Top Ten Academy Award Travesties

[Herbie_Hancock]

Every time A.A.'s come around, I'm reminded of all of the years past, when the best movies have gotten robbed of their dues. I made my top ten list of the ten worst felonies that I know of.

Note, this doesn't include movies that weren't nominated that should have, that list would be like ten-thousand long.

Also note, I don't know about the old ones, like I don't really care if "Cimmaron", was better than "Trader Horn".


10. THE ENGLISH PATIENT OVER FARGO

This one tops off the list because The English Patient is a very bad movie, and Fargo is a very good one. I wonder sometimes if the Academy watches the same movies as I do when they vote. Do they go through some kind of post-release editing that makes them good movies? That is the only logical explanation for some of their choices.
9.CHARIOTS OF FIRE OVER RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

This one is so low because Chariots of Fire is a damn good movie. Unfortunately, it's not nearly as good as Raiders, no matter what you say.
8.THIS ONE IS A TIE. ROBERTO BENIGNI OVER ED NORTON/KEVIN SPACEY OVER DENZEL WASHINGTON AND RUSSEL CROWE/RUSSEL CROWE OVER TOM HANKS.

I couldn't figure out which was the worst, because all of the performances were good.
I think the edge goes to Beningni over Norton for American History X. Which was the stronger performance, huh? Exactly. Second is probably Crowe over Hanks. This was a sympathy award for jewing him on The Insider (number 3), but what the Academy doesn't seem to understand is that "BEST" is not an arbitrary concept. There is not a "SHOULD HAVE BEEN BEST BEFORE SO HERE YOU GO", or "BEST MARKETING, I MEAN MOVIE", or "BEST BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD OR BECAUSE THE REAL BEST WON LAST YEAR". It is just best.
7.DANCES WITH WOLVES OVER GOODFELLAS

I only vaguely remember Dances with Wolves, and I own Goodfellas, so maybe it has an unfair advantage. Nope, sorry, the reason is that I bought Goodfellas and watch it a lot because it's one of the best movies ever.
6.PETER FINCH OVER BOB DENIRO

Alright, so the award was given post-humously. With all due respect:

a. Being dead doesn't make you a better actor.
b. He's dead, so he won't even be able to enjoy the award
c. I'm sorry, no more denying it, DeNiro in Taxi Driver is in the top ten performances ever. Maybe the top five.
5.DRIVING MISS DAISY OVER EVERYTHING IT WAS UP AGAINST.

It was up against Born on the 4th of July, Dead Poet's Society, Field of Dreams and My Left Foot. Any one of these movies put that movie to shame, especially the first three.
4.SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE OVER SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

This ranks so highly because Shakespeare in Love is a terrible movie, and Saving Private Ryan is a really, really good one. This is another one of those ones where you should go watch them back to back, and tell me which one's better.
3.JULIA ROBERTS IN ERIN BROKOVICH OVER ELYNN BURSTYN IN REQUIEM FOR A DREAM

This one ranks so high, not due to my hatred of Julia Roberts, but to the fact that Ellen Burstyn had one of the strongest performances of all time. Alright, also a little bit because of my hatred for Julia Roberts.
2.ANNIE HALL OVER STAR WARS

This one is self-explanatory. Annie Hall is a good romantic comedy, with excellent acting, and some very emotional parts. Star Wars is like the most popular movie in history. I'm sorry, this one can't be justified. Star Wars is the best movie all around, even from the warped views of the academy.
1. FORREST GUMP OVER SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION AND PULP FICTION.

I'm sorry, this is the biggest travesty in the history of the Academy, it is one of the biggest travesties in history. I liked Forrest Gump when I saw it, but it's not in the same class as Pulp Fiction, let alone Shawshank. Just thinking about this makes me so mad I won't comment on it anymore. If you disagree, go watch all three movies back to back, and tell me which one is the worst.

I just realized that I forgot about the Directors. My bad, maybe I'll do their own separately.

P.S. I'm putting a pre-emptive travesty for when Lord of the Rings loses to one of the bad movies it's up against, that one might take Gump's place, or at least fall into second.

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

I'll give you a top 10 list but first I would like to explain to you that winners and nominations for the academy awards are nothing but the academys opinion of which is the best, it's not your opinion if you want a say at who wins vote on the people's choice awards. There is really no need to disrespect the academys opinion, although it does sometimes suck (as you'll see in my top 10 list). But we have to live with it. And just remember the next time you or anyone else bad mouths the academy, you could be bad mouthing your favorite actor, director, screenwriter, composer, or producer. It's not a fun thought... Anyway here's my top 10 (also includes non-nominees):

10. The Best Years of our Lives over It's A Wonderful Life in 1946

9. Fredic March (Best Years) over Jimmy Stewart (Wonderful Life) in 1946

8. Driving Miss Daisy over Field Of Dreams in 1989

7. Roberto Begniti (Life Is Beautiful) over Ian Mckellen (Gods and Monsters) in 1998.

6. American Beauty over The Insider in 1999.


5. Russel Crowe (Gladiator) over Ed Harris (Pollock) in 2000.

4. Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump) over John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) in 1994.

3. Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive) over Leonardo Dicaprio (Gilbert Grape) in 1993.

2. Gladiator (8/10) over Traffic (9/10) in 2000.

1. Failing to nominate Leonardo Dicaprio for Best Actor (Titanic) in 1997...

...and probably a lot of other mistakes as well.



[This message has been edited by dicaprio_travolta_man (edited 02-13-2002).]

