Photo: Warner Bros.
Even though it’s been more than 20 years since Forrest Gump was released people still talk about that movie today as it remains a favorite among folks. And how can it not be? Tom Hanks knocked it out of the park and you can pretty much catch the movie every week on TBS. But even though Forrest Gump went on to win a ton of Oscars, including Best Picture in 1994, and it is still talked about today, you can’t say the same about a lot of previous Best Picture winners. I’m talking about movies that won Best Picture and were quickly forgotten — mainly because they were awful choices for Best Picture or because they were just forgettable.
And that’s why we’re here today, to tell you about ten movies that may have won movie of the year, but we’re actually very memorable – for different reasons of course. So without further ado, and in no particular order, check out ten Best Picture winners we don’t give a damn about anymore.
Shakespeare in Love ( Released in 1998)
A couple of reasons no one cares about this anymore: 1) It stars Gwyneth Paltrow in it. 2) It somehow beat Saving Private Ryan, which folks not only consider one of the greatest war movies ever made, but one of the greatest movies ever. It was completely snubbed. But that’s OK, no one remembers Shakespeare in Love anyway.
The Artist (Released in 2011)
You don’t remember this movie, do you? Not many people do. It was one of the most boring Best Picture winners in recent memory. Hell, that entire Best Picture category from that year (2012) was a snooze-fest. Some other nominees? Movies like The Tree of Life, The Descendants and War Horse were just some of the forgettable movies from that category. But The Artist won it all, and yet, we barely remember.
Dances With Wolves (Released in 1990)
Remember this three hour winner? Didn’t think so. You remember Field of Dreams more, and that didn’t even win Best Picture at the Oscars. This Kevin Costner epic did, somehow beat Goodfellas. Yes, thee Goodfellas. Sorry, Kevin, you didn’t deserve this. Actually, Ghost would have been my pick.
Chariots of Fire (Released in 1981)
Raise your hand if you recognize this movie’s theme song instantly and yet have never even seen this movie. Yep, everyone’s hand should be up because chances are you’ve never met a single soul who has seen this movie. While it’s not a bad movie at all, again, it’s just completely forgettable. Plus it beat out Raiders of the Lost Ark and that’s just a crime.
Crash (Released in 2004)
Tons of people irrationally hate this film for some reason, although most folks don’t even recall it. If anything, most people probably think Brokeback Mountain won that year, but nope, it was Crash — the lazy film filled with racial stereotypes. But hey, that was enough for it to win movie of the year. But don’t worry, you probably never seen it more than once.
The King’s Speech (Released in 2010)
Bet you forgot about this movie, right? Taking nothing away from Colin Firth, who was brilliant as King George VI, this is one of those movies that people aren’t talking about anymore. In other words, it didn’t move the needle much, and people aren’t rushing to see it again and again. Other movies that The King’s Speech beat out? Well you might recognize some of these: Inception, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, among others. So yeah, those are three movies that people still talk about today.
Tom Jones (Released in 1963)
Unless you’re knee deep in movie history, you’ve never even heard of this movie and we don’t blame you. The film, which won four Oscars, including Best Picture, followed Tom Jones and his romantic adventures in 18th century England. If this is the first time you’re hearing about this movie, my point has been made — unfortunately no one cares about this film anymore. Have you heard of Cleopatra? How about How the West Was Won? You have? Well, those are two films Tom Jones beat out.
The English Patient (Released in 1996)
You would think a movie that went on to win nine Oscars would be pretty memorable, right? Well that’s not the case with The English Patient, a film about a nurse that tends to a badly-burned plane crash victim. And as quickly as this film won as quickly as we forgot about it. But we’re still talking about some of the other movies The English Patient beat out, most notably, Fargo and Jerry Maguire.
Oliver! (Released in 1968)
Unless you’re into British musical dramas you’ve probably never heard of Oliver!, the film that took home five Oscars. But we won’t blame you as 1968 was kind of a dud when it comes to movies as one of the few notable films from that year was 2001: A Space Odyssey, and that film wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture. Sorry, Oliver, no one even knew you existed until now.
Unforgiven (Released in 1992)
Before Clint Eastwood was talking to empty chairs and losing his mind, he was actually a great director (now, not so much), and Unforgiven actually won it all. But no one talks about it anymore. Is it because Eastwood is no longer a good director? Is it because we’re too busy talking about Million Dollar Baby? Is it because Eastwood has lost his marbles? Perhaps all of the above, but Unforgiven isn’t exactly being rushed to see again. You know what’s the only thing people remember about 1992? Al Pacino saying, “Hoo-ah!”
