17th in a series of polls examining the opinion of you, the TrekBBS users. Which of the original five Academy Award nominees actually should have won? Up next: Best Picture, 1998... which nominee deserved the award most? Comments encouraged.
TrekBBS Academy Awards #17: Best Picture, 1998
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Life is Beautiful!
I know the film wasn't popular with the critics (because apparently you aren't allowed to make a funny movie about the holocaust
), but it totally worked for me. It's one of my favourite films of all time, powerful, funny and moving. Of course the film is absurd, but that's kind of the point, it's not meant to be seen as realistic, but more as a fairy tale.
Any one of the others would have been a better choice than Shakespeare in Love though.
I know the film wasn't popular with the critics (because apparently you aren't allowed to make a funny movie about the holocaust
), but it totally worked for me. It's one of my favourite films of all time, powerful, funny and moving. Of course the film is absurd, but that's kind of the point, it's not meant to be seen as realistic, but more as a fairy tale.Any one of the others would have been a better choice than Shakespeare in Love though.
For comparison, the top-rated English language feature films of 1998 on IMDB that were eligible for Oscars in that year are:
American History X (8.6)
Saving Private Ryan (8.5)
The Big Lebowski (8.2)
The Truman Show (7.9)
Dark City (7.8)
The Legend of 1900 (7.8)
Rushmore (7.8)
Happiness (7.7)
Elizabeth (7.6)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (7.6)
Pi (7.6)
A Simple Plan (7.6)
Gods and Monsters (7.5)
Pleasantville (7.5)
Shakespeare in Love (7.4)
The Thin Red Line (7.4)
Life is Beautiful, one of the rare foreign language films to be nominated for Best Picture, scores an 8.4.
Shakespeare in Love is a fine film, but not strong enough to deserve the win. Saving Private Ryan had some incredible sequences, but also had some problems in its dramatic structure. The Thin Red Line is a poet's view of war and I find it a mesmerizing and almost hypnotic film, with a great score by Hans Zimmer. Elizabeth is expertly crafted and is anchored by a towering performance by Cate Blanchett (who should have won Best Actress instead of Gwyneth Paltrow). Roberto Benigni's schtick during awards season that year became tiresome, but Life is Beautiful is a very moving, heartbreaking film. It gets my vote.
American History X (8.6)
Saving Private Ryan (8.5)
The Big Lebowski (8.2)
The Truman Show (7.9)
Dark City (7.8)
The Legend of 1900 (7.8)
Rushmore (7.8)
Happiness (7.7)
Elizabeth (7.6)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (7.6)
Pi (7.6)
A Simple Plan (7.6)
Gods and Monsters (7.5)
Pleasantville (7.5)
Shakespeare in Love (7.4)
The Thin Red Line (7.4)
Life is Beautiful, one of the rare foreign language films to be nominated for Best Picture, scores an 8.4.
Shakespeare in Love is a fine film, but not strong enough to deserve the win. Saving Private Ryan had some incredible sequences, but also had some problems in its dramatic structure. The Thin Red Line is a poet's view of war and I find it a mesmerizing and almost hypnotic film, with a great score by Hans Zimmer. Elizabeth is expertly crafted and is anchored by a towering performance by Cate Blanchett (who should have won Best Actress instead of Gwyneth Paltrow). Roberto Benigni's schtick during awards season that year became tiresome, but Life is Beautiful is a very moving, heartbreaking film. It gets my vote.
^^^
I'm surprised American History X wasn't nominated that year. 8.6 is a little high imo, but it was a great movie, and seems like exactly the kind of material the Academy loves.
I'm surprised American History X wasn't nominated that year. 8.6 is a little high imo, but it was a great movie, and seems like exactly the kind of material the Academy loves.
Saving Private Ryan should have won.
^What she said.
And I'm not even a huge fan of war movies, as a rule.
This was a clear choice for me.
I'm torn between Saving Private Ryan and Life is Beautiful. They are both excellent films, and very profound in their own way.
Shakespeare in Love is a very nice film and I enjoyed it, but it is not in the same league with Ryan or Life.
Shakespeare in Love is a very nice film and I enjoyed it, but it is not in the same league with Ryan or Life.
My feelings exactly. And as full of historical blunders as Elizabeth was, Cate Blanchet should have won Best Actress over Gwenyth Paltrow. Oh, well. At least she won later.
The ending was just ok but Ted Danson's casting was self-indulgent and pulled me completely out of the picture when he came on screen. That alone should prevent it from winning.
I absolutely hate Life is Beautiful, which only won awards because of Harvey and Bob Weinstein's intense force of personality combined with an expensive campaign to court Academy voters, but I don't want to get into that.
Shakespeare in Love is quite amusing, but not the best film of the year. That would have to go to either Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line. I went with Mallick's film over Spielberg's in the end. Saving Private Ryan doesn't stand up to me as it once did because Band of Brothers executed the concept with far more success.
Shakespeare in Love is quite amusing, but not the best film of the year. That would have to go to either Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line. I went with Mallick's film over Spielberg's in the end. Saving Private Ryan doesn't stand up to me as it once did because Band of Brothers executed the concept with far more success.
Saving Private Ryan
Even by Oscar standards (such as they are at times), Paltrow's award really was one of the all-time howlers.
I've only seen two of that year's nominees so all I'll say is that as much as I enjoyed Shakespeare in Love for what it was, it was IMO in no way, shape or form Oscar material.
Hey, now you're going back in the direction I know!
I'm doing a pattern. 90, 89, 91, 88, 92, 87, 93, 86, 94, 85, 95, 84, 96, 83, 97, 82, 98, etc.... that way the polls don't get too mired in a single time period.
The Thin Red Line for me. SiL's nomination, let alone win, was stupid, while Saving Private Ryan has a great opening and closing half hour but much of what is between isn't anything special at all. Elizabeth is excellent, but for that elusive movie quality it has to go to Malick.
Life is Beautiful was a terrific film.
I would have said Saving Private Ryan, but what was it about after the D-Day scene. It was your typical rescue a soldier movie.
I would have said Saving Private Ryan, but what was it about after the D-Day scene. It was your typical rescue a soldier movie.
Shakespeare in Love; one of my favourite historical/comedies. Partly because I'm a big fan of Renaissance drama and the larger historical period, but it's a lot of fun, and very witty in its handling of Shakespeare's works and the history of the theatre.
Saving Private Ryan brought some revolutionary innovations in depicting war on screen, but as a movie I don't find it all that special.
Saving Private Ryan brought some revolutionary innovations in depicting war on screen, but as a movie I don't find it all that special.
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