The Oscars are the pinnacle of achievement and recognition in Hollywood. In nearly two dozen categories, various guilds of craftsmen, such as art directors, makeup artists, writers, directors, and actors, vote for excellence in their profession. Millions of people tune in every February or March to see such pomp and circumstance.
As a result, the public has usually seen, or at least knows about, the films that have won Oscars. However, there are some who, despite achieving the highest prize possible, are still unloved, unseen, or criminally underappreciated. Here are some Academy Award winning movies that deserve to be seen and appreciated again.
Common People (1980)
It’s strange that a film that won four Oscars, including Best Picture, could be considered underrated, but that only accentuates the unfortunate place. Ordinary people occupies in film history. Robert Redford’s film had the misfortune of going up against Martin Scorsese’s seminal boxing film raging bullwhich many consider not only the best movie of 1980, but also one of the best movies of all time. [Both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel picked it as the best film of the 1980s.] Although Ordinary people won the battle of the movies on March 31, 1981, winning Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor, lost the war, and has been perceived as an inferior film that undeservedly took the top prize from a superior one. or, even worse, almost forgotten.
It’s a shame because it’s a great movie that popularized and perfected the “suburbia is bad” subgenre that became popular in the 1990s. Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore play an upper-middle-class Chicago couple who lose a child in a boating accident, causing his other son (Timothy Hutton, who deservedly won Best Supporting Actor) to attempt suicide. The film focuses on the aftermath of the tragedy and how it exposes the deep divisions that already exist in the family, particularly between Moore’s cold mother and Hutton’s sensitive son. Lacks raging bull‘s unstoppable narrative drive and visual style, but Ordinary people is a film that still holds up and is worthy of its Best Picture award.
Ordinary people is streaming on Paramount+.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Hollywood nowadays is looking for anything to make a franchise and it would be wise to give master and commander another chance. Based on three of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels, of which 20 exist, The other side of the world kicks out Russell Crowe, so in his post-An amazing mind the height of fame, as the rugged but charismatic Captain Jack Aubrey, who leads his crew on HMS Surprise through treacherous waters during the Napoleonic Wars. Now better known as The Vision in the MCU, Paul Bettany co-stars as Stephen Maturin, the ship’s surgeon who is more interested in discovering new alien species than engaging in naval battles.
Directed by the truman showIt’s Peter Weir. The other side of the world was nominated for an impressive 10 Oscars, but only won two, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing, due to The return of the KingThe awards are sweeping that year. The film was a moderate success, but because the budget was so large, no sequels were made and no remakes are in active development. It’s a shame because the movie is one big, lavish adventure. You don’t usually watch big-budget action movies set on the high seas unless they have Jack Sparrow in them, so The other side of the world it’s a rare blockbuster that engages the mind and an appetite for visual spectacle as well.
Master and Commander: The Other Side of the World is streaming on Hulu.
Elizabeth (1998)
Isabel it’s that rare period drama that cares more about pleasing the audience than getting the facts straight. Shekhar Kapur’s 1998 film focuses on the formative years of England’s great ruler, Queen Elizabeth I, and how she managed to maintain her place on the throne despite numerous assassination attempts, unreliable suitors, and a society that He despised the rulers.
Elizabeth really ordered a Godfather-mob style hit your many enemies? No, but that’s beside the point. Isabel worries about the drama of it all, and the possibility that she might have done something to maintain his power. Nominated for seven Oscars (including Best Picture), it won only for Best Makeup (you’ll see why in the last scene), but it earned credit for David Hirschfelder’s moody score and Cate Blanchett’s terrific performance. This is the role that catapulted the now esteemed Australian actress to stardom, and after all these years, it remains one of her most vital performances.
Isabel is available to rent on all major streaming platforms, including Prime Video.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
More than another version of the famous vampire tale, Bram Stoker’s Dracula It is the last great film made by Francis Ford Coppola, one of the greatest filmmakers in history. It’s a grand gothic romance, with Gary Oldman as the tragic Vlad the Impaler, who renounces God and becomes a vampirist after losing his love in the 14th century. Later, as the 20th century is about to dawn, he believes he sees his reincarnation, Mina Harker (Winona Ryder), and tries to win his love by systematically wiping out his fiancée, friends, and almost half of Europe with his thirst for blood.
Bram Stoker’s DraculaThe lush visuals and bombastic soundtrack helped win Oscars for best sound editing, best makeup and best costumes. While the film is best known for Keanu Reeves’ forced English accent and liberal use of buckets of blood, the film deserves recognition as a great genre piece that’s expertly overseen by the masterful Coppola, who elevates the material from a way that no one had done before or since. The film is truly horrifying (it recoils in horror when a trio of beautiful vampires devour a newborn baby), but it’s also strangely highly romantic (Oldman and Ryder have palpable chemistry) and at times comedic, highlighting the restlessness of a was. the industrial age, slowly giving way to the modern age, with a funky new invention called moving pictures.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is available to rent on all major streaming platforms, including Prime Video.
Ford vs. Ferrari (2019)
Like most of James Mangold’s work, ford vs ferrari It gets better and better the more you think about it. The film stars Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, a retired racing driver who is tasked by the Ford Motor Company with finding a diver capable of beating his rival Ferrari in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, considered the most prestigious race. of the world. industry. He hires Ken Miles (Christian Bale), a short-tempered English driver who tests Shelby’s patience and risks death in his quest for glory.
If this looks like another ordinary racing movie like, say, stormy days, you would be wrong. While ford vs ferrari In capturing the heat and intensity of international motorsport competition (the film deservedly won two Oscars for Best Editing and Best Sound Editing), it is notable for taking the time to develop both Shelby and Miles as complex characters and convincing. As Shelby, Damon gave one of her best performances, but it’s Bale who’s never better as the mercurial family man Miles. Bale wasn’t even nominated for his work, which will go down as one of the biggest snubs in Oscar history. Like Miles before him, Bale should have won this race.
ford vs ferrari is streaming on Hulu.
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