Ah, the aughts. The new century started out with the terror of 9-11 and it ended with the collapse of the world’s economy. In between, a lot of films were released. Some of them were really good. A few of them were nominated for Best Picture. Most of them were not.

2000

Chocolat

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Erin Brockovich

Gladiator

Traffic

Won: Gladiator

Should Have Won: I’m in a minority here but I’ve never particularly cared for Gladiator. Joaquin Phoenix is a good villain and I can certainly understand why some people have adopted it as a sort of a life manual but, for the most part, Gladiator just falls flat for me. If I was voting, I would have voted for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. There was a time when I would have voted for Traffic but Crouching Tiger has aged with a bit more grace the Steven Soderbergh’s look at the war on drugs.

2001

A Beautiful Mind

Gosford Park

In the Bedroom

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Moulin Rouge!

Won: A Beautiful Mind

Should Have Won: A Beautiful Mind gets criticized for being too Oscar bait-y but it’s not a bad film. What it does, it does well. That said, I would have voted for Todd Field’s haunting In The Bedroom.

2002

Chicago

Gangs of New York

The Hours

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Pianist

Won: Chicago

Should Have Won: As much as I love Chicago, this is the year that I would have selected to honor Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Two Towers is the darkest chapter in the saga and it’s also the best.

2003

The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Lost in Translation

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Mystic River

Seabiscuit

Won: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Should Have Won: Even while it was sweeping the Oscars, it was understood that Return of the King was being honored as a way to acknowledge the entire trilogy. Since I already honored the trilogy with The Two Towers, that frees me up to vote for Lost In Translation this year. Lost In Translation is a film that haunts me in a way that few other films ever have or ever will.

2004

The Aviator

Finding Neverland

Million Dollar Baby

Ray

Sideways

Won: Million Dollar Baby

Should Have Won: Million Dollar Baby is good but The Aviator is Scorsese at his best. It also features Leonardo DiCaprio’s first legitimately great performance.

2005

Brokeback Mountain

Capote

Crash

Good Night and Good Luck

Munich

Won: Crash

Should Have Won: Oh God, don’t get me started on Crash. What should have won? Anything other than Crash. I’ll go with Brokeback Mountain.

2006

Babel

The Departed

Letters From Iwo Jima

Little Miss Sunshine

The Queen

Won: The Departed

Should Have Won: Martin Scorsese finally won his first Oscar for The Departed. Sadly, The Departed is actually one of his weaker films. (Of course, a weak Scorsese film is still better than an average film from any other director.) Back in 2007, I thought Babel should have won but that’s just because I was going through a pretentious phase where I thought any film with multiple storylines was automatically brilliant. Today, I realize that The Queen was the proper winner.

2007

Atonement

Juno

Michael Clayton

No Country For Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Won: No Country For Old Men

Should Have Won: No Country For Old Men. The Academy got it exactly right.

2008

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

Milk

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Won: Slumdog Millionaire

Should Have Won: Of the nominees, I have to go with Slumdog Millionaire. This, of course, is the year that The Dark Knight was not nominated and the internet lost its mind as a result.

2009

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

A Serious Man

Up

Up In The Air

Won: The Hurt Locker

Should Have Won: This is the year that the Academy went back to ten nominees. The idea was that this would lead to a more diverse best picture lineup and it certainly worked the first year they tried it. This is one of the strongest best picture lineups in Oscar history and I say that as someone who really disliked Avatar and who thought The Hurt Locker was a bit overrated. I could make an argument for honoring Up In The Air, Up, District 9, A Serious Man, and Inglourious Basterds but my final vote would go to the underrated but wonderful An Education.

Coming up in an hour, we wind up our look at the history of the Best Picture race with the 2010s!

Ah, the 90s. Some would say that this was the last good decade that the world would ever experience. It was certainly a good decade for films!

1990

Awakenings

Dances With Wolves

Ghost

The Godfather, Part Three

Goodfellas

Won: Dances With Wolves

Should Have Won: Goodfellas. It can be difficult to get a large group of film fans to feel the same way about anything but everyone seems to agree that Goodfellas has held up far better than Dances With Wolves and that Martin Scorsese’s gangster film should have won over Kevin Costner’s good-for-you western.

