A long time ago, on a movie-related podcast, a question was posited to the hosts: When is the last time your favorite movie of the year won Best Picture at the Oscars? As I was listening to the podcast, it took me a little while to figure my first answer out, but whenever I thought of a film, I realized that I only agreed with the selected winner of the nominated films — but it wasn’t really my favorite film of the year. So, today, I want to do my own four-pronged test, for the purpose of finding out just how much I agree with the Academy.
This test that I have designed consists of four questions, which are each trying to gather what your personal connection to the selected winners is. Now, I should note that I haven’t seen every film ever made, obviously, and I can’t say that I’ve seen every Best Picture winner yet, unfortunately. But I think this is an interesting test for me to go through.
#1 – Starting With an Easy One
- When is the last time your personal favorite film of the nominated films for Best Picture won the award?
Now again, this isn’t your favorite film of the year. This is about your favorite Best Picture nominated film in any given year. Let’s start with last year’s ceremony — the 90th Academy Awards. While I loved The Shape of Water, it wasn’t my favorite nominated film. In fact, my favorite film of 2017 — Get Out — was nominated for Best Picture.
We have to go a couple of extra years back to find the answer. The last time my favorite Best Picture nominated film won the big award was at the 80th Academy Awards. That’s right, that means I am one of those people who agreed with the decision to award No Country for Old Men with the Best Picture-Osca.
#2 – Nominated
- When is the last time your favorite movie of the year was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars?
I mentioned this in the previous section, but this one is easy for me — Paul Thomas Anderson’s Get Out. I mean, it just happened at the previous ceremony.
#3 – How Many Times?
- At the ceremonies celebrating films from the 2010s, how many times has your favorite film of the year not been nominated for Best Picture?
You know, these last few years it’s been going quite well for me with Best Picture. 2017 had Get Out, 2016 had La La Land, 2014 had Whiplash and 2013 had Her. 2010 had Toy Story 3. And that’s it. So that means that 2015, 2012, and 2011 did not go so well for me.
#4 – The Big One
- Finally, when is the last time your favorite film of the year won Best Picture at the Academy Awards?
The honest answer is that it’s been awhile unless you count the minutes we all thought La La Land won Best Picture. We have to go all the way back to the 76th ceremony when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won the top award. And if that film hadn’t won, then we’d have to go much farther back.
So, that’s that. But what about you? Please comment below.
– Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 