1994 was a magical year. There were many good films, talents gathered together, small costs rose and big productions. Pulp Fiction won the Palme d’Or, new filmmakers defeated established connoisseurs, and Jim Carrey established his position in Hollywood. Why Achieve the legend of the year? "Forrest Gump", "Shawshank's Redemption", "True Lies", behind these classic movies, what are the stories we don't know?
The American Film Academy Awards can be regarded as the world's film vane. In the field of Oscar awards, there has always been a "big year and small year". For example, "Green Book" became the 2019 Oscar-winning work. Some people say this year This film is worth mentioning, other films are a bit lackluster, so 2019 is an Oscar "little year."
So, which year should be the big year in the history of the Academy Awards? Most senior movie fans will mention 1994.
1994 was the most classic and eternal year for many movie fans, because a large number of classic movies appeared in the European and American movie circles that year. For example, "Forrest Gump", "Shawshank's Redemption", "True Lies", "Pulp Fiction", "This Killer Is Not So Cold", "Speed of Life and Death", "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and so on.
At the same time, "To Live", "Farewell My Concubine", "Chongqing Forest", "Sunny Day" and so on appeared in the Chinese film scene.
Why did these movies usher in a blowout in 1994, ushering in such a brilliant year? The film explosion of
in 1994 actually has a very grand background. In 1895, the Lumière brothers in France invented film to make movies, so it is recognized that 1895 is the first year of the birth of film. 1995 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the film. At this great moment of the 100th anniversary, all the elites in the film industry want to come up with their most classic works at this time to present the 100th anniversary of the film.
Before the fierce competition for various awards in 1995, the atmosphere to be created depends on the film works of 1994, because the Oscars were judged last year's movies this year; especially the 90s Oscars were basically the same, the 1994 movies , Put it to 1995 to judge awards. Therefore, in this context, film elites from all over the world have worked hard to make a wonderful gift for the centenary of the film, and want to leave their own footprints at the key historical point of this centenary.
A movie can leave a place in the world film history, it must have its exclusive milestone. There are many milestone years like
. For example, the appearance of "Gone with the Wind" in 1939 means that Hollywood has entered a stage of prosperity. 1960 was a year of European film blowout. In 1984, "Indiana Jones" and The appearance of "Terminator" means that Hollywood has entered a new era in the production of visual effects and action movies, which is worth remembering. If
1994 was just because it was a gift for the centenary, I am afraid it cannot be called a classic eternity. One of the most important reasons is that anti-Hollywood movies appeared this year, which is completely different from the traditional Hollywood model.
Someone asked what is an anti-Hollywood movie? Before answering this question, we must first talk about what Hollywood-style movies are. The lively scenes and top visual effects are the most obvious characteristics of Hollywood movies. Therefore, from the 1960s to the 1980s, there was a phenomenon that "big companies monopolized Hollywood's film production"; for example, Paramount, 21st Century Fox, etc., were one of the eight major companies that were in a monopoly at the time. .
Until 1994, "Pulp Fiction" was a low-cost film produced, and finally a film director outside the eight monopoly companies came out. This kind of film is called an independent film, and the director’s name is Quentin. Tarantino. "Pulp Fiction" was not filmed in the usual chronological order of the film, but interspersed with each other. The professional term is called non-linear narrative. As a result, the film became popular. Many people saw it fresh and thought it was very good. "Pulp Fiction" invested $8 million in filming and received more than $100 million in the box office. You know that in the same year, "Forrest Gump" invested 55 million US dollars.
So in 1994 asA classic year in film history, an anti-Hollywood-style independent film, with a very beautiful work "Pulp Fiction", under the squeeze of Hollywood's huge investment in movies, it won a very good box office, so from that day on , Anti-Hollywood-style movies and traditional Hollywood-style movies go hand in hand, forming the Hollywood film industry system that we see now is full of flowers and very rich in content. So this is a milestone event in 1994.
The second thing that people remember in 1994 is an unprecedented controversy from the 1995 Oscar awards. Up to now, some people say that the 1995 Oscars competition is the most tragic, because there were too many competitions for the best film. , And some classics, such as "Forrest Gump", "Shawshank's Redemption", "True Lies", "Pulp Fiction", "This Killer Is Not So Cold" and so on. The fiercest competition in the year was the two films, "Forrest Gump" and "Shawshank's Redemption", and the best film was awarded to "Forrest Gump". Many fans of "Shawshank's Redemption" were very unconvinced. Many senior movie fans believe that "Shawshank's Redemption" is the greatest movie in human history.
Why did "Shawshank's Redemption" lose to "Forrest Gump"?
Some people say that the movie "Forrest Gump" is full of hope. Forrest Gump's continuous running symbolizes the success of the American Dream. And "Shawshank's Redemption" firstly tells the darkness in the prison. The protagonist did not give up. He finally gained hope after constant efforts in the prison. Both films are positive energy.
was awarded "Forrest Gump" as the final Oscar for Best Picture. There is a very important reason for this, that is, "Shawshank's Redemption" was not popular, and "Forrest Gump" received a lot of money at the box office.
"Shawshank's Redemption" Why is the box office not ideal? This is related to the theme of the film. Americans are more willing to see "Forrest Gump" in theaters with such proper positive energy, while the storyline in the prison of "Shawshank's Redemption" is relatively depressing, and there is no emotional drama between men and women. So it was not popular in the US market at that time.
Later, the fire of "Shawshank's Redemption" was because of the popularity of discs, and many people bought them to watch. This is why the film was promoted and it attracted more people to pursue it. "Shawshank's Redemption" relied on later I made a lot of money selling discs.
Hollywood is, after all, a place where the industrialization and commercialization of films is a masterpiece. If the Oscar is awarded to a film that is not popular, it will have an impact on the commercial image of Hollywood, in order to encourage more people to make the film. Combining organically with commercialization, it makes sense to award the award to the acclaimed and popular "Forrest Gump".
There are still countless fans arguing whether "Forrest Gump" or "Shawshank's Redemption" is better. It is precisely because of this eternal controversy that a splendid 1994 was created. Because in the history of the Oscars, there has never been such a big controversy in the best film as in 1995, so this is a highlight of our review of 1994.
In addition to the two points just mentioned, 1994 also ushered in a great innovation in film technology, that is, the emergence of CG technology (computer animation). At that time, computer animation technology enriched the content of movies, and realized special effects that could not be achieved through CG. The emergence of this new technology has made the film an unprecedented development, which has a very big milestone.
Of course, 1994 is called the World Film Year, and there are some other factors. I won’t say more here. I just hope that all friends who love movies can remember 1994, which is called the "World Film Year".
In 1994, what other classic movies do you know?
