The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1983
I got a request for this one. I was so excited to get a request for this category that I bumped it up from its original December date to now. (Also, yeah, I totally have all the categories scheduled. I do it in the interest of not having to do any work later. Now I can just look at the list and see when things go up and don’t have to think about it and can just start typing.)
1983 is a weak year in Academy history, mostly because Terms of Endearment is a weak Best Picture winner. It’s a great film, but a weak Best Picture choice. And the other options weren’t really all that good this year. I, personally, would have gone with The Right Stuff. I also love the Big Chill, but that’s not a Best Picture winner. Also, James L. Brooks winning Best Director for Terms of Endearment was fine because Phillip Kaufman wasn’t nominated for The Right Stuff. So at least there you can be like, “Well, they couldn’t make the right decision because they didn’t nominate the best effort.” So, the Picture/Director link-up works in this case. And Shirley MacLaine winning Best Actress for Terms is a perfect choice because she was 23 years overdue by this point. Robert Duvall winning Best Actor for Tender Mercies is a great macro decision, since the dude deserved an Oscar. I didn’t love the performance, but given the overall category, it works as a decision. And then Linda Hunt winning Best Supporting Actress for The Year of Living Dangerously, for playing a man (!). I talked about it here. Seriously, she plays a man. And nobody notices. That’s so awesome.
So that’s 1983. Weak (overall) Best Picture choice, and also one I wouldn’t really choose (just because it’s so — not a Best Picture choice), great decisions for the majority of the acting categories, mostly based on the actors themselves more so than the performances. And Best Director was fine because the person who should have won wasn’t nominated (and The Dresser was. What the fuck?). And then there’s this category — which makes no sense whatsoever.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1983
And the nominees were…
Charles Durning, To Be or Not to Be
John Lithgow, Terms of Endearment
Jack Nicholson, Terms of Endearment
Sam Shepard, The Right Stuff
Rip Torn, Cross Creek (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1993
I love how quickly you can get through 1993. Schindler’s List wins Best Picture and Best Director for Steven Spielberg (talked about here). Anyone want to argue? Exactly.
Tom Hanks wins Best Actor for Philadelphia (talked about here), which I’m very open about hating as a decision. Liam Neeson really should have won this. (Let’s not also forget that Daniel Day-Lewis was great in both In the Name of the Father and The Age of Innocence this year.) Then Best Actress was Holly Hunter for The Piano, which I’m cool with, since I love Holly Hunter and she was the best decision in the category. And then Best Supporting Actor this year was Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive (talked about here), which, despite my love for Tommy Lee Jones, was a terrible decision. It really was. Ralph Fiennes, Leonardo DiCaprio and Pete Postlethwaite gave better, and more vote-worthy performances (especially Fiennes). But, in all, in terms of who and what won, this is a strong year, and one I like.
Which brings us to this category. What happened here? I love Anna Paquin, and I love the precocious child role (as I’ve said many times in the past), but what did the Academy see that warranted a win here? (I also think her winning this caused the Academy to shy away from voting for these types of performances in the future, which can explain how Abigail Breslin didn’t win such a terrible category in 2006 and how Saoirsie Ronan didn’t win for her brilliant work in Atonement in 2007.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1993
And the nominees were…
Holly Hunter, The Firm
Anna Paquin, The Piano
Rosie Perez, Fearless
Winona Ryder, The Age of Innocence
Emma Thompson, In the Name of the Father (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1986
I love this category. Why? Because it’s strong enough to not suck and weak enough to where what had to happen could happen and not seem like it upset anything. Because Paul Newman had to win this year. There was no other option. And, because the category is the way it is, not only is it a great decision, nothing was upset by it.
As for the rest of 1986, the Academy surprisingly made almost all great decisions. It remains one of the few bright spots of the black hole that is the 80s. (I fucking hate the 80s when it comes to Oscars. And movies too. I think it was a really shitty decade for movies.) Platoon wins Best Picture and Best Director for Oliver Stone, both of which were by far the best decisions they could have made in those categories (with all due respect to David Lynch). Then Best Actress was Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God, which I like a lot as a decision (mostly because, were they actually gonna vote for Sigourney Weaver for Aliens? Really?). Then Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress were Michael Caine (talked about here) and Dianne Wiest for Hannah and Her Sisters. I respect both actors, but I don’t particularly like either decision. But, really, the Supporting categories don’t make a year, so overall I consider this year a success.
