Top 10 Most Unworthy Oscar Winners

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Harding/100000145858394 Mark Harding

How about Dances With Wolves winning over Goodfellas? I about kicked over the TV when they announced that. And to add more insult, they gave Costner the directing trophy, FOR HIS FIRST FILM! Ironically, ten years earlier Marty with Raging Bull lost to another actor making his directorial debut, Robert Redford for……….well, Ordinary People!

obliv326

I know its popular to grind on “dances..”, but frankly, I think it’s a pretty damned good western. I saw it several times in th theatre, which is saying something for a 3 hour film. Never felt 3 hours to me. Now, is it Goodfellas? No. I think it suffers from being compared to Costner’s later work. People tend to paint t wit the same brush as the postman and waterworld. But on its own merits it is not a terrible film. certainly not the way that others have been, at the time, clearly inferior. As for its being his first film, thats irrelevant, or should be. an oscar shouldn’t be a lifetime achievement award (unless, you know it is a lifetime achievement award…but thats something different). If the guy made the best movie, he should get the statue. This is another reason to use my idea (stated a few posts back) of waiting 5 years to award the oscars for a specific year. You get away from petty politics, or political correctness, and the actual merit gets judged. If that were the case, Scorcese would have a garageful of Oscars and forrest gump and shakespeare in love would have been gathering dust at blockbuster like they were 6 months after the awards while the rest of the field made history.

http://www.facebook.com/carlossandovalcanon Carlos Sandoval

Just a remark on a good article… Cate Blanchett lost to Gwyneth Paltrow that year… For Elizabeth … and that is just sad.

ladyofargonne

I agree 100%. I love Shakespeare in Love. But Paltrow main attribute was growing up in Hollywood.

JC

Agree with everything except number 10, I think that year there wasn’t a film that was above the rest. Visually Avatar was the best but neither the script nor the acting were good, taking out the CGI the film felt like a remake of a lot of older films (a foreign military force invading a less developed culture and one of the invaders embracing the local culture). And the Academy never wanted to give the prize to a animated film or a Quentin Tarantino film, so Up and Inglourious Basterds weren’t real contenders for Best Picture despite being nominates.

Eustace Cromartie

Oh so QT’s films that keep getting nominations for acting, writing, and best picture will never win and Oscar? Wake up. He has 2 for writing and 2 of his actors won Oscar’s and 5 nods for acting. His movies have a great chance to win.
- http://twitter.com/508_foREVer Adam M. Francis
  
  You obviously do not know anything about what is ‘an academy’ film.. A group of old folks who took 30 years to finally show Scorsese some respect with The Departed.. Taxi Drive, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Gangs of New York were not Best Picture winners?

disqus_pmal

i agree with most of your ideas in your Article, but i do not agree with “Crash”. When i saw Crash i was so surprised that it did not get nomination first year, but next year it was nominated and won. It is amazing movie, with great acting too.

Lee

It was so stereotypical and unbelievable. Great acting yes, but the sad facts are the story is not buyable. American History X is sadly what can be expected out of today’s society in modern race relations, albeit that’s and extreme example.

Kyle Woodside

I was expecting to see Marisa Tomei

LegalCat

Sorry, can’t agree there. Tomei richly deserved her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for “My Cousin Vinny.” She was brilliant and perfect. She was also funny, which is traditionally the kiss of death, Oscar-wise, but the Academy apparently had a sudden epiphany about comedy actually being worthy of consideration, which they then promptly forgot.

She was up against Judy Davis in “Husbands and Wives,” Joan Plowright in “Enchanted April,” Vanessa Redgrave in “Howards End,” and Miranda Richardson in “Damage.” Remember any of those performances? Me neither.
- ladyofargonne
  
  She was cute. As cute as she could be in any other movie. Oscar material? I don’t think so.

John V

And that people is why the next ten years you will see the death of media as we know it all will go the way of the dodo.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000339280975 Morgan Michaels

I loved the blindside. I have ended up watching it many times with different people as circumstances occurred and I haven’t tired of it. Such a great movie with enough drama and humour. Sometimes subtle. Sandra was fantastic as usual and although I do not remember who the competition was I do believe she deserved the nomination and likely the win. Superb movie.

obliv326

TV movie. lifetime channel. she was okay. it was predictable, and inaccurate. middle of the road, biteless oatmeal. But hey… whatever floats your boat.

http://twitter.com/ChristianHCA Christian Campos

Avatar is not groundbreaking. As someone else said, it felt like a remake of a lot of older films and it was really predictable. I agree with most of these but there are worse cases back in the 50′s and the 60′s.

Tobias

The story in avatar is the same as in dances with wolves, the last samurai etc..
- http://twitter.com/ChristianHCA Christian Campos
  
  Exactly
- Shay
  
  Pocahontas.
- http://www.facebook.com/vicky.sunderland.18 Vicky Sunderland
  
  thats like saying any love film is the same where on dies or has a reason it cant be with the other. meh. i loved it. And it is based upon pocahontas the producers even said so.
wassupman

Look, the story was, of course, not groundbreaking by any means, yes. But can you honestly say that the visuals were not groundbreaking? The 3d was not groundbreaking? The performance capture technique wasn’t groundbreaking? (Yes, I’m aware it was used in movies like Lord of the rings and King Kong, but Avatar was the one that made it ‘mainstream’ and more accessible). It’s because of Avatar that we get forced post-converted 3d shoved down to our throats 4 years after its release and probably will continue to, for a very, very long time.
- Eustace Cromartie
  
