In exactly one week’s time, we’ll have a brand new list of Oscar nominations to pore over, pick apart and eventually file away in our subconscious with the other 81 editions of this annual collective. For Oscar geeks, nomination day is in many ways more exciting than the ceremony itself, celebrating a broader spectrum of work and throwing up far more surprises along the way.
For all that, once the winners are announced, the nomination list as a whole tends to be disregarded, returned to only by trivia buffs and the geekiest of Oscar geeks. (Guilty on both counts.) And that’s shame, because a field of five nominees can often be more illuminating viewed collectively than even the worthiest of individual champions.
Today’s list, then, is devoted to that most elusive of Oscar holy grails: the perfect nominee field.
Yes, more often than not, the Academy will nominate several notable achievements in a single category. But rarer than hen’s teeth are the robust Oscar categories that feature a full house of five outstanding nominees, five contenders that would all be worthy of a win in any other year. No unremarkable coaster nominees sliding in on the coattails of a popular picture. No bad films with an expensively studio-bought nominations. No filler. No fat. Just five superb achievements.
With the return to 10 Best Picture nominees, such perfection looks even more unattainable in the top category: this year alone, there’s a high chance of a mediocrity like “Invictus” sullying the rest of the field, though a glance through the annals of Oscar history shows the Academy needs no extra room to make such errors.
What follows, then, are the 10 Oscar races where the Academy, for money, made the most of the five slots available to them. Needless to say, it’s a subjective process – and I’m pretty darn picky. (The 1989 Best Original Screenplay roster, for example, would be one for the ages if I didn’t have such a peculiar personal dislike for “Dead Poets Society.”)
The rank order when comparing such disparate categories should be taken too seriously, and I submit that the list skews recent – partly because I had to have seen all the contenders in question to count it, and partly because first-hand memories of Oscar-watching inevitably factor in to one’s affection for certain fields.
But I’d also venture that the Academy really started nominating most intelligently in the 1970s, by which time they were freed of certain obligations to the studio system. (Immaculate technical fields from the early days are near-impossible to come by – and indeed, the technical categories still house many undeserving nods for “sweeper” films.)
But that’s the nature of the game – and it only makes it more delightful when a nominee field as high-class as those that follow is announced.
My picks…
10. Best Supporting Actor 1993
Gratifying for the way it located outstanding examples of well-worn Academy archetypes. Yes, they love portrayals of the mentally handicapped, but rarely is the performance as compassionate as Leonardo DiCaprio’s in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” Yes, they love grizzled American lawmen, but Tommy Lee Jones is both wily and wounded in “The Fugitive.” Yes, they love kerr-azy villains, but John Malkovich is Camembert to most actors’ cheese in “In the Line of Fire.” Add two riveting Brits to the pile – proud, careworn Pete Postlethwaite in “In the Name of the Father” and the magnetic Ralph Fiennes in “Schindler’s List” – and this often dull category really popped.
9. Best Film Editing 1991
Classic fields are hard to find in this race, where unremarkably cut Best Picture contenders all too often cruise to a nomination, but this year was a rare exception, as the music-based rhythms of “The Commitments,” the whip-smart pacing of “Thelma and Louise,” and the jaw-dropping action of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” were all singled out for inclusion alongside the taut precision of Best Picture winner “The Silence of the Lambs.” That none of them were a match for the breathtakingly assembled sprawl of footage in “JFK” speaks only to the strengths of the latter, not any chinks in the race.
8. Best Actress 1974
I have Nick Davis, something of a Best Actress scientist, to thank for turning me on to the merits of this particular race, as well as encouraging me to seek out its least remembered nominee, Diahann Carroll in “Claudine.” That her warm, earthy characterization is the weakest in contention is only conceivable once you view Faye Dunaway’s icy retro stylings in “Chinatown,” Valerie Perrine’s strident sensuality in “Lenny” and Ellen Burstyn’s winning everywoman in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” Even then, we haven’t reached the top: Gena Rowland’s soul-baring in “A Woman Under the Influence” crowns a race for the ages.
