[Can we talk about something different? Just for a little bit? I'm tired.]
Cross-posted at Feb28
The Oscars are interesting. While not nearly perfect (* cough * Shawshank * Redemption * cough *), the Academy does a better job of rewarding good work than most other large scale award shows. The Grammys, for example... oh nevermind. It’s way too easy to talk bad about the Grammys.
I decided to find out which movies the Academy has deemed the best of all time. It was a much trickier list to compile than I originally thought. The final result is a unique list that includes a few great movies and some movies that are seldom in anyone’s top ten anything.
A lot of movies have won a lot of Oscars, so it’s important to look at which awards the movie won and, perhaps more importantly, which Oscars they missed. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for example, despite being nominated for 13 Awards, didn’t win either Best Film or Best Director. As a result, it doesn’t even make the Top Ten.
It’s also important to note the nominations, regardless of the win/loss record. No matter how well Driving Miss Daisy might have done with its 9 nods (including a win for Best Film), the movie wasn’t even nominated for Best Director. It’s not even eligible for the Top Ten.
The order of the list is also somewhat subjective, though I tried to be as objective as possible. I had to exclude some of my favorite films and include a movie that I loath.
#10 The Last Emperor (1987)
(9 Oscars from 9 nominations)
At the time, it tied the record for a film winning all of the Oscars for which it was nominated. Gigi had done the same in 1958. Neither film won any Acting awards. The only difference in the awards each film received is that The Last Emperor won for Sound Editing where Gigi won for Original Song.
What’s more remarkable, though, is what The Last Emperor was up against in 1987. Some of the films it beat out were Broadcast News, Hope and Glory, Moonstruck, Full Metal Jacket, Empire of the Sun, and Fatal Attraction. Oh, and RoboCop (in Editing and Sound - bet you didn’t know RoboCop was Oscar nominated, did you?).
#9 From Here To Eternity (1953)
(8 Oscars from 13 nominations)
From Here to Eternity may be notable for what it didn’t win: Best Actor. Both Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift were nominated, but both lost to William Holden (Stalag 17). Deborah Kerr also missed the Best Actress when it went to Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday).
It did, however, take home a nice little collection: Best Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra), Best Supporting Actress (Donna Reed), Editing, Screenplay, Cinematography (Black and White), and Sound Recording.
Plus, how can you not give a truckload of awards to a movie that gave us this image:
Thanks, Burt, for making all men everywhere feel totally inadequate.
#8 The English Patient (1996)
(9 Oscars from 12 nominations)
Like From Here to Eternity, The English Patient didn’t win either the Best Actor or Best Actress awards (losing to Geoffrey Rush and Frances McDormand respectively), but it was at least nominated for a Writing award (though lost it to Sling Blade). And with 12 nods and 9 wins, it has a slightly better ERA than From Here to Eternity.
Along with Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actress, this movie cleaned up on the technical awards. Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Score, and Sound all went to the English Patient that year.
#7 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
(5 Oscars from 9 nominations)
Not only was the movie nominated in 9 categories, it won in the "Big Five." Best Film, Best Director (Milos Forman), Best Writing (Adapted), Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), and Best Actress (Louise Fletcher). Only two other movies have managed this feat (It Happened One Night and Silence of the Lambs), but neither received as many nods.
#6 Titanic (1997)
(11 Oscars from 14 nominations)
With 14 Oscar nods, Titanic tied All about Eve for most nominations. With 11 wins, it stands in a tie for most Oscars. What’s notable, however, is what it didn’t win: any acting awards whatsoever. Kate Winslet lost Best Actress to Helen Hunt (As Good as It Gets) and Gloria Stuart lost Supporting Actress to Kim Basinger (L.A. Confidential). Nobody was even nominated for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, or even Best Writing.
Impressive sounding numbeers, 14 nods/11 wins, but they were mostly beauty prizes: Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound, Score, Costume Design, Visual Effects, and Sound Effects. It actually lost the Makeup award to Men in Black.
