Crash Defeats Brokeback Mountain | Best Picture Oscar 2006

[@queenb7013]

seeing Harvey Weinstein in any old video is a jumpscare

[@TheAwardsContender]

Pretty much

[@My20GUNS]

In short: When people think of Brokeback Mountain, they think of Brokeback Mountain. When people think of Crash, they think... of Brokeback Mountain. Unlike Crash, Brokeback has stood the test of time in every way possible and people still analyze & talk about it. Meanwhile the only time Crash is ever brought up is in "worst Oscar winners" conversations.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Pretty much!

[@andreolp]

Stop crying, get over it. You lost, its ok...

[@IronheartvsMiles]

Brokeback Mountain is overrated because white gays think it's good.

[@8chickenrollsstackedontopo150]

​@@andreolp Who did.

[@tbewin1z143]

Brokeback Mountain is that film that everyone remembers had gay cowboys and they say "i am not ever seeing that" even if they have seen it, it's really not that deep

[@munkykayse]

I remember watching this live when Crash was announced as Best Picture. I was floored. I had seen most of the best pic noms for that year, including Crash, and was surprised it even got a nomination. I agree that homophobia within the Academy ended up giving Crash the award that night.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Definitely played a role!

[@abhisheksharma-sb3er]

​@@alihijazi8583 lol🤣

[@RaymondHng]

The Academy Awards were being screened live at San Francisco’s Castro Theater in the heart of the city’s gay district. When _Crash_ was announced as the winner, it just zapped the energy out of the room.

[@losrevolucionarios8858]

Homophilia also gave an award to moonlight. Same way woke culture gave an award to Green Book and that Everything everywhere picture 😂

[@davidstevenson404]

@@losrevolucionarios8858 Woke means "Incorrect Opinion" If You Are Wondering!

[@katwil89]

I'll never know what it's like to be a gay man in the 1960's, but I do know what it's like to love someone I can never be with. Brokeback Mountain spoke to anyone who's every suffered from that heartbreak. It was beautiful and definitely was robbed.

[@TheAwardsContender]

So true!

[@audriesiegel7963]

Absolutely!!!

[@tbewin1z143]

people remember. Brokeback Mountain as that movie that had gay cowboys, the story has been done before and way better

[@marniekilbourne608]

Very well said.

[@rg1809]

The reason I say it should never be in a discussion of best picture: the story has been told many times before and in far better examples.

[@filipealbertino1234]

Brokeback Mountain losing best picture was outrageous

[@joser1853]

People sometimes underestimate how powerful the actors branch is. CODA, Parasite are great examples of how much an ensemble can help push a film to BP. In the case of BrokeBack, homophobia played a large part in its loss also.

[@brickellrich1]

Excellent point. And a lot of those actors, in 2005, were from a deeply conservative and heteronormative era. In retrospect, it makes twisted sense for them to feel better about themselves by going for the “anti racism” movie and not the one about two archetypically masculine men falling in gay love with each other. Definitely the safe pick.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yep, so true!

[@davidstevenson404]

@@brickellrich1 dumbf***s

[@ImperialMJG]

CODA definitly deserved the Win. And I wont take 5 unknown deaf people together with the girl from Locke & Keys as an ensamble. Though Emilia Jones is a Great actress and so were the others. Ensamble is usually refered to when its several well known actors.

[@1marcelo]

@@ImperialMJG Coda is an awful movie. The third remake of sentimental crap

[@BFA100]

My choices for the Oscar winners of 2005 were Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain Best Actor: Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) Best Actress: Felicity Huffman (Transamerica) Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney (Syriana) Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams (Junebug) Best Director: Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain)

[@102082toshi]

Yaaaaaaaasssss!!! Felicity Huffman was robbed!

[@abhisheksharma-sb3er]

I didn't see syriana but rest i agree with 💯

[@abhisheksharma-sb3er]

​@@102082toshi so true

[@missdeejay]

I cannot agree with you on Best Leading Actor. Philip Seymour Hoffman (RIP) was the best actor that night. His take on Capote was spotless. And, he was also playing an openly gay character. I think his take on Truman Capote was more powerful than Heath Ledger's Ennis Del Mar, though Ledger's character was powerful too, but not as much as Hoffman's.

[@BFA100]

I thought Ledger's performance in Brokeback Mountain was more @@missdeejay emotionally complex than Hoffman's was in Capote, I thought Hoffman was really doing more of an interpretation.

[@EnDoubleJay3309]

People today remember Brokeback Mountain because it's a masterpiece. People today remember Crash because it won the Oscar over Brokeback Mountain.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yup

[@IronheartvsMiles]

people think of Brokeback Mountain because white gay guys, not because it's good

[@thai2go]

@@IronheartvsMiles Hey homophobic person Brokeback Mountain is a masterpiece ;)

[@rg1809]

@@IronheartvsMiles Exactly. Take the gay element out of the movie and its just another forbidden love story that has been told many times and in much better movies.

[@102082toshi]

One of the greatest injustices in Oscar history

[@TheAwardsContender]

True!

[@pjjj23]

@@TheAwardsContender not that Crash was an amazing film but I still don't know the obsession with Brokeback. It was a melodramatic love story.