  You mean the LOTR movies 2 of the original 3 made over a billion dollars and had a main character that was motion captured is not considered main stream. ROTFLMAO! The Avatar was not groundbreaking and anyway shape, form or fashion.
- http://twitter.com/ChristianHCA Christian Campos
  
  Avatar was influential as you said beacuse of the 3-D but when I refered with “groundbreaking”, I meant it isn’t as a film. You can probably argue that in a technical way but not about things like a great script or outstanding performances, which it doesn’t have.
Michael Miller

“Greatest Show on Earth”, Helen Hayes, John Wayne, “Around the World in Eighty Days”, Robert Donat, “Dancing with Wolves” AND Kevin Costner?, Rex Harrison, Lee Marvin, etc., etc.,. (All acting disputes are for the winning performances, not the actor/actress themself.)
- markg
  
  Kevin Costner is not a good actor so I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t receive a nod for his acting. Again, if you look the films Costner has been in he has been lucky to be surrounded by much better actors then himself and they, in turn, make him appear to be a better actor then he is. Graham Greene was extraordinary in Dances With Wolves while Costner was mediocre at best.

Paul Mitchell

I remember sitting, as a kid in 1977, with my jaw hanging open, when Annie Hall won–over Star Wars! Yes, AH is well written, acted and directed (and you can argue that SW was not), and while both cemented the introduction of a new type of film (modern, clever grown up romantic ensembles and mass-appeal box-office sci-fi), you only have to look at what followed both to know which one truly changed the industry and influenced the world.

Joe

It doesn’t matter which movie had a bigger impact. What does matter is which movie was better made. And you just admitted that you could argue that star wars wasn’t as well made as Annie Hall

Alaine

Pulp Fiction over Forrest Gump, Social Network over King’s Speech, Russell Crowe (beautiful mind) over Denzel Washington (training day), Elisabeth Shue (leaving Las Vegas) over Susan Sarandon (dead man walking)

ladyofargonne

Forrest Gump was an extended long distance phone service commercial. Designed with familiar scenes exclusively to make you cry.

Beejcee

And the Oscar goes to ……Halle Berry-Monster’s Ball.

http://www.facebook.com/ash1138 Eric Lucero

Ahh.. the 75th Annual Academy Awards… also known as the year you won for being black. Way to go academy.
- Mick
  
  74th
- YouWishYouHadAnMPA
  
  Hmmmm….versus every other year when no one of color was winning anything other than a supporting role (if that!) Give credit where credit is due. People of color have been snubbed at the Oscars for many years. Get over yourself!

http://www.facebook.com/monique.staloch Monique Staloch

I remember watching The Blindside, when Showtimehad a free preview weekend. Every 10 minutes I was going to turn it off, but kept warching until the last 10-15 minutes. What a horrible movie that was. Racist in how patronizing it was. Ugh. Horrible.

Eustace Cromartie

Hilarious do you even know it was based on a true story? Or the fact that the the actual real people black and white helped make the movie….not racist at all. I am black and I live in the south I know racism like few others.
v s

I agree that the Blindside was racist. The person who the film was based
on didn’t like how they portrayed him. He played and knew a lot about
football before that family adopted him. Yet in the film, they portrayed
him as not very intelligent, lethargic and totally ignorant about football.
diablo135

What was the racist part – When she took a homeless black kid into her house to help him out and improve his life?

Alexa

I have to disagree with The Hurt Locker being forgotten because it was the first actually good war film set in Iraq. Every other film that came out before it and set around that subject was just sooo sub-par, that didn’t at all capture what the situation was all about. Plus Jeremy Renner was amazing, and the film was beyond intense, and besides Jeremy Renner, everyone did a great job, both on direction and writing. Avatar, I have to say was way overrated. Its a pretty film, with some fun performances, but its full of cliche after cliche, and while this joke has been made time and time again, it was basically CGI: The Movie. Up was great though, but it did win for best animated movie, as for Inglorious Basterds, it was good but it was probably one of the most flawed of Tarantino movies. I liked it but it didn’t flow properly, as opposed to his other movies. But really choosing the best film is very subjective, that I am not that much of a fan of doing such in the first place. Just enjoy the films and that’s what matters.

P.S. I will admit Crash was a self-righteous, overblown, unsubtle, dud. So I will agree with you on that one.

http://www.facebook.com/ash1138 Eric Lucero

Three Kings has already been remember longer than The Hurt Locker will be. I’d argue that Jarhead has more cinematic resonance.The Hurt Locker was a political statement. The Academy had never before given the award out to a woman, and it fell nicely that Kathryn Bigelow was up against her Goliath ex-husband who had cheated on her and then went on to become “king of the world.” While she may be one of the most talented woman filmmakers working in Hollywood today, James Cameron is one of the most talented filmmakers in cinematic history. The Academy saw the chance clean up their reputation by giving the award to a woman, and slap down a misogynistic pig who clearly did not suck up enough to Hollywood after being showered with adoration for his previous film.

