Matt's Big Oscar Challenge: Reviewing the Ceremonies 62-71 (1990-1999)

So we've to the end of another decade and in fact the end of the century as we've watched the last Oscar-nominated films of the 20th century. As a whole the decade saw the beginning of the trend of the Oscar campaign. The name of Harvey Weinstein and his Miramax company has frequently been mention throughout the decade sometimes in a negative manner. Whilst Miramax were responsible for bringing Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting to the public they also aggressively pushed for Shakespeare in Love to win Best Picture. There was also an over-abundance of films set in the past being nominated, a trend that would continue into the new century. But for now we'll do what we always do and explore whether or not the 1990s Best Picture Winners actually deserved their prize.


Ceremony 62 (1990)
Winner: Driving Miss Daisy
Nominees: Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot
Did the Right Film Win? No
Quaint as it was, Driving Miss Daisy was an unremarkable drama that was memorable purely for its performances. The fact that director Bruce Beresford wasn't even nominated for helming the film tells you all you that nobody expecting Miss Daisy to win the award in the first place. I'd probably say that Born on the Fourth of July deserved to win the most due to its fantastic visuals and Cruise's central performance. However my favourite film of the five was My Left Foot which felt like the underdog film that should have triumphed against the more famous competition.

Ceremony 63 (1991)
Winner: Dances with Wolves
Nominees: Awakenings, Ghost, The Godfather Part III, Goodfellas
Did the Right Film Win? No
I personally found Kevin Costner's Civil War epic to be tiresome and lacking in any real tension to speak off. Despite not considering it the classic that most do, I think that Goodfellas is the most accomplished film here and should have been given the Best Picture award at this year's ceremony.

Ceremony 64 (1992)
Winner: The Silence of the Lambs
Nominees: Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK, The Prince of Tides
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
By process of elimination I think that Jonathan Demme's psychological thriller was probably the most worthy winner this year. The Prince of Tides was too soppy, JFK was too long-winded and Bugsy was an enjoyable romp but nothing special. An argument can be made for Beauty and the Beast but I feel that the Academy saw it as too much of a children's film to grab the prize. Ultimately The Silence of the Lambs' win was a refreshing change as creepy films like it rarely get nominated let alone win.

Ceremony 65 (1993)
Winner: Unforgiven
Nominees: The Crying Game, A Few Good Men, Howard's End, Scent of a Woman
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
Of the five films nominated this year Clint Eastwood's measured and thoughtful western stands head and shoulders above the rest. Although A Few Good Men was well-paced and Howard's End had its moments this was definitely the year to honour the excellent work Eastwood had done throughout his career.

Ceremony 66 (1994)
Winner: Schindler's List
Nominees: The Fugitive, In the Name of the Father, The Piano, The Remains of the Day
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
As much as I enjoyed all of the nominees in different ways there's no denying that Schindler's List is oneo f the best films of all time.

Ceremony 67 (1995)
Winner: Forrest Gump
Nominees: Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption
Did the Right Film Win? No
It's fair to say that I enjoyed Forrest Gump more than I thought I would but to me it ranks third on the most deserving films nominated this year. Pulp Fiction was such an original concept at the time that I'm surprised it was nominated but a win would've shown that the academy were progressive. But if you were going to choose a feelgood winner then The Shawshank Redemption had the heart of Forrest Gump plus a lot of the grit that the ultimate winner didn't possess. Ultimately this award should have gone to Frank Darabont's prison drama rather than Robert Zemeckis' modern day fable.

Ceremony 68 (1996)
Winner: Braveheart
Nominees: Apollo 13, Babe, Il Postino, Sense and Sensibility
Did the Right Film Win? No
I didn't have as much of a problem with Braveheart as a lot of others have although the acting, particularly from Gibson was over the top. Still, I found Apollo 13 to be a lot more compelling and felt that a drama focusing on more modern history should have been given a win. In fact any of the nominees, with the exception of Babe, would've been a worthy alternative to Gibson's Scottish epic. On a personal note this is the first Oscar ceremony I remember watching pieces of probably due to the fact that I'd seen two of the nominated films.

Ceremony 69 (1997)
Winner: The English Patient
Nominees: Fargo, Jerry Maguire, Secrets and Lies, Shine
Did the Right Film Win? Yes
As much as I liked Fargo and Secrets and Lies there was only obvious choice to win Best Picture this year. With its sumptuous location shooting and brilliant ensemble cast, The English Patient was more than a deserving winner of Oscar's top accolade.

Ceremony 70 (1998)
Winner: Titanic
Nominees: As Good as it Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential
Did the Right Film Win? Maybe
In some ways Titanic's place as the seventieth Best Picture winner makes sense. The film was full of groundbreaking technical advancements and contained some gripping moments. But in terms of storytelling and character development it was the weakest of the five films nominated that year. In its place I would've put L.A. Confidential; a stylish, well-written and well-acted piece which harks back to the style of earlier decades whilst at the same time feeling utterly modern.

Ceremony 71 (1999)
Winner: Shakespeare in Love
Nominees: Elizabeth, Life is Beautiful, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line
Did the Right Film Win? No
While Shakespeare in Love was an enjoyable romp, it was nowhere near the masterpiece that Saving Private Ryan was. Spielberg's war epic should have won Best Picture this year and it's down to a number of dirty tactics that saw Shakespeare in Love triumph instead.

That's it for the 20th century, I will return sporadically throughout the next few months with posts concerning the early 2000s and I'm hoping to conclude this challenge somewhere around next year's Oscars.