1991

Beauty and the Beast

Bugsy

JFK

The Prince of Tides

The Silence of the Lambs

Won: The Silence of the Lambs

Should Have Won: The Silence of the Lambs is one of those films that’s both brilliant and ludicrous at the same time. Actually, you can probably say the same thing about the two other major contenders, Bugsy and JFK. You can really make a case for why all three of the films should have won, despite all three being a little overrated. That said, my vote goes to Beauty and the Beast because it’s a film that embraces life as opposed to death.

1992

The Crying Game

A Few Good Men

Howards End

Scent of a Woman

Unforgiven

Won: Unforgiven

Should Have Won: Unforgiven. It’s one of the few intelligent films ever to be made about what violence does to the soul.

1993

The Fugitive

In The Name of the Father

The Piano

The Remains of the Day

Schindler’s List

Won: Schindler’s List

Should Have Won: I like all of the nominees, though I would have switched out The Fugitive for Dazed and Confused. The Piano is a haunting film but, in the end, the Academy picked the right winner. It’s become a bit fashionable to try to find flaws in Schindler’s List but you know what? Anti-Semitism is on the rise around the world and Schindler’s List is both a needed history lesson and an important film.

1994

Forrest Gump

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Pulp Fiction

Quiz Show

The Shawshank Redemption

Won: Forrest Gump

Should Have Won: Pulp Fiction. “But, Lisa, what about The Shawshank Redemption….” Seriously, don’t even start with me. Pulp Fiction for the win.

1995

Apollo 13

Babe

Braveheart

Il Postino

Sense and Sensibility

Won: Braveheart

Should Have Won: Casino! Oh wait, it wasn’t nominated. Okay, Sense and Sensibility then.

1996

The English Patient

Fargo

Jerry Maguire

Secrets & Lies

Shine

Won: The English Patient

Should Have Won: “Just stop telling your story and die! DIE!” I have to agree with Elaine Benes on this one. My vote goes to Fargo.

1997

As Good As It Gets

The Full Monty

Good Will Hunting

L.A. Confidential

Titanic

Won: Titanic

Should Have Won: Oh God, Titanic. I loved you when I was like 12 but today, I can’t watch the film without snickering at the dialogue. Of the nominees, my vote would go to L.A. Confidential. I wish Boogie Nights had been nominated.

1998

Elizabeth

Life Is Beautiful

Saving Private Ryan

Shakespeare in Love

The Thin Red Line

Won: Shakespeare in Love

Should Have Won: Shakespeare in Love is a film that I actually really like but knowing that it was a pet project of Harvey Weinstein’s makes the film a bit awkward to watch nowadays. I’m generally not a fan of war films but The Thin Red Line has moments of haunting beauty. That said, of the nominees, Elizabeth gets my vote. It’s a film that challenges our preconceived notions of an iconic historical figure. Add to that, a good deal of Shakespeare In Love‘s cast also appeared in Elizabeth so, by honoring Elizabeth, we ensure that Geoffrey Rush and Joseph Fiennes still get to brag about appearing in the best film of 1998.

1999

American Beauty

The Cider House Rules

The Green Mile

The Insider

The Sixth Sense

Won: American Beauty

Should Have Won: 1999 was a great year for movies so it’s kind of ironic that the Oscar went to one of the worst films of the decade. Are we finished pretending that American Beauty has anything worthwhile to say? My votes goes to The Sixth Sense, which holds up well even though we all now know about the big twist at the end.

Up next, in about an hour, a new century begins! Welcome to the aughts!

Ah, the 70s. The decade started with the collapse of the studio system and the rise of the so-called movie brats. For the first half of the decade, Hollywood was producing the type of challenging films on which they would never again be willing to take the risk. The 70s were indeed a second cinematic golden age, full of anti-heroes and dark endings. Then, in 1977, Star Wars changed all of that and ushered in the era of the blockbuster. The 1970s gave the world disco, The Godfather, and some of the best Oscar winners ever.

