I think Barry Lyndon is the lesser (but still great) of those five films. I often use 1975 and ‘76’s Best Picture nominees as evidence of how far we have fallen. I think the last great film to win the Oscar for Best Picture is No Country for Old Men…18 years ago.
Thanks for reading! I agree with you that our recent Best Picture winners really aren't great films. In fact, I think most of them are disposable and fade away after the Oscar hoopla is over. Yet, films like "No Country For Old Men" will always endure because they're not only well-made, they also have something to say about our society and culture - just like the nominees for best pic in '75 and '76.
My main problem is that everything that makes Thackeray's novel an amazing read is missing from Kubrik's movie. Without the satire, I just don't see the point. And don't get me started on Ryan O'Neal!
“Should this movie have won the Oscar” is always a poorly framed question because historically the Oscar has not reflected sophisticated taste, and it’s going to be in bad shape if it gets to be seen as an award for art house movies.
Thanks for reading! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks “Barry Lyndon” should’ve won. Of course, I love “Nashville” too, so maybe there should have been a tie for “Best Picture” that year.
A superb piece, thank you. What a year it was. While I think Jaws as close to the purest essence of cinema as we’ve come, it’s Nashville every time for me. The ultimate cockeyed, affectionate but unflinching satire of America from one its greatest and most under-appreciated geniuses.
Thanks for reading and for your kind words! I'm a huge Altman fan, so naturally I like "Nashville" a lot too. Also, I agree with you that Altman is one the most under-appreciated geniuses of American Cinema. I would rather watch one of Altman's films that doesn't quite work or could be labeled a misfire by others than most anything playing in movie theaters today.
I had taken a film studies class on Stanley Kubrick before Barry Lyndon was released, so I had to see it when it was first released. Audience reaction seemed muted, confused, especially after Clockwork Orange. I loved it. I roamed the National Gallery of Art in DC regularly, and it was like watching a Gainsborough painting come to life. The music was exquisite: the Irish whistle tunes in the beginning evoking an atmosphere of innocence, then Handel's Sarabande as the relentless tide turns against Redmond Barry. Overall, the theme was very Kubrickian: one man taking on society (and having wild success for a time) only to fall by the turn of fate's wheel against him.
In Kubrick's earlier Paths of Glory, a French soldier in WWI tries to push back on a military to keep his men from having to undertake a suicidal/pointless mission. It's one film I cannot bear to watch again as its impact is too visceral for me. Kirk Douglas is the star, and he plays it with absolute conviction.
In both films we have a lone man against a hostile, overwhelming force.
Thanks for reading my article! Also, thank you for your excellent insights into both "Paths of Glory" and "Barry Lyndon." I didn't see "Paths of Glory" until I was in college, but it had a powerful effect on me too.
Thanks for reading! I agree - even back when I was a teenager, after I saw "Barry Lyndon" for the first time, I knew I had seen something special and a great work of cinema. And that's after I saw "Jaws" 5 or more times the previous summer. I'm glad more people are beginning to recognize just how great Kubrick's film really is now.
I cannot .... for a different reason entirely: I think that ranking or choosing "best" films is entirely subjective. "Cuckoo's Nest" is a brilliant film ... but better than the rest? It's going to resonate differently from person to person. "Jaws" was (and is) a phenomenon. They were all different. I'd say that says more about the era and the willingness to fund and distribute different and challenging films.
And how about the next year .... "Rocky" won. Was it better than "Network" or "Taxi Driver" or "All the President's Men"? You can probably go year by year .... How was "Goodfellas" not the Best Picture in 1991?
I've started to come around to this sort of thinking... ranking films seems like it doesn't help - turns it into a competition when the films are doing totally different things
Thanks for reading! I think you're right, but in terms of the 1975 Academy Awards, these films were already in a competition for the best picture Oscar, so I thought it would be interesting to examine each film and look at the reasons why each one should or should not have won.
Oh, it's an interesting article, and given how they were nominated it's fair to discuss it...just find myself questioning the whole idea of ranking art
Thanks for reading. You make some valid points. Sadly, it's the type of era we'll probably never see again. And yes, "Goodfellas" definitely should've won Best Picture in 1991.
Picking between these films is like picking between my children. There are some I feel closer to in different seasons but love them all for what the are.
Awesome! Thank you! I like the blockbuster summer hits from the old days too: "Logan's Run," "Alien" "Xanadu" (guilty pleasure); "The Shining," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and all the great movies from the summer of '82: "The Thing," "Blade Runner" and "ET."
This is such a "win-win-win-win-win" year. I could be happy calling any of these Best Picture. Obviously, I think Barry Lyndon should have won but One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest has something so "everyman" about it. We do not award films, these days, which so many people are able to connect to. (See: One Battle's win, which surely alientated half its viewership). Great article, Jim!
No.
I think Barry Lyndon is the lesser (but still great) of those five films. I often use 1975 and ‘76’s Best Picture nominees as evidence of how far we have fallen. I think the last great film to win the Oscar for Best Picture is No Country for Old Men…18 years ago.
Hi Sherman,
Thanks for reading! I agree with you that our recent Best Picture winners really aren't great films. In fact, I think most of them are disposable and fade away after the Oscar hoopla is over. Yet, films like "No Country For Old Men" will always endure because they're not only well-made, they also have something to say about our society and culture - just like the nominees for best pic in '75 and '76.
Let’s hope there is some kind of cultural change that brings the greatness back to mainstream movies.
With all respect, any of 'em except Barry Lyndon.
Hi Gerald,
Thanks for reading! And I understand: "Barry Lyndon" isn't for everyone.
My main problem is that everything that makes Thackeray's novel an amazing read is missing from Kubrik's movie. Without the satire, I just don't see the point. And don't get me started on Ryan O'Neal!
