"Crash" a surprise winner for best picture

[LiberalGuy000]

Associated Press
Updated: 11:29 p.m. ET March 5, 2006

LOS ANGELES - The ensemble drama “Crash” pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Academy Awards history, winning best picture Sunday over the cowboy romance “Brokeback Mountain,” which had been the front-runner.

“Crash,” featuring a huge cast in crisscrossing story lines over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles, rode a late surge of praise that lifted it past “Brokeback Mountain,” a film that had won most other key Hollywood honors.

In a year of provocative films at the Oscars, “Crash” was one of the fiercest, a portrait of simmering racial and cultural tension among blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians and Arabs.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11686715/

[karlrschneider]

1. I never ever heard of that movie until tonight...

:eyes:

[cathandler]

6. It 's one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Highly recommended!!!!

[LiberalGuy000]

11. you've got to be kidding (n/t)

[LynneSin]

27. You have to watch it

It's a great movie with an amazing cast to boot. The only reason more from the cast were not nominated was because it was such a major ensemble cast but Matt Dillon was amazing as the racist cop. They showed the clip where he went off on the lady at the insurance company with one of the most heinious racist spews that you swore this guy was purebreed freeper.

[NVMojo]

81. Right fucking on! I hate the shit out of Dillon in that movie! Until the

end. I was rooting for it all along. Wanted it to win. It had been forgotten because it came out at the beginning of a film season with so many great films. Brokeback won its own victory be even being produced!!!! I'm proud of Hollywood this year!

[warrens]

88. Who could have imagined Dillon being a great actor?

He floored me in Drugstore Cowboy and he was dynamite in Crash. I think any of the five could have won without too much complaint, but I was rooting for Crash. First time my pick ever won.

[NVMojo]

82. Witherspoons husband was a shocker in this film too ...

[Cornus]

15. I agree

It's one of the best movies I've ever seen...a well deserved honor.

[BlueIris]

79. Yeah.

And no, I don't feel the need to elaborate. I'm actually really happy to wake up today and find out I'm not the only person totally satisfied with how it all worked out.

[Caoimhe]

17. Crash is a great movie... I am proud to own it

I wish Brokeback would have won, but I am not disappointed in Crash winning.

[Hippo_Tron]

48. Same here

[hobo_baggins]

49. well if you haven't heard of it, it must not be any good

you being a movie master and all...

[Bumblebee]

2. They chickened out, both with Paradise Now and Brokeback Mountain

Very disheartening.

[Erika]

25. Yes, but the positives are there

Racial tensions are simmering and that at least is being recognized.

As far as Brokeback Mountain goes, it was the best film out there. But MLK was considered a radical for many years until the public woke up to the discrimination.

[closeupready]

45. Totally, TOTALLY agree. Crash was a sucky movie.

Cartoon, cardboard cutout characters. Brokeback had its flaws, but give me a break.

[Toucano]

65. Cardboard cutout characters? Sounds exactly like "Brokeback".

Not to mention others have handled the same story better.

[idlisambar]

54. sorry, that's Bull

Ang Lee got best director, Oscar liked Brokeback, it just liked Crash better.

[mondo joe]

68. Oscars always plays Best Picture safe (and mediocre).

Gump.

Titanic.

Braveheart.

Crash.

[Maven]

3. What a bunch of CRAP.

NO ONE will remember "Crash" in 10 years--they'll remember "Brokeback." For chrissakes, it's even changed our vocabulary. What a joke.

[ronnykmarshall]

24. Fuck Crash.

This was the shittiest Oscars I've ever seen. The Academy is a bunch of chicken shit mother fuckers. Fuck them.

[closeupready]

46. TOTALLY AGREE.

eom

[Toucano]

66. If changing the vocabulary and memorability are your criteria

then "Austin Powers" should have won best picture.

"Brokeback" is good, but flawed and highly over-rated.

[Initech]

4. Ha ha, first time I picked a best picture winner in YEARS!

Hell - the last time I was right about a best picture winner was Forrest Gump.

[allisonthegreat]

60. Some one at another forum

Picked it for just a good movie to see month's ago..I am looking forward to seeing it!:smoke:

[El Supremo]

5. I don't think they like to award the Oscar to the one who...

won the Golden Globe.

[alphafemale]

7. Not so much of a surprise.

I thought "Crash" was the favored, with Ang Lee as Director in most polls.

In fact I think the only surprise was Clooney winning over that guy who got robbed who should of won for "Sideways."