Now, let me take a brief second to point out how badly the Academy needed to make this one up. Paul Newman was nominated for seven Oscars before he won here (and they gave him a career achievement Oscar the year before this, because they realized they’d fucked up), for these films: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler, Hud, Cool Hand Luke, Rachel, Rachel (though that one was for Best Picture), Absence of Malice and The Verdict. He should have won, probably three times out of those. Him not winning here would have been like Martin Scorsese not winning for The Departed. Throats would have been cut. (Or, torn out — Swayze style.)
BEST ACTOR – 1986
And the nominees were…
Dexter Gordon, Round Midnight
Bob Hoskins, Mona Lisa
William Hurt, Children of a Lesser God
Paul Newman, The Color of Money
James Woods, Salvador (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1929-1930
One of these things is not like the other…
Seriously, look at this category. It doesn’t even require anything more than a simple glance. One nominee is so superior to the rest that they shouldn’t have even had voting this year.
All Quiet on the Western Front is so far and away the best film on on this list, it’s like, if, in the mid-90s, you had a bunch of regular PC computers — the big ass towers, with the floppy disks and the dial up internet, and then put a 2011 Macbook in the middle of them. It’s not even close how much better this is than the rest of the nominees.
It of course wins Best Picture this year, in one of the best decisions of all time. Best Actor for this year was George Arliss in Disraeli, which is a pretty good decision, from what I’ve seen (it’s one of the few categories I haven’t finished yet). And Best Actress was Norma Shearer for The Divorcée, which, I also like based on what I’ve seen (or simply just because of her as an actress. I’ve also not finished the category). But, outside of the acting categories — which, before 1934 are mostly whatever, regardless of who won — they really, really got this year right. Because All Quiet on the Western Front is just ten years ahead of its time.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1929-1930
And the nominees were…
Clarence Brown, Anna Christie and Romance
Robert Z. Leonard, The Divorcée
Ernst Lubitsch, The Love Parade
Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front
King Vidor, Hallelujah (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1959
1959 is a checkpoint year for the Academy. That’s what I call it as of right now. Checkpoint seems the optimal word. Think of it this way. You’re playing a video game, going through all these parts of the level, some easy, some difficult, and then you get to the checkpoint, and you get that rest. You don’t need to think, and you know you’re safe for the moment. That’s what this is. No matter how you feel about most years, what wins Best Picture, no one can argue with Ben-Hur. No one. It’s a checkpoint. The unquestionable winner, and then we move on and continue complaining.
Aside from Best Picture, Ben-Hur also wins Best Actor for Charlton Heston (talked about here) and Best Director for William Wyler (talked about here). You can’t really argue with either, though I’d have gone another way on Best Actor. Then Best Actress was Simone Signoret for Room at the Top (talked about here), which is one of the worst decisions of all time in that category. I really hate it. And Best Supporting Actress was Shelley Winters for The Diary of Anne Frank (talked about here), which I don’t like as a decision, because I feel there were two better performances that split votes, leading to the current result.
But, in all, you can’t argue with most of 1959. Three of the six decisions are unquestionably okay. Two are, even though they don’t really matter, and only Best Actress is the terrible decision. That’s a checkpoint. You hit the checkpoint, and you’re mostly safe for the moment and get a breather. And there’s like a 15% chance you might randomly die.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1959
And the nominees were…
Hugh Griffith, Ben-Hur
Arthur O’Connell, Anatomy of a Murder
George C. Scott, Anatomy of a Murder
Robert Vaughn, The Young Philadelphians
Ed Wynn, The Diary of Anne Frank (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1944
I don’t know if my subconscious is really smart or really dickish. Or really dickish because it’s really smart. It seems like these last few days have been nothing but shit categories. Now, to show you behind the curtain: what I do when figuring out what posts are going up each month is, I figure out which categories are finished and which ones have the most years left to write up. I like to space out each category, so that you don’t get Best Actor after Best Actor every day (unless I have a lot of that category, like last month, where the first half was all Best Actress categories). Then what I do is just pick randomly which years go where. I try to make it so years aren’t in close proximity to years near it. Like, yesterday was 1990, today is 1944, tomorrow will be 1959, and then after that is 1976. It’s spread out.
