Oscar Upsets/Mistakes: Shakespeare defeats Private Ryan (1999)

In some ways the 71st Academy Awards wasn't much of a competition. Going into Oscar Sunday Stephan Spielberg's war epic Saving Private Ryan was the clear winner to take home Best Picture. It is regarded today as one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history, but is it really that much of an surprise that a witty romantic comedy set in the 1590's could topple this war giant? Lets break it down.

Saving Private Ryan

What this film had going for it from the start is the directing mastermind Stephan Spielberg. Widely know as one of the greatest directors to ever live, Speilberg alone gives it more weight within the Academy. Not to mention it stars one of Hollywood's most respected leading men in Tom Hanks. Within the film you have a truly epic search and rescue story interlaced with truly gut wrenching and masterful battle scenes. In particular the storming the beach scene near the beginning of the film. It is in my opinion one of the greatest scenes ever filmed and enough to deserve a Best Picture nod. The result of such a wonderful film was 5 awards including Cinematography and Director. Though from the beginning of the night you could feel an upset brewing.

Shakespeare In Love

Though everyone could feel it coming it was still as unexpected as any upset in Oscar history. A film directed by the relatively unknown John Madden that was more or less a romantic comedy proved everyone wrong. At the beginning of the show Judi Dench took home best supporting actress for her 8 minute turn as Queen Elizabeth I, which is ridiculous to say the least. Then an hour later Gweneth Paltrow upset Kate Blanchet (who also played Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth) for Best Actress, which only padded the remarkable upset. After Spielberg took home Best Director the jitters calmed and everything seemed to be back to normal. Until 10 minutes later Madden's romantic comedy backed by Harvey Weinstein took home the prestigious prize of Best Picture. Giving the film its 7th Oscar of the night.


Comparing the two.

Both films received critical praise with a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes but the difference resides with how audiences reacted to it. Shakespeare In Love received a 73% by audiences where Saving Private Ryan received a 92%. Of course the genre itself can be a result of this because many men won't even attempt to like a romantic comedy. Which could be the cause of an 100 million dollar less gross than Saving Private Ryan. Based on multiple review sites there is really no advantage either way by critics.  Shakespeare in Love however had the advantage of 2 acting Oscars, while Saving Private Ryan was held to technical awards. Which no doubt helped tipped the scale towards Shakespeare.

Final Thought

Though I believe Saving Private Ryan is a superior film I enjoyed Shakespeare In Love far more than I expected. The witty dialogue and tremendous costume and production design is hard for any movie fan to ignore. When looking at the facts I can't call it that big of an upset because it was clear critics felt the same about the movies. Though it is an upset you can never count out a movie backed by Harvey Weinstein. He is a master at manipulation and always gives his films a chance to succeed. The Academy doesn't take fan selections into account, if it did then this would have ended differently along with many other Academy Awards. Call it what you want but both of these films are good enough to take home the award.

What do you guys think? Is it the biggest upset you have ever seen? What other Oscar upsets would you like to see me cover next? Comment and tell me below!