7. Best Picture 1972
One of those rare Oscar races where I still struggle to fill out the imaginary ballot in my head: most will probably plump easily for “The Godfather,” but picking between the first (and, for me, best) of Coppola’s trilogy and Bob Fosse’s revolutionary musical “Cabaret” remains a veritable Sophie’s choice in my mind. And that’s to say nothing of the also-rans: John Boorman’s drum-tight thriller “Deliverance” is better remembered today than the absorbing Swedish family saga “The Emigrants” or the exquisitely judged Americana piece “Sounder,” but they were no less worthy of notice.
6. Best Adapted Screenplay 1971
The original screenplay category usually catches my eye more, yet it’s in the adapted race that, for me, the writers’ branch had their finest hour. It’s unusual enough the winner was a hard-boiled genre work (“The French Connection”), and that its two nearest competitors were a fearless imagining of a near-unfilmable novel (“A Clockwork Orange”) and one of the most elegantly delineated character pieces of the American new wave (“The Last Picture Show”). But throw in not one but two devastating political dramas from Italy (“The Conformist” and “The Garden of the Finzi-Continis”) and one really must wonder what the voters were smoking that year.
5. Best Cinematography 2007
Conventional wisdom declared Seamus McGarvey’s lensing of “Atonement” something of a weak sister in this race, as if work that includes shots like this one could be deemed “weak” in any respect. Look at the rest of the field, though, and you begin to see their point: a veritable coin-toss between Robert Elswit’s robust, sun-baked imagery for “There Will Be Blood,” Janusz Kaminski’s intricate games of perspective on “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” and a double-shot of Roger Deakins at his most painterly and his most severe, respectively, in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and “No Country for Old Men.”
4. Best Actor 2003
A wonderful race, not just because it individually features five of the day’s finest actors either at or near their best, but because the category demonstrates such range and resourcefulness on the voters’ part. There’s as much reason to applaud them for noticing Johnny Depp’s creative invention of a character from nothing in a Disney franchise-starter, as for recognizing Jude Law and Ben Kingsley’s quiet command of stalled Oscar-bait. For the win, meanwhile, there was a tendency among awards-watchers to announce themselves a Murray man or a Penn man, though between such oppositely styled performances, it was quite possible to be both.
3. Best Director 1946
An eclectic bag of contenders that spans a rich range of English-language cinema of the era: perennial nominee William Wyler may be the most obvious name here, but he’s here for “The Best Years of Our Lives,” the most complex and well-aged film of his career. Also on peak form is Frank Capra (“It’s a Wonderful Life”), while the inclusion of David Lean for “Brief Encounter” was an inspired reach for the Academy at the time. Top it off with the nasty noir flourishes of German export Robert Siodmak’s “The Killers” and journeyman Clarence Brown’s finest hour in “The Yearling,” and it’s arguably the most well-rounded field in the category’s history.
2. Best Supporting Actress 1999
One of those odd races where my hypothetical winner has shifted over the years: at the time of the ceremony, I backed Toni Collette for the selfless human element she brings to “The Sixth Sense,” but went through phases where I thought Samantha Morton (“Sweet and Lowdown”) and Catherine Keener (“Being John Malkovich”) were the rightful winners. I settled on the marvelous Chloe Sevigny (“Boys Don’t Cry”) for several years, before a reappraisal brought me back round to Collette. Meanwhile, that the least of the nominees won isn’t such a hardship when we’re talking a turn as electric and film-saving as Angelina Jolie’s in “Girl, Interrupted.”
1. Best Picture 1975
For my money, no Best Picture race in Oscar history has yielded five such radically disparate classics from essential filmmakers. Only in a year this strong could one term Milos Forman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” the safe choice over Robert Altman’s dazzling American quilt “Nashville,” Stanley Kubrick’s genre-redefining “Barry Lyndon,” Sidney Lumet’s searchingly satirical “Dog Day Afternoon” and Steven Spielberg’s truly game-changing blockbuster “Jaws.” Proof, if any were needed, that you don’t need 10 nominee slots to satisfyingly run the gamut.
