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britesparc · 5 years

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Weekend Top Ten #415

Top Ten Films that Should Have Dominated the Oscars

So it was the Oscars last weekend. I didn’t watch, as it’s on in the middle of the night and you have to leave a lantern in the shape of Bob Hope burning outside your house if you want access to the telecast, or some arcane nonsense. I used to watch it, either staying up late or recording it for the next day’s enjoyment; this was back in the good old days when the show would go to a commercial and the BBC broadcast would cut to Barry Norman in a studio somewhere discussing the night’s events with, I dunno, Tracey Ullman or Julian Sands or something.

Anyway, it was nice that Parasite won, just because it’s nice to see a foreign language film winning Best Picture. I wasn’t too caught up with the hype and hoopla this year, because I didn’t have a dog in the race; sadly, I’d barely seen any of the nominated films. Also, Avengers: Endgame was more-or-less nowhere to be seen. In previous years – back in the pre-kid days when I used to see a lot more movies – I was very invested. I still have very fond memories of the year Return of the King swept the board. And, as such, there are years when I was disappointed when other, better films didn’t make the grade. Obviously things are all relative, awards shows are just beauty contests, and there’s a political edge to the whole thing regardless. But still; over time, there’s been a few films of such staggering quality that, in retrospect, it’s baffling that they didn’t sweep the board. Some of these films did win Oscars; some weren’t even nominated in the major categories. But here are my ten favourite films that should have been awards behemoths.

And, y’know, it’s all a bit of fun.

LA Confidential, 1998 Oscars: did win Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress; should have won Picture, Director, with nominations for Actor (both Pearce and Crowe) & Supporting Actor (Spacey – yeah, I know, but back then he was good). This film is a modern noir masterpiece, amazingly adapted and directed. Titanic reigned supreme that year, and whilst LAC is miles better, the big ship did deserve its editing and design awards.

Goodfellas, 1991 Oscars: did win Supporting Actor; should have won Picture, Director, Actor (Liotta), Adapted Screenplay, Editing, with noms for Cinematography & Art Direction. My favourite Scorsese; full of his wit and verve and violence and sadness. Dances with Wolves was the biggie, and whilst I’ve got a lot of love for that film (not seen it in years, mind), we should have been honouring Marty a long time ago.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1983 Oscars: won Score & Visual Effects; should have won Picture, Director, Screenplay, with noms for Actor (Thomas), Supporting Actress (Wallace, and maybe even Barrymore), & Art Direction. Perfectly Spielbergian, marrying his personal sentimentality with mainstream appeal, but decidedly not a blockbuster in scope or intent; a small, intimate story. Phenomenally directed, especially the kids, and Thomas gives an awards-worthy performance. Legend has it when Richard Attenborough won for Gandhi he whispered to Spielberg, “This should have been yours”. That’s probably bollocks, mind.

Fight Club, 2000 Oscars: should have won Picture, Director, Supporting Actress (Carter), Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Art Direction, Cinematography, with noms for Actor (both Norton and Pitt), Visual Effects. Probably way too dark and nihilistic to gain traction, but a perfect representation of its time (and, with the rise of toxic masculinity, still painfully relevant). The effort in realising it should have earned Fincher awards, and its subtle but effective effects work was quietly groundbreaking.

Pulp Fiction, 1995 Oscars: won Screenplay; should have won Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Jackson), Supporting Actress (Thurman), with noms for Cinematography, Art Direction, Costuming. Famous in my youth for the winner that never was, trumped by Forrest Gump (which, to be fair, is pretty great). But this is Tarantino’s best movie, and should have been rewarded, and – I’m sorry – but Jackson really should have beaten Martin Landau. “Shit” indeed, Nick Fury. This actually was a harder one, because The Shawshank Redemption also came out this year; if that had beaten Pulp in the big awards, it would have been a lot more deserving, and Tim Robbins should have won Best Actor.

Singin' in the Rain, 1953 Oscars: should have won Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (O’Connor), Screenplay, Song, Score, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, with noms for Actor (Kelly) & Actress (Reynolds). Arguably the greatest Hollywood musical ever made. A stunning directorial achievement, a visual spectacle, and O’Connor deserved the Oscar just for the way he runs up a wall singing Make ‘Em Laugh. And it got two nominations.

Jaws, 1976 Oscars: should have won Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Score, Cinematography. Like ET, Jaws is a Spielberg blockbuster by virtue of how much it made, not its content. It's a small, meticulously crafted character piece that, with its everyman hero and vague aura of political corruption, feels very much of its time. And it's a masterpiece.

Trainspotting, 1997 Oscars: should have won Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Editing. It feels harder for British films to succeed at the Oscars, but this one should have cleaned up (no pun intended). It's such a brilliant adaptation, directed with such assurity and confidence, turning an unfilmable book into an essential movie, and anchored by a career-best Ewan McGregor.

Citizen Kane, 1942 Oscars: should have won Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction. It's easy to mock, but this film was a revolution and a sensation, and Welles was an outstanding visionary and talent. Look at the films coming out around this time, then look at Kane. Its lack of widespread awards success is almost entirely political. But it inspired a cracking Simpson episode, so I guess it had the last laugh.

Avengers: Endgame, 2020 Oscars: should have won Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Visual Effects, Editing, Score, with noms for Actor (Downey Jr), Sound Effects, Sound Effects Editing, and Cinematography. Look, I know this was never gonna happen. And I'll trust the many who say Parasite is better. But the Oscars don’t - shouldn't – just reward quality. They're a cultural artefact, and as such they need to reflect where cinema is at a given moment. So I think they should have given Endgame a slew of big rewards, as if to honour the effort and achievement in bringing the MCU to the screen so successfully over the last decade. Also – and I mean this sincerely – it rocks.

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