The 1995 Academy Awards are memorable for this particular reason: this cinematic masterpiece dethroned the cult Pulp Fiction, a decision that continues to be debated even decades later.
The 1995 Academy Awards are remembered for a variety of reasons, but one of the most enduring is Forrest Gump’s win in the Best Picture category over Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Nearly 30 years later, the decision continues to spark debate, with many seeing it as an affront. Pulp Fiction, despite seven Oscar nominations, only won one, for Best Original Screenplay. Forrest Gump, on the other hand, won six awards from 13 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Pulp Fiction was only Tarantino’s second film, two years after Reservoir Dogs. It has since become a pillar of the postmodernist genre, known for its non-chronological storytelling and its impact on cinema. The film grossed over $200 million on a budget of $8 million, also winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival before the Oscars. Despite this early acclaim, the film was unable to win Best Picture, a decision that continues to be considered baffling. The film still helped revive John Travolta’s career, pairing him with Samuel L. Jackson, and is considered one of the best in Tarantino’s filmography.
Bad categorization?
Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, was also hugely successful, grossing over $670 million and winning numerous awards. The film won the Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture in 1995. Tom Hanks’ win in the Best Actor category was his second consecutive win, and it was the first and only win in the Best Picture and Best Director categories for Robert Zemeckis.
According to Tarantino, one of the main reasons Pulp Fiction could have lost the Best Picture award is its miscategorization as a drama at the Golden Globes, rather than a comedy. Tarantino said that Pulp Fiction should have been placed in the comedy category because it is, in his opinion, a violent and funny film. This miscategorization influenced the entire awards season, according to Tarantino. He told The Reel Blend podcast:
The only reason the film wasn’t rated was because everyone was talking about how violent it was. But what made him special was that he was as violent as he was and he was really funny. It’s a comedy. Every video store in America put it in the comedy section when it came out. And the fact that we were in the drama section shocked me. This shocked me.
The affront to Pulp Fiction also extends to Samuel L. Jackson’s performance. His portrayal of Jules Winnfield, the philosophical hitman, is considered one of the most memorable and influential supporting performances in film history. Jackson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Martin Landau in Ed Wood. Despite numerous nominations throughout his career, Jackson has never won an Oscar, which many believe is a significant oversight by the Academy.
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