[@amigos2841]

facts another one for me is Tom Hanks winning best actor for Philadelphia over Liam Neeson for Schindlers List

[@102082toshi]

@@amigos2841 I also agree with you, Liam Neeson also deserved the Oscar for Schindler's List, but Tom Hanks gave a wonderful performance in Philadelphia that resonated quite well with the Academy voters and he was a Hollywood darling during that time

[@amigos2841]

@@102082toshi true, I think whilst Philadelphia is a really good film too and he did a amazing job with the role anybody could of played the role because Tom Hanks didn't change much for it whilst Liam Neeson changed personality and accent and had you in tears when he was saying one more person, another injustice just for me personally is No Country Beating There Will Be Blood, There Will Be Blood has aged better in my opinion

[@jayiijay]

Also, Brokeback topped the Entertainment Weekly and Premiere Magazine critics' polls in 2005. Crash came in 30something and 50something respectively at each. Indeed, Crash's reviews were middling at best, as Brian said Ebert being a notable exception, but he was in a small minority (and BBM was in Ebert's top 3). The point is, it just wasn't close, and picking a film about race relations over "gay film" was just cynical, so the Academy couldn't be accused of bigotry. It backfired.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thanks for your comment!

[@alihijazi8583]

Nope BBM was in Ebert's top 5, Munich 3 and Crash 1

[@davidstevenson404]

Ebert is marginal a critic, IMO, at best--ha!

[@excommunicado7507]

I swear no other film has moved me the way Brokeback Mountain did. I couldn't stop thinking about it for months. The movie has triggered something in me and was diagnosed with depression. It wasn't because of the film, but the film help me figure out something inside me. Jake, Anne, Michelle and most especially to Heath gave some of their best performances ever. Everything in this film was so silent and yet soooo loud it overwhelmed me and still is to this day. Ang Lee did a wonderful job! As for Crash, the film will always be remembered as the best picture that was stolen from Brokeback Mountain.

[@TheAwardsContender]

BM is such a great film!!

[@tingangeles1454]

@@TheAwardsContender and I thought Jake Gyllenhaal was overlooked by many award giving bodies. I thought he was superb. I think the four of them (Heath Ledger, Michelle William, Jake Gyllenhaal and even Anne Hathaway) did a superb acting job. Even Kate Mara and Linda Cardellini were so convincing with their roles!

[@merdadheidari411]

Crash was an amazing movie and it had a strong message that moved people too I’m sure you noticed that as well

[@davidstevenson404]

@@merdadheidari411 NOO!--I never WANTED to see it after that Academy Award Theft!

[@tulab4295]

Same with me with CRASH

[@brickellrich1]

I painfully remember this. As a closeted young man in desperate need of some sort of acceptance and even some love, I cried by myself as Brokeback kept on receiving critical praise and commercial success. To me at the time, knowing that it would actually win the ultimate Hollywood trophy - the big one - was almost akin to society at large opening the closet door for me and saying, It’s ok. We accept you, we love you and we even award you. And then everything came to a crashing halt.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Exactly!! It’s just the better movie too IMO. Thanks for watching!

[@brickellrich1]

@@TheAwardsContender More than happy to be a loyal and happy subscriber! Btw, would you ever do a video essay on the alleged transphobia of 1991‘s masterpiece Silence of the Lambs? Would it ever get made today, for example? And would the inevitable modifications to the basic structure of the book by Thomas Harris ultimately do a disservice to great filmmaking overall?

[@edhance9753]

Hey! Fellow gay here, i was only 10 at the time of this ceremony and to this day havent seen BBM yet (although ive seen crash, not a fan), but i just want to hope that its legacy is providing you that comfort that you sought. The fact that people treasure and defend BBM against the injustice of losing best picture is hugely comforting for me.

[@brickellrich1]

@@edhance9753 Thank you for the support.

[@cooperwesley1536]

Bravo! I was at an Oscar-Watch party and fully expected BBM to win... as did everyone else. When Crash won, the room went quiet, and, minutes later, everyone left. Personally, I was shocked, and it still hurts all these years later. (Crash is unwatchable the 2nd time around, which is always a bad sign when it comes to quality.)

[@TheAwardsContender]

I’m sure a lot of Oscar parties were like that, haha.

[@alihijazi8583]

Disagree, I thought Crash was very watchable and relatable at the same time and at the end I was left sad to see how much racism and stereotyping we get and give even nowadays.

[@oscarfun100]

I watched it with my sister. She was straight, I was gay. After Nicholson's announcement, my sister said "I knew it! Damn". I didn't say anything. As a gay man who loved movies and the Oscars for many years, the fact that Brokeback was the frontrunner through all season, it meant so much to me. That finally such movie is recognized. That it was gonna win the biggest award in the industry. And then this happened. It was just so sad. And unfair.

[@midianmtd]

For me the homophobia was the #1 reason for the Crash win. Even the look of relief on Jack's face reading the envelope contents said it all. And I've seen (upon reflection) a lot of the Academy voter's feel they did make a mistake that year and regret the decision to not give the win to Brokeback. But the fact that movie will go down in history for some time and soon people will forget Crash all together.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yep, makes sense to me. Thanks for watching!

[@donaldleevy7498]

I definitely agree about homophobia being partially to blame for Crash's win. I thought Crash basically was saying racism was wrong. No nuance to it where Brokeback Mountain had artistry as well as great acting from the two leads.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Agreed!!

[@RaymondHng]

*Reason #6:* Film editing is the only art that is unique to cinema, separating filmmaking from other art forms that preceded it. Nominations for the *Academy Award for Best Film Editing* are closely correlated with the Academy Award for Best Picture. For 33 consecutive years, 1981 to 2013, every Best Picture winner had also been nominated for the Film Editing Oscar, and about two thirds of the Best Picture winners have also won for Film Editing. For 78th Academy Awards, the nominees for Best Film Editing were _Crash_ - Hughes Winborne (winner), _Cinderella Man_ - Mike Hill and Dan Hanley, _The Constant Gardener_ - Claire Simpson, _Munich_ - Michael Kahn, and _Walk the Line_ - Michael McCusker. The fact that _Brokeback Mountain_ did not get a nod for Best Film Editing made it a slim chance of winning Best Picture.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yes, you’re right! Another important reason. Thanks for watching!

