# Your most rewarding and disappointing "Best Picture" Oscar winner? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406 "2010-01-02T16:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/1 "2010-01-02T16:33:26Z")
I’ve tried to watch as many of the pictures that won the Oscar for “Best Picture” over the years. I’m wondering which movies you enjoyed viewing, completely agreeing with the “Best Picture” Oscar, and the movies you thought were completely unworthy (or disappointing and not live up to the hype) of the "Best Picture nod. The first movie I’ll list didn’t even win the Oscar for 1941, but most people think it did. **Citizen Kane** is considered by many to be the greatest movie of all time, but it lost the Best Picture to **How Green Was My Valley**. But I’ll start with **Citizen Kane** , because I was so looking forward to seeing this movie… I read all the information I could find on it, it always shows up in the top films of all time, and it really looked like a can’t miss. But for me, it did miss. It’s a good movie, and I understand completely that the film changed the way movies were made. It was a cutting edge film that demonstrated techniques seen for the first time on the silver screen. However, even knowing all that, I still found it hard to appreciate all of these things while watching the movie. I guess I’ve been saturated with everything that in 1941 was cutting edge. Going to other movies that fit my categories: \*\*\*Clunkers \*\*\* **Kramer vs. Kramer** - 1979 - Beat **Apocalypse Now** and **Norma Rae**. **Ordinary People** - 1980 - Beat **Raging Bull** **Forrest Gump** - 1994 - Beat **Pulp Fiction** , **Quiz Show** and **The Shawshank Redemption** \*\*Marty \*\*- 1955 - Decent, entertaining movie, but very short and not something I thought was so memorable as to win the Best Picture Oscar _ **Movies That Met or Exceeded Expectations** _ **Mutiny on the Bounty** - 1933 **Gone With The Wind** - 1939 \*\*Casablanca \*\*- 1943 **The Bridge on the River Kwai** - 1957 \*\*Patton \*\*- 1970 **The Godfather** - 1972 **The Sting** - 1973 **One Flew Over The Cookoo’s Nest** - 1975 \*\*Amadeus \*\*- 1984 **The Last Emperor** - 1987 \*\*Braveheart \*\*- 1995 **A Beautiful Mind** - 2001 **The Departed** - 2006 **No Country For Old Men** - 2007 Your picks? ---
**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:** [January 2, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/2 "2010-01-02T18:56:53Z")
_Weak Choices:_ **Broadway Melody**. Very routine, even for the time. Though back then, voters voted in blocs and it was MGM’s turn. **The Greatest Show On Earth**. Usually considered one of the worst picks, though the movie is still pretty good (if corny). Still, it’s not up with **The Quiet Man** or **High Noon**. **In the Heat of the Night**. Only a so-so film. The race angle was good, as were Steiger and Poitier, but it’s not up with **Bonnie and Clyde** or **The Graduate** **The French Connection**. Not a bad film, but has some groaningly bad moments and Doyle often acts like a pretty stupid cop (pretending he’s not been recognized even when he _knows_ he’s been recognized, for instance). Still not as good as **A Clockwork Orange** or **The Last Picture Show**. **The Deer Hunter**. A very weak field that year, but it is overall a stupid film. The Academy wanted to honor a Vietnam war film and this was their chance. **Forrest Gump**. Worth seeing, but overall the weakest of the nominees that year. **The English Patient**. I don’t hate this film like many others, though it’s a bit overlong, but it’s not up to the quality of the other nominees. **Gladiator**. Again, a so-so film. A weak field, but **Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon** is the choice. **A Beautiful Mind**. The weakest entry in the field. **The Departed** A consolation prize to Martin Scorsese. Also the weakest film in the field. _Good Choices_ **It Happened One Night**. Some strong competition, but still the best by a hair. **Casablanca** **All the King’s Men**. Neck and neck with **A Letter to Three Wives** , this wins because it deals with somewhat larger issues. **Gigi** **The Apartment**. A weak year ( **The Alamo** may have been the worst film to be nominated for Best Picture), but it’s still a fine film. **West Side Story** **A Man for All Seasons** **The Godfather** , though with tough competition from **Cabaret** **Annie Hall**. Yes, it’s a better film than **Star Wars** , blowing the rebels out of the water with depth of characterization, dialog, and having something to say. **Star Wars** is a teenager’s film; **Annie Hall** is for adults. **Shakespeare in Love**. One of the best written films _ever_ and the best ever written about the creative process. **Chicago**. Just a great musical. **The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King**. A prize for the entire trilogy. **Crash**. Great characterization, fascinating insights. **Slumdog Millionaire** There were many others that I thought were good films, but which weren’t the best choice that year. ---
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/3 "2010-01-04T17:15:21Z")
