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The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actor – 1976

I love 1976. How can you not? Taxi Driver, All the President’s Men, Network and Rocky. And Bound for Glory, but, whatever on that one. But those first four — wow. For me, 1976 was going to be a great year no matter what they chose for Best Picture. Personally I thought they made the best choice with Rocky, though I bet that’s the one choice people bitch about the most. Best Director for John G. Avildsesn — okay, fine, maybe Sidney Lumet or Alan Pakula should have won. But, hey, Avildsen also directed the Karate Kid, so at least he’s got two redeemable movies on his resume. I think that’s enough for him to have earned it (independent of those two.

Also this year, Peter Finch wins Best Actor for Network, which I swear I just talked about. Oh, wait, that was Beatrice Straight for Best Supporting Actress, which I talked about here. And also Faye Dunaway wins Best Actress for Network as well. So really that film swept almost every other major award at the ceremony except Picture, Director, and this one. This one, now, is a horse of a different color.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I love Jason Robards, but, he won twice, in a row, here and in 1977, and I feel as though he only needed one. And that’s really because, in this category, I really think someone else should have won. But, outside of that, can we all just agree on how amazingly stacked this category is, with the performances and the films they were in? Holy fuck it’s good, right?

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – 1976

And the nominees were…

Ned Beatty, Network

Burgess Meredith, Rocky

Laurence Olivier, Marathon Man

Jason Robards, All the President’s Men

Burt Young, Rocky Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  June 25, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day: “What have you done to Brad?” “Nothing. Why, do you think I should?”

Posted by  |  June 25, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Supporting Actress – 1968

1968. A pretty drab year. Not a bad one, because, they did make the best of what they had. But, not a very interesting one. Five relatively ho-hum Best Picture choices. Funny Girl, The Lion in Winter, Oliver!, Rachel, Rachel and Romeo and Juliet. I’d agree that of those choices, Oliver! is probably the best decision. (That or The Lion in Winter. Which feels too on-the-nose.) I think we’d all have something to rally around if, instead of the Paul Newman directorial effort on the list (you know that’s why they nominated it), they nominated 2001: A Space Odyssey instead. (I just heard like ten people go, “Oooh, yeah.”)

Also this year, Cliff Robertson wins Best Actor for Charly. Personally I’d have given Peter O’Toole his richly deserved Oscar for The Lion in Winter, but, whatever. Best Actress was a tie (the only exact tie in Academy history), with both Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter) and Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl) winning. Streisand was the one who should have won, so, at least she tied. Then Best Supporting Actor was Jack Albertson for The Subject was Roses (which I agree with, even though I’d have totally voted for Gene Wilder in The Producers). And finally, even though Stanley Kubrick really deserved Best Director for 2001, Carol Reed wins for Oliver!. This I’m actually very okay with, because Carol Reed deserved an Oscar twice over for his direction of The Third Man (which he got passed over for in favor of All About Eve. You tell me which was the better directorial effort there. [Oh yeah, it also beat Sunset Boulevard. Just sayin’.])

So, that’s why I consider this a pretty drab year. Not necessarily bad, but also — not as good as it could have been.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – 1968

And the nominees were…

Lynn Carlin, Faces

Rosemary Gordon, Rosemary’s Baby

Sondra Locke, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Kay Medford, Funny Girl

Estelle Parsons, Rachel, Rachel Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  June 24, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day: “You blew up my car. I really loved that car.”

Posted by  |  June 24, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Director – 1954

Oh, I love 1954 very much. Not necessarily as a year in and of itself (though I’m sure I can produce a nice list of great films that came out this year if I went to the trouble to do so), but in terms of the Oscars. How can you not like a year that includes On the Waterfront winning Best Picture, Best Director for Elia Kazan (his second), Best Actor for Marlon Brando, and Best Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint. Right there, you have what amounts to a near perfect year.

Also this year, you have the added bonus of Grace Kelly vs. Judy Garland for Best Actress, with Grace winning for The Country Girl. I haven’t yet decided who I’d vote for there. But it’s such a highly contested race, I might actually have it be the last category I do (maybe…we’ll see). And Best Supporting Actor this year was Edmond O’Brien for The Barefoot Contessa, mostly as a result of a vote split between the three Waterfront nominees (much like Supporting Actor 1972). Not one bad decision in the bunch. And the one that kind of was, was totally understandable because of the situation. Plus Edmond O’Brien is awesome. Just watch this. So, 1954 is a great year all around. We should be lucky to have a year like this.

BEST DIRECTOR – 1954

And the nominees were…

Alfred Hitchcock, Rear Window

Elia Kazan, On the Waterfront

George Seaton, The Country Girl

William A. Wellman, The High and the Mighty

Billy Wilder, Sabrina Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  June 23, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

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Pic of the Day

The General - 10

Posted by  |  June 23, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Actress – 1990

Oh boy, 1990. Just what I need. A year that lives in infamy. Dances with Wolves beats Goodfellas for Best Picture, and there, the Academy cemented their retarded selection process yet again. Kevin Costner beats Martin Scorsese for Best Director (which I talked about here), and that right there about tells you what the Academy thinks. Don’t dwell upon it too much, you might get brain damage.

Jeremy Irons wins Best Actor this year for Reversal of Fortune. This is mainly considered a makeup Oscar for a performance he wasn’t even nominated for. I’ll talk about that eventually. Best Supporting Actor goes to Joe Pesci for Goodfellas and Best Supporting Actress goes to Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost, which I talked about here. So, of the six categories this year, I can say, pretty definitively, the Academy made about — two good decisions. They made one that’s okay, one bad one, and two really bad ones. Which basically makes this a bad year for me almost all around. I hate 1990. It upsets me every time I see it.

BEST ACTRESS – 1990

And the nominees were…

Kathy Bates, Misery

Anjelica Huston, The Grifters

Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman

Meryl Streep, Postcards from the Edge

Joanne Woodward, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  June 22, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pic of the Day: “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I’m going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome.”

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - 308.png

Posted by  |  June 22, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Oscar Quest: Best Actor – 1953

Every time I talk about this year, I say, “I love 1953.” Wanna know why? Because 1953 is a fucking great year. I’ll spare you the list of films that came out this year — those are on the other articles. Just know, this year is great. And this category is great too. So that’s something we have going for us.

Best Picture this year, quite understandably (it’s got “prestige picture” written all over it), was From Here to Eternity. It wins that, along with Best Director for Fred Zinnemann (inevitable, since he didn’t win for High Noon the year before, and everyone acknowledged he should have), Best Supporting Actor for Frank Sinatra (which I talked about here), and Best Supporting Actress for Donna Reed. The other big award was Best Actress, which went to Audrey Hepburn for Roman Holiday, which I talked about here.

That’s really all there is to say. It’s a strong year with a pretty strong set of winners. I wouldn’t necessarily have made all the same choices, but, I agree most of the way with them, and that’s all I need, really. It’s a great year.

BEST ACTOR – 1953

And the nominees were…

Marlon Brando, Julius Caesar

Richard Burton, The Robe

Montgomery Clift, From Here to Eternity

William Holden, Stalag 17

Burt Lancaster, From Here to Eternity Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  June 21, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Oscars, The Oscar Quest | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pic of the Day: “Listen kid, I’m not gonna bullshit you, all right? I don’t give a good fuck what you know, or don’t know, but I’m gonna torture you anyway, regardless. Not to get information. It’s amusing, to me, to torture a cop.”

Posted by  |  June 21, 2011 | Categories: Movies, Pic of the Day | Tags: | Leave a comment