The Exorcist was nominated, but that's it. Without the presence of The Sting, could it have won in '73? Possibly. I doubt Cries and Whispers or American Graffiti would have taken it. The Exorcist had an Oscar-winning actress and director, huge bestseller source material...
But the likelihood of those elements coming together again in that genre isn't something I would hold my breath on.
And I can't believe you haven't responded to my Raiders remarks.
That's all I could draw, too... and as much as that movie scares the shit out of me, it's one of the best horror films and films of the '70s bar none.
The Shining deserved a nom in '80, too.
RE:
Raiders... I agree with most of what you said, but I think it did a lot to revitalize the spirit of action/adventure films since. And it did have knock-offs afterward, too:
Romancing the Stone,
King Solomon's Mines, to name a few. It's not that most films were directly copying the style of
Raiders, since it was a pastiche to begin with, like you said, but it certainly had an impact on entertainment in the '80s. For better or for worse, I think it really defines the New Hollywood era that took over during the '80s and marks a significant time in film history.
Great films mark the time, and
Raiders is one of them. There's a specific "Before
Raiders" and "After
Raiders" timeline which can be made... I think that can be applied to any landmark film.
Now by comparing to
The Dark Knight, yeah, it may feel like a "lesser" film in what it has to say thematically and whatnot, but it's not aiming to be as dense of a film as TDK. I agree with your comparison between the two, but don't think there's a right answer to say which is "better" or "worse." I love both films and can't separate one from the other in that regard.
Like I said in the Random Talk thread, TDK has its faults that keep it from being an absolute "masterpiece," in that sense, but couple that with
Wall-E, for example, and you've got two of the best major releases I've ever seen and they deserve to be acknowledged accordingly. And to see these films have the level of care and craftsmanship put into them and make shit-tons of money is great, since it convinces studios to support more creative and adventurous filmmakers, you know? We can get something like Kenneth Branaugh directing
Thor, or Guillermo Del Toro essentially revitalizing Gothic Horror. However, I still remain skeptical that when TDK is nominated that it stands a good chance of winning because of the track record of Academy voters.
There you go.