What would have won Best Picture of the decade(s)?
Feb 12, 2020 9:25:51 GMT
Martin Stett, JangoB, and 1 more like this
Post by jimmalone on Feb 12, 2020 9:25:51 GMT
Thought this could be an interesting game for Awards/List nerds.
So now that we have finished the decade in terms of Best Picture winners (well, at least for the broad mass, as officially the decade ends with the 31st of December 2020, but since everybody goes with it, let's go with it as well), which films do you think would have won the "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards if those lined up the winners of each decade and determined a winner among them? Not your personal favourite, but which film the Academy would have gone for among those contenders?
I'd ask this question under the scenario though, that every one of the films would have come out in the same year, cause I guess if you would do this at the end of the decade the newer films would always have an advantage, being more fresh and present in mind. So let's say for example that all winners of the 1950s came out in 1959.
1920s:
Only two to choose from here and I honestly have hardly a clue, which one they would have preferred.
1930s:
It Happened One Night
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Great Ziegfeld
The Life of Emile Zola
You Can't Take it with You
Gone with the Wind
I think this is one of the easier choices. Gone with the Wind was a huge hit with critics and public. It won 8 Oscars from 13 nominations and earned two more special oscars. And it's status as an all-time classic doesn't come from nowhere.
1940s:
Rebecca
How Green was my Valley
Mrs. Miniver
Casablanca
Going my Way
The Lost Weekend
The Best Years of our Lives
Grentleman's Agreement
Hamlet
All the King's Men
I think this is a bit harder to say. Obviously the name Casablanca jumps to your mind and if you'd ask today, voters would probably choose this is the Best Picture from the 10 nominees. So it certainly is a legitime choice. Initial reception to Casablanca wasn't as huge as the reputation it garnered over the years, so if all of those films came out in 1949 as I suggested above, there might have been a different outcome.
A few films of that line-up were bigger with the Academy than Casablanca back then, most notable Mrs. Miniver and The Best Years of our Lives (both William Wyler films interestingly) and both had topics that appealed to the people very much and were well made at the top of that. Keeping in mind that the latter one is a very "American" film, I think it would have attracted voters more. So my pick here is The Best Years of Our Lives.
1950s:
All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Greatest Show on Earth
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
Marty
Around the World in 80 Days
The Bridge on River Kwai
Gigi
Ben Hur
Now THIS is tough. There's a handful movies among them, which are perceived as cinematic giants. Let's have a closer look on them:
All About Eve - 14 oscar nominations, which is still the tied record; won 6 oscars including the three big ones Picture, Director, Screenplay; film about acting and the film industry (it's actually about stage acting, but works for Hollywood as well).
An American in Paris - 8 noms, six wins, but not Director!, I think being a musical might have hurt against the opponents, since this is always a divisive genre
From Here to Eternity - 13 noms, 8 wins including the big three; huge public success.
On the Waterfront - 12 noms, 8 wins including the big three, Brando's performances was already regarded legendary from the start
The Bridge on River Kwai - 8 noms, 7 wins including the big three, huge public success. Maybe a contra: British film.
Gigi: 9 noms, 9 Wins (record back then) including the big three. Contra: Musical issue again.
Ben Hur: 12 noms, 11 wins (still tied record), but not Adapted Screenplay! Highest grossing film of the year, on of highest grossing films in history
So I'd honestly cancel out the musicals, still leaving me with 5 films. But still it's really tough to tell for me. All five others were hugely beloved and of course it's tough to see inside the voters' heads. I could imagine any of them as the winner of ther others, but "Kwai" maybe the least likely as my gut feeling tells me. Ben Hurs success back then really stands out, which brings us to an interesting problem if you would have taken "Best Years of our Lives" or "Mrs. Miniver" as the 40s winner. Is it an issue that we would have two Wyler films in a row?
For me I can just take a wild guess here really. I think From Here to Eternity had the most appeal for a broad mass with the love story, the war, the topic of comradeship between two duos of men.
1960s:
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
Tom Jones
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
A Man for all Seasons
In the Heat of the Night
Oliver!