1970

Airport

Five Easy Pieces

Love Story

M*A*S*H*

Patton

Won: Patton

Should Have Won: I know that there are people who love Patton. I’ve never been able to sit through the whole film, despite the obvious power of George C. Scott’s lead performance. Airport is dull when compared to other disaster films and Love Story will leave you actively rooting for either divorce or death. Of the nominated films, M*A*S*H and Five Easy Pieces are the strongest. Both are flawed, of course. M*A*S*H is frequently misogynistic but, at the same time, it’s still one of the most effective anti-war films I’ve ever seen. (The scene where blood suddenly spurts out of a wounded soldier’s neck still shocks me.) Five Easy Pieces features a great performance by Jack Nicholson but, far too often, it doesn’t play fair by making everyone around him a caricature. In the end, my vote goes to M*A*S*H.

1971

A Clockwork Orange

Fiddler on the Roof

The French Connection

The Last Picture Show

Nicholas and Alexandra

Won: The French Connection

Should Have Won: With the exception of that nomination for Nicholas and Alexandra, this was a strong year and I can make a case for each other four remaining nominees. I love The Last Picture Show but, a few years ago, I saw a showing of The French Connection at the Alamo Drafthouse and it still wowed me, even though I knew everything that was coming. In this case, I agree with the Academy. The French Connection deserved its victory.

1972

Cabaret

Deliverance

The Emigrants

The Godfather

Sounder

Won: The Godfather

Should Have Won: The Godfather. No question.

1973

American Graffiti

Cries and Whispers

The Exorcist

The Sting

A Touch of Class

Won: The String

Should Have Won: Every time I watch The Sting, I discover that it’s actually better than I remembered. American Graffiti is another personal favorite of mine. That said, I’m a Catholic girl who loves horror movies so there’s no way I’m not picking The Exorcist here.

1974

Chinatown

The Conversation

The Godfather, Part II

Lenny

The Towering Inferno

Won: The Godfather, Part II

Should Have Won: Sorry, Chinatown. You’re great but The Godfather Part II cannot be denied.

1975

Barry Lyndon

Dog Day Afternoon

Jaws

Nashville

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Won: One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Should Have Won: This is a great lineup of nominees, with all five deserving a nomination and deserving to win as well. As for which film would get my vote, my mind says Nashville but my heart says Jaws. In this case, I’ll go with my heart.

1976

All The President’s Men

Bound for Glory

Network

Rocky

Taxi Driver

Won: Rocky

Should Have Won: This one is difficult for me. For me, the race comes down to All The President’s Men, Network, and Taxi Driver. (I no longer feel as negatively about Rocky as I once did but I still feel like it shouldn’t have been nominated for Best Picture, much less won.) In the end, my love of horror films leads me to vote for Taxi Driver. So, even if I am taking away Rocky’s victory, I’m still voting for a film where an inarticulate man gets a job working for Joe Spinell.

1977

Annie Hall

The Goodbye Girl

Julia

Star Wars

The Turning Point

Won: Annie Hall

Should Have Won: Annie Hall. Yeah, I know everyone’s pretending like they never liked any of Woody Allen’s films now. Annie Hall is still a charming bittersweet comedy.

1978

Coming Home

The Deer Hunter

Heaven Can Wait

Midnight Express

An Unmarried Woman

Won: The Deer Hunter

Should Have Won: This is a year in which all of the nominees were flawed. An Unmarried Woman gets my vote, despite the fact that the film has its share of “It’s so tough being rich” moments.

1979

All that Jazz

Apocalypse Now

Breaking Away

Kramer Vs. Kramer

Norma Rae

Won: Kramer vs. Kramer

Should Have Won: Ugh, I can’t stand Kramer vs. Kramer. Beloved by some, this is a film that makes me want to throw a shoe at the screen whenever I see it. (It’s that smug little smile that Dustin Hoffman gets on his face while talking to Jane Alexander that pushes me to my breaking point.) Though I love Breaking Away, All That Jazz is the film that gets my vote.

Up next, in about an hour, the 80s!

Ah, the 60s. Both the studio system and the production code collapsed as Hollywood struggled to remain relevant during a time of great social upheaval. The Academy alternated between nominating films that took chances and nominating films that cost a lot of money. It led to some odd best picture lineups.

1960

The Alamo

The Apartment

Elmer Gantry

Sons and Lovers

The Sundowners

Won: The Apartment

Should Have Won: The two best and most influential films of 1960 — Hitchcock’s Psycho and Kubrick’s Spartacus — went unnominated. Of the nominees, The Apartment deserved its victory.

