30 Oscar losers that should have been Oscar winners

Network losing to Rocky – Best Picture (1977)

The Winner

Rocky, the extremely iconic sports drama in which the underdog boxer tries to fight his way to the top. Feat. Stallone, obviously, who also wrote the script. Directed by John G. Avildsen, who also did the Karate Kid movies. All the dialogue is moot because of Sylvester Stallone’s lackadaisical speech.

The Loser

Network, the satire about the ruthlessness and manipulation of television journalism. Starring Peter Finch, William Holden, and Faye Dunaway. Directed by the prolific and iconic Sidney Lumet. Probably more relevant today, in the age of Trump, than it was back then.

Why It Was Wrong

This will come up later in this article as well, so I’m going to cop to it now. I am not really here for sports movies winning Best Picture. Let me explain why, though. Because I like a lot of sports movies, including Rocky. I think Stallone rocked it out with the script and made something that has lasted for decades. Obviously. As evidenced by the recent sequel.

But I think most sports movies satisfy a different cinematic need than what the Best Picture should be about. In my opinion, Best Picture should be about movies that say something new and different. Movies that are relevant. Movies that feature well-developed characters. Movies that are character-driven themselves. And because most sports movies have to focus so much on action, a lot of them don’t live up to those (highly personalized and totally arbitrary) standards.

I like Rocky. Rocky himself is pretty well-developed. Almost no one around him is, though. I know it’s about being an underdog and overcoming all odds and blah blah etc. And that’s part of why I like it. But I can’t get behind it when faced with something like Network, which makes an effort to comment on real issues facing people, both then and today.

Maybe it’s just me. But for my money, I’d rather live in a world without Rocky-type movies than a world without Network-type movies.