# Oscar Best Picture elimination thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924 "2010-03-09T23:29:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/81 "2010-03-11T00:00:28Z")
Interesting–not much left of the last 20 years… If I were going to change the rules right now and pick based on “era”, I think I’d say the final five would be: _Casablanca_ from pre-1950 _Lawrence of Arabia_ vs. _Bridge over the River Kwai_ to represent the 50s & 60s _The Godfather_ for the 70s & 80s and _Schindler’s List_ for the last 20 yrs. I like some of the others left, but just I don’t see any of them approaching these five. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/82 "2010-03-11T00:00:51Z")
I’ll bet we end up with like 5 old movies that nobody but lissener has ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/83 "2010-03-11T01:15:06Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > _It Happened One Night._ Overrated, not-very-funny comedy. But it was considered quite risque and edgy for its time. Is it fair to cut movies that don’t suit our cultural context anymore? I was going to nix _Around the World in 80 Days_, but got beaten to the punch. I pick _My Fair Lady_–because Audrey Hepburn, however lovely and talented, couldn’t sing and the part should have gone to Julie Andrews. Also, it’s basically a fluff piece that betrays its own storyline at the end. “Just friendly-like” my ass. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/84 "2010-03-11T01:31:32Z")
If **rain man** is already off the list (typical Oscar bait and though I like Hoffman I bloody hate Cruise, especially when he’s doing “the arrogant good looking bastard who has some setbacks and ends up with the girl” role that he plays in 90% of his movies - though I still kinda like “a few good men”, but that luckily did not get an Oscar), Kick **West Side Story** off. It wasn’t original then, and hasn’t aged well. And though I like the music, I got a record of the theatrical version and the songs are performed better there than in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/85 "2010-03-11T01:38:42Z")
Totally agree re _West Side Story_–it is painful to sit through these days (the songs and choreography are still good). And that bad make-up job the “Sharks” had to put up with (stupid director or was it the producer or perhaps even the make-up “artist”? I dunno–but the Puerto Ricans all looked horrid d/t the make-up. Rita Moreno talked about it in an interview a few years ago). And let’s kill of _Gigi_, too–creepy old guy/young girl movie. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/86 "2010-03-11T02:11:19Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > I’ll bet we end up with like 5 old movies that nobody but lissener has ever seen. Don’t worry Maserschmidt - I’ve seen some of the oldies. I just don’t think the ones I’ve seen deserve to go yet! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/87 "2010-03-11T02:13:55Z")
Well, if genuine classic like _It Happened_ and _No Country_ are vulnerable, then _The Sting_ has absolutely no business sticking around. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/88 "2010-03-11T03:50:00Z")
What’s so grand about **Grand Hotel**? Time for it to check out. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/89 "2010-03-11T04:15:45Z")
Here’s where we stand, after I used my second veto to yank the abyssmal _Departed_: All Quiet on the Western Front Mutiny on the Bounty Gone with the Wind Rebecca Casablanca The Lost Weekend The Best Years of Our Lives Hamlet All the King’s Men All about Eve An American in Paris From Here to Eternity On the Waterfront The Bridge on the River Kwai Ben-Hur Lawrence of Arabia A Man for All Seasons Patton The French Connection The Godfather One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest The Deer Hunter Gandhi Terms of Endearment Platoon The Silence of the Lambs Unforgiven Schindler’s List ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/90 "2010-03-11T04:30:23Z")
* * * ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/91 "2010-03-11T04:35:26Z")
Boy, go away for one night and these things just get away from you. The original intent was that we start with a list of 82 movies. We all discuss and vote and the movie with the most votes gets eliminated. Then we do the same thing all over again with the list of 81 remaining movies. It was not a contest to see how quickly we can find people who dislike 81 different movies. The [President Elimination Game](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533286) thread was the model I was using. It took them 24 pages of voting to get down to George Washington. But it’s majority rules on what the rules are. Should we follow the one elimination per round format and go with multiple eliminations? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/92 "2010-03-11T04:40:29Z")
