Welcome back to The Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the newly reinstated Oscar rule of nominating ten films for Best Picture applied from 1943 to 2008.
Today I’m taking us back to 1994, a year that inspired one of my perennial Oscar party games.
To view the rest of the Project, please go here
Here’s a list of films that were released in 1994.
Actual Best Picture Nominees
Forrest Gump (winner)
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
The Shawshank Redemption
In Retrospect: So that Oscar party game? It goes like this: When guests fill out ballots, they mark not only what they think will win, but also what they think should win. The winner of the “will” ballot is determined by the actual outcome of the Oscars, and the winner of the “should” ballot is determined by who agrees with me in the most categories. (What? I’m the host.)
For years, I gave the winner of the “will” ballot a copy of Forrest Gump, which actually won Best Picture for 1994, and I gave the winner of the “should” ballot a copy of The Shawshank Redemption, which should have taken the award.
Because come on. It was a sensation at the time, but does anyone give a damn about Forrest Gump anymore? Isn’t it obvious now that it’s really just a testament to America’s troubling love affair with mediocrity? The message of the film is that people who don’t think, or who aren’t even capable of thinking, are the ones who will succeed. And not only that, their anti-intellectual life will make them morally superior to boot.
Much as I loathe it, this is undeniably a Major American Myth: Thoughtful people are unhappy and possibly evil, while the ignorant are joyous and good.
If you catch me on the right day, I might even say that narratives like Forrest Gump are convenient for a government that wants to control its citizens, since they create the comforting lie that not knowing is the surest way to thrive. Sit still, people! Don’t question! Stay out of the way long enough, and you’ll end up rich and famous. And you’ll sire Haley Joel Osment!
Ugh. Meanwhile, The Shawshank Redemption celebrates the redemptive power of thoughtfulness, cleverness, and rebellion against an unfair system. It even features a scene in which classical music inspires an entire community of prisoners. It doesn’t matter where you come from, where you went to school, or what color you are, the movie says. You too can be touched by art. You too can use your mind to make yourself free.
In other news, Pulp Fiction is awesome, Four Weddings and a Funeral is funny (despite Andie “What’s Acting?” MacDowell), and Quiz Show… is a movie I saw one time, fifteen years ago.
The Expansion Pack
6. Ed Wood — One of Tim Burton’s most emotional and humane films, Ed Wood doesn’t just describe the life of one of cinema’s most notoriously terrible directors. It evokes the bizarre yet nurturing family he created for himself and his fellow misfits. It celebrates the power of a home, even if it’s a home that not everyone understands.
7. Hoop Dreams — There’s a reason everyone thought this documentary might be the first to get a Best Picture nomination, and there’s a reason people went apeshit when it didn’t even get nominated in the documentary category. By turns harrowing and inspiring, it follows teenagers trying to make it in the NBA, and it doesn’t look away when their dreams don’t come true. That makes it feel honest and universal, and films like that deserve Oscar nods.
8. Heavenly Creatures — The year after this, Kate Winslet began her Oscar assault with Sense and Sensibility, but I think her gold rush should have started here. As part of a teenage lesbian couple that plots to murder one girls’ mother, she is terrifying because she doesn’t seem like a bad seed. She just seems like a cool, feisty girl you might want to hang out with… and then, whoops. She’s a psycho.
I’ve also got to tip my hat to Peter Jackson’s direction, especially during the scenes where the girls’ fantasy world springs to life. Those clay creatures they imagine are awful and alluring, which tells you a lot about their mental state.
(As a side note, this film did get a well-deserved Oscar nod for its screenplay.)
9. Little Women — Ain’t nothing wrong with a well-acted, confidently scripted and directed adaptation of a classic novel. This isn’t a movie that’s going to change the world, but it’s delightful all the same. Plus, it lets us remember the moment when it seemed like Claire Danes and Winona Ryder would be dominant acting forces forever.
*Note: This slot originally went to Priest, but I have since realized that it was released in the U.S. in 1995, not 1994. Still… it’s an awesome movie.
