Best Picture Oscar Winner: Analysis.
Very Well Agreed!=It was the year's best.
Agreed!=Not my number 1 choice, but am glad it won.
Good, but...=A few films were better and more worthy.
Disagreed=Should not have won.
TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!=A bad movie won.
Agreed!=Not my number 1 choice, but am glad it won.
Good, but...=A few films were better and more worthy.
Disagreed=Should not have won.
TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!=A bad movie won.
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- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Stagecoach, Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Of Mice and Men, Withering Heights, Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips. - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.Agreed!
Won against: The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Dictator, The Philadelphia Story. - DirectorJohn FordStarsWalter PidgeonMaureen O'HaraAnna LeeAt the turn of the century in a Welsh mining village, the Morgans, he stern, she gentle, raise coal-mining sons and hope their youngest will find a better life.Good, but...
Won against: Citizen Kane, Maltese Falcon.
Why this won: it was a great film.
Why Kane and Falcon lost: nobody knew Falcon would have such a strong impact. Citizen Kane broke all the rules in creating movies, and William Randolph Hearst (who the movie is loosely based on) did not like it and probably would have threatened legal action. - DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonTeresa WrightA British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.Agreed!
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Yankee Doodle Dandy - DirectorLeo McCareyStarsBing CrosbyBarry FitzgeraldFrank McHughWhen young Father O'Malley arrives at St. Dominic's, old Father Fitzgibbon doesn't think much of the church's newest member.TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!
Won against: Double Indemnity, Laura, Arsenic and Old Lace - DirectorBilly WilderStarsRay MillandJane WymanPhillip TerryThe desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.Very Well Agreed!
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMyrna LoyDana AndrewsFredric MarchThree World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.Agreed!
Won against: It's a Wonderful Life. - DirectorLaurence OlivierStarsLaurence OlivierJean SimmonsJohn LauriePrince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Red Shoes, Key Largo. - DirectorRobert RossenStarsBroderick CrawfordJohn IrelandJoanne DruThe rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.Agreed!
Won against: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, White Heat. - DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.Good but...
Won against: Sunset Blvd, The Third Man, Harvey, Born Yesterday.
Sunset really should have won. - DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsGene KellyLeslie CaronOscar LevantThree friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.Agreed!
Won against: A Streetcar Named Desire, African Queen.
Any of these would have been fine winners. - DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsJames StewartCharlton HestonBetty HuttonThe dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.Disagreed.
Won against: Singin' in the Rain, High Noon, Moulin Rouge, The Quiet Man. - DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsBurt LancasterMontgomery CliftDeborah KerrAt a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his commanding officer's wife and top aide begin a tentative affair.Agreed!
Won against: Shane, Roman Holiday, The Robe, Julius Caesar, The Band Wagon. - DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: A Star Is Born, The Caine Mutiny, Sabrina, Rear Window, Dial M For Murder. - DirectorDelbert MannStarsErnest BorgnineBetsy BlairEsther MinciottiA middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.Good, but...
Won against: Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, Guys & Dolls, To Catch a Thief, Mr. Roberts - DirectorMichael AndersonJohn FarrowStarsDavid NivenCantinflasFinlay CurrieA Victorian Englishman bets that with the new steamships and railways he can circumnavigate the globe in eighty days.Disagreed!
Won against: Giant, Ten Commandments, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, King & I.
Why the contenders lost: no idea. - DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!
Won against: 12 Angry Men, Paths of Glory.
Why this won: I have no idea why people love this so much.
Why 12 Angry Men lost: it takes place for 97 minutes in a jury room.
Why Paths of Glory Lost: Kwai is almost double its length and in colour. - DirectorVincente MinnelliCharles WaltersStarsLeslie CaronMaurice ChevalierLouis JourdanWeary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship which may not stay platonic for long.Disagreed.
Won against: Vertigo, Touch of Evil
Why Vertigo lost: it was shockingly not that highly praised at the time. - DirectorWilliam WylerStarsCharlton HestonJack HawkinsStephen BoydAfter a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.Good, but...
Won against: North By Northwest, Some Like it Hot.
Why this won: uncanny filmmaking.
Why the others lost: Hot was controversial since it is about men in drag. I don't know why NBNW lost. - DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.Agreed!
Won against: Psycho, Spartacus.
Any of these would have been good winners. - DirectorJerome RobbinsRobert WiseStarsNatalie WoodGeorge ChakirisRichard BeymerTwo youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.Disagreed!