[@abhisheksharma-sb3er]

Lol! U disregard it winning all the awards prior to that and said it had slim chance 😂

[@RaymondHng]

@@abhisheksharma-sb3er I think you misinterpreted what I said. What is the “it” you were referring to? And which awards were you referring to?

[@abhisheksharma-sb3er]

@@RaymondHng about bbm isn't nominated for editing made it a slim chance of winning best picture. PS: i don't think that is how probability works.

[@RaymondHng]

@@abhisheksharma-sb3er I said, “For 33 consecutive years, 1981 to 2013, every Best Picture winner had also been nominated for the Film Editing Oscar.” _Birdman_ was the only exception to that 2014. Then it returned to the same pattern with only one more exception with _CODA_ . So with 39 films winning Best Picture out of 42 and being at least nominated for Best Film Editing, there’s definitely a close correlation between a film being nominated for Best Editing and the same film winning Best Picture.

[@singstreetcar5881]

Crash winning best ensemble cast at the SAG, was a sign on what was to come at the oscars but we all ignored it

[@TheAwardsContender]

Pretty much!

[@laurajones1773]

Also, Brokeback Mountain not getting a Film Editing nomination at the Oscars as well.

[@oc2538]

Brokeback Mountain was fantastic, I feel it should have won. My heartbreaks when I see Heath Ledger anywhere on screen, all the talent he had and what we will never get to see. It took me years to see his movies again. His young daughter losing her father really makes me so sad now that I have kids, I cannot imagine not being here to see them grow up. He was really flourishing in his craft. I honestly loved Memoirs of a Geisha. I had read the book and felt the movie was perfection. I unfortunately don't remember much of Crash, there were so many stories and I didn't enjoy it. And the acting, no offence they are all good actors but none of them stood out. The story actually felt like something that was made for TV.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Love this, thanks for watching!

[@Mark-lx6hg]

I must say that I love your videos so much, you and Be Kind Rewind are my favorite channels at the moment! Your Elusive Oscar series is my favorite of yours and I wanted to ask you if you've ever thought of doing a video on Keira Knightly I think she is really underated and she deserves her Oscar as well

[@SoulKnightKing]

Hes so much better than the Oscars Expert. Plus the diting on here shouldn't be overlooked.

[@addiatmeikokusuma8058]

@@SoulKnightKing the Twin Oscar Experts ? I used to love them..but now I am getting tired of their fake over the top reaction jumping on the couch whenever the winners are announced...I really want to see Brian in person doing the podcast not only his voice over reviewing the past Oscars

[@SoulKnightKing]

@@addiatmeikokusuma8058 yeah them overreacting for everything gets really tiring. I got fed up with them when at the end if Oscsr Race they were proudly repping the Chastain train like they were Day 1s when before her SAG win they literally and repeatedly dismissed any chance if her winning.

[@addiatmeikokusuma8058]

@@SoulKnightKing true.they are sometimes really subjective and they always tend to agree with Academy decision of picking the winners so that they can be self proclaimed Oscar Experts ..duhhh...unlike FYC Perri Nemeroff or Brian who is really objective even if their bet did not eventually win..they still can review in a very objective way

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thank you! Knightley is a great choice for my Elusive Oscar series!

[@AuntieMarty]

Brokeback Mountain should have won, it’s one of my favourite films ever. A beautiful story with great performances. It was filmed in the province I live, so I love that too.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Love it!

[@pisceanbeauty2503]

Ugh, I didn’t realize Crash and Brokeback Mountain were up against each other that year. I don’t have enough words to explain how much I can’t abide by Crash.

[@BFA100]

You must have not been born yet when that happened

[@pisceanbeauty2503]

@@BFA100 Nope, was very much alive and saw both movies in the theater. But that was 15+ years ago, I’m allowed to forget a few things. 🤪

[@mollspice7]

no one can abide by crash

[@juanpablogonzalezlacava]

It was the only time in the history of the Oscars that I started shouting and cursing when Jack said crash. I insuled so hard to the academy. Went to bed furious

[@TheAwardsContender]

Same! Thanks for watching!

[@Pray4success-b3r]

Homophobia is the main reason why Brokeback Mountain lost at the Oscars. We need to be honest and transparent about bigotry in the country during this time. youre absolutely right

[@TheAwardsContender]

Sadly this played a big role. Thanks for watching!

[@tulab4295]

Bllx - the only reason everyone raving about BM is cause it’s about 2 men falling in love , so effing what. Crash was a masterpiece, far superior than BM

[@tulab4295]

Bad loser boo hoo

[@erikdegeorge866]

What's funny is that I remember right after Crash came out, I talked to so many people who loved it. Roger Ebert loved it on his review show. Then, like a switch, it suddenly became completely uncool to like it. I'm not even sure exactly what happened. The structure also spawned tons of copycat ensemble movies, and then just as quickly that style fell out of fashion. Personally, I remember watching it in the theater and really enjoying it, and the crowd was into it as well, and obviously some other people must have liked it, but now no one will cop to it.

[@TheAwardsContender]

I like it, but didn’t think it deserved a Best Pic nomination, let alone a win.

[@davedavis8786]

Agreed, I think it became chic to say that Crash was completely undeserving.

[@aliccolo]

I will admit that this upset had me literally in tears that Oscar night. BBM moved me in ways that I can't explain, it's one of my all time favorite films. I was completely certain it would win Best Picture, as was basically everyone I knew. There was no question it was the best film of the year, but one of the best in many years. This loss really does still hurt, and I think that personally this was the moment that the Oscars suddenly stopped being the cultural touchstone that it had been for which films actually matter.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Very good point!