As for Crash. It was so good, it was able to maintain it’s acclaim for nearly 10-months. It’s March release date gave the Academy plenty of time to forget about it in favor fresher films released closer to the awards date. Early-in-the-year releases just don’t win Oscars. Crash did, and it was clearly the best picture of 2005.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Harding/100000145858394 Mark Harding
  
  Three Kings took place during the first Gulf War, not the more recent Desert Storm.
  - This guys an idiot
    
    You know Operation Desert Storm is the was the U.N. name for their actions during the first GULF WAR.
    - this guys an idiot
      
      Desert Storm was the*
DavidTrock

“………The Hurt Locker being forgotten because it was the first actually good war film set in Iraq”
You are kidding right? That movie was not only inaccurate, it was stupid and boring. Ask anybody who was involved with bomb disposal (my son was) and they will tell you the main character is a flake who put his own ‘death wish” above the safety of his men. He was just the kind of person who should NEVER be put in that kind of position. I spent 20 years in the military, and guys like him get his own people killed.
- Christo
  
  Cool your jets turbo. Its only a movie.

michael145

You forget the Hurt Locker was directed by a woman and the Oscars always bends over backwards to be politically correct whether the movie deserves it or not.

Eustace Cromartie

A purely ignorant comment! Maybe you should learn what PC even means before you further make and ass out of yourself.
- michael145
  
  I didn’t write the list dude or mam (I’m not sure whether “Eustace” is male or female). Go yell at the people that made the list if it bothers you that much. I’m sorry the truth hurts. And since you brought up race, they have done that. Do you remember Denzel Washington winning that year where he basically played the same part he plays in every movie yet he won over Russell Crow even though Crow’s performance was much better? My point was and is that the best movie or actor or actress should win based on their work not their race or gender. Sorry you disagree.
Eustace Cromartie

Women have been directing good movies for years and none of them have won best director and this was the first that one best picture. What about all of the black directors, movies and actors? The Oscars should have handed Spike Lee and award for Do The Right Thing according to your logic. Grow up.

Jeff Whitield

Gump winning over The Shawshank Redemption! C’mon!

blü

C’mon? We should be happy that two such great movies even exist! Both deserved it, face it.
http://www.facebook.com/nicolas.couillard Nicolas Couillard

Gump winning over Pulp Fiction!
- http://profiles.google.com/madmaxandrade Tiago Andrade
  
  OK, we should be happy that THREE such great movies even exist…
  - bpb
    
    I wouldn’t consider “Forrest Gump” a great movie
    - http://www.facebook.com/ash1138 Eric Lucero
      
      Forrest Gump is unquestionably a great movie. I can see why people argue that Pulp Fiction deserved to win as it truly is one of the best films of the 90′s and an all time classic, but it just so happens, so is Forrest Gump.
    - http://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.kuhl Jeffrey Kuhl
      
      Then you obviously have no taste.
MB Archer

Shawshank, Gump, Pulp, Four Weddings, and Quiz Show. Greatest “Best Picture” class ever.
Robert Neville

Agreed – that one pisses me off to this day.

http://twitter.com/ayn_design Ayn Roberts

You can’t judge retroactively what should have won. Whoa, 30 years have past and that one film way back when isn’t holding up like it’s competitor, what a bunch of idiots! Yeah…nice try Audrey.

http://www.facebook.com/weaselrina Amy Gugig

How did Kramer vs. Kramer fail to make this list? Especially given that it beat out Apocalypse Now

I don’t even understand how Shakespeare in Love got nominated

http://www.facebook.com/people/Drew-Dos-Santos/1539912748 Drew Dos Santos

Stop excusing your every choice by saying things like “look, I like it, but…”. If you have an opinion as a writer, you should stand for it.

Lee

This list has some good points. But also some extremely bad ones. Hurt Locker was not just a “combat film.” If you paid attention it was of the psychological effects of war on our modern soldiers. Maybe if you paid attention to, I don’t know, THE END it would have clicked. And Al Pacino in Scent Of A Woman was brilliant. Again, maybe you didn’t pay attention, but the character was over-bearing, and “over the top.” Seeing as how he hadn’t done a role like that previously, he deserved the Oscar, not to mention he made a seriously convincing blind man. I agreed with Crash, horrible film, and Norton deserved the Oscar for American History X.

Danny boy

“Over-bearing” and “‘over the top’” are the only ways to describe Al Pacino in “Scarface”. Heck, he even admitted in an interview he intentionally hammed it up a little while playing Scarface.

Me

You’ve never even seen the Blind Side, have you? Sandra reminded us all of how awesome she is. You’re whining because she beat out somebody else? Grow some balls idiot. And Avatar sucked.

Macabre

You should add Argo to the top of this. Argo was probably the worst movie nominated this year. Not only were 3 great films in Life of Pi, Django and Les Mis but the Argo itself is only good. Its honestly a disgrace that the academy was dumb enough to put Argo as number 1. ugh

ol duke

les mis? Are you serious? Argo is better than les mis, as were almost every movie released this year. we seem to have this thing where we bend over backwards to include musicals, as if they were respectable pieces of entertainment instead of painfully dull melodrama with unlistenable music. aargo is not this mess that everyone is saying, probably bc they have some problem with Ben Affleck. I think Zero Dark 30 was better, and I liked Lincoln, but Argo is no embarrassment the way some of these are. btw, gigi? gigi, anyone?
- crittab
  
  Argo is an embarrassment for many, many reasons, not the least of which is the way it allowed the US to take credit for everyone else’s work, diminished the role of the Canadians, made horrible accusations against Britain and New Zealand, and extended the role of the CIA miles beyond anything they ever did. It was farcical, and absolutely degrading to anyone who was actually there.
  
  And if you hate musicals, you hate musicals, but Les Mis was a brilliant film for so many reasons. It was groundbreaking in the way it was filmed, it featured amazing performances, and the scale was of epic proportions. It was well deserving of its nomination.
  
  I would have given Best Picture to Life of Pi, having now seen all of them.
  - David Summers
    
    I wouldn’t have given Best Picture to LoP, as good as it is. For me, it would’ve been between ZDT and Argo.
    
