The Oscar Project Interlude #5: Best of the 1970s

by Chris Marshall:

Well, my most anticipated decade is over, and it leads into one of the decades I’m least excited for. I still can’t believe I’ve made it this far without missing a single day along the way. Now that my thesis is completed, I’ve gotten back ahead of schedule, so there’s no reason for that to change any time soon.

So how about those 1970s, eh? They generally lived up to all the hype. If you’re the type of person who cares about lists, seven of the Best Picture winners from the 1970s appear on AFI’s updated list of the top 100 American movies of all time, making it the most represented decade[1]. Although I’m still a little bit iffy on Annie Hall, I believe the others undoubtedly deserve their spots.

The only “problem” with this glut of quality is that it made it extremely difficult to make my best of the decade list. When every movie is so good, what goes in last place? I’ve had a pretty clear cut worst movie from each other decades, but that’s not the case here. First place was pretty easy, but everything after that could easily switch places depending on what I’m in the mood for.

Ok, drum roll please…

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
3. The Godfather Part Two (1974)
4. The Sting (1973)
5. Rocky (1976)
6. The French Connection (1971)
7. The Deer Hunter (1978)
8. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
9. Patton (1970)
10. Annie Hall (1977)

See what I mean? It feels so wrong putting Patton that low. And is Rocky really better than The French Connection or The Deer Hunter? Well, probably not, but I think I enjoyed watching it more. It’s even hard to judge that, though, because it’s not like I “enjoyed” The Deer Hunter in any way, shape, or form. It’s not a movie that’s meant to be enjoyed. Long story short, I had to do a lot of fudging of my standard criteria to make this list.

A streaker visits Phileas Fogg during the 1974 ceremony.

On the other hand, making the list forced my hand on the “which Godfather is better” debate. I preferred the original, even though I’d argue that Part Two was nearly flawless. Unfortunately, I can’t come up with a convincing, compelling argument why I feel that way. Maybe it’s my fondness for Marlon Brando.

Finally, on a purely academic note, I wanted to use this interlude as an opportunity to figure out the true answer to a subject I’ve frequently thought about: in which decades are the Best Picture winners the greatest average length? I assumed it would be the 1960s, based on the freakish length of the musicals, plus the inclusion of Lawrence of Arabia, but it turned out to be only the second longest decade. The grand prize winner? The 1990s, in which the average winner was over two and a half hours long. It looks like that will be where I really have my work cut out for me.

By contrast, the 1940s, which had the shortest average winners, only had one movie longer than the average 1990s winner, and that was The Best Years of Our Lives, which clocked in at 162 minutes. That would only be the fifth longest winner of the 1990s. In total, nine films (11%) surpass the three hour mark[2], 28 (33%) are under two hours, and 46 (55%) fall somewhere in between. All told, I will have spent 11,585 minutes—193 hours and 5 minutes, in other words—watching movies for The Oscar Project, almost the equivalent of eight full days. That’s a little sobering, but I must soldier on.

After all, I’m so close now. By the time I move back to Mississippi in a couple of weeks, I’ll already be into the 1990s. I’ll be finished with the whole project before I move to Texas. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

---

[1] The 1960s are second with six entries, followed by the 1990s with five.

[2] Most recently, 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, at 201 minutes long.