What do you want....Awards or Iconic?

In a little over a month the 86th Annual Oscars will be awarded and this year, I am taking part in a 

31 Days of Oscar Blogathon 2014

To coincide with...

 Turner Classic Movie Channel's 31 Days of Oscar

Hosted by...

Once Upon A Screen...

Paula's Cinema Club... 

Outspoken and Freckled...

This weekend's theme, OSCAR SNUBS....

WINGS (1927)

Since the very first statuettes were handed out at the Roosevelt Hotel in 1929 when movies couldn't even talk yet and the too gorgeous for words Gary Cooper grabbed the interest of America in only a few minutes before plummeting to his death in a fiery crash...

There has been a discrepancy between what the Critics have valued and recognized and what  the Public has talked about, paid to go see and remembered. Everybody, well, guaranteed every woman was talking about Gary Cooper, he still make my heart go pitter- patter that year.

Case in point, guess what picture won in 1933?

A film called CAVALCADE, kind of a GROUNDHOG DAY but for English  New Year's spanning 1899-1933. What film was looked over for the win, though it was nominated...

A FAREWELL TO ARMS and Gary Cooper. wasn't even nominated. Before you think I am just on a rant about giving Gary Cooper his due, I am, but am actually saving most of it for his own blog posting, so lets move on to 1939, arguable the greatest singular year in movie history. Of course...

GONE WITH THE WIND won and....

WIZARD OF OZ didn't. But neither did...

MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON with Jimmy Stewart...

 or STAGECOACH, still considered an iconic Western, director John Ford using the Epic backdrop of Monument Valley for the first time and a young John Wayne.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS, didn't win either that year....

though I think Laurence Olivier's Heathcliff is by far the best of all the other performances to come. He lost to Robert Donat

who must of been big stuff in 1939, because his name is bigger than the movie's title and he won over Olivier, Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart and Mickey Rooney, ever hear of them?

Now you might be saying, well at least these films and actors had the privilege to be nominated. Let's look at the American Film Institutes list of the 100 greatest movies, in their opinion...

# 10 on their list, SINGING IN THE RAIN, wasn't even nominated. It lost out to...

a well deserve win to one of my favorites, THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH...

 But Gene Kelly wasn't  even  a blip on the screen for a nomination the year Gary Cooper took his second Oscar home for... 

                                                      

 HIGH NOON

The #11 spot on the AFI's Greatest 100 movies goes to....

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

Unarguably one of the most iconic Christmas movies of all time had five nominations for an Academy award including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. What did it win? A technical award for the new technique of assimilating fake snow on movies sets! Yup, that is why we watch it every Christmas.

Jimmy Stewart was nominated five times in all for the Best Actor award in  movies such as MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON and...

HARVEY, where Stewart had act to nothing, long before anyone had even thought of CGI or green screen, but no win for Best Actor...

Jose Ferrer won for CYRANO DE BERGERAC.

Stewart's co-hort,  in another film that was up for an Academy award but lost....

THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (194O)

Cary Grant, has to be at the top of the list for the Snubbed awards, only being nominated twice in his long film history and none for any of his Iconic movies such as the above mentioned or for movies such as..

THE BISHOP'S WIFE though it was nominated for best picture in 1947. Nor did he get nominated for any of his later work with Hitchcock, though in 1959 Grant starred in...

NORTH BY NORTHWEST which holds the #40 spot on the AFI list of the Greatest Movies. Unfortunately for Grant...

BEN-HUR

kind of raked in about all the awards in 1959, with twelve nominations and eleven wins.
Which brings up the question of if an iconic movie like NORTH BY NORTHWEST came out a year before or after, would it have done better? Or are there actors like Grant, or  directors, producers that just never are taking home that golden statuette unless it is a life time achievement award?

Which brings up Paul Newman who in...

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

lost to David Niven in....

SEPARATE TABLES. Have you seen it?

Newman's 1962 nomination for...

THE HUSTLER

 Considered on of his greatest films lost to....

Maximilian Schell in JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG. 

Newman would win in 1986 for ...

THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986)

But many see this as a re-recognition to Newman's Academy Award worthy previous role of "Fast Eddie" Felson in  THE HUSTLER. I have to agree, THE HUSTLER  is a piece of artistry to watch as is Newman's other over looked performance in...

HUD, which just happened to be up against another worthy performance, with the Best Actor nod going the first time to an actor of color, 

Sidney Poitier in LILIES OF THE FIELD. Sometime's, more then sometimes, timing is everything!

Are you seeing my point, that there is a difference between Award worthy in one given year, where only One Shall be names and Iconic whose only judge is the test of Time?

What is more Iconic than Newman's portrayal of....

COOL HAND LUKE (1967)

or do we....

Have a failure to communicate?

Do you need to go in the box?

Are you shaking the bush?

And how many eggs can you eat?

Well, such words might be quoted about as much as....

As you wish

Mostly dead

I don't think that means what you think it means

Maaaaaarige

and My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die.

by a younger set and the movie they got all that from is AFI's #88 Best Movie of all Time...

Now what Academy votee would check THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) as the best movie of the year, even though they, their children, their grandchildren were probably walking around all year quoting quipping lines from it and still are! 

THE LOST EMPEROR won that year, I kind of remember that award winning movie, do you?

But more times then not Iconic takes a little bit more time to get in the hearts and minds of us earthlings...

\

 In 1977, though STAR WARS won many technical awards, it lost Best Picture to...

ANNIE HALL

But so did Spielberg's...

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND

Woody Allen beat out both Spielberg and Lucas for Best Director that year.

The Sci Fi snub continues with...

 E.T. losing out to...

 GANDHI in 1982.

But in my biased opinion the greatest SNUB from the powers that be, completely ignoring the reactions of the public would have to go, hands down to...

AVATAR (2008), directed by James Cameron.

The Academy gave the Best Picture and the Best Director honor in 2008 to his X wife, Kathryn Bigelow for...

HURT LOCKER

After Cameron was a little bit on the "cocky side", I have heard that from many a news reporting,  after his sweeping win for...

TITANIC in 1997, with fourteen nominations and eleven wins including Best Picture and Best Director. 

Then the next time one of his monumental  movie-AVATAR  is up for consideration, its up against his X wife?

Can I hear a collective....Hummmmmm? 

Bet both of them wished for a year apart on their release dates?

But back to AVATAR, which TIME magazine in their Top 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium, lists at #3 and HURT LOCKER at #6....just saying.

It's late and I could go on and on perusing the Wikipedia's list of the winners and nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor, sorry I rarely watch movies for, uhmm, the actresses so do not have a vast and worthless knowledge of the patterns across the ages for them, but here is that list too, Best Actress. 

Let me leave you with one more Iconic movie, that the mere mention of will send some into a chorus of quip y quotes and giggles...

 I am sure THE HOLY GRAIL was not a consideration for anyone's list, especially since it was British, but that is besides the point...

It came out the same years, 1975,  as the eligible US movie JAWS, which  did get an Academy Award nomination,- Da,Da,Da, Da, Daaaaaaaaaa!
But the Oscar went to a well deserved, but not as iconic of a movie as the above two...

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

Next Weekend in...

"Music, Costumes, Cinematography, Writing, Etc.

Catch my Friday, Feb. 8th post for it and go to the above Host's pages to read more from other Movie lovers and haters, who post will all be linked there!
Plus keep tabs on Turner's Pre Oscar Activities!