[wildhorses]

51. i agree with you on this altho George was good Paul Giometti

and the whole cast of cinderella man were excellent IMHO

[mhr]

8. Great Movie - Saw It Last Year - Highly Recommended

eom

[priller]

9. Not by a long shot was it the best movie

My girlfriend could hardly remember it until they showed scenes again.

"Rode a late surge of praise..." Hmm, wonder what that means....

[DemFromMem]

10. Well done, Crash producers

This was a superb movie in a year of superb movies. It does more to show that race relations in today's America is far from perfect and it did so in a way that wasn't patronizing or overly preachy or simplistic.

[mmonk]

12. I was pulling for

Good Night and Good Luck. But I had heard Crash might take it as a surprise over Brokeback Mountain.

[Mandate My Ass]

13. Crash totally sucked. Lamest nominee for best pic ever

Big disappointment here. The most formulaic, bullshit, unbelievable, saccharin-flavored, pseudo redemption movie I've ever seen. Ppphhhbbtttllhhh :thumbsdown:

[closeupready]

47. I know. A filmed greeting card addressing racism.

what a bunch of crap.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

70. Formulaic?

I'm guessing you didn't understand the movie then.

[NWHarkness]

14. Surprise?

My wife and I both picked it, we thought it was a shoo in to win, although, we also thought it was the weakest of the nominated films.

But it was as if it was made by a blueprint for winning an Oscar.

[Ayesha]

16. Crash is amazing

It really is the better film, much as I loved Brokeback. It's also very controversial, and definitely wouldn't sit well with Freepers, who are either overtly racist or like to pretend they're not.

[Caoimhe]

21. well it speaks to different pains

it makes you think on a different level than Brokeback did. I am not surprised nor disappointed in it getting best picture. A great film, beautifully scripted.

[barb162]

89. It's an excellent movie about racism and making judgements

about people. I am glad it won.

[k_jerome]

18. wait a minute...

i thought crash was the safe hollywood choice. like titanic and forrest gump.

[davhill]

19. Crash is the best picture I have seen in years

I am glad it won. It manages to get all the complexities of race relations in America right. It is superbly scripted with fast moving interlocking stories yet the audience is never left behind.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. IMHO Brokeback is MUCH better.

[Skittles]

28. ALL the other nominated movies were better than Crash

I saw them all....Crash was good but the others were EXCELLENT

[Erika]

38. I thought Good Night and Good Luck was really slighted

It was a fantastic movie mirroring todays political times and propaganda.

[anitar1]

63. I had the sinking feeling that Good Night did not have a chance.

Because it was too political for the Academy. Not unusual. Although I am glad to see a movie about racism win. we need to hammer all the "isms" IMHO. I was glad to see so many African Americans represented.I was especially moved by the South African receiving an award for his film. He was very moved and obviously sincere.I was also happy to see the clips about all of the movies, from the past, that carried such powerful political messages. Guess that was as far as they dared go regarding politics.

[smirkymonkey]

85. I'll second that opinion.

[Erika]

31. Yes by far Brokeback was the superior choice

Evidently Hollywood has been subdued and intimidated. They are back to baby steps on freedom of expression and tolerance.

At least Clooney and Ang spoke up for tolerance. It's a word that is hated by the right.

[ronnykmarshall]

22. Fuck that shit.

Fuck the Oscars and fuck Crash.

Eat shit and die assholes.

[Erika]

36. MLK was deemed a communist and hidden for many years

because of his "radical" stands. It seems like Hollywood was willing to throw crumbs to the gays but felt like supporting a racial film was safe under W's intolerant regime.

[davidinalameda]

52. but how do you really feel my dear

emote!

[swimmernsecretsea]

57. darling, listen

I've got a Midol in my purse. Go get yourself a glass of water and take one. I mean it.

[LiberalGuy000]

23. One of the worst movies I've ever seen...

Unbelievable. All I can think is that The Academy didn't want to upset Red-State America by choosing "Brokeback Mountain".

"Crash", in my opinion, was incredibly difficult to watch - not because of the subject content, but because it was so poorly presented. Impossible situations, inane dialogue, and seriously unlikeable characters made me want to walk out of the theater before the movie was over.

I agree with much of what Erik Lundegaard (movie critic) says about "Crash" in this MSNBC article:

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11480804/page/2/

Here's part of what he says:

“Crash” has another big problem. It assumes that by showing us the two extremes of a single character it’s giving us a full character. Don Cheadle’s character dismisses his mother and then cares for her; Matt Dillon’s character humiliates a black woman and then risks his life to save her; Ryan Phillippe’s character goes out of his way to rescue an armed black man and then shoots an unarmed black man because of a racial assumption. But two extremes are not a full character. They’re just extremes. “Crash” raises important issues but in the end it gives us no clarity; it just gives us more noise.

