The decision for “Best Picture” at the Oscars is always a controversial one. There are far too many different opinions, critics, and fans to single out one film as the greatest of the year without at least someone feeling otherwise.
That said, when we look back at former Oscar winners in preparation for the 2025 Oscars, some movies are showing their age more than others. In fact, several Oscar films that were once celebrated would be considered problematic today.
Our society is evolving, and that’s a good thing. Many things that might have been said or written in the past would never make its way into a screenplay today. There also seems to be—at least, on the surface—a higher standard of behavior that directors and actors are expected to follow while on set.
These Oscar films are a product of their time, and many were not seen as problematic when they were first released because the cultural climate was different or the actions of the actors and directors behind-the-scenes were not yet known. In some cases, they were controversial at the time and still went on to win regardless. But if you were to watch them today, you might leave with a sour aftertaste.
Below, 11 Oscar films that would be considered problematic today.
Oscars 1940: Gone With the Wind
Few films were discussed as often as Gone With the Wind back in the day, and the film won ten Oscars in 1940. Among the winners was Hattie McDaniel, who became the first Black woman ever to win an Oscar. That may sound progressive for the time, but Hattie McDaniel was confronted with racism and segregation during the Oscar ceremony. In fact, she was only “allowed” to attend the ceremony because the producers asked her to—and even then she had to sit at a different table from her white co-stars.
But even when the film was released in cinemas in the late 1930s, it was criticized for its racist portrayal. Protests against the film flared up again in 2020 for the same issues; in Germany, Gone With the Wind was briefly taken down from Amazon Prime Video and only re-released with opening credits stating that the film depicts “racial and ethnic prejudices” that are “unfortunately commonplace in American society.”
Oscars 1978: Annie Hall
Woody Allen’s film Annie Hall won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1978, despite the fact that the first Star Wars was also in the running. It’s one of the few romantic comedies to ever be selected for Best Picture and won four Oscars in total.
However, in the years that followed director Woody Allen was accused of sexual assault on his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, when she was seven years old. He himself denies the allegations, but the 2021 documentary Allen v Farrow shows private footage that heavily incriminates Allen. Besides, the director also married his other adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn; when they began their relationship, he was 56 and she was 21.
Against this background, there’s an undercurrent to his films that makes them uncomfortable to watch in hindsight. In many of Allen’s movies, an older, shy, and modest guy (usually played by himself) gets together with a young, beautiful woman who is often portrayed as innocent or quirky. See: Annie Hall, Manhattan, etc. The repetition of this theme just feels icky with the context of the allegations, which is why Hollywood stars such as Greta Gerwig, Selena Gomez, and Timothee Chalamet have distanced themselves from the director and donated their fees from his films to charitable causes.
Oscars 1990: Driving Miss Daisy
Both Dead Poets’ Society and Field of Dreams were nominated at the 1990 Oscars, but Driving Miss Daisy won the Oscar for Best Picture. The film was considered progressive by the Academy at the time, but director Spike Lee—who released his cult classic Do the Right Thing in the same year—was an early critic.
The film is about an unusual friendship between an elderly woman and her Black chauffeur, played by Morgan Freeman. Driving Miss Daisy has been criticized mainly for its under-complex portrayal of racial issues in the mid-20th century and its stereotypical portrayal of Black men. Even lead actor Morgan Freeman, who won an Oscar for the film, has since said he regrets his role and the consequences of it.
Oscars 1992: The Silence of the Lambs
While Silence of the Lambs as a whole is not really considered problematic, there is one character that has been the subject of controversy within the LGBTQIA+ community following the film’s Oscar win. And that is villain Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine. In Silence of the Lambs, Buffalo Bill is a serial killer who wears the skin of his female victims, keeps their clothes, and dresses like them.
The movie itself says that Bill is not trans, and that trans identity has nothing to do with violence. The director Jonathan Demme has also explicitly stated that Bill is not trans and has apologized for not making that more clear in the direction. That said, good intentions aren’t necessarily effective if they’re being received differently by the audience. And at the 1992 Oscars, there were protests against the film, during which 10 queer activists were arrested, for reinforcing transphobic beliefs. It’s unfortunately all-too-common to see trans and non-binary who don’t conform to gender norms portrayed as villains. When the truth is, statistically, they are far more often victims of violence than the perpetrators.
Oscars 1995: Forrest Gump
The film Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, was voted Best Picture by the Academy in 1995. (Pulp Fiction was also nominated for an Oscar in the same year.) The young Forrest Gump stumbles through iconic moments in 20th-century American history, but the comedy-drama has been criticized by activists in the years following its release for its portrayal of people with disabilities, women’s rights, and veterans of the Vietnam War.