I’m not really paying attention to what specific categories are going up when I plan this. It’s just about spreading out the years. Which is why, either my subconscious is really smart or really dickish. Because either it was like, “All of these categories really suck. Mike’s gonna hate having to write them up. Let’s put them in his birthday month so he has no choice but to do them and not put them off.” Or it was like, “Let’s put them in his birthday month because he’s got all that other stuff going on that he likes that he’ll be able to power through it and get them over with so he doesn’t have to deal with them all later.” I’d like to think it was the latter. But, honestly, it’s probably pure happenstance. I just thought I should mention it because I like weird coincidences like this. It’s rare to see so many shitty categories in a row.
Anywho, I find 1944 to be a very boring year. Mostly because the best film of the year lost to a crowd pleaser. Going My Way wins Best Picture, Best Actor for Bing Crosby (talked about here), Best Supporting Actor for Barry Fitzgerald (talked about here) and Best Director for Leo McCarey (talked about here). I love the acting decisions, but I don’t agree with the Picture decision and hate the Director decision. Hitchcock or Billy Wilder should have won there, and Double Indemnity really should have won Best Picture. Then there’s Best Actress, which was Ingrid Bergman for Gaslight (talked about here), which is clearly a makeup Oscar for her not winning the year before (she was nominated for For Whom the Bell Tolls instead of Casablanca, which is what she should have won for), which screwed Barbara Stanwyck out of a well-deserved Oscar. So this year is just chaos. Punctuated (or rather, underscored) by this piece of shit category, where once again, the Academy votes for the worst possible choice. And don’t give me that veteran shit — she shouldn’t have won.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1944
And the nominees were…
Ethel Barrymore, None But the Lonely Heart
Jennifer Jones, Since You Went Away
Angela Lansbury, Gaslight
Aline MacMahon, Dragon Seed
Agnes Moorehead, Mrs. Parkington (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1990
Quite possibly the weakest Best Actor category of all time. This is just awful.
In fact, 1990 as a year is just awful, Oscar wise. Dances with Wolves. Yeah. One of the worst Best Picture choices of all time. Because it’s not a very good film. And I could have accepted it winning Best Picture if Kevin Costner, an actor, didn’t win Best Director for the film (which I talked about here), over Martin Scorsese, for Goodfellas. I think that about says it all, doesn’t it? Then Best Actress was Kathy Bates for Misery (which I talked about here), which is a good decision, albeit one that’s not very memorable historically. Best Supporting Actor was Joe Pesci for Goodfellas (which I talked about here), which is one of the best decisions of all time in that category. And Best Supporting Actress was Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost (which I talked about here), which I hate as a decision, but respect (you can find out why in the article).
So, in all, I really only love one decision from this year. One I like, one I respect but don’t like, one is fine but the product of a weak year (this one), and two are just god awful. So, I just hate 1990. What a sore spot for the Academy.
BEST ACTOR – 1990
And the nominees were…
Kevin Costner, Dances with Wolves
Robert De Niro, Awakenings
Gerard Depardieu, Cyrano de Bergerac
Richard Harris, The Field
Jeremy Irons, Reversal of Fortune (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1966
I personally consider this one of the weakest Best Actress categories of all time. The fact that the winner was such a slam dunk hides that fact a bit (kind of like Best Actress 1949), but it’s still pretty weak. There’s only one choice here.
As for the rest of the year — it’s basically split up between two films. A Man for All Seasons wins Best Picture, Best Actor for Paul Scofield (which I talked about here) and Best Director for Fred Zinnemann. Then, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? wins this category and Best Supporting Actress for Sandy Dennis. And Best Supporting Actor is the only outlier, which was Walter Matthau for The Fortune Cookie (which I talked about here).
My thoughts on this year are — I think they got the acting awards 100% correct (Best Actor is a tough choice between Scofield and Burton, and either one was a great decision. That’s one of those where I’ll change my answer every time I’m asked about it), and Best Picture and Best Picture are a matter of opinion between two great films. I tend to go back and forth between which I’d vote for. Still, both are great, so, really this year is a win/win for everybody.
BEST ACTRESS – 1966
And the nominees were…
Anouk Aimée, A Man and a Woman
Ida Kaminska, The Shop on Main Street
Lynn Redgrave, Georgy Girl
Vanessa Redgrave, Morgan!
Elizabeth Taylor, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1998
I hate this category. It’s one of the weakest Best Supporting Actress categories ever. It’s so bad.
