10 years, 10 unforgettable Oscar moments
Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 11:39PM 
We may quibble and despair over the Oscars but we still tune in every year and love them despite it all. If we didn't, why would we obsess over predictions, rejoice at worthy victors or grimace when injustices occur? Looking back at the last decade of the awards, there are many indelible moments that energized us and made us applaud, that had us at the edge of our seats, crying through a heady mix of surprise and mirth.
Honorable mentions and a top ten list after the jump...
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Honorable Mentions: While Meryl Streep's third win may have been among her most polarizing performances, her speech was befitting her status as a living legend. Lupita Nyong'o's speech was similarly perfect. The 2016 ceremony was a rollercoaster, with Mad Max's near-sweep and Ex Machina's surprise win as two glorious highlights. It was great to see Eva Marie Saint and Rita Moreno on stage again and for Mark Bridges to ride on a jet ski with Helen Mirren in 2018. Finally, we should all applaud the wonder of Ruth E. Carter, her amazing designs and the award's funny presentation.
10. A tie in Sound Editing
While many abhor the mere idea of a tie, they're delightful at the Oscars because they're so rare. This decade's only tie was in the Best Sound Editing category and it resulted in two truly great winners, Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty. We love a surprise and there's nothing more surprising than a tie.
09. Ennio Morricone finally wins
While the Sound Editing tie was unpredictable, the same cannot be said for Ennio Morricone's conquering of the Best Original Score Oscar for The Hateful Eight. Predictability aside, this was a spectacular moment, allowing us to see Ennio Morricone with a competitive Academy Award while being applauded by his loving peers. Nothing could be more appropriate for one of cinema's greatest composers.
08. Iran's second win
Some say politics don't belong on the Oscar stage, but Art is intrinsically political. At the start of the travel ban controversy, The Salesman triumphed at the Oscars. It was the second film by Asghar Farhadi to win the prize, but this time around he didn't attend the ceremony. According to him, it was out of respect for his countrymen and the people from the other six nations affected by the US's inhumane laws. Instead, Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian born astronaut, accepted the award on his behalf, reading a rousing speech that brought galvanizing politics to the Academy's celebration.
07. The "Shallow" performance
This is one of the best musical performances in Oscar history, intimate and spectacular in equal measure, boldly shot and performed with great emotion. If there was any doubt left regarding who should win the Best Song Oscar of 2018, this tremendous duet killed it.
06. Spike Lee's joyous victory
Samuel L. Jackson's cry of victory, Spike Lee's euphory, the jump, and the hug are the makings of a perfect Oscar moment we shall forever treasure. The screenplay victory was 29 years overdue, but at last, Spike's got an Oscar. Hooray!
05. Olivia Colman's marvel of an acceptance speech
Olivia Colman's win represents an ungainly cocktail of contradictory feelings. On one hand, it was heartbreaking to watch Glenn Close lose again, on a night everyone assumed would be her long-deserved coronation. Still, it's difficult to deny the stupendous work of Olivia Colman in The Favourite, a feat whose magnitude catapulted her to the upper echelons of many best Best Actresses lists. The alternating waves of horror and wonderment make for a memorable moment, but what turns it into an endearing scene is Colman's flabbergasted speech. It was a veritable tsunami of charm.
04. John Legend and Common sing "Glory"
The performance is extraordinary, but what makes this one of the great Oscar moments is the collection of teary reaction shots. Which one is your favorite?
03. "The world is round, people!"
If there were Oscars for Best Oscar Speech, Cate Blanchett would be a formidable contender for the win. We still hear the actress's invigorating words ringing in our ears all these years later.
02. Parasite's historic triumph
The Oscars may surprise on occassion with an unexpected choice here or there but they only very rarely do something so radical that decades of historical precedent suddenly becomes irrelevant and drifts away like ashes in the wind. That's what happened this year when the rule books became even more meaningless then they were before. For the first time, a non-English-speaking production conquered the industry's top honor. Like the final moment in this list, it may still seem like a dream but it was very real.
01. Moonlight wins Best Picture
I've followed the Oscars quite religiously since 2007, but over the years, I never cried at any particular moment of the ceremonies. I may have been enraged or overcome by joy but nothing ever overwhelmed me. Not until 2017, that is, when I had resigned myself to the apathy of a La La Land Best Picture win and then something happened. Something no one expected. The winner was actually Moonlight, not the musical love letter to Hollywood itself but the small-budget film about a black queer man growing up in Florida. The winner was the sort of film I always thought could never win the Best Picture Oscar. Turns out, anything can happen at the Oscars, dreams can come true and nightmares can be quickly dispelled with the opening of the right envelope.
This was a list of personal favorites and it would be wonderful to know what were your favorite Oscar moments of the past decade.
Reader Comments (52)
”So over the love fest for Colman. Glenn was robbed and everybody knows it. People rightly complained when Alicia Vikander went Supporting to tactically win. Why is this commended when it works the other way?“
Peter A. - Glenn was only robbed of you take the overdue over individual achievement way of thinking. We call it the /3rtful reasoning around here because he has openly said that overdue is the more important factor in voting for Academy awards for individual achievements from a single calendar year. As for the category confusion, most people go with The Favourite being a three lead film, so you are in the minority thinking it was fraud. It was in reality extremely commendable that the least know of the three in Hollywood would compete for lead, especially when most pundits thought Colman could steamroll to a supporting win.
What about Jennifer Lawrence tripping?