The Academy Awards ceremony is the head of movie, essentially the most illustrious night time within the calendar of cinema that prides itself on recognizing essentially the most good achievements within the trade. Regardless of the reverence and a focus that at all times surrounds the Oscars, nevertheless, the ceremony doesn’t at all times get it proper. Whereas that is maybe mostly sighted by way of a protracted historical past of notorious snubs that got here to be extra celebrated than the movies they misplaced out to, it has additionally been current in some perplexing Oscars being awarded to films that merely aren’t worthy.
From self-important and pretentious footage that noticed their Oscar-baiting antics met with nominations aplenty and even awards, to monotonous misfires that beat out extra deserving competitors to realize their accolades, the award-season success of those films left loads scratching their heads. Some might even argue that the truth that these movies are Oscar recipients jeopardizes the validity of the whole ceremony. All we all know for sure is plenty of individuals asking “how the hell did that win?” was a typical development when the award presenters learn out these 10 titles.
10
‘Crash’ (2004)
Gained Finest Image, Finest Authentic Screenplay & Finest Movie Modifying
Marking one of the vital contentious moments of the Oscars in latest a long time, the middling social drama Crash took residence three awards on the 78th Academy Awards, together with Finest Image, an honor it obtained over the much more fancied Brokeback Mountain. A movie distinctly of its time, Crash appealed to the gaping gap in American society within the wake of 9/11, utilizing its story of sparsely interwoven characters in L.A. to discover themes of race, class, and gender.
Granted, there may be undoubtedly objective to the image’s moralistic focus and its want to handle widespread points in modern America, however its unrealistic execution, oversimplified depiction of its central points, and its straightforward options make it come off as self-important and shallow. The truth that it received three Academy Awards, not to mention one, is a travesty. Even 20 years on from the occasion, Crash stays a number one candidate for the worst Finest Image winner of all time.
9
‘In Previous Arizona’ (1928)
Gained Finest Actor
In Previous Arizona shouldn’t be a title many individuals can be accustomed to immediately, and therein lies the fault in its Academy Award win. The 1928 Western follows the Cisco Child (Warner Baxter), a revered Mexican bandit who finds himself being hunted by Sgt. Mickey Dunn (Edmund Lowe), whose pursuit of the infamous outlaw turns private when a romantic affair arises between Dunn and the gunslinger’s girlfriend.
The movie itself is horrifically outdated, however Baxter’s win for Finest Actor is outrageously dumbfounding contemplating his efficiency has been virtually solely forgotten to time whereas iconic performances like Conrad Veidt’s in The Man Who Laughs and Buster Keaton’s in Steamboat Invoice Jr. weren’t even nominated. Whereas Warner Baxter was a tremendous actor in his time, his Oscar win for In Previous Arizona—together with the movie’s 4 different nominations—is little greater than ample proof that the Academy’s penchant for making errors shouldn’t be essentially a brand new phenomenon.
- Launch Date
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December 25, 1928
- Runtime
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95 minutes
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Edmund Lowe
Sergeant Mickey Dunn
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Warner Baxter
The Cisco Child
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Dorothy Burgess
Tonia Maria
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Henry Armetta
Barber (uncredited)
8
‘The Wolfman’ (2010)
Gained Finest Make-up
A woefully misguided remake of the 1941 authentic, 2010’s The Wolfman in the end wastes an all-star solid and a large manufacturing price range on a horror image bereft of chills and suspense. Upon listening to of his brother’s horrific homicide, actor Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his ancestral residence to determine what occurred to him. When he’s bitten by a werewolf, nevertheless, he struggles to regulate to his new cursed life.
Critically derided and a field workplace bomb, The Wolfman continues to be remembered as a monumental misstep from Common Studios, one which stumbles by way of its lack of ability to strike an emotional chord whereas additionally floundering as a poorly realized horror epic. Rick Baker and Dave Elsey’s Oscar win for Finest Make-up was significantly perplexing, given the movie leaned extra so on CGI to appreciate the titular beast reasonably than sensible results, an strategy that actively contributed to its poor reception, as what ought to have been its most engrossing and mortifying sequences are diminished to being blurry and fully inhuman.
The Wolfman
- Launch Date
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February 10, 2010
- Runtime
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125 minutes
7
‘Pearl Harbor’ (2001)
Gained Finest Sound Modifying
Tedious, tiresome, and over-inflated by its personal obsession with its supposed blockbuster spectacle, Pearl Harbor strives to be an emotionally overwhelming romantic struggle epic, however it collapses as an virtually laughable misappropriation of narrative stakes imbued with painfully dangerous dialogue. Given the universality of its unfavorable suggestions, it could come as a shock to many who Pearl Harbor not solely received for Finest Sound Modifying however was additionally nominated for an extra three Academy Awards.
In a weird set of circumstances, Pearl Harbor was nominated for Finest Sound Modifying alongside only one different movie, Monsters, Inc.. Whereas many would argue the Pixar traditional ought to have emerged victorious, it’s value noting that Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Black Hawk Down, Amélie, and Moulin Rouge! had been among the many nominees for Finest Sound, with Black Hawk Down in the end occurring to win. Why none of these movies had been even nominated for Finest Sound Modifying is actually bewildering.
6
‘Cimarron’ (1931)
Gained Finest Image, Finest Tailored Screenplay & Finest Manufacturing Design
An expansive and sprawling Western epic that originally entranced viewers with its scope however has since come to be extra derided lately, Cimarron is a major instance of how audiences’ tastes have modified so drastically over time. What’s disappointing about that is that it beat out some enduring classics of early Hollywood, comparable to The Public Enemy and Little Caesar, to win its Oscars.