    Also, Les Mis blows and was not at all deserving of a nomination. Period.
  - Mr. Orange
    
    Argo was a good film. But not best picture good. Django, Zero Dark Thirty, Life of Pi, I’ll save myself the trouble of listing every movie, anything but Les Mis deserved to win over Argo. Argo winning was a pity win because Affleck wasn’t nominated. Les Mis was a poorly directed film with great acting. It will be remembered as much as the last Les Mis movie.
markg

I completely agree. Lincoln should have won. I considered it he best of the bunch. Les Mis was lacking and Django was controversial. Lincoln was everything we want to see in a oscar winning film.

CDB

Cher for Moonstruck over Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.
Out of Africa over The Color Purple.

ladyofargonne

Glenn Close has had many outstanding performances. Cher surprised many. And would probably never again. This was her year.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1590504570 David Wickham

Cher deserved it but I agree with Out of Africa. I walked out of the movie and I rarely ever do that.
markg

Glenn Close didn’t win for Fatal Attraction. She was nominated but didn’t win. I completely agree with you that Oscar shut out Spielberg and anyone associated with his film. Winfrey turned in an Oscar Winning performance and she was completely overlooked as was Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg.
markg

Glenn Close didn’t win for Fatal Attraction. She was nominated but didn’t win. I completely agree with you that Oscar shut out Spielberg and anyone associated with his film. Winfrey turned in an Oscar Winning performance and she was completely overlooked as was Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg.

Eustace Cromartie

Crash is a movie that shows the harsh reality that most non-minorities don’t understand racial issues or relations at all. Every article about Crash has a many comments (usually by whites) about how it was trash. Sorry but many people of all races could not see understand what was really going on in the film or the realism it portrayed.

http://www.facebook.com/keith.beck.7 Keith Beck

What I didn’t like about Crash, was I felt it made it’s point early on, and then continued to try and beat it into you for the next hour and a half.

king

avatar deserves to lose against hurt locker, though revolutionary, it’s the most unoriginal movie in that year.

lori

as a white woman, i happened to think “crash” was brilliant…it opened my eyes to how all the races (and genders) are biased…if this were a perfect world, we would all be color blind and get along…and what a peaceful place we would inhabit…if that isn’t a SOMEWHAT important message, i don’t know what is….

CJ Haze

Yes, everyone has a different perspective in life which leads to a bias. Instead of recognizing different cultures, you want to be “color blind” because that way everyone will get along? You don’t have to say you’re white; it’s obvious.

And Crash took an obvious point and browbeats the audience for over an hour. That’s not entertainment, it’s a sermon.

Travis

The biggest oscar mistake ever without any doubt is the fact that Stanley Kubrick never won for best director!

Pattyo

Thank you!! The hurt locker did not deserve to win!! It was not even that great of a movie!! Come on, if I am going to die, I am going to die comfortable!?!??! That is a terrible line! Or when he lets that one guy go in the beginning??!?!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Harding/100000145858394 Mark Harding

I thought Crash was really good despite the excessive amount of coincidences in the plot. Certainly better than Fudgepack Mountain was I thought was well acted but BOOORING!

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Harding/100000145858394 Mark Harding

How about Around The World In 80 Days beating out Giant? Just about every critic looks at that as one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history.

Evan Bolick

I’m sorry, but Hurt Locker is one of the all-time greatest war movies. Avatar had far less business being in contention (great movies are more than great visual effects) and District 9, while good, is not an all-time classic. The arguments for Basterds or Up are fine, but Hurt Locker was a more than worthy winner.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1590504570 David Wickham

The more I watch Avatar, the more I like it. I watched it the first time for the special effects and I got hooked on the story. I have to like the characters to like the movie or at least have some sort of vested interest in them and I like the characters in Avatar.
James A Dempsey

I walked out of Avatar wondering if it was the best movie I ever saw in a theater. I have since decided it isn’t, but it is up there.
Jon birch

All time greatest war movies? Please, tell me, what war movies you watch.

Evan Bolick

No qualms with Crash – one of the worst picks of all time. Not only were Brokeback and Good Night better, but so was every other film nominated.

Jason Rey

To me, the only appropriate answer to this question is Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream. She gave a heartbreaking, mind-bending, earth-shattering performance. Julia Roberts showed some cleavage and smiled a lot.

http://www.facebook.com/keith.beck.7 Keith Beck

Totally agree with you on this one. It stands out to me more than any others mentioned. That is was such an uncomfortable movie, and rated NC17 really hurt it. But Burstyn gave what I still think is one of the greatest performances of all times.

V S

I agree that the Blindside was racist. The person who the film was based on didn’t like how they portrayed him. He played and knew a lot about football before that family adopted him. Yet in the film, they portrayed him as slow, lethargic and totally ignorant about football.