[Jasonite]

1. Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan. 1998

Simply put, an abomination. Literally the worst movie that was released in 1998 beats the single finest movie released in 1998.

2. OLIVER! over 2001: A Space Odyssey. 1968

If you can believe this, 2001 wasn't even nominated, and it was the finest movie of the year, not to mention in my top 10 best movies of all time.

3. English Patient over Fargo. 1996

As filled with unlikable characters as English Patient was, and as fantastic as Fargo is, this is a travesty.

4. How Green Was My Valley over Citizen Kane. 1941

Only slightly less abominable. Probably the single finest movie ever made losing to a memorable, but not astounding, movie.

5. Gladiator over Crouching Tiger and Traffic. 2000

This movie was one of the worst movies ever to win best picture, but the only reason it's not number 4 is because there wasn't an obviously superior choice. Crouching Tiger and Traffic were both much stronger movies, they should've won.

6. Driving Miss Daisy at all! 1989

Look what it was running against: Born on the 4th of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, and Glory (which wasn't nominated). Driving Miss Daisy shouldn't have won, and should've lost to any of these movies.

7. The Best Years of Our Lives over It's a Wonderful Life. 1946

I'm sorry but I don't see a lot of redeeming qualities in this movie, and Wonderful Life is the touchstone of Jimmy Stewart's career.

8. Ordinary People over Empire Strikes Back and Raging Bull. 1980

Empire Strikes back is one of the top 3 movies of it's decade and it wasn't even nominated, and if it wasn't I would've been happy with Raging Bull.


9. Sound of Music over Doctor Zhivago. 1965

No way...Sound of Music was good, but it wasn't the total masterpiece that Doctor Zhivago is.

10. Tom Jones winning over ANYTHING. 1963

This is the worst movie to ever win Best Picture, the director should've been imprisoned for releasing it.

J

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Jasonite:
1. Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan. 1998

Simply put, an abomination. Literally the worst movie that was released in 1998 beats the single finest movie released in 1998.


J</font>

I'm sorry Jasonite but I will have to disagree with you. I mean Shakespeare In Love was not the worse movie released in 1998 not by any means. In my opinion I think it was better then Saving Private Ryan, it was funny, dramatic, interesting, and emotional all at the same time. Saving Private Ryan was just a little to boring. The paceing of the film is just S-L-O-W. SPR was okay but by no means Best Picture worthy and by no means the best of 1998. I would say that Gods and Monsters was simply the best movie releaced in 1998. No one can touch that film. It stands alone as the best.

By typing that I realized that I left out three of the biggest travesties in the history of Oscar. So I would like to add these three:

1. Shakespeare In Love over Gods and Monsters in 1998

- It is interesting to note that G and M didn't even get the nomination it so deserved. SIL was great but not near as great as G and M. G and M should have been in the place of Life is Beautiful.

2. Roberto Begniti (Life is Beautiful) over Ian Mckellan (Gods and Monsters) in 1998.

- This is complete bullshit! How could a mediocre performance like Begniti's win over the finest performance of that year by Mckellen. That just wasn't right.

3. Failing to nominate Brendan Fraiser for Best Supporting Actor (Gods and Monsters)

- Now this was one of the biggest mistakes the academy has ever made. Fraiser gave the best supporting performance of the year...

[This message has been edited by dicaprio_travolta_man (edited 02-13-2002).]

[Big Screen Fan]

Unforgiven over Howards End and A Few Good Men

Out of Africa over The Color Purple

Gladiator over Chocolat

I was personally in agreement when The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love won oscars, however, not when Titanic won.

[Herbie_Hancock]

Dicaprio Travolta man, I might almost have taken your reply seriously, and thought, "Hmm, maybe this guy's right, I really shouldn't have said that about the academy, this guy has a point", but then I noticed that you said that Legends of the Fall should be nominated best picture, and now I can't take you seriously, sorry.

[Herbie_Hancock]

Jasonite, I agree with your list alot. I haven't seen Tom Jones, so I don't know, but I'll take your word for it. I didn't put any movies that "should be nomimated", because the list would be like a million long, and I would probably hang myself by the end of it.

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Herbie_Hancock:
Dicaprio Travolta man, I might almost have taken your reply seriously, and thought, "Hmm, maybe this guy's right, I really shouldn't have said that about the academy, this guy has a point", but then I noticed that you said that Legends of the Fall should be nominated best picture, and now I can't take you seriously, sorry.</font>

That's okay. But, you can start to take me seriously again. Think about the point I made. Everytime you disrespect the academy you more then likely are disrespecting your favorite actor. But, I am taking the Legends out of my top 10 and adding the fact that Ian Mckellen should have won Best Actor in 1998 in instead. So, now please take my point into consideration.

[notchjohnson]

ROCKY OVER TAXI DRIVER FOR BEST PICTURE IN 1976.
FOREST GUMP OVER SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION FOR BEST PICTURE IN 1994

[ColinM]

Hey, welcome back DTM! Too bad you're still bashing the best war movie of all time (and best movie of 1998). http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif

A few that come to mind are (in no particular order):

- Gone with the Wind winning Best Picture over The Wizard of Oz (1939)

- It's a Wonderful Life doesn't win a single Oscar (1947)

- Al Pacino doesn't win Best Actor for The Godfather (1972)

- Shakespeare in Love winning Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan (1998)

- Russell Crowe beating Tom Hanks for Best Actor (2000)

- Gladiator winning Best Picture while Almost Famous was not even nominated

I'm sure there are more. I won't get into this years...

