# Tell us why Movie X should have won the Best Picture Oscar (rather than the one that actually did.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495 "2014-08-25T20:16:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/61 "2014-08-28T15:37:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s not really the grand-daddy of “Creature on the Loose” films. … But it’s probably the most influential of them all. I’ll admit that’s the better way of putting it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/62 "2014-08-28T19:06:10Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > 1931 > Won: **Cimarron**. The Oklahoma land rush scenes are exciting visuals. After that, it settles into a ho-hum soap of Irene Dunne’s rise in society. > Shoulda Won: **City Lights**. One of Chaplin’s masterpieces. Not even nominated, presumably thanks to anti-silent film bias. Chaplin’s omission in 1931 was par for the course by the Academy. Previously, Chaplin was given a special Oscar “for writing, acting, directing and producing” **The Circus** thereby effectively taking both him and his movie out of the running for Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture. Although it’s probably not true, one gets the impression that Chaplin’s movies were so well regarded that were considered to be in a higher class altogether. Thus, they were given “special” awards or ignored altogether to keep things competitive. Or, it could also be another example of the Academy’s bias against comedies in general. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/63 "2014-08-28T22:41:27Z")
There’s a frequently expressed sentiment that **Saving Private Ryan** is the amazing D-Day scene, followed by an hour of mediocrity. I think that’s hogwash. The non-D-Day parts of SPR may be the most underrated movie of the past quarter century. It has MANY amazing and memorable scenes: -the medic bleeds out, leading the rest of the unit to want to take vengeance on the “Steamboat Willie” german -Upham has an attack of cowardice on the stairs and can’t go help Mellish who gets slowly stabbed to death -They find the wrong Private Ryan (made more entertaining because it’s a young Nathan Fillion) -they listen to Edith Piaf as Matt Damon reminisces about his brothers and throughout, the production, writing and acting is absolutely top-notch. Arguably the framing device is a bit corny… but there is a TON of amazing filmmaking in that movie. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/64 "2014-08-28T22:49:36Z")
One thing to keep in mind is that the Academy _hates_ controversy. _Zero Dark Thirty_ was far and away the best film of 2012 (though I haven’t seen _Django Unchained_ yet) but the media brouhaha about its “supposedly” inaccurate depictions of torture predictably consigned it to just a handful of token nominations. Likewise, _Pulp Fiction_ also lost because of its controversial violence. It’s also true that the Academy seems very slow on the uptake regarding landmark, groundbreaking films with long-reaching effects on the industry itself – Citizen Kane, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, etc. Though I guess they can be excused since nobody can predict the future with 100% accuracy. It’s interesting that _Annie Hall_ beat _Star Wars_ as it’s only one of two “straight” comedies to win the top award, whereas NO science fiction film has won Best Picture, ever. Of course, not many sci-fi films actually deserved to win – except _District 9_, which definitely should’ve won in 2009, and _2001: A Space Odyssey_ which wasn’t even nominated in '69. (I’m staying out of the SW vs. AH debate…) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/65 "2014-08-28T23:21:56Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > It’s interesting that _Annie Hall_ beat _Star Wars_ as it’s only one of two “straight” comedies to win the top award, whereas NO science fiction film has won Best Picture, ever. Of course, not many sci-fi films actually deserved to win – except _District 9_, which definitely should’ve won in 2009, and _2001: A Space Odyssey_ which wasn’t even nominated in '69. (I’m staying out of the SW vs. AH debate…) Annie Hall was many things- a “comedy” wasnt one of them, and LotR is SF. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/66 "2014-08-28T23:56:49Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Annie Hall was many things- a “comedy” wasnt one of them, and LotR is SF. Huh-wha?? In which parallel universe is either of these remotely true? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/67 "2014-08-28T23:58:38Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > -the medic bleeds out, leading the rest of the unit to want to take vengeance on the “Steamboat Willie” german Outside of the “storming the beach” scene, this is my favorite scene of the movie. Not because of their wanting to take vengeance, but just because Giovonni Ribisi has long been one of my favorite underrated actors, and the way he reacts when he realizes that it’s his liver that’s been hit with a bullet is brilliant. The way he goes into full-blown panic mode, and how he knows there’s nothing that they can do to help him, just rings true to me in a way that doesn’t show in a lot of other actors’ work. And Upham’s “tell us what to do to fix you” is fucking heartbreaking. Mostly because he seems to be the only one who doesn’t realize there IS nothing. Maybe it’s because I’ve spent the last several years as an EMT (and growing up in a household where my dad was a career firefighter), and I don’t want to be the grizzled, cynical, jaded “seen it all” guy compared to the brand-new “ink still wet on the certification” one, but I’ve seen guys as idealistic as Upham on a scene, and it’s always disheartening when that switch flips inside them from “there has to be something we can do” to “well, he’s dead. If he’s lucky.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/68 "2014-08-29T01:48:56Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Obligatory Link: [Every Oscar Best Picture Winner from Worst to Best](http://www.nerve.com/entertainment/ranked/ranked-oscar-best-picture-winners-from-worst-to-best) (through 2009) > Includes their opinions on which movie should have won, and why. The problem with a lot of those lists is that they look at the movies with a 21st century perspective. Take _Broadway Melody_, the second BP winner. I see so many critiques about how cliche the story is or comparing it to later musicals. But what if you were living in 1929 and saw the movie? You would have never seen anything like that movie before. And the epic pieces _Cimmeron_ and _Cavalcade_ are easy to dismiss today as 42fish does but back in 1931 and 1933, people had lived through those events. Suppose someone makes a movie about 9/11 and the impact of the WTC collapse and the resulting war on terrorism. Do you think it would have the same impact to someone watching in 2081? Hell no. They would criticize the inappropriate comic relief of the buffoon TSA agent and the plothole of how freedom-loving Americans would tolerate the Patriot Act. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/69 "2014-08-29T02:43:06Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > _Zero Dark Thirty_ was far and away the best film of 2012 (though I haven’t seen _Django Unchained_ yet) … So “_Zero Dark Thirty_ was far and away the best film of 2012,” and yet you admit you “haven’t seen _Django Unchained_ yet.” Huh? 😕 I’m not sure I can process that. However, I assure you that if you _had_ seen _Django Unchained_, you would realize it was the better movie. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/70 "2014-08-29T03:34:00Z")