[@alihijazi8583]

Unpopular opinion: Crash (an underdog movie) winning best picture was satisfying. For me till now, the worst best picture winner is Cimarron.

[@My20GUNS]

Agreed. This is by far the worst best picture winner in Oscar History considering Brokeback's quality. Plenty of lame/undeserving Best Picture wins, but Crash is just so lame. Similar to Green Book, a safe race relations movie that your parents watch and feel better about themselves.l

[@orpheus9037]

Plainly, Brokeback was the best picture that year. And it was a damn good one. The reason it didn't win? That was just as plain: homophobia in the ranks of the Academy's old guard. They just didn't like the subject matter.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yup!

[@willnoiles2001]

Like you, I was shocked and disappointed that ’Crash’ took Best Picture. I felt then, and more resolutely today, that ‘Brokeback Mountain’ should have won instead. I even like to tell myself that it did ultimately win. I remember that a friend of mine who is admittedly not a knowledgeable film buff and had been somewhat homophobic then is still just as surprised as us that ‘Crash’ ended up winning for Best Picture. The Academy’s decision that night, and on a few other occasions, is proof that just because something or someone won an Oscar doesn’t mean the best nominee really won!

[@nataliaarroyopiano5121]

I love jack nicholson's gesture, like " I had nothing to do with this" when he announces the winner 😂

[@jackbennersmoviereviews]

I’ve never seen Crash but I just can’t help but feel that Brokeback Mountain was robbed for Best Picture big time. Brokeback Mountain is still one of the most powerful romance films I’ve ever seen. Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Williams give phenomenal performances. Ang Lee did a terrific job not only making a beautifully shot film but with the storytelling of the film. Brokeback Mountain is amazing from its acting, cinematography, directing, screenplay, emotion and pacing. While I’m very happy Ang Lee won Best Director, this should’ve easily won Best Picture especially when it had it in the bag that year.

[@mattbernabe]

Check out the movie 'Crash.' Maybe you'll be surprised.

[@TheAwardsContender]

In total agreement with you!

[@simoneforthewin7269]

I remember watching Crash the night before the Oscar’s and stated out loud “Brokeback is in trouble”

[@silvia5756]

As a teen, I genuinely gave Crash a chance...but Brokeback Mountain? I'll never forget the heartache I had for months afterward. I wore one of those damn jackets to comfort my young, queer heart.I am aware of the bias, but BBM was the better script & had amazing performances.

[@edhance9753]

I had to watch it for a college sociology class. I didnt see anything special with it and some of the scenes border on offensive nowadays. Its well made but falls flat.

[@marniekilbourne608]

Brokeback Mountain is still one of my favorite movies and I'm a straight woman. The acting, the music, the cinematography.......etc. I remember my Dad was a bit reluctant to see the movie but figured since it was nominated for an Oscar, it was likely worth seeing. I was in my mid 20's and I went with him. I loved the movie and I could tell my Dad liked it but he was really thinking about it. On the way home, he said it was good but he wasn't sure that he fully "got it". I just said, well Dad there really isn't anything complicated to get. It is a love story and they loved each other the same as you love mom but because it wasn't accepted, they were kept apart and it is tragic. Love is love. He thought about it for a minute and said well...yes that makes sense. So, it helped my Dad fully understand that love is love and certainly is not just between a man and a woman.

[@JamesPeters-fd4kg]

Brokeback mountain all these years later holds up as a haunting, compelling story of love discovered and lost through prejudice and fear in its time. The acting by the leads and supporting cast is impeccable and the film contains one of the most moving, closing scenes ever depicted in film history. A masterpiece. Crash? .An engaging, competent film but hardly memorable. .

[@orpheus9037]

Also, I wanted to mention - there is a very strange irony about Crash winning that year. In 2006, the Academy Award ceremony also bestowed an honorary - and much deserved - Oscar on Director Robert Altman that evening. Altman, of course, is the director who pioneered the multi-character-narrative format in ground-breaking films like The Player, Short Cuts, Gosford Park and, most importantly, the landmark 1975 film "Nashville." Indeed, Nashville is really the touchstone here - Nashville was the template that "Crash" took its narrative format from - a narrative format that Altman had perfected over decades. Altman was nominated multiple times over the years, but never won a competitive Oscar. Still, I have to wonder how he felt that evening winning an honorary Oscar while the Best Film Oscar went to Crash, basically a second-rate Altman knock off.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Interesting point!

[@kos500]

My reason: Roger Ebert used his show, At the Movies, to pull "Crash" over "Brokeback Mountain." He was in an interracial marriage and saw himself in Crash. For every criticism against discrimination (like the "four little girls" tragedy), he was criticized for discrimination (like using the "n-word" in a movie review).

[@TheAwardsContender]

Interesting perspective!

[@oolongtea4013]

brokeback mountain lost because of homophobia, plain and simple

[@tomstar3641]

Brokeback Mountain should have won

[@zacsofarjustfriends]

Why wasn’t Walk the Line nominated? It’s such a great flick!

[@TheAwardsContender]

Agreed!! Should’ve made the final five.

[@johnnzboy]

I love your videos, they're tightly constructed, comprehensive, informative, astute, sometimes sly, with a nice touch of the personal, and I get a pleasant tingle when I hear "Here are the top ... reasons" (o:

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thank you, your comment made my day!! Glad you’re enjoying my videos. ❤️

[@larrydirtybird]

I was not at all surprised that Crash won, and I even checked it as my Best Picture prediction in the Oscar pool. And the reason was your Reason #5. Anybody not wanting a gay cowboy movie to win as best picture of the year only had one place to go to make them not feel intolerant: Crash. “I can’t be prejudiced. I can’t be a bigot for not voting for Brokeback Mountain. I’m voting for crash. A movie about race relations. It’s not that I am anti-gay. It’s that I care very much about the issues that Black, Latino, Asian , and Middle Eastern Americans have to deal with!” Of course Crash won.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thanks for watching!