1961

Fanny

The Guns of Navarone

The Hustler

Judgment and Nuremberg

West Side Story

Won: West Side Story

Should Have Won: Again, of the films nominated, the Academy made the right decision. West Side Story earned that victory. When you’re a Jet, you’re the best. That said, I do so wish that Breakfast at Tiffany’s had been nominated. (Of course, if I had the power to go back and change the nominees, I would also have the power to remove all of the scenes with Mickey Rooney as Holly’s neighbor. That’s the good thing about having power.)

1962

Lawrence of Arabia

The Longest Day

The Music Man

Mutiny on the Bounty

To Kill A Mockingbird

Won: Lawrence of Arabia

Should Have Won: Now, this was a great year for films! With the exception of Mutiny on the Bounty, all of the nominees deserved to be there. There were a lot of other films released that year that probably deserved to be nominated as well: Advise and Consent, The Manchurian Candidate, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, Days of Wine and Roses, Lolita, David and Lisa, The Miracle Worker, and so many others. It’s so hard for me to pick between Lawrence of Arabia and To Kill A Mockingbird. In the end, and this should not be taken as criticism of Lawrence of Arabia at all, I probably would have voted for To Kill A Mockingbird.

1963

America, America

Cleopatra

How the West Was Won

Lillies of the Field

Tom Jones

Won: Tom Jones

Should Have Won: If 1962 featured one of the strongest best picture lineups, 1963 features one of the weakest. In a unimpressive field in which only two best picture nominees also received nomination for best director, Tom Jones seems like the obvious winner. That said, Cleopatra is such an amazing disaster that I’d probably have to vote for it just to make sure that the world never forgot it. From Russia With Love was released in the UK during this year but it wasn’t released in the U.S. in time to qualify for the ’63 Oscars. Still, I’m going to pretend that it was and name it the best film of 1963.

1964

Becket

Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Mary Poppins

My Fair Lady

Zorba the Greek

Won: My Fair Lady

Should Have Won: My Fair Lady is a good example of a film that won because the Academy was trying to pretend that it was still the 1950s. I would have voted for Dr. Strangelove.

1965

Darling

Doctor Zhivago

Ship of Fools

The Sound of Music

A Thousand Clowns

Won: The Sound of Music

Should Have Won: While international cinema was breaking boundaries and challenging audiences, the Academy was honoring My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music. The 1965 best picture line-up is not a particularly strong one and A Thousand Clowns is somehow even more annoying than The Sound of Music. (“Yessir, that’s my baby” — SHUT UP!) That said, for me, Darling is the clear winner.

1966

Alfie

A Man For All Seasons

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming

The Sand Pebbles

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Won: A Man For All Seasons

Should Have Won: Another weird lineup. A Man For All Seasons isn’t bad but it still feels more like homework than cinema. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was a groundbreaking film and featured Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton at their best. Alfie made a star out of Michael Caine. That said, the more I thought about it, the more I liked The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. It’s a likable comedy. It’s a bit lightweight. But, of all the nominees in this admittedly imperfect lineup, it’s probably the one I would want to watch more than once.

(That said, if I was in charge of the ’66 nomination, the Best Picture lineup would have been: Blowup, Juliet of the Spirits, Seconds, Kill Baby Kill, A Man and A Woman, and The Oscar, just to mess with people. The ratings for my Academy Awards would be so low that the Oscars would probably never be televised again.)

1967

Bonnie and Clyde

Dr. Doolittle

The Graduate

Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner

In The Heat of the Night

Won: In The Heat of the Night

Should Have Won: In The Heat Of The Night isn’t bad but it’s also not The Graduate. The Graduate gets my vote, even though I know Benjamin and Elaine probably broke up as soon as they got off that bus.

1968

Funny Girl

The Lion in Winter

Oliver!

Rachel, Rachel

Romeo and Juliet

Won: Oliver!

Should Have Won: What a weird line-up! Consider some of the eligible films that were not nominated: Petulia, Pretty Poison, The Good The Bad and the Ugly, 2001, Planet of the Apes, Rosemary’s Baby. Oliver! is better than My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music but it still feels like a film that won largely because it was a big production. Out of the nominees, I guess I would vote for …. Romeo and Juliet. I know The Lion in Winter is great but Romeo and Juliet brought Shakespeare to vibrant life.