Plenty of room for disagreement here, no doubt. So what about you? What do you think are the most blemish-free nominee fields in Oscar history? Have your say in the comments below!
Comments
64 responses to “THE LISTS: Top 10 Oscar nominee fields”
“Amarcord” is far from my favourite Fellini, and I love the balance of putting “Jaws” in there. To me, that typifies the kind of immaculately executed populist fare that deserves consideration.
“rarer than hen’s teeth”
I’m now going to use this expression every chance I get.
Really amazing selections, Guy. And it’s nice to meet someone else who thinks “The Godfather” is better (though not radically) than “The Godfather II.”
Just out of curiosity, who would you have picked for Best Supporting Actor in ’93?
Awesome list.
And agreed, re: The Godfather > The Godfather Part II.
Liz: Ralph Fiennes, for sure. I shouldn’t be so certain with a field that strong, but the performance is that astonishing.
What a marvelous list and such a great idea for an article! Thanks so much!
Although I saw 4 of the 5 the first time around you really make me want to see the editing films from ’91 again!
And wasn’t Gena Rowlands something else? I was so moved by her performance. One for the ages for sure!
Any my God – the 1971 Adapted Screenplay Five make it look like people really did have brains back then!
Really fun list, Guy. However, I’d slightly amend your number 1 from best picture to best director 1975, Where Fellini eclipses Spielberg for Amarcord.
Man, this is a fantastic idea, and a good list! No category is without it’s ugly ducklings IMO, but the 1975 Best Picture field is hard to find any fault in.
My personal favorite field was the Best Pic 2003 race. Lord of the Rings deservedly wins over the brilliant Master and Commander. Mystic River with its great cast was hard to pass up! Lost in Translation needs no more praise and even Seabiscuit is totally underrated! Great filmmakers with great films that year!
Awwww. Poor Dead Poets Society. :(
Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence. Yes, one of the best performances ever captured on film.
Don’t feel too sorry for Dead Poets’ Society. It won, after all ;)
For those that don’t know, the other four nominees were:
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Do the Right Thing
sex, lies and videotape
When Harry Met Sally…
I mean, just impeccable, those four.
The best actress year was, is, and will be forever, 1950 with Judy Holliday in Born yesterday, Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard, Anne Baxter and Bette Davis in All about Eve and Eleanor Parker in Caged. ALL deserved the Oscar and were at the top of their acting game.
In supporting actress I guess that the best is 1969 with Catherine Burns in Last summer and Susannah York in They shoot horses don’t they? as the best, but the other three are also good.
Loved these picks. Over Best Actor 2003, I’d be tempted to sub in Best Actress 2004 (before you cry foul, I like Bening in Being Julia at least as much as Law or Depp) — and I certainly think it’s the best the last decade gave us in that category. Even so, I’d have to agree that it’s nothing on 1974, a genuinely extraordinary field.
2010 with 5 nominees in the best picture category, would have been a really decent, really good list of films
AVATAR
HURT LOCKER
INGLORIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR
Such a great idea for a list and a warm reminder that the Oscar’s don’t always fuck up. Thanks.
John: Yeah, I keep hearing this about the 1950 Best Actress race. Sadly, I’ve never seen “Caged,” and it’s hard to track down.
Tim: I’m with you 80% on Best Actress 2004 — really good stuff, and people really should think of the horrors of the year that followed before they malign Hilary Swank’s second win. But, as you correctly anticipate, Bening does nothing for me in “Being Julia.”
Yeah, good call on 1950 also.
2002 Best Actor lineup is pretty awesome. You’ve got Brody, Jack, DDL, Nick Cage and Michael Caine all doing some of the best work of their careers.