[@DavidStevenson-yh8sb]

Oh well huh

[@DavidStevenson-yh8sb]

It's a bigoted choice looking back....

[@can72287]

Midnight Cowboy. Another gay (for pay) cowboy that won in the 60s

[@spacecadet2172]

I still haven’t gotten over the egregiousness of this

[@TheAwardsContender]

Same!

[@cellardoor4199]

I remember being 15 when Brokeback Mountain came out, was closeted from family, mostly open to friends (especially two gay ones who were much older), they let me borrow the movie on dvd and I had to watch it in secret in my room in the middle of the night. I broke down sobbing by the end. I'd later come out to my mom, funnily enough, after seeing Capote in theaters while having dinner. We were/are huge PSH fans and watched all his movies up until that point. I DID actually like Crash when I rented it. The Oscars came and I remember it being called 'the gay Oscars', with Transamerica and Brokeback Mountain basically being the one to beat. I still remember being on AIM with my friend when Jack announced Crash, and I literally sent her 'WHAT!??? CRASH JUST FUCKING WON BEST PICTURE! BROKEBACK LOST!' I was literally shocked and stunned. i gasped so loud.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Same here!! Thanks for watching!

[@cellardoor4199]

@@TheAwardsContender oh god you actually replied, Brian, i can die happy now hah. Anyway, your content is amazing, thank you! i've been binging every video since i found your channel last week.

[@singstreetcar5881]

Can we talk about Keira Knightley statement necklace. What a moment

[@TheAwardsContender]

So lovely!

[@JimmyJim2u]

Spot on video, as always, and you nailed the reasons for Chash's win. In addition, Ernest Borgnine and Tony Curtis led the charge with homophobic rants such as, "John Wayne would be turning over in his grave." Shameful.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Ugh, so true.

[@vodkatonyq]

If you don't think Crash is a bad movie, you're not doing it right. I rewatched it recently and it is stupefyingly bad.

[@drdavid1963]

I've rewatched about 8 times and it gets better

[@vodkatonyq]

@@drdavid1963 8 times? Ewwww...

[@drdavid1963]

@@vodkatonyq That's in 15 years, though. But I'd definitely watch it again maybe in a year or so.

[@Caio.R.S]

I found your channel last week and I'm loving it. I love themes about the Oscars and your videos are of great quality. Cheers from Brazil 🇧🇷

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thank you so much!!

[@r.c.c.10]

To the question "Which are the worst Best Picture winner at the Oscars?", it doesn't matter, in my opinion, if Driving Ms Daisy, Shakespeare in Love or Green Book didn't deserve the award; they're still better films than many other ones that deservedly won in other years.

[@IDontWantThisStupidHandle]

Agreed. Honestly, the hate for Shakespeare in Love seems a bit overstated in online discussions. Maybe I'm just a rom-com sucker, but Paltrow is really a great actress, and the film was very well written, shot, and performed. Rom-Coms (to me) are one of the many film genres that The Academy largely dismisses outright. Romantic Dramas are (obviously) very favoured by The Academy, of course. But genres like Rom-Coms (unless also a musical), Horror, Sci-Fi, etc are almost automatically viewed as "lesser than" on principle. Consequently, great writing, cinematography, and performances in those genres go largely unrecognized.

[@r.c.c.10]

@@IDontWantThisStupidHandle Agreed as well!

[@incognitofelon]

@@IDontWantThisStupidHandle Shakespeare In Love had Harvey Weinstein's ferocious PR machine written all over it. That's the entire reason it won.

[@kellie8468]

@@r.c.c.10 yes I really like Shakespeare in Love. I have no issue with it winning best picture. Some I do ( like Crash) but not Shakespeare in Love.

[@colleenkelleher393]

I loved Gwen book

[@travisdavid-schauwitzer1308]

Brokeback Mountain should have won!!!

[@vengeance0505]

Crash winning is a highway robbery

[@flaccidusminimus2170]

For me the biggest shock was seeing "Brokeback Mountain" lose Best Cinematography to "Memoirs of a Geisha". No one had that, and it destabilized my certainty about what would happen with the top prize. Me, I thought the two major contenders were mediocre and tepidly written. Still do. I would have voted for "Good Night and Good Luck"!

[@alexgiron8148]

It’s surprising how “controversial” the film was in 2005. Homophobia definitely was a key factor it didn’t win Best Picture.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yup

[@quij7ote222]

Brokeback Mountain's loss was the last time I watched the Oscars. Beyond absurd. A piece of junk beat a work of art.

[@TheAwardsContender]

BM deserved!!

[@tulab4295]

Crash was a master piece, BM was nothing special , 2 men falling in love - so effing what

[@Обовсемчтоинтересно]

@@tulab4295everything is exactly the opposite

[@00Noir]

Crash, in hindsight, is one of the worst Oscar-nominated movies I've ever seen. It's such a terrible, hammy portrayal of racism within modern society. And it ultimately exonerates cops who commit crimes (sexual assault, manslaughter/murder) while on the job. Fuck off with that!

[@RedSpice84]

We all know why Crash beat Brokeback...homophobia.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Pretty much.

[@keeganthorpe]

I saw Crash in the theater. I enjoyed it a lot. I thought it was really good. Then I saw Brokeback Mountain. Which brought me to tears. I was rooting for Brokeback Mountain. As a gay man, it winning felt like it would be a big deal. However, I didn’t think BBM would win. For reasons discussed.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yes, exactly. Thanks for watching!

