The debate raging in the comments section of another post declares that this year mirrors 1989, when Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture. They compare that to the Blind Side and I guess I would say that, what crack pipe are you all smoking? They also are wrongly comparing Precious to Do the Right thing which was snubbed that year. I guess the only thing those films have in common is that they were both directed by a black man. Do the Right Thing was an activist film, not a story of abuse and recovery. So that makes it a racist comment for starters. The point being made is that the more white washed version of the story, Driving Miss Daisy, was more palatable for the Academy voters than the more harsh Do the Right Thing (also, Spike Lee would be personally insulted by this comparison because that is what he’s like). So they’re thinking that The Blind Side would be that palatable version. It’s just not a good comparison in any way, shape or form. But I don’t want to talk about that year. Instead I’m going to focus on 1991.
1991 was such a great year for films. The selected five were so good, if released today any one of them would slaughter the competition. This is an uncommonly weak year for movies and a very bad year to choose ten nominees.
The Silence of the Lambs
Beauty and the Beast
Bugsy
JFK
The Prince of Tides
The other films that weren’t even nominated would also come close to slaughtering the competition this year:
Boyz in the Hood
The Fisher King
Thelma and Louise
Fried Green Tomatoes
Barton Fink
L.A. Story
Funnily enough, several of the directors and actors up this year were at play in 1991 – Terminator 2 was the highest grossing film. Kathryn Bigelow had release Point Break. Fisher King starred Jeff Bridges (who wasn’t even nominated). And Alec Baldwin was in The Marrying Man (Baldwin probably headed for a nod with It’s Complicated). And an animated film was up for Best Pic, like Up might be this year.
No one else is every going to argue that The Silence of the Lambs didn’t deserve to win that year. But what’s really difficult to wrap one’s mind around is how The Fisher King was shut out. One could easily have dumped The Prince of Tides. Barbra was famously left off the Best director lineup – Ridley Scott and John Singleton were there instead. I would say that JFK could go – all of that Kevin Costner dialogue (“Back and to the left”) and the horrible scenes with Sissy Spacek — but I know it was one of the biggest films that year and Oliver Stone was such a big deal back then. Beauty and the Beast was a big deal and a big deal, no doubt – the antithesis of Silence of the Lambs. Bugsy seemed to have Oscar written all over it, except that it didn’t. Something was off.
This was the year I found myself hooked to Oscar. That The Silence of the Lambs could swoop in and win all of the top awards like that, beating the so-called Oscar bait, Bugsy, showed me that the Oscar race could be shifted, and that it wasn’t fixed where the most obvious choice would win. Where Oscar is concerned, the fix isn’t always in.
The only real problem with the Oscar race, as I see it, and as it always has been, is that everyone gets caught up in the temporary and doesn’t consider the permanent. For instance, the temporary was the popularity of Barbra Streisand and the strength she was exhibiting as a director. The temporary was the celebration of Robin Williams but the dismissal of Jeff Bridges in The Fisher King. The question remains whether it is possible or not to rid the Oscar race of this element.
33 Responses for "Oscar Flashback – 1991"
Actually Precious reminded me of The Silence of the Lambs during the scene where Mary (Mo’Nique) is dancing in the living room. Totally a Buffalo Bill “Would you fuck me? ” moment.
I would’ve given it to Barton Fink over Silence of the Lambs in a heartbeat.
Glad I missed some of those comments that compared “Precious” to “Do the Right Thing” and “Blindside” to “Driving Miss Daisy.” If there’s any African American story (I’m using that term loosley) that “Precious” could be compared to the closest thing I could think of would be “The Color Purple.”
Lets say that this year does mirror 91 in terms of how the awards go down (not the quality of the films per se) What film could wind up getting best picture over something as oscar baity as An Education, Up in the Air, Invictus, or even Precious?
It’s funny that you mention 91 cause early in last years race, before Dark Knight was snubbed I felt the race was somewhat similar to the year Lambs took best picture. I thought TDK could of had a good shot at best pic over a historical piece like Frost Nixon, like Lambs did over JFK, though Stones work was much more controversial than Howards. It was also an enormous critical and commercial success and featured what may become an iconic perfromance by its viallian and cemented itself in pop culture as Demme’s film had done. I also felt that Walle would end up much like Beauty and the Beast did, unfortunatley that didn’t happen either. Though I guess these are comparisons that you could make about any number of years.