I often wonder how I would choose between the five brilliant performances in Best Actor – 1982
Paul Newman – The Verdict
Ben Kingsley – Gandhi
Peter O’Toole – My Favorite Year
Jack Lemmon – Missing
Dustin Hoffman – Tootsie
Lemmon is the weakest link, but only because his competition is so awesome.
Best supporting actress in 1999? Hands down, Julianne Moore in Magnolia, who wasn’t even nominated for that movie, but was superb. Think also at Cookie’s Fortune and An Ideal Husband that year. She got the nomination for The End of the affaire (lost to Swank) but she should have been nominated also for Magnolia.
Michael C: Lemmon is SO not the weak link for me there. He’d be my runner-up to Hoffman.
Guy- 2007 Cinematography is my #1. What a great year for beautiful film making.
Actually, I agree with Michael! I think he’s well into his fussy phase, there.
I’ve always said that once of the greatest categories ever was the race for 2002 Best Actor. Look at the field: Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Michael Caine (The Quiet American), Nicolas Cage (Adaptation), Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York), and Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt).
Five different styles of performances from five different styles of film. Not only that, but including the win for Adrien Brody, there is a combined 8 Oscars at the time (9 now, with Day-Lewis getting another in 2007). It was one of the most accomplished fields I’ve ever seen.
What’s the least embarrassing Best Foreign Film list, do you think?
Great list, Guy! I think last year’s Original Screenply category could rank among or near these as well. The academy could have gone with extremely safe (albeit not unworthy) pics from the Coen bros or Woody Allen. Instead they chose such out of the box picks like the quirky Happy-Go-Lucky, gritty Frozen River, and grittily delightful In Bruges, as well as one of Pixar’s best and heartfelt biopic. A refreshing category amidst a fairly horrendous year for movies.
Best Supporting Actor 1993 = YES
Best Film Editing 1991 = YES (JFK; Best. Editing. Ever.)
Best Cinematography = YES
These picks are excellent, Guy, and the theme of the list is an inspired one.
Not to jinx it or anything, but this year’s upcoming slate for Art Direction may well be keeping with the theme of this list.
1976>1975
These three alone:
Network
Taxi Driver
All the President’s Men
plus the overrated Rocky. That is the best line-up ever.
rowlands gave the best performance of the ’70s, hands down. which is almost a stupid thing to say, since that decade was full of jaw-droppers, but she is epochal in that film. that scene where she wanders the streets, waiting for her kids to come home from school and the sheer joy she feels when the bus pulls up to drop them off . . . *that* is what cinema should aspire to. fucking chills me to my marrow just to think of it. odious mistake of the academy in not granting her and cassavetes the awards they so richly deserved.
That’s two votes for Best Actor 2002 there. What a shame I’m not very keen on Caine or Brody.
@Tim: Best Foreign Film is a really tough one, not least because they’ve nominated so many obscurities that I’ve haven’t yet seen. I couldn’t find a year where I’d seen and totally loved all five nominees, but I’ll give an honorable mention to 1994 (Eat Drink Man Woman, Burnt by the Sun, Farinelli, Strawberry and Chocolate, Before the Rain).
And, on the condition that the two nominees I haven’t seen aren’t totally horrific, I’ll give a provisional pass to 1968 (Stolen Kisses, War and Peace, The Firemen’s Ball).
2007 & 1995 best sup. actor are two of my favs
Also 1993 & 1999 for Best actor
4 very strong fields IMO
Thanks for a very interesting article. I’ve been thinking along these lines myself over the past few days. For me, one of the greatest ever Oscar categories was Best Supporting Actor 1976: Ned Beatty in Network, Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man, Jason Robards in All the President’s Men, and Burgess Meredith and Burt Young, both in Rocky. I have terrible trouble choosing my favourite from those five. It’s never Robards – he’s fine in the film, but I think Hal Holbrook would have deserved it more for his Deep Throat. But Beatty is magnificent (such a huge performance in, what, six minutes of screen time?), Olivier is very subtle (a rare thing for him on film) and terrifying, and the two Rocky men are both divine in their own ways. What a race!
