Kevin's Watch

Biggest upsets in Oscar history, according to AOL Moviefone:

1. "Shakespeare in Love" over "Saving Private Ryan" - Best Picture, 1999
2. "Crash" over "Brokeback Mountain" - Best Picture, 2006
3. "Chariots of Fire" over "Reds" and "On Golden Pond" - Best Picture, 1982
4. "Ordinary People" over "Raging Bull" - Best Picture, 1981
5. Marisa Tomei over everyone - Best Supporting Actress, 1993
6. "How Green was my Valley" over "Citizen Kane" - Best Picture, 1942
7. Adrien Brody over Jack Nicholson - Best Actor, 2003
8. "Rocky" over "All the President's Men," "Taxi Driver," and "Network" - Best Picture, 1997
9. Tommy Lee Jones over Ralph Fiennes, Best Supporting Actor, 1994
10. "Dances with Wolves" over "Goodfellas", Best Picture, 1991
11. Roman Polanski over Martin Scorsese, Best Director, 2003
12. "An American in Paris" over "A Streetcar Named Desire", Best Picture, 1952
13. Robert Benigni over Tom Hanks, Best Actor, 1999
14. Gwyneth Paltrow over Cate Blanchet, Best Actress, 1999
15. Three 6 Mafia over Dolly Parton - Best Song, 2006

"Shakespeare in Love" over "Saving Private Ryan" - Best Picture, 1999

Shakespeare in Love

"Ordinary People" over "Raging Bull" - Best Picture, 1981

I've seen both, and in my mind Ordinary People is the greater movie by a fair margin, so yes, I think it deserved its win.

Marisa Tomei over everyone - Best Supporting Actress, 1993

Yeah, she won for her role in My Cousin Vinny, I think. And I don't think we've heard from her since, right? Joan Allen should have won for her turn as Pat Nixon. She owned that role.

"Rocky" over "All the President's Men," "Taxi Driver," and "Network" - Best Picture, 1977

I've never seen Network. Among the other three, Taxi Driver seems to stand out in my mind, because of the virtuoso directing. And because of Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster...what a crazy and compelling pair.

13. Robert Benigni over Tom Hanks, Best Actor, 1999

I think it was one of those occasions where Academy voters felt that Hanks had won enough times already and decided to give the Oscar to some other guy for a change.

Although I do like Shakespeare in Love, SPR was BY FAR the better picture that year.

I've never seen Ordinary People, but I'm not a fan of Raging Bull.

IMHO, Rocky was most certainly the Best Picture for 1977. All the President's Men is good, but it's so damn confusing, I get lost every time I try to watch it. Network and Taxi Driver are overrated.

Benigni over Hanks - well, I'm a fan of Life is Beautiful, and Benigni was certainly great - but Hanks should have won, hands down.

I also agree with Rocky winning.

Now, Boyz 'N the Hood not winning.....Travesty.

Cail wrote:I also agree with Rocky winning.

Now, Boyz 'N the Hood not winning.....Travesty.

Was Boyz nominated, and if so what year?

Silence of the Lambs won, Boyz wasn't even nominated.

gotcha, I agree that Boys should have been included. The 1991 nominees were:

Beauty and The Beast
Bugsy
JFK
The Prince of Tides
Silence of the Lambs

Bugsy?! Give me a break. Yeah, Boys n' the Hood should have been nominated.

I never saw Boyz 'N The Hood. Think I saw Beauty and the Beast but hardly remember anything about it.

Bugsy was ok but it dragged a lot. I don't mind slow movies - they can be a hypnotic experience, but Bugsy was more the sleep-inducing kind.

The Prince of Tides...so-so movie. Saw it once and don't feel the need to see it again.

Silence of the Lambs was a fine movie, but Best Picture? I didn't think it was that good. It did have a great principal cast, though. Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins make for one of those really strange but compelling onscreen pairings. Also a nod to Scott Glenn, an actor I've always liked. I just feel the movie is overrated.

Speaking of overrated, I have the impression many here feel the same about JFK. Nonetheless, it was my favorite of the best picture nominees (by a fair margin). Politics and conspiracy paranoia aside, I just thought this was an amazing piece of filmmaking - or more specifically, an example of great film editing. 3 hours never flew by so fast.

Another cinematic tour-de-force (tired of my hyperbole yet? ) from that year I liked even more was Terminator 2. In my mind, the only reason why it was never even considered for best picture was because of Academy members' long-held prejudice against sci-fi and fantasy. T2 was way more deserving of a nomination than Bugsy.

Another gem I loved from that year was Little Man Tate, Jodie Foster's directorial debut. It bugged me that the film didn't receive much recognition.

i'm sure it will come as no surprise but i emphatically do NOT agree that Rocky was a better picture than Taxi Driver and All the President's Men. both, in my estimation, were better pictures, they just didn't make as much MONEY.

it'd be hard for me to choose between Ordinary People and Raging Bull. i love both those movies. MTM in Ordinary People just knocked my sox off! i had no idea she was capable of that kind of acting. she was incredible.

JFK.

I agree. Politics aside, that was one very long, but very gripping movie.

However I don't agree that Rocky won because it made a lot of money. HIstory shows that Oscar doesn't care if a movie made a bajillion or 4 dollars.
Rocky was one of those movies that touched people at a time when there were a lot of 'serious' or 'downer' kind of movies (i think). It just struck a chord.

JFK was pretty good, better than SotL, I think.

But not better than Boyz.

I love JFK! I saw it one night, gathered up some of my buddies and went and saw it again the next night. I agree it's a great movie, just so long as you don't believe the message.

Prince of Tides has the one horrific scene that I just can't handle. I'll never watch it again.