Oscar Flashback 2013

     This is now becoming as annual a post as my Oscar preview.  Here's my look back at the Oscars every ten years.  I say it's to make sure everything was done right, but we all know it's just another topic for me to express my stupid opinions on.  I tried to do a little more research for this year.  It didn't work out as well as I would have liked, but I'm certainly more informed than I was last year.  Here's my Oscar flashback...

2008 (5 years ago)
     Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
          Other Nominations: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader
     Best Actor: Sean Penn-Milk
          Other Nominations: Richard Jenkins-The Visitor, Frank Langella-Frost/Nixon, Brad Pitt-The CUriosu Case of Benjamin Button, Mickey Rourke-The Wrestler
     Best Actress: Kate Winslet-The Reader
          Other Nominations: Anne Hathaway-Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie-The Changeling, Melissa Leo-Frozen River, Meryl Streep-Doubt

     I'm starting to wonder how movies in this day and age are going to become classics.  In all honesty, I haven't seen any of these movies since I watched them to write about this ceremony.  And I haven't heard of anyone else watching them numerous times.  Is there any compelling reason to watch a movie multiple times anymore?  How will any of these become classics if no one watches them again?  At the time I felt Slumdog Millionaire was the deserving movie and since I haven't re-watched any of them I have to still say that was the deserving movie.  The only movie I feel shouldn't be on the list is The Reader. Doubt was a much better movie and deserved more recognition than it got.  That being said, Meryl Streep should have won over Winslet.  It was a better performance.  I could also go on about Sean Penn getting the award for mimicking someone.  He clearly robbed Mickey Rourke who put in the performance of a lifetime and created an amazing character as apposed to mimicking a real person.

2003 (10 years ago)
     Best Picture: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
          Other Nominations: Lost In Translation, Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Seabiscuit
     Best Actor:  Sean Penn-Mystic River
          Other Nominations:  Johnny Depp-Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Ben Kinsley-House of Sand and Fog, Jude Law-Cold Mountain, Bill Murray-Lost In Translation
     Best Actress: Charlize Theron-Monster
          Other Nominations:  Keisha Castle-Hughes-Whale Rider, Dianne Keaton-Something Has To Give, Samantha Morton-In America, Naomi Watts, 21 Grams

     Wow!  I'm going to hold back on this one.  I could easily write a five page post about how offended I am by the Lord of the Rings movies.  Even in a world where I was fine with them, Return of the King wasn't the best of the three movies.  The Two Towers was the only part of the trilogy worth it's salt.  I know that part of who wins the Oscar each year has to do with who they go up against, but Return of the King was the worst of the three Lord of the Rings movies and should not have come anywhere near the Oscar.  Mystic River would be my choice for the award.  It's by far the movie I enjoyed most out of this group.  But really, as much as I hated it, the movie that sticks out of this group is Lost In Translation.  It's a movie everyone still talks about and is clearly considered a modern classic, something you can't say about any of the other nominations.  Sean Penn wasn't even the best actor in his own movie.  Bill Murray got robbed and that has just become more clear over time.  And how the hell did Johnny Depp get nominated for Pirates?  Did people really take this serious?  There really isn't any need to talk about the actress category.  Charlize Theron pulled off one of the greatest performances of our time and got the credit she rightfully deserved.

1993 (20 years ago)
     Best Picture: Schindler's List
          Other Nominations:  In the Name of the Father, The Fugitive, The Piano, The Remains of the Day
     Best Actor: Tom Hanks-Philadelphia
          Other Nominations:  Daniel Day-Lewis-In the Name of the Father, Laurence Fishburne-What's Love Got To Do With It, Anthony Hopkins-The Remains of the Day, Liam Neeson-Schindler's List
     Best Actress: Holly Hunter-The Piano
          Other Nominations:  Angela Bassett-What's Love Got To Do With It, Stockard Channing-Six Degrees of Separation, Emma Thompson-Remains of the Day, Debra Winger-Shadowlands

