Well, another month has come to a close and that means that it’s time for another poll here at the Shattered Lens.
As always, please feel free to vote for up to four films and write-in votes are accepted!
Category Archives: polls
Poll: Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing in August?
Let’s Second Guess The Academy: Best Picture 1986
Dean Stockwell in Blue Velvet
Last week, we considered whether or not Out of Africa deserved the title of best picture of 1985. As of this writing, the votes would seem to indicate that most of you feel that it did not.
For this week, let’s jump ahead one year to 1986. According to the Academy, the five best films of the year were:
1) Children of a Lesser God, an adaptation of play about an angry deaf girl and the teacher who falls in love with her,
2) Hannah and Her Sisters, a Woody Allen film about three sisters and the neurotic people they know,
3) The Mission, a film about Jesuit missionaries in South America that also won the Palme d’Or at Cannes,
4) Room With A View, James Ivory’s super romantic adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel,
and finally, the winner,
5) Platoon, Oliver Stone’s autobiographical film about the Viet Nam war.
Unlike Out of Africa, Platoon has remained a fairly respected winner. Still, was Platoon actually the best film of 1986? If I had been a member of the Academy back in 1986, I would have been torn between A Room With A View and Hannah and Her Sisters with my final vote going to Room With A View. How about you?
Now, here comes the fun part. Let’s say that Platoon turned out to be a disaster. Let’s say that Room With A View never made it over to American theaters and maybe Woody Allen decided to retire early. Let’s say that none of the best picture nominees had been eligible to be nominated. Which five films would have nominated in their place?
You can vote for up to five films and yes, write-ins are accepted!
(I voted for Blue Velvet, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty In Pink, Betty Blue, and Something Wild.)
Poll: Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing In July?
Let’s Second Guess The Academy: Best Picture 1985
Jonathan Pryce in Brazil
This week, let’s go back to the year of my birth, 1985. According to the Motion Picture Academy, the five best films of the year were:
1) Steven Spielberg’s controversial adaptation of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple,
2) Witness, a film about a tough cop (Harrison Ford) who hides out with the Amish,
3) Kiss of the Spider Woman, one of the first independent films to ever be nominated for best picture,
4) Prizzi’s Honor, a darker than dark Mafia comedy from John Huston that starred Jack Nicholson,
and finally,
5) Out of the Africa, the film that was eventually named best picture of 1985.
Despite its victory at the Oscars, Out of Africa hasn’t aged well. If any year seems to be worthy of a little second guessing, it would certainly be 1985. If you were a member of the Academy in 1985, which nominee would you have voted for? Personally, I would have voted for Witness. How about you?
Now, here comes the fun part. Let’s say that Out of Africa wasn’t released in 1985. Let’s say that Steven Spielberg never made The Color of Purple and that Jack Nicholson refused to star in Prizzi’s Honor. Let’s say that none of the five nominated film had been eligible in 1985. Which films would you have nominated in their place?
You can vote for five of the film listed below and yes, we do accept write-ins!
(Incidentally, I voted for Brazil, The Breakfast Club, To Live and Die In L.A., The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Insignificance.)
Let’s Second Guess The Academy: Best Picture 2009
Back in 2011, I experimented with something that I like to call “Let’s second guess the Academy.” Basically, we take a look at past Oscar contestants and we ask ourselves if 1) the Academy made the right choice and 2) what else would we have nominated if we had all the power. It was always a lot of fun (and occasionally surprising) to see which films ended up getting the most love in hindsight.
So, I figured why not revive the tradition by considering the race for best picture of 2009. This was the first contest, since the 1943, to feature 10 nominees. At the time, most critics felt that the race was between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. Personally, as happy as I was to see a woman finally win best director, I thought The Hurt Locker was overrated and I hated Avatar. Which of the 10 nominated films would I have voted for? Well, as much as I loved both District 9 and A Serious Man, I would have voted for An Education. How about you?
Now, here comes the fun part. Let’s say that James Cameron never made Avatar. Let’s say that An Education never made it over from the UK. And maybe The Hurt Locker never got a distributor and just remained an independent film that occasionally popped up on the program at various film festivals. In other words, let’s say that none of the 10 best picture nominees for 2009 had been available to be nominated. Which ten films would have nominated in their place?
You can vote for up to 10 of the films listed below and yes, we do accept write-ins!
Personally, I voted for: Adventureland, The Girlfriend Experience, Moon, (500) Days of Summer, The Informant!, Bright Star, Where The Wild Things Are, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and Me And Orson Welles.
Happy voting!
Poll: Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing In June?
Last month’s results can be seen here.
As always, you can vote for up to 4 films and write-ins are allowed.
Happy voting!
I know that most people will probably be voting for either Man of Steel or World War Z but for me, June is all about The Bling Ring and This Is The End.
Poll: Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing in May?
Last month’s results can be seen here.
As always, you can vote for up to 4 films and write-ins are allowed.
Happy voting!
Poll: Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing In April?
Last month’s results can be seen here.
As always, you can vote for up to 4 films and write-ins are allowed.
Happy voting!
Poll: Which Films Are You Most Looking Forward To Seeing In March?
James Franco in Spring Breakers
Last month’s results can be seen here.
As always, you can vote for up to 4 films and write-ins are allowed.
Happy voting!
Through the Shattered Lens 