This is one of those nominees lists that seems overstuffed with films that have stood the test of time. Well, not completely overstuffed. There's one obvious misfit. But among the other four, it was a mildly difficult task to separate them. In the end, though, one picture pushed its nose in front.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1967 are:
Bonnie and Clyde
Doctor Dolittle
The Graduate
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
In the Heat of the Night
One of these things is not like the other. In making my verdict, I easily set aside Doctor Dolittle from the outset. While it has a fun vibe and a few entertaining moments, it is an essentially silly movie providing little competition to the other four contenders. In fact, if ever there was fodder for those critics who decry the Academy's weakness in allowing itself to be influenced by Oscar campaigning, Doctor Dolittle and its nine nominations is certainly it.
The four remaining pictures each hold a fairly high place in film lore as well as popular culture, and my own personal ranking of them leaves little room between each one. Thus, it is only with the slightest of margins that I release the next two films. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner is incredibly endearing with a heartwarming story, and Bonnie and Clyde succeeds as an exciting action flick with a fascinating central relationship.
Coincidentally (or perhaps not), we are left with the Academy's Best Picture winner and its Best Director winner. In the Heat of the Night is a tense racially-charged drama with superb leading actors, but my pick is Dustin Hoffman's breakout film. With its witty script and subtle performances, The Graduate takes away Matt vs. the Academy's favourite Best Picture nominee of 1967.
Best Picture of 1967
Academy's choice:
In the Heat of the Night
Matt's choice:
The Graduate
Your choice:
Please go ahead and vote for your own favourite by using the poll above. Next up, we move to the 1990s to a group of films with an interesting connection. All five are period pieces and, between them, they only depict two time periods. Two set in the Elizabethan era and three set during World War II.
And the nominees for Best Picture of 1998 are:
Elizabeth
Life Is Beautiful
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
The Thin Red Line
If you want to play along with Matt vs. the Academy while supporting the project, check out Amazon's DVDs and Instant Videos of 1998's nominees.
I've come across some eclectic shortlists over the course of this project, but none more so than 1982's bunch of nominees. Usually, the larger the difference between each film, the more difficult it becomes to compare them, and while that sentiment remains true here, it was, nonetheless, relatively easy to choose my favourite.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1982 are:
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Gandhi
Missing
Tootsie
The Verdict
A science-fiction family film, a historical biopic, a political suspense drama, a legal character study and a comedy classic. A diverse group, no question. Selecting a favourite should have been complicated, yet I deliberated only briefly.
Missing was eliminated early on. Though an involving story, its overly sincere attitude gives it a conspiratorial feel. Harder to dismiss is Tootsie. Funny and poignant, it succeeds on many levels, only slightly hindered by some convenient plot points, particularly the pat conclusion.
Thus, we are left with three extremely worthy films. The least well-known of the trio, The Verdict is thoroughly engaging, containing little with which to find fault. Reluctantly, I remove it from the running for barely justifiable reasons. The Academy's choice, Gandhi, is epic yet intimate, a fascinating character study with a deservedly lauded lead performance. But my pick is the evocative and stunningly beautiful E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. A classic loved by young and old alike, E.T. is exceptional in both its story and its technique. Cinema at its finest.
Best Picture of 1982
Academy's choice:
Gandhi
Matt's choice:
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Your choice:
You may choose your favourite, too, by voting in the poll above. Next up, we examine a year of many classics from the 1960s.
And the nominees for Best Picture of 1967 are:
Bonnie and Clyde
Doctor Dolittle
The Graduate
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
In the Heat of the Night
As I approach final rehearsals for The 39 Steps, there will undoubtedly be another short hiatus before the next round of reviewing begins. Stay tuned...
Yet another genuinely difficult decision has befallen me. Although these pictures explore different themes, they are surprisingly similar in genre. Along with their evenly matched quality, the task of separating them is by no means an easy one.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1948 are:
Hamlet
Johnny Belinda
The Red Shoes
The Snake Pit
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Five excellent films, each full of passion and intensity, covering a range of thought-provoking material. From greed and ambition to depression and mental illness, 1948's shortlist is one of the more contemplative the Academy has seen. Without exception, each nominee could easily be described as a psychological study.
