November Update

I've been rather busy lately, which explains the lack of Double Feature posts for my Best Picture Log, as well as the brief stoppage of my Oscar Campaign Bust and Oscar Oddity posts. However, I am still pursuing my Best Picture goal and will be posting more often as I see more Best Picture nominees in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I have put together a completely flexible list of my top 100 films of all time. Check it out on the pages bar above or click here.

The Decades: 1980s

1980: Raging Bull

Oscar winner: Ordinary People
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Oscar winner: Chariots of Fire
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1982: Blade Runner (Director's Cut)

Oscar winner: Gandhi
Was this film nominated?: No

1983: Fanny and Alexander

Oscar winner: Terms of Endearment
Was this film nominated?: No

1984: Once Upon a Time in America

Oscar winner: Amadeus
Was this film nominated?: No

1985: After Hours

Oscar winner: Out of Africa

Was this film nominated?: No

1986: Hannah and Her Sisters

Oscar winner: Platoon
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1987: Full Metal Jacket

Oscar winner: The Last Emperor
Was this film nominated?: No

1988: A Fish Called Wanda

Oscar winner: Rain Man
Was this film nominated?: No

1989: The Decalogue

Oscar winner: Driving Miss Daisy

Was this film nominated?: No (wasn't eligible)

Happy Thanksgiving

The Decades: 1970s

1970: A Swedish Love Story

Oscar winner: Patton

Was this film nominated?: No

 

1971: The French Connection

Oscar winner: The French Connection

1972: The Godfather

Oscar winner: The Godfather

1973: Cries and Whispers

Oscar winner: The Sting

Was this film nominated?: Yes

1974: Chinatown

Oscar winner: The Godfather Part II

Was this film nominated?: Yes

1975: Barry Lyndon

Oscar winner: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1976: All the President's Men

Oscar winner: Rocky
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1977: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Oscar winner: Annie Hall
Was this film nominated?: No

1978: The Deer Hunter

Oscar winner: The Deer Hunter

1979: Manhattan

Oscar winner: Kramer vs. Kramer

Was this film nominated?: No

Updated: 10/14/14

Double Feature: Quiz Show (1994) and Shine (1996)

Quiz Show:

This 1994 film is based on the Twenty One quiz show scandals of the 1950s involving contestants Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes) and Herb Stempel (John Turturro). On a hunch, lawyer Richard Goodwin (Rob Morrow) investigates and unearths details of behind-the-scenes tampering by NBC producers, who were subsequently made to testify at congressional hearings.

The film received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Paul Scofield), and Best Adapted Screenplay. Though mostly forgotten, the film is a charming Best Picture nominee.

Shine:

In this modest biopic, Geoffrey Rush stars as David Helfgott, a talented but troubled pianist. Taught to play by his father, David rises and falls in popularity in his native Australia, suffering a mental breakdown and living in institutions before a small resurgence at a local diner.

The film received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor (Armin Mueller-Stahl), Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Dramatic Score. While the film did not deserve that much recognition, it is hard to argue against Rush's Best Actor Oscar win.

The Decades: 1960s

1960: The Apartment

Oscar winner: The Apartment

  

1961: La Notte

Oscar winner: West Side Story

Was this film nominated?: No

  

1962: Winter Light

Oscar winner: Lawrence of Arabia
Was this film nominated?: No

  

1963: The Great Escape

Oscar winner: Tom Jones

Was this film nominated?: No

  

1964: Dr. Strangelove

Oscar winner: My Fair Lady
Was this film nominated?: Yes

  

1965: Doctor Zhivago

Oscar winner: The Sound of Music
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1966: Persona

Oscar winner: A Man for All Seasons
Was this film nominated?: No

  

1967: The Graduate

Oscar winner: In the Heat of the Night

Was this film nominated?: Yes

  

1968: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Oscar winner: Oliver!
Was this film nominated?: No

  

1969: Once Upon a Time in the West

Oscar winner: Midnight Cowboy
Was this film nominated?: No

Billy Crystal to Host 2012 Oscars

Now that Eddie Murphy has vacated the spot, the Academy has gone back to basics in the form of Billy Crystal, who has hosted the Oscar ceremony eight times before.

Press release here.

Murphy and Ratner Bow Out of the 2012 Oscars

This just in: Eddie Murphy will not be hosting next year's Academy Awards after all. It was also announced yesterday that Brett Ratner - the show's producer - was leaving due to a wave of controversy regarding several comments he had made recently, including a homophobic slur and inappropriate sexual indiscretions about his relationships with Olivia Munn and Lindsay Lohan.

For more info, go here and here.

The Decades: 1950s

1950: Sunset Blvd.

Oscar winner: All About Eve
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1951: Ace in the Hole

Oscar winner: An American in Paris

Was this film nominated?: No

1952: Singin' in the Rain

Oscar winner: The Greatest Show on Earth
Was this film nominated?: No

1953: The Wages of Fear

Oscar winner: From Here to Eternity

Was this film nominated?: No

1954: Rear Window

Oscar winner: On the Waterfront
Was this film nominated?: No

1955: The Night of the Hunter

Oscar winner: Marty

Was this film nominated?: No

1956: Giant

Oscar winner: Around the World in Eighty Days
Was this film nominated?: Yes

1957: The Seventh Seal

Oscar winner: The Bridge on the River Kwai
Was this film nominated?: No

1958: Vertigo

Oscar winner: Gigi
Was this film nominated?: No

1959: Rio Bravo

Oscar winner: Ben-Hur
Was this film nominated?: No

Double Feature: Midnight Express (1978) and Breaking Away (1979)

Midnight Express:

In this true-story film directed by Alan Parker, Brad Davis stars as Billy Hayes, who was imprisoned in a Turkish prison from 1970 to 1975. Though their is controversy over the events portrayed in the film, it does remain an effective political thriller from a great decade in American cinema.

The film received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (John Hurt), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. Oliver Stone won his first Oscar for the film's screenplay, and Giorgio Moroder's synthetic score was also honored with a win.

Breaking Away:

Peter Yates' 1979 film is another true-story film, chronicling the "cutters" (townies) of Bloomington, Indiana and their cycling victory at the Little 500. While it is light and comedic, the film does hold up as a great sports movie and a worthy Best Picture nominee.

The film received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress (Barbara Barrie), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score. Aside from winning Best Original Screenplay, it is slightly disappointing that Paul Dooley didn't get a Best Supporting Actor nomination.