Also, 1998 — Shakespeare in Love, beats Saving Private Ryan. People have strong opinions on this. That about covers it. Fortunately, Steven Spielberg won Saving Private Ryan (which I talked about here), so I feel, as long as they got that category right, it doesn’t matter which way they went on Best Picture. Then, Best Actor was Robert Benigni for Life is Beautiful, which we can all agree, is the single worst Best Actor decision in the history of the category. It was just awful. Then, Best Actress was Gwyneth Paltrow for Shakespeare in Love (which I talked about here), which I like as a decision. I know it’s not the best decision, but — well, I explained it in the article. Then Best Supporting Actor was James Coburn for Affliction (which I talked about here), which I don’t like as a decision, but I like because I like James Coburn. Still, not a good decision in that category.
So that’s 1998. I like, two of the decisions of the six. Two I can go with, but I think they could have been better. Then two I think are just terrible. So it’s a mixed bag. Leading to this category…
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1998
And the nominees were…
Kathy Bates, Primary Colors
Brenda Blethyn, Little Voice
Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love
Rachel Griffiths, Hilary and Jackie
Lynn Redgrave, Gods and Monsters (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1956
I love 1956. The year, not the Oscar year. The Oscar year is pretty forgettable. Mostly because the Best Picture choice is kind of throwaway. Around the World in 80 Days is not a bad film by any means — it’s big, expansive, lot of cameos, lots of fun, escapist entertainment — but it’s not a very good Best Picture choice. It is in scope, but not in quality.
Best Actor this year was Yul Brynner for The King and I, and I always maintain the decision was a bad choice because Brynner is essentially a supporting role (for the most part) in the film. But, he’s Yul Brynner, so I don’t really have a problem with it. But, I still would have gone another way in that one. Then Best Actress was Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia, a decision (as I said here) I consider one of the worst decisions of all time in the Best Actress category. All of the other choices were better in that category (especially Carroll Baker in Baby Doll). Then Best Supporting Actor was Anthony Quinn for Lust for Life, a decision I don’t like, but am okay with, because Anthony Quinn is awesome. Then Best Supporting Actress was Dorothy Malone for Written on the Wind (talked about here), which is the one decision for this year, aside from this category, that I like.
So, with only 2 out of 6 good decisions (2 more are acceptable, though both are pretty weak), and a really weak Best Picture choice, 1956 is kind of a “bleh” year for me. I like this category though. So I got that going for me. Which is nice.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1956
And the nominees were…
Michael Anderson, Around the World in 80 Days
Walter Lang, The King and I
George Stevens, Giant
King Vidor, War and Peace
William Wyler, Friendly Persuasion (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1971
I love 1971. As a whole. Not so much this category. I’ll get to that in a second. But, for me, 1971 is really where the “70s,” as its imagined as a decade, really took hold in the Academy. 1967 is the year where most people saw a marked change in the industry, Bonnie and Clyde and all, but it never really came into the Academy until this year. Between 1967 and 1971, it was kind of like a fluorescent light flickering before it turned on. In the four years before 1971, only Midnight Cowboy felt like the kind of film that was an example of the “gritty” 70s. So that’s why I love this year.
The French Connection wins Best Picture and Best Director for William Friedkin (talked about here). I love the decisions. I think they were the best decisions they could have made. Then Best Actress was Jane Fonda for Klute, which is another great decision (it’s also a very 70s film). Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress were Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman, both from The Last Picture Show. I don’t particularly like either decision, but, as I said here, I do like the Cloris one because she’s awesome, even though I’d have voted for Ann-Margret in that category. But in all, this year is a very 70s year. And I love the 70s.
As for this particular category, it’s not that strong. And, I like it because Gene Hackman is an actor who should have an Academy Award, and he gave my favorite (and the most iconic) performance in the category. But, I feel as though if the category were stronger, he might not have won. But, fortunately, it isn’t, so it all worked out.
BEST ACTOR – 1971
And the nominees were…
Peter Finch, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Gene Hackman, The French Connection
Walter Matthau, Kotch
George C. Scott, The Hospital
Topol, Fiddler on the Roof (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1992
This is one of the weakest categories I’ve ever seen. And the whole fake “controversy” surrounding this is just a red herring. Honestly, if anyone other than Marisa Tomei won this category, it would have been forgotten long ago. Seriously, all of the other choices would have been boring as hell. I refuse to listen to anyone who says the category should have turned out differently, because that would be like saying, “We should have given Becket Best Picture in 1964 (over My Fair Lady, Dr. Strangelove and Mary Poppins).” You know? Why would anyone argue for a boring decision?
