TrekBBS Academy Awards #20: Best Picture, 1980

[Star Treks]

20th 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, 1980... which nominee deserved the award most? Comments encouraged.

Note: Beginning with the next poll, I'll be including the first major update with results of these first 20 polls. I'll also introduce some new categories to vote on (like best actor/actress) mixed in to keep things varied. I hope people keep participating and commenting; I'm learning a lot from the fellow movie buffs and casual film fans alike.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

For comparison, here are the top-rated English language feature films on IMDB that were eligible for Oscars in 1980:

The Empire Strikes Back (8.8)
The Shining (8.5)
The Elephant Man (8.4)
Raging Bull (8.4)
Breaker Morant (8.1)
The Blues Brothers (7.9)
Airplane! (7.8)
Ordinary People (7.8)
The Changeling (7.4)
Coal Miner's Daughter (7.4)
Inside Moves (7.4)
Resurrection (7.4)

Tess scores a 7.2.

I've seen four of the five nominated films (the one I haven't seen is the winner, Ordinary People, although I have it recorded and will get around to seeing it sometime). Of the other four, the winner should have been either The Elephant Bull or Raging Bull. I'll vote for The Elephant Man.

 

[Piper]

It sort of has to be Raging Bull - any other year, and The Elephant Man would be clear in front.

 

[J.T.B.]

Breaker Morant is one of my all-time favorite movies, I was watching it last night in fact. It seems to be continually relevant to current events.

Raging Bull is another favorite, a terrific character study of what could easily have been an unsympathetic brute. Scorsese was in top form.

The Elephant Man was great, too, though, I love the Eraserhead-like, nightmarish quality Lynch brought to the industrialized Victorian era. I can well remember watching the Oscar telecast that year and seeing a clip of the elephant man unmasked (advertising and trailers only showed him hooded). The next day at school the kids were talking, "Did you see that guy?!" It made quite an impression.

Raging Bull was the best of the nominees, but the rest were really good. Another strong year.

--Justin

 

[Kira's Mom]

All of the nominees were worthy this year...but Raging Bull should have won.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

I voted for Ordinary People.

But I've never seen Tess.

I think Rocky had me all boxing'd out by 1980, so Raging Bull wasn't my favorite movie that year.

 

[T'Baio]

The Empire Strikes Back.

Of those nominated, Elephant Man.

 

[Othello]

The Elephant Man. A truly heartbreaking movie.

 

[Mistral]

I voted Raging Bull but this has to be the hardest poll so far-ANY one of these movies could have won in another year...

 

[QuasarVM]

Ah, 1980...high school memories...

Took a date to Elephant Man. Looking back, not sure what I was thinking...

Not really a date movie!

Kinda grim. No...very grim!

 

[Harvey]

Raging Bull. Scorsese was snubbed that year.