80 YEARS OF THE OSCAR

The Official History of the Academy Awards, by Robert Osborne. Abbeville Press, 439 pp., $75.
February 22, 2009
Because this book commemorates a hallowed institution's milestone, it's no surprise that it feels like a concrete slab. Because it is designated an "official history of the Academy Awards," it's no surprise that it looks like a museum monograph on steroids. And because it is written by Robert Osborne, whose de-facto anchorman status on the Turner Classic Movies cable network has made him the Global Village's cinema-curator-in-chief, it's no surprise the text feels all but definitive. Even the glossiness of its cover seems relatively circumspect when compared with other coffee-table Hollywood texts.

All of which may keep "80 Years of the Oscar" from the clutches of those who prefer their Academy Awards histories to brim with pan-fried dirt and sweet-and-sour dish. The bar for such books has been set pretty high by "Inside Oscar," Damien Bona and Mason Wiley's "unofficial history," which has gone through several printings since its initial release in 1986 (and even spawned a 2002 sequel). This "official history" "80 Years" doesn't match its precursor's imposing mass of archival newspaper clippings and deep background - and it's not trying to. But Osborne, as conscientious a movie historian as there is after the peerless Andrew Sarris, manages within relatively compact spaces to evoke vivid glimpses of the past - even offering the occasional surprise or two. And, as unwieldy as it might be to carry around from barbershops to recreation rooms, "80 Years of the Oscar" has enough raw data to settle as many arguments as it starts.