Monday, August 11, 2008

The Leonard Maltin Guide's Worst-Rated Best Picture Nominees

I was thinking over the Maltin Guide's ** rating of 2007 Best Picture nominee Atonement and wondering if there was a worse-rated nominee. It turns out that one Best Picture nominee got a * 1/2 rating from the Maltin Guide— 1967's Doctor Dolittle: making it the sole worst-rated Best Picture nominee in the history of the Oscars in the Guide. The ** rating is also quite rare for Best Picture nominees (see below). Only 4 Best Picture nominees do not appear in the Guide— lost films The Way of All Flesh (1927) and The Patriot (1928), plus obscure titles East Lynne (1931) and Bad Girl (1932).

Lowest-Rated Best Picture Nominees in Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide:
Alibi (1929) **
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) **
In Old Arizona (1929) **
Cleopatra (1963) **
Doctor Dolittle (1967) * 1/2
A Touch of Class (1973) **
Taxi Driver (1976) **
Chocolat (2000) **
Moulin Rouge! (2001) **
Atonement (2007) **


None of the above films actually won Best Picture. The lowest rating for a Best Picture winner in the Maltin Guide is ** 1/2, bestowed to: Wings (1927), The Broadway Melody (1929), Cimarron (1931), Amadeus (1984), and Forrest Gump (1994). NOTE: Unforgiven (1992) was initially given a ** 1/2 rating but was later upgraded to ***.

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