Midnight Cowboy
If a musical gets to be “Best Picture of the Decade” it was certainly in this time span with four contenders among the top Ten. Additionally there are only (in my eyes) two winners of other genres with a strong case: The Apartment and Lawrence of Arabia. We can rule out Oliver! in my opinion, so this leaves us with 5 alternatives.
Probably the musicals would steal each others votes, the question is just how much this affects the race. I’m not a musical fan (mildly said) so it’s a bit hard to tell, but I always had the feeling that West Side Story was the most acclaimed and loved one so I’d guess this is the best contender here. Apartment is a movie that is loved as well and would always garner many votes as well as Lawrence of Arabia. In a decade as musical crazy it seems fitting though that one of those would win. So I guess I’ll pick West Side Story.
1970s:
Patton
French Connection
The Godfather
The Sting
The Godfather II
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Rocky
Annie Hall
The Deer Hunter
Kramer vs. Kramer
Nowadays the two Godfather films would seem as the logically pick (with the first one usually getting a bit more love), but actually Godfather won only 3 Oscars and director wasn’t one of them. So it’s not as straight-forward. But it was also a huge critical and financial success.
The best challengers are probably One flew over the Cuckoos nest, which won the big five, and The Sting, which was hugely beloved and won 7 oscars, including the three most important ones.
I still think with both Godfather films in the mix, many people would feel to choose one of them and even if they’d cancel each other out to a certain degree I go with The Godfather here.
1980s:
Ordinary People
Chariots of Fire
Gandhi
Terms of Endearment
Amadeus
Out of Africa
Platoon
The Last Emperor
Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy
No obvious choice, but some favourites. I think we can cancel Chariots and Daisy as well as Rain Man. The other candidates all fared very well within the Academy. Once again you have to go with your feeling and my instinct is, that Amadeus is the most widely loved, while Out of Africa and Terms of Endearment as well as The Last Emperor would have it’s detractors.
1990s:
Dances with Wolves
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler’s List
Forrest Gump
Braveheart
The English Patient
Titanic
Shakespeare in Love
American Beauty
Some heavyweights here. Titanic with it’s record-tying 11 oscars is an obvious favourite and you have to include Forrest Gump with it’s beloved hero and ironic take on America as well. Then you have a great filmmaker tackling the Holocaust in a to tears moving fashion and it’s pretty hard to choose. I think that Schindler’s List would even overcome the love for the technical achievement that was Titanic, which didn't get a screenplay nod, which tells me that some voters at least had issues with the story.
2000s:
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
Chicago
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Million Dollar Baby
Crash
Departed
No Country for Old Men
Slumdog Millionaire
The Hurt Locker
Well, that’s the easiest one. Despite some good players as No Country and Slumdog Millionaire here it’s most definitely Lord of the Rings.
2010s:
The King’s Speech
The Artist
Argo
12 Years a Slave
Birdman
Spotlight
Moonlight
The Shape of Water
Green Book
Parasite
That’s a difficult group to dissect. None of them won more than five Oscars (The Artist) and The King’s Speech, Birdman and Parasite are the only ones to win the big three. Though I wouldn’t diminish the chances of The Artist because of this, as you know this had hardly dialogue. And as this year showed it probably doesn’t matter that The Artist and Parasite are foreign productions.
I look for a very convincing win (though more in hindsight than what we though before, because that’s mainly assumptions) and this probably takes out Green Book, Spotlight and even Moonlight. You could maybe overlook that Argo had no director nod cause everybody assumed Affleck was safe and 12 Years lost to a groundbreaking directorial work, but I have to start somewhere, so let’s say they are out.
My gut feeling would lead me towards The King’s Speech vs. Birdman in the end. Both had firm rivals in The Social Network and Boyhood, beating them convincingly and both were widely beloved and had probably (again just an assumption) less sentiments against them as The Artist or Parasite or The Shape of Water, which also missed the screenplay award. Inarritu seems to to have huge backing in the academy, so I'll say Birdman. But as I said just a wild guess.
