10 Movies You Won't Believe Are Turning 20 In 2025
2. Brokeback Mountain
The 78th Academy Awards were taken by storm by Brokeback Mountain, as the movie received no fewer than eight nominations. Though Ang Lee took home Best Director, it was arguably more for the performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, and multiple controversies, that the film is better remembered today.
The two played Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar respectively, trapped in something of a forbidden love story that received a lot of attention. This was both in a positive light, as it broke down certain barriers and opened doors for queer stories in Hollywood, while it also received a lot of backlash from certain close-minded corners that would have preferred those doors stay shut.
Thankfully, two decades later the legacy of Brokeback Mountain is an overwhelmingly positive one in spite of the adversity it faced at the time. It's widely believed that the film was robbed of Best Picture, and even Lee himself is of the opinion that this ultimately came down to homophobia.
It's unfathomable that this was the attitude even 20 years ago, but the Oscar robbery aside, Brokeback Mountain smashed through its ceiling and helped pave the way for other stories to follow.