[@cadillacdeville5828]

I was dumbfounded by Crash winning in ANY CAPACITY. This is way pass personal taste, just on a surface level of the movie itself and its competitors. It's like Goodfellas being snubbed and that ridiculous movie " Shakespeare" winning.

[@addiatmeikokusuma8058]

If there is a worst best picture in Oscar history..Crash would be at no 1...Even Munich was far better movie ...I don't even understand why it got nominated at the first place..we all know who is the real winner here...

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yup!

[@bruce1002003]

For some reason or another, I didn't see Brokeback until recently on HBO, although I read Proulx's short story a few years before the movie and found it very moving. But in all my decades of movie watching, I can't recall a movie that moved me as much as Brokeback did. I've been known to get a tear in my eyes while watching a movie, but never before did I actually breakdown sobbing at the end. The landscapes, the depth and range of feelings over a 20-year period, the evolution of the characters (including Ennis' - even if only at the very end when he realizes after Jack's death and hearing of his daughter's upcoming marriage that he should have chosen Jack years earlier), and more are all breathtaking. I watched it a couple more times, over a period of several days, and was more moved with each viewing. I've now come to sob several times during a viewing. Hoffman did a great job of impersonating Capote, but that's not acting. (Ironic since Capote's whole schtick was a big act.) His performance "created" nothing. Hoffman was like Capote - all show, just what Hollywood loves. Ledger, OTOH, created a real live character, off of just some words on a page, doing his best to deal with the cards he was dealt - the time, the place, his entire environment. And I can't think of one more moving. Both Brokeback and Ledger are just plain brilliant. And both should have won Oscars.

[@bev9708]

Another great argument for having the Oscars awarded 10 years later!! I liked Crash very much when I saw it at the cinema but there was NO comparison with Brokeback!!! It's a film on totally another level all together... I was not only shocked, I was disgusted and I remember thinking Voilà everything wrong with the Oscars, too many old rich white guys who go for the "nice" film, the "safe" film, as they've done many times before and since as you pointed out in your opening!! Yet another excellent video and analysis Brian, bravo!!!

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@can72287]

I get old and rich but white? Crash had a substantial black cast and Brokeback…the whitest movie ever. 🤷🏽‍♂️

[@Beneaththeglitterball]

This was such a disappointing win. Let's take solace in the fact that 'Brokeback Mountain' is a multi-layered classic. 'Crash' is a well acted drama, but is a dated piece that is not as profound as it likes to think it is. Some of the characterisation and dialogue is woeful

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yeah, not a great choice for BP. Thanks for watching!

[@Argeaux2]

I watched live and was very disappointed that Crash won.

[@mrtony80]

'Crash' wouldn't be so bad if it was intentionally attempting to be satire, but it isn't attempting to be satire. It's attempting to be deep and serious, but comes across like satire, and that is never a good thing.

[@vbittencourt]

The main reason is the vote system. The vote system is more favorable to movies with less people that hate the movie, than people to love the movie.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yes, such a good point!

[@petel5781]

100%. Broke back may have had 30% number 1 votes to Crash’s 10%, but if Crash had more 2nd and 3rd preferences it wins. I agree with William Goldman that they should release the votes for Best Picture.

[@chriswald7700]

For me there were also two other big snubs that year in other categories: Reese Witherspoon winning best actress over Felicity Huffman and "Brokeback Mountain" winning best score over "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Pride and Prejudice".

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thanks for watching!

[@aagold76]

'Trash' (as I refer to it) is a glorified after school special. Late night TV hosts turned Brokeback into a joke- it was disgusting to watch how homophobic they were. Plus, there were several Oscar members who publicly said they refused to watch Brokeback- Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine among them.

[@garrettabben9261]

Clint Eastwood as well………

[@alihijazi8583]

Crash isn't trash and it was really good

[@jesusangelespinosasalgado9430]

Fair or not, Jake Gyllenhaal should've been nominated for Actor in a Leading Role as well...

[@TheAwardsContender]

That category fraud doesn’t bug me like other ones, not sure why.

[@laurajones1773]

He’s co-lead with Heath Ledger.

[@jeffs.s.]

Crash was a shock, shouldn't even have been nominated

[@MJC_227]

I was totally crushed when Crash won BP over BBM. I was fully on board for a BBM win, and was gutted when it lost. I kind of had a feeling though that it might not win, because I had heard that there were a lot of older members of the academy who flat-out refused to vote for BBM, many whom refused to even see the movie.

[@TheAwardsContender]

So sad!! Still bums me out!

[@sailingsam3815]

Brokeback Mountain should have won.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yup

[@TheLauren800]

Love this video!!! I agree 100% reason 5 was a BIG reason why it didn't win. Brokeback Mountain is still one of my favorite movies. in Collage (2005) our final essay for a class was comparing the short story to the movie

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thank you so much!!

[@kellie8468]

I have tried to rewatch Crash. I can’t! Ugh . Brokeback Mountain is still a remarkable film. I don’t find it easy to watch either but for far different reasons. The story is just heartbreaking. Beautifully acted and directed. Cinematography is stunning. I just noticed how Hoffman didn’t have a jacket on . Gotta love it!

[@TheAwardsContender]

Agreed!

[@iriszhang6120]

Totally agree with you! I couldn't watch BBM again because it's so heartbreaking even just thinking about the ending. I had to go to those fanfics to solve the sadness every time I think of the movie. The cinematography and scenes and acting are so stunning that it makes me wanna go back to that time and that place to live it.

[@TGTR-06660]

Another excellent video. A video that would be great would be like worst Oscar winner for different categories. Anyway, you make great decisions in your content. Thanks!