[The Rob]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">1. FORREST GUMP OVER SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION AND PULP FICTION.</font>

IMHO they're all equally amazing.

[APzombie]

It's been said, but i have to shed more light on it anyway...

FRIGGIN SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE OVER SAVING PRIVATE RYAN!!!!

WHAT A JOKE!!!!

[ColinM]

Oh yeah, and how could I forget the tragedy that was Forrest Gump winning best picture over The Shawshank Redemption. PATHETIC!

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ColinM:
Hey, welcome back DTM! Too bad you're still bashing the best war movie of all time (and best movie of 1998). http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif</font>

Come on Colin, haven't we been through that enough? http://www.joblo.com/ubb/biggrin.gif. Oh, and once again Gods and Monsters was the best movie in 1998. And Black Hawk Down is the best war film of all-time. SPR dosen't hold a candle to it. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ColinM:
Al Pacino doesn't win Best Actor for The Godfather (1972)...</font>

I really hate to break this to you, but, it has to be done http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif. Al Pacino wasn't nominated for Best Actor, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor along with fellow castmates James Caan, and Robert Duvall. But, unfortunetly all three Godfather actors lost to Cabaret's Joel Grey.

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

I'm very much surprized that no one has mentioned Robert Zemekis (Forrest Gump) over Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) for Best Director. Now, I ask you this: Which film had the better directorial effort? Forrest or Pulp? IMHO, Pulp Fiction had the better effort. Oh, and I've thought of a few more travesties:

Four Weddings and A Funeral getting the Best Picture nomination over Ed Wood! What the fuck was up with that???

And, What the fuck is Gosford Park doing in the Best Picture race over Black Hawk Down??????? Now that is fucking pathetic!!!! But, once again I refuse to disrespect the academy. It's there opinion of what's the best, not mine.

[bskutle]

How in the name of movie geeks could I be the first one to mention this!

1. Al Pacino (Scent of a Woman) Over Denzel Washington (Malcolm X) (1992)

Arguably the most embarrassing oversight in Oscar history, at least in the acting ranks.

2. Forrest Gump Over Pulp Fiction (1994)

3. Dances With Wolves Over GoodFellas (1990)

4. Il Postino's Score (Luis Bacolav) Over Braveheart's Score (James Horner) (1995)

As a soundtrack buff, this was inexcusable.

5. The English Patient Over Fargo (1996)

6. Titanic Over L.A. Confidential (1997)

7. The Matrix's Visual Effects and Sound Effects Editing Over Star Wars: Episode I- The Phantom Menace's Visual Effects and Sound Effects Editing (1999)

Sorry, but "Star Wars" had it all over "The Matrix" in both categories.

8. Gladiator Over Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

9. Unforgiven Over A Few Good Men (1992)

"Unforgiven" is a very good Western, but "A Few Good Men's" as good as films get.

10. Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves) Over Martin Scorsese (GoodFellas)

Give me a break, Oscar. Costner over Scorsese? Blasphemy.

Also notable:
-Ghandi Over E.T. (1982)
-Shakespeare in Love Over Saving Private Ryan (1998); Since I think both films are great, I'm not that pissed about it.
-Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) Over Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) (1994)
-Annie Hall Over Star Wars (1977); See "Shakespeare" v. "Ryan" response
-Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) Over Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense)

[This message has been edited by bskutle (edited 02-14-2002).]

[ColinM]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by bskutle:
Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) Over Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense)</font>

I don't know how I forgot this one, because this was highway robbery! Nobody deserved it over Osment!

[Donnie_Darko]

No order here...

Hanks(Gump) over Travolta(Pulp)

Gump over Pulp

English Patient over Fargo

Martin Landau(Ed Wood) over Sam Jackson(Pulp)

Come to think of it, 94 was sucky in general... then again, isn't every year to some extent?

Russel Crowe winning for Gladiator Pitty award for losing to Spacey the year before.

Gladiator winning best pictureTraffic was by far the best picture nominated.

==and now we go into the future==

Travisties soon to be... maybe...

Denzel winning for his overblown performance in Training Day

Ian McKellen winning for LotR over Ben Kingsley

Marisa Tomei "winning" over Jennifer ConnellyWonder if Jack Palance is gonna announce that catagory again? http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif

Peter Jackson winning Best Director over Robert Altman

LotR beating Gosford Park

Memento not winning it's ONLY nominationWill prolly go to Gosford Park.

As if you can't tell, when the LotR bandwagon approached, I waved it by. Wasn't a fan of the books, and I'm not a fan of the movie.

[bskutle]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Donnie_Darko:
Memento not winning it's ONLY nominationWill prolly go to Gosford Park.

</font>

Actually, "Memento" was also nominated for Best Film Editing.

[SteveSzyk]

JULIA ROBERTS did NOT deserve that over ELLEN BUSTYN!

[The Heart Collector]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ColinM:
I don't know how I forgot this one, because this was highway robbery! Nobody deserved it over Osment!</font>

Tom Cruise deserved it more than Osment.

[Benny]

10. 1995: Braveheart, a mediocre movie, winning over the much better Apollo 13.
9. 1997: Titanic winning all those awards
8. 1987: Cher winning Best Actress for Moonstruck. Huh?
7. 1994: Forrest Gump winning over four great movies (Shawshank, Pulp Fiction, 4 Weddings and a Funeral, and Quiz Show).
6. 1990: Dances with Wolves, a film I truly HATE, wins over everything else, including GoodFellas.
5. 1980: Ordinary People, a so-so movie, wins over Raging Bull.
4. 1998: Shakespeare In Love wins Best Pic over Saving Private Ryan, which is much better than DTM thinks it is. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/biggrin.gif
3. 1996: The English Patient, the most boring movie ever made in the history of Hollywood, defeats Fargo, one of my favorite movies ever.
2. 2000: Gladiator (4/10) wins Best Picture over the much better Crouching Tiger, Traffic, and Erin Brockovich.
1. Why has no one even mentioned the biggest travesty of all-time yet? 1941: How Green Was My Valley, the most sentimental movie ever made, beats out Citizen Kane, probably the best movie ever made.

