From ‘Speed’ to ‘Harry and the Hendersons,’ Who Knew These Flicks Won Oscars?

From ‘Speed’ to ‘Harry and the Hendersons,’ Who Knew These Flicks Won Oscars?


1994 motion flick Speed, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, is probably not the Academy’s thought of a greatest image contender but it surely nonetheless took dwelling an Oscar.

Ullstein Bild/Getty Images

The nominations for the 2022 Oscars have been introduced, together with heavyweight contenders like The Power of the Dog, King Richard and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Yes, Spider-Man is vying to hitch the checklist of Oscar-winning cinematic masterworks akin to Casablanca, Schindler’s List and Suicide Squad.

Hang on, Suicide Squad gained an Oscar? Yes, whereas some movies are thought-about no-brainers for Oscar recognition, different winners are extra stunning. At the 2022 Oscars, for instance, Marvel has at least two movies vying for a statue — Shang-Chi and Spider-Man: No Way Home — so to have fun, we have compiled an inventory of movies that, for one motive or one other, you may not have anticipated to garner Academy consideration.

Also on the checklist is a tech firm you in all probability would not have thought had any ties to Hollywood: Research In Motion. You learn that proper — the Canadian firm that used to make BlackBerry telephones was handed an Academy Award. Click by the images to search out out why RIM gained.

40 movies (and a tech firm) you did not know gained Oscars

See all images

The Academy leans towards sure movies for the massive awards, like prestigious dramas tackling worthy topics or real-life tales. But when that is the benchmark for cinematic achievement, it may be laborious for style films, akin to sci-fi, comedy and particularly horror, to get their due. So that is our tribute to movies away from the magnum opuses typically thought-about for greatest image or greatest director. 

Yes, style films typically deserve recognition for technical breakthroughs like jaw-dropping make-up, eye-popping visible results or spectacular sound enhancing. They’re a reminder of the talent that goes into even the corniest of popcorn blockbusters and of the sheer creativeness discovered within the sudden locations.

Many of the movies on this checklist are absolute crackers in their very own proper. To be clear, I’m not suggesting they do not deserve Oscars. It’s simply that Robocop features a man melted by poisonous waste after which messily splatted throughout the windshield a rushing automotive. Hardly the kind of factor you’d anticipate the oh-so-worthy Academy to understand. But win it did — and that is superior.

Sometimes, nonetheless, an Oscar is a real shock. Some of the flicks on this checklist are simply out-and-out, unredeemable stinkers. Hello, Pearl Harbor.

Still, it is good to know that each once in a while the grand poohbahs acknowledge good, old school film magic once they see it — even when it is a diesel-streaked style flick like Mad Max: Fury Road, a sci-fi sequel like Blade Runner 2049 or comedian e-book adaptation like Black Panther.

In equity, the Academy does often think about movies that fall into the “widespread” class. Comic e-book films Joker and Black Panther had been main contenders, whereas in 2018, pulpy sci-fi story The Shape of Water gained Best Picture, and Get Out scored a uncommon win for the horror style.  

The 2022 Oscars ceremony will air dwell on ABC on Sunday, March 27, at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET.

Get the CNET Culture e-newsletter

Explore films, video games, superheroes and extra with CNET Culture. Delivered Tuesdays and Fridays.


Exit mobile version