# The 10 Worst Best Picture Winners **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 20, 2011, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978 "2011-02-20T04:13:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/21 "2011-02-20T15:02:07Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Screw you, I like _Driving Miss Daisy._ And Forrest Gump too. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/22 "2011-02-20T15:12:05Z")
Although I can’t watch all of it in one sitting again, I do love parts of _The English Patient_ and would rewatch them on a regular basis. Mostly, the parts with Kristin Scott Thomas and the also with Naveen Andrews. I agree that “Fargo” or “Sling Blade” probably deserved the win more, but wouldn’t think of EP as a nominee for Worst Best Picture. BTW, when I watched it in the theater, the projector broke and there was a 20 minute lull before the film resumed. I still loved it. And I was amazed by _Chicago_- didn’t think the voices matter as much as the choreography (and Queen Latifah did great at least). I was dragged to it and enjoyed it far more than I expected so wouldn’t call it a Worst Picture Nominee either. It’s the only one I’d enjoy watching out of the list of who the author thought should win. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/23 "2011-02-20T16:10:20Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > This, basically. The only possible reason for it being on the list is that it beat Citizen Kane, which is a silly reason. Not least because it’s a better film than Kane, at least in terms of writing and acting. Well, I guess YMMV because I’d say any claim that _Valley_ is actually better than _Kane_ in acting and writing is categorically absurd. But no, it’s not a bad movie and is clearly on the list only because it beat the Welles. My 12, not based on a comparison of the winners against each other, but against the slate of nominees they were up against, would be (in chronological order) _The Great Ziegfeld_ (1936) _You Can’t Take It With You_ (1938) _Going My Way_ (1944) _Gentleman’s Agreement_ (1947) _The Greatest Show on Earth_ (1952) _Around the World in 80 Days_ (1956) _My Fair Lady_ (1964) _The Sting_ (1973) _Rocky_ (1976) _Rain Man_ (1988) _Forrest Gump_ (1994) _A Beautiful Mind_ (2001) ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/24 "2011-02-20T17:31:25Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > _Chicago_? I can understand not liking musicals perhaps, but calling it the worst best picture winner ever destroys all credibility, especially considering several musicals have won the award (_Oliver_, _Sound of Music_, _My Fair Lady_, etc.). I could watch it all day before seeing _Crash_ or _Rocky_ or _You Can’t Take It With You_ again, none of which were nominated. I liked _Gladiator_, _A Beautiful Mind_ and _Out of Africa_ well enough when I saw them but never had any desire to see them again, but they’re also not on the list. Yeah, putting _Chicago_ at the top of the list is just dopey. It’s a darn fine movie and one I can also enjoy again and again … I can’t respect the opinion of someone who says it’s the worst Best Picture winner EVER. Especially when the #2 choice,\* Around the World in 80 Days,\* won its Oscar against \*Giant \*and _The King and I_. Say what?? And then this person leaves _The Greatest Show on Earth_ completely off the list. Must have a fetish for Jimmy Stewart in clown makeup, I guess. I do think it’s kinda tough to make this kind of call (Comic Book Guy: “Worst - Oscar winner\*\* - ever\*\*!”), because you do have to compare the winners with the other nominees that year. Just as a fr’instance, 2000’s Best Picture _Gladiator_ was up against _Chocolat_, _Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon_, _Erin Brockovich_ and _Traffic_. Everybody has their favorites, of course, and I didn’t think _Gladiator_ was all that, but I can’t personally see how it was an egregious ripoff with that competition. But _Greatest Show …_ won over _High Noon_ and _The Quiet Man_, for Pete’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/25 "2011-02-20T17:38:34Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I came across [This list](http://listverse.com/2010/05/12/top-10-worst-best-picture-winners/) and found it most interesting. > > The top 10 worst Best Picture winners: > 10. The English Patient > 9. Gigi > 8. Chariots of Fire > 7. Forrest Gump > 6. The Departed > 5. Cavalcade > 4. How Green Was My Valley > 3. Driving Miss Daisy > 2. Around the World in 80 Days > > 1. Chicago Rather dumb list, with some weird biases against some truly great films. If I were to pick then, they’d be **The Broadway Melody** – Probably the worst choice of all. Very undistinguished musical. **Mrs. Miniver** – so-so soap opera that won because of WWII spirit **An American in Paris** – that was the bad choice as opposed to the delights of **Gigi** **The Greatest Show on Earth** – entertaining, but not a particularly great film **Around the World in 80 Days** – voters were wowed by the all-star cast, I guess. **The Sound of Music** – turgid musical **In the Heat of the Night** – Rod Steiger was great and deserved his Oscar. So was Poitier. But the story was weak. **The French Connection** – Vastly overrated. Doyle did all sorts of dumb things to make the plot work. **The Deer Hunter** – overlong and so goddamned obvious about everything. The Academy wanted to pick a Vietnam War film so badly that they took whatever they could get. **Out of Africa** – rather pointless. Not one of Streep’s better roles, either. ---