So now that we have finished the decade in terms of Best Picture winners (well, at least for the broad mass, as officially the decade ends with the 31st of December 2020, but since everybody goes with it, let's go with it as well), which films do you think would have won the "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards if those lined up the winners of each decade and determined a winner among them? Not your personal favourite, but which film the Academy would have gone for among those contenders?
I'd ask this question under the scenario though, that every one of the films would have come out in the same year, cause I guess if you would do this at the end of the decade the newer films would always have an advantage, being more fresh and present in mind. So let's say for example that all winners of the 1950s came out in 1959.
1920s:
Wings
Broadway Melody
Only two to choose from here and I honestly have hardly a clue, which one they would have preferred.
1930s:
All Quiet on the Western Front
Cimarron
Grand Hotel
CavalcadeIt Happened One Night
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Great Ziegfeld
The Life of Emile Zola
You Can't Take it with You
Gone with the Wind
I think this is one of the easier choices. Gone with the Wind was a huge hit with critics and public. It won 8 Oscars from 13 nominations and earned two more special oscars. And it's status as an all-time classic doesn't come from nowhere.
1940s:
Rebecca
How Green was my Valley
Mrs. Miniver
Casablanca
Going my Way
The Lost Weekend
The Best Years of our Lives
Grentleman's Agreement
Hamlet
All the King's Men
I think this is a bit harder to say. Obviously the name Casablanca jumps to your mind and if you'd ask today, voters would probably choose this is the Best Picture from the 10 nominees. So it certainly is a legitime choice. Initial reception to Casablanca wasn't as huge as the reputation it garnered over the years, so if all of those films came out in 1949 as I suggested above, there might have been a different outcome.
A few films of that line-up were bigger with the Academy than Casablanca back then, most notable Mrs. Miniver and The Best Years of our Lives (both William Wyler films interestingly) and both had topics that appealed to the people very much and were well made at the top of that. Keeping in mind that the latter one is a very "American" film, I think it would have attracted voters more. So my pick here is The Best Years of Our Lives.
1950s:
All About Eve
An American in Paris
The Greatest Show on Earth
From Here to Eternity
On the Waterfront
Marty
Around the World in 80 Days
The Bridge on River Kwai
Gigi
Ben Hur
Now THIS is tough. There's a handful movies among them, which are perceived as cinematic giants. Let's have a closer look on them:
All About Eve - 14 oscar nominations, which is still the tied record; won 6 oscars including the three big ones Picture, Director, Screenplay; film about acting and the film industry (it's actually about stage acting, but works for Hollywood as well).
An American in Paris - 8 noms, six wins, but not Director!, I think being a musical might have hurt against the opponents, since this is always a divisive genre
From Here to Eternity - 13 noms, 8 wins including the big three; huge public success.
On the Waterfront - 12 noms, 8 wins including the big three, Brando's performances was already regarded legendary from the start
The Bridge on River Kwai - 8 noms, 7 wins including the big three, huge public success. Maybe a contra: British film.
Gigi: 9 noms, 9 Wins (record back then) including the big three. Contra: Musical issue again.
Ben Hur: 12 noms, 11 wins (still tied record), but not Adapted Screenplay! Highest grossing film of the year, on of highest grossing films in history
So I'd honestly cancel out the musicals, still leaving me with 5 films. But still it's really tough to tell for me. All five others were hugely beloved and of course it's tough to see inside the voters' heads. I could imagine any of them as the winner of ther others, but "Kwai" maybe the least likely as my gut feeling tells me. Ben Hurs success back then really stands out, which brings us to an interesting problem if you would have taken "Best Years of our Lives" or "Mrs. Miniver" as the 40s winner. Is it an issue that we would have two Wyler films in a row?
For me I can just take a wild guess here really. I think From Here to Eternity had the most appeal for a broad mass with the love story, the war, the topic of comradeship between two duos of men.
1960s:
The Apartment
West Side Story
Lawrence of Arabia
Tom Jones
My Fair Lady
The Sound of Music
A Man for all Seasons
In the Heat of the Night
Oliver!
