“You realize who this linen girl Tanya is?” (p 612 – Pevear / Volokhonsky translation)

My Top 9:

  1. Dr. Zhivago
  2. The Pawnbroker
  3. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
  4. The Collector
  5. A Thousand Clowns
  6. King Rat
  7. The Human Condition: Part III
  8. Thunderball
  9. The Train

Note:  That’s it.  After years and years of a list longer than ten, I can only come up with nine films and one of those, The Train, was actually nominated in the Original Screenplay category even though it was based on Rose Valland’s book. (more…)

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Introduction

oscarsThis is a companion piece to three different series.  The first is The History of the Academy Awards, in which I covered each category in individual posts.  This was originally done in 2009 and additions were included in 2010.  You can find links to all of these pieces in each individual category.  I have grouped all of the categories together for the same reason that I did so originally – because most pieces on the Oscars don’t approach the awards through the categories, but through the years.  This specific piece is designed to take a closer look at the decade and how I think the Academy did in those years.

The second series is my Year in Film series.  That is mentioned here because in those pieces I included paragraphs about the Oscars as a whole for each year and included a considerable amount of trivia.  Since I had based my Year in Film series and eligibility as such on the Academy calendar, it all seemed very relevant.  Also, I include various prizes (Worst Oscar, Worst Nomination, Worst Omission, etc) and I didn’t want to repeat myself, so following the links will bring you there.  Those links are at the end of this piece, where I do a brief summation of each year and how the Academy did.  One note on the Year in Film posts – I did those before Oscars.org started putting up official information about release dates.  Several films have been moved from the years where they appeared in those posts – see the Nighthawk Awards posts for more accurate placement – I have included links in the years. (more…)

Ironically, the big star of 1965 (Julie Christie) would not be that great in the best film of 1965.

Ironically, the big star of 1965 (Julie Christie) would not be that great in the best film of 1965.

You can read more about this year in film here.  The Best Picture race is discussed here, with reviews of all the nominees.  First there are the categories, followed by all the films with their nominations, then the Globes, where I split the major awards by Drama and Comedy, followed by a few lists at the very end.  If there’s a film you expected to see and didn’t, check the very bottom – it might be eligible in a different year.  Films in red won the Oscar in that category (or Globe, in the Globes section).  Films in blue were nominated.  Films with an asterisk (*) were Consensus nominees (a scale I put together based on the various awards) while those with a double asterisk (**) were the Consensus winners.

I’m listing the top 10 in the categories but only the top 5 earn Nighthawk nominations.

Nighthawk Awards:

  • Best Picture
  1. Doctor Zhivago  *
  2. Repulsion
  3. The Pawnbroker
  4. Drunken Angel
  5. The Collector
  6. Darling  **
  7. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
  8. King Rat
  9. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
  10. Thunderball

(more…)

101 Dalmations - the best of a weak decade for animation

1960 – 1969

Total Films I’ve Seen:  801

Films That Make the Top 5 in Any Category:  40

Best Film Not to Make the Top 5 in Any Category:  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Film of the Decade:  Bonnie and Clyde

Worst Film of the Decade:  Horrors of Spider Island

Worst Best Picture Nominee of the Decade:  Doctor Dolittle

Worst Film of the Decade Made by a Top 100 Director:  Tonight for Sure (more…)

Julie Andrews singing one of the few songs in The Sound of Music (1965) that doesn't make me want to slam my head into a wall

The 38th annual Academy Awards, for the film year 1965.  The nominations were announced on February 21, 1966 and the awards were held on April 18, 1966.

Best Picture:  The Sound of Music

  • Doctor Zhivago
  • Darling
  • A Thousand Clowns
  • Ship of Fools

Most Surprising Omission:  The Collector

Best Eligible Film Not Nominated:  The Pawnbroker

Rank (out of 82) Among Best Picture Years:  #63 (more…)

Omar Sharif and Alec Guinness as the half-brothers in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965)

My Top 20:

  1. Doctor Zhivago
  2. The Pawnbroker
  3. Repulsion
  4. The Collector
  5. Darling
  6. King Rat
  7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
  8. Othello
  9. Thunderball
  10. Simon of the Desert
  11. A Thousand Clowns
  12. Major Dundee
  13. Kwaidan
  14. The Hill
  15. Viva Maria
  16. The Train
  17. Help
  18. The Ipcress File
  19. Red Desert
  20. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (more…)