There has been a lot of talk this Oscar season (including on this site) about films that people presume will win and what that means in the grand scheme of things.

However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Oscar voters lack any access to what ultimately lauds a movie as a landmark film – they have no sense of legacy. This isn’t their fault of course, hindsight being 20/20 and all. However I wonder how things might change, if awards were given out well after a film’s release. And I’m not talking months – not even thirteen months as was the case with SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. I’m talking years here kids. What would happen if in two weeks, The Academy were to hand out awards for films from 2005?

See, giving a film a chance to breathe could actually provide perspective on its actual place within the scope of film history. So if you’ll indulge me a moment, I’d like to offer my thoughts on a few years’ worth of Oscar races, with the perspective of passing time in mind.

2005
Oscar went to CRASH

Also in the running BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, CAPOTE, GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, MUNICH

CRASH is a fine film, but there’s no way anybody can still think it’s the best of this lot. For my money, no film summed up the times or the decade better than GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, and it has aged handsomely since then.

(Unnominated Wild Card – I’d have enjoyed seeing A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE in the running)

2004
Oscar went to MILLION DOLLAR BABY

Also in the running THE AVIATOR, RAY, SIDEWAYS, FINDING NEVERLAND

This is a year where I think Oscar got things as right as they could have with this list of nominees.

(Unnominated Wild Card – I say as right as they could have, because one of the decades very best movies THE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND wasn’t in contention. Had it made the cut, it gets my vote in a walk)

2003
Oscar went to THE RETURN OF THE KING

Also in the running LOST IN TRANSLATION, MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD, MYSTIC RIVER, SEABISCUIT

The Lord of The Rings trilogy deserved recognition, and Oscar decided to pile it on here at the end giving the epic a record-tying 11 statues. None of the other four are more deserving, and this is the most appropriate time to honour the series, so no real complaints.

(Unnominated Wild Card – In the face of middle earth, does it really matter?)

2002
Oscar went to CHICAGO

Also in the running GANGS OF NEW YORK, THE HOURS, THE PIANIST, THE TWO TOWERS

Giving this musical top prize seems a day late and a dollar short in hindsight. I could make a case for TWO TOWERS, but there wasn’t no a way a story with no beginning and no end was taking this category. That said, I must say that THE PIANIST has aged rather well. Pity it doesn’t have a Best Picture trophy to match that Best Dirctor trophy.

(Unnominated Wild Card – Odd that CATCH ME IF YOU CAN was primarily missing from the night’s proceedings, no?

2001
Oscar went to A BEAUTIFUL MIND

Also in the running THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, GOSFORD PARK, IN THE BEDROOM, MOULIN ROUGE!

Here’s where Oscar begins a string of getting things wrong. besides the fact that they could have awarded Lord of The Rings right off the get-go, we have what is still one of the most unique musicals in film – the movie responsible for re-launching an entire genre. Ron Howard’s whitewashed biopic pales in comparison…no pun intended.

(Unnominated Wild Card – MEMENTO anyone?)

2000
Oscar went to GLADIATOR

Also in the running CHOCOLAT, CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, ERIN BROCKOVICH, TRAFFIC

Big as a fan as I am of GLADIATOR, this is one of the biggest head-scratchers in the decade. TIGER/DRAGON and TRAFFIC are so much better crafted, with TRAFFIC even getting a Best Director win to prove it. Yet somehow, this crowd-pleaser walked off with the big prize. As the years have passed, and GLADIATOR has withered into a TNT sword & sandal Sunday afternoon filler, you gotta believe that Oscar would love a mulligan on this race.

(Unnominated Wild Card – There’s the brilliant-but-bleak REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, and my personal favorite ALMOST FAMOUS for your consideration).

1999
Oscar went to AMERICAN BEAUTY

Also in the running THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, THE INSIDER, THE GREEN MILE, THE SIXTH SENSE

Chalk this up to “Seemed like a great idea at the time”. 1999 was a watershed year fir films, but you’d never know it from all of these safe choices in the mix. Compounding matters is that AMERICAN BEAUTY, which felt wonderfully avant garde at the time, now leaves audiences scratching their heads and wondering what the big deal is. The unfortunate bit is that with this crop of nominees, we couldn’t have done much better.

(Unnominated Wild Card – Oh, where to begin? There’s MAGNOLIA, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, THREE KINGS, FIGHT CLUB, THE MATRIX, BOYS DON’T CRY, etc, etc, etc)

1998
Oscar went to SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Also in the running ELIZABETH, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, THE THIN RED LINE

Perhaps the grandaddy of all Oscar fuck-ups. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE is a fine film, and certainly seemed like a great idea at the time (“That script!”). But time has not been kind to the 1998 Best Picture honouree. What’s worse is that two of its classmates have taken up the mantle as some of the greatest war films of all time…and two of the best movies period. Heavy studio campaigning won this Oscar for SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, and I wish I could tell you that The Academy learned its lesson.

(Unnominated Wild Card – One could make a case for AMERICAN HISTORY X OR PLEASANTVILLE)

1997
Oscar went to TITANIC

Also in the running THE FULL MONTY, AS GOOD AS IT GETS, GOOD WILL HUNTING, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

So no real complaint here, even if TITANIC isn’t exactly my cup of tea…but do you get thr impression that if they could go back and do it all over again, Oscar might resist the hype just a little bit? The biggest movie of all time felt too big to fail…but when you fast forward the tape twelve years, they had no problem passing over an even bigger Best Pic nominee from the very same director.

(Unnominated Wild Card – In this instance, none are coming to mind)

1996
Oscar went to THE ENGLISH PATIENT

Also in the running FARGO, JERRY MAGUIRE, SECRETS & LIES, SHINE

I’ll always remember this year as the crop of nominees that did two things at the same time. It had critics hailing “Oscar got it right!” and it had mainstream audiences asking “Have you heard of these movies?”. Again, I have no real complaint with THE ENGLISH PATIENT…but I think a heavy case could be made for FARGO and it’s black absurdity. Oscar voters would go on to begin loving all things Coen later anyway, why not jump in here and recognize a modern classic? It’s hard to distract from the sweeping epic that is THE ENGLISH PATIENT, but I’d wager that if voters were to give this another go with fifteen years of hindsight, the race would be a lot closer than it was at the time.

(Unnominated Wild Card – It was the year of the indie anyhow, why not toss SLING BLADE into the mix?)