Winners indicated (*). I still need to see films like Celine and Julie Go Boating, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Martha, Effi Briest, Alice in the Cities, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Lacombe, Lucien, The Parallax View, Going Places, Daisy Miller, Sweet Movie, Claudine, Flash Gordon, Death Wish, Gone in 60 Seconds, Earthquake, Foxy Brown, Black Christmas, The Nickel Ride, Mame, The Odessa File, and Zardoz.
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| Chinatown |
BEST PICTURE:
Chinatown*
The Conversation
The Godfather Part II
Scenes from a Marriage
Young Frankenstein
BEST DIRECTOR:
Ingmar Bergman, Scenes from a Marriage
Mel Brooks, Young Frankenstein
Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation
Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part II
Roman Polanski, Chinatown*
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| The Godfather Part II |
BEST ACTOR:
Gene Hackman, The Conversation
Dustin Hoffman, Lenny
Erland Josephson, Scenes from a Marriage
Jack Nicholson, Chinatown
Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II*
BEST ACTRESS:
Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Brigitte Mira, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Charlotte Rampling, The Night Porter
Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence*
Liv Ullmann, Scenes from a Marriage
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| Scenes from a Marriage |
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
John Cazale, The Godfather Part II*
Robert De Niro, The Godfather Part II
John Huston, Chinatown
Kris Kristofferson, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Lee Strasberg, The Godfather Part II
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Faye Dunaway, Chinatown*
Diane Keaton, The Godfather Part II
Diane Ladd, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Valerie Perrine, Lenny
Talia Shire, The Godfather Part II
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| Lenny |
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
The Godfather Part II*
Lenny
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Young Frankenstein
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Blazing Saddles
Chinatown*
The Conversation
Scenes from a Marriage
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| The Conversation |
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Chinatown*
The Godfather Part II
Lenny
The Little Prince
Young Frankenstein
BEST FILM EDITING:
Chinatown
The Conversation*
The Godfather Part II
Phantom of the Paradise
Young Frankenstein
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| Young Frankenstein |
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
Chinatown*
The Godfather Part II
Phantom of the Paradise
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
"Blazing Saddles", Blazing Saddles
"Faust", Phantom of the Paradise*
"I Never Met a Rose", The Little Prince
"Little Prince", The Little Prince
"We May Never Love Like This Again", The Towering Inferno
Additional Categories
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| Phantom of the Paradise |
BEST ART DIRECTION:
Chinatown
The Godfather Part II*
The Island at the Top of the World
Phantom of the Paradise
Young Frankenstein
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
Chinatown*
The Godfather Part II
The Great Gatsby
Murder on the Orient Express
Phantom of the Paradise
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| The Taking of Pelham One Two Three |
BEST MAKEUP:
Phantom of the Paradise
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Young Frankenstein*
BEST SOUND (MIXING AND EDITING):
The Conversation
Phantom of the Paradise
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three*
The Towering Inferno
Young Frankenstein
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
The Little Prince
The Towering Inferno*
Young Frankenstein
Good stuff. '74 was such a great year. I love Chinatown, it's certainly a worthy choice, but I prefer The Godfather Part II, except oddly enough, I'd go with Nicholson over Pacino for Best Actor.
ReplyDeleteOf the ones you haven't seen, "Foxy Brown" is the blaxploitation classic that made Pam Grier a star. Like the best of the genre it's not necessarily a great film, but great fun. "Claudine" is often labeled blaxploitation, but I really don't think it is. Great performances from James Earl Jones and Diahann Carroll. And of course, "Flash Gordon" is cheesy fun.
Thanks. Great choices. '74 had a lot to love.
DeleteI really want to see all 3 of those films.
So glad you saw some of those movies that made my ballots (Phantom, Ali, Night Porter) and sad you missed some others! This year was brilliant all the way around, and your wins are exceptional!
ReplyDeleteThanks man! I'm bummed that I couldn't see Celine and Julie Go Boating, but I'll update my ballot whenever I can track it down. :)
DeleteBy the way, I decided to put Day for Night in '73, and it's my current runner-up behind Cries and Whispers. That movie was made for me!
