Rypro 525

forrest gump over pulp fiction (this is coming from a fan of forrest gump).

dhmac

As for this year's nominees (the original poster's question), I ranked the 4 nominees I saw this way: Sideways, Aviator, Million$Baby, Ray. (And I'll see Finding Neverland soon now that it's finally on DVD.)

I though Sideways was the best of the bunch for its deft mix of comedy and drama. It just felt "real" in so many ways (what guy doesn't know someone like Thomas Haden Church's Jack character?), and had depth in how it unfolded. I think this one will grow in stature over time.

As for The Aviator, I'm still surprised this didn't win the Oscar because this had the epic scope the Academy loves. Howard Hughes is a fascinating person and I think this movie did a very good job in capturing his Hollywood years. I do wish that they had dealt with his latter "reclusive" years more, but I guess the anachronistic "Screening Room" scene was the way this was handled. The plane crash is definitely the most amazing scene in any of the nominees (or any of the one's I've seen), and the recreation of "Golden Age Hollywood" is just fantastic (I'm surprised it didn't win for this alone) - I loved the manipulation of color to look like films of the day (washed-out greens, especially). I think its reputation will grow, particularly as another movie in which Scorsese was "robbed" of an Oscar (I think it's personal now - due to his support for Elian Kazan, famed McCarthy trial names namer.)

Million Dollar Baby. This great movie had more emotional impact than the rest - why it actually won - but I wonder if it will hold up well to repeated-viewings, because there are some definite weaknesses. The 2D depiction of the Redneck guy in the gym and of the relatives of Maggie (Hilary Swank) are the most glaring flaws - weaknesses that will stand out even more in repeated viewings. And although the movie doesn't twist into Spielbergian mawkish manipulation, it does pull the heartstrings pretty strongly, making me think that it will get criticized for this more and more as the years go by. My final view: deserved the acting awards, but not the Best Picture prize.

Ray. Great performance, but only a fairly good movie. Did not deserve a Best Picture nomination at all.

RockStrongo

The Incredibles

OldBoy

"The Aviator" all the way. For the movie, for the performances, for Scorcese!

RockStrongo

IMO, Shakepeare in Love blew. I normally like those types of films too, so I am not just hating the genre.

Saving Private Ryan should have won. It broke new ground when it came to filming war movies (graphic nature and moving camera).

Shakespeare in Love was terrible. Gwyneth Paltrow is way overrated!

RockStrongo

That was a rough year. Alot of good Best Picture nominees. Forrest was good. I think Tom Hanks performance (and coming off of a win the previous year) is what pushed it over the edge.

IMO, Shawshank Redemption should have won. Personally, I liked Pulp Fiction the best, but I can see how it was a little obscene for the Academy.

But, I also realize that Shawshank really became more critically acclaimed when it was released on home video and cable.

Geofferson

1994 was an interesting year (and arguably my favorite movie year in my young adult life). I too enjoyed Forrest Gump, but did not think it deserved Best Picture that year.

The Shawshank Redemption
Quiz Show
Ed Wood
Nobody's Fool
Pulp Fiction

...are all films that I would have loved to see win Best Picture over FG

Ravenous

Its for an English class where we have to argue a particular point. The teacher thought the Ocars would be more fun

Oh and too late, youre my homework bitch

Buttmunker

I'm a big fan of emotional dramas in general, but I was bored with Ordinary People, the Best Picture winner of 1980. At best, it was an Afterschool Special with Mary Tyler Moore.

Cameron

Wizard of Oz didn't get the Oscar either....it has done well without it. I brought Annie Hall up a few days ago in the Star Wars thread, and got little to no responses or rantings...glad to see it causing such strong opinions in here.

No doubt that Star Wars will be remembered by more people for longer, but that doesn't mean Annie Hall didn't deserve the Oscar. I would still go with the argument that the right film won, becuase that is what they voted on.

I would also like to see this paper posted when you are finished...it seems like many people try to get homework help in this forum, but no one ever posts their papers.

jfoobar

Missing is an excellent film and well-deserved the nomination it received.

RayChuang

...both wins were essentially the politics of the AMPAS voters in action.

In the case of Gandhi, it was more a reaction to the excessive success and over-zealous marketing of E.T.: The Extraterrestrial than anything else. Besides, Gandhi can be classed as an epic movie, the type of movie that AMPAS voters are definitely suckers for.

In the case of Annie Hall it was a combination of 1) AMPAS voters wanting Woody Allen to finally win Oscars and 2) probably a very large AMPAS contingent in the New York City area that overwhelmingly voted for Allen's work. In my opinion, Annie Hall is still one of Allen's best movies, period.

Shannon Nutt

Ravenous - tell your teacher that

"Deserves got nothing to do with it..."

jpdude

The Color Purple
THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Saving Private Ryan
Star Wars


Eternal shame for Shawshank getting robbed!

Superboy

Saving Private Ryan may not have been the greatest movie of all time, but it was a landmark film in many ways. Remember that Best Picture encapsulates many different aspects of filmmaking, and that a singular movie stands out as having a healthy balance of them. Personally, I thought the best movie of 2004 was Before Sunset, but I can see sharing Million Dollar Baby with my kids. SPR is one of those movies that will be handed down to further generations, while movies like Shakespeare in Love will quickly be forgotten.

wm lopez

JAWS in 1975
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK in 1981

ROBERTCOP34

Driving miss daisy 1987 that film is ok but Best Picture it was not.

Bugg

Neither one of those films amount to so much as a piss-stain on a rug, compared to greatness of The Big Lebowski.

NatrlBornThrllr

http://dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread....on+dollar+baby

That should take you to page 7 of the "Million Dollar Baby" thread. My thoughts are about halfway down. Needless to say, I thought the movie was really average. As far as which movie deserved to win...I'll let you decide (and write about) that, but you can feel free to use any of my numerous complaints about MDB when explaining why it didn't deserve to win.

-JP

mikeporter

Raging Bull instead of Ordinary People 80
Raiders of the Lost Ark instead of Chariots of Fire 81
Right Stuff instead of Terms of Endearment 83
Field of Dreams instead of Driving Miss Daisy 89
GoodFellas instead of Dances With Wolves 90
Shawshank Redemption instead of Forrest Gump 94
Fargo instead of English Patient 96
Saving Private Ryan instead of Shakespeare in Love 98
Fellowship of the Ring instead of A Beautiful Mind 01
Two Towers instead of Chicago 02
Sideways instead of M$B 04

ROBERTCOP34

HEY MIKE YOU LIST LOOK GO TO ME.
But not sideways ( the aviator was robbed )

RockStrongo

Im not really into those type of movies, but I actually really enjoyed it. I remember my parents taking me to it when I was 12. Best Picture? maybe, maybe not, but the performances by Tandy and Freeman were flawless.

Groucho

Sorry for the late reply, but I just saw this. The Academy Award should be based on what is the Best Picture, not on what's more popular or has the most impact. Obviously, the latter is impossible for the academy to judge on anyway unless they all have time machines.