The winner for 1989, **Driving Miss Daisy** , was the weakest of the 5 nominees, the others being Field of Dreams, My Left Foot, Born On the Fourth of July and Dead Poets Society. I can watch Field of Dreams endless times. But my biggest gripe is 1993 when **Schindler’s List** won over **Rudy** , which wasn’t even nominated but is THE GREATEST FILM EVER MADE! It is. It surely is. I have literally seen it more than 400 times. So take my word on this. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/4 "2010-01-04T19:22:08Z")
I’ve said this here before (and gotten into ‘arguments’ about it), but having [Rocky](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/) beat out [Taxi Driver](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/) in 1976 was a travesty. Some claim that I’m being biased by the many very shitty sequels that followed the original Rocky. No, independent of anything (except its own cliche-ridden script), Rocky was an average film (at best). Have you watched it recently? Watch Taxi Driver. It gets _better_ as it ages. It was the key movie of the 1970’s. In fact, IMNSHO, it played a not insignificant role in defining the decade. A GREAT film. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/5 "2010-01-04T19:24:52Z")
> [@Lethal\_Babydoll](#): > > But my biggest gripe is 1993 when **Schindler’s List** won over **Rudy** , which wasn’t even nominated but is THE GREATEST FILM EVER MADE! Schindler’s List and Rudy in the same breath? Am I being whooshed? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/6 "2010-01-04T19:57:24Z")
I haven’t watched all of the Best Picture winners (the most recent one I haven’t watched yet is **The Sting** , and I’ve seen a smattering of older ones). Of those I’ve seen, the most “blah” so far has been **Ordinary People**. The title should warn you: that’s exactly what it’s about. There’s nothing exceptional, remarkable, or entertaining about the characters in any way. I intentionally avoided **Forrest Gump** as long as I could, basically because so many people were talking about it, and I was so tired of hearing about it, that I felt that I wouldn’t have to talk about it if I didn’t see it. Finally, without fanfare, I watched it on cable. My feelings: meh. Didn’t really feel for the character, so maybe I missed the point, but I just didn’t see what was so wonderful about it. I was very pleased when **Unforgiven** won Best Picture; it’s still one of my ten favorite movies of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/7 "2010-01-04T19:57:24Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I’ve said this here before (and gotten into ‘arguments’ about it), but having [Rocky](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/) beat out [Taxi Driver](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/) in 1976 was a travesty. I think \*\*Rocky \*\*is better than **Taxi Driver.** But it’s a personal thing. Those are 2 well-done works. Both are better than **The Departed.** That really was a career award. So in a way, **Taxi Driver** and \*\*Raging Bull \*\*and **GoodFellas** did win. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/8 "2010-01-04T20:01:47Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I’ve said this here before (and gotten into ‘arguments’ about it), but having [Rocky](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075148/) beat out [Taxi Driver](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/) in 1976 was a travesty. Some claim that I’m being biased by the many very shitty sequels that followed the original Rocky. No, independent of anything (except its own cliche-ridden script), Rocky was an average film (at best). Have you watched it recently? > > Watch Taxi Driver. It gets _better_ as it ages. It was the key movie of the 1970’s. In fact, IMNSHO, it played a not insignificant role in defining the decade. A GREAT film. _Rocky_ is probably the best example, not only because it beat _Taxi Driver_ (unsurprisingly; that film divided the Academy and Scorsese didn’t even get a director nomination that year), but also _Network, All the President’s Men_ and _Bound for Glory_–all remarkably acted, well-crafted, entertaining, mature, political works. I think RealityChuck is too hard on _In the Heat of the Night_, which is an excellent movie, but an aesthetically conservative one. Nobody could blame them for not voting for the more daring and forward-thinking _Bonnie_ or _Graduate_, but think of what it would’ve been like for _Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner_ to win that year instead. That’s _Rocky_. Essentially, evaluating Picture winners falls into several categories: “Perfectly fine movies but not my choice (or perhaps history’s either)”, “Really not good movies that somehow managed to win”, “Movies of a Time that simply date badly now”, or “Movies that won whose competition was pretty lackluster, too” Group one includes **You Can’t Take it with You, How Green Was My Valley** (over _Citizen Kane_), **Hamlet, Patton, Ordinary People** and **Gandhi**. The second group includes **The Great Ziegfeld, The Greatest Show on Earth, Around the World in 80 Days** and **A Beautiful Mind**. The third group includes **Going My Way, Gentleman’s Agreement, The Sting** , and **Out of Africa** And the fourth would include **The Broadway Melody, Cavalcade, The Lost Weekend, Marty** and **Rain Man** ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/9 "2010-01-04T20:32:47Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Schindler’s List and Rudy in the same breath? Am I being whooshed? Rudy _was_ an incredible movie; it was just an all-around great and entertaining film. _Schindler’s List_ was overwrought pity-porn, exploiting the memory of the Holocaust in a cheap and low way (in my opinion). Anyone who understands that _Rudy_ is ultimately a better movie is cooking with gas, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/10 "2010-01-04T20:46:10Z")
