Customer Reviews

80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is not a history in the since of most history books. It does not detail how the academy began, or how it changed over the years, or give you any kind of insider view of its workings. Instead, it is a complete listing of every nominee and every winner in every category since the award ceremony's inception in 1927. There are plenty of photographs of the nominees and images of scenes from the nominated films for each year, so it is not dry in the way many reference books are. In fact, Mr. Osborne's love of film and its history really shine through in the book. It is interesting to look through this book and see what we consider to be films that have withstood the test of time versus which ones were rewarded by the academy at the time. For example, in 1939, the Academy did recognize that "Gone with the Wind" was the best picture of the year, which people were lining up to watch in movie theaters until its television broadcast premiere in 1976. However, in 1941, "How Green was My Valley" won best picture, which is a film that hardly anyone watches anymore, while "Citizen Kane" was completely ignored. It's also interesting to see how the Academy compensated for past oversights by awarding performances that were less than stellar in subsequent years. For instance, in 1934 Bette Davis was overlooked in her performance in "Of Human Bondage". This caused a huge public outcry. The following year the Academy gave her the best actress award for her performance in "Dangerous"- a move that has largely been seen over the years as a consolation prize for what happened the year before.

This book is full of little insights such as these, and it is a fun book that gives hours of entertainment for film history buffs. I bought my first copy of this history by Mr. Osborne back in 1987 when he was then detailing the 60 years of the Oscar, and I enjoyed it so much I have been updating my copy every time he releases a new edition. Highly recommended.

"80 Years of Oscar..." is a fairly entertaining look at the Academy Awards from the first ceremony in 1927 through 2007. Each year is about a 5 page chapter, starting with a brief essay on the year's highlights and a small shot of the movie poster for the winner of "Best Picture of the Year".

Each chapter has a complete listing of all the categories, the nominees and an asterik near the winner and about 7 or 8 photos . The photos are accompanied by a plot summary and sometimes a trivia fact similar to the type Robert Osborne gives when introducing movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel.

Though it remains fairly entertaining, when considering the book's price, the author's vast film knowledge and the self-proclamation as "The Official History...", I expected more. The full list of categories and nominees is available on several websites for free, so I was hoping the book would offer more.

The trivia is a mixed bag and never controversial. It's usually superficial, such as it was an actresses fifth nomination or a film wasn't expected to be a hit. None gave the feeling that you were getting an insider's view of Hollywood. However, quotes from the actors on how they felt winning the oscar help capture some of the excitement of oscar night.

The photos are clearly secondary to the category listings. They are mostly black and white, even for color films and many are crammed into the margins of the text. There does not seem to be any attempt to arrange them in a way that would generate excitement or more than passing interest. Predictably, there are many movies stills and pictures of the actors holding their oscar. There are no full page, color photos. The photos are fully functional, but encylopedic and few make you want to stop and stare and get lost in.

So, basically, you're not getting what you paid for. There's nothing really particularly wrong with any of this, but there's nothing particularly extra about it either. Sadly, perhaps the book best captures the Oscar Ceremony by being overlong and pretentious with a few golden nuggets to keep you going to the end.

This book is revised every five years and I always put it on my wish list when a new update is due. It contains a goldmine of information for the movie buff, listing all the major nominees and winners for every year. It is generously illustrated with black and white photos includes a photo from the Best Picture, Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Actress and the Best Director for each award year. A first-rate reference book that provides hours of entertainment.

For once, I'll keep my review super brief. If you love movies in general or the Academy Awards in particular, this is, simply, a must have. Concise, informative and with just enough illustrations to keep it visually interesting, it's an indispensable reference tool. It's really first-rate book but that's hardly surprising seeing that it's an Abbeville Press publication.

Dapper Robert Osborne, the genial, knowledgeable host of Turner Classic Movies, who visits me in my bedroom every night (in a nicely-tailored suit...), has written the exact reference source which a movie buff like me needs. In conversational Osborne style, there is a thoughtful foreword about the formation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the creation of its annual Academy Awards. Then the rest of the book is laid out decade-by-decade, with an essay about the decade itself, and a short introduction to each year in that decade. Each year's essay covers what made that year different from any other -- perhaps describing new trends in filmmaking or acting, highlighting changes in Academy rules, pointing to controversies or personality clashes, and adding interesting anecdotes about the ceremonies themselves.

The best thing about the book is that every nominee in every category for every year is listed. The winners are clearly marked. The book is easy to use and has an exhaustive index. This is the epitome of Oscar guides.

For years, I have been relying on The 1999 Academy Awards Handbook (Academy Awards Handbook), a compact paperback compendium of Oscar nominations and winners, to quickly locate who won Best Actor in 1955 (Ernest Borgnine for "Marty") or which movie Meryl Streep won her first Oscar for ("Kramer vs. Kramer"). It's a handy little book -- easy to use and cheap. The drawback to the book is that it only lists the complete nominees for the "Top Six" categories for each year (Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Movie and Director). The rest of the categories list the winners only. Also, I had been keeping the book up-to-date by adding my own lists every year.

I was so ready for a new reference guide. And here it is.

The whipped cream and cherries on top are the wonderful photographs throughout the book of exciting Oscar moments and important Hollywood figures. I especially love that the original theatrical poster for the Best Picture winner from each year is displayed in full color. The book also has fascinating quotations from the text of particularly memorable acceptance speeches. In addition, the book has a chapter at the end which lists the date and time, venue, and host for every Academy Awards ceremony, as well as an intriguing list of Academy Award records and oddities which have occurred in Oscar's first 80 years.

The book is beautifully crafted and made to last. It should withstand years of page-turning, book-marking and buttered popcorn stains. It is printed on heavy, shiny paper stock and covered in a gorgeous red and black dust jacket with the gold Oscar statue depicted. It's a book to be proudly displayed on the coffee table, or placed near your television set so that you can refer to it often.

I have only had it a few days, and already I have used it to browse through for pleasure, and to look up statistics on several movies which I was watching. Bravo, Mr. Osbourne! You have done movie fans everywhere a wonderful service with the release of this stellar reference book.

I give this volume my highest recommendation. If you love movies, you HAVE to own this book. If you are trying to come up with the ultimate gift for the movie lover, this is it.

exellent book! i couldn't get it here in Argentina, and now i got it!
its a very good book, and got here on time!

I had bought Mr Osborne's book with this title, when it was the 50 years of Oscar and loved it then, so when this came out i figure enough time had passed to add a few more movies so i bought it too. I wasn't disappointed,all the info, you as a movie buff, can want is here, any trivia question can be answered here too.
If you love movies and how they are made, then this is the book for you.

This book is fact-filled about the Oscars from time they began on 1921 to present. I thought the book could have more color-photos of the movies and not so many black-and-white photos. Book also could have moe anecdotes and more fun-filled entertaining facts about Oscars.

Beautiful coffee-table quality book, but also a good reference piece. I gave it as a gift to my son, the movie buff!!

This is an interesting book about the Oscars, but it lacks anything that grabs the reader. It has a yearly wrap-up of the ceremony and the winners, but I would've liked to have a more in-depth look at how the awards were received. What I mean by that is the reaction by critics and the Hollywood community to who won, and who most think people should have won, or how surprised observers were as to who the recipients were. It has mostly black and white photos throughout, with narrative below the photos that is not really interesting. this is a good source if you ever want to quickly look to see who won in a particular year, or how many Oscars a certain movie got. Overall, the book is a nice resource for information about the Oscars, but it could be more eye catching and it could've been written in a way that provides more insight, and should have given information that the reader otherwise would not know.