As for the rest of 1992 — Unforgiven wins Best Picture, Best Director for Clint Eastwood (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actor for Gene Hackman (talked about here). I love all of these decisions. Al Pacino (finally!) wins Best Actor for Scent of a Woman (talked about here) and Emma Thompson wins Best Actress for Howards End. Hate the film, love the woman, and this was the best year for her to win. And her competition sucked. I’d have voted differently in the category, but her winning is totally cool. So, in all, I really like 1992. All the decisions work for me.
Now, let’s deal with this piece of shit category…
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1992
And the nominees were…
Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives
Joan Plowright, Enchanted April
Vanessa Redgrave, Howards End
Miranda Richardson, Damage
Marisa Tomei, My Cousin Vinny (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1987
This is a category that’s so awesome that it makes the rest of the year seem better. At least, when you use this as the focal point. 1987 is a year where they got the men right, got the women wrong, and chose a pretty standard/boring (albeit understandable) choice for Best Picture and Best Director. That was The Last Emperor. A big, epic film, very well-made, very engaging, just — a boring choice. It just is. Like Gandhi. You know why it won Best Picture, it’s just a boring choice.
Bernardo Bertolucci winning Best Director for The Last Emperor (as I said here), is a solid choice. Very deserving director. So that’s cool. Goes with the territory. Best Actor was Michael Douglas for Wall Street (talked about here), which, it’s Gordon Gekko, it’s awesome. Obviously. Then Best Actress (talked about here) and Best Supporting Actress were Cher and Olympia Dukakis for Moonstruck. I don’t particularly like either decision. At all, really. Actress more so, just because — why Cher?
But, this category is awesome. It’s rare for a year to have Best Supporting Actor be its strongest category. But this really is the strongest category here. Five solid choices, four worth a vote. And only one clear winner.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1987
And the nominees were…
Albert Brooks, Broadcast News
Sean Connery, The Untouchables
Morgan Freeman, Street Smart
Vincent Gardenia, Moonstruck
Denzel Washington, Cry Freedom (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1970
I chose my birthday as the day to present this category. It felt like the optimal day to do it. Because I consider this the single worst decision in the history of the Academy Awards. In any category. Ever. Bar none.
As for the rest of the year, it’s pretty well covered on the blog. Patton wins Best Picture, Best Director for Franklin Schaffner and Best Actor for George C. Scott (talked about here). I love the Best Actor decision and the Best Director decision, and while I’d have gone another way on Best Picture, it’s still a pretty solid and understandable choice. Then, Best Supporting Actor was John Mills for Ryan’s Daughter, which, as I said here, I consider to be the second-worst decision ever in the Best Supporting Actor category. Then Best Supporting Actress was Helen Hayes for Airport, which, as I said here, I like very much as a decision, mostly because of Helen Hayes’s legend status and the weakness of the category.
None of that, however, changes the awfulness that is this category. This is truly the worst decision of all time in any category.
BEST ACTRESS – 1970
And the nominees were…
Jane Alexander, The Great White Hope
Glenda Jackson, Women in Love
Ali MacGraw, Love Story
Sarah Miles, Ryan’s Daughter
Carrie Snodgress, Diary of a Mad Housewife (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1951
I like 1951. I don’t agree with the Best Picture or Best Director choice, but as a whole, I like this year. An American in Paris is a good film, but not one that should be winning Best Picture. There are better musicals to choose from during this period, specifically Singin’ in the Rain and The Band Wagon. I don’t get the preoccupation with choosing a musical over an American classic like A Streetcar Named Desire. I don’t really have too much of a problem with it though. Streetcar pretty much swept all the other categories, so, it sort of balances out. What’s strange is that they gave Best Director to George Stevens for A Place in the Sun. George Stevens is a great director, but as I said here, you have John Huston, Elia Kazan, William Wyler and Vincente Minnelli up as well this year. Okay, Huston has one, Kazan has one and Wyler has two. But why not Minnelli? His movie won Best Picture! (See what I mean? Some decisions are just baffling and inconsistent.)
The rest of this year, though, is pretty straightforward. A Streetcar Named Desire sweeps almost everything. It wins Best Actress for Vivien Leigh, Best Supporting Actor for Karl Malden and Best Supporting Actress for Kim Hunter. All perfect decisions and very deserving actors. So, in all, three really strong decisions, one I don’t like but can accept, one terrible one, and then what remains the most fascinating decision of this year — this category.
