Don’t Look Back in Anger

For the past week I’ve been griping to almost anyone who will listen about various omissions from this year’s list of Oscar nominees (Note: As suggested by fellow blogger Bob, I’m trying to avoid using the term “snub”). But of course, such bemoaning is nothing new. On the one hand, time gives us the benefit of hindsight. A movie may seem like it’s the top dog at the time, but often as time passes, other choices age better and leave us questioning the decision.

Regardless, it feels like every year, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences puts themselves into an early hole by flat out overlooking a film, director, or actor by not even nominating them. And from my perspective, these were five of the worst cases…

#5. PAN’S LABYRINTH (2006) – Guillermo del Toro, Best Director… For starters, del Toro was in tough against an amazing class of directors (Innarritu, Eastwoood, Greengrass, Frears, and Scorsese), which is indeed a challenge that faces nominees every now and then. However, I think that the vision of this lush film truly deserved to be rewarded, and this was the best place to do it. Many years, The Academy honours a particular director by nominating their work, if not their movie with a Best Picture nod, and this year they did that for Greengrass’ work directing UNITED 93. Greengrass was an admirable choice, but if I had the power to go back and request a “do-over”, I’d drop him or even Stephen Frears (for THE QUEEN) in favour of del Toro’s marvelous bit of directing.
#4. THE GENERAL (1927) – Buster Keaton, Best Actor… The Academy was formed in 1928, and this mighty whiff should have been a sign of things to come. This omission is even more perplexing since the Academy only named three acting nominees, despite the window of eligibility spanning two years (1927 & 1928) rather than the customary one. Perhaps then, like now, comedy was regarded as a lesser art. Hard to say, but what’s easy to say is that Keaton’s performance in THE GENERAL was the stuff of legend. It still stands today as a lasting bit of comedic genius.
#3. THE GODFATHER II (1974) – John Cazale, Best Actor… Cazale, who played Fredo Corleone in the first two Godfather films, has an interesting Oscar track record. He passed away of bone cancer at the age of 43. He himself was never nominated for an Oscar, however the six movies he acted in were all nominated for Best Picture. Cazale had a tough fight in ’74, since he was already up against three other supporting players from GODFETHER II (Michael Gazzo, Lee Strasberg, and the eventual winner, Robert DeNiro). After that cluster, we also have fred Astaire nominated for THE TOWERING INFERNO, and Jeff Bridges for THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOTOf those five, I’d count Bridges as the weak link…the “Fredo” if you will. It’s a pity, since Cazale’s part in the film is so tender and sad, that it really didn’t deserve to be the odd one out.
#2. VERTIGO (1958) – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor… Don’t ask me why, but The Academy never seemed to get Hitchcock. Only one of his films ever scored a Best Picture nom. Say what you will about the Academy’s tendency sometimes to hand out an award for a lifetime of work, it’s far better than ignoring brilliance time after time only to dish out a too-little-too-late Honourary Oscar late in the artist’s life. This twisted tale, now considerede amoung the very best of all time, was virtually ignored. According to The Academy, this movie was no match for such lasting winners like SEPERATE TABLES or AUNT MAME.
#1. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1953) – Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Art Direction*, Best Costume Design*, Best Cinematography* Un-believable. For a long time The Academy was deeply in love was practically every musical ever made. However, when it comes to this one, one of the greatest of them all, it’s almost as if it didn’t happen. That laundry list of categories where the movie missed the cut defies logic. Worse yet, the final three categories* tapped nominees for both colour and black & white films at the time. That’s right gang – ten nominated films, and still no love for this film! It landed a paltry two nominations…which if you’re keeping score at home, ranks it behind TRANSFORMERS for total Oscar nominations. With all due respect to my friend Bob, this is a snub!

Did I miss one? Feel free to leave comments naming other glaring Oscar omissions, along with suggestions for the next top five.