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thanks for watching!

[@thezenlu]

So, I love your video! I am one of those kids who enjoyed Crash when I saw it, and it's interwoven narrative. I believe the hate it gets is overblown mostly because it gets called an Oscar-bait film, and I literally remember watching this movie in theaters in May of 2005, and the fact that most narratives around it makes it out to be a film begging for an Oscar made me disregard the conversation around Brokeback being a more deserving film. I respect the hell out of your video, your research, and your love of the medium of film. This level of effort into dissecting what happened instead of going with the invented idea people like going with is amazing... I don't really care much about "who" gets the best picture these days, I'm far more interested in best animated film and animated short, but I still LOVE the HECK out of this video for the truth of the matter.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thanks so much for your kind words. Means a lot! ❤️

[@sharonalbanese8084]

Brokeback Mountain was exquisite. What a movie, so compelling, so beautiful, so heartbreaking. What a ridiculous decision from the academy. Was it homophobia? Who knows. Love your analysis.

[@LukeLovesRose]

No, it wasnt exquisite. Brokeback Mountain was the cheesiest and most fake romance I've ever seen in a movie

[@kristiandeluna4161]

A great injustice indeed... I can still remember how shocked I felt when I watched the ceremony live back then... And you're right Brian, Crash is not really a bad movie per se but to win Best Picture? I'm even questioning up to this day the fact that it got nominated at all for Best Picture over more deserving films like Walk The Line and Constant Gardener.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yes, so true!

[@myytchanneldinakoha8498]

It wasn't 'expected' that Brokeback would win that year as you point out.There were concerns that it was too ahead of its time for its subject matter, and Crash being a Hollywood type of movie actually had an edge.

[@TheAwardsContender]

True

[@Themoomabides]

Crash was the most mainstream and starred all of hollywood. It was bound to win.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yes

[@theorderofthebees7308]

The academy has messed up before Color Purple in 1985 received so many nominations. And god absolutely none

[@gabrielcastaneda9700]

My ex and I in 7 grade a way we came out to the school was dressing up as ernest and Jack from broke back. The film is so beautiful

[@ralphvd84]

Thank you for narrating, Christopher Walken.....

[@TheAwardsContender]

Ha!

[@marcellusfinch6366]

You should do a video about Spike Lee being snubbed in best picture for Do the right thing

[@TheAwardsContender]

Good idea!

[@madinp1177]

Was waiting for your thoughts on this showdown!

[@TheAwardsContender]

Hope you liked it!

[@JuanGomez-oc5eo]

I always enjoy your videos!! Thanks for the gret work!! 🥳

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thank you for watching!!

[@vince__2k]

Crash winning Best Picture is still so laughable to me.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Yeahhhh, not great.

[@claytoncondo3460]

At least later over the years, Paul Hagis the director of Crash has said that Crash didn’t need to win the best picture Oscar

[@Обовсемчтоинтересно]

But they were so happy. Stolen. This is disgraceful. If only the director had said this back in 2006...

[@claytoncondo3460]

@@Обовсемчтоинтересно what does that mean

[@claytoncondo3460]

Crash should never won best picture at all. If Lionsgate gave the film a wide release in 2004 and would’ve been nominated for best picture oscar of 2004 and lost to Million Dollar Baby then it would let Brokeback Mountain win best picture of 2005 instead. But NO, Crash ended up winning instead. Just to show how sometimes this planet stinks.

[@TheAwardsContender]

BM is the winner in my heart!

[@mooskanate]

Before I get to BBM, as Brian mentioned in his video early on, many people think Shakespeare in Love shouldn't have won Best Picture. I am not a huge admirer of it, but I have to say, a lot of women really do like that movie, even adore it. Males really prefer Saving Private Ryan, and most lists of best movies that are compiled are male centric. Also, it's not as though Shakespeare in Love was a huge surprise. It had more nominations than Saving Private Ryan did, and in that year both Shakespeare in Love and Saving Private Ryan were both winning Best Picture prizes from organizations at a near equal rate. Conversely, AMPAS had to go out of their way to find "something else" besides BBM to win that year. This was a year that it was so obvious that they did not want BBM to win that it sticks out like a sore thumb, especially on hindsight. AMPAS members were even making negative comments about it in public, during the voting period. Many big names even said they didn't see it or wouldn't see it. Think about that! What if people had said they wouldn't see a movie about anti-semitism or racial issues? AMPAS voters bad mouthing Oscar nominees in public was not a thing to be done. Promoting what they nominated was what was done. The eventual winner was an afterthought. After every other high profile movie was met with "meh" by the critics they went back to a film released in May that had already run it's course and elevated it to infamy. That is the telling part of the whole story: No one all summer and into the fall was considering this film to be a Best Picture contender until Brokeback Mountain started winning everything. Even the problematic Golden Globe organization didn't nominate it for Best Picture, marking the only time without reason that an Oscar winning Best Picture was not nominated by the organization. It's one year in Oscar history that you can point to, where it wasn't a matter of preference by voters that a picture won, but rather a picture won because they actively looked for something else to win.

[@TheAwardsContender]

So true. Thanks for your thorough comment, and for watching!

[@ddddddd5555]

Winning best picture is the worst thing that could've happen to Crash, cause with fairness it's not bad but really had no business at any awards show. I think it also was kind of a kiss of death for Paul Haggis career a year after Million Dollar Baby made him one of the most promising and sought after sceenwriters. Too bad other and better films didn't have the same PR machine because it was pretty good year alas, it didn't reflect in the lineup. My nominees are Brokeback, Capote, A History of Violence, Match Point and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

[@vodkatonyq]

it IS bad. Terrible.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Great point, thanks for watching!