I forgot to add – my asterisk for **Cavalcade** in my post above was because one scene in the film depicts two characters walking away from a ship’s rail to reveal a life preserver with “Titanic” written on it. Maybe _Cavalcade_ won, as did _Titanic_ years later, because of the Oscar-generating power of movies set at least partly on the doomed ship. (The 1958 film **A Night to REmember** , also featuring the sinking of the Titanic, didn’t win an Academy Award, but did earn a Golden Globe.) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/71 "2014-08-29T04:28:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I forgot to add – my asterisk for **Cavalcade** in my post above was because one scene in the film depicts two characters walking away from a ship’s rail to reveal a life preserver with “Titanic” written on it. Maybe _Cavalcade_ won, as did _Titanic_ years later, because of the Oscar-generating power of movies set at least partly on the doomed ship. > (The 1958 film **A Night to REmember** , also featuring the sinking of the Titanic, didn’t win an Academy Award, but did earn a Golden Globe.) And the 1953 **Titanic** managed to win an Oscar the Cameron film didn’t even get nominated for: Best Screenplay. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/72 "2014-08-29T16:10:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > So “_Zero Dark Thirty_ was far and away the best film of 2012,” and yet you admit you “haven’t seen _Django Unchained_ yet.” Huh? 😕 I’m not sure I can process that. > > However, I assure you that if you _had_ seen _Django Unchained_, you would realize it was the better movie. Actually, other than the scenes with Christoph Waltz, I found that film rather B-movie like. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/73 "2014-08-29T16:23:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Actually, other than the scenes with Christoph Waltz, I found that film rather B-movie like. For me, it was an enjoyable movie but certainly not Best Picture level. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/74 "2014-08-29T18:10:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Actually, other than the scenes with Christoph Waltz, I found that film rather B-movie like. Tarantino’s goal, really, is to make B-movie like films with A-movie like production values. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/75 "2014-08-29T19:14:41Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > 1998: **Shakespeare In Love** was a fine movie with great writing. On the other hand, no film nominated was as effective and as meaningful as **Saving Private Ryan**. Was SPR without flaws? No, but again, it’s the coordination of all production elements into an artistic and financial triumph that B. Picture represents, and none of the other films nominated came close to its level. > … I wholeheartedly agree with just about the whole thread except for this one. The Academy has always made it difficult for the comedy/dramedy genre to get recognized. SPR would have just been yet another Oscar-bait statement movies successfully trolling for the award. Shakes in Love deserves it for being a tidy gem of a movie that didn’t pander in any way to some special-interest demographic to win the votes, beating 4 other nominees that were pandered so hard that you could see the bamboo shoots stuck in their teeth. For my original content contribution… I’d give the **2002** best picture to **About Schmidt** or **Spirited Away**. Wow, what a weak year for movies that was, going through the 2002 list on imdb, I’m hard pressed to find anything that I’d ever choose to watch again in my lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/76 "2014-08-29T23:35:40Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Shakes in Love deserves it for being a tidy gem of a movie that didn’t pander in any way to some special-interest demographic to win the votes. Except the pandering to actors that always love to vote for movies about actors. ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495/77 "2014-08-30T00:15:30Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > _Goodfellas_. Because it’s an unquestioned masterpiece, one of the greatest movies ever made, and _Dances with Wolves_ was the most boring three hours of my entire life, and I once spent 3 hours literally staring at a blank wall. And the other three movies nominated that year were a fucking joke (_Awakenings_, _Ghost_, and _Godfather Part III_). I think this had to be one of the years with the largest discrepancy between the film that should have won and the film that did. _Dances with Wolves_ had decent cinematography and the buffalo hunt scene was pretty cool. It was also boring and pretentious with one dimensional characters and more than a little noble savage racist nonsense. _Goodfellas_ is one of the best films ever made; two decades later it retains excellent rewatchability. I say this as a huge Scorsese fan, _The Departed_ should not have won in 2006. It was a mediocre effort by great talents. I’m pretty sure it only won because the academy had snubbed Scorsese so many times in the past. _Little Miss Sunshine_ was a more enjoyable film from that year, but I would have voted for _Letters from Iwo Jima._ It wasn’t the best war movie ever produced, but I thought it was made from a very interesting perspective. _Gladiator_ wasn’t a very original picture, but at least it provided a fun spectacle. I’ll confess, I can’t remember many details from _Traffic_ but I remember absolutely loathing the film. It was cheesy when it was trying to be realistic, and preachy when it was trying to be gritty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-us-why-movie-x-should-have-won-the-best-picture-oscar-rather-than-the-one-that-actually-did/696495.md?page=3)