Alternate Oscars

by Danny Peary

Book Overview

A film critic presents his choices for who should have won the Oscars and did not, including Citizen Kane for Best Picture, listing the actual nominees and winners and explaining why the wrong person... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385303327
• ISBN13: 9780385303323
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Delta
• Length: 325 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.5" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Admirable Peary

Just a bit of additional thought to add to the other reviews. I think the main benefit of this book is that it spurs interest in seeing some of Mr. Peary's picks; there are some films on his lists I'd never heard of, let alone seen. I'd also like to see an updated and expanded version of this title, perhaps with a bit more explanation of what he found worthwhile that warranted inclusion of the "Award-Worthy Runners-Up". But regardless of whether that ever happens, this is a book any serious film fan should have in his or her library, and one they should consult frequently.

Brilliant Idea with Great Alternate Suggestions

Have you ever watched an older movie and enjoyed it so much that you looked it up to see how many Oscars it won? How many times did you come away wondering why it wasn't even nominated for a single one? What makes a great movie great, what makes an over-rated movie over-rated, and what movies over the years have been most egregiously overlooked? "Alternate Oscars" is a book that explores these questions in a most enjoyable and enlightening way. The author, Danny Peary, looked over the films of 1927 (the first year of the Academy Awards) through 1991 (the year he put the book together) and gave us his thoughts on who the real Academy Award winners should have been. He limited his choices to the awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress and many of the alternate award winners he came up with I whole heartedly agreed with. Mind you, Peary enthusiastically agrees with some of the Oscars awarded over the years and he discards some classic movies in favor of some obscure ones. He meets his critics head on because he writes an essay explaining each of his choices. The format lists the original winner and other nominees followed by Peary's choice for winner and others that he felt worthy of nomination. The author gives himself the freedom of having one or two other nominees or seven to eight other nominees if he felt they were worthy. I the case of 1963, Peary determined that there was no winner for Best Picture because there was none worthy even of his nomination. One of the reasons that I enjoyed this book is because I had seen enough of Peary's more obscure choices to know that he was right on the money. For example, he cites with nominations for best actor, James Cagney in "One, Two, Three", Groucho Marx in "Duck Soup", and (as a co-winner for 1951) Alastair Sim in "A Christmas Carol". I was bothered by some of the great movies that he eliminated from competition but I was also pleased to see some greatly over-rated movies take the fall. I enjoy good movies just like I enjoy good books. There are far too many books out there for me to read in my brief lifetime. Therefore I do my best to understand what are the better reliable sources for me to find the books I'm more apt to enjoy. Likewise with movies, I don't have time to watch everything that's shown on Turner Classic Movies nor, I've found, would I really enjoy most of them if I did. I have found several good guides for what movies are probably worth taking the time to see. I gave this book 5 stars because, from what movies I'm already familiar with, Danny Peary seems to be able to pick 'em.

A revised opinion on Alternate Oscars

When I wrote my previous review for this book, I was writing from memory. I also was influenced by some opinions from other reviewers. But after reviewing the book, I have to say that it isn't that bad. It depends upon who is reading. When they were originally founded in the late 1920's, the goal of the Academy Awards was to honor films and actors/actresses on the grounds of merit. This was difficult enough to achieve with a group of about a dozen voters, considering especially that they had power and influence. But overtime the academy grew to hundreds and even thousands of members. With such a large group of different people and personalities, it's safe to say that many have been influenced in their decisions by other reasons beside merit: Sentimentality, politics, consolation for a previous defeat and, most importantly, an obsession with prestige. In addition, silent movies were ignored during the transition to sound movies and certain film genres (Comedies and Westerns predominately), as well as independent and foreign films have been largely ignored over the years. If these factors did not exist in the minds of the academy voters, the results would be far different. Author Danny Peary has realized this. As a result, he has gone back through Oscar history and rewritten the results, awarding Alternate Oscars to different winners, occasionally giving them to the actual academy choices. While some choices are the predictable ones ("Citizen Kane" or "Casablanca"), Peary mostly tries to surprise us as much as possible in his selections, providing reasons for his choices and analyses of the films. In addition, so has to honor the contributions of others, "Award Worthy Runners Up" are included for every year (Although there are sometimes none). Another area the book works at is in the disagreement with the decisions. For example, I like the much-acclaimed union drama "On the Waterfront". But Mr. Peary took away it's 1954 Best Picture Oscar and awarded it to "Salt of the Earth", another film about labor workers. While I may disagree, I have not seen "Salt of the Earth" and am now intrigued at watching it. If I hadn't read this book, that might not have happened.There are a few complaints with the book, though minor. A few of your favorite stars (Burt Lancaster for example) might not have received Alternate Oscars. But the author apologizes for this at the book's introduction. Also, no Best Picture selection is made for 1963 (The author citing a lack of great films). Finally, the selections only go up to 1991. Hopefully, a second edition is in the works. It would be fascinating to see what Peary would have to say. Or who knows? Maybe another critic could share their two cents on the Academy. How about several critics on the same book? But one thing is for certain: for as long as the Academy continues to blunder, there will always be a place for critics like Danny Peary. Thank you very much. (I would also like to make a correction on my previous review

