TrekBBS Academy Awards: #6 - Best Picture, 1987

[Star Treks]

Sixth in a series examining which movie, of the original nominees, should have won the Oscar. Up next: Best Picture, 1987... which nominee was most deserving? Comments encouraged.

 

[Kira's Mom]

I think Hope and Glory was the best of the lot. Fatal Attraction was good, but I don't think it should have been nominated. Last Emperor was the kind of epic the Academy loves, so of course it won.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

For comparison, the top-rated English language feature films of 1987 on IMBD are:

Full Metal Jacket (8.3)
The Princess Bride (8.2)
The Untouchables (8.0)
Evil Dead II (7.9)
The Last Emperor (7.9)
Matewan (7.8)
Withnail & I (7.8)
Empire of the Sun (7.7)
Predator (7.7)
Lethal Weapon (7.6)
The Year My Voice Broke (7.6)
Maurice (7.5)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (7.5)
Raising Arizona (7.5)
RoboCop (7.5)

Hope and Glory scores a 7.4, Broadcast News and Moonstruck both score a 7.0 (too low for Broadcast News in my view), and Fatal Attraction scores a 6.8.

It was a very strong year for films, but the Academy got the nominations and the winner wrong in my opinion. Moonstruck and Fatal Attraction are both good films, but they should never have been nominated ahead of Full Metal Jacket, The Untouchables, and Empire of the Sun. In fact, either Full Metal Jacket or The Untouchables should have been the winner that year.

It's been a long time since I've seen The Last Emperor and I need to see it again to refresh my memory and reevaluate it (I recall finding it a well-made film that was overlong and a bit dull at the time), but out of the nominated films I'll throw my vote to Broadcast News, a film I've always had a soft spot for (although, again, it wouldn't be my choice as best of the year if one includes the above-mentioned omitted films).

 

[Roger Wilco]

The Untouchables was a great movie.
Full Metal Jacket I have sort of mixed feelings about - I thought the violence was gratuitous and the sex-war metaphors were creepy. But in hindsight, after passing him over so many times, this should have been the film Kubrick got his Oscar for...

I don't think I've even seen any of the movies that were nominated that year.

 

[Spot's Meow]

The Last Emperor. I really loved this movie, which is odd for me because usually I would find long "epics" such as this dull and lifeless. But I found it fascinating.

 

[Harvey]

I prefer Kubrick's Vietnam in Full Metal Jacket over most films I've seen from that year, but I must admit to not being fully familiar with the nominees. Not a great fan of cinema from the 1980s.

 

[PKTrekGirl]

The Last Emperor. Beautiful movie!

Although in fairness, I've never seen Broadcast News.