The 97th annual Academy Awards were last night, and many great and interesting films took home awards, and even more only had a few moments in the spotlight.
Over the decades, many movies have won and lost at the Oscars. Here are just a few of the more memorable ones over the decades.
1940s:
The 1940s weren’t the years known for award winners. the Some of the more memorable films from these years weren’t even the runner-ups!
1941’s winning film wasn’t Citizen Kane, but How Green Were My Valleys, which isn’t nearly as talked about! The film to take home the most awards in 1946 also wasn’t the now-classic Christmas film, It’s a Wonderful Life, but The Best Years of Our Lives. Miracle on 34th Street only won Best Supporting Actor in 1947, which I will admit was well-earned, but surprising, nonetheless!
1950s:
This was a decade of some more recognizable winners like An American in Paris, Gigi, and Ben Hur. But there were great films that didn’t win many awards, despite being remembered fondly. These ones were even remade some years later: Sunset Boulevard and Moulin Rouge! Or how about a movie that has been staple of English classrooms since, A Streetcar Named Desire.
1960s:
This was the decade of musical theatre Oscar winners, with films like West Side Story, My Fair Lady, and the Julie Andrews classic, The Sound of Music. Even th films that weren’t winners had a lot of theatrics to them: Hello Dolly, Oliver!, Romeo & Juliet, and the most magical of nannies, Mary Poppins.
1970s
The 70s were a split between action films and more musical theatre; winners such The French Connection, The Godfather I and II, and Rocky.
Even non-winners seemed to be in on this strange mix: MASH, A Clockwork Orange, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret… honestly, I could go on and on.
1980s
Not all of these were winners, but you still know them. Have we ever been able to escape a training montage with the song from Chariot of Fire in the background? I’d argue that’s a hard legacy to run from, even if not everyone knows where the tune comes from, you have to admit it’s an ear-worm!
Then there were the iconic catchphrases like “E.T. phone home”, or “If you build it they will come!” of Field of Dreams.
1990s
I think the winners here are pretty well-known: Dances with Wolves, Schindler’s List… even the runners up are films that people still talk about! From Saving Private Ryan, to Apollo 13, even animated classics like Beauty and the Beast won a decent amount of awards this decade!
One of the most famous ’90s film lines isn’t even correct. Silence of the Lambs is known for the line “Hello, Clarice”, low and chilling. However, the closest that Hannibal Lecter ever gets in this Award-sweeping film is “good morning.” Unfortunately, a line that isn’t nearly as iconic.
“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” This award-winning film does have some pretty memorable quotes in its “box.” Forrest Gump is not just an award-winner, but it’s become an all-around classic film, watching Forrest stumble his way through some pretty interesting situations over the course of 142 minutes.
Titanic was as much of a box office hit as it was a hit at the Academy Awards. With “King of the World” Leonardo Di Caprio, and a very catchy song by Celine Dion, what more does a ’90s classic need?
2000s
Winners in the first decade of the new millenium have a lot of range, from A Beautiful Mind to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
This was also when animated films held their ownn category, with The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Happy Feet, and stop motion classic Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
What award-winning films have you watched this year? Were there winners or runners-up that caught your eye, either from this Oscars ceremony or from years past?
– Tie-Dye Tam