Won against: The Hustler, Judgement at Nuremberg, 101 Dalmatians, La Dolce Vita. - DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: To Kill a Mockingbird, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Longest Day, Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty. - DirectorTony RichardsonStarsAlbert FinneySusannah YorkGeorge DevineThe romantic and chivalrous adventures of adopted bastard Tom Jones in 18th-century England.Good, but...
Why Cleopatra lost: it was one of the biggest flops ever.
Won against: Cleopatra, How The West was Won. - DirectorGeorge CukorStarsAudrey HepburnRex HarrisonStanley HollowayIn 1910s London, snobbish phonetics professor Henry Higgins agrees to a wager that he can make crude flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, presentable in high society.Agreed!
Won against: Dr. Strangelove, Becket, Mary Poppins, Zorba the Greek.
Why Dr. Strangelove lost: a comedy about nuclear war ending the world that came out at the height of the Cold War.
This would be one of the best Oscar winning films ever, if Dr. Strangelove was not released at the same time. - DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.Agreed!
Won against: Dr. Zhivago, Othello, For A Few Dollars More. - DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsPaul ScofieldWendy HillerRobert ShawThe story of Sir Thomas More, who stood up to King Henry VIII when the King rejected the Roman Catholic Church to obtain a divorce and remarry.Good, but...
Won against: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Alfie, The Good The Bad and the Ugly. - DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSidney PoitierRod SteigerWarren OatesA black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.Good, but...
Won against: The Graduate, Bonnie & Clyde, Cool Hand Luke, The Dirty Dozen. - DirectorCarol ReedStarsMark LesterRon MoodyShani WallisAfter being sold to a mortician, young orphan Oliver Twist runs away and meets a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor in 1830s London.Good, but...
Won against: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, Funny Girl, Romeo & Juliet. - DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanJon VoightSylvia MilesA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: True Grit, Z, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Easy Rider, Bob and Carol & Ted and Alice. - DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.Agreed!
Won against: Five Easy Pieces, Little Big Man, M*A*S*H, Airport. - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.Agreed!
Won against: A Clockwork Orange, Fiddler on the Roof, Last Picture Show, McCabe & Mrs. Miller.
Clockwork would have been a good winner too. - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Deliverance, Cabaret, Sleuth. - DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordRobert ShawTwo grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!
Won against: Serpico, Enter the Dragon, Last Tango in Paris, The Exorcist.
Why the others lost: Serpico gives police a bad name. Exorcist was too scary. Paris is erotica. Dragon was simply a great film overlooked at the time. - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Chinatown, The Conversation, Day For Night, The Last Detail, Young Frankenstein, Harry and Tonto, Mean Streets. - DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.Good, but...
Won against: Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Nashville. - DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungA small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.Agreed!
Won against: Taxi Driver, Network, All The President's Men.
Why this won: very inspirational and well done.
Any of the films I mentioned would have been good winners. - DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.Agreed!
Won against: Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Why this won: it is probably the most innovative romantic comedy ever. The script, symbols and story are all awesome.
Why the contenders lost: they both had very unoriginal stories. - DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn CazaleAn in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Straight Time, Grease, The Buddy Holly Story. - DirectorRobert BentonStarsDustin HoffmanMeryl StreepJane AlexanderAfter his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: All That Jazz, Breaking Away, Apocalypse Now, Alien.
Why this won: best acting and story. - DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.Good, but...
Won against: Raging Bull, Empire Strikes Back, The Shining.
Why this won: as Robert Redford's directorial debut, the Academy likes surprises. Also, the movie was pretty original and therapeutic, dealing with survivor's guilt, depression, suicide and family breaking up.
Why the contenders lost: Raging Bull did not receive critical acclaim at the time. Sure it was praised, but not as much as now. Both Bull and Shining were too gritty and brutal for some people's tastes. Since Empire was a sequel with a down ending, I guess voters didn't like that. - DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!
Won against: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blow-Out, Ragtime, Das Boot.
Why this won/ why the others lost: no idea. - DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.Good, but...
Won against: ET, Sophie's Choice, Tootsie.
Why this won: the acting by all (especially by Kingsley) is stellar and the whole movie is very inspirational.
Any of these would have been good winners. - DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Once Upon a Time in America, The Terminator, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Natural. - DirectorJames L. BrooksStarsShirley MacLaineDebra WingerJack NicholsonFollows hard-to-please Aurora looking for love and her daughter's family problems.TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!!