I definitely disagree with the idea that this is an “uncommonly weak” year. While I wouldn’t say it’s a great year, I would however say it’s an extremely solid year for movies. Also, Silence of the Lambs is extremely flawed from start to finish, indulging in annoying caricatures and schlocky dialogue. Barton Fink is phenomenal, but there’s another Coen Bros. movie out this year that is actually far better in my opinion: A Serious Man.
This is a good year for movies. 1991… well that was okay.
I really don’t understand the weak year comments either. I think we were spoiled with 2007, when there could have easily been a top 10 with many great films snubbed. So 2008 and 2009 seem less exciting.
As for 1991, how Prince of Tides snuck in escapes me. And Up is no Beauty and the Beast, but I think you agree with me on that one Sasha.
Dine, I disagree about your statement that An Education is Oscar bait; I respectfully disagree of course. It appears to us as Oscar bait because it’s made in a conservative style and doesn’t take very many risks as such. But it is different, in the fact that it was surely never intended to be an Oscar type of film. I believe that, say, (500) Days of Summer or In the Loop or A Serious Man were all made with somewhat more intention at being nominated. Scherfig made the film she did, IMO, because she didn’t want to break any boundaries and seek notice from the critics. I don’t know if I’m quite making my point here…
And Sasha, I love your final point. That same year, it was all so easy to give Mercedes Ruehl an Oscar for The Fisher King but not allow Bridges even a nom. We see so many temporaries, particularly in who is given the privilege of winning each year – where has Reese Witherspoon’s second great performance been? She won in a weak year for actresses as, I agree, it is now for films in general. Yes, we were rather spoiled in 2007, I agree with Noah, but this has been a slow year for classic American films, if not international films.
I don’t know if I’d call Do the Right Thing an activist film per se – it makes it’s points through a narrative that doesn’t shy from rhetoric, true, but it is definitely a story, not a tract, and surely one of the top ten films of it’s decade.
“Silence of the Lambs is extremely flawed from start to finish, indulging in annoying caricatures and schlocky dialogue.”
No it isn’t.
2009 is a terrible year for oscar movies. Everything up to this point (not counting movies that haven’t opened yet) is just not what I would expect.
My favorites so far: Star Trek, Up, The Hurt Locker, Moon. I guess I can jump on the Precious bandwagon too. Looking forward to Invictus, Brothers and Up in the Air.
But I do agree. With the excpetion of Prince of Tides, any of those films would destroy any of the ones I listed above.
My favorites (to win) that year were Lambs, Beauty and Thelma & Louise. All considered cinema classics by today’s standards. I genuinely though Beauty had a chance to go away with the oscar. It is THE best animated movie of all time. Also, one of THE best musicals of all time.
Up is def. no Beauty and the Beast, but then again (sorry fans) neither is any Pixar film so far (Wall*E and Ratatouille come close)
I’m not very interested in Oscar this year.
Sandra Bullock will be nominated for best actress. LOL!
T.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day was another excellent movie that came out in 1991. It’s one of the greatest sequels ever, and it collected at the Oscars by winning 4 (Sound, Sound Editing, Make Up, and Visual Effects).
Speaking of animated films, just got back from “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and that is one awesome film! Will be a travesty if it doesn’t make it in the Best Animated Feature category that now has five slots. I also think it’s HUGELY deserving for a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. That would be wonderful. And if “Shrek” can do it, why the cuss not?
I agree Natural. It’s one of my very favorite films of the year. It had pop culture references, but they never felt out of place or disjointed. At it’s heart, the film was really a cry for the flower people of yesteryear, telling them to be back in touch with their nature. And I think it was accessible to kids as well as adults. It was cute hearing them ask what the word “cuss” meant.
As for 1991, I happened to be born on the tail-end of that year, and I would take great pleasure in watching “Beauty and the Beast” later on in my childhood. Chiefly, I would make my dad play the ballroom scene for me over and over again as a toddler. Ah, the nostalgia.