1969

Anne of the Thousand Days

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Hello, Dolly!

Midnight Cowboy

Z

Won: Midnight Cowboy

Should Have Won: The Academy was really struggling to find itself in 1969. Here are some of the eligible films that were not nominated: Once Upon A Time In The West, The Wild Bunch, Easy Rider, Medium Cool, Alice’s Restaurant, They Shoot Horses Don’t They?, Last Summer, and Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice. Instead, the best picture lineup was made up of: an international political thriller, a buddy comedy, an X-rated film about New York hustlers, an overproduced musical, and an old-fashioned historical drama. That said, out of the nominees, I think the Academy made the right choice. Though the film has a few pretentious moments, Midnight Cowboy remains an effective portrait of life on the fringes of society.

Now, put on your bell bottoms. Do a line of coke. Turn on the Bee Gees. Coming up in about an hour — it’s the 70s!

Ah, the 40s! For most of the decade, the world was at war and the Academy’s nominations reflected that fact. The best picture lineups alternated between patriotic films that encouraged the battle against evil and darker films that contemplated both the mistakes of the past and what threats might be waiting in the future.

1940

All This, and Heaven Too

Foreign Correspondent

The Grapes of Wrath

The Great Dictator

Kitty Foyle

The Letter

The Long Voyage Home

Our Town

The Philadelphia Story

Rebecca

Won: Rebecca

Should Have Won: Rebecca was the only Hitchcock film to win Best Picture and while I hate to take that honor away from him, it simply cannot compare to the power of John Ford’s adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath. Considering that people nowadays tend to assume that FDR just waved a magic wand and ended The Great Depression as soon as he was elected, The Grapes of Wrath is still an important historic document of just how bad things truly were in the 1930s. (World War II ended the Great Depression for more effectively than the New Deal ever did.)

1941

Blossoms in the Dust

Citizen Kane

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Hold Back the Down

How Green Way My Valley

The Little Foxes

The Maltese Falcon

One Foot in Heaven

Sergeant York

Suspicion

Won: How Green Was My Valley

Should Have Won: Citizen Kane. Was there ever any doubt?

1942

49th Parallel

Kings Row

The Magnificent Ambersons

Mrs. Miniver

The Pied Piper

The Pride of the Yankees

Random Harvest

The Talk of the Town

Wake Island

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Won: Mrs. Miniver

Should Have Won: Mrs. Miniver was a heartfelt tribute to the strength of the British people and it’s certainly understandable why the Academy honored it. That said, today, the over-the-top melodrama of Kings Row is a lot more fun to watch.

1943

Casablanca

For Whom The Bell Tolls

Heaven Can Wait

The Human Comedy

In Which We Serve

Madame Currie

The More The Merrier

The Ox-Bow Incident

The Song of Bernadette

Watch on the Rhine

Won: Casablanca

Should Have Won: Casablanca. The Academy got it right.

1944

Double Indemnity

Gaslight

Going My Way

Since You Went Away

Wilson

Won: Going My Way

Should have Won: The Academy went from nominating ten films to only nominating five this year. (Decades later, it would go back to nominating ten.) Darryl F. Zanuck launched an all-out blitz to convince the Academy to honor Wilson, a film about one of our worst presidents. The Academy instead went with Going My Way, a pleasant crowd-pleaser. I would have voted for Double Indemnity, a film that was perhaps too cynical to win at a time when America was at war.

1945

Anchors Aweigh

The Bells of St. Mary’s

The Lost Weekend

Mildred Pierce

Spellbound

Won: The Lost Weekend

Should Have Won: I agree with the Academy. The Lost Weekend is an underrated winner but it’s still undeniably effective.

1946

The Best Years of Our Lives

Henry V

It’s A Wonderful Life

The Razor’s Edge

The Yearling

Won: The Best Years Of Our Lives

Should Have Won: The Best Years Of Our Lives was one of the first films to deal with the struggle of returning veterans. It’s a great film. That said, I still have to vote for It’s A Wonderful Life, a film that is far darker than its reputation as a holiday favorite might suggest.

