As you can probably tell from my review, I thought Superman Returns was terrific. Similarly, Spiderman 2 was one of my favourite films of 2004, and X2 one of my favourites from 2003. But what happens to this type of film when awards season rolls around? The odd technical nomination or award here and there, but nothing substantial; nothing a studio would kill to put on the DVD box.

You might well be thinking now that these are just silly superhero films, but look at it another way. Both Spiderman 2 and X2 garnered mostly positive reviews, were popular with the film-going public, and both have legitimate reputations as very good films. Superman Returns has also ticked these boxes, as did Batman Begins last year. And yet for some reason, there isn't the slightest bit of surprise when films like this aren't nominated for Best Film at the Oscars or BAFTAs.

At the end of the day it makes very little difference to me or to any other film-goer, whether or not a particular film wins a particular award. All it means is that studios will make more money off them, and that is great news if you happen to be a studio boss. However, if you are fond of a particular film, it can be frustrating to see it ignored by people who are supposed to nominating and voting for the best films of the year. The thing is, that isn't what Oscar voters or BAFTA voters are doing; they simply pick what they consider to be the best "safe" drama from a carefully selected shortlist of "safe" dramas. You might think my attitude is more than a little cynical, but let's look at some evidence.

In the entire history of the Oscars, there have only been two science fiction films nominated for Best Film, and neither of them have won it. 2001: A Space Odyssey, perhaps the first landmark in modern science fiction cinema wasn't even nominated for the award. The winner the year it was eligible was Oliver!, and the other nominees were Funny Girl, The Lion in Winter, Rachel, Rachel and Romeo and Juliet.

Of course it goes without saying that no superhero film has ever won the award, or even reviewed a nomination for that matter. Even the classic Superman was ignored in 1979, and cinematic mediocrities such as An Unmarried Woman and Heaven Can Wait received Best Film nominations. At the 2005 awards The Aviator picked up a whopping 10 nominations, including one for Best Picture, despite a highly mixed reception from critics and the public. 2005 was of course the year that Spiderman 2 would have been in contention. The Return of the King hauled in an impressive 11 Oscars in 2004, but this was the first time that a film from the "fantasy" genre had picked up the Best Picture award.

Comedies don't fare much better either, and while there have been a few nominations over the years the number of wins is still disproportionately low. Neither The Life of Brian nor Monty Python and the Holy Grail received Oscar nominations. Even more amazingly, neither received nominations at the BAFTAs; not even for Best British Film. I could wheel out examples from other genres too - The Shining wasn't nominated for anything and Die Hard's nominations were all for technical things.

Even the other award categories tell their own stories too. Until Sigourney Weaver was nominated at the 1987 awards for her role in Aliens, no actress had ever received any form of nomination for a performance in a science fiction film. Even Alec Guinness's nomination for Star Wars was a rarity in 1978. And I'm pretty sure you can still count on one hand the number of actors who have won an Oscar for a comedic role.

Obviously you'll look at some of the films I've mentioned above and have your own opinions on them. However, whatever you may think of my examples I don't think that changes the point I'm getting at, because you'll have films in similar genres to mine which you personally hold in very high regard. The point of this hasn't been to highlight specific films which I think deserved more accolades, but to give examples of how many genres of film are simply ignored when it comes to handing out trinkets and awards. Of course none of this would be a problem if they were actually bad films being brushed aside; but they aren't. So when genuinely excellent films are passed over for recognition, simply because of their genre, that seems very unfair to me.

© David Mercier
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