The Most Deserving Oscars of All Time
The following is my list of the most deserving Oscar winners, in their respective categories. I'm not saying that these of the best work in each category, just that when you compare these to the other work that year, they stand out more than anything else.
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- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsGeorge O'BrienJanet GaynorMargaret LivingstonA sophisticated city woman seduces a farmer and convinces him to murder his wife and join her in the city, but he ends up rekindling his romance with his wife when he changes his mind at the last moment.Best Picture
I know this isn't the "official" Best Picture winner for its year, but it did win a Best Picture prize. This is an incredibly emotional film that has truly stood the test of time and its easily relate-able to almost anyone.
2nd- Schindler's List
3rd- Casablanca - DirectorGeorge StevensStarsMontgomery CliftElizabeth TaylorShelley WintersA poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women.Best Director, George Stevens
TCM host Robert Osbourne once said, "When people ask me what a director does, I tell them to watch A Place in the Sun, and you'll know what a director does." I couldn't agree more, as Stevens brings this great story alive incredibly well.
2nd- Mike Nichols, The Graduate
3rd- James Cameron, Titanic - DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.Best Actor, Marlon Brando
This is the single greatest acting performance in the history of film in my opinion. The greatest screen actor of all time in his best role. Brando is Terry Mallory in this film.
2nd- Robert De Niro, Raging Bull
3rd- Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will be Blood - DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.Best Actress, Vivien Leigh
This is the greatest female acting performance of all time. Vivien is Scarlett and truly embodies the heart and sole of this character.
2nd- Vivien Leigh, A Streetcar Named Desire
3rd- Diane Keaton, Annie Hall - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Best Original Screenplay, Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary
This film was a game changer. Its a brilliantly crafted story that redefined an entire genre of film. So full of wit and charm, its impossible not to like.
2nd- Citizen Kane
3rd- Chinatown - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.Best Adapted Screenplay, Julius and Philip Epstein
The best screenplay of all time. Its just a great story , full of incredibly well written and well ro0unded characters, each playing of off each other.
2nd- The Godfather
3rd- The Godfather Part II - DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.Best Supporting Actor, Timothy Hutton
The fact that this was his first screen role makes it all the more impressive. Hutton plays it subtle when needed, and plays it loud when needed. Running the gambit of emotions like this is remarkable.
2nd- Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
3rd- Walter Huston, treasure of the Sierra Madre - DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.Best Supporting Actress, Hattie McDaniel
McDaniel dominates scenes of this movie so well, standing up to Vivien Leigh remarkably. This shows power and personality and it comes through so well.
2nd- Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously - DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.Best Film Editing
This film has lost its effect over the years and the countless imitations. And its the editing of this film that has been imitated over and over again in both film and television. That shows true greatness.
2nd- Titanic
3rd- Bullitt - DirectorTerrence MalickStarsRichard GereBrooke AdamsSam ShepardA hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.Best Cinematography
If you watch the first five minutes of this film, you will understand why this film won the Oscar for cinematography. Shot with almost all natural light, the film just pops off the screen.
2nd- Barry Lyndon
3rd- The Third Man - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.Best Visual Effects
Incredibly ahead of its time, what these people were able to accomplish was sheer brilliance. The lengths that they went to create such a realistic portrayal absolutely paid off in the end.
2nd- Terminator 2: Judgement Day
3rd- Avatar - DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonJack NicholsonKim BasingerThe Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.Best Art Direction
People talk about how atmospheric Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is (and I would agree), but everyone forgets about the atmosphere created in Tim Burton's original Batman film. This was a dark movie in its own right, and the buildings, the interiors, the alleys all helped create that darkness.
2nd- The Red Shoes - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGary OldmanWinona RyderAnthony HopkinsThe centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.Best Costume Design
This film is not good, but it sure does look good. And the costumes are the best looking part of a good looking movie.
2nd- Barry Lyndon - DirectorJohn LandisStarsDavid NaughtonJenny AgutterJoe BelcherTwo American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.Best Makeup
the fact that this transformation from human to werewolf was done without any help from visual effects and completely with makeup is really interesting and really cool. - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Best Music, Original Score
The greatest film score in history. Its so good that many of the pieces in the film have become iconic in not only film, but in pop culture in general.
2nd- Jaws
3rd- E.T. the Extra Terrestrial - DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.Best Music, Original Song, "Somewhere over the Rainbow"
Its incredible how one song, just three or four minutes in length, can completely set the entire tone and feeling of an entire movie. I don't think any song from a movie has ever done that before or since.
2nd- "My Heart Will go On," Titanic
3rd- "Moon River," Breakfast at Tiffany's - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.Best Sound
The look of this film is great, but the sounds that accompany the images bring them to life so well. The background noises are brought forward so well, and none of them feel forced at all.
2nd- The Exorcist - DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJeremy RennerAnthony MackieBrian GeraghtyDuring the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.Best Sound Editing
In a film all about explosions and gun fights it would be easy to get carried away and go over the top with the sound, but that just isn't the case in this film. It's just really well done.
2nd- Titanic - DirectorFederico FelliniStarsMarcello MastroianniAnouk AiméeClaudia CardinaleA harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.Best Foreign Language film
This is one of the ten greatest movies of all time, in my opinion, and it absolutely deserved to win this Oscar. While I don't really like this film, I recognize how well its made and how good of a story it tells.
2nd- Fanny and Alexander
3rd- La Strada - DirectorAndrew StantonStarsBen BurttElissa KnightJeff GarlinIn the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.Best Animated Film
Who cares that this story is about robots. Its just a great love story. Not only that, its a great story in general. Its just so good.
2nd- Toy Story 3
3rd- Up