The Oscar Project Coda: Best of the 2000s/Best Decades

by Chris Marshall:

It is so, so strange not having any more Oscar winners to watch. I mean, I guess I could go back and watch all the nominees, but there’s a limit to my masochism. Besides, there are no existing prints of one of the early nominees, so I would always feel like there’s something missing. On the other hand, I am very much looking forward to watching movies that are more fun, more offbeat, and more interesting than the standard Oscar fare.

Most Best Picture winners are obviously high-caliber films, but the Academy virtually never picks anything that comes out of left field. I complained in my last post about people who called The Artist a safe pick. I stand by what I said, simply because by Best Picture standards, it was actually quite a bold choice. But compared to what exists out there in the wide world of cinema, it’s pretty tame.

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 Oscar Project Interlude #4: Best of the 1960s

by Chris Marshall:

Here we are, on the brink of the 1970s. I couldn’t be more excited. The musical-heavy 1960s weren’t as bad as I expected, but I’m still glad they’re over, if only so I can get into what promises to be the best decade of Oscar winners from top to bottom. There are individual winners in other decades that may match up, but no time period matches the overall quality of the 1970s.

The 60s were somewhat uneven, but in addition to the musicals, which I’ve talked about ad nauseum, there was also a glut of British-made films: Lawrence of Arabia, Tom Jones, and A Man for All Seasons. Between 1961 and 1968, In the Heat of the Night was the only American-made non-musical Best Picture winner. As opposed to the 1970s, which contains 10 American-made non-musical winners.