1947

The Bishop’s Wife

Crossfire

Gentleman’s Agreement

Great Expectations

Miracle on 34th Street

Won: Gentleman’s Agreement

Should Have Won: Crossfire. Like Gentleman’s Agreement, Crossfire deals with anti-Semitism. Crossfire, though, does so in a far more direct, angry, and effective manner.

1948

Hamlet

Johnny Belinda

The Red Shoes

The Snake Pit

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Won: Hamlet

Should Have Won: Hamlet is an excellent film but The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is one of the best ever. John Huston’s look at the power of greed gets my vote.

1949

All the King’s Men

Battleground

The Heiress

Letter To Three Wives

Twelve O’Clock High

Won: All The King’s Men

Should Have Won: In this case, I think that Academy got it right. All The King’s Men is a film that seems rather prophetic today.

Up next, get ready to like Ike and hate commies because we’re heading into the 50s!

Ah, the 1930s. America was mired in the Great Depression. FDR was plotting to pack the courts. In Europe, leaders were trying to ignore what was happening in Italy, Spain, and Germany. As for the Academy, it was still growing and developing and finding itself. With people flocking to the movies and the promise of an escape from reality, the Academy Awards went from being an afterthought to a major cultural event.

1930–1931

Cimarron

East Lynne

The Front Page

Skippy

Trader Horn

Won: Cimarron

Should Have Won: This is a tough year. None of the nominees are really that great. The two main contenders were Cimarron and Trader Horn but neither one has aged particularly well. Of the film that were nominated, The Front Page probably holds up the best. The best of the film eligible for these split-year Oscars — Little Caesar and The Public Enemy — were not nominated for Best Picture.

1931–1932

Arrowsmith

Bad Girl

The Champ

Five Star Final

Grand Hotel

One Hour With You

Shanghai Express

The Smiling Lieutenant

Won: Grand Hotel

Should Have Won: Of the nominees, Grand Hotel deserved its victory. If only Frankenstein had been nominated!

1932 — 1933

Cavalcade

42nd Street

A Farewell to Arms

I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

Lady For A Day

Little Women

The Private Life of Henry VIII

She Done Him Wrong

Smilin’ Through

State Fair

Won: Cavalcade

Should Have Won: Cavalcade is one of the more forgotten best picture winners and for good reason. It’s just not that interesting. Of the other nominees, I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang is the most powerful and 42nd Street is the most entertaining. In the end, my vote would have gone to 42nd Street. The original King Kong was eligible but not nominated.

1934

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

Cleopatra

Flirtation Walk

The Gay Divorcee

Here Comes The Navy

The House of Rothschild

Imitation of Life

It Happened One Night

One Night of Love

The Thin Man

Viva Villa!

The White Parade

Won: It Happened One Night

Should Have Won: Oh wow. I really love The Thin Man but seriously, nothing beats Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert in It Happened One Night. For the first time this decade, the Academy got it right.

1935

Alice Adams

Broadway Melody of 1936

Captain Blood

David Copperfield

The Informer

The Lives of Bengal Lancer

Midsummer Night’s Dream

Les Miserables

Mutiny on the Bounty

Naughty Marietta

Ruggles of Red Gap

Top Hat

Won: Mutiny on the Bounty

Should Have Won: Mutiny on the Bounty isn’t bad but my vote has to go to Top Hat, a film that is pure joy.

1936

Anthony Adverse

Dodsworth

The Great Ziegfeld

Libeled Lady

Mr. Deeds Go To Town

Romeo and Juliet

San Francisco

The Story of Louis Pasteur

A Tale of Two Cities

Three Smart Girls

Won: The Great Ziegfeld

Should Have Won: The Great Ziegfeld is a good example of a film that won because it was big. It was a spectacle. It overwhelmed audiences and voters with how overproduced it was. Seen today, it’s entertaining but overlong. My vote would have gone to the far more low-key (but also far more intelligent) Dodsworth.

1937

The Awful Truth

Captains Courageous

Dead End

The Good Earth

In Old Chicago

The Life of Emile Zola

Lost Horizon

One Hundred Men and a Girl

Stage Door

A Star is Born

Won: The Life of Emile Zola

Should Have Won: The Life of Emile Zola isn’t a bad film but it’s not the best of the nominees. Dead End features one of Humphrey Bogart’s best pre-Casablanca performances and The Awful Truth is a classic screwball comedy with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. In the end, my vote would have gone to The Awful Truth.

