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The Worst Oscar Year Ever

We post a lot about individual films and awards and years - the best films, the worst actresses, who got robbed when, and so on.

But what was the worst year ever, with the most Oscars gotten wrong, across the list of winners and categories?

Going over the winners' lists, I was surprised at how many years managed to balance things out - terrible errors in some categories redeemed somewhat by getting others right (in my opinion).

At the moment I think 2002 is the worst so far in the century. A BEAUTIFUL MIND, Ron Howard, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jennifer Connelly, and A BEAUTIFUL MIND for adapted screenplay offer a mix of films and individuals that seem bad choices.

But the all-time worst?

I think the awards for 1967, the year of BONNIE AND CLYDE and THE GRADUATE, in which IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT won Best Picture, Steiger beat Beatty and Paul Newman, whose COOL HAND LUKE was wonderful, and Hepburn beat both Bancroft and Dunaway. Terrible.

I don't fault the Kennedy and Parsons supporting awards, but from the lousy CAMELOT awards (beating BONNIE AND CLYDE for costumes and art direction), to ITHOTN winning editing with BONNIE AND CLYDE not even nominated, it was ridiculous. I love THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE but it beat Quincy Jones's tremendous IN COLD BLOOD for score.

And even Best Song was absolute shit. "Talk to the Animals" beat "The Bare Necessities," "The Look of Love" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie." The money campaign to push DOCTOR DOLITTLE was infamous at the time, at its nomination for Best Picture cut such films as COOL HAND LUKE, WAIT UNTIL DARK, THE DIRTY DOZEN and IN COLD BLOOD out of recognition.

1944 was the shits, too, but not quite in the same way. And Hitchcock was robbed over and over.

by Anonymousreply 60February 17, 2018 2:21 AM

In the Heat of the Night has been running on Encore lately and I saw it for the first time last night. I loved its sense of place and time, the cinematography and a lot of the character actors (Scott Wilson, Hershell from Walking Dead), but to me the handling of the murder mystery was pretty muddled and Poitier's character seemed to make some pretty lucky guesses that weren't based on any available evidence. Rod Steiger's performance was kind of amusing but hard to believe it is the best of that particular year

by Anonymousreply 1August 1, 2014 6:48 PM

"Talk to the Animals" was a huge hit back then--it was always on the radio, oddly enough.

by Anonymousreply 2August 1, 2014 6:50 PM

Any year in which SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is Best Picture is a shitty year indeed.

by Anonymousreply 3August 1, 2014 6:51 PM

OP, at least there were some good/great films nominated in the years you mentioned. There were loads of years where no good films were even nominated.

by Anonymousreply 4August 1, 2014 6:52 PM

Whatever year it was when Helent Hunt, Jack Nicholson and As Mediocre As It Gets won.

by Anonymousreply 5August 1, 2014 6:52 PM

Sure, R4. And thanks for sharing such a great level of detail with us. That makes such a difference with a thread and the quality of the DL.

by Anonymousreply 6August 1, 2014 8:54 PM

[quote]but from the lousy CAMELOT awards (beating BONNIE AND CLYDE for costumes and art direction), to ITHOTN winning editing with BONNIE AND CLYDE not even nominated, it was ridiculous. I love THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE but it beat Quincy Jones's tremendous IN COLD BLOOD for score.

Wow you think a few suits and dresses that could be copied from any magazine of the era were better than all the costumes of "Camelot"? Who are you Stevie Wonder?

by Anonymousreply 7August 1, 2014 9:49 PM

[quote]the lousy CAMELOT awards (beating BONNIE AND CLYDE for costumes and art direction),

It's unreal that the mostly-drab costumes in Camelot even got nominated. Two or three were okay, but most were just plain awful.

by Anonymousreply 8January 29, 2015 5:03 PM

Come on, did you really have to go all the way back to 1967 to spotlight a year? While In the Heat of the Night may not have stood the test of time against such films as Bonnie & Clyde or The Graduate, it hands down beats any film that's won in the past 20 years. The 21st century has been rife with one shitty awards year after another.

by Anonymousreply 9January 29, 2015 5:07 PM

I though Halle Berry's win in 2002 was well-deserved, but I agree about A Beautiful Mind and Training Day. ABM was such schlocky Oscar bait. I saw Training Day in the theater, and thought it was a great cop drama, but that was it. Then the Oscar noms came out and I was like, "really?" It was good, but not outstanding in any great way.