[sloopyfan]

#10 Titanic
#9 Titanic
#8 Titanic
#7 James Camron
#6 Titanic
#5 Constant snubbing of the Coens
#4 No Almost Famous for Best Picture
#3 Titanic
#2 Whoopie gets to host again
and number 1

# The fucking Titanic won best picture and a shit load of other awards, I am still pissed about that.

[CheekyShepherd]

1. ORDINARY PEOPLE over RAGING BULL
2. KEVIN SPACEY over RUSSELL CROWE (1999)
3. SOME LIKE IT HOT not getting a BEST PICTURE NOMINATION
4. MARLON BRANDO refusing the award.
5. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION not winning anything.
6. DRIVING MISS DAISY winning
7. TITANIC over LA CONFIDENTIAL
8. THE PLAYER not getting a BEST PICTURE or BEST ACTOR nomination.
9. NO BEST PICTURE nom for PSYCHO
10. THE ENGLISH PATIENT winning 9

[ColinM]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The Heart Collector:
Tom Cruise deserved it more than Osment.</font>

I disagree entirely. Tom Cruise was fantastic in Magnolia, which I consider to be his best performance to date. But Haley Joel Osment was ten times better in The Sixth Sense!

[Muha]

1. Shakespeare in love over SPR

the best war movie ever getting cheated. geez...

2. benigni over hanks

best performance of hanks... john miller in SPR.


3. titanic over la confidential

overrated film beating a neo-noir new classic.

[don_o_neill]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Herbie_Hancock:
Every time A.A.'s come around, I'm reminded of all of the years past, when the best movies have gotten robbed of their dues. I made my top ten list of the ten worst felonies that I know of.

Note, this doesn't include movies that weren't nominated that should have, that list would be like ten-thousand long.

Also note, I don't know about the old ones, like I don't really care if "Cimmaron", was better than "Trader Horn".


10. THE ENGLISH PATIENT OVER FARGO

This one tops off the list because The English Patient is a very bad movie, and Fargo is a very good one. I wonder sometimes if the Academy watches the same movies as I do when they vote. Do they go through some kind of post-release editing that makes them good movies? That is the only logical explanation for some of their choices.
9.CHARIOTS OF FIRE OVER RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

This one is so low because Chariots of Fire is a damn good movie. Unfortunately, it's not nearly as good as Raiders, no matter what you say.
8.THIS ONE IS A TIE. ROBERTO BENIGNI OVER ED NORTON/KEVIN SPACEY OVER DENZEL WASHINGTON AND RUSSEL CROWE/RUSSEL CROWE OVER TOM HANKS.

I couldn't figure out which was the worst, because all of the performances were good.
I think the edge goes to Beningni over Norton for American History X. Which was the stronger performance, huh? Exactly. Second is probably Crowe over Hanks. This was a sympathy award for jewing him on The Insider (number 3), but what the Academy doesn't seem to understand is that "BEST" is not an arbitrary concept. There is not a "SHOULD HAVE BEEN BEST BEFORE SO HERE YOU GO", or "BEST MARKETING, I MEAN MOVIE", or "BEST BECAUSE YOU ARE DEAD OR BECAUSE THE REAL BEST WON LAST YEAR". It is just best.
7.DANCES WITH WOLVES OVER GOODFELLAS

I only vaguely remember Dances with Wolves, and I own Goodfellas, so maybe it has an unfair advantage. Nope, sorry, the reason is that I bought Goodfellas and watch it a lot because it's one of the best movies ever.
6.PETER FINCH OVER BOB DENIRO

Alright, so the award was given post-humously. With all due respect:

a. Being dead doesn't make you a better actor.
b. He's dead, so he won't even be able to enjoy the award
c. I'm sorry, no more denying it, DeNiro in Taxi Driver is in the top ten performances ever. Maybe the top five.
5.DRIVING MISS DAISY OVER EVERYTHING IT WAS UP AGAINST.

It was up against Born on the 4th of July, Dead Poet's Society, Field of Dreams and My Left Foot. Any one of these movies put that movie to shame, especially the first three.
4.SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE OVER SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

This ranks so highly because Shakespeare in Love is a terrible movie, and Saving Private Ryan is a really, really good one. This is another one of those ones where you should go watch them back to back, and tell me which one's better.
3.JULIA ROBERTS IN ERIN BROKOVICH OVER ELYNN BURSTYN IN REQUIEM FOR A DREAM

This one ranks so high, not due to my hatred of Julia Roberts, but to the fact that Ellen Burstyn had one of the strongest performances of all time. Alright, also a little bit because of my hatred for Julia Roberts.
2.ANNIE HALL OVER STAR WARS

This one is self-explanatory. Annie Hall is a good romantic comedy, with excellent acting, and some very emotional parts. Star Wars is like the most popular movie in history. I'm sorry, this one can't be justified. Star Wars is the best movie all around, even from the warped views of the academy.
1. FORREST GUMP OVER SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION AND PULP FICTION.

