Did These Amazing Movies Snag A Best Picture Oscar Or Did They Get Snubbed?
- by Jessica
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Held every year since 1929, the Academy Awards crowns one film Best Motion Picture. This prize celebrates excellence in movie making and goes to the producer. It is the upmost honour of the ceremony since it represents the best compilation of every artistic detail and choice that went into producing the finished work. Recognition from the Academy brings fame and credibility to those who receive this title. The champion film and nominees are often rereleased.
However does 2017 reject the idea that a removed committee is able to decide the year's best piece of film art? Not quite, though there has certainly been some contention about the winner (remember this year's blunder before 32.9 million Americans live streaming?). However the chosen film is often more about how the Academy wants to portray itself than what the people want; the committee isn't democratically elected after all.
In 2016 the Oscars were boycotted by prominent actors and stars regarding lack of diversity in casting/lack of racial representation in the awards ceremony. These claims regarded the overt choice to cast white actors for racialized roles. Hopefully moving forward we will see more films that represent all Americans in all aspects of life.
Do you know which films won Best Picture?
ET the Extra-Terrestrial
This Spielberg/Mathison sci-fi classic follows a story of interspecies collaboration. A misunderstood boy discovers and befriends an alien stranded on Earth. They decide to hide it from their mother and the government until it can reconnect with its kind and go home. They boy and E.T spend time together and this drawing parallels between aliens and humans, after all E.T. does constantly phone home. The movie introduced special features for E.T's costume and was for over a decade the highest grossing film of all time.
Rain Man
In this comedic drama brothers Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman are brought together once their father dies and leaves his multimillion inheritance to only one of them. It is left to the eldest, Hoffman, an autistic savant while his entitled brother Cruise is left plotting ways to cheat him out of it. While trying to gain custody of Hoffman, Cruise recognizes him as "Rain Man," a comforting figure who he thought was an imaginary friend. The story pulls at emotional chords of brotherly love, fights for inheritance, and the difficulties of mental illness.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
This colourful distinctly Wes Anderson flick was set in an established hotel where known concierge Mr. Gustave teaches his craft to young protégé Zero Mustapha. When Mr. Gustave is left a lucrative inheritance by one of the hotel's most frequent clients her relatives will stop at nothing to retrieve what they see to be rightfully theirs. This chase between the concierge and her ruthless relatives takes place during the interwar period where they travel around Europe to escape the relative's harassment and keep her endowment safe.
Moonlight
This drama was hailed for examining the difficulties of a black man experimenting with his sexuality while growing up in the Miami projects. The coming-of-age film follows three stages of his life documenting the abuse, neglect, and unrequited love. It undermines previous stereotypes of black masculinity and expands acceptable personalities black men can explore and inhabit with dignity. Protagonist Chiron comes to terms with himself after admitting he is gay and has loved his teenage friend Kevin since their sexual encounter.
The Silence of the Lambs
This horror film mixes aspects of psychiatry with repulsive gore through the now infamous character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter (the cannibal). A young FBI trainee of Behavioural Science Unit is assigned to interview the incarcerated Dr.Lecter to learn about a current copycat serial killer "Buffalo Bill". During the course of these cat-and-mouse interviews Lecter escapes before providing any useful information about "Buffalo Bill". The tone of this film swings from pleasant to savage as you would expect from a psychopathic criminal.
Brokeback Mountain
Two cowboys must hide their deep passion for each other in this Western romantic drama. The sexual and emotional ties that Ennis and Jack share are so tangible and painful as both marry and only see each other infrequently for "fishing trips". Though Jack wants a more permanent relationship with his lover, Ennis is afraid of society's rejection and does not want to leave his small family. After their marriages fall apart Ennis still refuses to commit to a stable relationship with Jack and their love ends in disaster. This movie shows the heartbreaking realities of LBGTQ hostility.
Birdman
Birdman explores themes of obsolete middle-age as the forgotten protagonist-actor is haunted by a superhero he once played. The dark comedy has a stacked cast that somehow tries to compile a play with amateur actors and lots of drugs. Suddenly the imaginary superhero Birdman becomes real and begins tormenting the playwright to write another superhero film. The scene ends with the protagonist jumping off the roof, flying to the theatre. Mixed in scenes of suicide and his ex wife make the movie even weirder and prime you for the surprise ending.