Due to this abundance of stimulating cinema, I simply cannot bring myself to name one - let alone two or three - as specifically inferior. Yet, my task is to single out one film as my favourite. Thus, for purely finicky reasons, I will eliminate The Snake Pit first, though there is no meaningful order to this culling. Despite its well-researched depiction of the then current state of mental institutions, its happy ending betrays some medical inconsistencies. Continuing with the hairsplitting, I will also release The Red Shoes from the competition. With an incredibly engaging story and an incredibly engaging ballet sequence, these two components didn't quite mesh perfectly. Also out of the running is Johnny Belinda for ... well, I can't even think of a legitimate reason. It's a well-crafted and entertaining picture that perhaps only suffers from being too pleasant.
Two classics remain. Hamlet and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Since my system for this verdict has been to quibble about relatively minor details, I'll rule against the latter for the too swift transition from sane to paranoid that Bogie's character experiences. Consequently, I am siding with the Academy once more in declaring Laurence Olivier's inventive and accessible adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet as my favourite Best Picture nominee from 1948.
Best Picture of 1948
Academy's choice:
Hamlet
Matt's choice:
Hamlet
Your choice:
As usual, your vote can be registered by using the poll above. Next up, we move to the 1980s for a particularly eclectic bunch of movies.
Another set of nominees in the can and another verdict to be made. I must say that the decision this time around was one of the easiest I've had to make in quite some time. In my mind, there was a clear frontrunner that was simply the most enjoyable. Consequently, my verdict below is possibly the shortest I've yet written.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1973 are:
American Graffiti
Cries and Whispers
The Exorcist
The Sting
A Touch of Class
Forget about trying to compare this bunch. Nominee shortlists have been diverse before, but 1973's selection is ridiculously multifarious. A 1960s coming-of-age comedy, a foreign arthouse film, a supernatural horror, a 1930s heist flick and a quirky romantic comedy.
Although, perhaps these films' commonality, with one exception, is in their sense of fun, albeit for entirely different reasons. American Graffiti's youthful fun is borne out of nostalgia. A Touch of Class delights with its witty and romantic fun. For those who get a kick out of a good fright, The Exorcist provides a fun and scary ride. On the other end of the spectrum, Cries and Whispers is intensely sombre. A fascinating film, but not one that many people would describe as fun.
The most fun of all, however, is The Sting. Playful and clever, it is terrifically entertaining cinema. From the script to the design to the cast to everything else in between, The Sting succeeds as a charming piece of escapism. So, just as the Academy did, I officially declare The Sting my Best Picture of 1973.
Best Picture of 1973
Academy's choice:
The Sting
Matt's choice:
The Sting
Your choice:
Please feel free to voice your opinion using the poll above or the comments section below. For our next adventure, we move back to the 1940s for yet another diverse selection of pictures. Your votes resulted in a tie between two contests, so I used my blogger's prerogative to settle the stalemate.
And the nominees for Best Picture of 1948 are:
Hamlet
Johnny Belinda
The Red Shoes
The Snake Pit
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
This week, I'm heading back to Las Vegas for another stint with the Aussie Improv Comedy Explosion. But fear not, the Oscar-nominee-watching shall continue...
