Oscar snubs throughout history

It’s Oscar weekend, and the best place to see some of the movies on display at the Academy Awards on Sunday night? At our own Cinema Arts Theatre in Fairfax, which is currently hosting best picture nominees “Frost/Nixon,” “The Reader” and “Slumdog Millionaire”; “Doubt” and “The Wrestler,” both of which are up for quite a few acting awards; and “Waltz With Bashir,” the acclaimed Israeli animated flick up for best foreign film. The biggest snub of this whole Oscar season, however, is “The Dark Knight” not getting a Best Picture nod. Seriously. It’s only the film of 2008, and the second-highest-grossing movie IN HISTORY. Nimrods, I tell you. If Heath Ledger doesn’t get Best Supporting Actor, I might boycott the Oscars from now on.

But the Academy has had many numbskull moments over the years, especially in the Best Picture category. Let’s look at some of those snubs, shall we?

2008: “No Country for Old Men” was good, I will give you that, but there’s no way in heck it should have beaten “There Will Be Blood.” I never knew a movie about a nutty oil man who likes milkshakes could be that excellent.

2005: I’m sorry, “Million Dollar Baby” is a craptastic movie. “The Aviator” is awesome. ‘Nuff said.

2000: I actually agreed with the selection of “American Beauty” for the most part. However, “The Sixth Sense” was better made, in my opinion, and come on: No one knew Bruce Willis was dead! No one! That swerve alone should have locked it up.

1995: Everyone just oohed and ahhhed about “Forrest Gump.” Yet it somehow won over two, way more deserving nominees: the instant classic “Pulp Fiction” and “The Shawshank Redemption.” I ask you, how could “Shawshank” get beat by a guy who compares like to a Whitman’s Sampler?

1990: Ahh yes, “Driving Miss Daisy.” My parents actually dragged me along to see that. Meh. My parents also dragged me to see “Field of Dreams” that same year, and it became my favorite movie of all time. Biggest Oscar snub ever.

1982: “Chariots of Fire” had one running scene set to a Vangelis tune. That’s all anybody ever remembers about that movie. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” redefined the adventure film for years. In other words, Indiana Jones rules, joggers drool.

1980: “Apocalypse Now” lost to “Kramer vs. Kramer.” The Academy must have been seeing two different movies than I did, because there’s no comparison here.

1978: Hmmm, when’s the last time you heard of an “Annie Hall” convention? Do you normally see lots of people dressed up as Woody Allen and Diane Keaton on Halloween? It’s true, no one probably could have seen “Star Wars” being the biggest sci-fi movie of all time at that point, yet still it should have won handily. Say it with me: “Nimrods.”

What do you think is the biggest Oscar sub ever? Let me know in the comments section.

Tags: dvd, movies