Chariots of Fire
Set in 1919, this film shows Cambridge boyish culture through two dedicated runners and students, Liddell and Abrahams. Their rivalry has a spiritual side as Liddell is a devoted Christian preacher while Abrahams experiences anti-Semitic sentiments at every turn. The film celebrates British pride and excellence as the two runners are accepted to compete in the 1924 Olympics in Paris. However one of Liddell's races is on the sabbath, forcing him to choose between his faith and his country. The film is historical fiction.
Her
This futuristic movie predates any documented marriage to AI yet explores Joaquin Phoenix's infatuation with an intelligent computer operating system. Spike Jonze emphasizes how we humanize our technological devices by naming them and enabling them with linguistic capabilities. Phoenix is captivated by her (his AI's) psychological and social growth and soon develops a relationship with her. However Phoenix does not consider his AI is omnipresent and does not regard their relationship as monogamous. This romantic science fiction is funny and light while bringing philosophical questions to the fore.
Titanic
Produced and directed by James Cameron, this tragedy reenacts the 1912 sinking of the Titanic on her maiden voyage. By introducing love-struck characters Rose and Jack, Cameron humanizes the disaster, giving the audience a more vivid picture of the thousand lives that were lost. The epic is also one of the foremost turned-to love stories as Jack and Rose's passion for one another is forbidden given their respective social positions. Their intimate relationship grows, climaxing at the very moment of the crash and symbolic of the fragility of their love.
The Godfather
Based on the Mario Puzo novel, this crime film enlivened the American imagination about the mafia economy and social strata in New York. It follows powerful patriarch Vito Corleone conducting family business and prepping for his eventual succession. However, he adamantly wants to shield his intelligent military son Michael from this life of crime. Corruption and a threat to Vito's life force Michael's involvement, and from that point forward he is part of the family business. This Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece is forever remembered for its captivating scenes and iconic imagery.
Goodfellas
Another American crime film, this Scorsese production is more drug and heist related than the classic mafia film. A trio of gangsters, Paulie, Jimmy, and Tommy recruit younger poor boys or drop-outs for their upcoming robberies. In response to disrespect they kill a man from the Gambino clan and know they have to hide his body or deal with mob retribution. They specialize in airport heists in the dream of becoming "made men" but get caught at the last one and end up going to jail.
Saving Private Ryan
The film begins strong with the Omaha Beach conflict during the 1944 Normandy Landings. United States Army Rangers are dispatched specifically to search wartorn France for last survivor of the four Ryan brothers. The team of rangers get word that their Private is defending a bridge at Ramelle. During the trek there they bicker and question authority to show the stresses and pressures that come with war. Spielberg and Rodat underline this psychological complexity when Ryan is found but states, he will stay "with the only brothers [he has] left".
A Beautiful Mind
This film is a biographical drama about the struggles of paranoid schizophrenic John Nash who also happens to be a graduate student at Princeton. He is a math genius and eager to publish but wants to first develop an original idea. On a social outing he is inspired to create a new cooperative concept of governing dynamics and earns a spot at MIT. However during this rise to success his hallucinations become more convincing and he is forced to confront his problem. In 1994 Nash won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
The Shawshank Redemption
This American drama was inspired by a Stephen King novel of the same name. Set in a prison banker Andy Dufresne has just been sentenced two life terms for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his pleas of innocence. Inside he befriends contraband smuggler "Red" and begins helping the prison launder money. Another inmate comes in and tells Andy someone else has confessed for his crimes at another prison but the warden doesn't want to listen. Instead Andy escapes and exposes the corruption at Shawshank.
No Country for Old Men
This dark Western is set in Western Texas between protagonists Vietnam veteran and a hitman. The veteran stumbles across a drug deal gone awry and picks up the 2$ million dollars stashed in a suitcase. A hitman is hired to pursue him but soon goes rogue so to claim the money for himself. This Coen brothers production emphasizes the arbitrary circumstances of luck and disfavor. It also highlights fate since the hitman always gives his victims a 50-50 chance to get out alive.