There is a contingent of Oscar pundits who consider the result of the 2005 Best Picture race as the Academy's worst decision in its storied history. Indeed, there are plenty who rank Crash as the worst film to have claimed the prestigious title. Of course, there will always be contrarians, for the Academy will never please all of the people all of the time. Besides, there is no real evidence to suggest that their 2005 decision was any more unpopular with the general public than any other year. Yet that myth persists. Comparing the public opinion of Crash with its main competitor, Brokeback Mountain, yields fairly even results. Brokeback Mountain clearly won the battle for the box office, yet Crash boasts a slightly higher score on IMDb's user ratings. (In fact, it just squeezes into IMDb's Top 250.) Over at Rotten Tomatoes, Brokeback Mountain scores higher with the critics, but Crash remains the victor with the audience. So, perhaps this particular contest garnered more attention because of the controversial accusations of the Academy's homophobia. Why else would they have snubbed Brokeback Mountain after it had won the Best Picture award at almost every other ceremony that season? But if that were really the case, it would never have received so many nominations in the first place, let alone won three awards, including a Best Director gong for Ang Lee. In any case, it is certainly not rare for an awards season darling to surrender the Oscar to another film. I say all this not only in defense of the Academy, but also to concede that I am respectfully content with their decision ... Whether it matches my own, however, I am yet to decide...
The nominees for Best Picture of 2005 are:
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck.
Munich
Interestingly, the list of 2005 contenders is not as diverse as in so many other years. The five films are all intense dramas that deal with some rather serious issues - murder, racism, terrorism, political scare-mongering. I suppose only Brokeback Mountain bucks the trend with its complex love story, but even so, it still spends plenty of time exploring the homophobic atmosphere of its setting, which puts it back in line with the other serious-issue nominees.
Both Capote and Good Night, and Good Luck feature superb performances, not only by their lead actors, but also by their talented ensembles. However, a verdict must be made, so rather unfairly, I will remove these two from the running first for the unjustifiably petty reason that their issues are "smaller" than those of the other pictures. The often gripping Munich will also exit the competition, mostly due to the gear shift it experiences in its final act.
And so the contest is boiled down yet again to Brokeback Mountain and Crash. As I write this, I still can't separate them. Crash's flaws are almost entirely forgotten by its barrage of scenes depicting devastatingly life-changing events for its characters. And those scenes are so powerful that I'm still considering ignoring the film's lack of realism and awarding it my top prize anyway. Brokeback's flaws - namely, the fact that the four leads are simply unbelievable as forty year olds - are minor in comparison to Crash's unrealistic contrivances, yet Brokeback's emotional impact, while potent, is outweighed by the other film's.
For the first time, I'm seriously considering announcing a tie. But that would be weak. Therefore, I will bite the bullet and recognise that my head is in a losing battle to my heart. No matter how hard my head fights against it, my heart clearly wants to award my meaningless Best Picture prize to Crash, and so it is done. Another match with the Academy.
Best Picture of 2005
Academy's choice:
Crash
Matt's choice:
Crash
Your choice:
You may voice your opinion in the poll above (or in the comments below) and I am especially interested in these results, so make sure to vote. Time now to venture back to the 1970s where we will look at a shortlist that includes several films that have cemented a place in popular culture.
There have been numerous verdicts during the course of Matt vs. the Academy that have been maddeningly difficult due to an abundance of quality cinema. Choosing my favourite nominee from 1930/31 is likewise difficult, but for the opposite reason. The shortlist is perhaps the weakest that I have covered to date, with no film jumping out as a clear winner.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1930/31 are:
Cimarron
East Lynne
The Front Page
Skippy
Trader Horn
Clearly, with the advent of sound, motion picture production took some time to adjust and the kinks were still being ironed out a few years later. Without dialogue, silent films essentially relied on melodrama to communicate their stories. Once sound arrived, melodrama was no longer required but it stuck around anyway. The five films above are not entirely without merit, however. While each picture fails to size up to later classics, they each excel in at least one aspect.
Adventure story Trader Horn is perhaps the most melodramatic, its performances especially. The footage of African wildlife shot on location is utterly gratuitous, yet still fascinating. As a drama, East Lynne's schmaltz is perhaps a little more fitting, but it still comes across as a soap opera. Nonetheless, Ann Harding in the lead role delivers an engaging performance well worth a look. Cimarron is one of those epic yet personal tales that has so often gained favour with the Academy. No great surprise, then, that it went on to win the Best Picture trophy. Its action scenes are particularly spectacular, but again, melodrama gets in the way.
