In hindsight and by common consent, in what year did the Academy
Awards make the worst collective choices in awards? I am of course
interested in the Big Seven (Best Picture, Director, Screenplay,
Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress) but also just
as interested in less prominent categories (score, editing,
documentaries and so on). I’ll pay for an answer that offers
self-evident camparisons of unbelievable winners to obviously rightful
winners, though a small tip will be given if comparisons of quality
can persuasively be made.

Obvious note: The caliber of the Oscar show itself should not be a
factor. Like the show itself, we’d be here all night, and to what end?

If one considers that "Citizen Kane" is the consensus Best American
Film (it appears at the top of most lists), then the answer is
obvious. Except for the Best Original Screenplay, "Citizen Kane" was
snubbed by the Academy, probably for reasons of internal politics,
i.e., the opposition of Hearst. Of the movies that were nominated that
year ("How Green Was My Valley," "The Maltese Falcon," "Sergeant
York," "The Little Foxes," etc.) none comes close to achieving the
same universal approbation.

Consider further that none of the supporting Mercury cast -- Joseph
Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Ruth Warwick, Everett Sloane, Agnes
Moorehead -- received a nomination.


AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
http://www.afi.com/tv/movies.asp

"AFI ANNOUNCES 100 GREATEST AMERICAN MOVIES OF ALL TIME CITIZEN KANE
-- #1

-CASABLANCA, THE GODFATHER, GONE WITH THE WIND AND LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
complete the top five movies;"
[...]

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)

2. CASABLANCA (1942)

3. THE GODFATHER (1972)

4.	GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)

5.	LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)

6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

7. THE GRADUATE (1967)

8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)

9.	SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)

10.	SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)


The Oscar FAQ ?????
http://www.cycnet.com/englishcorner/temp/oscar/faq.htm

"Q. For how many Academy Awards was CITIZEN KANE nominated? 

A. CITIZEN KANE was nominated for Academy Awards in nine categories:
Leading Actor (Orson Welles), Art Direction (Black-and-White) (art
direction Perry Ferguson, Van Nest Polglase; interior decoration Al
Fields, Darrell Silvera), Cinematography (Black-and-White) (Gregg
Toland), Directing (Orson Welles), Film Editing (Robert Wise), Music
(Music Score of a Dramatic Picture) (Bernard Herrmann), Best Picture
(Mercury) and Sound Recording (RKO Radio Studio Sound Department, John
Aalberg, Sound Director). It won the Oscar for Writing (Original
Screenplay) (Herman J. Mankiewicz, Orson Welles). "


University Film Society Reviews: Citizen Kane
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~su0bufs/films/CitizenKane.html

"Every 10 years there is a poll of international film critics to name
the top 10 films of all time. Every 10 years, Citizen Kane is at the
top of the poll. It also topped the Director's Guild of America's top
hundred films of the century."
[...]
"With a huge mulitmedia empire behind him, Hearst conducted a smear
campaign against Welles. Many in the film industry supported this,
happy to see the golden boy fall flat on his face. The film and its
studio, RKO, were banned from all his papers and Welles was branded a
communist. After many threats RKO stood firm and eventually released
the film in May 1941 but it was never widely exhibited. Hearst even
had influence over the Oscars and the film only picked up one Academy
Award despite 9 nominations. In Match 1942 the studio withdrew the
film with a $150,000 loss (a considerable sum back then)."

SEARCH TERMS

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Citizen+Kane%22+Academy+Award+nominations

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Citizen+Kane%22+best+list+AFI

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Citizen+Kane%22+Hearst+Oscars

://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Best+Picture+Oscars+1941


hlabadie-ga

Very persuasive. Thanks!

My vote is for 94/95.  Most of the critics liked the shawshank
redemption and hoop dreams but they got crushed by forrest gump. 
Letterman was host and read "Top Ten Clues that the film you are
seeing will not be nominated for Best Picture"  Number six on the list
was "it's a beautifully made movie about two kids in the inner city
trying to realize their dream of playing basketball."  Everybody
cringed when they heard that.

Is there a question? Titanic.

Thank you for the rating and the tip.

hlabadie-ga