Why do people keep calling this a weak year? Yes so the baity films arent as good as they are supposed to be but can we look at how GREAT the good movies were? I haven’t been entertained in any year as much as this. Star Trek was explosive and exciting, District 9 was intelligent and captivating, Watchmen, tho splitting the audience, was an incredible accomplishment, (500) Days of Summer was fiercely delightful and better than Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, or Thank You for Smoking, Where the Wild Things Are was visionary and fascinating and touching, Inglorious Basterds was audacious and daring, A Serious Man topped all Coen films to date and thats saying something, Bright Star was sweet and poetic, An Education was brisk and lovely, Precious was fascinating and moving, the only film i had a hard time with was the most buzzed of all Up in the Air, which i felt empty walking out of.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is above and beyond any awards.
I wouldn’t call 2009 a weak year, but it’s not the best year they could have chosen to expand to 10 (2007 or 2008 would have been perfect), and it’s certainly not as strong as 1991 was. “Silence of the Lambs”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Terminator 2″, and “Boyz n the Hood” are all on my personal top 100 of all time list.
Yeah, any “weak movie year” nonsense is really just that – nonsense. I don’t believe there’s a such thing as a “weak year for movies.” Doesn’t exist. Every single year has its great movies and its bad ones. If you actually take the time to watch many of them you will find many that you love and cherish.
Now, there might be a certain year that contains many of your all-time favorite movies, movies that you love above all else, but that doesn’t render any other year “weak.” District 9, Public Enemies, Adventureland, Up, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Bright Star, A Serious Man, Star Trek, (500) Days of Summer, Inglourious Basterds, The Informant!, Where the Wild Things Are, Precious, Julie & Julia… that’s not what I’d call weak. And I didn’t even mention Up in the Air, Nine, Invictus, Avatar, The White Ribbon, A Prophet, The Lovely Bones, Brothers, Coraline, The Princess and the Frog, The Hurt Locker, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Mother, A Single Man, etc. etc.
Let’s be real here.
Nick K., you make me feel old. And I am not even that old. lol.
Fantastic Mr. Fox is indeed fantastic. All the actors did great voice work.
I disagree with you wholeheartedly Sasha. I believe many movies from this year are great movies that will be remembered for years to come. This include “Moon”, “The Hurt Locker”, “Inglourious Basterds”, “Coraline”, “Where the Wild Things Are”, “Star Trek”, “A Serious Man” and “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”. Other really good movies include “Ponyo”, “Harry Potter”, and “500 Days of Summer”. Yes, none of these are Oscar bait, but it is wrong to say that 2009 is a bad year for movies. It may be a bad year for oscar bait films and the oscars, but it is not a bad year for film.
1991 was one of my favourite years for the Oscars. Though I still have problems with Mary Stuart Masterson’s snub for Fried Green Tomatoes.
Still I remember wanting Beauty and the Beast to win Best Film so damn badly, but wasn’t totally disappointed when Lambs won since after it took the other awards it was pretty much evident it would claim that as well.
The Prince of Tides took the spot that rightfully should have gone to Boyz In the Hood. You want to talk about a powerful film that still holds up today.
I disagree when you say it’s been a very weak year for movies. I think it’s been a pretty strong year for movies, there just haven’t been ANY mainstream wide-release Oscar movies at ALL! I’ve only been able to see three big Oscar films this year and they’re Precious, Hurt Locker, and Basterds.
“Silence of the Lambs is extremely flawed from start to finish, indulging in annoying caricatures and schlocky dialogue.”
What nonsense!
“Silence of the Lambs is extremely flawed from start to finish, indulging in annoying caricatures and schlocky dialogue.”
I felt pain in my soul when I read that.
“Funnily enough…”
That was also a difficult piece to stomach.
And I echo many sentiments already expressed here. I’m confounded that people (*ahem* Sasha Stone) are calling this a weak year. LAST year was a weak year– it was essentially ‘WALL-E’ and then a whole lot of lesser fare (in my opinion). I’ve seen a good number of films this year that were better than anything offered last year (give or take), and I still haven’t seen many films– including the “big four” or whatever you want to call them.
Why don’t we let the dust settle before we pass these sort of judgments about the year in cinema as a whole?
Also…
“the temporary was the popularity of Barbra Streisand and the strength she was exhibiting as a director. The temporary was the celebration of Robin Williams but the dismissal of Jeff Bridges in The Fisher King. The question remains whether it is possible or not to rid the Oscar race of this element.”
