I'd thought it be a movie.And the 10th Academy Award goes to...
(1985 -> 1937)
[WIP]
Film poster.
Out of Africa is an American...
* Interestingly enough, the autobiographical book of the same name that inspired Out of Africa was released in 1937; for this reason, I had this film be a near-direct adaptation.
And The Academy Award Goes To... - A Shuffled Oscar Best Picture Winners Timeline
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Finally done the blurb for Out of Africa. The next few films are bound to be interesting, including (to me) a pre-WW2 All Quiet on the Western Front, a West Side Story released before its original 1950s setting, racial-relations focused Crash in 1943, and arguably the biggest bombshell out of these, a Green Book that releases way before both the 1962 tour that inspired it in OTL and Sidney Poitier's historic 1964 Oscar win.
11. All Quiet on the Western Front (1938)
And the 11th Academy Award goes to...
(1930 -> 1938)
[WIP]
Film poster.
(1930 -> 1938)
[WIP]
Film poster.
All Quiet on the Western Front is an American epic anti-war film directed by John Ford and starring Orson Welles, Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, and James Stewart. Adapted from the 1929 novel of the same name by German novelist Erich Maria Remarque, the film follows young and idealistic German soldier Paul Baümer (Welles) as his hopes are shattered by the brutal realities of World War 1.
Despite a boycott from Nazi Germany due to its anti-war and anti-German messages, the film found appeal among many people, who praised the film's cinematography, its acting, and its perceived messages regarding the rise of Hitler and the Nazi dictatorship. Today, it is considered one of the best and most iconic anti-war movies ever made.
* The sequel of the OTL All Quiet film, The Road Back, was released in 1937 but flopped after new studio heads feared a boycott by the Nazi German government and proceeded to alter director James Whale's original intentions for the film. While political pressure still happens to this film, the Anchlüss sways enough minds at the studio for the film to remain largely intact.
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I'm going ahead and listing here the 3 films that were unaffected by the shuffle:
- Mrs. Miniver (1942)
- A Man for All Seasons (1966)
- Schindler's List (1993)
Speaking of which, had it been released pre-1945 in this "shuffling the deck" setting, maybe it involves someone trying to save people during the Armenian Genocide?
Thanks for your shout-out, I appreciate being inadvertently a source of inspiration for swapped media timelines (despite not coming up with the concept), including this one. Hopefully we get to see how future Academy Award winners will shape the film industry ITTL.
If All Quiet's sequel The Road Back gets released post-1945, I can see it be considered one of the best movies ever made. Perhaps it could be mentioned in a future post as a contender for Best Picture?
Alright, the brief With the Lights Out-induced hiatus is over — Tom Jones is interesting because of its status as a Bildungsroman (or... coming of age story).
12. The Life of Tom Jones (1939)
And the 12th Academy Award goes to...
(1963 -> 1939)
[WIP]
Film poster.
(1963 -> 1939)
[WIP]
Film poster.
The Life of Tom Jones is a British comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch, as an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. It stars Laurence Olivier as the titular hero, an adopted illegitimate man who has romantic and chivalrous escapades in 18th-century England.
The film was critically acclaimed upon release for its comedy and social satire of the time period it was set in, becoming an instant classic among 1940s audiences. Its popularity would persist even throughout WW2, and its retrospective reviews still hail it as a comedic classic to this day.
* Title based off of fellow Best Picture winner The Life of Emile Zola (1937).
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13. West Side Story (1940)
And the 13th Academy Award goes to...
(1961 -> 1940)
[WIP]
Film poster.
(1961 -> 1940)
[WIP]
Film poster.
West Side Story is an American musical romantic drama directed by Busby Berkeley, and starring Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, James Stewart, Dorothy Dandridge, and Anthony Quinn. The film, a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet set in late 1920s Chicago, explores the rivalry between two rivalling crime organizations: the Capulets and the Montagues.
The film received praise from critics and viewers upon its release, receiving praise for its score, direction, and reimagining of the iconic Shakespeare original in the 1920s. It would become the highest-grossing film of 1940, and today is now considered to be one of the best musical films of all time.
* This one's a closer adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, in part thanks to the 1920s organized crime setting. In this regard, it actually ends up closer to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996).
I wonder if there will be a shuffled Best Animated Feature timeline in the future...
I wonder if the success of Gladiator with lead to the finishing of I Claudius and well it does at the box office and if it is nominated for any Academy Awards
One thing's for sure — the sword-and-sandal genre begins far earlier than in OTL.
What consequences will this movie’s success have on race relations and the civil rights movement ITTL? Surely something good must’ve come out of this movie in the real world, and considering that this is technically during the Nadir era of American Race Relations (circa 1877-1941).
I reckon it might've been a small bit of hope and a glimpse into a future of cinema that was less racially-biased.
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This timeline has been fully abandoned in favor of We Shall Overcome; I've given permission to @SomeGuyOnline to use all of the shuffled film ideas here, for anyone who wants closure.
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