The Oscar is not only the shining grail of all those involved in cinema, but also an occasion for light-hearted small talk for the rest of the year until the next batch of golden statuettes is presented. Even if you have not watched and are not going to watch the broadcast of the magnificent ceremony, you are not interested in who walked the red carpet in what, and you are not worried about the next behind-the-scenes intrigues of academics, you still need to find out who was given five "big" awards.
5 out of 24 nominations are called “big”. It is around them that the biggest intrigues are ripening, they are most often mentioned and it is enough to limit them to those who just want to see the main “recognized” masterpieces and be able to maintain a conversation. So this:
- "Best Film of the Year"
- "Best Director of the Year"
- "Best Actor in a Leading Role"
- "Best Actress in a Leading Role"
- "Best Soundtrack".
Foreign audiences may still be worried about the Best Foreign Language Film nomination, but, as a rule, passions flare up only in those countries whose films were included in the short list. Recently, the nomination for "Best Animated Feature Film" has also become significant, but, unfortunately, who received the award for the best make-up, special effects and even camera work is mainly of interest to fans of the genre and specialists.
Who was awarded the "Oscar" for "Best Film of the Year"
In 2014, absolutely different genres fought for the statuette in the nomination "Best Film of the Year":
- "American Hustle" - a strong criminal-political tragicomedy, based on the history of the real FBI operation against organized crime in the trade of stolen works of art;
- the futuristic melodrama "Her", a puzzle for intellectuals about the love of a writer and an operating system aimed at fulfilling any desire of the user;
- a completely traditional road movie "Nebraska", which tells about the difficult relationship between a father, a former alcoholic with Alzheimer's syndrome, and a son who went with him for a ghostly million, not because he believes in this money, but because it is his the last chance to be with a parent;
- "Philomena" (Philomena) - a melodramatic story of a young Irish woman, for years looking for her baby, whom she was forced to give up for adoption;
- crime thriller "Captain Phillips" (Captain Phillips) - a story about the captain of a ship hijacked by Somali pirates;
- fantastic thriller "Gravity";
- "The Wolf of Wall Street" - a genre similar to "Scam …" by the famous Martin Scorsese, more often than others called one of the main contenders for the golden statuette;
- biopic "Dallas Buyers Club" - the story of a Texas electrician who did not want to come to terms with the diagnosis of AIDS, mixing experimental drugs with cocaine and alcohol, and then also selling counterfeit drugs;
- "12 Years a Slave" - a dramatic story about a free Negro who was deceived into slavery, which he managed to get rid of only after 12 long years.
Tellingly, in 2014, many films were based on real stories.
The main contenders for gold statuettes were considered by critics and viewers to be "12 Years of Slavery" and "The Wolf of Wall Street". As a result, the statuette went to the team of the film about the tragic story of an enslaved African American. Many moviegoers are disappointed with this decision and talk about the obvious political involvement of the decision and about the secondary nature of the story told by director Steve McQueen.
The creators of five of the nine films nominated in the Best Film nomination were nominated for the Oscar for Best Director. This American director and producer David Owen Russell ("American Scam"), the already mentioned venerable Martin Scorsese, Alexander Payne ("Nebraska"), was shortlisted and British Steve McQueen. The winner was Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón, who directed Gravity.
The main passions in 2014 flared up around the statuette for "Best Actor". Millions of fans wondered if DiCaprio would be awarded an Oscar, and dozens of film critics argued convincingly why they “won’t,” citing many arguments, none of which related to the recognized acting qualities of Leonardo DiCaprio, who had a superb starring role in The Wolf of Wall Street ". Most critics agree that Leonardo is still too handsome for academics, so when he is eighty years old, then let him come for an Oscar in the Outstanding Contribution to Cinematography nomination.
Shortlisted alongside Leonardo DiCaprio are Christian Bale (American Scam), Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) and Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club). Oscar went to McConaughey, who received the award deservedly - his acting work, indeed, "gold standard".
The shortlist of Oscar nominations for Best Actress predictably included Meryl Streep, equally favored by academics. The film "August" (August: Osage County), called by critics "the standard claustraphobic melodrama" did not fail only because of the genius of this great actress. However, even the "academicians in love" considered one statuette too much of an honor for this picture. This nomination was also nominated for Judy Danch, who played in Philomena. The beloved Sandra Bullock did not win an Oscar for her starring role in Gravity, nor did five-time nominee Amy Adams for The American Scam. The statuette was taken away by Woody Allen's favorite Cate Blanchett, who starred in his film Blue Jasmine, which was called the critically acclaimed reincarnation of the play A Streetcar Named Desire.
Academicians recognized the somewhat polished and predictable Frozen as the "Best Cartoon", once again surprising the audience with the strangeness of their choice. After all, they could have given the Oscars to both the much more dynamic Ugly Me 2 and the mischievous The Croods. In the end, it was possible to act outside the box and reward the undoubtedly very beautiful cartoon Ernest and Celestine, which stands out from the crowd. And this is not to mention the fact that The Wind Rises from the genius Miyazaki, recognized as the best by all possible festivals, but not by Oscar academics, competed with Cold Heart.
The award for "Best Soundtrack" was taken away by the young English composer Stephen Price, who wrote the music for "Gravity". Of the intrigues of this nomination, it is worth noting that John Williams was nominated 49 times, this time for the soundtrack to the war drama The Book Thief. This composer received an Oscar 5 times (the last for Schindler's List in 1993) and since then has been regularly included in the short lists, but again and again leaves without the coveted gold.