Won against: Scarface, The Right Stuff, Return of the Jedi, A Christmas Story, Fanny & Alexander, Tender Mercies, Trading Places, Meaning of Life... The movie sucked. Totally don't get how or why it won. - DirectorSydney PollackStarsMeryl StreepRobert RedfordKlaus Maria BrandauerIn 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.Good, but...
Won against: Back to the Future, The Colour Purple, Ran. - DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.Good, but...
Won against: Aliens, Stand By Me, Hannah and Her Sisters.
Why this won: one of the best war movies ever made.
Why the others lost: critics found Aliens to be over-the-top. Stand By Me is an emotional friendship movie that was not worthy of the Best Director Oscar win. Best Director and Best Picture often go hand-in-hand. - DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJohn LoneJoan ChenPeter O'TooleBernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.Good, but...
Won against: The Untouchables, Full Metal Jacket, Lethal Weapon.
Why the others lost: too gritty. - DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanTom CruiseValeria GolinoAfter a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Last Temptation of Christ, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Mississippi Burning, Willow.
Any of these would have been good winners. - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsMorgan FreemanJessica TandyDan AykroydAn old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!
Won Against: Born of the 4th of July, Do The Right Thing, Henry V, My Left Foot, Glory, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Why this won: the whole concept of equality of racism was tackled at a good time. Plus Tandy and Freeman were excellent.
Why the contenders lost: 4th of July tackled another controversial topic and it won Best Director, they wanted two different movies to win the top prizes. Right Thing was an odd piece of moviemaking that some people (including myself) needed to watch twice. It was not for everyone. Voters liked the previous Indiana Jones movies more. Henry V isn't American. My Left Foot was simply not voted upon.
I would rather The Karate Kid Part III win instead of this. - DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Awakenings, Ghost, Goodfellas.
Why this won: This really revived the western genre and gave Natives their due. It also shows how there is true redemption in the human soul and people can fix who they are and change themselves for the better. It is also full of some amazingly beautiful scenes and dazzling music.
Why Goodfellas lost: It does not do a good job of absorbing and sucking the audience into its world. Scorsese did say he wanted the movie to feel like a trailer. He succeeded.
Also, Goodfellas glorifies life in the mafia. A kid idolizes mobsters and works much of his life to be a top guy. Goodfellas really shows that being a gangster is fun. That is sending the wrong message! This movie must've inspired so many people to try to join mob family. Can you really blame the academy for siding with a movie about the cleansing of the human soul over macho foul-mouths that kill people?
Goodfellas deals with a man trying to get into the violence. Dances With Wolves deals with a man trying to get away from the violence.
This is one of my favourite Oscar winning films ever. - DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.Good, but...
Won against: JFK, Terminator 2, Beauty and the Beast
Why this won: if JFK and T2 did not come out in 1991, this would have been one of the best Oscar wins ever.
Why the others lost: T2 was more of a audience success. JFK has often been criticized for being false and inaccurate about the real thing. - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Malcolm X, One False Move, Reservoir Dogs. - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: The Piano, Jurassic Park, True Romance, Age of Innocence. - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.Good, but...
Won against: Pulp Fiction, Shawshank Redemption, Natural Born Killers.
Why this won: great moviemaking, awesome acting.
Why the contenders lost: voters found Killers and Fiction too gritty and too brutal for the win. Shawshank wasn't even that big of a hit. - DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.Agreed!
Won against: Casino, The Usual Suspects, Toy Story, Leaving Las Vegas, Apollo 13.
Any of these would have been good winners. - DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.Good, but...
Won against: Fargo.
Why this won: it had more to offer than any other movie of the year.
Why Fargo lost: too gritty and voters must've found some bits either too shocking or unimpressive. - DirectorJames CameronStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletBilly ZaneA seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: LA Confidential, As Good As It Gets, Boogie Nights, The Ice Storm, Good Will Hunting.
Any of these would have been a good winner. - DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.Disagreed.
Won against: Saving Private Ryan, Thin Red Line, American History X, Life is Beautiful.
Why this won: this had the most to offer than any other movie of the year. The acting, costumes, sets, music, sound, story, subplots, inside jokes...the movie had it all. But the contenders were so much better, I had to say "Disagreed" instead of "Good, but..." - DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Fight Club, Magnolia, The Insider, Being John Malkovich, Boys Don't Cry.