**The Right Stuff** losing to **Terms of Endearment** was a travesty. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/11 "2010-01-04T21:35:20Z")
> [@Lethal\_Babydoll](#): > > I think \*\*Rocky \*\*is better than **Taxi Driver.** But it’s a personal thing. Those are 2 well-done works. > > Both are better than **The Departed.** That really was a career award. > > So in a way, **Taxi Driver** and \*\*Raging Bull \*\*and **GoodFellas** did win. I think this is a very astute comment. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/12 "2010-01-04T21:46:42Z")
Gump,Shawshank and Pulp all deserved it.Shame they came out the same year. Was thrilled that Shakespeare in Love beat Private Ryan. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/13 "2010-01-04T22:07:40Z")
Most Disappointing: **The Departed** The ending sucked. It was also tacked on after the better ending of the movie it copied. When a good movie is handed to you on a silver platter, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you don’t make the movie _worse_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/14 "2010-01-04T22:19:31Z")
Most Disappointing (in no particular order): **CRASH** - not a bad movie, but not on par with _Brokeback Mountain_ or _Good Night and Good Luck_ (both nominated that year). **The English Patient** - another good film, but **Fargo** deserved it more imo **Forrest Gump** - a flash in the pan blockbuster that lost to **Pulp Fiction** , another blockbuster but one that will be studied in film schools [or their direct descendants] in a century. Most Enjoyed and Agreed With: **Slumdog Millionaire** - I know, lots of critics, lots of people who didn’t like it, but bite me- I like a happy ending once in a while.😉 **Silence of the Lambs** - definitely trounced its competition that year (and thank God JFK didn’t win) **Million Dollar Baby** - I don’t usually like Clint Eastwood and I swear the reason we know the Zapruder film is legit is that if it was made in Hollywood they’d have had Morgan Freeman narrate it- it’s almost a cliche- but a very good movie that gave a well deserved Oscar to Hillary Swank (and an overdue if not deserved for this particular role Oscar to Morgan Freeman). ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/15 "2010-01-04T22:20:31Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Most Disappointing: > > **The Departed** > The ending sucked. Which one? (I think it tried to tie LOTR, but with more deaths.) ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/16 "2010-01-04T22:24:36Z")
What’s so great about Quiz Show, or even Crouching Tiger? I saw both movies, and Quiz show played like a History Channel documentary. I think because it was about “the business” in Hollywood, that Hollywood types thought it was more important than it was. Crouching Tiger had some impressive visuals, but other than that was not really what I would call an oscar-worthy movie. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/17 "2010-01-04T22:28:29Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Which one? (I think it tried to tie LOTR, but with more deaths.) The one where Sullivan is shot coming home from doing the shopping. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/18 "2010-01-05T02:47:35Z")
Mystic River was disappointing. Granted, it didn’t win a “Best Picture” but I was severely disappointed with the movie, and the performances (which did earn Oscars), weren’t amazing. I was disappointed. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/19 "2010-01-05T03:11:16Z")
My most satisfying victory has to be **No Country for Old Men**. Annoyances: I’m not the worlds biggest **English Patient** fan, but the fact that it beat out **Fargo** irritates me ( **Secrets and Lies** as well, but to a lesser extent). In my own most humble opinion, **Chicago** was the weakest of the four (by a solid mile, but that’s another thread). Even if you ignore The Two Towers, we are still left with **The Pianist** , **The Hours** , and **Gangs of New York**. Although I DO like **Gladiator** , I am a huge **Traffic** fan and really felt it deserved the win that year. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406/20 "2010-01-05T04:07:58Z")
I thought “Gandhi” was a very mediocre, plodding, by-the-numbers biopic wrapped around a legitimately Oscar-worthy acting performance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-rewarding-and-disappointing-best-picture-oscar-winner/523406.md?page=2)