Thus, we are left with two comedies. Whereas in later years, comedic films struggle to be noticed amongst powerful dramatic content, here the three dramas suffer from too much sentimentality, leaving The Front Page and Skippy to be remembered. The snappy dialogue in The Front Page is amusing and energetic, but Skippy's charm, both in its witty script and its child performances, makes it a slightly more fun experience making it my official pick of the 1930/31 Best Picture nominees.
Best Picture of 1930/31
Academy's choice:
Cimarron
Matt's choice:
Skippy
Your choice:
Have your say by voting for your favourite of the nominees using the poll above. Next, we move back to a more recent Best Picture race by taking a look at the contenders from just a few years ago.
For the first time since this project began, I am writing from Los Angeles, California, home to the Academy of this blog's title. This morning, I giggled like a schoolgirl as I drove past their idyllic-looking Fairbanks Center, a building that houses the Margaret Herrick Library. As the awards season heats up, my presence in this town for the next few days will hopefully bring more fodder for the upcoming blog posts. In the meantime, it is verdict time again.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1951 are:
An American in Paris
Decision Before Dawn
A Place in the Sun
Quo Vadis
A Streetcar Named Desire
Similar to most Best Picture races, these films are all highly engaging, if for different reasons. The eventual winner, An American in Paris, perhaps stands apart since it is the only one to engage its audience with the use of singing and dancing. But, as always, my predilection for drama leads me to the contenders with more personal stories.
Both Quo Vadis and Decision Before Dawn use epic backdrops for their personal tales. Though still an absorbing film, the Roman epic does not shy away from extravagance and its religious themes can potentially turn some audiences off. The World War II drama is perhaps slightly more successful at keeping the focus on its characters' emotions, but it also has its flaws.
Far more personal still are A Streetcar Named Desire and A Place in the Sun, both filled with emotional tension and enhanced with superb performances that are right up my alley. The former is clearly the more traditionally renowned of the two - which does make me doubt my decision somewhat - but its unfortunate censorship lessens its impact a little. Perhaps I'll change my mind in the future, but for now, I will officially name my favourite nominee from 1951 to be A Place in the Sun.
Best Picture of 1951
Academy's choice:
An American in Paris
Matt's choice:
A Place in the Sun
Your choice:
As always, your vote is important, too, so let me know which of the nominees is your favourite in the poll above. Now that I'm in L.A. and have access to the UCLA Film Archive, we begin our look at films from the 4th Annual Academy Awards.
The Academy's eclectic tastes are hardly more evident than in 1986's shortlist: drama and comedy, contemporary and period. Stylistically, these five films have very little in common with each other, yet they each excel in their own right. Nonetheless, choosing a favourite was not as difficult as one would expect.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1986 are:
Children of a Lesser God
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Mission
Platoon
A Room with a View
The nominee with the most visible flaw is Children of a Lesser God. Despite its touching story, the general conceit of a hearing man repeating everything his deaf lover utters is hard to overcome, so Marlee Matlin's debut film is first to be struck off the list.
The next two to go are Hannah and Her Sisters, a fine contemporary comedy exploring the human condition (otherwise known as a Woody Allen film), and its polar opposite, The Mission, a fine adventure drama exploring politics, religion and racial relations.
Finally, we have two more immensely contrasting pictures, the graphically anti-war Platoon and the exquisitely period A Room with a View. Both are expertly produced and fulfil their genres' expectations satisfyingly. But, for me, it is Oliver Stone's Vietnam story that has the slight edge, so, just as the Academy did, I officially award Platoon top honours in the 1986 Best Picture contest.
Best Picture of 1986
Academy's choice:
Platoon
Matt's choice:
Platoon
Your choice:
Don't agree with me and the Academy? Make it known by voting in the poll above. We now move back to the 1950s, and as per your wishes, we will focus on the following five contenders.