And I agree about Best Director 1946, except that if Hitchcock had been in there for Notorious it would have been an even stronger set of nominees.
As for The Godfather/Cabaret dilemma, I’d always give Best Picture to The Godfather, but Best Director that year? Well, dare I say it – and although The Godfather is one of my absolute favourite films – I think the Academy might have been right. The Godfather is more consistently great, but when I watch ‘Wilkommen’ or ‘Mein Herr’ or ‘Tomorrow Belongs to Me’, well, how could you NOT give the directing Oscar to Fosse?
I love the whole nominees thing – not just the announcement (my favourite day of the year, every year!) but how they linger in the mind. I often choose a year and then pick my winners while walking to work. (There – my secret is out!)
1994 Best Picture Race
Pulp Fiction
Forrest Gump
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption
Four Weddings and a Funeral
2006 Best Picture Race
The Departed
Little Miss Sunshine
Letters From Iwo Jima
Babel
The Queen
Some of the films on both lists (The Queen, Four Weddings…, and Quiz Show) aren’t necessarily great films in my mind, but these races were so exciting, and there are 3 films in each race in my top 100 favorites.
Best category last decade:
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The Assassination of Jesse James…
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
These 5 all gathered in ONE category in ONE year. Every single film could have won the award in another year.
I sit back in awe of all 5…
The only reason why There Will Be Blood won was because they wanted to vote for one of the Best Picture nominees, and Roger Deakins was thought to be the frontrunner for Jesse James – but split his vote with his own cinematograpy for No Country because too many people voted for him for their favorite of his two movies.
This was such a good year for cinematograpy that Into the Wild wasn’t even nominated!
About adapted screenplay 1971–I think the reason the field is so rich is that years ago people actually read more and could deal with actual complexity on the screen. I still can’t believe that Academy member actually watched The Conformist to nominate it. Well times have changed.
2007 BEST PICTURE was WILD!
Even the day before nominations, there were still 7 serious contenders for the win:
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
United 93
So, Dreamgirls and United 3 eventually were left out. But up to the last days, there were still theories about how any of the could have won.
Little Miss Sunshine would finally be The Little Film That Could – and it had the PGA.
Babel had the Globe.
Letters from Iwo Jima had the Foreign Globe – and a lot of Critics.
The Queen had the British vote. And Helen Mirren (who was, interestingly, the only of all 10 Leading Actor/Actress nominees that was nominated for a Best Picture nominee!).
Other films left out:
Notes on a Scandal
Little Children
Volver
Pan’s Labyrinth
Children of Men
The Lives of Others
Borat
Apocalypto
IMAGINE having 10 BEST PICTURE nominees from 2007. Just pick any 10 of these contenders, and you would have 10 deserving nominees:
Babel
The Departed
Dreamgirls
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Miss Sunshine
The Queen
United 93
Notes on a Scandal
Little Children
Volver
Pan’s Labyrinth
Half Nelson
Children of Men
The Lives of Others
Borat
Apocalypto
Mine would be (alphabetically):
Apocalypto
Borat
Children of Men
The Departed
Notes on a Scandal
Letters from Iwo Jima
The Lives of Others
Pan’s Labyrinth
United 93
Volver
(my winner would be PAN’S LABYRINTH, my favorite film of all time)
I can’t believe that this was the year where Jennifer Hudson officially beat Cate Blanchett in a “Best Acting” category – seriously?
And yes, Helen Mirren looked like Queen Elizabeth II – but Judi Dench gave the performance of her life and should have won for Notes on a Scandal…!
Nice list and I’d love to chime in but there’s literally only about 50 categories from all years where I’ve seen every nominee.
I agree that the 2006 Best Picture race was terrifically exciting — but there’s no chance in hell that “United 93” could ever have won.
Will there be seeing a top ten shots of 2009 list?
Uh… see the post before this one.