Danny boy

Really surprised that I didn’t see Cuba Gooding Jr. I like him and all, but the fact that he hasn’t been in a major movie for a loooong time should tell you something…

Danny boy

Also, Slumdog Millionaire. It’s a great movie, though.
Larry

Fuck I forgot about Cuba Gooding Jr. Damn is he just awful. That he won over William H Macy from “Fargo” is a shame. Armin Mueller-Stahl in his understated performance in “Shine” was also a thousand times better.

david f white

Lets Not forget Do the Right thing by spike Lee!!

http://www.facebook.com/susan.bowman.58 Susan Bowman

Do the Right Thing and Glory were both shamefully overlooked that year. They took the easy way out on racial matters with Driving Miss Daisy.

david f white

I hate LIfe is Beautiful!! Truman show should have Won!!

david f white

Denzel washington should have Won in 1999 for the Hurricane !!!

david f white

The empire Strikes Back was a better psychological character study than Ordinary People!! Brubaker was better too!!

thatfilmguy

I disagree about Roberto Begnini vs. Edward Norton. I actually haven’t seen Life is Beautiful but I thought Norton was WAY overrated in American History X. His acting was EXTREMELY over the top and not believable,

ladyofargonne

Begnini had one of the most memorable acceptance speeches. Even if I didn’t understand a word he said.
Larry

I loved Roberto Begnini in “LIfe is Beautiful” and this is one of those, “Someone lost only because someone had to win,” type of moments. One of my favorite movies ever is “Lawrence of Arabia” and Peter O’Toole lost Best Actor in favor of Gregory Peck for “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

Both movies and both performances are brilliant. I feel this same way about “Life is Beautiful” and “American History X”.

This is the flaw in awards shows, to think of movies as competing against each other the same manner as do sports. If there were really a competition, everyone would be given the same script and make the same movie, and the best rendition would then be chosen.

Bobbawaffle

Biggest travety ever – Chicago best picture 2002. Hoooly crap. I have to respectfully disagree on Pacino. It was a great performance in a great movie.

this guy

AVATAR sucked, I’m sorry but yeah, it did, Visually and effects wise, yes groundbreaking, original….Fuck no!

http://www.facebook.com/christopher.woodard.16 Christopher Woodard

What does originality have to do with anything?
http://www.facebook.com/vicky.sunderland.18 Vicky Sunderland

its based upon pocahontas so i think if you look at it as a new age pocahontas its pretty damn good.

Gladys

Those who aren’t from the south dont really understand fully what a great movie the blind side is…I think it deserved on oscar

http://profiles.google.com/madmaxandrade Tiago Andrade

Most of these winners got the gold because the Academy loves playing dickish. Either they don’t want to give Best Picture to a specific movie – think The Hurt Locker beating the blockbuster Avatar or Crash beating the controversial Brokeback Mountain – or consider an overall career more than an specific movie, and choose to crown an actor for a not-so-outstanding role – that would be Al Pacino winning Best Actor for Scent of a Woman.

Mark

Many say one of the worst Oscar give-ways was to Elizabeth Taylor for Butterfield 8. She got it for nearly dying than actually putting in a great performance.

milo

Big time disagree on Shakespeare in Love. It really is a great movie with an absolutely amazing screenplay (which also deservedly won). And Saving Private Ryan is one of the most overrated films ever – the opening battle sequence is genius, but after that it goes down the toilet – just a flat out terrible script. If someone wants to argue that one of the other movies should have won best picture, I’d consider that, but if there was a better movie that year, it certainly wasn’t Ryan.

e

Ok I agree about shakespear in love and the blind side, but how can you even think that inception had a better directing than the king’ s speech? Just because it has a fantastic cinematography and visual effects it doesn’ mean that nolan’s directing was this great stuff, he just put a camera in front of actors and let the rest of work to visual effects. Hopper did a very good job, i’m not saying his directing is the best, but he shot some really good and original scenes and his shots are quite good and inspired during almost all the movie (i mean that he put something interesting in almost every shot). Driving miss daisy was not that bad, though i prefered death poets too, but we must accept that opinions are subjectives, especially while talking about art. But there is a thing you wrote that i can’t accept: the hurt locker. It is just one of the best directed movie of all time:every fucking shot is eye-stunning, highly impressive and significative. His screenplay is very good, maybe not the best of all times but it is original, realistic and has a particular narrative structure, i mean it is not just the usual guns and blood stuff. Also, i could understand your point of view if Avatar, Inglorious basterds and Districted 9 (that i really liked) were such a great stuff as you try to say. But c’mon, Avatar is a fucking Pocahontas with a better cimematography, it is impressive by the visive point of view, but it is one of the must predictable movie of all time. His screenplay is horrible, i got all the time a sensation of dejavu and, except for four or five very good shots, the direction is plane and boring. Now, i dare anyone to demonstrate me that i’m wrong (i’m sorry for the grammar but i wrote this with my smartphone).

a

Dont agree

Mary

Al Pacino not winning for Dog Day Afternoon is one of The Academy’s biggest mistakes.

Youns

I agree with must of that but Tom Hoper, look I am big fan to Christ Nolan but Tom Hoper was amizing, also Crash every one loved it more than any other movie in 2005, of cours it s worth.

http://www.facebook.com/michael.stemann.1 Michael Stemann

I agree with some but not all of the 10 – My own top 3 would be something like..

3. Lord of the Rings, part 3 – A classic, you didn´t get it for part 1 & 2 -so now we better cough up with something, since this is our last chance ( little did they know that in 10 years time, they would be back with The Hobbit – but lets NOT go there..).

2. Chicago

1. Million Dollar Baby – What a piece of crap ! It is not even close to being a good movie – it´s a sop story and the characters are written for the mentally challenged – at some point I expected the girls family to grow fangs – just to make it even more clear, how bad people they were.. The 4 other nominees (The Aviator, Ray, Sideways and Finding Neverland) must have felt robbed, proper-fucked and the victims of a worldwide hoax and I find it hard to believe that you can find a worse movie among all the nominees that year – ok I haven´t seen I, Robot, but I am willing to give that a chance, before re-wieving MDB.

http://www.facebook.com/ash1138 Eric Lucero

Million Dollar Baby is a masterpiece. The fact that you think it’s one of the worst films of the year clearly shows you don’t know what you are talking about.

http://twitter.com/508_foREVer Adam M. Francis

Dances with Wolves over GOODFELLAS!!!!!

rzkchk

Eastwood and Million Dollar Baby in 2004? Scorsese and The Aviator should have won!