The trend of incredible (and lengthy) films continues. I found all five contenders in 1962's competition to be thoroughly engaging. Yet another hallmark year for this project.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1962 are:
Lawrence of Arabia
The Longest Day
The Music Man
Mutiny on the Bounty
To Kill A Mockingbird
My first move in this verdict is to split these fine films into two groups. In the bottom section is The Music Man, a spectacularly entertaining film, perhaps only disadvantaged by its lack of substance in comparison with the other four nominees, which all deal with very powerful material. Joining the musical, I have placed To Kill A Mockingbird. I know, I know. Most people love it. And I did, too. Just not as much as its competitors.
The three films on the upper branch, coincidentally or not, happen to be the three longest nominees - each running at least three hours - and are also all based on true stories. First, we have Mutiny on the Bounty, an intense battle of minds complemented by beautifully photographed scenery, shot on location in Tahiti. Then, The Longest Day, a compelling D-Day re-enactment complemented by beautifully photographed scenery, shot on location in Normandy.
That leaves us with the highly lauded Lawrence of Arabia, which was not a particularly difficult decision. However, I doubt my own ability to ignore the pressures of almost 50 years of critical acclaim. Aside from winning the Academy's Best Picture award and appearing on many critics' lists of the all-time greatest, the British film also inexplicably made it into the top 10 of the AFI's list of the greatest American films. It's hard not to be influenced by such widespread praise. In any case, whether I came to this decision independently or not, I am now declaring Lawrence of Arabia my pick for 1962's Best Picture of the year.
Best Picture of 1962
Academy's choice:
Lawrence of Arabia
Matt's choice:
Lawrence of Arabia
Your choice:
You may exercise your right to vote by using the poll above. Matt vs. the Academy now moves back to the 1980s with a very eclectic selection of nominees.
The battle for Best Picture of 1994 included a particularly impressive selection of nominees. I realise that assessment is one that has prefaced almost every verdict I have delivered so far in this project, but this time I really mean it. In a decade and a half, four of these five films have achieved a rather prominent place within pop culture. Nothing to sneeze at.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1994 are:
Forrest Gump
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption
Five very accomplished films, all with bucket loads of merit. The sole romantic comedy of the bunch, Four Weddings and a Funeral, is the first one out of the running for my top honours. Partly due to the innate unfairness that labels comedies as less significant as other genres, and partly due to its saturation of slightly underdeveloped supporting characters.
The other four pictures are much harder to separate. Quiz Show, the nominee with the least success cementing its place in film history, suffers mildly from the ambivalence that is elicited by its likeable but morally questionable lead character. Nonetheless, the film is still immensely engaging. Forrest Gump, Oscar's choice for Best Picture, offers a somewhat passive lead character, yet remains emotionally impactful with plenty of charm to boot. Pulp Fiction is, on occasion, gratuitously wordy, but its humour and inventiveness far outweigh any flaws.
Thus, we are left with the film that IMDb users have voted their number one film of all time, The Shawshank Redemption. It may not necessarily take that crown in my all time list, but it certainly has my support as 1994's best. It is a masterly film that succeeds on many levels, drawing the viewer in with humour, pathos and suspense.
Best Picture of 1994
Academy's choice:
Forrest Gump
Matt's choice:
The Shawshank Redemption
Your choice:
Your opinion can be made by using the poll above to select your favourite 1994 nominee. Soon, we will begin our next year of review. We head to the 1960s again to take a look at the following bunch.
I'm now back in New York City after an exciting summer in Pennsylvania. My busy schedule during that time meant that reviewing this current selection of Best Picture nominees took well over two months, but after a much-needed recap of my musings, I'm now ready to make my decision on which of these entertaining films is most worthy of the top award.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1940 are:
All This, and Heaven Too
Foreign Correspondent
The Grapes of Wrath
The Great Dictator
Kitty Foyle
The Letter
The Long Voyage Home
Our Town
The Philadelphia Story
Rebecca
There's something to admire in each of these ten pictures. They all capture their respective moods very nicely, some more than others. A few have a slightly inconsistent atmosphere, though. In Foreign Correspondent, Hitchcock occasionally shines with some thrilling scenes, but not consistently enough for my taste. The Long Voyage Home contains some gripping sequences but feels disjointed as a whole. Likewise, Our Town has its moments, particularly towards the end, but its other flaws leave it a little wanting. Next out of the running is Kitty Foyle. While I would place it above the previous three films, it also suffers from a slight case of the not-quite-spectacular-enoughs.
