The Best Year For Oscar

The Academy Awards Roundtable is back by popular demand. I mean sure I just posted it 10 hours ago and we've received no comments on it yet but I have to assume everyone has read it and is clamoring for more. David wanted to know our opinion on the strongest Best Picture field ever. My first reaction was "That's personal and quite frankly none of your business!" But then I realized it could make for an interesting discussion. Let the debate begin.

David: Here's a question – what in your opinion was the Best Oscar year? In other words – the year with the highest number of quality pictures nominated for Best Picture.

Tony: Excellent question. For me the year has to have boasted five films that were all strong and have withstood the test of time. One weak sister in the group and it is no good. Case in point, the 1983 ceremonies nominated, Ghandi (Winner), ET, The Verdict and Tootsie. All incredibly strong. But the 5th that year was Missing which is pretty much a forgotten film. For my money I have to go with the 1995 ceremonies which had: Forrest Gump, Quiz Show, Shawshank Redemption, Pulp fiction and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Those are five classics which still stand up 15 years later.

Andre: I'd argue that the worst Best Picture year was in '77, for the '76 films. Network. All The President's Men. TAXI DRIVER. And your winner... Rocky. Going back, look at '67. In The Heat of the Night, Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Doctor Dolittle, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Strong field.

David: The years you both mention are ones I might have suggested. Incredible nominations.

I agree with Andre, that Best Picture Rocky really was the weakest of the bunch, And I Best Picture Forrest Gump was the weakest of its bunch too. Here is a case where two “popular” and “uplifting” films beat out darker, more challenging, and more artistic films. There were many years in every decade where this happened, so it’s not just these years.

Did voters in 1976/77 seriously think that Rocky was better than All the Presidents Men, Bound for Glory, Network and Taxi Driver? Was it a reaction to Vietnam and Watergate? The losing films all looked at the darker side of America, while Rocky was the fantasy that is the American Dream.

Did voters in 1994/95 think Forrest Gump was better than Pulp Fiction, Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, and Four Weddings and a Funeral? With the exception of Four Weddings, the other three losers again looked at the darker side of life. Whereas Forrest, like Rocky, was a fantasy of the American dream, where the simpleton succeeds despite the odds against him.

1939 was an incredible year that included Best Picture nominees like The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Mr.Smith Goes to Washingston, Stagecoach, Goodybe Mr.Chips – and five other films because it was a ten nominee year. Even though all those five are classics, as are a few of the rest of the ten, I won’t officially use that as my pick and instead go with the five nominees year of 1975 were the Best Picture nominees were One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Barry Lyndon, Nashville, Dog Day Afternoon, and a little picture known as Jaws.

Andre: To be clear, 76 was a weak Best Picture year only in the sense that there were so many strong nominees, and the winner was a poor choice or the weakest movie in the field. That happens more and more now that campaigning is such a big part of the Oscars. I defy you to tell me in all seriousness that Shakespeare in Love is a better film than Saving Private Ryan. Sure, seeing Gwyneth Paltrow naked is a plus in any film, but that pales in comparison to a recreation of the freakin'
invasion of Normandy.

Tony: Now if you could somehow combine the two in "Saving Private Shakespeare" where a half naked Gwyneth Paltrow storms the beaches of Normandy then sets off in search of Ben Affleck's British accent, I think you have Oscar gold!

David Is it just me or is Gwyneth more fetching since she got older and put on some weight? She didn’t do much for me when she was in her twenties but she was absolutely smokin’ in Iron Man.

Tony No argument here.

David Don't get me started on Saving Private Ryan. Not saying SIL is better, just that Ryan is very flawed story-wise. Brilliant re-creation of Normandy, can see why Spielberg got Best Director. But the actual story doesn't start until 40 minutes into the movie -- no other director would have been allowed to do that -- in the forties -- the Normandy sequence would be over in 15 minutes. And then there are so many plot problems, such as the old guy at the beginning who remembers the journey to save Ryan turns out to be Ryan himself at the end who not only was not on the journey to rescue himself but at no time did Tom Hanks have an opportunity to tell him about it. Lazy story-telling. Which is a surprise for Spielberg, go back and look at how tight his early films like Jaws and Close Encounters are story-wise.

Tony: An excellent point. I have to admit, that had not occurred to me before. How did Ryan know all the details of the journey?

Andre: Clearly, David hates our troops and cannot be trusted.