Here you have Marlon Brando, who gives one of the most defining performances of his career (alongside the other two he won for, The Godfather and On the Waterfront), and Humphrey Bogart, a living legend who rightfully should have won an Oscar for Casablanca (somehow Paul Lukas wins for a performance that shouldn’t even be nominated, let alone win, there). What makes the category so interesting is that Streetcar won all the other acting awards, and here you have this category, which looks like it should be the biggest shoo-in of all. I mean, Brando — Stanley Kowalski — no contest, right? One of the most powerful performances in the history of cinema. And yet — Humphrey Bogart. And, especially now, after the fact — we know Brando wins two more. So what seems like a very cut-and-dry category becomes infinitely more complex and layered. I really like this category.
BEST ACTOR – 1951
And the nominees were…
Humphrey Bogart, The African Queen
Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire
Montgomery Clift, A Place in the Sun
Arthur Kennedy, Bright Victory
Frederic March, Death of a Salesman (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1979
I am so disappointed in 1979. And a lot of it has to do with this category. Kramer vs. Kramer is a film I love dearly, but it should not have won Best Picture this year. Apocalypse Now and All That Jazz were far superior films. However, I could have lived with Kramer winning Best Picture had it not also won this category, which is the last Oscar it should have won. Just watching the films, you can see how far and away better Coppola’s and Fosse’s efforts were. Had the Academy recognized that, I could have lived with them thinking Kramer vs. Kramer was the better film. But they didn’t. Which is why 1979 will always be a sore spot for me. (Among another category…)
As for the rest of the year, Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep win Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, for Kramer vs. Kramer, and Sally Field wins Best Actress for Norma Rae (which I talked about here). These decisions I agree with wholeheartedly. They were incredible, and the best decisions in their respective categories. Best Supporting Actor, however, is a decision I consider to be the worst of all time in its category, and possibly even the second worst single Oscar decision of all time. Melvyn Douglas wins for Being There, beating Robert Duvall, for Apocalypse Now. Which performance do you remember? I rest my case. That decision is really the nail in the coffin for me, and it’s why, no matter how hard I try, 1979 upsets me. Half the decisions are great, and the other half are bad beyond words (or questionable at best). It pains me.
BEST DIRECTOR – 1979
And the nominees were…
Robert Benton, Kramer vs. Kramer
Francis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now
Bob Fosse, All That Jazz
Edouard Molinaro, La Cage aux Folles
Peter Yates, Breaking Away (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1996
I cringe when I see 1996. The English Patient is such a terrible movie to have won Best Picture. Fargo was so much better. Anthony Minghella winning Best Director for it, though, (talked about here) is understandable. Usually with one comes the other. But it still doesn’t make it a good decision.
Best Actor was Geoffrey Rush for Shine, which, as I said here, is a decision I consider one of the worst of all time. Not because of the actor, because of the performance. Read the article if you want to find out why. Then Best Actress was Frances McDormand for Fargo, which I love as a decision (as I said here), even though it wasn’t the best performance in the category (it was my favorite, though). And Best Supporting Actor was Cuba Gooding Jr. for Jerry Maguire, which is just troublesome. I talked about it here, but basically, William H. Macy should have won for Fargo, yet Cuba Gooding is so likable in the movie, it swayed a lot of people to vote for him (even I did in when I wrote up the article!), and then after the fact we all realized, “Yeah…we should have given it to Bill Macy. That was dumb.”
So that’s 1996. Bad Best Picture and Best Director choice, terrible Best Actor choice, great Best Actress choice, but one that’s shaky because there was a better (or two) performance in the category, and a Best Supporting Actor choice that feels okay, but then you realize it probably shouldn’t have won. Then, there’s this category. It’s by far the weakest of the bunch (though that’s always been the case, historically), but they did made the right decision. Most people assumed Lauren Bacall was the odds-on favorite here (because she’s Lauren Bacall), but no one takes into account just how much an Oscar-winning performance actually requires a halfway decent film in order to be taken seriously.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1996
And the nominees were…
Joan Allen, The Crucible
Lauren Bacall, The Mirror Has Two Faces
Juliette Binoche, The English Patient
Barbara Hershey, The Portrait of a Lady
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Secrets & Lies (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1971
Strong year, 1971. Especially in terms of who won. Check this out. First, Best Actor — Gene Hackman, for The French Connection. Classic character, great performance, not totally win-worthy, but the category isn’t all that strong, so it makes sense. Then, Jane Fonda wins her first Best Actress Oscar for Klute. Definitely the best decision in that category, and she as an actress definitely deserved it. And then this category — Cloris Leachman … I mean, it’s Cloris! Agree or disagree — it’s Cloris. And then Best Supporting Actor was Ben Johnson for The Last Picture Show, which is the one decision this year I really disagree with, mostly because I love Roy Scheider (and because Johnson didn’t do anything in the film).
