Friday, February 12, 2010

10 List: And the winner is...




Ten curious Academy Award recipients.

Around the World in Eighty Days Days (1956)
Meanwhile, The Searchers, the greatest western ever made, wasn't among the nominees. Oscar also snubbed director John Ford and actor John Wayne in his finest performance.

Gigi (1958)
I have nothing against musicals but this film won over Vertigo and the classic, Touch of Evil, released the same year, wasn't even nominated.

Elizabeth Taylor Butterfield 8 (1960)
High camp and a strange win.

Helen Hayes Airport (1970)
A disaster movie that took itself seriously.

Art Carney Harry and Tonto (1974)
A man, his cat and their journey. Carney won over Jack Nicholson in Chinatown and Al Pacino in The Godfather, Part II.

Paul Newman The Color of Money (1986)
Great in so many films, especially Cool Hand Luke and The Verdict, wins for a sequel to The Hustler.

Kevin Costner, director of Dances with Wolves (1990)
Trumped Scorcese for Goodfellas, which also lost to 'Wolves' for best film.

Al Pacino Scent of a Woman (1992)
Intense in Dog Day Afternoon, nuanced in The Godfather, wins for his Hoo-hah! portrayal of a blind retiree who likes to tango.

Angelina Jolie Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Dared to play against type as a crazy beauty in a psychiatric hospital.

American Beauty (1999)
Supposedly edgy, who can forget the scene in which Ricky begins to cry as he describes the painful beauty of a plastic bag caught in the wind.

2 comments:

Elizabeth Fama said...

Yes, and Kate DiCamillo should have won the Newbery for Because of Winn Dixie, not The Tale of Despereaux.

Susan said...

The Tale of Despereaux wasn't as memorable a story as Because of Winn Dixie, but it was well written and Despereaux the mouse never yelled, "Hoo-hah!"