10. Martin Scorseses Body of Work Win For The Departed
2006 was not exactly the greatest year in film history. Of the best picture nominees that year (The Departed, Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Queen) Little Miss Sunshine has probably had the most endurance. Thats not to say The Departed wasnt a quality film. I enjoyed it a great deal and, personally, didnt think any other film nominated had substantially more merit for Best Picture, but Best Director was another story. Martin Scorseses had all of the signs of a makeup call win. While The Departed was a good film, it was hardly a directing triumph. The film was an adaptation of the acclaimed Infernal Affairs trilogy out of Hong Kong and at times it showed. At two and a half hours the film is far from tight, and the constraints of the originals seemed to stymie any of Scorseses bolder directing decisions. His win came down to this. He should have won three times already for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. Each of those films were slighted at the Oscars in their year and because of it fans have been demanding Scorsese get his due for decades. I think Clint Eastwood deserved the award in 2006. Letters from Iwo Jima was an unbelievably challenging project in so many ways. Eastwood overcame the challenges of language, perspective, and repetition (Iwo Jima was the Japanese counterpart to Flags of our Fathers) to craft not only a moving film rendered with a bold cinematic vision. The problem was, Eastwood had already won a couple years before for the excellent Million Dollar Baby and the Academy couldnt very well give him a second win with the Scorsese army marching on their doorstep with torches and pitch forks. So the Academy obliged and gave a glorified lifetime achievement award to Scorsese.
9. Robert Zemeckis Quentin Tarantino In 1994
Any nomination for Quentin Tarantino is a victory in and of itself considering the Academys longstanding dislike of the Pulp Fiction director's work. Robert Zemeckis did a stand up job bringing the fanciful world of Forrest Gump to life, but in no way could that compare to his earlier efforts (especially Who Framed Roger Rabbit) or, more importantly, to Tarantinos masterstroke Pulp Fiction. When you watch a great film usually one of three things always stands out most of all: great acting, great storytelling, or great directing. Forrest Gump is all story. Pulp Fiction is undoubtedly the directors triumph. Tarantino deserved the recognition here. Sadly, I have a sinking feeling Tarantino will end up never winning a little gold statue for Best Director. Then again, that puts him in the company of Sidney Lumet and Alfred Hitchcock and out of the company of Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves) and John Avildsen (Rocky). Maybe he is better this off this way...
Phil loves a good debate. Don't expect him to shy away from starting the conversation. Follow him on Twitter @MrTallgeese if you're of a like mind, or if you just want to troll him relentlessly.
