performance that was ignored in favor of the overrated Jack Nicholson was that of Robert Duvall in The Apostle. I can't even remember the name of the movie that Nicholson won the award for.
You don't remember the movie but you're sure Nicholson was overrated!
It was called "As Good As It Gets" and Nicholson was excellent in it. Duvall was also outstanding in "The Apostle." Some years the competition is fierce. Only one can win.
Greg Kinnear was amazing in "As good as it Gets".
I think he is always overrated.
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duvall is one of our finest unsung actors. at least the academy got it right when he got the oscar for tender mercies.
In 1973, I was 7 yrs old. My mom had returned from the movies with a girlfriend and my siblings and I were alarmed by her appearance. She was white as a ghost, and clearly upset. Apparently the movie was "The Exorcist" and she scared us with her reaction to it. Two years later, it debuted on HBO, and inexplicably, she decided to get drunk with a friend and "get the movie out of her system". I saw parts of that movie that night and was scared for the rest of my childhood by it.
That movie deserved every award possible. Cinematography was amazing, Burnstyn was brilliant, editing, direction, music score (I still change the station when I hear "Tubular Bells" ) Make-up? Hello.
I bought the 25 yr anniversary edition, and the behind the scenes footage was remarkable. Apparantly Brunstyn was scared out of her mind during the filming, and a lot of unexplained phenomenon occurred. Great movie. There's no getting it out of your system!
By the way, Joan Allen not winning for "The Contender" is disgraceful!
Good story about your mom and The Exorcist. I was scared for weeks after seeing it.
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"the exorcist" was one of those rare pictures that entered the popular culture in a big way.
Big time. Oh, and I was just reading a review of Being There, and the critic said "It's so anti-Hanks it's not even funny."
Great summation, I'd say. Gump ain't no Chauncey Gardner.
Just because something enterst he popular culture doesn't mean it should win an Oscar.
My all-time Oscar travesty was in '69 when they named John Wayne best actor. Clearly a sop to an aging tinseltown legend. Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo in "Midnight Cowboy" -- that was a rare performance. Oh, forgot something: "Midnight Cowboy" was named best film.
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agree- duke had many better pictures including stagecoach, rio bravo, and the searchers...even long voyage home.
What about Judy Holliday winning for "Born Yesterday" over Bette Davis in "All about Eve" AND Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard".
It should have gone to Davis. People are still talking abot those two characters/performances and nobody remembers Born Yesterday.
Although I'm a Judy Holliday fan and I'm sad she's being forgotten.
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I love Born Yesterday and her in it, but you're right, Davis was robbed on that one.
I was just reflecting and thinking what movie really deserved an Oscar and I remembered: The Great White Hope with James Earl Jones. What a performance! He should have one best actor that year. The movie was awesome too.
How about "IL POSTINO." That was a beautiful movie. It should have been "Best Picture."
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