I'm sorry, this is the biggest travesty in the history of the Academy, it is one of the biggest travesties in history. I liked Forrest Gump when I saw it, but it's not in the same class as Pulp Fiction, let alone Shawshank. Just thinking about this makes me so mad I won't comment on it anymore. If you disagree, go watch all three movies back to back, and tell me which one is the worst.

I just realized that I forgot about the Directors. My bad, maybe I'll do their own separately.

P.S. I'm putting a pre-emptive travesty for when Lord of the Rings loses to one of the bad movies it's up against, that one might take Gump's place, or at least fall into second.</font>

I have read you list and i aggree with tham all except for Cances with Wolves.
This is a beutifull film which touches the soul much like Shwshank Redemption did.
It is proven further as a masterpiece when you consider that Costner had to make this him self with very little backing from anyone.

[Strider]

10.Hilary Swank over Annette Benning

9.The English Patient over Fargo

8.James Cameron winning for Titanic

7.Al Pacino over Denzel Washington

6.Morgan Freeman not winning for Driving Miss Daisy

5.Kevin Spacey over Denzel Washington

4.Forrest Gump over The Shawshank Redemption

3.Morgan Freeman not winning for The Shawshank Redemption

2.Titanic over L.A. Confidential

And the biggest travestie in Academy Award history is......

1.Shakespear in Love over Saving Private Ran

Strider

[KornKidJedi]

Edward Norton getting nominated twice and not winning.
Shakespeare In Love over Saving Private Ryan.
Forest Gump over Pulp Fiction.
Julia Roberts over Ellen Burstyn

[ColinM]

Just a question, am I the only one that thinks Kevin Spacey deserved his Best Actor Oscar for American Beauty over Russell Crowe in The Insider and Denzel Washington in The Hurricane? Maybe I have to rewatch the movies, because I remember Russell Crowe being very good, but as of right now I remember Spacey being the best. All three were excellent performances, though.

[ColinM]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Strider:
James Cameron winning for Titanic</font>

Really? I thought James Cameron's direction in Titanic was masterful!

[This message has been edited by ColinM (edited 02-15-2002).]

[bskutle]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ColinM:
Just a question, am I the only one that thinks Kevin Spacey deserved his Best Actor Oscar for American Beauty over Russell Crowe in The Insider and Denzel Washington in The Hurricane? Maybe I have to rewatch the movies, because I remember Russell Crowe being very good, but as of right now I remember Spacey being the best. All three were excellent performances, though.</font>

No you aren't. I thought his performance was the year's best in that category. Denzel was very good, but better in "Malcolm X" and "Philadelphia," and Crowe- also very good- was better in "L.A. Confidential."

[Strider]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ColinM:
Really? I thought James Cameron's direction in Titanic was masterful!</font>

Well, I thought Cameron did a good job. But I think that award should have gone to Curtis Hanson for L.A. Confidential.

Strider

[Kavan]

One no one has mentioned is the year Lauren Bacall got bested by The English Patient. The Mirror Has Two Faces offered a truimph peformance from Bacall. Her character spoke frankly about aging as well as stole every scene she was in. Juliet Binchoe was good but nowhere near as memorable as Bacall.

[SAI]

Rocky over Taxi Driver
Not ONE oscar for Scorsese
No Best Picture Nomination for Almost Famous
Not ONE writing nomination for Kevin Smith
Helen Hunt winning for As Good As It Gets (more like as bad as it gets)
Martin Landau (good as he was) Beating Samuel L Jackson
Caine (Cider House Rules) Over Cruise (Magnolia)

[ColinM]

I would've given the Oscar to Kate Winslet over Helen Hunt. But I do adore Helen Hunt...

[SAI]

I have no problem with Hunt. I just HATED As Good As It Gets

[BakeTheMooCow]

Heh, i know this is way off topic but all the hatred for The English Patient reminds me of that Seinfeld episode...

Anyway, heres my list :

1. Edward Norton not winning for both of his nominations. He was masterful in Primal Fear and masterful² in American History X.

2. Pulp Fiction winning few(?) awards and same with Shawshank Redemption. I'm sorry, but I forgot how many awards these two movies won but I remember that they didn't win many.

3. Jim Carrey being snubbed for The Truman Show and Man On The Moon. he should've atleast been nominated, especially for Truman Show. Its a mystery to me why he wasn't.

[ColinM]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by BakeTheMooCow:
2. Pulp Fiction winning few(?) awards and same with Shawshank Redemption. I'm sorry, but I forgot how many awards these two movies won but I remember that they didn't win many.</font>

Pulp Fiction won one (Best Screenplay), and The Shawshank Redemption didn't win a damn one! http://www.joblo.com/ubb/frown.gif

Se7en deserved some Oscar nominations too. It got one lousy Best Editing nomination, and that's it!

[This message has been edited by ColinM (edited 02-16-2002).]

[Herbie_Hancock]

RE: Just a question, am I the only one that thinks Kevin Spacey deserved his Best Actor Oscar for American Beauty over Russell Crowe in The Insider and Denzel Washington in The Hurricane? Maybe I have to rewatch the movies, because I remember Russell Crowe being very good, but as of right now I remember Spacey being the best. All three were excellent performances, though.


I am an actor myself, and I got to say, Kevin Spacey did a very good job in American Beauty, but I think that the roles that Russell Crowe and (especially) Denzel Washington did were both more difficult parts to play. I'm not knocking his performance at all, but it's like comparing Russell Crowe in Gladiator to Tom Hanks in Castaway (another travesty IMHO). Which one would be harder to portray? I think that Kevin was the least of the three, but still very, very good, and the movie was the best of teh three.