Shay

Iron Lady beating Harry Potter in best makeup.

Larry

“This is a particularly obvious example of the Academy’s nasty little habit of neglecting actors when they turn in amazing performances, then trying to make up for it by reward their later (usually subpar) work.”

Could not have gotten this more right. Paul Newman comes to mind for his award for The Color of Money when there were so very many other, better performances. Peter O’Toole never won either, or Hitchcock and I could add to this list for a very long time.

“The King’s Speech” and calling the direction uninspired is nitpicky and consider that addition to be filler material since there’s no substance behind the claim other than to give all of the credit to the actors.

“The fact that Welles was never recognized by the Academy for his pioneering work in this film makes me a sad, sad panda.”

The South Park reference sees to be really out of place.

Bruna Torres

Ok. Not just because I’m a brazilian… But I NEVER understood why City of God wasn’t even nominated for best movie/foreign movie. Seriously, why?

Michael Miller

Because it was good, serious, and had no name recognition. Remember, the Oscars do not reward excellence (necessarily), but are used to promote movie box office and sales. Do not focus on an Oscar=BEST equation
- http://www.facebook.com/ash1138 Eric Lucero
  
  If this were the case, Michael Bay would be a winner. The truth is, the Academy far more often awards films that are not big commercial successes. But they are very elitist and do not like awarding non-Hollywood films. They also tend to not like very artistic films or films that make them face subjects they do not like facing. Cloud Atlas is a perfect example this year. It was not nominated for a single thing, yet it’s clearly one of the best films this year (I think one of the best ever). But it’s an independent film with collaborative directors one of which is foreign.

Mr. Ed

The Blind Side….. on what parallel universe would a story (as presented) like this really happen? The name of this story should have been called, “White Naive Rich Bitch Feels Guilty.”

Pedro

The Blind Side is a story of a real football player.

Dean Craz

Worst ever choice- Ghandi over Tootsie. KIngsley with a diaper and a great impersonation of Fisher Stevens’ monotone performance over Hoffman’s tour de force.

LC

Nice list, I only disagree wiht 1, Life is beautiful is one of the most impactful movies I’ve seen.
Just because holocaust movies were “hip” back then, doesn’t mean a masterpiece can’t be made of it. American History X – good movie, but as far as moving me it didn’t come close to the winner.

http://www.facebook.com/WhomanJim Whoman Jim

Ya want unworthy Oscar winner? Three words here: The English Patient.

Kenn

Gwyneth Paltrow beating anyone, but especially Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth 1.

anna

Hello, I’d just like to let the creator of this list know that some guy has plagiarised your list. Here is the link to it: http://www.listal.com/list/top-10-most-unworthy-oscar

JR

I agree with some of your choices, but not all.

I never understood why Fredric March won Best Actor for “The Best Years of Our Lives” when there were three leading male roles. (Yeah I know Harold Russell won BS Actor & a special award.) Why did March win over Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life”? Why Did Jimmy Stewart, in “The Philadelphia Story”, win over Henry Fonda in “The Grapes Of Wrath”? Why did Timothy Hutton win BS Actor when he was obviously the main character? And why the hell wasn’t John Wayne even nominated for “The Searchers”!?!?

There needs to be an award given out in different catagories ten years after a film has been released…maybe twenty. By then we would all know who truely deserved the award.

http://twitter.com/MediaCritiquer MediaCritiquer.com

Crash was derivative PC drivel.

Parles

ummmm… jennifer hudson

Gavlar

Have to admit I have to agree on most of those choices. Born on the fourth of July was a film so completely overlooked not just at the Oscars that it angers when you seen mediocre films win.

As much as I enjoyed, not exactly loved Gump, I felt that Tom Hanks and even Steve Speil (for film, as he did win for director) both should have won for Saving Private Ryan. In my opinion this film redefined the war movie like Sam Peckinpah redefined violence.

Titanic was an absolute stinker of a film and the amount of times you knew you were watching a computer simulation made me cringe, but you know when a film is bad when the actors don’t actually win any of the awards, Shindlers list being the exception as both Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes were both excellent. Shawshank needs to be remade so it can win the Oscars that it so deserves.

FusterCluck

Russell Crowe got the Oscar for Gladiator, which I didn’t agree with at the time. I’m betting that it’s the reason he didn’t get it for A Beautiful Mind, which would have been much more deserved.

http://www.facebook.com/ttenchantr Tim Pendergast

How can “The Greatest Show on Earth” not be at the top of this list?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Crisp/632724680 Andrew Crisp

The HURT LOCKER should never have made this list it was a great film

Sideshow

In the Rewarding sub par work to make up for past tragedies: Martin Scorcese: Departed

kate

how about There will be blood over ANYTHING…or the king’s speech or whatever over the hunger games??

Stavros

This is all wrong. Al Pacino’s performance was one of the greatest I’ve ever seen! Sandra Bullock deserved the oscar. Who the hell are you saying they don’t deserve the praise?