1938

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Alexander’s Ragtime Band

Boys Town

The Citadel

Four Daughters

Grand Illusion

Jezebel

Pygmalion

Test Pilot

You Can’t Take It With You

Won: You Can’t Take It With You

Should Have Won: Damn. As much as I hate to vote against any movie starring Jimmy Stewart, there’s no way that I can take You Can’t Take It With You over either The Adventures of Robin Hood or Grand Illusion. Robin Hood is the most entertaining of the nominees but Grand Illusion is the most important. My vote goes to Grand Illusion.

1939

Dark Victory

Gone With The Wind

Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Love Affair

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

Ninotchka

Of Mice and Men

Stagecoach

The Wizard of Oz

Wuthering Heights

Won: Gone With The Wind

Should Have Won: This is such a difficult year because I can make a case for all of the nominees, with the exception of the creaky Love Affair. In the end, my vote goes to …. argh! This is so hard. I’m juggling Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach, Ninotchka, and The Wizard of Oz in my head. Can I pick all of them? No? Okay, I’ll go with …. Hell, I have to go with Jimmy Stewart holding the Senate hostage. Sorry, Wizard of Oz. I vote for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, which has Jimmy Stewart and no munchkins.

And that’s it for the 30s. Up next, in about an hour, it’s time for the 40s!

The Oscars started out as an afterthought.

When Louis B. Mayer first proposed setting up what would become the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, he wasn’t really that interested in giving out awards. Instead, he saw the Academy as an organization that would mediate labor disputes between the studios and the unions. He also felt that the Academy could basically be used to improve the film industry’s image, which had taken a hit from the rape trial of Fatty Arbuckle, the overdose of Wallace Reid, and the murder of William Desmond Taylor. When he and the other 35 founders of the Academy met to draw up the organization’s charter, the idea of giving out awards was mentioned only in passing. A committee would be set up to give out yearly awards to honor the best that Hollywood had to offer.

The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in a hotel ballroom in 1928. It occurred at the end of a private dinner and the awards were handed out in 15 minutes. The 2nd ceremony was the first to be broadcast on the radio. It was only when the Academy got around to the third ceremony that the Oscars started to transform into the spectacle that we know today. It was only then that people started to really pay attention to what was and was not nominated for Best Picture.

Today, for Oscar Sunday, we’re taking a a decade-by-decade look at the Best Picture races of the past. We start with those first three ceremonies.

1927–1928

Uniquely, the very first Academy Awards saw the presentation for two best picture trophies. Best Production went to the most entertaining film. Unique and Artistic Production went to the most artistic film.

Production

The Racket

Seventh Heaven

Wings

Unique and Artistic Production

Chang

The Crowd

Sunrise

Won: Wings and Sunrise

Should Have Won: The first time out, the Oscars got it right. People tend to be a bit dismissive of Wings but it has that one amazing tracking shot and it also features the wonderful Clara Bow. Sunrise, meanwhile, is a triumph in every way. Among the eligible films not nominated: Buster Keaton’s The General and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

1928–1929

Uniquely, only the winners were announced for the 2nd awards ceremony. The “nominees” listed below are taken from a list of notes that were taken while the judges were discussing who and what to honor.

Alibi

The Broadway Melody

The Hollywood Revue of 1929

In Old Arizona

The Patriot

Won: The Broadway Melody

Should Have Won: The Broadway Melody was the first musical to win but it’s aged terribly. I actually prefer The Hollywood Revue of 1929, which has no plot but which does feature a bunch of MGM stars singing, dancing, and showing off that they were having no problem transitioning for silent cinema to sound films. Or, at least, that was the idea. Poor John Gilbert.

1929–1930

All Quiet On The Western Front

The Big House

Disraeli

The Divorcee

The Love Parade

Won: All Quiet On The Western Front

Should Have Won: All Quiet On The Western Front. Third time out, the Academy got it right.

Up next, the Stock Market crashes and we enter a scary new decade in American history. In about an hour, we’ll be taking a look at the 1930s!