[Scarface989]

10-Ragin Bull losing to Ordinary ppl or whatever it was
9-Dr Strangelove not winning for Peter Sellers/Best Picture
8-Titanic sweeping the oscars
7-DiCaprio not winning for Gilbert Grape
6-Ed Norton not winning for American History X
5-No best foriegn film nomination for Monty Python and the Holy Grail
4-Pulp Fiction and Shawshank being left high and dry
3-Michael Caine beating Michael Clarke Duncan, Haley Joel Osment, and Denzel Washington (i think i got those nominations right)
2-Tom Cruise not winning for Magnolia
1-Orson Welles not winning for Best Director and best picture (which basically changed how films are made, which the academy musta been kicking themselves for not picking him)

[This message has been edited by Scarface989 (edited 02-16-2002).]

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

I just have a few questions: 1. What the hell is so great about Raging Bull? It was kind of boring and the only great thing about the movie was Robert DeNiro's performance. Actually, I think the only memorable thing about the film was DeNiro's fantastic performance.

2. Am I the only that thinks that Titanic deserved the Best Picture Oscar? I mean L.A. Confidential was really good, but Titanic packed so much emotion, love, friendship, and kindness. It is definetly a classic film much like Gone With The Wind is. And I think it's very fitting for the most loved movie of all time to win Best Picture. I mean, 20 years down the road when you ask people about both Titanic and L.A. Confidential, which one do you think they're going to remember? They'll say "What the hell is L.A. Confidential" and "Oh yes, I remember Titanic, very good film". That's what will happen.

One more Academy Award Travesty is:

Peter Finch (Network) over Robert Deniro (Taxi Driver) in 1976.

- Now this is unbeliveable. How in the world does a mediocre performance like Finch's win over one of the finest performances in the history of Hollywood (Deniro's). What were they thinking?

[Herbie_Hancock]

Dicaprio man, I agree totally with Finch winning over Deniro, it was one of my travesties, but Raging Bull was a badass movie. I really liked the story and one of the best things about it was Joe Pesci. And one last thing, in response to whether you are the only person that thought Titanic should win, the answer is no. Thousands of pre-pubescent girls totally agree with you.

[Scarface989]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dicaprio_travolta_man:
I just have a few questions: 1. What the hell is so great about Raging Bull? It was kind of boring and the only great thing about the movie was Robert DeNiro's performance. Actually, I think the only memorable thing about the film was DeNiro's fantastic performance.

2. Am I the only that thinks that Titanic deserved the Best Picture Oscar? I mean L.A. Confidential was really good, but Titanic packed so much emotion, love, friendship, and kindness. It is definetly a classic film much like Gone With The Wind is. And I think it's very fitting for the most loved movie of all time to win Best Picture. I mean, 20 years down the road when you ask people about both Titanic and L.A. Confidential, which one do you think they're going to remember? They'll say "What the hell is L.A. Confidential" and "Oh yes, I remember Titanic, very good film". That's what will happen.
</font>
if u were a junior member, you wouldn't have many friends here. somehow, many of the schmoes remember each others opinions on movies

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

Excuse me, but pre-teen girls are NOT the only people that saw Titanic. In fact I went to see it 3 times in the theatres and each time no one in the crowd was under 21 years old, the average age i'm guessing was around probably 28 to 30, and some older couples that looked like they were in their late 60's, early 70's. And half the crowd was male. And of course when the movie was over half the crowd (including me) was in tears, bragging about how great the movie was. So, saying that a thousand girls agree with you is ridiculas.

[ColinM]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dicaprio_travolta_man:
Excuse me, but pre-teen girls are NOT the only people that saw Titanic. In fact I went to see it 3 times in the theatres and each time no one in the crowd was under 21 years old, the average age i'm guessing was around probably 28 to 30, and some older couples that looked like they were in their late 60's, early 70's. And half the crowd was male. And of course when the movie was over half the crowd (including me) was in tears, bragging about how great the movie was. So, saying that a thousand girls agree with you is ridiculas.</font>

Don't take offense, DTM. I happen to agree that Titanic is a great movie, and I do not think it destroys my credibility as a movie freak/buff. But there's no reason to be offended just because somebody else disagrees. (If you're going to enjoy Pearl Harbor, you'd better get that through your head! http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif )

I'm in the even smaller minority that feels that the 1997 Best Picture Oscar really belongs to neither Titanic or LA Confidential, but instead belongs to As Good as it Gets. But hey, all three are great movies!!!

[This message has been edited by ColinM (edited 02-17-2002).]

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

I'm not trying to take offence but you know me bud I can't help it http://www.joblo.com/ubb/biggrin.gif. I just think it's kind of one sided to call a classic movie a teenyboper flick. And it's funny that you think that As Good As It Gets was the best of 1997 becuase back in 97 I thought Good Will Hunting should have won but was still happy with Titanics win. But, after seeing the two back to back a couple weeks later I realized that Titanic was the best of 1997.

[Herbie_Hancock]

Dicaprio man, I'm not an asshole at all, but let me get something straight. I posted this topic, and the first response is you complaining about me bashing the Academy. I chose not to make a serious argument and just blew you off with a joke, but now, I'll tell you. I don't give a fuck what the Academy thinks. Period. I don't give a shit if its my favorite actors voting. If they liked Shakespeare in Love better than Saving Private Ryan, than fuck em, their morons. On the subject of your post about teenage girls liking Titanic, that was something called a joke. If you don't want me to be sarcastic with you, then don't reply to my topic with some off-topic complaint about me expressing my opinions. OK??????