     This year's Best Picture category reminds me of this year's.  This is a great list of films and on any given year any of the five films could have won.  Let's also not forget that Philadelphia didn't even get a best picture nod.  There is something to be said about the phenomenon that great movies seem to come out in one bunch all in the same year.  At the same time, there is no question what the best film was.  Schindler's List is one of the all time greats and there will never be any argument that it shouldn't have won.  It feels weird to say this, but it's also hard to argue Tom Hanks winning Best Actor over Daniel Day-Lewis.  I mean, I have a problem ever saying that Day-Lewis doesn't deserve the award, I've gone on record saying any year he makes a film they should just not have the Best Actor category, but this is one time that I am okay with him not getting the big prize.  Hanks job in this film was amazing and iconic.  I don't have much of an opinion on the actress category.  It seems to me now that Bassett could have won.  She was great in that film, but I don't want be a hypocrite and go against my mimicking rule, so I'll say Hunter deserved it.  The biggest surprise to me... Stockard Channing got an Academy nomination?  Rizzo from Grease is an Oscar worthy actress?  Who knew?

1983 (30 years ago)
     Best Picture:  Terms of Endearment
          Other Nominations:  The Big Chill, The Dresser, The Right Stuff, Tender Mercies
     Best Actor:  Robert Duvall-Tender Mercies
          Other Nominations:  Michael Cain-Educating Rita, Tom Conti-Reuben, Reuben, Tom Courtenay-The Dresser, Albert Finney-The Dresser
     Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine-Terms of Endearment
          Other Nominations:  Jane Alexander-Testament, Meryl Steep-Silkwood, Julie Walters-Educating Rita, Debra Winger-Terms of Endearment

     Okay, so we now know that great movies don't come in 10 year clumps.  This is a pretty bad collection of nominations.  Terms of Endearment is over dramatic garbage, I've never heard of The Dresser, I've never seen Tender Mercies, The Big Chill is entertaining and effectively captures a moment in time but hardly seems Best Picture worthy.  I guess I would say The Right Stuff should have gotten the Oscar, but even that movie left we wanting.  I can't comment on the Best Actor award because I haven't seen any of the movies.  I haven't even heard of most of them.  The Best Actress seems kind of tragic.  How did Meryl Streep not win for Silkwood?  I know Terms of Endearment was an extremely popular movie but time has kind of proven that it was a flash in the pan.  Meanwhile, Streep's performance in Silkwood is a classic turn.  Clearly, if this race was run today, Streep would come out on top.

1973 (40 years ago)
     Best Picture:  The Sting
          Other Nominations: American Graffiti, Cries And Whispers, The Exorcist, A Touch of Class
     Best Actor: Jack Lemmon-Save The Tiger
          Other Nominations: Marlon Brando-Last Tango in Paris, Jack Nicholson-The Last Detail, Al Pacino-Serpico, Robert Redford-The Sting
     Best Actress: Glenda Jackson-A Touch of Class
          Other Nominations: Ellen Burstyn-The Exorcist, Marsha Mason-Cinderella Liberty, Barbra Streisand-The Way We Were, Joanne Woodward-Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams

     Maybe it's every twenty years we get a group of classics.  Three all time greats in this bunch, any of which could have taken home Best Picture.  You can't argue with giving The Sting the big prize.  The Exorcist and American Graffiti are pretty amazing movies as well, but The Sting is still my favorite of the bunch.  At the same time, I obviously didn't do as much research as I would have liked this year because I haven't heard of Cries And Whispers or A Touch of Class.  I've never seen Save The Tiger, so I don't know if Lemmon was Oscar worthy in it or not, but the test of time would say that the better performances were Pacino or Redford.  I have nothing I can say about Best Actress.  The only movie I've actually seen is The Exorcist.  Again, test of time would give the award to Burstyn even though she really wasn't the best part of that movie.

1963 (50 years ago)
     Best Picture: Tom Jones
          Other Nominations: America, America, Cleopatra, How The West Was Won, Lilies of the Field
     Best Actor: Sidney Poitier-Lilies of the Field
          Other Nominations: Albert Finney-Tome Jones, Richard Harris-This Sporting Life, Rex Harrison-Cleopatra, Paul Newman-Hud
     Best Actress: Partricia Neal-Hud
          Other Nominations: Leslie Caron-The L-Shaped Room, Shirley MacLaine-Irma la Douce, Rachel Roberts-This Sporting Life, Natalie Wood-Love with the Proper Stranger