The Academy should be ashamed.

[Mandate My Ass]

29. not to mention the pseudo "redemption"

theme that was supposed to make the big, sweeping statement but that was worse than a bad hand job. What a POS waste of my time. :eyes:

[LiberalGuy000]

30. absolutely, buddy

I'm still stunned, and very disappointed.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

32. The redemption scene REALLY fucked that movie, IMO.

[alarcojon]

33. Thanks for the link

I think this line hits the nail on the head:

What is the big problem with race in the Los Angeles of “Crash”? That everyone enunciates every racial thought they have.

Heavy-handed treatment of a subtle subject.

[LiberalGuy000]

35. Totally agreed.

Could the director have been any less subtle with the so-called "message" that he was trying to send? I guess for those who aren't able to think critically (and there are millions of them), this was maybe the only way the director felt he could make his point.

[mondo joe]

72. Whenever you hear the Crash angels singing they are annnouncing

that the film is now touching your heart!

[jeffrey_X]

61. impossible situations?

Like thinking the hispanic guy was going to do something bad?
Like the racist cop?
Like the confused Indian business owner who couldn't communicate and was frustrated?
Like the self-hate by Terrance Howard's character?
Like the racist hispanic joke told by the black guy?

Yea...all of that was impossible.

[jeffrey_X]

62. It's called exposing the hypocrisy in which we live out lives....

Don't forget..it's just a movie.


“Crash” is saying “How horrible that we're all this way” when most of us are not only not this way but the exact opposite of this way. We may think these thoughts but we rarely enunciate them. Sure, racism still exists, but at its most potent it's usually silent. It's opaque. It makes you wonder “Is this happening because of race?” You suspect but you have no evidence. “Crash” not only gives us evidence it manipulates the evidence.

It manipulates the evidence because everyone else is afraid to. He contradicts himself by saying "racism still exists yet it's usually silent." I agree that racism is covert, but it's because nobody wants to deal with it openly.

[mondo joe]

71. A more skilled filmmaker would have addressed the covert nature.

A clumsy film maakes it overt because the makers don't have the talent to do otherwise.

[jeffrey_X]

75. But it has to be overt....

otherwise half of our population isn't going to "get" it.

I guess he had to pick his poison. Like he said in the speech (something to the effect of) "you can use art as a mirror or as a hammer to shape someone or something. In this case he went with the hammer to smack you in the face with the message. If he didn't the whole point of the moive wouldn't have been as powerful.

just my 2 cents

[mondo joe]

76. Again, this is the indication of a lesser talent.

Its only power was holding naked something we all agree about - racism is bad. He made it so stark that even GW Bush would agree.

Talented filmmakers address the covert nature -- that's what makes it good and powerful. Brokeback did it, Do the Right Thing did it.

Crash was just porn for people with RACISM as a g-spot, IMO.

[jeffrey_X]

78. We don't all agree racism is bad....

That's the issue here. Racism is tolerated too much in this country. Not enough people have a zero tolerance policy regarding racism. Anything subtler would not have worked. I guess will just agree to disagree. You think it was about lesser talent I believe it was about knowing your audience.

But maybe you are right....I'm in an interracial marriage and my life deals with a lot of racial issues so this is OBVIOUSLY my favorite movie of all time.

And lastly....people with a racism G-spot weren't the ones who needed to see this movie.

[mondo joe]

86. We don't all agree the earth is round - but enough do.

And you'd get GW Bush agreeing with every point this movie makes aboutrace.

That's the problem - Crash congratulates us for agreeing on the broadest concensus - racism is bad.

[Edgewater_Joe]

26. CRASH Sucks, And Oscar Will Be Ashamed Of Itself

If you want a REAL honest look at race in America, go watch CHAPPELLE'S SHOW or any random season of NYPD BLUE. Both those shows do everything CRASH purports to do, but without the hokum and the shrillness of that piece of cheese.

I'll give you Matt Dillon and Terence Howard, but other than that ... blech.

It's a BAD ... MOVIE. Simple as that.

[LiberalGuy000]

34. It just reinforces my negative opinion of "Hollywood"

And now millions will see "Crash", stammering out of the theater saying, "Wow, that was wonderful..." without even giving it a thought. They'll think it's wonderful because The Academy told them to think it's wonderful.

