A catch-all for several things:
Happy 46th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night! I think I may have used this before, but it has been a minute I believe:
Obit watch: Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). NYT. WP (archived). Lawrence.
You know, for a movie that is often called one of the worst movies to win the Academy Award for Best Picture1…”The Greatest Show On Earth” is actually pretty swell. Is it better than “High Noon”? I don’t know that you can make a head-to-head comparison, but I thought “Show” was much more fun. And sometimes that’s what you want out of a movie: fun. (And I say this as a person with conflicted views about circuses.)
While we were watching it, I mentioned that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus had gone out of business in 2017. I went to double-check my dates…and ran into an interesting philosophical question.
While RB&BB closed in 2017, they restarted in 2023 according to Wikipedia. But: the new shows do not have clowns, animals, or a ringmaster.
Which raises the question: if you don’t have animals, clowns, or a ringmaster, are you still Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus? Heck, are you even still a circus at all?
The long version of the Lucille Ball story from IMDB.
We all know that Jimmy Stewart was one of the greats, but he’s brilliant in this. Especially since he spends the entire film in clown makeup, for reasons.
And how many movies can you think of that have a love…pentagon? Brad is in love with Holly, who loves him. But she takes up with The Great Sebastian, who returns her affections (though, honestly, it seems like The Great Sebastian would return the affections of anything female). He also has a past with Angel, who also falls for Brad, but is claimed by the pathologically jealous elephant trainer Klaus. (I wonder if this is patient zero for the evil elephant trainer in fiction. See also.)
John Wilson should go eat a bowl of something disgusting.
1. From ChatGPT:
Please list the ten movies that are considered to be the worst movies ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
There isn’t an official ranking, but film critics, historians, and movie fans tend to agree on a relatively small group of Best Picture winners that are frequently cited as disappointing winners or films that have aged poorly. Based on critical consensus, retrospective rankings, and discussions among publications like The Guardian, IndieWire, Rolling Stone, Time Out, and others, a representative “bottom 10” would be:
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Often criticized as sentimental and overlong.
Famously beat High Noon and The Quiet Man.
Crash (2005)
Frequently regarded as one of the Academy’s most controversial Best Picture choices.
Defeated Brokeback Mountain, which many critics expected to win.
The Broadway Melody (1929)
Important historically but considered primitive and dramatically weak by modern standards.
Cavalcade (1933)
Often viewed as stodgy and dated compared with other films of its era.
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Remembered more for its spectacle and celebrity cameos than its storytelling.
Out of Africa (1985)
Beautifully photographed but frequently criticized as slow and emotionally distant.
Its victory over The Color Purple remains controversial.
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Many critics now consider it a safe, conventional choice.
It beat Born on the Fourth of July, My Left Foot, and Dead Poets Society.The Greatest Show on Earth (See note below.)
Since each film should only appear once, replacing the duplicate:
Tom Jones (1963)
Once enormously popular, but its broad comedy style has not aged as well as many other Best Picture winners.
Green Book (2018)
Well-liked by general audiences but criticized for its conventional treatment of race and for beating Roma.
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
A charming romantic comedy, but its upset victory over Saving Private Ryan remains one of Oscar history’s most debated outcomes.
Honorable (or dishonorable) mentionsThese films also regularly appear near the bottom of retrospective rankings:
The English Patient
Ordinary People (mostly because it beat Raging Bull)
Gigi
The Life of Emile Zola
How Green Was My Valley (largely due to defeating Citizen Kane)It’s worth noting that many of these films aren’t considered “bad” in an absolute sense. Rather, they are often criticized because:
they have not aged well,
they won over films now considered classics,
or they represent especially conservative choices by the Academy.If your goal is the closest thing to a modern critical consensus, the three titles most often singled out as the weakest Best Picture winners are:
Crash
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Broadway Melody
Crash‘s win over Brokeback Mountain was particularly gratifying, because it seemed like the entire cultural establishment went “You, Middle America! You are required to love this film about gay cowboys!” And Middle America just said “Nope.”
The movie about the water monster and the deaf woman has to be on the list of worst winners.
Lately, it’s a case of do any of these movies even belong on a list of nominations for best picture?
Ah, yes. “Grinding Nemo”, as Lawrence likes to call it.
The thing about that one is, Guillermo del Toro is a talented director. “Cronos” and “The Devil’s Backbone” are both interesting films. (I hated “Crimson Peak”.) We haven’t seen that one yet.
The last year that I can remember being excited about the Oscars was 2008: “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will be Blood” were both up for best picture (and this was back when there were only five nominees) and I thought both of those were fine films that deserved the award.