A.K.A. "Why I Watch the Independent Spirit Awards"
A Cinephile’s examination of the most egregious errors in judgment by the Academy Awards.
#6: Oscar Gets Nauseous Due To "Vertigo".
Could it be that 1950's America was simply not ready for an acrophobic protagonist consumed with erotic obsession, misogynistic fetishism, and a penchant for necrophilic proclivities? Despite a universal modern cinematic re-evaluation that guarantees it a spot on every cinematic top-ten list (and mandatory inclusion in every film program curriculum), Vertigo opened in 1958 to only tepid reviews and the creeped-out expressions of an audience not particularly amused to witness the poster-boy of "aw-shucks" headlining a surrealist Hitchcockian departure into experimentalism, sexual politics and erotic identity issues. (Not to mention the Nabokovian labyrinth of a 50 year old Stewart pawing at a 25 year old Novak.)
Hitch's masterpiece went conspicuously AWOL from the 31st Academy Awards with mercy nods in Best Sound and Best Art Direction (Black and White); and while it is improbable that Stewart failed to garner a Best Actor nomination in a field led by David Niven, it is simply inconceivable that Vertigo was deemed a lesser picture than Auntie Mame, Separate Tables, The Defiant Ones, and the eventual winner of Best Picture, Gigi. The next time you get the urge to go all Mad-men nostalgic, don't forget that "the greatest generation" torpedoed arguably the greatest American film ever made for a musical rip-off of My Fair Lady.
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| Toasting the American Cultural Void! |
goes to show you there is no accounting for taste or good sense for that matter
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