When it comes to Foreign fare, I usually tend to go with the year that Oscar nominated it, especially if it received more than a mere Foreign Language nomination.
DeleteI usually do too. (For instance, I consider recent films like No and War Witch 2012 releases, since they were recognized at that Oscar ceremony.) From what I can tell, Day for Night was released in the US in 1973 though. I can't find a 1974 US release date for it, so I just stuck it in '73. :/
DeletePicture:
ReplyDeleteChinatown-Winner
The Godfather: Part II
Lenny
Murder on the Orient Express
Report to the Commissioner
A great year for film, all five of these films are classics including the under-appreciated Report to the Commissioner but Chinatown is so well written, complex and cleverly directed there are new things to discover with each viewing.
Director:
Francis Ford Coppola-The Godfather: Part II
Bob Fosse-Lenny
Sidney Lumet-Murder on the Orient Express
Roman Polanski-Chinatown-Winner
Joseph Sargent-The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
I love Pelham, it's an extremely tense thriller, but couldn't fit it in Picture. Sargent's direction is a huge piece of why, likewise Lumet's direction of Orient Express keeps his necessarily setbound film a lively and entertaining adventure. But Polanski's direction of Chinatown might be the best he's ever done.
Actor:
Warren Beatty-The Parallex View
Albert Finney-Murder on the Orient Express
Dustin Hoffman-Lenny-Winner
Michael Moriarty-Report to the Commissioner
Jack Nicholson-Chinatown
A great slate of performances. Finney really transforms himself into Hercule Poirot far beneath the terrific makeup job. Beatty, Moriarty and Nicholson, all playing investigators of one stripe or another find fantastic things in each character but it's Hoffman's almost frighteningly intense portrait of Lenny Bruce that is the most impactful.
Actress:
Ellen Burstyn-Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Diahann Carroll-Claudine
Faye Dunaway-Chinatown
Cloris Leachman-Young Frankenstein
Gena Rowlands-A Woman Under the Influence-Winner
Ellen is very fine in Alice, Diahann gritty and tough as Claudine and Cloris hilariously insane as Frau Blucher but it's between Faye and Gena. Both roles are so complex and both women's performances so good it was almost impossible to choose but Gena's more natural style feels more real than Faye's stylized, though highly skilled, technique.
Supporting Actor:
Peter Boyle-Young Frankenstein
John Cazale-The Godfather: Part II
Robert De Niro-The Godfather: Part II-Winner
Anthony Hopkins-Juggernaut
John Huston-Chinatown
Since I awarded Cazale for the first film I agree with the academy's choice of De Niro in the second in the series.
Supporting Actress:
Lauren Bacall-Murder on the Orient Express
Madeline Kahn-Blazing Saddles
Diane Ladd-Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Jan Miner-Lenny
Valerie Perrine-Lenny-Winner
I know Ingrid Bergman was nominated and won for her work in Orient Express but while she gave her customarily thoughtful performance I've always though Betty Bacall was the more deserving of a nod in that ensemble. She is fearlessly obnoxious, witty with a quip but once exposed shows a fragility under the braggadocio that is deeply touching. Madeline once again creates a comic masterwork and Diane Ladd's Flo is just right, a much more subtle reading than Polly Holliday's necessarily broad one in the follow up TV series. Although she competed in lead actress Valerie Perrine's role while key to the film feels supporting and had she been placed there she had a far stronger chance to win than in best actress. That said Jan Miner as Lenny's mother is wonderful, one of those quality supporting players that once they are given a worthy role makes the most of it. As terrific as she is Valerie really deserved to win, she's fearless as Honey.
Pelham and Lenny just missed Best Picture at #6 and #7 for me. I somehow missed Report to the Commissioner, so I'll have to give it a look. I love that Hoffman wins. He or Gene Hackman would be my runner-up. Perrine would've been my winner, but I consider Dunaway supporting.
Delete