[@bartmann81]

If I'd been a voter I would have gone for Good Night and Good Luck for Best Film and Best Director, but perhaps that's just because I'm so interested in the real story, the time it is set in and the themes.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Great choice!

[@patrarus6097]

Brian, you are such a class act! Your voice is smooth yet commanding but not intimidating. You sure know your movies and your knowledge is greatly appreciated. Re the "Crash"" win: I loved that movie and have rewatched it many times. I was thrilled when it won Best Picture!

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thank you!

[@j.d.andrew-nv2oh]

I heard even Crash's director said it shouldn't have won. Lol

[@RollTide1987]

I knew it had no chance but I was cheering for Munich that night. It was my #1 film for 2005.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Great movie!

[@travisspazz1624]

I like Crash more, a lot more than The Artist and Coda. Crash at least tried for something substantial.

[@TheAwardsContender]

True!

[@can72287]

Yeah but Oscar’s love well done and financed “different” movies (like Birdman) plus Hollywood loves itself so I can totally get why The Artist won…plus it’s way better than I thought it would be.

[@marcor7044]

oooh another BP snub video, yess. Also for your next vid, may I suggest the 1962 Best Actress race? (Sophia Loren- Two Women v Audrey Hepburn- Breakfast at Tiffany´s)

[@TheAwardsContender]

Good idea!

[@kellie8468]

Love Sophia Loren in Two Women! I think many haven’t watched it but it’s one of the best performances . I knew she was good I didn’t know how phenomenal she could be. Incredible.

[@darringilmore9673]

I loved CRASH!!!! We definitely needed a movie like that. If it aged well or not, who cares? It ultimately did what it had to do when it was released. Every best picture winner hasn't aged well, so that statement is irrelevant.

[@itsybitsy999]

Crash and Green Book are such shitty wins when there were great alternatives in their respective years. Don't want to vote for slow, "boring" Roma? The Favourite is kick-ass in every way. Feeling a little weird watching guys kiss but recognise that Crash is heavy-handed with dialogue that real people would never actually say? Vote for Capote - an atmospheric masterpiece with great performances, directing and screenplay. The Academy really, really sucks sometimes.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Sometimes they get it wrong. But that’s ok!

[@nediaelifra721]

Lol those clowns would never give a lanthimos movie best picture

[@robertjacksonjr]

Yeah, and “Driving Miss Daisy” beat out “Do the Right Thing”. Go figure! 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@Joy-fc6kg]

I'm probably the only one who thinks that Crash deserved the Oscar, all the actors were phenomenal in their scenes, the music is astonishinh, go lesaon to the soundtrack it's awsom and the flow of the film makes you hold from scene to scene. I was impressed, saw it 3 times and enjoy it very much each time. Have to add I also saw Munich and Brokeback Mountain many times because I enjoyed them all but to me Brokeback Mountain rythm was to slow but the way the subject of homosexuality was very well expressed, superbe love story and Michelle Williams is so just in her interpretation for that generation of women, in that particular period of time. Munich is a great film but long and for some born much later than the events of those Olympics, it's was hard to relate to it easily but the way the main caracters played their roles kept me willing to follow uo to the end each time I saw it and I have learn a lot on Israel revenge which his the subject of the film. Nevertheless those three movies were my favorite for that year, certainly a great Movie year.👍✌️

[@LukeLovesRose]

No. I'm glad Crash won

[@mr.introvert6173]

But forest grump and American beauty are truely deserved best picture.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Great films!

[@thecoolj45221]

Forrest Gump sucked ok

[@kenanderson9673]

I mainly remember Oprah raving about Crash multiple times on her show and saying it should be be regarded with To Kill a Mockingbird. I also remember the critic of Brokeback was although phenomenal(Ang Lee) and performances, the film was based on a short story and critics pissed and moaned about lack of story. I might be wrong so I don’t need anyone coming after me. Correct me if I’m wrong don’t be a dick about the above statements. I also remember being so thrilled PSH won best actor for playing a “gay” man. I’m someone who is more like Capote than a cowboy so I loved that visibility. That year was wonderful for representing gays but quite honestly we all knew Crash was going to win once Oprah got behind it.

[@jayiijay]

Brokeback Best Picture: New York Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics, at that point most critical Best Picture and Director prizes ever (about 30) including more than Schindler's List; most nominations; top at box office (#1 of 2005 at box office mojo); Golden Globe; BAFTA; Critics' Choice; Venice; Independent Spirit; DGA; PGA; WGA; etc. etc. No film this lauded ever lost before or since. It's the only film to win DGA PGA and WGA to lose the Oscar. Saving Private Ryan comes close but it was weak in Screenplay, whereas Brokeback won Screenplay everywhere. Ernest Borgnine and Tony Curtis and "and all their friends" [in the Academy] would not even watch the overwhelming frontrunner because "John Wayne would roll over in his grave". Brian, your video is great, but homophobia is the overwhelming reason that BBM lost. A recount poll of Academy members was taken in 2015 and BBM easily won. Different times. But no excuse for the Academy. BBM won critics Best Picture prizes in places like Utah, Dallas and many other deep red locations, but the old straight white Academy members cared too much about their image.

[@TheAwardsContender]

So true!

[@jonathanvelazquezph.d.2719]

I remember printing out the MSN list of worst movies of 2004 and seeing Crash there (yes back then we printed stuff 🤭). I don't despise it but I do despise it's win over Brokeback Mountain which is superior on so many levels. The Academy wasn't ready to embrace it. Heck, I even think Paul Haggis (Crash director) said that Brokeback Mountain should've won Best Picture that year.

[@TheAwardsContender]

Thanks for watching!