Having been asked to assess whether some of history’s most-Oscared movies deserved all of their golden statues, my reportorial instincts told me to watch a few. But it takes more than a few hours in front of the TV to become as well versed in the history of the Academy Awards as Jim Piazza, co-author of “The Complete History of Oscar.” So I asked him for a little hindsight on “Ben-Hur” and “Titanic,” the two most-Oscared movies with 11 awards each; “West Side Story,” next with 10; and “Gigi” and “The Last Emperor,” both with nine.
NEWSWEEK: “Gigi” (1958), a big musical, came out during the golden age of TV, right?
Jim Piazza: Yes, the studios were trying to make pictures that TV could not compete with. And the big, splashy musical was reason for people to go to the movies. Of the other nominees that year, “Auntie Mame” was probably a little too hip. “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” was a very small picture. “The Defiant Ones” was making a political statement. “Gigi” was the last of its kind, in that it brought back memories of the Great Old Days. Times were changing and the House UnAmerican Activities Committee was in full flower. The big blooper that year was “Vertigo,” which was not nominated for any top prizes. But “Vertigo” is also a very subversive movie.
Talk about “Ben-Hur” (1959). Theater owners were barred from selling candy during the movie because its creators thought that the film was too artistic to be denigrated by popcorn and such, right?
“Ben-Hur” did terrifically at the box office. Yes, theater owners were barred from selling snacks because the producers thought that it was too important. And Charlton Heston for best actor? Definitely not. When he won, he was like, “What am I doing up here?” He said, “I felt as out of place among the other nominees as Zsa Zsa Gabor at a PTA meeting.” Jack Lemmon should have won for “Some Like it Hot.” He had his speech all ready. And in the best picture competition, “The Diary of Anne Frank” was much too dark. “Anatomy of a Murder” was not the right genre. “The Nun’s Story” was a chick flick with habits. And “Room at the Top” was too small and too foreign.
Among the Oscars for “West Side Story” (1961) were prizes for best supporting actor and actress that you don’t think were deserved, right?
George Chakiris, who won for “West Side Story,” was good, but he’s a singer and a dancer. It wasn’t a great performance. This was also the year that Federico Fellini was up for best director for “La Dolce Vita.” He was pushing the boundaries of what film could be. The studios took a long time to figure out that foreign films were gaining a foothold.
Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Last Emperor” (1987) was an epic that won best picture and eight other awards, but never really connected with American moviegoers.
This was a year where no other film really caught fire. “The Untouchables” was popular, but it’s in the crime genre and that doesn’t go over well as a Best Picture. It’s not the kind of thing the Academy likes to promote as their big greeting card to the world. They want a movie that speaks to hearts. Bertolucci won what I call the “Eisenhower in the Field” award. He had like 19,000 extras. He pulled the whole thing together and he did an incredible film. It’s absolutely beautiful–but it had no application to American audiences. “Moonstruck” was the curious loser. It had all the stuff the Academy likes. It was heartfelt, romantic, funny, had great characters. “Broadcast News” was too hip. There may have been word of mouth that “The Last Emperor” had an epic thing going for it. Here was this huge epic in a year of smallish pictures–Hollywood on a budget.
Last, let’s talk “Titanic” (1997). I saw it. I never want to see it again.
The real venom toward this movie was toward James Cameron’s screenplay, which wasn’t even nominated. Some of the dialogue was awful: “Oh, what’s this horrible painting? Oh, it’s by a guy named Picasso or something.” Leonardo DiCaprio is supposed to be this great artist, but his sketches weren’t good. The pairing with Kate Winslet was odd–she almost looked like his mother. It didn’t work. But it had tremendous scope, and Hollywood loves a Cinderella story. It was supposed to be this $200 million flop. People were pulling for it, even though Cameron’s not liked. It had the “Ben-Hur” epic thing going. “L.A. Confidential” was another real contender that year. Curtis Hanson should have won for best director. “As Good As It Gets”–as with ‘Moonstruck,’ usually the Academy loves that stuff. There was even a gay guy down the hall who was always available to talk.
