Foreign Film Oscar History

[sijmen]

Thanks for this great stuff!

So the rule probably changed mid '70's...

[rain Bard]

Great info, Oscar Guy!

If you add in the "non-competitive" Special Oscars for foreign films that started in 1947, here's what you get (some splits, some matches):

Shoeshine: Special Oscar 1947, Best Original Screenplay nomination 1947
Bicycle Thieves: Special Oscar 1949, Best Screenplay nomination 1949
Rashomon: Special Oscar 1951, Best Black-and-White Art Direction nomination 1952
Gate of Hell: Special Oscar 1954, Best Color Costume Design nomination, 1954
The Seven Samurai: Special Oscar 1955, Best Black-and-White Art Direction and Costume Design nominations, 1956

[OscarGuy]

I found it.

Marriage Italian Style was nominated for Best Actress, Sophia Loren, in 1964 (37th). The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language film the following year, 1965 (38th).

And for the record, here are all the year/film splits that I could find:

Through a Glass Darkly: 1961/1962
The Four Days of Naples: 1962/1963
Sundays and Cybele: 1962/1963
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg: 1964/1965
Woman in the Dunes: 1964/1965
Marriage Italian Style: 1964/1965
The Shop on Main Street: 1965/1966
The Battle of Algiers: 1966/1968
My Night at Maud's/My Night with Maud: 1969/1970
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion: 1970/1971
The Emigrants: 1971/1972
Day for Night: 1973/1974
Amarcord: 1974/1975



BTW: The Virgin Spring was the first Foreign Language film to be nominated in both the Foreign Language Film Category and another, Costume Design.

[OscarGuy]

There was one case, the one I'm referring to where the film won regular awards one year, then the next was up for Foreign Film. Several instances occurred of Foreign one year, then others the next, but only one with the reverse.

[Hustler]

Another bizarre case was Battle of Algiers. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966 and then TWO YEARS LATER, got nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was nominated for foreign film in 1964 and the followin year received 4 nominations(music score original, scoring adaptation, song and writing ).
My night with Maud was nominated in 1969 (42nd) for foreign film and the following year (43rd) for writing.
Day for Night was nominated in 1973 for foreign and the follwing year received 3 nominations (supporting actress valentina cortesse, directing and writing)

[anonymous1980]

Another bizarre case was Battle of Algiers. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966 and then TWO YEARS LATER, got nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

[Hustler]

I can't recall the year, but I know there were several films in the 60s that were nominated for foreign film one year and Oscars the next (and in one case, the reverse actually happened). I believe it was sometime in the mid 1970s where they changed the rules, but can't remember the exact year, though I've heard the the rule somewhere, but can't remember where.

I´ve found it! The movie was The Emigrants, nominated in 1971 for foreign film (44th annual) and the following year, 1972 for best picture (45th), actress (Liv Ullmann), Directing (Jan Troell) and writing.

[Hustler]

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion was nominated and won in 1970 (43rd annual) in the foreign film category and the following yeasr received a nomination for scrrenplay.(44th)

[Hustler]

Z in 1969 had a double nomination in Best Picture and Foreign film (42nd annual)

[Hustler]

I can't recall the year, but I know there were several films in the 60s that were nominated for foreign film one year and Oscars the next (and in one case, the reverse actually happened). I believe it was sometime in the mid 1970s where they changed the rules, but can't remember the exact year, though I've heard the the rule somewhere, but can't remember where.

Wes, The Shop on Main Street was nominated in 1965 (38th annual) for Foreign language film and the following year Ida Kaminska from that movie was nominated for leading actress (39th annual)

[OscarGuy]

I can't recall the year, but I know there were several films in the 60s that were nominated for foreign film one year and Oscars the next (and in one case, the reverse actually happened). I believe it was sometime in the mid 1970s where they changed the rules, but can't remember the exact year, though I've heard the the rule somewhere, but can't remember where.

[sijmen]

I don't recall anything about Run Lola Run being the cause of any rules changes. It was submitterd and rejected for best foreign film consideration in 1998 but not nominated for anythign in 1999.

Run Lola Run wasn't nominated for any Oscar in 1999 since it was ineligible (due to it being a foreign film submission in 1998). It received a nomination from the ACE awards, though. And I think it would be nominated for a few Oscars if it was eligible.

After the 1999 Oscars, they changed the rule, making only the five nominated films ineligible for future years. At least that's how I recall it...

Maybe Damien knows...

[Big Magilla]

Very interesting question to which I couldn't find the answer.

The Academy database does not provide a history of rules changes. It provides the rules for each year beginning in 2000 when the present rule was in force.

I went through every year in Inside Oscar and Inside Oscar II from 1975-2000 where Damien provides lists of rules changes but none of them address foreign language film rules changes.

I don't recall anything about Run Lola Run being the cause of any rules changes. It was submitterd and rejected for best foreign film consideration in 1998 but not nominated for anythign in 1999. Damien does not list it among eligible films that failed to be nominated in 1999. The informatioin may be within the text of Inside Oscar but I don't have the time to re-read it cover to cover.

Perhaps this is a question you could submit directly to the Academy. I think it's one we would all like to know the answer to.

[sijmen]

Films nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar are ineligble the next year for the Oscars, even when they are released the next year.

I know that in the 90's, the rule was even more strict: every film that was send in as an official foreign language entry was eniligible in future years, even when they were released in future years. It took the german film Run Lola Run to change that, since many felt it deserved some Oscar recognition, despite being a Foreign Film Oscar entry the year before and failed to be among the final five.

Does somebody know when this rule was established? When was it made impossible for foreign film entries to be nominated in future years? (Amarcord and Day for Night were both nominated the year after they won the foreign language Oscar in the 70's, so it must be after that)

PS: This is not a quiz, I really would like to know...