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Savage Messiah: Ken Russell => Savage Messiah: Ken Russell => Topic started by: Iain Fisher on January 09, 2022, 08:11:27 PM
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One of the films not nominated for an Oscar was Ken's The Devils:
"What kind of Academy would have nominated The Devils for best picture? A bold Academy. A brave Academy. An Academy willing and able to grapple with the putrid rot of history, imperfect idealism, and sanctimonious authority. Make no mistake, The Devils’ reputation precedes it, haunting charges of obscenity perhaps best summed up by critic Judith Crist’s condemnation of the film as a “grand fiesta for sadists and perverts.” The Devils is a harsh film with harsh subject matter. Historically, the Oscars tend to avoid anything with especially pointy edges, no matter how well-realized, performed, or acute in their criticisms. It’s true that the Academy has nominated, and even awarded, an X-rated film in the past. But the similarities between 1969’s Midnight Cowboy and Ken Russell’s political parable stop and start at their MPAA designation. The Devils is one of the most searing and upsetting visions of political corruption that’s ever been committed to celluloid. It is a genuinely dangerous piece of art. And I’m not sure the Academy really does danger"
The summary is by Meg Shields.
Other films on the list include:
- Martin Scorsese Silence (2016) - Scorsese was neglected by the Oscars for a long time
- James Whale Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
- Michael Powell Peeping Tom (1960)
- Paul Thomas Anderson Magnolia (1999)
- Carol Reed The Third Man (1949), written as a filmscript (and later novelised) by Graham Greene
- David Lean Brief Encounter (1945), based on a short play by Noel Coward
- Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo (1958), not my favourite Hitchcock but worthy. Of his 50+ films none won the Best Picture Oscar
- Ridley Scott Blade Runner (1982) and Alien (1979)
- Stanley Kubrick The Shining (1980) - horror films and sci-fi have little chance at the Oscars
I've missed out foreign language films as they would not even have been seriously considered for best film.
Dubious ones listed for Best film
- The Fly (1986 - the original from 1958 is much better
- Die Hard (1988) – a good fun film but not Oscar level
- Planet of the Apes (1968) - as for Die Hard
The article is on the FSR website
https://filmschoolrejects.com/movies-not-nominated-best-picture/ (https://filmschoolrejects.com/movies-not-nominated-best-picture/)