     I have never heard of any of these films.  That's not totally true.  I guess I have heard of How the West Was Won and Cleopatra is pretty famous but not really for being a great movie.  Needless to say, this probably wouldn't be considered a great year for movies.  It is an impressive collection of actors though.  I haven't seen any of these performances but how can you go wrong with Sidney Poitier, Albert Finney, Richard Harris, Rex Harrison and Paul Newman.  I'd like to argue that Paul Newman deserved the Oscar, but I have nothing to back that with other than my strong love for anything Newman has done.  The actress category is interesting in the fact that other than MacLaine and Wood I have no idea who these women are.  This tends to ring true over the years.  For whatever reason, I'm sure people have wrote volumes about it, actors tend to last for years and years while nominated actresses tend to be flashes in the pan.  With one glaring exception of course.  Yes Meryl, you are the greatest.

1953 (60 years ago)
     Best Picture: From Here to Eternity
          Other Nominations: Julius Caesar, The Robe, Roman Holiday, Shane
     Best Actor: William Holden-Stalag 17
          Other Nominations: Marlon Brando-Julius Caesar, Richard Burton-The Robe, Montgomery Cliff-From Here to Eternity, Burt Lancaster-From Here to Eternity
     Best Actress: Audrey Hepburn-Roman Holiday
          Other Nominations: Leslie Caron-Lili, Ava Gardner-Mogambo, Deborah Kerr-From Here to Eternity, Maggie McNamara-The Moon is Blue

     So, the idea was for me to watch, over the course of the year, all the movies that were nominated that I haven't seen.  I didn't get very far.  Which is unfortunate because this is a year that I would really have like to have seen all the movies so I could actually comment on things.  Three classics were nominated that appear on almost any top 100 list but is From Here to Eternity really the best?  I feel that many would say that Shane was the better film.  Again, the Best Actor category is a who's who of acting but I can't comment because I haven't seen any of the movies.  And I guess I should learn who Leslie Caron is because she was nominated ten years apart and shows up on this list after I wrote that all the actresses were flashes in the pan.  Thanks for proving me ignorant, Leslie.

1943 (70 years ago)
     Best Picture: Casablanca
          Other Nominations: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Heaven Can Wait, The Human Comedy, In Which We Serve, Madame Curie, The More the Merrier, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Song of Bernadette, Watch on the Rhine
     Best Actor: Paul Lukas-Watch on the Rhine
          Other Nominations: Humphrey Bogart-Casablanca, Gary Cooper-For Whom the Bell Tolls, Walter Pidgeon-Madame Curie, Mickey Rooney-The Human Comedy
     Best Actress: Jennifer Jones-The Song of Bernadette
          Other Nominations: Jean Arthur-The More the Merrier, Ingrid Bergman-For Whom the Bell Tolls, Joan Fontaine-The Constant Nymph, Greer Garson-Madame Curie

     This is a no brainer.  Way to go Academy!  You got this one right!  The interesting thing about this year is that Ingrid Bergman was nominated but not for Casablanca.  Weird.  It also seems like Bogart should have gotten Best Actor but I can't really say Lukas wasn't worthy so, who knows.

1933 (80 years ago)
     Best Picture: Cavalcade
          Other Nominations: 42nd Street, A Farewell to Arms, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Lady for a Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, Smilin' Through, State Fair
     Best Actor: Charles Laughton-The Private Life of Henry VIII
          Other Nominations: Leslie Howard-Berkeley Square, Paul Muni-I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
     Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn-Morning Glory
          Other Nominations: May Robinson-Lady for a Day, Diana Wynyard-Cavalcade

     This one seems like a mistake to me.  I loved Lady for a Day!  It was an amazing movie with a great story and some great performances.  Cavalcade... not so much.  It was hard watching most of the movies from this era because they were so dated, but Lady for a Day really holds up and was in a class of its own as far as this list of movies goes.  May Robinson got robber twice because she was clearly the best actress as well.  It's hard to go against a legend but I was really blown away by Lady for a Day.  I really hated The Private Life of Henry VIII, so I would have given the Best Actor to Paul Muni.  Henry VIII was supposed to be a comedy, I think, but it wasn't close to being funny which could be a product of era differences.  Maybe he deserved it back then, but if we held the vote today I think it's safe to say it would go to someone else.