Every week, we’ll pose a new “five favorites” question. You just list your five favorites that fit in that category (preferably in preference order) and you’re welcome to discuss and debate the selections and see just how much you do or do not have in common with others.
Since we’re in the Oscar season, let’s keep these themed polls going. Think back over the various surprise winners at the Academy Awards where an underdog favorite of yours managed to triumph over another contender to win an Oscar.
14 responses to “5 Favorites #11: 5 Favorite Oscar Upsets”
Brett
In no particular order:
a) Happy Feet winning Best Animated Film,
b) Shakespeare In Love winning Best Picture (even if I think Gwyneth didn’t deserve her Best Actress award) as I felt Saving Private Ryan’s plot was incredibly lame
c) Roberto Begnini winning Best Actor
d) Melissa Etheridge winning for Best Original Song
e) Sean Penn winning Best Actor for Milk
I think the most shocking upset that didn’t disappoint me was Lauren Bacall’s loss to Juliette Binoche. While I wouldn’t necessarily begrudge a Bacall win (she was a lot of fun in “The Mirror Has Two Faces”), but it would have been purely on sentiment. My favorite supporting female that year was Kate Winslet in “Hamlet,” but she wasn’t nominated.
I remember being happy for Anna Paquin when she beat Holly Hunter and Emma Thompson in 1993. My feeling has always been that young actors should receive respect, too. (Wish they had honored Haley Joel Osment too, but that’s not a positive memory)
Martin Landau wasn’t a shocker, but he did beat out Gary Sinise, Samuel L. Jackson and Paul Scofield (all in Best Picture nominees), Chazz Palminteri (a popular Woody Allen comedy). So his win, and the makeup win for “Ed Wood” (against “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” and “Forrest Gump”) were pleasant wins.
Funny, but the five “nicest” surprises I remember all happened within a six year period more than 35 years ago. We’re way overdue for more!
1. Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie winning over Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and Liza Minnelli in The Sterile Cuckoo in 1969. The two second generation stars were heavily favored in high profile year-end releases while Smith’s film had been released way back in January. Not only the biggest surprise, but the most deserving one.
2. Ingrid Bergman’s surprise win for Murder on the Orient Express in 1974. It’s a shame Valentina Cortese’s brilliant turn in Day for Night had to lose, but I blame Warner Bros. for not releasing her film in L.A. in 1973 so Cortese could have won the Oscar that year along with all the other awards she won. Who else but Ingrid the Great could get away with a line like “it’s always nice to get an Oscar”?
3. Katharine Hepburn’s win for The Lion in Winter in 1968. Yeah, it was a tie, but still, after having been ignored for 34 years, then win an undeserving award for Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner the year before, and then top off her best year at the box-office at the age of 62 with another surprise win must have been quite a thrill, even if she would never have admitted it.
4. Midnight Cowboy’s win for Best Picture of 1969. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, considered the much safer middle-of-the-road choice was favored. It’s proof positive that the Academy can sometime do the right thing when it’s least expected.
5. Cabaret’s nine Oscars to The Godfather’s three in 1972. Yeah, The Godfather took home the big one, but Cabaret’s haul was three times as big.
Cabaret won 8 oscars. And very deserving awards, except for director, who deserved it francis ford coppola. But all the other 7 awards were justly delivered.
Shakespeare in Love winning Best Picture (i liked this one)
Crash over Brokeback (this was a sad day)
Chariots of Fire over Golden Pond, Reds or Raiders…really?
Color Purple losing every catalogy and no director nomination.
Gandhi winning over ET & Tootsie and the two other nominees were laughable
As I specified below, these should be positive surprises that you were excited about, not that disappointed you. That is kinda what last week’s was about.
I’ve watched the academy awards since 1991 when Dances wil wolves won. So i guess the only upsets I can account for are the ones I felt when I saw the show.
The list is in descending order
1) Marion Cotillard: La Vie en Rose (2007). Nobody saw this coming, and this was truly the best performance of the year.
2) Motorcycle Diaries: Song (2004). Great spanish song.
3) Talk to Her: Screenplay (2002). One of the most beautiful films ever made. Very justly won oscar.
4) Shakespeare In Love: Picture (1998). Bring all the hate Wesley, I really loved this movie. Spielberg deserved the director award but the movie did not.
5) Juliette Binoche: The English Patient (1996)
Bonus Track: Marissa Tomei: Cousin Vinnie (1992). I love her in the movie. I love her still.
I’d like to give special mention
When Adrien Brody won for The Pianist (2002): That a very touching moment, along with the famous kiss to halle berry. I wanted Daniel Day Lewis to win at the time but after a few years I realized the pianist was better than schindler’s list (less manipulative) and that was thanks to the sincere work of polanski and brody.
You aren’t going to hurt me about SiL over SPR. Personally, I felt The Thin Red Line blew all the competition away, but I also never expected it to win.
Well, we agree on that. I think The Thin Red Line is one of the best anti war movies ever made. But it’s too artsy for the academy. SiL’s got heart, entertaintment and very interesting dialogue.
Also, I’m so excited about Terrence Malick’s New Movie.
1. Kevin Kline for a Fish Called Wanda. He only received one other nomination that year, for BAFTA, and came from nowhere to win the Oscar. Probably my favorite comedic performance of all-time.
2. Marisa Tomei for My Cousin Vinny. Judy Davis deserved it, but I’m glad Tomei won, she was clearly having the most fun of the nominees.
3. Humphrey Bogart in the African Queen above overpraised Brando in Streetcar Named Desire.
4. Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine over Eddie Murphy in Dreamgirls. Hahahaha, thanks, Norbit.
5. William Holden for Stalag 17, having received no other nomination that year. One of my favorites!
– L.A. Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain
– Shakespeare in Love winning as Best Picture (any other would have been a better choice)
– Gustavo Santoalalla stealing the Oscar from John Williams ( Babel was not even worth a nominee…..and Geisha or Munich form Williams were both fantastic)
– The Golden Compass winning best visual effects
– Sigourney Weaver not even nominated for Snow Cake (here performance is simply amazing)
ok….maybe the Academy mostly disappoints me :D…..ok,I will try….mmmmh I was very pleased by:
1. Randy Newman finally winning his first Oscar for Monsters Inc. (He so deserved this)
2. Roberto Benigni winning as Best Actor ( for me he was not the the best of the year, but his boundless happiness about this win and seeing him jumping on the seats made me very very happy too)
3. Kate Winslet winning for The Reader (It was not a surprise at all….but a moment of joy for me, that my favourite actress got her long deserved award)
4. Beauty and the Beast nominated for Best Picture ( I didn´t see the ceremony as I was a child that time….BUT I think the deserved nomination (and also a deserved but a denied win) crossed a border, that animated films are as much worth as other films)
5. Martin Scorcese´s Oscar triumph with The Departed ( He deserved this long long time ago….but I was happy with Departed winning too)
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