Then you have The French Connection winning Best Picture and Best Director (which I talked about here), which I find to be amazing decisions because the film really signifies what the 70s were all about as a decade. Sure, people will say A Clockwork Orange should have won, but, me, I’ll take The French Connection any day. Kubrick belongs on his own level. But, that’s 1971. It might be considered weak compared to some other years from the 70s, but its actually very strong on its own.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1971
And the nominees were…
Ellen Burstyn, The Last Picture Show
Barbara Harris, Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?
Cloris Leachman, The Last Picture Show
Margaret Leighton, The Go-Between
Ann-Margret, Carnal Knowledge (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1960
Love me some 1960. That’s been the gist of all the articles I’ve written about it so far. The Apartment is one of my five favorite films of all time. I think it was one of the best Best Picture choices of all time. And I love Billy Wilder winning Best Director for it, though, as I said here, Hitchcock really should have won this for Psycho. It’s just a fact of life.
Then, Best Actor (which I talked about here) was Burt Lancaster for Elmer Gantry, which is just a wonderful decision, Best Actress was Elizabeth Taylor for BUtterfield 8, which, as I said here, was a tough situation, and has a reputation for being a terrible decision, and it is a terrible decision, but the Academy kind of had their hands tied here, so, I understand it. And Best Supporting Actor was Peter Ustinov for Spartacus, which is a great decision. Peter Ustinov is awesome.
The real reason I love this year though is the films. The Apartment, Psycho, The Sundowners, Elmer Gantry, Spartacus, Peeping Tom, The Magnificent Seven, Inherit the Wind, La Dolce Vita, Breathless — there are some great films that came out this year. That’s why I love me some 1960.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1960
And the nominees were…
Glynis Johns, The Sundowners
Shirley Jones, Elmer Gantry
Shirley Knight, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Janet Leigh, Psycho
Mary Ure, Sons and Lovers (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1998
This is a rough year for most people. It’s not just because Shakespeare in Love wins Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan. I don’t have a problem with that. Honestly, I don’t. Because, Steven Spielberg won Best Director for Ryan (as I talked about here), and I can live with the Best Picture choice as long as they made the proper Best Director choice to go along with it (which they didn’t do this past year). Gwyneth Paltrow also wins Best Actress for Shakespeare (which I talked about here), and Judi Dench wins Best Supporting Actress for the film as well (which is just awesome. Go Judi).
So, as it stands, we have a “weak” Best Picture choice, a weak Best Actress choice (sort of. It’s a weak overall choice. Based on the category, it’s kind of bad, but — well, just read my article for my full thoughts on the matter), a good, but not overly great Best Supporting Actress choice (though best in the category), and a perfect Best Director choice. That’s one, maybe two, out of four. And only one really strong one. The other three are questionable. Then, you have this category, which I’ll tell you right now — good from a historical perspective (James Coburn is awesome), terrible from a category perspective. Really terrible. And you have Best Actor, which was Roberto Benigni for Life is Beautiful. Which — that’s pretty much the nail in the coffin for 1998. This is one of those “let’s all just pretend this never happened” years.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1998
And the nominees were…
James Coburn, Affliction
Robert Duvall, A Civil Action
Ed Harris, The Truman Show
Geoffrey Rush, Shakespeare in Love
Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1993
1993. This recap will be quick. Schindler’s List. (See?) It wins Best Picture and Best Director for Steven Spielberg (which I talked about here). ‘Nuff Said. Then Tom Hanks wins Best Actor for Philadelphia, which, as I said here, I think is a terrible decision. Then Best Actor and Best Actress were Holly Hunter (which I agree with) and Anna Paquin (which I don’t agree with), respectively, for The Piano.
