09. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
Its interesting to think that a commercially successful, blockbuster film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar its something that we dont often see these days (before the 10 Picture expansion anyway), instead the nominations consist of stuffy, overblown productions that have been made specifically for the Academys members to praise. The winner of the 54th Oscars Best Picture, Chariots of Fire, falls firmly into the latter category. In comparison to Raiders it is far less entertaining and has the one redeeming feature of an iconic soundtrack. Whilst Raiders won a quadrant of consolation awards (Best Sound, Editing, Visual Effects and Art Direction) its enduring popularity leads me to believe that it is more deserving of the Best Picture gong than the relatively dull Chariots. With performances perhaps the only exception, Raiders is quite simply a more accomplished film on all levels.