And who said that the annual event of the Night of the Oscars has been able to entertain during its editions only for the awards of the titles in competition and the relative thanks of cast, directors and technicians? Undoubtedly, as a highly anticipated show, it cannot fail to count on moments of high attraction and involvement ; most of the time programmed - think of the opening musical version with Neil Patrick Harris in 2015 or the tearjerker duo between Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, complete with piano and brushed kiss, in 2019 - and, exceptionally, completely unforeseen but precisely for this reason remained in the legend, imprinted in everyone's memories. Let's see together some examples taken from this second category.
In 1973 , the absence at the ceremony of Marlon Brando , already at his second Oscar and awarded on that occasion for the role of Don Vito Corleone in the film "The Godfather". In his place, after Liv Ulmann has read his name, a young Indian, Sacheen Littlefeather, will take the stage, who - by Brando's will - will declare that the actor cannot accept the award given the inadmissible behavior reserved for Native Americans by the film industry . These declarations, in a din of boos and applause, will remain in the legend no less than the star to which they refer.
Shortly before, in 1974, the British actor and conductor David Niven introduces Elizabeth Taylor onto the stage - assigning the Oscar for best film to "Someone who has made an important contribution to the world of entertainment" - those present will be stunned, not so much because impatient to see the unmistakable charm of the diva but following the foray into a beautiful display of a naked man , from top to bottom. To save goat and cabbage will be the comic brilliance of Niven who will promptly respond to the episode by saying: "Isn't it fascinating that, probably, the only laugh that man elicits depends on having stripped down and shown his shortcomings?".
Considering the speeches with declared intentions of a political nature, we cannot fail to mention the one made in by , winner of the award for best documentary with his " " and always active in anti-republican positions. After Diane Lane's announcement, the director takes the stage and juggles a , denouncing "the fictitious electoral result that elected a fictitious president". Even after the inevitable uproar and applause . An episode undoubtedly of great sensation, but which at the same time testifies to a phase in American history between tensions, crises and military conflicts.