Pulp Fiction
This Tarantino neo-noir cult classic is character stacked with Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, John Travolta and a host of other famous figures playing unsavory characters. It includes violence, drugs, mob deals, and a strict moral code that the otherwise ruthless characters abide to. The last scene prompts a tense Mexican standoff when professional hitmen Travolta and Jackson happen to eat at a diner thats being robbed. Here Jackson spews powerful themes of redemption before deciding his life of crime has led him to become apathetic about most things.
Million Dollar Baby
This Clint Eastwood directed sports drama is about a boxing trainer's path to atonement. Eastwood plays the begrudging trainer whose last project is helping determined amateur boxer Hillary Swank make it to the big leagues. Eastwood initially abandons Swank but comes back to aid her in the middle of her first boxing match. It is clear she's a natural, always aiming for knockouts and she and Eastwood develops a sort of familial bond as neither of them have relationships with their kin.
There Will Be Blood
Daniel Day Lewis has built his oil expertise and business up from the ground. He suffered the difficulties of blasting and mining the ore himself and eventually becomes a hard-skinned businessman. He propositions communities with suspected oil deposits and pitches to buy them as a family man who will encourage financial and social prosperity in the community. After a rig accident leaves his adopted son deaf he spirals into a less and less human state, soon estranging himself from everyone he knows. The film also follows themes of spirituality versus capitalism and later, televangelism.
Harvey Milk
With Sean Penn playing the protagonist, this biopic follows the political and personal life of the first openly gay politician in California, Harvey Milk. He moved to San Fransisco in search of greater acceptance and opened a business in the predominantly gay neighbourhood of the Castro. From here he launched himself into gay activism and was elected to sit on San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. This film made its premiere at Castro Theatre two weeks before California referendum on gay marriage.
Gravity
This science fiction adventure follows astronauts Sandra Bullock and George Clooney when space debris hits their shuttle and they lose contact with Mission Control. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón these two are stranded in space and need to reach the International Space Station before the debris completes an orbit and threatens them again. The two try to grab onto the ISS but get caught in the parachute cords and someone has to let go. Director Cuarón sees the film as of woman's innovation and perseverance against adversity.
Schindler's List
This Speilberg and Zaillian film tells of Oskar Schindler, an ethnically German businessman who saved Polish-Jews by employing them in his factories during the Holocaust. Initially a Nazi sympathizer, the construction of Płaszów concentration camp nearby and the memory of a tiny child cloaked in red alters his perspective. Schindler's priorities shift from cheap production to saving lives. He buys the commandant of Auschwitz with a bag of diamonds to transfer 850 people to a new munitions factory in Zwittau-Brinnlitz, saving them from certain death at the infamous extermination camp.
Chicago
Based on the celebrated musical this film follows two murderesses in Jazz Age Chicago who compete for fame while in prison. Velma is a performer who's stardom climaxes when she is arrested for killing her husband and sister after finding them in an adulterous union. Housewife Roxie covets this sort of attention and tries for an in at the same Chicago theatre, but she ends up killing her lover too. They encounter one another in a matriarchal ward under the power and rules of Mama Morton.
American Beauty
Produced by Cohen and Jinks, American Beauty shows how a desk job, sexual frustration, and suburban life can make a grown Kevin Spacey completely apathetic. Though this is triggered by his problematic attraction to his teenage daughter's best friend, it shows how a mid-life crisis propels you to want to stop conforming. This throws surrounding suburbia into disarray as all of the pieces also begin to question their normal routines. Some of the best scenes from this film are the eerie, calm, and sociopathic lines Spacey delivers so well.
Little Miss Sunshine
The comedy drama about a dysfunctional family is centered around the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant youngest child Olive is eager to win. They embark on 800 mile road trip to Redondo Beach, CA in their Volkswagen bus. Their car beaks down several times and the family bonds as they help each other through personal losses. At the pageant Olive finds how different she is from the other contestants and while some of her family tries to dissuade her performance to shield her from embarrassment, she insists on performing to honour grandpa Erwin who coached her through the choreographed version to Rick James' Super Freak song.
The King's Speech
This historical drama portrays Colin Firth as George VI who hired a speech therapist to help eliminate his stammer. After George's brother abdicates the throne he relies on the therapist Lionel Logue more than ever to help him present a strong discourse to his country in the height of national disaster. It is the 1930's and broadcasting is one of the newest methods allowing a monarch to reach his subjects. Writer David Sidler was fascinated with George VI's condition and incorporated quotes from Logue's recently found journal.