by Anonymousreply 10January 29, 2015 7:51 PM

2004 Oscars. Lord of the Rings, Mystic River, Cold Mountain. YUCK.

by Anonymousreply 11January 29, 2015 8:00 PM

I know, R11, it was the year of hicks, fairies and Sean Penn, I swear it was the worst year for movies.

by Anonymousreply 12January 29, 2015 8:05 PM

The Silence of the Lambs was the best they could come up with in a whole year?

by Anonymousreply 13January 29, 2015 8:06 PM

[quote]Whatever year it was when Helent Hunt, Jack Nicholson and As Mediocre As It Gets won.

Ya know, I would have agreed with you, but it was on some cable channel a few weeks ago and I never changed the channel. It's a very good RomCom, a bit quirky. Nicholson was terrific and I say Helen Hunt was lovely and way better than I remember. Got better with age.

by Anonymousreply 14January 29, 2015 8:58 PM

1995 Best Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Lange - Blue Sky

Jodie Foster - Nell

Miranda Richardson - Tom & Viv

Winona Ryder - Little Women

Susan Sarandon - The Client

A truly pathetic list of worthless performances.

by Anonymousreply 15January 29, 2015 9:01 PM

R3, I think Shakespeare in Love is pretty good. It's so entertaining. The ending really gets me. I enjoy it much more than Saving Private Ryan.

by Anonymousreply 16January 29, 2015 9:09 PM

1973 was THE worst. I was robbed.

by Anonymousreply 17January 29, 2015 9:16 PM

2012 was pretty bad. With Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour, what do they choose? Argo.

And King's Speech? Another good year. The Artist had no competition.

by Anonymousreply 18January 29, 2015 9:21 PM

1995 Best Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Lange - Blue Sky

Jodie Foster - Nell

Miranda Richardson - Tom & Viv

Winona Ryder - Little Women

Susan Sarandon - The Client

A truly pathetic list of worthless performances.

Especially when you consider that the most consistent winner of all the other lead actress awards, Linda Fiorentino for The Last Seduction, was deemed ineligible because the film played on HBO prior to being released theatrically (which didn't stop her from taking several critics awards). She would have won the Oscar hands down if not for this silly rule. Other overlooked performances that year were Kathleen Turner in Serial Mom, Judy Davis in The Ref and LA Film Critics Winner (and NY Film Critics runner-up) Jennifer Jason Leigh for Mrs. Parker & The Vicious Circle, all of whom were better than every single one of the women nominated that year.

by Anonymousreply 19January 29, 2015 10:45 PM

Vulture.com has a solution: get rid of nominations!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 20January 30, 2015 3:53 AM

The Last Seduction was a piece of shit, and she was terrible in it. There's a reason why her career tanked so quickly.

by Anonymousreply 21January 30, 2015 4:01 AM

This year will become infamous as one of the worst years ever.

by Anonymousreply 22January 30, 2015 4:04 AM

And by this year, I mean the current Oscar films. Only Into the Woods will have any shelf life and will bring in continued coin. Look at the acting contenders films ... Ugh.

by Anonymousreply 23January 30, 2015 4:06 AM

[quote]It's unreal that the mostly-drab costumes in Camelot even got nominated. Two or three were okay, but most were just plain awful.

All those earth tones everywhere. I can't even.

by Anonymousreply 24January 30, 2015 4:09 AM

The 1977 Best Song award was a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.

by Anonymousreply 25January 30, 2015 4:10 AM

1952 ... GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH is considered to be the worst choice for Best Picture ever. HIGH NOON got caught up in the Hollywood blacklist; writer Carl Foreman had leftish sympathies.

Also in 1952, the award for Best Supporting Actress wen to Gloria Grahame for THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. That movie is a classic and is a lot of fun to watch, but the Dick Powell/Gloria Grahame storyline is painful to watch

by Anonymousreply 26January 30, 2015 4:13 AM

It's inconceivable that someone would call out IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT for not deserving the Best Picture Oscar when so many other films that were far, far worse have won.

I know no one here has seen CAVALCADE (1933) but it is an absolute travesty of a film. More recently, films like DANCES WITH WOLVES, FORREST GUMP, BRAVEHART, THE ENGLISH PATIENT, TITANIC, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, and GLADIATOR are all so much worse than ITHOTN that I don't know why someone would expend energy complaining about it.

by Anonymousreply 27January 30, 2015 4:18 AM

And 1956 was a terrible year for the Best Picture award. AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS WON against GIANT, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE KING AND I, and FRIENDLY PERSUASION which I don't think anyone alive has ever heard of, let alone seen.

