Outstanding or Best....you be the judge. The final pre-Oscar blog.

We have come a long way together since January 19 since I began my Oscar analysis.
Puns, non-sequiters, random associations have been my love letter to the Academy.

Now, it is time to reflect, reframe, and refocus. A phrase I learned from Traffic School.

One thing I learned from my journey is that the Oscars have had a number of category and name changes. Here is the history of what is now known as Best Picture.

1927/28 → 1928/29: Academy Award for Outstanding Picture

1929/30 → 1940: Academy Award for Outstanding Production

1941 → 1943: Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture

1944 → 1961: Academy Award for Best Motion Picture

1962 → present: Academy Award for Best Picture

It is the only category that has the adjective "best" attached to it. For more history, click here for the Academy's propaganda.

Also, check out the worst best pictures from 82 to 1 and take a trip through your memory.

Nerve

By the way, Nerve writes that Crash in 2005 is the worst movie to win "Best Picture." Remember...
"Up Against: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich
Should Have Lost to: Munich"

By contrast, Godfather II is considered the best of the best pictures.
Between Chinatown and Godfather II, was 1974 a great year for movies — or the greatest year for movies?
Up Against: Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, The Towering Inferno
Should Have Lost to: N/A

 

 

 The Nerve list was posted in 2011, thereby skipping "The Artist"

Now to business. Here is what my friends in the UK are offering up on the best picture front.

Argo:  1/6   Lincoln 11/2 Silver Linings Playbook 33 Life Of Pi 40 Les Miserables 40 Zero Dark Thirty 80 Amour 100 Django Unchained 80 Beasts of the Southern Wild 150 Will Argo join the Speilberg list of "Should Have Lost to"? According to Nerve, that would be the following... 2005 Crash over Munich 1998 Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan 1981 Chariots of Fire over Raiders of the Lost Ark. Yes, Lincoln should get the Oscar for Best Picture. It speaks to the essence of our democratic process. Idealism should not get in the way of politics. You've got to make deals. You've got to grease the skids. Lincoln is an important and timely film. It is not flawless. There are no flawless films this year. Argo: Ben Affleck back story about marriage is weak Lincoln: Bad civil war footage to start the film Silver Linings Playbook: Terrible sequence at the football game and unbelievable interaction with Bradley Cooper's shrink. Life of Pi: Not that interested in the interaction between reporter and grown up Pi (until the end) Le Miz: Russell Crowe singing Zero Dark Thirty: When Jessica Chastain is back at CIA headquarters. It really felt like filler. Amour: Didn't see it. Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino as the Australian Beasts of the Southern Wild: The ice age beasts were silly looking. That said, Argo will win because it is about how Hollywood can save the world. Here is an interview that will explain it all to you.