Thirty years ago, former Orion Classics executives Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom established the independent arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment with full autonomy to produce, acquire and distribute films from notable cinema auteur films.
In the decades that followed, Sony Pictures Classics garnered 158 Oscar nominations and 37 statuettes (41 in total for films directed by Barker and Bernard). It also made history: Ang Lee’s ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ (2000) garnered 10 Oscar nominations, the most ever for a non-English language film, and scooped four trophies, including a foreign language film. It also racked up $214 million at the worldwide box office.
Besides “Crouching Tiger”, the studio amassed eight other films nominated for Best Picture: “Howard’s End” (1992), “Capote” (2005), “An Education” (2009), “Midnight in Paris” (2011) , “Love” (2012), “Whiplash” (2014), “Call Me By Your Name” (2017) and “The Father” (2020).
Led by Bernard and Barker after Bloom suffered a brain hemorrhage in 1996, the SPC thrived on being diverse and inclusive without self-congratulation. It’s just part of his DNA.
An example: Brazilian Fernanda Montenegro became the first Latina nominated for Best Actress for her role in Walter Salles’ “Central Station” (1998).
The independent distributor has been the biggest supporter of LGBTQ stories and the creative vision of Spanish author Pedro Almodóvar. ‘All About My Mother’ (1999) won the Foreign Language Film trophy, while ‘Talk to Her’ (2002) won the Original Screenplay award after his home country snubbed it by submitting a another film in the foreign language category.
It’s thanks to the fearless leadership of Barker and Bernard that veteran actor JK Simmons (“Whiplash”) and legendary screenwriter James Ivory (“Call Me by Your Name”) have Oscars today. The same goes for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, honored for playing author Truman Capote.
Barker and Bernard shine a light on the magic of Carey Mulligan in Lone Scherfig’s “An Education.” She received her first Oscar nomination for the film. They also showed the world how special Asghar Farhadi’s cinema is with his masterful “A Separation” (2011), and taught Hollywood a lesson in how to truly utilize the depth of Anne Hathaway’s talent. in one of Jonathan Demme’s latest feature films, “Rachel Getting Married”. (2008).
The independent branch managed to bring Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “The Lives of Others” (2006) into the circle of Oscar winners, despite the film being rejected by several notable festivals, including Cannes, Berlin and Venice. I still believe Penélope Cruz nearly won the actress win for 2021’s ‘Parallel Mothers’ after snagging a nomination that experts say would go to Lady Gaga for her ‘House of Gucci’ performance.
The studio’s slate for 2022 is more dynamic than ever, which has included the charming “The Phantom of the Open” with Mark Rylance and the documentary “Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams” by Luca Guadgnino. The main contenders exist in “The Son” by Florian Zeller with Hugh Jackman, “Living” by Oliver Hermanus with Bill Nighy, “One Fine Morning” by Mia Hansen-Løve with Léa Seydoux and the music documentaries “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a song” and “The return of Tanya Tucker: with Brandi Carlile”.
Lily Variety list of the top 25 Sony Pictures Classics films from its first 30 years, along with a snippet of the best scene from each film.
Honorable Mentions: “Capernaum” (2008); “The Fog of War” (2003); “Frozen River” (2008); “House of Flying Daggers” (2004); “Indochina” (1992); “The Lives of Others” (2006); “The Lunch Box” (2014); “Moon” (2009); “A Prophet” (2010); “Waltz with Bashir” (2008)