Please remove “Unforgiven”. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/93 "2010-03-11T04:44:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Boy, go away for one night and these things just get away from you. > > The original intent was that we start with a list of 82 movies. We all discuss and vote and the movie with the most votes gets eliminated. Then we do the same thing all over again with the list of 81 remaining movies. It was not a contest to see how quickly we can find people who dislike 81 different movies. > > The [President Elimination Game](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533286) thread was the model I was using. It took them 24 pages of voting to get down to George Washington. > > But it’s majority rules on what the rules are. Should we follow the one elimination per round format and go with multiple eliminations? Maybe we could start it that way now that we’ve thrown out the clunkers…? ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/94 "2010-03-11T05:12:56Z")
I think with the present “pot shot” format we’ve actually done pretty well. 🙂 The only film that may have been unfairly treated was Wings. I looked it up on IMdb & it looks like it was a masterpiece of its time. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/95 "2010-03-11T05:15:05Z")
**Terms of Endearment**. Sappy and sentimental, yes. Best movie, I don’t think soooo… and because **Forrest Gump** , **Crash** and **Unforgiven** were already gone… ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/96 "2010-03-11T05:21:00Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Boy, go away for one night and these things just get away from you. > > The original intent was that we start with a list of 82 movies. We all discuss and vote and the movie with the most votes gets eliminated. Then we do the same thing all over again with the list of 81 remaining movies. It was not a contest to see how quickly we can find people who dislike 81 different movies. > > The [President Elimination Game](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533286) thread was the model I was using. It took them 24 pages of voting to get down to George Washington. > > But it’s majority rules on what the rules are. Should we follow the one elimination per round format and go with multiple eliminations? This is how I thought it was gonna work. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/97 "2010-03-11T05:22:18Z")
Terms of Endearment would have been my next vote. A good film but not an all time great ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/98 "2010-03-11T05:24:03Z")
See, this is what happens when you don’t police your thread. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/99 "2010-03-11T05:24:51Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > …and I’d disagree about _Gladiator_; it wasn’t a one-dimensional action film, IMHO. We first see Crowe’s character, Maximus, eager for the war to end and to return to his family’s embrace. Then he suffers terrible tragedy and is consumed by the desire for revenge, but still does his best to set his beloved Rome again on track towards a republic at the end. The evil emperor seems to regret the “need” to kill his own father, and struggles with his attraction to his sister. The sister apparently has an unrequited love for Maximus and must watch him die just when she might have hoped they had a future together. I think they each have a character-development arc over the course of the movie. Then there are the great battle scenes, impressive cinematography, soaring score, etc. Your spoiler made me remember more about the film. While I still think it should be gone, I perhaps didn’t give it the small amount of credit it was due. However, the people didn’t really change. Maximus was still evil, despite his slight regret. It’s not like he had a change of heart or felt guilty at the end of the movie. Maximus suffered a loss, but he didn’t exactly change his pesonality, only his goal. He’s still the noble Roman general he was at the beginning, sans family. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924/100 "2010-03-11T05:40:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Boy, go away for one night and these things just get away from you. > > The original intent was that we start with a list of 82 movies. We all discuss and vote and the movie with the most votes gets eliminated. Then we do the same thing all over again with the list of 81 remaining movies. It was not a contest to see how quickly we can find people who dislike 81 different movies. > > The [President Elimination Game](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=533286) thread was the model I was using. It took them 24 pages of voting to get down to George Washington. > > But it’s majority rules on what the rules are. Should we follow the one elimination per round format and go with multiple eliminations? You should have outlined the rules in the OP. Maybe you could start another thread, only using the IMDB top 50 instead of the best picture winners. More people would be familiar with the films that way. In any event, I’m voting off **The Bridge on the River Kwai**. I hate war movies where soldiers behave like gentlemen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-best-picture-elimination-thread/531924.md?page=6)