The first described “temporary” (Barbra Streisand) did NOT receive an Oscar nomination.
The second described “temporary” (Robin Williams) DID receive an Oscar nomination.
How is this supposed to be a convincing argument?
To Paddy M.: Reese Witherspoon’s FIRST great performance was in Election, IMHO
To Sasha: Fried Green Tomatoes? really? I can’t begin to tell you how disappointed I was with that film after I read the book–and I know we can debate the whole film adaptation of books issue–but I felt that they Hollywood-ized the book so much that they “cleansed” the book of any meaningful sexuality, not to mention that Jessica Tandy was all wrong for that role, and the screenplay was terrible. (I got my first A for an essay ever for my Foucauldian interpretation of the book, so I hold it rather close to my heart)
To The Natural: Totally agree! I actually think this has been quite a stellar year for film. For example, when’s the last time we had such a quality roster of animated films? And I also think that compared to previous years, there have been fewer films with early Oscar buzz that failed to deliver upon release. i don’t think there’s really been one outrageous bomb critically among any of the early buzz films. As for films from 1991, my favourite of the bunch listed was Thelma and Louise by a longshot.
As much as I would have liked to have seen Beauty and the Beast take the top prize, JFK is my personal win. And I still think it should have won. Not that I dislike The Silence of the Lambs, it’s just that I think JFK is one of the most superbly constructed films I’ve seen, whether or not you buy what Stone is selling is irrelevant.
FGT -> “and the screenplay was terrible.”
Ironic you think that since the same person wrote the book and screenplay (Fannie Flagg).
I also disagree with two things: that this was a bad year for film and that “Silence of the Lambs is extremely flawed from start to finish, indulging in annoying caricatures and schlocky dialogue.” SOL is one of the greatest BP winners of all time. Period.
What about “Grand Canyon”? That film got pretty much ignored at the Oscars except for a screenplay nod. I think it had a great performance by Steve Martin (Kevin Kline and Mary McDonnell were also good), and was a nice companion piece to “Boyz N the Hood” (though I definitely prefer “Boyz”). Did people find it too earnest or on the nose in portraying 1991 Los Angeles? I saw it a few years ago and loved it.
was Boyz In The Hood that great? I really loved Ice Cubes performance and he might be the best rapper turned actor ( hey, sasha/ryan, y not have a best rapper turned actor poll, i know sam jackson would be pissed but some of the best actors today are rappers) but it was like a TV movie in a way. definitely hit the right buttons emotionally and all but some of the cinematography and direction left a bit 2 be desired though i was happy 2 see John Singleton come through in Hollywood 2 give people a different perspective.
1991 was my first Oscar year as well. It was the first year that I started to really get into movies. JFK was the first film I ever saw by myself at the cinema. It was a good year.
Being in Australia it wasn’t live, so I heard who won Best Actor beforehand and so that made me more excited about watching it. I had a fair idea which films were nominated for Best Picture but that was about it. I assumed Bugsy would sweep because that’s all anyone seemed to be talking about going in. I didn’t know anything about guild or critics awards back then.
I didn’t know who the supporting actor nominees were (except for Jack Palance) so I was shocked and appalled when I saw that Alan Rickman wasn’t nominated for Supporting Actor for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Seems I somehow knew that Palance and Mercedes Reuhl would win the supporting categories. Maybe I’d read about them being favourites. Can’t really remember.
I was overjoyed when The Silence of the Lambs won all the big awards. I think that cemented my interest in the Oscars – a film I loved winning.
I just wanna say that the sound design in Silence of the Lambs was brilliant. For those of you who remember the last scene involving Ms. Foster slowly descending the basement steps and opening doors….there’s this constant, oppressive, ominous drone. Along with Mr. Shore’s disturbing score, everyone was clutching each other inside the theatre. Check out the Blu-ray edition of the disc and you can hear it. The standard DVD version does not do enough justice to the sound design, unfortunately.
Apologies to Ms Witherspoon. You are correct, Alan, she was fantastic in Election, better than in Walk the Line without doubt!
It’s also worth noting that The Silence of the Lambs was released in February. Oscar season starts as soon as a good movie comes out.
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