Hmmm…
I nominate
Best Supporting Actor 1961:
George Chakiris (West Side Story)
Montgomery Clift (Judgment at Nuremberg)
Peter Falk (Pocketful of Miracles)
Jackie Gleason (The Hustler)
George C. Scott (The Hustler)
Art Direction 1992:
Howards End
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Chaplin
Toys
Unforgiven
Best Actor 1940:
James Stewart (The Philadelphia Story)
Charlie Chaplin (The Great Dictator)
Henry Fonda (The Grapes of Wrath)
Raymond Massey (Abe Lincoln in Illinois)
Laurence Olivier (Rebecca)
Best Actress 1961
Sophia Loren (Two Women)
Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast at Tiffany’s)
Piper Laurie (The Hustler)
Geraldine Page (Summer and Smoke )
Natalie Wood (Splendor in the Grass)
Best Actress 1996
Frances McDormand (Fargo)
Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies)
Diane Keaton (Marvin’s Room)
Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient)
Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves)
Three of those were on my shortlist.
Speaking of the 1974 Best Actress race, I think that, had her film been eligible, Liv Ullmann would have been nominated for Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage. So it could have ended up looking like this: Ellen Burstyn, Faye Dunaway, Valerie Perrine, Gena Rowlands, Liv Ullmann. Wow.
By the way, I also love the 1974 Director race: Francis Coppola (Gdofather II), Bob Fosse (Lenny), Roman Polanski (Chinatown), François Truffaut (Nuit américaine), John Cassevetes (Woman under the Influence).
Although I agree with the Actress 1950 and Actor 1982 mentions, I would put forward my favourites: Actor 1962 and Actress 1962. Peter O’Toole gave, in my opinion, the greatest male performance of all time in Lawrence of Arabia and was in a field of nominees which included Gregory Peck, Jack Lemmon, Burt Lancaster, and Marcello Mastroianni. Of the women, any would have been a deserving winner: Anne Bancroft, Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Geraldine Page, and Lee Remick.
PICTURE (1976): ROCKY
All the President’s Men
Bound for Glory
Network
Taxi Driver
ACTOR (1967): Rod Steiger (IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT)
Warren Beatty (Bonnie and Clyde)
Dustin Hoffman (The Graduate)
Paul Newman (Cool Hand Luke)
Spencer Tracy (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner)
ACTRESS (1988): JODIE FOSTER (THE ACCUSED)
Glenn Close (Dangerous Liaisons)
Melanie Griffith (Working Girl)
Meryl Streep (A Cry in the Dark)
Sigourney Weaver (Gorillas in the Mist)
SUPPORTING ACTOR (1993): TOMMY LEE JONES (THE FUGITIVE)
Leonardo DiCaprio (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?)
Ralph Fiennes (Schindler’s List)
John Malkovich (In the Line of Fire)
Pete Postlethwaite (In the Name of the Father)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (1976): BEATRICE STRAIGHT (NETWORK)
Jane Alexander (All the President’s Men)
Jodie Foster (Taxi Driver)
Lee Grant (Voyage of the Damned)
Piper Laurie (Carrie)
BEST DIRECTOR (1967): MIKE NICHOLS (THE GRADUATE)
Richard Brooks (In Cold Blood)
Norman Jewison (In the Heat of the Night)
Stanley Kramer (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner)
Arthur Penn (Bonnie and Clyde)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY (1939): GONE WITH THE WIND
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Wuthering Heights
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (1989): DEAD POET’S SOCIETY
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Do the Right Thing
sex, lies, and videotape
When Harry Met Sally
VISUAL EFFECTS (1977): STAR WARS
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
CINEMATOGRAPHY (1981): REDS
Excalibur
On Golden Pond
Ragtime
Raiders of the Lost Ark
EDITING (1994): FORREST GUMP
Hoop Dreams
Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Speed
SOUND EFFECTS (1986): ALIENS
Star Trek IV:The Voyage Home
Top Gun
SOUND (2007): THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers
SONG (1984): “I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU” (THE WOMAN IN RED)
“Against All Odds” (Against All Odds)
“Footloose” (Footloose)
“Ghostbusters” (Ghostbusters)
“Let’s Hear it for the Boy” (Footloose)
SCORE (1978): MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
The Boys from Brazil
Days of Heaven
Heaven Can Wait
Superman
COSTUMES (1956): THE KING AND I
Around the World in 80 Days
Giant
The 10 Commandments
War and Peace
MAKE-UP (1986): THE FLY
Clan of the Cave Bear
Legend
ART DIRECTION (1998): SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Elizabeth
Pleasantville
Saving Private Ryan
What Dreams May Come
For me, it’s the Best Original Song lineup for 1984:
“Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)”, Against All Odds
“Footloose”, Footloose
“Ghostbusters”, Ghostbusters
“I Just Called To Say I Love You”, The Woman in Red – WINNER
“Let’s Hear It For The Boy”, Footloose
Toni Collette in Sixth Sense is a rockin and a rollin. That scene in the car alone should have won her the award.