Providing a stronger sense of direction are four classics that have stood the test of time - seven decades of time - and two rarely discussed and therefore surprisingly enjoyable pictures. All This, and Heaven Too is an intensely subtle romance tale, well worth a look for lovers of forbidden love stories. The Philadelphia Story is a classic screwball comedy, full of fun and humour, topped off with a charming cast. The Grapes of Wrath is a heartfelt story of one family's struggle that is both exciting and touching.
Then, there are two brilliantly moody mysteries. The classic, and eventual Oscar winner, Rebecca, is a filmmaking masterclass in how to create tension. The lesser known of the two, The Letter, deserves a greater place in film history than it received. Both are incredibly entertaining. But, for me, the winner is Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator with its ingenious blend of heart-wrenching emotion and slapstick comedy.
Best Picture of 1940
Academy's choice:
Rebecca
Matt's choice:
The Great Dictator
Your choice:
As always, you may voice your opinion on this slate of films by using the poll above. Next up is a selection of five films, most of which are extremely popular, so I foresee another difficult decision ahead of me.
And the nominees for Best Picture of 1994 are:
Forrest Gump
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption
Hopefully, we can resume a normal tempo of movie-watching again. Then again, I probably shouldn't promise anything...
It's hardly worth mentioning any more, but yet again, I have reviewed five more excellent films. The 2002 crop of Best Picture contenders is an impressive assortment worthy of their nominations. My pick of the bunch was not an incredibly difficult decision, but it was a close call, nonetheless.
The nominees for Best Picture of 2002 are:
Chicago
Gangs of New York
The Hours
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Pianist
The fascinating thing about this collection is the level of disillusionment one takes away from each film. Despite their artistic and entertainment value, each picture presents a relatively bleak view of life, sometimes leaving the audience with little faith in humanity. They each retain the positive aspects of their respective genres while introducing some darker themes to boot. Of course, there's nothing wrong with dark themes. The films are all very effective and touching. It's just interesting that they were all nominated together, that's all.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers achieves the awe and wonder inherent in a good fantasy film, but adds to it a good dollop of evil, which occasionally produces some surprisingly naturalistic pathos. The sole musical of the bunch, Chicago, succeeds in providing its genre's greatest assets. Indeed, its enthusiasm and excitement won over the Academy, yet it features as its leads a host of rather despicable characters. The Hours takes on depression as its main area of exploration, particularly the depression associated with the fear of leading a wasted life. It's hard to leave that one with a smile on your face.
Gangs of New York wears its violence on its sleeve, and its protagonist, although motivated by the desire to honour his father, could be more accurately described as being consumed with revenge. Finally, in The Pianist, we are presented with ignorant bigoted genocide, a more depressing theme is hard to find. While it may not have garnered Oscar's top prize (although, the Academy is not shy about its respect for Holocaust films), for its emotionally powerful journey, The Pianist will be declared my choice of Best Picture of 2002.
Best Picture of 2002
Academy's choice:
Chicago
Matt's choice:
The Pianist
Your choice:
Vote for your own favourite with the poll above. We move now to another year of ten nominees by reviewing the films up for consideration in 1940, a collection which happens to include a number of classics.
And the nominees for Best Picture of 1940 are:
All This, and Heaven Too
Foreign Correspondent
The Grapes of Wrath
The Great Dictator
Kitty Foyle
The Letter
The Long Voyage Home
Our Town
The Philadelphia Story
Rebecca
My current rehearsal schedule may begin to encroach on my movie-watching duties, so please don't be surprised if there is a short delay before we get to these fine films. I'll do my best to keep the hiatus to a minimum.