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

Ok!! Jeezus, take a chill pill man. I'm sorry I didn't take your thing about Titanic as a joke, it happens, calm down please. I would have blown it off and took it as a joke if you had the winking smiley ( http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif) next to it, but you didn't so I took it seriously, I'm sorry.

[Herbie_Hancock]

I don't know how to make the little winking guy, or I would have, sorry man.

[ColinM]

(Winking smiley is ; and ) without the and.)

Anyway, back to the topic...

The fact that Scarface wasn't at least nominated for BEST PICTURE, and especially the fact that Al Pacino wasn't nominated for BEST ACTOR for his performance in that movie, is truly a tragedy. http://www.joblo.com/ubb/frown.gif

[Big Screen Fan]

I am disgusted that Whoopi will host. Steve Martin was GREAT. The nominations this year are better than normal, in my opinion, so they toss in Whoopi to foul up a great night!

Also, Crowe over Hanks? No way.

[This message has been edited by Big Screen Fan (edited 02-25-2002).]

[Antonio]

In my Oscar travesty list, I’m going to mention ten non-nominated performances that should have made the final cut:

1. Al Pacino for Best Actor in THE GODFATHER, PART III (1990)
2. Jack Lemmon for Best Actor in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS (1992)
3. Annette Bening for Best Actress in BUGSY (1991)
4. Nicole Kidman for Best Actress in TO DIE FOR (1995)
5. Bill Murray for Best Supporting Actor in RUSHMORE (1998)
6. Michael Douglas for Best Actor in WONDER BOYS (2000)
7. Roy Scheider for Best Actor in JAWS (1975)
8. John Malkovich for Best Actor in DANGEROUS LIAISONS (1988)
9. Bill Paxton for Best Actor in ONE FALSE MOVE (1992)
10. Linda Fiorentino for Best Actress in THE LAST SEDUCTION (1994)

[This message has been edited by Antonio (edited 02-25-2002).]

[Eelco]

Titanic winning all those Oscars. The good things about the movie: special effects, music & costumes. I hated the screenplay, acting, Bill Paxton was in it, etc. The most stupid role in the movie was billy zane's. A poor Romeo & Juliette type of movie set on a boat. Titanic should have won like five Oscars, not 11.

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Eelco:
Titanic winning all those Oscars. The good things about the movie: special effects, music & costumes. I hated the screenplay, acting, Bill Paxton was in it, etc. The most stupid role in the movie was billy zane's. A poor Romeo & Juliette type of movie set on a boat. Titanic should have won like five Oscars, not 11. </font>

That's interesting because I thought it should have won all 14 it was nominated for. What a great and powerful film. Well, to each his own I guess, to each his own.

[Trevor Hollis]

Julia Roberts over Ellen Burstyn

Julia roberts is easily THE most overrated actress/actor

She hasnt been in a single good movie

[Benny]

LOL, I thought this topic was called "Top Ten Academy Award Transvestites at first!

[Scarface98.9]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dicaprio_travolta_man:
That's interesting because I thought it should have won all 14 it was nominated for. What a great and powerful film. Well, to each his own I guess, to each his own.</font>
wow, i now have encountered a member who I would disagree w/ on basically every movie ever made. most ppl here would agree w/ me on at least 1 movie. anyways, any time Martin Scorsese doesnt win for Best Director is basically a travesty

[BakeTheMooCow]

doesn't anyone agree with me that Jim Carrey should have atleast been nominated for either Man On The Moon or The Truman Show??
Many people are mentioning old movies, probably trying to show "Ooh, look at me, I appreciate classic cinema. These movies coming out these days with those youngsters are just awful..." Reminds me of Ebert.

[dicaprio_travolta_man]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Scarface98.9:
wow, i now have encountered a member who I would disagree w/ on basically every movie ever made. most ppl here would agree w/ me on at least 1 movie. anyways, any time Martin Scorsese doesnt win for Best Director is basically a travesty</font>

How would you disagree with me on "every movie ever made" if you don't even know which movies I have liked and which ones I have disliked? Most of the people here have no idea what every single movie I have liked is because I haven't even mentioned half of the ones I've liked. Are you saying that because I liked Titanic? Well if thats the case you're going to encounter alot of people here who you would "disagree with on every movie" because I know of a lot others here who loved Titanic or at least liked it. Obviously you liked Scarface right? If so then thats one film we don't disagree on because I liked it to. Oh, and I also love every single film Martin Scorcese has ever made. The ones I have seen anyway.

[This message has been edited by dicaprio_travolta_man (edited 02-28-2002).]

[bankholdup]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by BakeTheMooCow:
[B]doesn't anyone agree with me that Jim Carrey should have atleast been nominated for either Man On The Moon or The Truman Show??
B]</font>

Totally. Man On The Moon was a great movie, and Jim Carrey should have been nominated, wihtout a doubt.

[Jasonite]

Originally posted by Benny:
1. Why has no one even mentioned the biggest travesty of all-time yet? 1941: How Green Was My Valley, the most sentimental movie ever made, beats out Citizen Kane, probably the best movie ever made.

Hey dude I mentioned it...you need to read my posts! It was like the second or third in this thread.