**Author:** ![Walmarticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Walmarticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walmarticus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/26 "2011-02-20T18:16:01Z")
Crash possibly had something to do with racism, but the moral was just so subtle. Forrest Gump doesn’t belong there. Driving Ms. Daisy doesn’t belong there. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/27 "2011-02-20T18:22:07Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > And Forrest Gump too. Well, I really liked _Forrest Gump_, too. (Not to speak of _Driving Miss Daisy_, which I _adored_), but _Forrest Gump_ was released more or less the same time as _The Shawshank Redemption_, which many people, myself included, felt was more deserving of awards. ---
**Author:** ![straight\_man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straight_man/32/3027_2.png) [@straight\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/straight_man)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/28 "2011-02-20T18:40:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > **In the Heat of the Night** – Rod Steiger was great and deserved his Oscar. So was Poitier. But the story was weak. This. I know there was a whole thing about race that made it seem revolutionary or something, but the story was just lame. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/29 "2011-02-20T19:03:06Z")
It hasn’t happened yet, but a lot of people are prejudiced against “Shakespeare in Love” when these threads come around. While the story is essentially a rehash of Romeo and Juliet (in fact, the story was repeated twice in the film) the acting and technical aspects of the film are excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/30 "2011-02-20T19:24:04Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > It hasn’t happened yet, but a lot of people are prejudiced against “Shakespeare in Love” when these threads come around. While the story is essentially a rehash of Romeo and Juliet (in fact, the story was repeated twice in the film) the acting and technical aspects of the film are excellent. With a bit of _Twelfth Night_ thrown in, as well as numerous clever references to many of the Bard’s other plays. IMO, _Shakespeare in Love_ has the best screenplay of any Best Picture Winner in the last 15 years or so, and it definitely deserved to win over _Saving Private Ryan_, which was technically amazing but unoriginal story-wise. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/31 "2011-02-20T19:25:57Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > With a bit of _Twelfth Night_ thrown in, as well as numerous clever references to many of the Bard’s other plays. IMO, _Shakespeare in Love_ has the best screenplay of any Best Picture Winner in the last 15 years or so, and it definitely deserved to win over _Saving Private Ryan_, which was technically amazing but unoriginal story-wise. Yeah that’s one reason for all the hate for SiL. I met a lot of people who were galvanized by SPR, including this Canadian woman whose grandfather was part of the invasion, and felt like it was glorifying the soldiers who were there. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/32 "2011-02-20T19:29:01Z")
My two least favorites among those I have seen are: Crash In the Heat of the Night. So, obvious stories about racism. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/33 "2011-02-20T19:48:35Z")
I’m still puzzling over his reasons for including _Chicago_. His claim that the performers weren’t good enough singers is wrong. Roxy wasn’t supposed to be a great performer, she was supposed to be a little-talent upstart, and Renee Zellweger did a fine job of it. Richard Gere had a perfectly fine singing voice, and John C. Reilly did admirably, as well. I don’t know how he can say that the songs fell flat. He must have seen a different movie than I did. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/34 "2011-02-20T19:55:18Z")
Worst “Worst Best Picture” list EVER! ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/35 "2011-02-20T20:06:06Z")
His list isn’t bad, at least from my POV. Of course I disagree with some of them. The first film that comes to mind when this topic comes up to me is _ **Kramer vs. Kramer** _. This movie sucks on so many levels, and not only did it win BP, but beat _ **Apocalypse Now** _ and _ **Norma Rae** _, both superior films. However he hit a home run for what should be #1 on his list, _ **Forrest Gump** _ This movie is such a pant load, I’ll bet Hanks is still laughing his ass off. The story sucked, the “romance” sucked, and the writing sucked. The fact that he got the Best Actor also was a slap in the face to anyone else nominated that year. Other quick opinions - How he criticizes _ **The Departed** _ is beyond me. I would still watch _ **The Departed** _ before any of the other films nominated that year. And I’ve seen them all. _ **Chariots of Fire** _ - The simple fact that it somehow beat out “_ **Das Boot** _” is enough proof to me that the Acadamy (which I believe has a large proportion of Jewish membership) would never vote for a German WWII film. Especially one done to perfection AND paints the sailors of Nazi Germany’s U-Boats as sympathetic characters who are just caught up in the war, doing whatever they are ordered to do to sink enemy shipping and survive. I think _ **Das Boot** _ does a great job in making the viewer forget they are watching a U-Boat crew fighting for the wrong side and puts you in the sub itself, perhaps fighting for ANY country that was involved in WWII. _ **The English Patient** _ - see Elaine Benes review (Seinfeld). \*\*\*Ordinary People \*\*\*- An unbelievably bad choice, especially given the competition. I know it’s not on his list. He states in the beginning why he omits it. The same goes for \*\*\*Titanic \*\*\* a commercial success but a bad movie (he admits it doesn’t hold up well. There’s a reason! It sucks! Not even close to _ **Good Will Hunting** _ or _ **LA Confidential** _, two nominations that should have sunk _ **Titanic** _. “Jack! Rose! Jack! Rose!” for 3 hours made me want to kill something. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/36 "2011-02-20T20:56:12Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > _ **Chariots of Fire** _ - The simple fact that it somehow beat out “_ **Das Boot** _” is enough proof to me that the Acadamy (which I believe has a large proportion of Jewish membership) would never vote for a German WWII film. Especially one done to perfection AND paints the sailors of Nazi Germany’s U-Boats as sympathetic characters who are just caught up in the war, doing whatever they are ordered to do to sink enemy shipping and survive. I think _ **Das Boot** _ does a great job in making the viewer forget they are watching a U-Boat crew fighting for the wrong side and puts you in the sub itself, perhaps fighting for ANY country that was involved in WWII. Has any foreign language film ever been nominated for Best Picture? Is that even allowed? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/37 "2011-02-20T21:01:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Has any foreign language film ever been nominated for Best Picture? Is that even allowed? It happens from time to time. I don’t know about pre-1980, but I believe Akira Kurosawa’s Ran was nominated (or left out?) for Best Picture, and the backlash caused the creation of the “Best Foreign Picture” category. However, the Italian film “Life is Beautiful” was able to be included in the Best Picture Category, so sometimes foreign films do make the leap over “Best Foreign Picture.” I believe a similar controversy created the “Best Animated Picture” category as well. Iirc, it was Beauty and the Beast. Also, there’s Hollywood films where the majority of the on-screen language is not English but they are considered to not be foreign films. I believe Passion of Christ, Godfather II, and others were included. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/38 "2011-02-20T21:21:13Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > It hasn’t happened yet, but a lot of people are prejudiced against “Shakespeare in Love” when these threads come around. While the story is essentially a rehash of Romeo and Juliet (in fact, the story was repeated twice in the film) the acting and technical aspects of the film are excellent. I thought Shakespeare in Love was brilliant and funny, and yet a lot of people seem to be annoyed that it beat Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. IMHO, Saving Private Ryan was a maudlin, unoriginal, schlockfest that didn’t deserve to win. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/39 "2011-02-20T21:25:38Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I thought Shakespeare in Love was brilliant and funny, and yet a lot of people seem to be annoyed that it beat Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. IMHO, Saving Private Ryan was a maudlin, unoriginal, schlockfest that didn’t deserve to win. The “based on a true story” part I admire. The actual story raises a very interesting idea: at what point will conscience prevent killing? I like to think that the US government has a conscience, even if it was 1945. Also, SPR has some interesting scenes. My favorite is when the US sniper killed the other sniper. But, definitely, while I do enjoy SPR, SIL is the one I love. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978/40 "2011-02-20T21:33:21Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > It happens from time to time. I don’t know about pre-1980, but I believe Akira Kurosawa’s Ran was nominated (or left out?) for Best Picture, and the backlash caused the creation of the “Best Foreign Picture” category. However, the Italian film “Life is Beautiful” was able to be included in the Best Picture Category, so sometimes foreign films do make the leap over “Best Foreign Picture.” I believe a similar controversy created the “Best Animated Picture” category as well. Iirc, it was Beauty and the Beast. Foreign Language Film has been a competitive Oscar category since 1956. ‘Ran’ came out in 1985. The controversy you maight be thinking of is that ‘Ran’ was not submitted by Japan as its entry for Foreign Language Film, thus making it ineligible for the Oscar. One result was a successful campaign to get Kurosawa a nomination for Best Director. Ironically, the one director of a Best Picture nominee not to be nominated as director (and thus presumably the man bumped to make room for Kurosawa) was Stephen Spielberg, who had been one of the people campaigning for Kurosawa’s nomination. Anyways, Foreign Language Films to get best picture nominations include: Grand Illusion (1938) Z (1969) Cries and Whispers (1973) Il Postino (The Postman) (1995) Life Is Beautiful (1998) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-10-worst-best-picture-winners/571978.md?page=3)