I'm so glad that I'm much more interested in politics than the entertainment industry. I just can't take them seriously, and this award makes them look like an even bigger bunch of phonies and homophobes.

[Erika]

37. Hollywood much more echoes todays concerns

than the W WH ever has. Yes, they need catching up. But at least they are not decades behind, like the W WH is.

[melissaf]

50. Guess what?

The Oscars have had that kind of influence over audiences for as long as I can remember, probably for as long as they've existed. Of course, people are going to see "Crash" and think it's wonderful because the Oscars told them to! And people who are shallow enough to do that aren't worth bothering with.

I've had major problems with the Oscars ever since I discovered that they almost invariably pick the White Man's Epic to be best picture. Ang Lee got completely screwed the year that "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was nominated; "Traffic," which was a piece of crap built entirely on various middle-American prejudices (e.g., one puff of a joint will lead you straight to crackwhore-dom, Mexico is dirty and ugly and thus must be shot with some sort of brown filter), won that year. Because it was the White Man's Epic.

Also, remember that "How Green Was My Valley" beat "Citizen Kane" for best picture.

The Oscars are simply not the be all, end all of film criticism. It would be nice if the Academy voted strictly on merit, but they don't.

[NVMojo]

83. gee, I can't begin to tell you how many people i've heard saying

exactly what you said here about "Brokeback Mountain" ...kinda funny.

[2bfree]

39. I enjoyed Crash, kept me on the edge of my seat..........

But it was no Brokeback Mountain. I am very disappointed.

[Erika]

41. Evidently they caved to the W WH politically correct movies

We can see a little bit of racial tension, but gays are something else. Clooney and Ang were the only ones with guts enough to stress tolerance.

[jeffrey_X]

92. Yea...it's a good thing they kept Brokeback from winning any Oscars...

oh wait...

[neuvocat]

40. Its just bait-and-switch here, folks.

The movie industry is hurting in the U.S. (look at how badly the box office went last year). The movies that really resonate and connect with the big names in Hollywood don't in the real world. That's what's been creating the failures. So what do you do to cap off a bad year in such a way that things don't look so dismal? Bring in an edgy movie a-la Brokeback or Pulp Fiction to bring in a larger portion of the viewing audience and then give the award to someone else. The status quo is still preserved.

I stopped watching the awards a LONG time ago. Just look at all the winners who got best picture just for throwing out something mediocre.

[LiberalGuy000]

42. CRASH = TRASH (n/t)

[Erika]

43. Why do you say that?

Racial tensions are important, but the all out assault on gays is more vital.

I find your post totally offensive.

[LiberalGuy000]

53. Really?

Tell me why you think it's offensive to say CRASH = TRASH.

[swimmernsecretsea]

44. Crash was the "safe" choice.

Everyone talks about how "Crash" is so revolutionary and original. "Magnolia" and "11:14" are just two movies that just spring to mind that have parallel story lines converging into a single moment, with a major oddball event set inside the climactic point. I think of "Crash" as similar to bad fast food: it feels satisfying and makes you feel good and filled up afterward, but on reflection and after a bit of time, it makes you start to feel ill. I have a copy of "Crash" and I did enjoy watching it, but I didn't feel it deserved the Best Picture award. It was more a film I enjoyed parts of than the whole. Worse, it's been noted that the film features an Asian racist husband and wife--the husband is later revealed to be smuggling immigrants into the US in horrible conditions. There is no redeeming of these two characters whatsoever. That didn't sit well with me at all. It carries the weight of the questions and concerns of racism as armor against the hurt of a negative review.

"Brokeback Mountain," on the other hand, interprets the source fictional story closely, following the emotional tone, and without fanfare. The controversy erupted after the film was released. It wasn't expected to be more than an art-house film, but has created ripples of cultural stir since its release. I recall hearing about work beginning on this film a year before it hit the theaters in a brief announcement. Not much publicity, but a hint of surprise. Crash began as a star-weighted venture, and seemed ready to plow through the celebrity magazines way before it came out.

It feels odd to compare the two, since they're almost two different animals, but the artifice of the awards show demands that.

[davidinalameda]

55. you're right

it was a safe choice

I doubt that too many people will go and see Crash now that's it has won

Brokeback will continue to draw in people even though it lost and I can't wait for the DVD to come out

that will definately set some sales records

Brokeback made history not only for it's subject matter but for it's box office as well

who could have imagined that it would do as well as it has

[Beausoir]

64. Yes! Thanks for your views on BrokeBack. I agree.

BrokeBack Mountain will be "around" for a very long time. I can't wait to own it on dvd.