“Should this movie have won the Oscar” is always a poorly framed question because historically the Oscar has not reflected sophisticated taste, and it’s going to be in bad shape if it gets to be seen as an award for art house movies.
Hi Robert,
Thanks for reading my article!
I think Barry Lyndon should have won. On the other hand, “Attica! Attica!”
Hi John,
Thanks for reading! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks “Barry Lyndon” should’ve won. Of course, I love “Nashville” too, so maybe there should have been a tie for “Best Picture” that year.
A superb piece, thank you. What a year it was. While I think Jaws as close to the purest essence of cinema as we’ve come, it’s Nashville every time for me. The ultimate cockeyed, affectionate but unflinching satire of America from one its greatest and most under-appreciated geniuses.
Hi Down Beats,
Thanks for reading and for your kind words! I'm a huge Altman fan, so naturally I like "Nashville" a lot too. Also, I agree with you that Altman is one the most under-appreciated geniuses of American Cinema. I would rather watch one of Altman's films that doesn't quite work or could be labeled a misfire by others than most anything playing in movie theaters today.
💯 Something like Cookie’s Fortune is a case in point. It’s slight, but still better than nearly anyone else!
I had taken a film studies class on Stanley Kubrick before Barry Lyndon was released, so I had to see it when it was first released. Audience reaction seemed muted, confused, especially after Clockwork Orange. I loved it. I roamed the National Gallery of Art in DC regularly, and it was like watching a Gainsborough painting come to life. The music was exquisite: the Irish whistle tunes in the beginning evoking an atmosphere of innocence, then Handel's Sarabande as the relentless tide turns against Redmond Barry. Overall, the theme was very Kubrickian: one man taking on society (and having wild success for a time) only to fall by the turn of fate's wheel against him.
In Kubrick's earlier Paths of Glory, a French soldier in WWI tries to push back on a military to keep his men from having to undertake a suicidal/pointless mission. It's one film I cannot bear to watch again as its impact is too visceral for me. Kirk Douglas is the star, and he plays it with absolute conviction.
In both films we have a lone man against a hostile, overwhelming force.
Hi J. Butler,
Thanks for reading my article! Also, thank you for your excellent insights into both "Paths of Glory" and "Barry Lyndon." I didn't see "Paths of Glory" until I was in college, but it had a powerful effect on me too.
Great writing! Have you ever written a film script? You’re a terrific critic!
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for reading and for your kind words about my writing. Actually, I've made some low/no budget indie movies in the past, mostly documentaries.
I'll bet they were interesting!
1975! AND 1976! Both killer years for the movies.
Hi Stephen,
Thanks for reading! We'll probably never see another time like the 70s for great movies ever again, sadly.
So young and beautiful…
Barry Lyndon was by far the most art worthy entry Jaws was pure box office gold not a movie.
Cuckoos Neat was another disaster for America.
We still have no mental health system.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for reading! I agree - even back when I was a teenager, after I saw "Barry Lyndon" for the first time, I knew I had seen something special and a great work of cinema. And that's after I saw "Jaws" 5 or more times the previous summer. I'm glad more people are beginning to recognize just how great Kubrick's film really is now.
It takes a certain type of person to recognize Kubrick genius of disturbing us with our own bad behaviors
I cannot .... for a different reason entirely: I think that ranking or choosing "best" films is entirely subjective. "Cuckoo's Nest" is a brilliant film ... but better than the rest? It's going to resonate differently from person to person. "Jaws" was (and is) a phenomenon. They were all different. I'd say that says more about the era and the willingness to fund and distribute different and challenging films.
And how about the next year .... "Rocky" won. Was it better than "Network" or "Taxi Driver" or "All the President's Men"? You can probably go year by year .... How was "Goodfellas" not the Best Picture in 1991?
I've started to come around to this sort of thinking... ranking films seems like it doesn't help - turns it into a competition when the films are doing totally different things
Hi Howard,
Thanks for reading! I think you're right, but in terms of the 1975 Academy Awards, these films were already in a competition for the best picture Oscar, so I thought it would be interesting to examine each film and look at the reasons why each one should or should not have won.
Oh, it's an interesting article, and given how they were nominated it's fair to discuss it...just find myself questioning the whole idea of ranking art
Hi Dave,
Thanks for reading. You make some valid points. Sadly, it's the type of era we'll probably never see again. And yes, "Goodfellas" definitely should've won Best Picture in 1991.
Picking between these films is like picking between my children. There are some I feel closer to in different seasons but love them all for what the are.
What a year.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for reading! Yes, I agree. I don't think we're ever going to see another year full of great movies like 1975 again.
I've never seen Nashville. I shall correct this error promptly.
I will say Dog Day Afternoon is superior to Cuckoo's Nest. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.
Hi Anne,
Thanks for reading! "Nashville" is an amazing movie, and like I said in my article, it isn't like other films. I hope you'll enjoy watching it!
Thank you so much for giving me something to read that supports my love for the Oscars!!!
Hi Jeri,
You're welcome! And thank you very much for reading it too.
You’ve got a new follower! BTW Jaws is one of my favorite movies, but I like the blockbuster summer hits from the old days
Awesome! Thank you! I like the blockbuster summer hits from the old days too: "Logan's Run," "Alien" "Xanadu" (guilty pleasure); "The Shining," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and all the great movies from the summer of '82: "The Thing," "Blade Runner" and "ET."
This is such a "win-win-win-win-win" year. I could be happy calling any of these Best Picture. Obviously, I think Barry Lyndon should have won but One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest has something so "everyman" about it. We do not award films, these days, which so many people are able to connect to. (See: One Battle's win, which surely alientated half its viewership). Great article, Jim!
Thanks, Brock! I don't think we'll ever see another year of great films like 1975 ever again.