2007 had a bunch of great categories. Best picture was good even if it did not have Jesse James but best supporting actor was damned good.
People forget because Bardem steamrolled everyone but Casey Affleck, Tom Wilkinson, Hal Holbrook and Philip Seymour Hoffman were pretty damned good in their respective roles.
Your #1 is dead on, probably the best 5 they’ve ever picked to be up for Best Picture. The best 10 they ever picked was 1939 (probably still the pinnacle year of film):
Dark Victory
Gone with the Wind
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Love Affair
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights
That best actor race still seems to be the best to me is:
Robert Donat — Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Clark Gable — Gone with the Wind
Laurence Olivier — Wuthering Heights
Mickey Rooney — Babes in Arms
James Stewart — Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1950 Best Actress race stands out to me too
Anne Baxter — All about Eve
Bette Davis — All about Eve
Judy Holliday — Born Yesterday
Eleanor Parker — Caged
Gloria Swanson — Sunset Blvd.
And more recently, the ’99 Best Actor (5 very different, but extremely good performances)
Russell Crowe — The Insider
Richard Farnsworth — The Straight Story
Sean Penn — Sweet and Lowdown
Kevin Spacey — American Beauty
Denzel Washington — The Hurricane
(and of course, the ’02 Best Actor race, as well.)
2007 Best Supporting Actress race featured strong performances across the board and was completely open for all 5 until the envelope. My favorite recent race.
what a wonderful article! that’s why i read this site.
Great list, Guy! Loooved this. Such a good read. If you were asking for suggestions I’d throw kind words towards:
Best Original Screenplay, 1994 (Bullets Over Broadway, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Heavenly Creatures, Pulp Fiction, Three Colours: Red)
Best Original Screenplay, 1999 (American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, Magnolia, The Sixth Sense, Topsy-Turvy)
Best Costume Design, 1993 (The Age of Innocence, Orlando, The Piano, The Remains of the Day, Schindler’s List)
Best Costume Design, 1994 (The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Bullets Over Broadway, Little Women, Maverick, Queen Margot)
Best Costume Design, 1999 (Anna and the King, Sleepy Hollow, The Talented Mr Ripley, Titus, Topsy-Turvy)
Best Art Direction, 1979 (All That Jazz, Alien, Apocalypse Now, The China Syndrome, Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
Best Art Direction, 1983 (Fanny and Alexander, Return of the Jedi, The Right Stuff, Terms of Endearment, Yentl)
Best Art Direction, 1996 (The Birdcage, The English Patient, Evita, Hamlet, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet)
Best Actress, 1983 (Alexander, MacLaine, Streep, Walters, Winger)
Best Actress, 1996 (Blethyn, Keaton, McDormand, Scott Thomas, Watson)
Best Director 1986 (Allen, Ivory, Joffe, Lynch, Stone)
Best Director, 1993 (Altman, Campion, Ivory, Sheridan, Spielberg)
Best Director, 2003 (Coppola, Eastwood, Jackson, Meirelles, Wier)
I didn’t anticipate throwing so many out there. Oops.