Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Oscar Shock: It’s an Honor Just to be Nominated

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that for the first time since 1943, the category for Best Picture will contain 10 nominees. Prior to 1943, the category contained as many nominees as the Academy deemed necessary. Casablanca beat out nine other contenders that year, however, every subsequent year the Academy has only recognized five films in the category.

The announcement coincides with the Academy’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the 1939 awards, thought of as the greatest year of Hollywood’s assembly-line-style of film production. That year’s films include, Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach, Love Affair, Of Mice and Men, Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips ... So what does this change mean? No one really knows for sure since the film industry has changed radically since 1943. The question then becomes, Are there 10 legitimate BP nominees that get produced each year? At the very least it opens the door for other genres to get more critical acclaim and recognition. This year, don’t be surprised to see films like Star Trek, Up, and maybe even The Hangover get a shot at Oscar.

The following is a list of films recognized by the American Film Institute as being in the top 100 American films of all time, but having never been nominated for Best Picture. The list is not exhaustive (emphasizing how often Oscar actually gets it wrong), but rather gives an idea of what typically gets left out of the top five.

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