Misfitslove

ALL I have to say is Avatar it the adult version of fern gully !!! Watch both sometime avatar is just fern gully minus the child singgy songs it was like the director was watching it with a bunch of kids and thought to himself ” hum i can do this no prob!”

http://www.facebook.com/erik.miitel Erik Miitel

Erin Brockovich. Julia Roberts wasn’t that great at all.

opdude

First name that pops into my head is Helen Hunt.

obliv326

Any discussion of oscar screw ups that doesn’t start and stop with chicago being even given a thought in the head of a single academy member is sorely lacking. not only is it utter and complete dreck (and frankly, musicals are weak material to begin with, and this one is below average even for that poor crop of candidates) but we had to sit through that God-awful “tribute” to it this year! It’s not enough of an insult that it was made, and that for some reason people were in one of those easily to be duped modes that allows things like this to become “popular” (jean claude van damme and sinbad owe their careers to similar mass hypnosis) but the producers of that piece of garbage (and, coincidentally, this years oscars) have to act like it is anything other than one of the academy’s far too often bouts of insanity, some of which were menationed here, but are actually far too common for a body declaring something like “best picture” (gigi? gandhi? out of africa? need i go on?) If I were head of the academy, I would declare a moratorium for 5 years, and would only award a year’s best after some time had passed. That way it is less to do with pr and more to do with actually standing the test of time. I doubt one of weinstein’s big oscar campaigns could even manufacture that kind of cred… and we would not ever have reason to mention a piece of crap like chicago again as anything other than a punchline.

DGRJR30

Saying The Hurt Locker won’t be remembered in 10 years is just ignorant. It’s an outstanding film that was easily one of the 2 best films of 2010. I would’ve chosen Inglourious Basterds as the winner, but I have no issue with The Hurt Locker as the Best Picture winner. I agree about Tom Hooper winning for The King’s Speech. It was the best film that year, but Best Director should’ve gone to either David Fincher for The Social Network or Chris Nolan for Inception. What I can’t hardly believe is why Forrest Gump isn’t on this list. It was up against Pulp Fiction, Shawshank Redemption, Quiz Show, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. At least 3 of those films are better than Gump, particularly Shawshank and Pulp Fiction, and the fact that Samuel L. Jackson didn’t get the Oscar for his performance as Jules Winfield is still one of the biggest Oscar flubs ever.

DGRJR30

Oh yeah. I also agree about Crash. Good, not great movie. Good Night and Good Luck should’ve won Best Picture that year. That film is outstanding.
http://www.facebook.com/christopher.woodard.16 Christopher Woodard

Speaking of ignorant… The Hurt Locker came out in the summer of 2009.

Ben Carr

Jennifer Lawrence’s performance over Emmanuelle Riva on Amour was just unacceptable. The physical & psychological commitment of that woman, her transformation was incredible. B

Kay

Reese Witherspoon did a good job as June Carter in Walk the Line but the best performance that year was Felicity Huffman playing a transsexual in Transamerica.

MIchael S.

Sandra B. beat the talented Carey Mulligan,the fierce Gabourey Sidibe,the legendary Helen Mirren and the greatest of them all–Meryl Streep! ALL of them deserved to win, except her ! ! ! A crime.

Anthony

Does anyone remember the name of the actress or the role that beat out Gloria Swanson’s Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard? Any one remember the Film? No googling!

Rosie

The oscar to this category goes to: anything won by Avatar.
It’s Blue Alien Pocahontas!!!!!

gog mclaine

What about “The Apartment” winning over Psycho ?

Jeremy Kelly

Dances with Wolves winning over Goodfellas?

AGT

All personal opinion. To me she blew me away here after all the comedy roles she’s done. Similar to her performance in the Americanised version of Premonition.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Chuck-Petersen/615239752 Chuck Petersen

The BIGGEST one was Joaquin Phoenix not winning for his role as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. Brokeback mountain won—wow, I wonder why?

Cain Raison

Time Out….No Marisa Tomei? No Dances With Wolves over Goodfellas? I mean yeah, Ordinary People, and Driving Miss Daisy, absolutely but Crash was awesome, sorry man, this list sucks…and your “I just took a movie course in College”-style reviews and commentary is all the proof I need.

Norbert

Oh my god! I could not agree agree more with the analysis of number 5. Scent of a Woman is far less deserving of an oscar than some of Al Pacino’s other films. And Malcolm X is a classic!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1590504570 David Wickham

I love Driving Miss Daisy. It’s one of the rare movies that I will watch every time it’s on TV.

http://www.facebook.com/ash1138 Eric Lucero

I’m glad to see The Hurt Locker being recognized as undeserved. The greatest snub is clearly the Oscar going to Shakespeare in Love (overy Saving Private Ryan). I’m glad to see it included in this list. But what ultimately might be the second greatest snub behind that is Argo (over The Life of Pi). The best thing about Argo (which, don’t get me wrong, was a good film) was the directing which it wasn’t even nominated for.

kmorris76

Dances with Wolves over Goodfellas and the King’s Speech over the Social Network.

David

The English Patient, in my opinion, is not just the worst movie ever to win the Oscar for Best Picture, it’s one of the worst movies period.

L. Jaymes

Tommy Lee Jones winning best supporting actor in The Fugitive over Ralph Fiennes’ courageous and career risking performance in Schindler’s List. I will never understand that oversight by the academy.

Jarrett

Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream losing out Julia Roberts in Erin Brokovich cause she showed her breasts. Burstyn’s performance was one of the most amazing of all time and talk about someone that changed their apperance. WOW!!!

http://www.facebook.com/ferdinand.u.wang Ferdinand Uziel Wang

Did The English Patient win Best Picture or not? At any rate, it was boooring.

sonic4life

Call me a total nerd but Annie Hall winning best picture over Star Wars, the most groundbreaking film of its time, angers me every time I hear Woody Allen’s name.

