Thursday Movie Picks: Best Director (Oscar Winners Edition): Wandering through the Shelves hosts a weekly movie challenge in which you choose 3-5 movies based on that Thursday’s theme and explain why you chose those movies. Today’s theme is Best Director (Oscar Winners Edition), so here are my choices!
PETER JACKSON (THE RETURN OF THE KING)
Peter Jackson was nominated in 2001 for the first installment of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring. He won two years later for the final film, The Return of the King, but I feel like this award was meant to encompass the entire trilogy and what he achieved.
A couple of years ago, I read his book, Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and The Making of Middle Earth, and it was so clearly not an easy process. The LOTR trilogy are some of my favorite movies, and I think Jackson deserved every award the movies won over the span of three years. I also think he’s a pretty down-to-earth, humble guy and a very underrated director when you look at his work outside of LOTR.
CHLOÈ ZHAO (NOMADLAND)
Full disclosure – I have not seen Nomadland. But I wanted to include Chloé Zhao because I was thrilled to see another woman win Best Director. It still absolutely blows my mind that Zhao is only the *second* woman to win this award, behind Kathryn Bigelow, who won for The Hurt Locker in 2010.
It’s such a travesty how little women are represented in this category. Zhao is the first woman of color to win as well. I still remember how happy everyone was when Halle Berry won for Monster’s Ball (Best Actress) in 2001. Berry was the first – and remains the only – woman of color to win in *that* category. I keep hoping these wins will turn the tide for those who remain underrepresented at the Oscars, but I’m not really holding my breath.
ANG LEE (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN)
I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to come up with a third here, mainly because so many of the past winners made me feel mostly “meh”. Looking at those nominated, there were some directors so much more deserving of the award than those who actually won. So, I opted to stay with my theme… Jackson is from New Zealand, Zhao is from China, and Ang Lee, the winner for Brokeback Mountain, and later, Life of Pi, is from Taiwan.
Brokeback Mountain was such a beautiful film, and it’s still a disgrace that it lost Best Picture to Crash. Sometimes I wonder how you can justify awarding a movie Best Director and then snubbing it for Best Picture (ie Saving Private Ryan losing to Shakespeare in Love). Looking at who was nominated alongside Lee, I truly do think he was the right choice for the award.
Sonia
May 7, 2021I wasn’t a fan of Nomadland but I’m glad Zhao won because, as you said, it’s crazy that Bigelow was the only female director to win Best Director. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another decade to see another woman win Best Director.
Sara
May 10, 2021I feel like sometimes the Oscars are like “throw them a bone so they shut up”… as much as I hope this is opening doors for more women and POC, the Oscars are still the Oscars… they still manage to disappoint almost every year.
Cinematic Delights
May 8, 2021Nice picks, and I like that you’ve chosen directors who aren’t American.
Sara
May 10, 2021thank you! Looking through the list of winners it was just… a lot of white dudes for so long.
Brittani
May 8, 2021I love that we match on Zhao and Lee! I’m glad Jackson is getting so much love this week for LOTR. That was quite the feat.
Sara
May 10, 2021The Oscars where ROTK swept its categories was so thrilling to watch. I wish some of the actors had been nominated (Viggo and Sean), but I’ll take what I can get.
ThePunkTheory
May 9, 2021Three amazing picks! We match with Peter Jackson – a cinema near me is currently showing all three LOTR movies and I’m so excited to get to see them on the big screen 😀
Sara
May 10, 2021Thank you! I’m jealous that you get to see LOTR on the big screen again! It was so much fun, going every year… having to wait another year for the next installment. What Jackson was able to do with such a massive story was so impressive.
Katy
May 9, 2021Good picks! I love your theme within a theme. It was nice to see everyone here win. Peter was deserving of his work getting recognized for the whole trilogy. I wasn’t a fan of Nomadland but it was refreshing to see a woman win again. It’s a shame that Academy shuffled her big moment to the middle instead of the end. And Ang Lee did a marvelous job for Brokeback Mountain, considering it’s based on a short story without a lot to go on.
Sara
May 10, 2021Thanks! I agree with the Academy moving the Best Actor category to last. What a disaster that was… and probably why the producers should be told who wins ahead of time so they don’t make a debacle of the whole thing! I loved Brokeback Mountain…it was such a beautiful film!
Birgit
May 12, 2021Peter Jackson seems to be the clear winner this week and I am so glad he won and, you are right, he won for all 3. I want to see Nomadland and I love Frances McDormand but I wanted Viola Davis to win even though I haven’t seen that picture yet either. McDormand is a great actress and so much better than Meryl Streep whom, I think, is over-rated. I really like Saving Ryan’s Privates(sorry) even though I am not one for the the flag waving bit and was pissed at the Ted Danson character because of what he said, I am shocked that it didn’t win over Shakespeare in Love. I like that movie but it is not in the same tier as Saving Ryan.
Sara
May 12, 2021I was really rooting for Viola as well. I think she’s so amazing and doesn’t get near enough credit for what she does. The SIL win was pretty shocking but also pretty typical given how often the Weinsteins “bought” awards. I liked Paltrow in the movie well enough but Cate Blanchett was a powerhouse in Elizabeth and deserved that Oscar.