Precious
This drama is an adapted version of the novel 'Push' by Sapphire and tells of the hardships sixteen year-old Precious faces at the abusive hands of her mother. While her teacher Blu Rain is a source of kindness and inspiration, Precious soon gives birth to her second child and learns she is HIV-positive. However instead of giving up Precious visits her social worker and confronts her mother about the years of mistreatment. The difficult story ends with Precious planning to complete a GED and take control of her life.
The Artist
This black and white silent film is a romantic drama produced by Thomas Langmann. It is set between 1927-1932 in Hollywood, just at the arrival of the "talkies" and follows the relationship of an older silent film actor Valentin and young dancer Peppy. He mentors and helps her rise to fame when their studio decides to ditch silent films for new sound technology. Valentin feels lost and stubbornly tries to make his own directorial debut. This fresh film is nostalgic and explores themes of age and loyalty.
The Painist
Based on an autographical book, this Roman Polanski film tells a World War II memoir written by pianist Władysław Szpilman. Living in Warsaw in 1939 Szpilman and his family learn of Britain and France's declaration of war and are hoping for a quick defeat. Conditions only deteriorate and by 1942 he becomes a slave laborer, but smuggles supplies for the upcoming Warsaw Ghetto revolt. Until the end of the war he records tales of displacement, the bravery of some individuals and the transcendent power of music.
Forrest Gump
Set from the 1950's-1980's this film follows American historical moments through the involvement of unsuspecting mentally challenged Forrest Gump. Gump is carried by these historical moments and manages to drastically change the future of U.S. policy, popular culture, and sports history. Though he is shunned at his earlier schools because of his differences he becomes a major figure in American life. He also reunites with his childhood friend and sweetheart and raises her child named in his honor. It is an national dream championed by the last person you'd expect to achieve it.
Django Unchained
This Western by Quentin Tarantino is set in the Antebellum South and is a nod to previous spaghetti westerns. Slave Django leads a German bounty hunter back to the Brittle brothers in Tennessee in exchange for his freedom. However, after finding the brothers Django decides to remain with the German man and retrieve his long lost wife. She is enslaved on a brutal plantation called Candyland where slaves are forced to fight to the death for entertainment. The film's quality and shock factor is augmented by Samuel L. Jackson who plays the eerily loyal slave.
Argo
This historical drama is based on book "The Master of Disguise" and "The Great Escape" detailing American diplomats being smuggled out of the Iran hostage crisis. This hostile 1979 act was in retaliation for President Carter providing the Shah asylum during the Iranian Revolution. Director Ben Affleck recounts how many Americans are taken hostage at the U.S. embassy while six escape to Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor's. A CIA specialist proposes they act as Canadian filmmakers in Iran only to gain inspiration for an upcoming science fiction flick.
Lincoln
Another historical drama, this film outlines how the American Civil War, though fought on the guise of state's rights, was all about slavery. Spielberg follows how Lincoln, played by Daniel Day Lewis, was eager to pass the Thirteenth Amendment before the dissident states are readmitted to the Union. This requires the persuasion of several Democratic congressmen and the lobbying power of Francis Preston Blair. The biopic uncovers his political conviction and aspects about his personal life like the night of his assassination.
Twelve Years a Slave
This drama was adapted from a slave memoir of a freely-born New York man who was kidnapped from the North and sold into slavery. A talented musician, Solomon Northup finds himself in Georgia where he has no rights and everyone distrusts him. Directed by Steve McQueen this story shows how precarious life could be even for African Americans living in the North; though freed they experienced tangible forms of discrimination daily. The narrative ends with real details regarding Northup's unsuccessful filings against his kidnappers and the plantation owners.
Slumdog Millionaire
Eighteen year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai wins the Indian televised quiz "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" However the show host and management accuse him of cheating. Adamant that he is innocent Malik tells of every instance in his past that led him to the show and enabled him to answer the presented questions. A young love story is recounted between Jamal and a young girl named Latika, but she is separated from them as Jamal and his brother flee a neighbourhood gangster. His adolescence is filled with scenes of hardship and the passion that made him apply for the show.