Hollywood got scared and went with a safer choice. No matter...BrokeBack Mountain is a gift to us all and will never go away.

[PittPoliSci]

56. Should've been Goodnight and Good Luck

[mondo joe]

67. I'd have taken any over Crash,which had the subtlety of a college freshman

first screenplay.

[Ava]

58. congrats to the makers of crash!

i was pleasantly surprised when it was announced the winner. It was by far, the best movie nominated.

[LiberalGuy000]

59. it's all subjective

The fact that "Crash" won is more proof to me that winning an award doesn't mean that something is the best - sort of like Bush beating Kerry in '04.

[AusTexDem]

69. Great, more proof that God hates Gays

It would have been nice for Brokeback to win. I know its just a movie but as a gay man i sure could use a little social affirmation about now.the past few years have kinda sucked. I'm sure the fundies are feeling smug this morning

[Mike Daniels]

73. Award shows are meaningless to the general public

It's just the industry congratulating itself over movies that an increasingly lower amount of people have any desire to see anymore.

I predict that the ratings will show that less people watched the awards this year than they did last year and that very few movies will see any uptick in sales.

[onehandle]

74. This was Bad news for Rove and company.

I assure you that they were warmed up to go crazy over Brokeback on Faux, etc this week.

It would have given them fuel for the GOP for this week and this Fall.

I'm not judging Hollywood's choice or the movies themselves.

[sleipnir]

77. Not much of a surprise to me. Brokeback was not going to win.

It was too much of a "darling favorite" and I'm certain a lot of people voted against it for that reason. It got too popular too fast. Not good in Tinseltown.

Also, Crash is a story about LA, guess where most of the voters live...

My friends thought I was nuts last week when I picked Crash over Brokeback, but, well, the last laugh and all that.

[Dervill Crow]

80. My kids liked Crash, hence I liked it.

They are growing up in an era where racism is very much alive and well and tolerated far more than when I was young in the '60s and it was openly talked about.

I thought it was predictable and cheesy, but it accomplished something at my house. That doesn't make it "best picture" by a long shot, but a lot of people really loved it. And Matt Dillon was very good in it.

[KamaAina]

84. Another victim of the "Brokebacklash": Hawai'i

specifically, the Hawai'i International Film Festival, which is where the ill-fated cowboy flick premiered in the U.S.

http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/17/features/story05.html

HIFF was seconds away from breaking through in a crowded field of film festivals as "the place to go to see the next 'Brokeback'". Now it's just one among dozens of film festivals, with some serious logistical challenges: there is no longer a theatre in Waikiki, where all the hotels are, so screenings are now held all the way out by my office, three miles away. And for what? It's not like "Citizen Kane" won or anything? :eyes:

[dback]

87. The one group "Crash" never shows or mentions: gay people

Thus, it was a "safe" way for liberal-minded Academy voters to maintain their credibility and self-respect, without having to vote for "the gay cowboy movie." Many voters apparently couldn't even be bothered to see "Brokeback"--and some were vocal in their dislike of it, just in principle.

This is one of the worst blots on the history of Oscar ever.

[closeupready]

90. Do have any link to stories indicating voters' non-viewership of BB?

and the expressed disapproval of the idea of the film "in principle"? I would definitely like to read about that. Thank you.

[dback]

91. Check out Dave Cullen's website and see if you can find 'em there

http://www.davecullen.com/brokebackmountain/

Lots of dialogue, and that's where I found the lists of all the "Best Picture" awards "BB" had won before the ceremony. (15+ worldwide.)

[Merrick]

93. Anyone else notice Crash's blatant similarities to Magnolia?

not that I didnt enjoy Crash, but it ripped off Magnolia in a number of ways which, other than the fact that Brokeback was better regardless, is just another reason I felt it didnt deserve it.

[swimmernsecretsea]

94. Oh, I noticed while I was watching it.

At least Paul Thomas Anderson was honest about what he was trying to do in Magnolia.

In "Magnolia," the whole "raining frogs" event along with the allegory of the Mother who accidentally shoots her son brought an absurdist note to the proceedings. It was meant to show how the randomness of life isn't necessarily random. In "Crash," the sudden snowfall over Los Angeles was inane, and the subplot of Graham's (Don Cheadle) Mother who adores her criminal son while she ignores the District Attorney son for some reason I felt lacked an emotional resonance, while it seemed realistic enough.