Did They Get it Right? – Best Picture – Oscars 1975

Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)

Barry Lyndon

Dog Day Afternoon

Jaws

Nashville

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Biggest Snub:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

My Overall Thoughts:

This is a year where there really are only two films which I think could have won the top award.

In truth tho, it was inevitable that OFOTCN would take top honors because the Academy members just weren’t yet ready to give the award to a thriller/horror film despite it being a clearly better film.

The best thing that can be taken from this year is the fact that a young director named Steven Spielberg had a long career ahead of him and that he would be a director everyone needs to be on the lookout for.

My Rankings:

Movies

• 5. – Nashville – Altman tries to tell a story from numerous perspectives but things get a bit lost by the way it is presented.  It’s too bad that the characters aren’t interesting enough and that the film drags too much instead of flowing the whole way through.
• 4. – Barry Lyndon – Kubrick does a great job of telling a tale of a “nobody” who wants to be somebody.  A bit long, but still fun to watch.
• 3. – Dog Day Afternoon -Great story that works most of the time. Pacino, Cazale and Durning are all amazing here. Loved the way the story moves along at a great pace despite the fact that it all takes place in once location. Director Lumet does a wonderful job keeping things interesting and exciting the entire time.  The issues brought up are still somewhat relevant and this is a great example of something that is done for the right reasons despite it being wrong no matter how you look at it.  The fact that this is based on a true story makes it even more powerful.
• 2. – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Nicholson is amazing here and we get to see how human nature and the mind actually work when dealing with insanity and conformity to the ways of society.
• 1. – Jaws – Such a thrilling film that does so much with just its camera work to make us scared.  The modern day tale of Moby Dick works on so many levels.  Spielberg proved with this film that he would be a director to be reckoned with over the next 40+ years

Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Yes and No! Jaws is a better film because it’s thriling and gripping and drags us in so easily, but OFOTCN is a better look at human nature and the mind.  The Academy wasn’t yet ready to award a thriller/horror film the top award and therefore they did make the right choice in the end.

Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!