Fuzzy Hindsight

William Lorton’s piece on Oscar-winning films that can’t stand the test of time really annoyed me (“And the Decade-Old Winner Is ...,” March 17).

Lorton sounds like an indie filmmaker who can’t get past the security gate at a studio lot and decides the only “real” movies worth watching are the ones made with a handheld camera without a budget.

Well, boo-hoo. I can film my daughter’s school play but that doesn’t make me Martin Scorsese.

If Lorton is quick to elevate “Babe,” a sweet but forgettable film, to a higher plateau than “Unforgiven” and “American Beauty,” titles he dismisses as “footnotes,” then I wish him well in his small-minded indie world.

STUART LEVINE

Los Angeles

*

There’s plenty wrong with many Oscar-nominated movies, this and every year, and with the way the industry functions.

When The Times publishes Robert Altman’s cogent analysis of his alienation from, and objections to, the studio system, it is facilitating an important discourse on the industry.

When it puts its editorial weight behind the bitter opinions of a frustrated wannabe, it devalues the character of its arts coverage. Lorton is entitled to express his views, but The Times does itself a disservice by rounding up a crowd for him.

PHIL HOWARD

Los Angeles