Oscar's Favourite Films (Best Picture 1927-2019)

[marquis_de_sad]

I watched this video of all the Best Picture winners the other day. Thought that tracking shot for Wings (1927) was very pretty, might have to give it a watch.

Anyway, Best Pictures. Are they good? Are they bad? What's the worst decade?

[sevendaughters]

they're an interesting bellwether to aspects that are valuable to the industry, though rarely have they touched on the most vital or interesting works simply because the winners are nearly always English language films made by major studios. it defies the odds.

that said, the winners and nominees in the 1970s are generally all very good, and I don't resent any nostalgia for this period as a Golden Age for Hollywood because it absolutely was.

[Bad Ambassador]

It's a close run thing, but the 80s was a terrible decade. Ordinary People, Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Out of Africa, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Rain Man and Driving Miss Daisy. Two, maybe three of these are still in very high regard.

[lipsink]

I've had a look at the nominees for the 80s and fuck me some of them are dreadful choices. Tootsie? I mean, it's enjoyable enough and all. But for Best Picture?

1984 for example:

Amadeus
The Killing Fields
A Passage to India
Places in the Heart
A Soldier's Story

Anybody seen these? Though after a quick google seems like 1984 wasn't a great year for films in general.

[Bad Ambassador]

I've seen APtI. Nominated largely because it was David Lean's comeback after 14 years. It's alright, but it's not Best Picture material.

1984 was the only year anyone was Oscar-nominated for playing an alien[nb]Not counting something like Alec Guinness in Star Wars, who's not from Earth but basically human.[/nb] - Jeff Bridges in Starman.

[greenman]

I've had a look at the nominees for the 80s and fuck me some of them are dreadful choices. Tootsie? I mean, it's enjoyable enough and all. But for Best Picture?

1984 for example:

Amadeus
The Killing Fields
A Passage to India
Places in the Heart
A Soldier's Story

Anybody seen these? Though after a quick google seems like 1984 wasn't a great year for films in general.

Once Upon A Time In America
Terminator
Ghostbusters
Paris Texas
Spinal Tap
Blood Simple
Breakin'
etc

[Sin Agog]

Once Upon A Time In America
Terminator
Ghostbusters
Paris Texas
Spinal Tap
Blood Simple
etc

1984 also came out in 1984.

[lipsink]

Once Upon A Time In America
Terminator
Ghostbusters
Paris Texas
Spinal Tap
Blood Simple
Breakin'
etc

Only Once Upon A Time in America and Paris, Texas really seem like Oscar-type films though.

[marquis_de_sad]

One Best Picture that I really can't stand is The Artist. I almost feel bad not liking it — at least it's doing something different — but it is total cack.

[chveik]

worst mistake of the academy: the hobbit didn't win best picture.

[EOLAN]

One Best Picture that I really can't stand is The Artist. I almost feel bad not liking it — at least it's doing something different — but it is total cack.

Ah but it was a film about Hollywood so automatically increased its Oscar worthiness tenfold. Remember enjoying it when I finally watched it. I do enjoy old silent films though and it did feel like it probably wouldn't be among my nominees for each year of the 20s.

[Attila]

Here's what I know about Wings -- sadly, you can't get a version with the original soundtrack. When the bods lovingly restored it for recent release, they went to the keepers of the soundtrack: enormous phonograph records recorded by Victor and housed in the Delaware State Archives.

The archivist allegedly denied they were housed there, and despite insistence to the contrary, she allegedly refused to allow them access to have a look round themselves.

Just a grumpy anecdote from me -- I encountered the same archivist when I was doing work on Eldridge Johnson, and yeah. I've encountered small-town historical societies like that, but this is the state archives. Even a pal at the sound archive at the Library of Congress couldn't get that old biddy to allow me access to any of the Johnson materials.

It's a shame, as one of the reasons why Wings got the gong was because of its then-amazing sound track and effects. For example, they'd taken the recording machines out to an airfield to record the sounds of planes taking off and landing, &c.

It's not a proper talky film, but in those days, films could and did come with sound tracks that were a series of records that you had to sync up with the film as it played -- I think the ones for Wings were 20" across -- apparently a very stressful experience because you had to make sure you got the record cues up correctly with the reel. And of course, with each play, the grooves on the recordings wore down ever so slightly, so the sound would eventually be out of synch anyway.

Long story short: Wings has a pretty pedestrian plot, but for the time, a novel and exciting soundtrack which is being held hostage in the vaults of the Delaware State Archives.

[sevendaughters]

I really really love The Artist even though it is A Star Is Born in silent film cosplay. I think it is pitch-perfect in every way.

The Green Book will be held up in years to come as Hollywood Democrats Attempt Diversity Badly.

[marquis_de_sad]

Here's what I know about Wings -- sadly, you can't get a version with the original soundtrack. When the bods lovingly restored it for recent release, they went to the keepers of the soundtrack: enormous phonograph records recorded by Victor and housed in the Delaware State Archives.

The archivist allegedly denied they were housed there, and despite insistence to the contrary, she allegedly refused to allow them access to have a look round themselves.

Just a grumpy anecdote from me -- I encountered the same archivist when I was doing work on Eldridge Johnson, and yeah. I've encountered small-town historical societies like that, but this is the state archives. Even a pal at the sound archive at the Library of Congress couldn't get that old biddy to allow me access to any of the Johnson materials.

It's a shame, as one of the reasons why Wings got the gong was because of its then-amazing sound track and effects. For example, they'd taken the recording machines out to an airfield to record the sounds of planes taking off and landing, &c.

It's not a proper talky film, but in those days, films could and did come with sound tracks that were a series of records that you had to sync up with the film as it played -- I think the ones for Wings were 20" across -- apparently a very stressful experience because you had to make sure you got the record cues up correctly with the reel. And of course, with each play, the grooves on the recordings wore down ever so slightly, so the sound would eventually be out of synch anyway.

Long story short: Wings has a pretty pedestrian plot, but for the time, a novel and exciting soundtrack which is being held hostage in the vaults of the Delaware State Archives.

Good info, thanks!

[Monsieur Verdoux]

All the Best Picture winners from the last ten years have been B- films at best

[chveik]

All the Best Picture winners from the last forty years have been B- films at best

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Also true

[Noodle Lizard]

Only Once Upon A Time in America and Paris, Texas really seem like Oscar-type films though.

And to be fair, its initial theatrical release was butchered by the distributors, so it's not surprising it didn't catch any Oscar attention.

I was happy when Birdman won.

[marquis_de_sad]

Birdman was a good watch, one of the best of the 10s.

[marquis_de_sad]

In the 60s, over half are historical films. And three are musicals.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

Some people still wang on about the injustice of Rocky beating Network, Taxi Driver and All the President's Men in 1976, but Rocky was always going to win in that category. They're all great films, but Rocky was Oscar catnip: a gritty New Hollywood film suffused with a sweetly old-fashioned, crowd-pleasing spirit. The best of both worlds as far as the Academy were concerned.

Plus it's a fucking mint film anyway.

[Sin Agog]

I dunno, do sports movies win that often?  They might do, but I can't think of too many.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

It's not really a sports film? It's a low-key character drama - an underdog romance - with a boxing match at the end.