GIANT is the best of that lot and it's a stinker, really. Just a vaguely creepy melodrama with some hilarious performances.

by Anonymousreply 28January 30, 2015 4:19 AM

In the Heat of the Night holds up pretty well for a movie made almost 50 years ago. Both the Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde scream 1967

by Anonymousreply 29January 30, 2015 4:21 AM

Let's just call off the Oscars this year.

by Anonymousreply 30January 30, 2015 4:32 AM

Rod Steiger was a great actor.

by Anonymousreply 31January 30, 2015 4:32 AM

I have seen Cavalcade. It is one of those "there will always be an England"

by Anonymousreply 32January 30, 2015 4:55 AM

[quote]1952 ... GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH is considered to be the worst choice for Best Picture ever.

By whom?

by Anonymousreply 33January 30, 2015 4:57 AM

You're right about "Cavalcade" R27 (though it's lovely to look at). I seem to remember that there's some insinuation at a party sequence near the end of the film that civilization was being destroyed by jazz and homosexuality, which I found especially annoying given that the film is based on something written by Noel Coward.

by Anonymousreply 34January 30, 2015 9:07 AM

It's ridiculous that Thoroughly Modern Millie won for Best Original Score that year OP, but that ended up being Elmer Bernstein's only Oscar so I don't get worked up about it. He lost (or failed to be nominated) for so many other scores including The Ten Commandments, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, and Far From Heaven.

by Anonymousreply 35January 30, 2015 9:11 AM

I watched Dead Man Walking for the first time about five years ago. Too intense for me to ever watch twice, but Sean Penn's performance was pretty incredible, so I googled.

Who won Best Actor that year?

Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas

Excuse me, but .... Hahahaha.

1996.

by Anonymousreply 36January 30, 2015 9:45 AM

2009 and on. Slumdog was shit compared to gran torino(a fine film, despite your opinions on Mr eastwood). Hell, the wrestler shits on slumdog. Argo was a mediocre film, but all 2012 films nominated were bad(fuck django). Best of 2012 was the grey, and then flight. Christopher Waltz pisses me off in both his wins, very bland. As much as I hate tarantino and django, Dicaprio was the best in that movie.

by Anonymousreply 37January 30, 2015 9:56 AM

Psycho wasn't nominated for best picture.

by Anonymousreply 38January 30, 2015 10:45 AM

[quote] The Last Seduction was a piece of shit, and she was terrible in it. There's a reason why her career tanked so quickly.

Here you go.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 39January 30, 2015 5:37 PM

I have never understood the hate for Shakespeare in Love, especially from gays. It is a truly delightful, literate film. I'd love to see more movies like it.

by Anonymousreply 40January 30, 2015 5:45 PM

Some of the costumes in "Camelot" were wonderful but some where absolutely appalling.

What must have Vanessa thought when she was given that gold monstrosity to wear in the Grand Hall scene? "You can't be serious. You've got to be kidding me."

by Anonymousreply 41January 30, 2015 6:35 PM

I actually like A Beautiful Mind, it's light years better than all those bullshit oscar winning movies from the Rain Man - Dances with Wolves- Forrest Gump - Titanic - Gladiator - the age of schlock. A Beautiful Mind in contrast, has a sharp point of view, well drawn characters, a reason for the storytelling.

by Anonymousreply 42January 30, 2015 6:42 PM

The 1960 nominees for Best Picture were "The Apartment," "The Alamo," "Elmer Gamtry," "Sons and Lovers," and "The Sundowners." "The Alamo" did not deserve that nomination and only got it because of John Wayne's relentless campaign. That nomination should have gone to "Psycho" instead, as it is superior to "The Alamo."

by Anonymousreply 43January 30, 2015 6:56 PM

R43, and Psycho should have won over The Apartment. In a perfect world, Billy Wilder would have already been rewarded handsomely before then, for Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, and/or Some Like It Hot.

by Anonymousreply 44January 30, 2015 6:59 PM

[quote]I have never understood the hate for Shakespeare in Love, especially from gays.