Spanning over 40 years, it follows a pair’s hopes for prosperity as they transfer to Osage, Oklahoma, and discover themselves being parted a number of occasions all through their lives. Funnily sufficient, the movie’s one true spotlight—Irene Dunne’s sensational efficiency—solely obtained a nomination from the Academy. Including insult to harm, Cimarron stood as the one Western movie to win Finest Image for nearly 60 years, with Dances with Wolves changing into the subsequent image from the style to be awarded the consideration on the 63rd Academy Awards ceremony.
Cimarron
- Launch Date
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January 26, 1931
- Runtime
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123 minutes
Solid
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Richard Dix
Yancey Cravat
-
-
Nance O’Neil
Felice Venable
5
‘Military of the Useless’ (2021)
Gained Oscars Fan Favourite
The notion of an Oscars Fan Favourite award was totally ridiculous from its conception. Subsequently, it’s maybe a blessing in disguise that the technical Academy Award win of Military of the Useless led to the quick discontinuation of the consideration. The Zack Snyder heist motion movie follows a gaggle of mercenaries tasked with infiltrating a zombie-infested Las Vegas to retrieve a $200 million money sum from a on line casino vault earlier than the navy drops a tactical nuke on the undead metropolis.
Reception to the movie was blended, with some heralding it as a delightfully over-the-top feat of ultra-violent motion, whereas others chastised it as a by-product and lazily stylized dose of camp genre-fare incapable of fulfilling its 148-minute runtime. Granted, circumstances in 2021 meant the Oscars’ glorified reputation contest wasn’t precisely imbued with a litany of selections for voters, however the truth that Military of the Useless technically stands as an Academy Award-winning image is an indictment on the ceremony that’s solely worsened by the truth that such movies as Tick, Tick… Increase; Pig; and The Worst Individual within the World didn’t win something.
4
‘The Iron Woman’ (2011)
Gained Finest Actress & Finest Make-up and Hairstyling
Biopics have at all times held a sure sway with the Academy Awards, particularly once they characteristic distinguished stars depicting difficult public figures and ostensibly market themselves as awards season stunners. Whereas it isn’t the one movie to have garnered Oscar success by way of such a way, The Iron Woman is likely one of the worst, with the reflective exploration of Margaret Thatcher’s (Meryl Streep) political profession a uninteresting and dreary affair to say the least.
Whereas Streep’s efficiency is spectacular, it’s maybe extra a feat of impersonation extra so than one in all supreme emotional depth and shifting nuance, and there’s a sense that she earned the Oscar on repute extra so than advantage. It’s unbecoming of the ceremony that The Iron Woman tied with Hugo because the second most profitable image of the 12 months by way of Oscars, whereas the likes of The Woman with the Dragon Tattoo, A Separation, and Moneyball paled as compared.
3
‘The Best Present on Earth’ (1952)
Gained Finest Image & Finest Story
The Best Present on Earth is an notorious title within the context of the Academy Awards, not solely as a result of it is likely one of the weakest movies to win Finest Image, however due to the far superior films it triumphed over as effectively. Amid a lavish medley of colours and showbiz spectacle, the movie focuses on performers in a touring circus act, following the relationships and rivalries that emerge throughout their tenure on the highway.
Whereas there’s a sure attraction to sure chapters of the film, it’s in the end slowed down by its overbearing melodrama and its threadbare plot that struggles to satisfy the 152-minute runtime. These plot pitfalls make it an absurd level that The Best Present on Earth was even nominated for Finest Image and Finest Story, not to mention that it received. In doing so, it emerged triumphant over such enduring classics as Excessive Midday, The Quiet Man, and Moulin Rouge, whereas the enduring Singin’ within the Rain wasn’t even nominated.
- Launch Date
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February 16, 1952
- Runtime
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152 minutes
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-
Cornel Wilde
The Nice Sebastian
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Charlton Heston
Brad Braden
-
2
‘Suicide Squad’ (2016)
Gained Finest Make-up and Hairstyling
There’s a sure injustice to the truth that, whereas such films as The Darkish Knight, Logan, The Batman, and plenty of many extra superhero classics have left the Academy Awards empty-handed, 2016’s cataclysmic disasterpiece Suicide Squad nabbed an Oscar for Finest Make-up and Hairstyling. The notorious motion flick follows a gaggle of rogue supervillains as they’re captured by a ruthless authorities company and compelled to hold out high-risk missions.
What ought to have been a enjoyable, vibrant, and wickedly pleasurable spectacle of DC’s worst villains being showcased in all their entertaining glory as a substitute flails as an uninspired, inconsistent, and totally boring image that fails to imbue its run-of-the-mill story with something even resembling stylistic flamboyance or artistic dare. It triumphed over Star Trek Past to win Finest Make-up and Hairstyling, an upset that many consider was the flawed choice.
1
‘Emilia Pérez’ (2024)
Gained Finest Supporting Actress
The subjective nature of the Oscars sometimes sees controversies and deliberations emerge yearly. Nevertheless, few ceremonies of late have generated such widespread backlash because the latest 97th Academy Awards, which was rightly lambasted for its ridiculous choice to appoint Emilia Pérez in 13 classes. The musical crime movie follows a Mexican cartel chief’s efforts to transition into a girl, to vanish from the violent setting and fulfill a long-held ambition within the course of.
If there may be one grace within the award-season success of Emilia Pérez, it’s that Zoe Saldaña was the recipient of its sole Oscar win, with the actress delivering a putting efficiency because the lawyer Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón) goes to for assist. Nonetheless, worthy although she could also be, her win solely exacerbates the ludicrous reality {that a} movie so unashamedly out of contact with its central focus may very well be held in such excessive regard by the Academy, whereas so many others instantly acknowledged it for the cynically opportunistic, grotesquely shallow, and inauthentic fantasy that it’s.