It did win Best Film when it was up against L.A. Confidential and Good Will Hunting, though. So that’s something.
#5 West Side Story (1961)
(10 Oscars from 11 nominations)
Despite 11 nominations and 10 Oscars (losing only in the Writing category), West Side Story wasn’t even nominated in either the Best Actor or Best Actress categories. Richard Beymer was shut out by most awards shows. Natalie Wood was actually the Best Actress nominee for a different movie that same year (Splendor in the Grass).
Regardless, this was easily the best night for a musical in Oscar history. Only My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, and Chicago managed more nominations (12, 13, and 13 respectively), but none took home as many statues (8, 5, and 6).
#4 On the Waterfront (1954)
(8 Oscars from 12 nominations)
8 for 12 may not sound impressive until you see this: On the Waterfront was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category three times. Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger were each nominated in the category, but the award went to Edmond O’Brien for his work in The Barefoot Contessa. If just one actor had been nominated, On the Waterfront would have certainly won. Given so many choices and having the vote split, the Oscar went to a dark horse.
But the real story was Marlon Brando. His performance was so earth shatteringly genuine, the art of acting has never been the same since. He was the overwhelming favorite for (and eventual winner of) the Best Actor award. It was no surprise when so many of the cast were also nominated in acting categories (Eva Maria Saint also won Best Supporting Actress). Brando raised the bar so high that those around him were made better just by acting with him.
For the record, it also won Best Film, Director (Elia Kazan), Writing (Story and Screenplay), Editing, Cinematography, and Art Direction (Black and White).
#3 Ben-Hur (1959)
(11 Oscars from 12 nominations)
As epic movies go, it doesn’t get much bigger, better, or more spectacular than Ben-Hur. Nominated in 12 categories and went home with 11 Oscars. Best Film, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (Charlton Heston), Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), Cinematography, Art Direction (Color), Sound, Score, Editing, Special Effects, and Costume Design (Color).
For some inexplicable reason, the Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted) went to the film Room at the Top. I have no idea what the members of the Academy were thinking. I can imagine them sitting down, filling out their ballot, and saying, "Well, I can’t pick Ben-Hur for everything." Guess what guys, you should have.
#2 Gone With the Wind (1939)
(10 Oscars from 13 nominations)
You thought this was going to be #1, huh? Well, you were wrong. Gone With the Wind chalked up an extremely impressive Oscar resume. And I only use the word "impressive" because I can’t think of a more forceful word to use right now.
Gone With the Wind was nominated for 13 awards, a record it held until 1950. It took home the awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Art Direction, Editing, and Cinematography (Color). Alone, that is an immense accomplishment, but what makes it more incredible is what they were up against. Also nominated in 1939: Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Of Mice and Men, and The Wizard of Oz.
Taking home 8 awards in a year with movies of that caliber is dang impressive. But the Academy wasn’t done there. In 1939, they actually invented two additional "special" awards specifically for Gone With the Wind: a Technical Achievement Award and an award for Outstanding Achievement in the Use of Color. 10 awards on the night. Not bad.
#1 Return of the King (2003)
(11 Oscars from 11 nominations)
That’s right, Return of the King. Let’s start with the basics. It was nominated for 11 awards and it won in all 11 categories. Not only does that tie the record for most Oscars won by a single film, it set the new record for most nominations swept. Those awards included Best Film, Best Director (Peter Jackson), Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), and Best Editing. But that’s just one night.
Let’s not forget something important. The entire Lord of the Rings trilogy was created by a single crew. All three movies were filmed simultaneously, they were written, edited, and directed by the same people in the same locations, and acted by the same cast. All together, the three films were nominated for an unprecedented 30 Oscars and won a staggering 17 times. Let me say that again:
30 nominations, 17 Oscars.
Return of the King didn’t just set records, it was the cherry on top of a motion picture accomplishment that may never be duplicated.
[I don't know if any of you needed a break from the news as much as I did, but I hope this helps.]