The first three films I named would have been good winners too. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.Disagreed.
Won against: Traffic, Almost Famous, Requiem for a Dream.
Why this won: great moviemaking.
Why the others lost: Famous did not have stellar moviemaking. Traffic and Dream are about drugs, but still! - DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.Good, but...
Won against: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Vanilla Sky, Moulin Rouge, Memento.
Why this won: It was a great film with a fascinating character study.
Why the contenders lost: people knew that the LOTR movies would get better. Vanilla Sky and Memento are confusing. Moulin Rouge's style must be too much. - DirectorRob MarshallStarsRenée ZellwegerCatherine Zeta-JonesRichard GereTwo death-row murderesses develop a fierce rivalry while competing for publicity, celebrity, and a sleazy lawyer's attention.Good, but...
Won against: Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, Gangs of New York, The Pianist.
Why this won: although a great film, I don't know how it beat the others. - DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodViggo MortensenIan McKellenGandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Mystic River, Monster, Master and Commander, Lost in Translation, In America. - DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: The Aviator, Hotel Rwanda, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Any of these would have been a good winner. - DirectorPaul HaggisStarsDon CheadleSandra BullockThandiwe NewtonLos Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.Agreed!
Won against: Munich, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, King Kong. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: Pan's Labyrinth, Casino Royale, United 93.
Pan's Labyrinth would have made a good winner. - DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.Agreed!
Won against: There Will Be Blood, American Gangster, Reign Over Me, Michael Clayton.
Any of these nominees would have been worthy. - DirectorDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaA teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.Very Well Agreed!
Won against: The Dark Knight, Gran Torino. - DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.Agreed!
Won against: Inglorious Basterds, The Hangover. - DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.Good, but...
Won against: Social Network, Inception.
Why the contenders lost: don't know. - DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.Agreed!
Won against: The Tree of Life.
Why Tree of Life lost: many people don't get experimental films. - DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.Very well agreed!
Won against: Django Unchained, Life of Pi, Lincoln - DirectorSteve McQueenStarsChiwetel EjioforMichael Kenneth WilliamsMichael FassbenderIn the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free Black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.TOTAL DISAGREEMENT!!!
Won against: Wolf of Wall Street.
Why this won: accurate depiction of slavery in its time period, great acting, true emotions are revoked.
Why Wolf of Wall Street lost: recycled story with too much profanity. - DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsMichael KeatonZach GalifianakisEdward NortonA washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.Agreed!
Won against: Boyhood, Theory of Everything, Interstellar, Whiplash. - DirectorTom McCarthyStarsMark RuffaloMichael KeatonRachel McAdamsThe true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.Agreed!
Won against: Room. - DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsMahershala AliNaomie HarrisTrevante RhodesA young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood.Agreed!
Won against: Hacksaw Ridge, Manchester By the Sea, La La Land, Hell Or High Water. - DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsSally HawkinsOctavia SpencerMichael ShannonAt a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.Disagreed
Won against: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Lady Bird
Why this won: has a great look, great effects, and great acting. And Del Toro is back to doing good films and not crap.
I honestly didn’t find 2017 to be a great year for film. But this!? The movie certainly doesn’t suck, but creating a serious romance with the Creature From the Black Lagoon was much too silly for the movie to hold any true merit as a worthy Oscar winner. - DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.Good, but...
Won against: Bohemian Rhapsody, Roma, BlacKKKlansman
Why this won: great performances and it’s deal with race relations
I liked this movie and thought a nomination was good enough. Not good enough for the win. - DirectorBong Joon HoStarsSong Kang-hoLee Sun-kyunCho Yeo-jeongGreed and class discrimination threaten the newly-formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.Very well agreed!
Won against: Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, Little Women, The Irishman, Marriage Story, The Souvenir
Why this won: it was truly the very best - DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsFrances McDormandDavid StrathairnLinda MayA woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.Good, but...
Won against: The Father, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
This was simply a lacklustre year for movies. - DirectorSian HederStarsEmilia JonesMarlee MatlinTroy KotsurAs a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents.Disagreed.
Won against: Belfast, Dune, King Richard, West Side Story, Drive My Car
Another lacklustre year. - DirectorDaniel KwanDaniel ScheinertStarsMichelle YeohStephanie HsuJamie Lee CurtisA middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.Agreed.
Let’s face it, Hollywood has gone downhill. Ten years ago and this would only have gotten editing and cinematography Oscar’s.