MovieChat Forums > Quiz Show (1994) Discussion > 'Marty' is one of the most forgettable B...

'Marty' is one of the most forgettable Best Picture winners ever

posted 13 years ago by SeanJoyce
14 replies | jump to latest

You gotta love how incredulous the people watching react when Turturro ostensibly flubs on the big question.

Marty is relegated to the ranks of obscure, undeserving, and marginalized Best Picture winners. Even film nuts have to scratch their heads and take a few moments when asked what film took top prize for the year 1955.

Had the question instead pertained to On the Waterfront (from the previous year, which he gave as his answer), the astonishment would be more logical.

"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino

[–] nathanhart89-92-724417 13 years ago

Keep in mind this movie takes place two years after Marty won best picture... it's like if today a film nut weren't to know that "Slumdog Millionaire" won Best Picture in 2009.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 13 years ago

"Marty" is a great movie!

Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen - totally hot!

[–] c7c7c7r 13 years ago

I've been amazed how many average people didn't see much in "Marty"--all I can do is emphasize the word 'average'.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 13 years ago

"I've been amazed how many average people didn't see much in "Marty"--all I can do is emphasize the word 'average'."

One of the things that I love about "Marty" is that it's a love story about ordinary, everyday people. No glamorous Hollywood types here. It's one of the most realistic love stories ever to be released by Hollywood.

Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) = sexiest man ever!

[–] Mr Blue-4 12 years ago

"Marty is relegated to the ranks of obscure, undeserving, and marginalized Best Picture winners. Even film nuts have to scratch their heads and take a few moments when asked what film took top prize for the year 1955."

Depends on who you're talking to. When the subject of movies comes up, my Aunt always thinks of "Marty", the little picture that could. For a time it was a big deal that a low budget picture with no stars (at the time) won Best Picture for that year.

Besides, there are plenty more "marginal" Best Pictures, from "The Life Of Emile Zola" to "Driving Miss Daisy".

[–] Hancock_the_Superb 12 years ago

Quality aside, Marty was extremely popular in its day, and the show in question took place only two years after its release. Most sentient beings would have been aware of its existence.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of the movie.

"Haven't they replaced you with a coin-operated machine yet?"

[–] bradford-1 11 years ago

I'm a nut about OLD films. I can't name the last five Best Picture Oscar winners, but I can name every Best Picture of the 50s and 60s without looking them up.

"May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?"

[–] sstavsky 9 years ago

For what it's worth, "Marty" also won the New York Film Critics Award for Best Picture, and the National Board of Review chose it as Best Picture. It was also added to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry in 1994 (the same year that "Quiz Show" came out!).

[–] cowgoesmoo 8 years ago

Well... I guess some people like chocolate and some people like vanilla.

Personally, I've always loved Marty. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is how Herbie Stemple identifies with Marty. Marty/Herbie are both nebbishes, so whether or not a modern audience remembers it, its important that Herbie remembers it, which makes taking a dive doubly painful for him.

[–] nicoledesapio 7 years ago

Personally, I've always loved Marty. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is how Herbie Stemple identifies with Marty. Marty/Herbie are both nebbishes, so whether or not a modern audience remembers it, its important that Herbie remembers it, which makes taking a dive doubly painful for him.

And then there's the fact that ON THE WATERFRONT (the title Stempel had to say in place of MARTY) is a movie about a guy who "takes a dive."

[–] cowgoesmoo 7 years ago

Yes, good call!

[–] snelling 7 years ago

The OP is a douche and we will never hear from IT again.

"'Extremely High Voltage.' Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer SimpsonBZZZZZzzzxx--" - Frank Grimes

[–] NoEasyBuckets (334) 6 years ago

The point is that this genius was answering incredibly tough question week after week, and then he lost on a question that a big portion of the audience would know the answer to. It has nothing to do with the movie Marty itself.

[–] Druff (1447) 4 years ago

Disagree. I was born in 1969, and I was already aware of Marty before Quiz Show released in 1994. Granted, in a million years I wouldn't have known which exact year it won, but it's definitely well known as an "oddball/dark horse" Academy Award winner.

I mean, well known among movie buffs, anyway. Doesn't strike me as odd that it would have been relatively common knowledge in 1958. It was a simpler time, people had less shit cluttering up their minds. =P