The portrayal of Jenny, played by Robin Wright, has received the most attention in 2025. Critics say she’s only used to further Forrest Gump’s emotional development before giving him a child and dying at the end. It’s the stereotypical victimized woman archetype—as Jenny was first abused by her father, then goes on to date toxic men, work as a stripper, and eventually die of AIDS.
Oscars 1996: Braveheart
The 1996 Oscar winner Braveheart may be a favorite film for some, but among critics it is seen as one of the Academy’s biggest mistakes. Even film critics of the time couldn’t understand why the Scottish independence film made such an impression at the Oscars.
In the drama, which is based on true events, Mel Gibson plays the independence fighter William Wallace, who plans a campaign of revenge against the British. The real-life Gibson is not somebody to root for, however. The actor has come under fire for his homophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic remarks several times since his cinematic peak. Although he’s apologized on talk shows and cited his alcohol addiction as the cause for his verbal attacks, he’s still continued the behavior.
Oscars 1999: American Beauty
In 1999, the dark comedy/drama American Beauty won the Oscar for Best Picture and was considered one of the best films of the decade at the time. Since then, the film has been repeatedly criticized for its portrayal of male lust. The movie is about Lester, played by Kevin Spacey, a man going through a midlife crisis and sexually frustrated until the day he meets his 16-year-old daughter’s best friend. He begins to fantasize about the young woman and even approaches the teenager in real life.
Although the film doesn’t judge this approach as morally correct, it does seem to argue that men cannot defend themselves against their fantasies and sexual acts. An argument that is more than just problematic, especially against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement. Kevin Spacey also fell into disrepute when allegations of sexual violence arose in 2017. After Anthony Rapp spoke out against Kevin Spacey that year, other men came forward claiming that Kevin Spacey had sexually abused them at a young age. Spacey denies any allegations.
Oscars 2003: The Pianist
Before The Pianist won the Oscar for Best Picture, director Roman Polanski won the Oscar for Best Director. But Polanski was unable to accept his Oscar himself—because if he had been on American soil, he would have been arrested. The director was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 1977, and yet many in Hollywood continue to support him after he fled to London to avoid extradition.
In the wake of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, his works were re-examined and his successes questioned, and allegations of rape surfaced again in 2017 and 2019. In 2018, he was finally barred from membership by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Oscars 2005: Crash
In 2005, Crash was widely celebrated by the Academy. The film earned a total of six nominations and three Oscars, including Best Picture. However, the win in 2005 was overshadowed by a major scandal: The cowboy love story Brokeback Mountain was nominated for an Oscar in the same year, and many assumed that the Academy did not want to give an Oscar to a queer film at the time.
Crash has been described by some critics as the worst film of the decade, and director Paul Haggis himself also felt the film was not worthy of an Oscar. Various plot strands, which are presented Love Actually style, each stand for a political theme and are all unoriginal and stereotypically realized. The drama has also been criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of racism and racist themes as well as its under-complex portrayal of multicultural relationships.
Oscars 2013: Dallas Buyers Club
In 2013, the two leading actors of Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey, were celebrated for their physical transformation for the film. Both starved themselves down to a few pounds to play people with AIDS, and Jared Leto also played a trans woman. Why producers didn’t cast an actual trans woman as the character was the subject of much debate then and now.
In the drama, Ron (Matthew McConaughey) sells unauthorized drugs to HIV/AIDS patients due to his own illness. One of those patients is Rayon, who holds up a mirror to the homophobic Ron. Unfortunately, this is her only role in the movie: She is supposed to make him a better person and stand as a negative example of how to deal with an AIDS diagnosis. Ron changes his way of life and survives, while Rayon continues to work as a prostitute and dies at the end. On top of all that, she’s addressed with male pronouns throughout the film. Good representation for trans people looks different than this, simply put.
Oscars 2019: Green Book
One of the most controversial Oscar winners in recent years is Green Book in 2019. The film was a commercial and critical success and took awards season by storm. But looking back, it’s hardly as progressive as it pretends to be.
The movie is based on the true story of Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his bodyguard Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), but the family of the real Shirley strongly condemned his cinematic portrayal. Meanwhile, the real-life son of Tony Lip was an executive producer of Green Book. It’s important context to have, especially amid criticism that Shirley’s character follows the stereotype of a Black man whose only task in a film is to teach a white man a lesson. The film was also criticized for its “white savior” narrative, in which a white man seemingly ends racism just by being there. Director of BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee, tried to leave the hall in disgust after the announcement of Green Book as Best Picture.
A version of this article was previously published in Glamour Germany.
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