10. Speed — This movie is three action films in one (elevators, buses, and subways, oh my!), yet it never feels bloated. Director Jan de Bont builds tension like a master, and Graham Yost’s script balances comedy, humanity, and explosions. And let’s not underestimate Sandra Bullock’s career-making performance. She gives the movie an empathetic center that is missing from far too many summer flicks.
The Snubs
1994 wasn’t, like, the greatest year in cinematic history, but it still produced several high quality movies that didn’t make my expansion pack. The River Wild holds up. I also have a soft spot for Bullets Over Broadway, Nobody’s Fool, and Reality Bites.
And you know… the opening sequence of The Lion King almost merits a Best Picture nomination by itself.
14 responses so far ↓
1 Doug // Oct 9, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Mark, you’ll have to take your Shadowlands battle up with Holly Hunter — she’s the one who triumphed over Debra Winger in 1993.
2 InfoMofo // Oct 9, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Oh c’mon. Quiz Show was awesome.
3 Mark Blankenship // Oct 9, 2009 at 2:34 pm
@Doug — Crap! You’re right. Strike that. That’s what I get for looking at Wikipedia instead of following my own memory. If Winger had been nominated in 1994, I bet should would have won. That was a screwy year.
@InfoMofo — I mean no disrespect to Quiz Show. I just don’t remember anything about it.
4 katy // Oct 9, 2009 at 4:10 pm
In my lifetime this is the most controversial Oscar race ever, the great Pulp Fiction-Shawshank-Forrest Gump debate. You came down for Shawshank Redemption, but have you seen that film lately? I loved it at the time, but I don’t think it has aged well. Maybe Green Mile just splashed shlock all over it for me.
Obviously there are going to be those who claim Pulp Fiction should have won. Arguably a more innovative and important film than Shawshank Redemption, although I’ve never loved it.
Well since I doubt anyone else will, I will defend Forrest Gump. I don’t read that film as claiming ignorance will result in success — actually, I just don’t see it making any such broad claims. The film is all about the damn feather blowing in the wind, remember? A character who seemed unbelievably vulnerable was blown about from major event to major event with a magical good fortune. The film is about this magical good fortune, and Forrest is a kind of anti-Job. The good fortune was specific to him, but it seemed to be pure chance, not a reward for being ignorant — after all, that didn’t work for his equally ignorant friend Bubba Blue who died in Vietnam. And while Forrest is portrayed as frequently uncertain about what’s happening , he’s not really portrayed a character who always accepts the status quo unquestioningly (disobeying his superior’s orders in Vietnam, standing up for Jenny against her abusive boyfriend, etc.)
Now is it the most perceptive film about the 1960s ever made? No, of course not. It’s a whimsical baby boomer fairy tale about a comically lucky naif. I find it enjoyable on the same level as Pleasantville, another whimsical and thematically thin film about the 1960s.
Quiz Show is a good film, and better than Ed Wood, in my opinion. Actually, Quiz Show might be the best of this year’s films.
5 Doug // Oct 9, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I’m a huge fan of Quiz Show, and it’s my personal favorite of 1994, but it’s nowhere near as dynamic as Pulp Fiction and Shawshank were in their own ways. I would have given the award to Quiz Show or Pulp Fiction. Shawshank, as I remember, only garnered momentum at the tail end of the Oscar race, and I think the fact that it was viewed as an underdog has helped its legacy.
Mark, I like all of your choices, and add these to the mix: Bullets Over Broadway, Little Women, Nobody’s Fool (one of Paul Newman’s best), and The Last Seduction.
6 Mark Blankenship // Oct 9, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Hey Katy — I did see “Shawshank” recently, and for me, it transcends shmaltz. It has sentiment without being sentimental. It’s apt to compare it to “The Green Mile,” and I think it especially comes out on top there. Just look at the differences between the central black male characters, for instance: “Shawshank’s” Red is complex, flawed, and yet still capable of kindness. “Green Mile’s” John Coffey is a blunt allegory for Christ that fulfills the Magical Black Man archetype.
And while I hear your points about “Forrest Gump,” I still believe the larger story the movie tells—even though it may not be what the filmmakers intended—is a story about the supremacy of ignorance.
7 Gonzalo // Oct 9, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I watched Reality Bites when I was probably 12 (1996), and I thought it was the best movie ever. I watched it at least 10 times over the next few years. I thought it was awesome, and totally “spoke” to me.
