Oscar History: 1994

Maybe more than any other year I can think of, 1994 stands as a year in Oscar history where hindsight has definitely changed public opinion on the Best Picture winner. There’s been plenty of examples: Rocky over Taxi Driver? Ordinary People over Raging Bull? Annie Hall over Star Wars? Chariots of Fire over Raiders of the Lost Ark? Gandhi over E.T.? Dances with Wolves over GoodFellas?

1994 is unique because there’s not one, but two movies that have grown in stature over that year’s winner. In the summer of 1994, a movie based on a fairly unknown novel came out of nowhere to become a smash hit that deeply connected with audiences: Robert Zemeckis’s Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Robin Wright Penn, and Sally Field. The movie was a phenomenon, becoming one of the highest grossing films of all time and second only that year to Disney’s The Lion King. The Academy would reward Gump with Best Picture, Director, and would give Hanks his second Best Actor win in a row, after winning for 1993’s Philadelphia. Hanks would become only the second actor in Oscar history, after Spencer Tracy, to achieve that historic distinction.

I’m a huge fan of the movie just like everyone else and in most years, Gump would be looked back at as a highly deserving winner. However, 1994 was a milestone year for a couple of other films.

First, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. As you may have noticed, I’m a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino and Pulp is now seen as possibly the most important and influential movie of the past 25 years. It certainly is by me. Pulp was a cultural phenomenon upon its release and its reputation has only grown since.

Then there’s that other movie: Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption. Many may not be aware, but Shawshank actually didn’t perform very well at the box office upon its release. It was critically acclaimed, but audiences didn’t respond right away. Once it reached video shelves, it took on a life of its own when audiences discovered just how wonderful it is. This all culminated a few years ago when Shawshank became the #1 ranked film on IMDB.com, over even The Godfather. It’s hard to find anyone nowadays who doesn’t absolutely adore Shawshank. In 1994, however, while it did get nominated, it wasn’t considered a real contender to win.

I suspect many a film buff, including this one, would certainly rank Pulp and Shawshank above Gump. The other two pictures nominated included an expected one, Robert Redford’s solid Quiz Show, about the game show scandals of the 1950s and a surprise, the British romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell. Both are good movies that had no chance of winning considering the competition.

As already mentioned, Zemeckis would win the Director award for Gump, beating out Woody Allen for Bullets Over Broadway, Redford for Quiz Show, Tarantino for Pulp, and Kryzsztof Kieslowski for the foreign film Red. As further evidence of Shawshank not being regarded as highly as it is now, director Darabont wasn’t even nominated.

Gump love would lead Hanks to that second win in a row. Both Morgan Freeman for Shawshank and John Travolta for Pulp were nominees, along with Paul Newman for Nobody’s Fool and Nigel Hawthorne for The Madness of King George. In hindsight, seems like room should have been made Tim Robbins work in Shawshank as well.

Jessica Lange would win Best Actress for the little-seen indie film Blue Sky, edging out Jodie Foster in Nell, Winona Ryder in Little Women, Miranda Richardson in Tom and Viv, and Susan Sarandon in The Client (only nominee for an actor based on a John Grisham novel – fun fact!).

Veteran actor Martin Landau would take Supporting Actor for his great performance as monster movie icon Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood. The other nominees: Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp, Paul Scofield in Quiz Show, Gary Sinise in Gump, and Chazz Palminiteri in Bullets Over Broadway. Again, with the Shawshank angle, Bob Gunton’s work as the sadistic warden should have been recognized in this category.

Dianne Wiest would win Supporting Actress for Bullets Over Broadway, beating out Jennifer Tilly for that same film, Helen Mirren in The Madness of King George, Uma Thurman in Pulp, and Rosemary Harris for Tom and Viv. Surprisingly, neither Sally Field or Robin Wright Penn were recognized for Gump. I would also make a case for Kirsten Dunst for her breakthrough performance in Interview with the Vampire.

What else got left out? Not a whole lot, honestly. You could certainly make the case that Disney’s Lion King is one of their better animated features and could have received a Picture nomination. The Academy hardly ever recognizes comedic brilliance, so Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels hilarious work in Dumb and Dumber was the longest of long shots.

More than anything, 1994 in Oscar history will be remembered as a year where two of the most important movies of the last quarter century were nominated… and neither won.