And then this category — it’s one of the most stacked Best Supporting Actor categories I have ever seen. It’s seriously incredible. And yet somehow, the Academy managed to pick the single worst performance they could have. Well, okay — second worst. Malkovich was probably the worst choice here (film-wise, not actor-wise). But, still — really? I love Tommy Lee Jones, I love The Fugitive, and I love his performance as Sam Gerard, but come the fuck on. Did you see what Ralph Fiennes, Leonardo DiCaprio and Pete Postlethwaite did this year? What the fuck?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1993
And the nominees were…
Leonardo DiCaprio, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
Ralph Fiennes, Schindler’s List
Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive
John Malkovich, In the Line of Fire
Pete Postlethwaite, In the Name of the Father (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1990
Hate me some 1990 real good. Dances with Wolves is one of the worst films to ever win Best Picture. It’s seriously just not a very good film at all. Goodfellas should have destroyed this year. Kevin Costner beating Martin Scorsese for Best Director (as I talked about here), is just laughable.
Then, the rest of the year isn’t that great either. Jeremy Irons wins Best Actor for Reversal of Fortune in one of the weakest Best Actor categories of all time. It was really bad. Then Kathy Bates won Best Actress for Misery, which I like as a decision (as I said here), especially considering the category. Then Whoopi Goldberg wins Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (which I talked about here), which is kind of a backhanded Oscar, since she really should have won for The Color Purple in 1985, and that fact is the only reason she got this Oscar. (It’s backhanded because she plays a (literal) magical negro in the film. The Academy are such dicks sometimes.)
Then, there’s this category, which for me is cut and dry and taken care of pretty easily. And I like that I can say that about one category in this god forsaken year. This is like the Desert of the Real in The Matrix — you look around like, “What happened?” And this category is that awesome red chair Morpheus sits in. That was a great chair.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1990
And the nominees were…
Bruce Davison, Longtime Companion
Andy Garcia, The Godfather Part III
Graham Greene, Dances with Wolves
Al Pacino, Dick Tracy
Joe Pesci, Goodfellas (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1982
I love 1982, more for the films that were nominated more than the decisions that were made. Because, Gandhi wins a bunch of awards, and, while I don’t think it needed Best Picture (or was the best film in the category), you can’t really say it was that bad a decision. Ben Kingsley wins Best Actor for it (which I talked about here), which is the most acceptable of the Gandhi awards (despite being in as tough a category as he was in), and Richard Attenborough wins Best Director for it, which (as I said here) I have to like, because it’s Gandhi and I love Richard Attenborough, but, there was a better choice there. Then Meryl Streep wins Best Actress for Sophie’s Choice — case closed — and Jessica Lange wins Best Supporting Actress for Tootsie.
Now, this category in particular is kind of tough. All the nominees are good, but not great. They’re all 2s and 3s for most years with no 1. It’s strange. But the voting aspect is something we’ll deal with later. First, let me fill you in on a bit of trivia with this category. the 1982 and 1983 Best Supporting Actor categories are the only two times two very respected actors were nominated for Oscars. Those actors are John Lithgow and Charles Durning. Both legends in their own right. And the only two times those two were nominated for Oscars, they happened to do so in the same category as each other. How weird is that?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1982
And the nominees were…
Charles Durning, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Lou Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman
John Lithgow, The World According to Garp
James Mason, The Verdict
Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria (more…)
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1981
I hate 1981 as an Oscar year. I love it as a year for great films and performances. All of it stems from the Academy selecting Chariots of Fire as Best Picture, which is the single worst picture in terms of quality to win Best Picture. Nothing comes close. This film is not good.
Then, Warren Beatty wins Best Director for Reds (talked about here) and Maureen Stapleton wins Best Supporting Actress for it, both of which are pretty acceptable decisions. Then Best Actor (talked about here) and Best Actress (talked about here) were Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn for On Golden Pond. Fonda’s Oscar had to happen, and there was no other alternative. It’s a great decision by default. Then Hepburn’s Oscar is acceptable, even though I’d have gone another way. So that’s 1981. Pretty solid, except for the terrible, awful, soul-crushing decision for Best Picture.
Which beings us to this category. I love it. Jack Nicholson always brings class to a category. Then you have Ian Holm, great actor. James Coco, who was fantastic in the role and was also in one of my favorite movies of all time, Murder by Death. And then there’s Howard Rollins, which, it’s nice to see a black guy get in there. And then John Gielgud. A living legend. Not to mention — Arthur is legit one of my top 20 favorite films of all time. It’s so fucking funny. I love this decision so much.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1981
And the nominees were…
James Coco, Only When I Laugh
John Gielgud, Arthur
Ian Holm, Chariots of Fire
Jack Nicholson, Reds
Howard Rollins Jr., Ragtime (more…)
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