J

[Jasonite]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ColinM:
Just a question, am I the only one that thinks Kevin Spacey deserved his Best Actor Oscar for American Beauty over Russell Crowe in The Insider and Denzel Washington in The Hurricane? Maybe I have to rewatch the movies, because I remember Russell Crowe being very good, but as of right now I remember Spacey being the best. All three were excellent performances, though.</font>

You're not alone Colin...Spacey's performance was definitely superior to Crowe's and Denzel's, and his part was much more complex than either of those two. He unquestionably deserved that win.

J

[Jasonite]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by dicaprio_travolta_man:
I just have a few questions: 1. What the hell is so great about Raging Bull? It was kind of boring and the only great thing about the movie was Robert DeNiro's performance. Actually, I think the only memorable thing about the film was DeNiro's fantastic performance.

2. Am I the only that thinks that Titanic deserved the Best Picture Oscar? I mean L.A. Confidential was really good, but Titanic packed so much emotion, love, friendship, and kindness. It is definetly a classic film much like Gone With The Wind is. And I think it's very fitting for the most loved movie of all time to win Best Picture. I mean, 20 years down the road when you ask people about both Titanic and L.A. Confidential, which one do you think they're going to remember? They'll say "What the hell is L.A. Confidential" and "Oh yes, I remember Titanic, very good film". That's what will happen.

One more Academy Award Travesty is:

Peter Finch (Network) over Robert Deniro (Taxi Driver) in 1976.

- Now this is unbeliveable. How in the world does a mediocre performance like Finch's win over one of the finest performances in the history of Hollywood (Deniro's). What were they thinking?</font>

Raging Bull is a great movie, but I don't like it at all. When a movie makes you dislike the character so much you don't care what happens to him (and are kinda rooting for his death) I think you've defeated the purpose of the movie. Still, I think both it and Empire Strikes Back were better movies than Ordinary People (which I did like).

I don't think Titanic will hold up over time like Gone With the Wind has. I think 60 years from now nobody will be talking about Titanic like they are now about Gone. I still liked the movie, but I had some problems with the performances and the script (as much as I love James Cameron).

I do have to take issue with you about Peter Finch. While his performance wasn't quite as great as DeNiro's, he gave a fantastic performance in Network. I'm thinking you haven't seen the movie, and that's why you have that opinion. He gave lines that are still quoted to this day.

J

[Jasonite]

Alright, since I've given the top 10 Best Picture travesties in history, I'll now give my top Best Actor/Actress travesties in Oscar history, Unfortunately there's more than 10:

1. Al Pacino not even nominated for Best Actor in the Godfather, let alone winning. I'm sorry folks, but Brando shouldn't have even been nominated for Best Actor, he should've been for Best Supporting along with Duvall and Caan. The movie does not revolve around him, but around Michael Corleone.

2. Art Carney over Nicholson and Pacino?
This is frickin' horrible. I'd give the slight edge to Nicholson in Chinatown, but either of these amazing actors should've beat the shit out of Art Carney.

#. Roberto Benigni over Ed Norton in American History X. Nobody's performance was as good as Ed's that year.

#. The only supporting travesty in this list is that of Michael Caine over Haley Joel's performance in The Sixth Sense. Yeah a lot of actors can give great performances, but not all of them can do it when they're 10!

#. Russell Crowe over Ed Harris in Pollock.
Yep, that's right. Ed Harris, though I could also see Hanks winning it, but Crowe did not deserve it.

#. Al Pacino over Denzel in Malcolm X. I'm not really angry about this, but Denzel's performance was better.

#. Tom Hanks over Liam Neeson in Schindler's List. Tom gave a great performance but I personally like Denzel's in Philadelphia better, and I thought Liam's better than them both.

#. Susan Sarandon over Elisabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas. As good as Susan's performance was, Elisabeth's was better.

#. Shirley Maclaine over Meryl Streep in Silkwood. Maclaine's performance was excellent, but she doesn't have a prayer against Streep.

#. Cher in Moonstruck?
Are you kidding me? She should've lost to Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction or Meryl Streep in Ironwood

#. Daniel-Day Lewis over Kenneth Branagh in Henry V. Branagh gave a great performance in Shakespeare, that pretty much trumps everything else.

#. Peter Finch over DeNiro in Taxi Driver.
Not really a travesty, but DeNiro should've won.

#. Gregory Peck over Peter O'Toole for Lawrence of Arabia. This isn't a gigantic travesty, but O'Toole was the clear choice, no question.

#. Lee Marvin over Laurence Olivier for Othello. Sorry folks, it's impossible for beat a performance of Olivier doing Shakespeare, or even to equal it.

#. Rod Stieger over Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. Probably the best performance I've ever seen Newman give, this is a travesty.

#. Bogart over Brando for Streetcar Named Desire. As good as Bogart was in African Queen, this is Brando doing Streetcar!

#. Yul Brynner over Olivier for Richard III. Sorry, Brynner didn't deserve this anyway for The King and I, Olivier is the clear choice.

#. Jimmy Stewart over Henry Fonda and Olivier. Fonda in Grapes of Wrath and Olivier in Rebecca both turned in astounding performances here, and should've won.

# Gary Cooper in Sergeant York over Orson Welles for Citizen Kane. Orson was unstoppable in his performance, he should've won.

#. Paul Lukas over Bogart for Casablanca?
Where the hell was the academy this year?

#. Fredrick March over Olivier in Henry V and Jimmy Stewart in the It's a Wonderful Life. Sorry folks, don't think so.

#. Robert Donat over Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind and Olivier in Wuthering Heights. As much as I enjoyed Donat's performance, I think the academy couldn't choose between the two better performances.


I could only put the first two in order, I'm too lazy to try and order the rest.

J