The Power of Hindsight

Is 1979's Manhattan artistically better than 2001's Joe Dirt? That's easy. Almost any film is artistically superior to the bottom-feeding Joe Dirt. But is Manhattan superior to the same year's Norma Rae? That's hard to decide. Both are credible candidates for awards from that year. I would select Norma Rae over Manhattan; on the other hand, Danny Peary prefers Manhattan. The point is that in such matters as artistic awards, the best that can be hoped for is credibility, not the finality of a Joe Dirt. Danny Peary's alternate Oscars have more credibility, in my view, than the Academy's.I'm concluding this on the basis of his selections from the 1940's, 50's, and 60's, the era I'm most famitiar with. This is also an era of studio domination, when the five major studios and the two minors engineered selections based on the money side of the industry, not the artistic. For example, big budget, prestige films dominated the nominations of 1956, including the syrupy The Ten Commandments, the Broadway hit musical The King and I, the over-produced Giant, and the eventual winner, the highly mercandised and gimmicky Around the World in 80 Days. Except for James Dean in Giant, how many of those films are remembered today. Yet anyone who has seen Peary's picks--The Searchers, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and The Killing-- remembers them distinctly. Because of both theme and handling, these films register at a deeper, more lasting level than the passing spectacle of the former, a good indication of superior artistic merit.This is not meant to extrapolate into a theory of merit nor a blanket dismissal of Academy selections. Some years the picks were more credible than others. But it does point up the reigning dichotomy of that era between A-movies on one hand and B-movies on the other, with B-films by dint of their inferior budget deemed unworthy of Award consideration. Yet in retrospect, the lowly B-budgeted Body Snatchers and the independently produced The Killing have proved a staying power far beyond the A-budgeted, highly merchandised nominees of that year. And Danny Peary is dead-on in trying to right this historical wrong. Other examples of grievous B-movie neglect could be cited.My reasoning here applies only to the studio era when B-movies were produced. Nonetheless, the decline of that centralised system into today's more decentralised system doesn't mean that engineering the Awards has given way to artistic merit. I expect the mechanics are just as venal now as then, but because the industry has spread out, are harder to generalise about. Anyway, Peary's is a good, thought-provoking book that should provide plenty of grist for anyone interested in the movies. He rates in three categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress, explaining his choices in each, and wisely avoiding the convoluted minefields of Best Director. He not only has an appreciation of film, but a feel for movies that affect the audience. After all, in retrospect, how cou

Candor, historic quest galvanizes movie interest & endearment

Author uses care and dignity in a reevaluation of historical placement of the greatest actors, films, etc. This fascinating read is certain to spark the reader's interest in movie-going. Reader will find a happy challenge to revisit and rewatch movie classics to see if in fact Author's opinions substantiate. Surpisingly I found a change in some once-concrete viewpoints. Also serves as an insightful, historic chronicle of the Oscars. If you can't buy book, read a library's copy!