Until I caught it again at 23, about 2 years ago… and hated it. The characters were whiny bitches, who felt they deserved more from society, even though they had no clue what they wanted more of. I honestly couldn’t stand it. I appreciate that the movie may be characteristic of that Gen X angst in all its excesses, but to be frank, I just couldn’t stand any of them.
Just about the only thing that I can admire is its *killer* soundtrack, which was perfectly integrated into the movie. Well, ok, Janeane Garofalo’s character was sorta cool.
My other favorite movie at the time was Clueless, which I feel holds up waaaay better (I watched it last year). It’s a bit dated in its references and style, I guess, but it’s still hilarious. In my mind, it made a star out of Paul Rudd (even if it took a while for that to catch on). And I still adore Alicia Silverstone because of this, even through all the crappy movies she’s made in the last 10 years.
Anyway, forgive me for going a bit off-topic, since RB was only a snub… but this one stuck out like a sore thumb.
8 Mark Blankenship // Oct 9, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Hey Gonzalo… I can’t disagree with you about “Reality Bites.” I know it sucks. But in 1994? Oh my god, it was the best thing ever. So yeah… I have to give it just the tiniest sprinkling of love, if only for the sake of nostalgia.
9 Doug // Oct 9, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I liked Reality Bites a lot in 1994 — to me, it’s the kind of movie the Golden Globe comedy category was made for. Then I watched it after college, when I was unemployed and living at home, and LOVED it. But if I were to watch it again now, objectively, it probably belongs more with Empire Records than, say, Clueless.
Soundtrack’s still great, though.
10 Gonzalo // Oct 9, 2009 at 5:25 pm
In fairness, you did say you had a “soft spot” for that movie. I think I’m just bitter because watching it again ruined all my memories of that “awesome movie”.
There’s other movies I’ve re-watched, and while I know they’re not as great today as I thought they were, I still understand why I loved them in the first place. Now I’m kinda wondering how many others of my “favorite” movies would embarrass me today? Hmmm… maybe this idea could be developed into a new post?
11 Pristine // Oct 10, 2009 at 9:19 am
Gonzalo, that’s a good point! One movie that I watched and liked when I was a wee girl was Spiderman. Then, a while ago, I watched it again and boy did I hate it. When Natasha Richardson passed away recently, I was filled with the urge to rewatch the Parent Trap, which my sisters and I loved. I haven’t yet though…I too would love to see this idea more fleshed out in a different post.
12 Collin H // Oct 10, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I’d love to swap out Quiz Show with Clerks. Clerks may be rough and amateurish, but it’s a hell of a lot more memorable and culturally relevant than Quiz Show.
13 ferretrick // Oct 11, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Second the nom for Clerks. There are lines from that movie I still quote-i.e. “I’m a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class. Especially since I rule.”
14 Michael // Oct 13, 2009 at 12:00 am
Looking down the (apparently imperfect) Wikipedia film list, I’m struck by how many big-talent high-minded adaptations of classics or biographies (or just costume drama) came out this year: Tom and Viv, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Branaugh’s Frankenstein, Little Women, Heavenly Creatures, Farinelli (Clueless?) . . . many of them films I try to love and only get to liking–Little Women being a bizarre spectacle in which, in the midst of so much intelligence and competence, Jo is being played by the ideal Amy . . .
Looking down the conversation so far, I’m struck that:
a) nobody seems anxious to talk about Four Weddings and A Funeral, which almost spawned a sub-genre. Hmmmm.
b) I know people who sacrifice livestock to the Adventures of Priscilla. Huh? Nobody? Nobody?
Me, I have an odd weakness for The Ref–back before it became a moral failing to like Dennis Leary. And I will always love Bullets over Broadway (“DON’T speak! Don’t SPEAK.” “Olive, you deserve to know this. You’re a terrible actress.” (Blam! Blam! Blam!))–including its meditation on the disjunction of talent and morality–waaaay over Forest Gump, over Speed, over Ed Wood (where Jonny Depp is playing Jon Lovitz and the humanity of the story seems to be almost a miscalculation on Tim Burton’s part).
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