MovieChat Forums > The Shape of Water (2017) Discussion > The worst Best Picture Oscar?

The worst Best Picture Oscar?


very close.

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yeah, this was worse than Crash. How it was even nominated is mind boggling.

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strangely, I like both. This one and crash. I mean if you're going to look at the vast majority of bad ones that have won these are far from it.

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Name a few examples?

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Personally, I'd say Chicago for one.

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Well I didn't see it, but I'd agree. Doesn't look like my cup of tea.

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For me, it also depends on what else was up for the prize that year. So, you might go, "Hey, what's American Beauty doing on this list?" but it was up against The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider, and The Sixth Sense. So, is it worse than those films? If so, that's more of a point.

Chicago was up against Gangs of New York, the Pianist, and The Two Towers. But Chicago comes out on top?

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True. The Pianist by a mile on that list.

Looking at 2018. I liked Phantom Thread best, but far from PTA's best work.
Neither The Post, Ladybird or Dunkirk were all that notable either. 3 Billboards was pretty good, but again not top shelf material. The quality of movies has been in steady decline.

Gotta add in the Woke factor, which is increasingly a higher portion of the vote.

Would you think differently of this movie if the protagonist was a male character bestiality fucking an alien female? On the surface it's ok as a movie, but when you really analyze it, it falls apart and seems silly. Plus the Hype factor.

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If "Woke" was the factor, wouldn't Get Out have won? I'm struggling to think of what's so woke about Shape of Water.

What I liked about it was that it brought in this strange world and connected it to outsiders. The protagonist doesn't fit in, she's mute, she's pushed to the side. She connects with this strange creature, this mysterious thing, who she sympathizes with because they share realities in some way, even though they're worlds apart. ...or are they...? There's an insinuation in the film that they might be closer than appearances seem.

As for "What if it was a human male having sex with an alien?", well I don't know how I'd feel about the male being human and the female being nonhuman. I guess I'd have to think back to how I felt about Jake Sully, Sam Flynn, Tristram Thorn, Fred Kwan, James T. Kirk...how long do you want the list to be?

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(...I should probably take back my complaints about American Beauty winning Best Picture now. lmao)

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I totally disagree. The Shape of Water was excellent. There were several other worse best picture winners.

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I liked that it won. It was paramount for such an edgy story, and the cast, and Guerimo. It was definitely one of my favourite wins.

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I’m not a huge fan but it’s at least better than Around the World in 80 Days/Braveheart/A Beautiful Mind and several bottom of the barrel winners.

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I like braveheart and would like to see the classic around the world in 80 days but I do find A Beautiful Mind overrated and overhyped but pales to a lot of the recent winners. I dont even tune-in anymore.

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Braveheart is infinitely rewatchable, though. And apart from Excalibur, it has some of the most realistic medieval fight scenes put to film. It was like Saving Private Ryan for medieval fans.

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It is one of the worst. I just hate how the style of Jean-Pierre Jeunet was ripped off by Del Toro. It is one thing to pay homage to another director, but to take scenes from Delatessan and Amelie and call them your own is criminal.

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what movies are those? I'd like to watch them.

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Delicatessen and Amelie. Look up Jean-Pierre Jeunet and you will see all the movies and how Del Toro used scenes and style of Jeunet.

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This was obviously just a diversity-inspired awarding. It's high time amphibious fish-men got proper recognition by the Academy. And at least this wasn't just an human actor in scaleface like in the old days for movies like The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

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Disgusting film promoting bestiality.

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In 2017, I'd probably have voted for Three Billboards or Phantom Thread, maybe Get Out.

I do like that a fantasy movie won, though. It's rare to see something strange and unusual take home the gold (or even get nominated), so it's nice to see some validation from the Academy regarding movies that aren't just austere dramas (admittedly, rather like Phantom Thread).

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yea, wtf? a Risky, obscure, political, romantic movie wins and some how it's the worst movie winner? With a great director taking risks? I'm sure there a lot worst winners.

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It's sorta hard to say, too, because so much is personal taste. Like, I'd have gone with Gangs of New York 10 out of 10 times. That was the year Chicago won. But if you're a musical theatre person, you might really hate the violent historical drama and think Chicago was the best win ever.

I agree with you where it's good to see a director taking risks and trying something weird and out-there. That's why I also think Get Out would have made a good candidate - that was a movie that pushed a bit. I think Shape of Water is a good movie, and although maybe not my top choice that year, I think it's cool that it won and gave the non-Oscar bait movies a win. Even the fact that comedy tends to get snubbed is enough to make me happy when something with a few jokes in it takes home the gold.

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