Latest
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1973
This category always makes me perk up. It’s not that it’s a particularly strong category. It’s just that there are two nominees who were so amazingly good that they’d probably be easy winners in most years. And they’re both under the age of 15. That’s what’s so great about it. In case you didn’t know, I’m a sucker for child actor performances. Especially the precocious child role. I love when they give kids adult dialogue. It’s just so entertaining. And Tatum O’Neal in Paper Moon is the epitome of that type of performance. That’s why I love this category so much.
As for the rest of the year — it’s pretty great. The Sting wins Best Picture and (finally) Best Director for George Roy Hill (which I talked about here). Jack Lemmon wins a long overdue Best Actor for Save the Tiger, which was a great decision. Then Best Actress was Glenda Jackson for A Touch of Class, which in itself is not a terrible decision, but is terrible based on the fact that Glenda Jackson had already won Best Actress in 1970 in the worst Best Actress decision of all time. I talked about her ’73 win here. And finally, John Houseman wins Best Supporting Actor for The Paper Chase, which I consider a poor, but understandable decision. I talked about it here. So, in all, I consider 1973 an overall very good year, not the least of which is because of this category, which I consider a fantastic decision.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1973
And the nominees were…
Linda Blair, The Exorcist
Candy Clark, American Graffiti
Madeline Kahn, Paper Moon
Tatum O’Neal, Paper Moon
Sylvia Sidney, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Read the rest of this page »
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1986
1986 is, well, the year of Platoon. I don’t really know how to feel about this year because, while I like Platoon, I like The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now more. And for some reason that taints my feeling of Platoon in a stand-alone Oscar year. I don’t really get it either.
Platoon wins Best Picture and Best Director for Oliver Stone. There wasn’t really a better choice to be made there, so I guess that makes it good. I mean, Children of a Lesser God is great, but — not Platoon. And Paul Newman finally wins his Best Actor for The Color of Money, playing the same character he should have won the Oscar for playing 25 years earlier in The Hustler. Marlee Matlin wins Best Actress for Children of a Lesser God, which is a great decision (because while Kathleen Turner and Sigourney Weaver were great, they were in Peggy Sue Got Married and Aliens. Did you really think they were gonna win Best Actress for those films?) And Best Supporting Actress was Dianne Wiest for Hannah and Her Sisters, because, well, there wasn’t really another choice (though naturally, I’d have gone another way).
So, I guess, in all, 1986 is a fine year. No real terrible decision to be made. Actually, I guess that would make it a good year. Wouldn’t it?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1986
And the nominees were…
Tom Berenger, Platoon
Michael Caine, Hannah and Her Sisters
Willem Dafoe, Platoon
Denholm Elliott, A Room with a View
Dennis Hopper, Hoosiers Read the rest of this page »
The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1953
I love 1953. I say it every time, but I really do. If you want to see just how much I love 1953, read my articles where I talk about Best Actor for this year, William Holden for Stalag 17, Best Actress for this year, Audrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday, and Best Supporting Actor for this year, Frank Sinatra for From Here to Eternity. See that? I recapped without having to do all the rigamarole I did in those other articles. Also, Best Picture this year was From Here to Eternity and Donna Reed won Best Supporting Actress for it. It was a great year for movies, and an understandable Best Picture choice. While it wouldn’t have been my first choice (I love Roman Holiday and Shane), it’s still a good one, and a classy one. It’s a great film.
And this category — it works out about as well as one could hope for. The year before this, Fred Zinnemann should have been a shoo-in Best Director for High Noon. Everyone acknowledges he should have won (ditto the film for Best Picture). The reason it didn’t was because it was a thinly-veiled allegory against blacklisting. And the Academy doesn’t like controversy. So they played it safe, and chose The Greatest Show on Earth as Best Picture, which is a good film, but not a Best Picture. And since that film isn’t really the right choice, they went with John Ford for Best Director, for The Quiet Man. Which, is a gorgeous example of great directing, and he might well have won anyway, but, he had three Oscars by that point. Most people acknowledge he won because they didn’t want to vote for Zinnemann. Which is why it worked out that Zinnemann won this year. He won for the year’s Best Picture winner and for a film he directed a year earlier. Win-win. (P.S. This category is fucking stacked!)
BEST DIRECTOR – 1953
And the nominees were…
George Stevens, Shane
Charles Walters, Lili
Billy Wilder, Stalag 17
William Wyler, Roman Holiday
Fred Zinnemann, From Here to Eternity Read the rest of this page »
The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1976
1976. This has been coming up a lot lately. Which is good, since, the year is so good all around, everyone pretty much knows about it. I mean, Rocky, Network, All the President’s Men, Taxi Driver? It didn’t matter what won Best Picture there. Though, for my money, Rocky was the best choice. John G. Avildsen wins Best Director for it, which, okay, maybe not the best choice of the bunch, but, understandable.
As for the rest of the categories — Faye Dunaway wins Best Actress for Network. She was way overdue by this point, so that’s understandable. Beatrice Straight wins Best Supporting Actress for it as well (which I talked about here). Jason Robards wins Best Supporting Actress for All the President’s Men (which I talked about here). Which brings us to this category.
A lot’s been said about this category over the years. A lot of people cry foul that Robert De Niro didn’t win here for Taxi Driver. My first run-through, seeing these nominees, I couldn’t see how William Holden didn’t win for Network. But, looking at what happened around this category, I don’t see how this isn’t considered a good decision.
BEST ACTOR – 1976
And the nominees were…
Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver
Peter Finch, Network
Giancarlo Giannini, Seven Beauties
William Holden, Network
Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Read the rest of this page »
The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1992
Unforgiven. There’s really nothing more I need to say about 1992. It was a great year. Eastwood wins Best Director for it (which I talked about here). Al Pacino finally wins Best Actor, for Scent of a Woman (which I talked about here), Emma Thompson wins Best Actress for Howards End, and Marisa Tomei wins Best Supporting Actress for My Cousin Vinny. Really not a bad decision in the bunch.
And now this category. Another one of those, good decision by default, ones. There really wasn’t much else they could to here.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1992
And the nominees were…
Gene Hackman, Unforgiven
Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game
Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men
Al Pacino, Glengarry Glen Ross
David Paymer, Mr. Saturday Night Read the rest of this page »
B+ Movie Blog 