Midnight Cowboy
If a musical gets to be “Best Picture of the Decade” it was certainly in this time span with four contenders among the top Ten. Additionally there are only (in my eyes) two winners of other genres with a strong case: The Apartment and Lawrence of Arabia. We can rule out Oliver! in my opinion, so this leaves us with 5 alternatives.
Probably the musicals would steal each others votes, the question is just how much this affects the race. I’m not a musical fan (mildly said) so it’s a bit hard to tell, but I always had the feeling that West Side Story was the most acclaimed and loved one so I’d guess this is the best contender here. Apartment is a movie that is loved as well and would always garner many votes as well as Lawrence of Arabia. In a decade as musical crazy it seems fitting though that one of those would win. So I guess I’ll pick West Side Story.
1970s:
Patton
French Connection
The Godfather
The Sting
The Godfather II
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Rocky
Annie Hall
The Deer Hunter
Kramer vs. Kramer
Nowadays the two Godfather films would seem as the logically pick (with the first one usually getting a bit more love), but actually Godfather won only 3 Oscars and director wasn’t one of them. So it’s not as straight-forward. But it was also a huge critical and financial success.
The best challengers are probably One flew over the Cuckoos nest, which won the big five, and The Sting, which was hugely beloved and won 7 oscars, including the three most important ones.
I still think with both Godfather films in the mix, many people would feel to choose one of them and even if they’d cancel each other out to a certain degree I go with The Godfather here.
1980s:
Ordinary People
Chariots of Fire
Gandhi
Terms of Endearment
Amadeus
Out of Africa
Platoon
The Last Emperor
Rain Man
Driving Miss Daisy
No obvious choice, but some favourites. I think we can cancel Chariots and Daisy as well as Rain Man. The other candidates all fared very well within the Academy. Once again you have to go with your feeling and my instinct is, that Amadeus is the most widely loved, while Out of Africa and Terms of Endearment as well as The Last Emperor would have it’s detractors.
1990s:
Dances with Wolves
The Silence of the Lambs
Unforgiven
Schindler’s List
Forrest Gump
Braveheart
The English Patient
Titanic
Shakespeare in Love
American Beauty
Some heavyweights here. Titanic with it’s record-tying 11 oscars is an obvious favourite and you have to include Forrest Gump with it’s beloved hero and ironic take on America as well. Then you have a great filmmaker tackling the Holocaust in a to tears moving fashion and it’s pretty hard to choose. I think that Schindler’s List would even overcome the love for the technical achievement that was Titanic, which didn't get a screenplay nod, which tells me that some voters at least had issues with the story.
2000s:
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
Chicago
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Million Dollar Baby
Crash
Departed
No Country for Old Men
Slumdog Millionaire
The Hurt Locker
Well, that’s the easiest one. Despite some good players as No Country and Slumdog Millionaire here it’s most definitely Lord of the Rings.
2010s:
The King’s Speech
The Artist
Argo
12 Years a Slave
Birdman
Spotlight
Moonlight
The Shape of Water
Green Book
Parasite
That’s a difficult group to dissect. None of them won more than five Oscars (The Artist) and The King’s Speech, Birdman and Parasite are the only ones to win the big three. Though I wouldn’t diminish the chances of The Artist because of this, as you know this had hardly dialogue. And as this year showed it probably doesn’t matter that The Artist and Parasite are foreign productions.
I look for a very convincing win (though more in hindsight than what we though before, because that’s mainly assumptions) and this probably takes out Green Book, Spotlight and even Moonlight. You could maybe overlook that Argo had no director nod cause everybody assumed Affleck was safe and 12 Years lost to a groundbreaking directorial work, but I have to start somewhere, so let’s say they are out.
My gut feeling would lead me towards The King’s Speech vs. Birdman in the end. Both had firm rivals in The Social Network and Boyhood, beating them convincingly and both were widely beloved and had probably (again just an assumption) less sentiments against them as The Artist or Parasite or The Shape of Water, which also missed the screenplay award. Inarritu seems to to have huge backing in the academy, so I'll say Birdman. But as I said just a wild guess.