Me either.

by Anonymousreply 45January 30, 2015 7:00 PM

Yes, I agree with that, though I think "The Apartment" is of Best Picture quality, and of the 5 that they did nominate that year, it deserved to win, but that "Psycho" was still better than it, overall.

by Anonymousreply 46January 30, 2015 7:12 PM

Dear {R33

Several years ago, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY rated the Best Picture winners based on the strength of composition, how well the film holds up, etc. ALL ABOUT EVE ranked in first place, GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH in last

Some films, like WEST SIDE STORY, were considered to be overrated. Others like IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT were considered to be underrated

by Anonymousreply 47January 31, 2015 2:55 AM

R 44, are you Danny Peary, author of "Alternate Oscars" which gave Best Picture to all of the Wilder films in your post?

Also to "Psycho" (and Anthony Perkins) for 1960.

"Alternate Oscars" is a fun read.

by Anonymousreply 48January 31, 2015 3:34 AM

[quote] R 44, are you Danny Peary, author of "Alternate Oscars" which gave Best Picture to all of the Wilder films in your post? Also to "Psycho" (and Anthony Perkins) for 1960. "Alternate Oscars" is a fun read.

I'd love to see an update to that book, as well as another volume of Cult Movies.

I also wish someone would take up the Inside Oscar books from the deceased Mason Wiley & Damien Bona. Those books were impeccably researched and very well written.

by Anonymousreply 49February 2, 2015 11:27 PM

This year!

The nominations are horrible, for the most part. I won't be watching for the first time since I started paying attention to this shit over 20 years ago, as a young teen.

by Anonymousreply 50February 16, 2018 3:55 PM

Definitely the year the The Artist won (2011?) was the worst best picture line up in the modern era.

The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,The Help ,Hugo,Midnight in Paris, Moneyball,The Tree of Life, War Horse

Whenever people try to claim X year is bad, I just think of that year.

by Anonymousreply 51February 16, 2018 3:59 PM

Ugh, that is a pretty terrible roster right there, R51. That said, I actually like The Artist. The rest are pretty much shit, except for, maybe, The Tree Of Life, which, as flawed as it is, was an interesting noble failure.

by Anonymousreply 52February 16, 2018 4:03 PM

How about 2018? Really, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" fucks a mute girl for best picture.

by Anonymousreply 53February 16, 2018 4:10 PM

[quote]The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,The Help ,Hugo,Midnight in Paris, Moneyball,The Tree of Life, War Horse

Ugh! I'd forgotten how terrible that line-up was. The only one I enjoyed was MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, but I don't think it was Best Picture quality. The worst for me was TREE OF LIFE -- what a snoozefest! Also, I couldn't get into THE ARTIST, because it was all gimmicky and just an amalgam of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and A STAR IS BORN.

by Anonymousreply 54February 16, 2018 4:10 PM

I liked "Shape of Water", "Call Me By Your Name" and "Get Out". I was impressed by the achievements of "Dunkirk". It isn't a bad line up.

by Anonymousreply 55February 16, 2018 4:11 PM

R55 I don't think the topic is just Best Picture nominees, but overall.

by Anonymousreply 56February 16, 2018 4:12 PM

R51 what was your go-to example before 2011?

by Anonymousreply 57February 16, 2018 4:14 PM

I think 2009 was pretty bad. Sandra Bullock winning for ‘The Blind Side’ and Jeff Bridges for ‘Crazy Heart’ were both weak wins. In a stronger year, I don’t think either would have won. Both felt like goodwill, career wins rather than for actual performances. What that year did get right were the supporting categories: Mo’Nique and Christoph Waltz. I also think it’s kind of lame that ‘The Hurt Locker’ won BP for 2009 when it debuted in 2008. Same thing happened in 2005 with ‘Crash’ (2004). Even if a film only premieres in a single festival in the previous year, it kind of feels like cheating.

by Anonymousreply 58February 16, 2018 4:22 PM

R58 I think the rule is that, for a film to qualify for Oscar, it must play in NYC or LA (USA). HURT LOCKER premiered in Venice in 2008 and CRASH at TIFF in 2004, so they weren't eligible for that particular year.

by Anonymousreply 59February 16, 2018 5:25 PM

Whatever year Crash won. Worst piece of shit film ever made. Dillon kills, murders, and eats the blacks then he saves one in a taxi? Lame.

by Anonymousreply 60February 17, 2018 2:21 AM
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