5. Dances With Wolves Is Better Than Goodfellas (Says The Academy)
Dances With Wolves is not a terrible film and, any other year, it would probably be considered a worthy winner. Sure, it's at least half an hour too long and is not without its problems, but it's a great film. Its victory signalled a mini Western revival that would produce films like Clint Eastwood's Best Picture winning Unforgiven. But Dances With Wolves shouldn't have won the Best Picture award. Goodfellas should have. Is there anybody, besides Kevin Costner, who thinks that Dances With Wolves is a better film than Goodfellas? Anyone? No? Okay then. Scorsese was at his best with Goodfellas, a well-crafted depiction of the life of Mafioso-cum-government informant Henry Hill. The film has the story, the music, the editing and cinematography (that Copa Cabana shot) of a best picture winner. Dances With Wolves had a ring of 'sameness' to it. But the Academy, once again, played it safe. Was Goodfellas too violent? Did it contain too many swearwords? Were the anti-heroes too problematic? Possibly. But it was a glaring oversight and, a quarter of a century later, there really isn't any debate about what the better film is. To add insult to injury, Costner also picked up the Best Director award.