As I venture further and further into this project, I am consistently blown away by the enormous quality of film-making that I am experiencing. 1950 is certainly no exception. Another year filled with spectacular cinema, including a number of fine classics.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1950 are:
All About Eve
Born Yesterday
Father of the Bride
King Solomon's Mines
Sunset Boulevard
It's an entirely unfair consequence of comparing films of different genres, but if they are each of similar artistic and creative quality, the drama will more often than not emerge as superior to the comedy ... or the action or the science fiction or the western or the adventure ... and the list goes on. I suppose it is the drama's greater potential for emotional stimulation. Other genres thrill and amuse and generally entertain, but at the end of the day, powerful subject matter tends to more effectively stick in the audience's minds. Like I said, entirely unfair. (It even occurs within sub-genres of the drama category. Just look at how successful epic dramas have been with the Academy.)
Three of 1950's Best Picture nominees fall prey to this unfortunate disadvantage. They are immensely enjoyable films, accomplished examples of their respective genres, but they are overshadowed by the other two nominees for no other reason than they are not dramas. King Solomon's Mines is an exhilarating adventure. Born Yesterday is a whimsical comedy. Father of the Bride has its moments of poignancy, but is still at its heart a comedy, and a delightfully charming one at that.
All three are solidly entertaining films that find themselves up against two dramatic pictures that have both since become classics - All About Eve and Sunset Boulevard. I bounced back and forth between these two intensely personal and moving films. The former won the Academy's top honour, but I eventually came down on the side of the latter. So, I now officially name Sunset Boulevard my favourite of 1950's Best Picture nominees.
Best Picture of 1950
Academy's choice:
All About Eve
Matt's choice:
Sunset Boulevard
Your choice:
Vote for your own favourite with the poll above. Next up, we will be travelling to a more recent era to take a look at Oscar's picks from 2002.
Once again, I am confronted with five very worthy contenders for the Best Picture crown. As is the case with most of the awards years of this decade, the films on 1975's shortlist could each plausibly have been my pick in some other year. Despite this abundance of cinematic excellence, I had little trouble selecting my favourite.
The nominees for Best Picture of 1975 are:
Barry Lyndon
Dog Day Afternoon
Jaws
Nashville
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Five classics of 1970s film-making from five accomplished directors whose films feature heavily in this project. With the exception of perhaps Barry Lyndon, the only period piece in the mix, all these films achieve their engaging mood mostly through realistically conversational dialogue. Characters talk over each other and there is a general feeling of chaos. Understandable when you consider some of the circumstances - a bank robbery, a mental institution, a shark-induced panic. In any case, each of these films are certainly compelling so it simply comes down to degrees of compulsion.
In Nashville, Altman compellingly explores the country music industry with a fascinating fly-on-the-wall style and no shortage of characters. In Barry Lyndon, Kubrick compellingly studies 18th century social climbing with an austere attitude and a leisurely pace. In Dog Day Afternoon, Lumet compellingly relates the true story of a bizarre bank robbery with both tension and empathy. In Jaws, Spielberg compellingly presents a maritime thrill ride with genuine compassion and edge-of-your-seat suspense. In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Forman compellingly examines mental health with a sincere sensibility and an utterly gripping climax.
With such a well-structured story and deft direction, Jaws comes very close to taking my top prize. But, like the Academy, sombre material often trumps action thrillers (or comedies, for that matter). Why? Probably because it is human nature to take serious matters more seriously than fun and excitement. Totally unfair, but what can you do? So, like the Academy, I am choosing One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest as my pick for the Best Picture of 1975 for its sheer powerfulness.
Best Picture of 1975
Academy's choice:
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Matt's choice:
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Your choice:
Vote for your own favourite with the poll above. As to your collective wishes, we will now be moving to 1950 for our next five review subjects.
To watch every film that has ever been bestowed the honour of an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and then, for each awards year, pass down a verdict on which of the nominees should have walked away with the trophy.
For a more detailed explanation of this mayhem, please refer to the very first entry of this blog.
The Challenger
Matt Foster is an actor and writer who has worked extensively in both Australia and the United States. An avid film lover and Oscar-phile, he has the embarrassingly uncanny ability to name all the Best Picture winners from memory.
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