DavidTrock

By Far the worst of those was the Hurt Locker, followed closely by Ordinary People, and How Green Was My Valley. A couple I never heard of, some I never saw, and four I thought were OK but not that great. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

http://www.facebook.com/tom.mckinnell.7 Tom McKinnell

Kind Hearts and Coronets. Alec Guinness playing 8 different members of the same family…..

crittab

Argo. Argo, Argo, Argo. It was a satisfactory fictional movie that skated by on snipbits of actual reality. It was in no way superior to even a single other nominee. Seriously. Argo? Argo over Zero Dark Thirty, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Amour…. just no. No.

Oz

Crash won because Paul Haggis was a protegeé from Clint Eastwood, who, in that times, was in very good relation with California´s governor at that time: Arnold Schwarzenegger… it was a political winnning,,, like Argo, but more subtle….

http://www.facebook.com/mauricio.muniz.1428 Mauricio Muniz

CHARIOTS OF FIRE (who?) over RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Seriously?

LaLa

Best one is how Halle Berry got an Oscar for that farce of a movie and she was just plain awful

sizo

Julia Roberts is missing from the list

Mick

I dont agree with the Denzel oscar for Trainig Day either, that was total bullshit. Check out who won best actress that year not that she didnt deserve it also they gave a special award to someone. Youll see what I mean. That was a cool movie but an oscar? I said that along time ago he did not deserve an oscar for that. Also Pacinos best performance was Scarface but thats just my opinion.

http://www.facebook.com/StephenMCroft Steve Croft

I’m sorry but Driving Miss Daisy DID deserve it. Damn fine movie and brilliant performances by the entire cast. Sorry you can’t find the pure enjoyment in it.

Chris

Hurt Locker deserved it’s Oscar. Should never even be considered to be on this list.

YouWishYouHadAnMPA

Roberto Benigni did an excellent job in Life is Beautiful!

Nolan

Leo didn’t even get nominated for Django Unchained. He should have won. Christoph would have deserved an oscar, if Leo hadn’t been in the same movie, and much better. Aw well, guessi’m just lucky Django won so much.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1806606872 Darren Christman

What about Nat Portman in Black Swan?! People laughed in the theater. Like Paltroe being called most beautiful woman on planet earth; Hollywood loves to promote their own special children. It’s a joke.

Art R

1969: The Best Picture oscar does not go to Funny Girl, The Lion In Winter or Romeo and Juliet, but to the lightweight musical version of Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, “Oliver!”

1986: How did The Color Purple lose out to the abominable snooze-fest Out Of Africa?

1997: Seriously, does anyone remember or even own on DVD The English Patient? That this movie won over Fargo a much more memorable film is beyond me! Actually, the Best Picture of the year wasn’t even nominated — John Sayles’s Lone Star!

1953: A light-weight picture, The Greatest Show On Earth, wins over two classics, High Noon and The Quiet Man

1964: Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady won over Richard Burton & Peter O’Toole in Becket AND, even more outrageously, over Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (he played 3 different parts)

http://www.facebook.com/brianjohncarey Brian Carey

Chicago beat Gangs of New York for Best Picture…

http://www.facebook.com/brianjohncarey Brian Carey

Chicago beat Gangs of New York for Best Picture…

Golding

I agree 200% on The King’s Speech. It was memorable because of it’s acting by Colin Firfth, I mean, there was Inception, The Black Swan and The Social Network that year. And they were well-written and also well-directed. I honestly think that it should win an Oscar-but only to Colin Firth.

ME or n

Roberto Benigni – Life is Beautiful is better movie then American H. X!!

ME or n

Roberto Benigni – Life is Beautiful is better movie then American H. X!!

ME or n

Roberto Benigni – Life is Beautiful is better movie then American H. X!!

Sandra <3

Sandra Bullock is one of the best actrees of all time she worth the oscar she is just awesome

markg

Marisa Tomei for My Cousin Vinnie. Really? OMG. This is one of the biggest blunders Oscar has made. Granted Tomei has proven herself to be a talented actress but do you remember who Tomei was up against?

Vanessa Redgrave for Howard’s End
Marisa Tome for My Cousin Vinny
Judy David for Husbands and Wives
Joan Plowright (lawrence olivier’s widow) for Enchanted April
Miranda Richardson for Damage

And the oscar goes to Marisa Tomei for My Cousin Vinny.

I say again. Are you f’ing kidding me???

cabsau

It’s meaningless to weigh the validity of an outcome in history, based on a legacy that would be in the future of that time. Ordinary People was an incredible film with a surprisingly strong breakout dramatic performance by Mary Tyler Moore. It’s greatness lies in its subtlety, it’s prose and it’s bare raw nerve to give us an honest portrayal of a movie mother who is decidedly the opposite of nurturing. What the legacy of those films has ended up being is hardly a gauge for what happened then. Now, Helen Hunt from As Good as it Gets over Judi Dench from Mrs Brown; there’s a mistake.

klyana

Jennifer Lawrence and Silver Linings Playbook were similarly high level TV movies actor but Amerikkkan made to flout and counter all of the Brit, Aussie, Scot nd Irish actors/movies getting nominations and wins thru the year. The Academy was just trying award American crap the way Shia LaBeouf constantly is put in movies with award winning actors when he CAN’T. It ain’t gonna rub off on him.