This year seems a little weak, but I love the films in my Best Picture lineup. I made images for all of the categories again this week. As a reminder, Kieslowski's Blind Chance was made this year, but I have it on my 1987 ballot, since it wasn't released until that year. Note: You can click on the images to enlarge them.
I still need to see films like The Woman Next Door, Ragtime, Lili Marleen, They All Laughed, Scanners, Absence of Malice, The History of the World: Part I, Christiane F., The Howling, S.O.B., Raggedy Man, The Four Seasons, Marianne and Juliane, Le Professionnel, Southern Comfort, Only When I Laugh, Ms. 45, Taps, Dragonslayer, Heartaches, Continental Divide, and My Bloody Valentine.
Looking over this, it does look like a fairly weak year. My one sure fire change to what you have is I'd go with Kathleen Turner for Best Actress. Good work, once again.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I can't argue with giving Best Actress to Turner. She's fantastic in that film.
DeleteOH MY GOD!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe have the same acting winners and like practically the same freaking lineups!!!! I love these!!! Diva!!! Lola!! Pennies from Heaven!!
Knew you'd like these. ;) It's the first time our acting winners are the same! By the way, Pennies from Heaven was SO GOOD!! It's in my top 100 now.
DeleteI counted, and we have 58 matching nominees! Both our Supporting Actor and our Art Direction lineups are identical!
DeleteUGH, I love that you love Pennies from Heaven!!!!!
Ooh, LOVE it!
DeletePennies from Heaven was wonderful!! It was so close to winning several awards!
I'm with you Blow Out, Raiders, Body Heat, Werewolf in London, Mad Max 2, and Possesion deserve praise. Dinner with Andre, the conversations are interesting, just I found it draining listening to those two guys for a whole movie :)
ReplyDeleteOf the films you haven't seen, I'd start with Christiane F, which is an unforgettable German film that I rated 9 out of 10. Never heard of Diva, you seem to have liked it a lot!
Yeah, conversation movies don't always work. I think films like the Before trilogy work better, but I did like Andre quite a bit.
DeleteI actually saw Christiane F. on your '81 list on Letterboxd. ;) I'd never heard of it before, but I really want to see it at some point!
I watched Diva because Drew of A Fistful of Films nominated it for several Fisti Awards. It's a great little French thriller.
UGH! Diva! That movie is just so wonderful. Nate over at The Film Experience actually turned me onto that one YEARS ago. He used to have a page of his personal awards, and this was one of his favorites from 81 so I checked it out and fell in love. Sadly, he doesn't have that page anymore :-(
DeleteFunny you should mention my year lists on letterboxd. Today, I finally made the links easier to locate by adding them all (1920-2014) to my yearly top 10 page.
DeleteDiva I might watch, if I like the directors best known film Betty Blue (1986)
@Fisti: I love Nate's awards! Too bad he doesn't have that page anymore.
Delete@Chris: I like Betty Blue a lot, but I prefer Diva. ;)
1981 was a thin year. I found it much harder to come up with nominees, except in Best Actor, than in the 40's that I'm working my through. I've yet to see Mephisto and while I was impressed with Sukowa's performance I didn't care for the film it was contained in. I'll have to give Diva another look, I think my expections were too high, it took me forever to track it down and then I liked it but wasn't blown away.
ReplyDeletePicture:
Atlantic City
Blow Out
Excalibur
Pennies from Heaven
Raiders of the Lost Ark-Winner
I'll never understand how the extraordinarily dull Chariots of Fire beat Raiders, or anything else for that matter. I love the mythic sweep of Excalibur but no movie was better or more fun this year than Raiders.
Director:
John Boorman-Excalibur
Brian De Palma-Blow Out
Louis Malle-Atlantic City
Steven Spielberg-Raiders of the Lost Ark-Winner
Peter Weir-Gallipoli
Spielberg has made many fine films but this one showed more than any of the others he understood how to make a film work, move and be entertaining all at the same time and better than any other film in contention.
Actor:
Sean Connery-Outland
Richard Dreyfuss-Who's Life Is It Anyway?
Harrison Ford-Raiders of the Lost Ark-Winner
John Heard-Cutter's Way
John Travolta-Blow Out
Other worthy work: Mel Gibson-Gallipoli, Burt Lancaster-Atlantic City, Steve Martin-Pennies from Heaven and Treat Williams-Prince of the City
Excellent work by all but no matter how well Spielberg directed Raiders without Ford's full bodied work, and charisma, the trip wouldn't have been half as much fun.
Actress:
Faye Dunaway-Mommie Dearest
Diane Keaton-Reds
Susan Sarandon-Atlantic City
Barbara Sukowa-Lola
Kathleen Turner-Body Heat-Winner
I know Dunaway's work is reviled by many and wrecked her career but it is a full on almost Kabuki performance that is fearless in it's audacity, the picture surrounding her and her director let her down but she fully committed to the role. Kathleen Turner would still be my pick though giving the kind of noir performance that Stanwyck, Greer or Grahame could have given if code restiction had been slackened at the time.
Supporting Actor:
Paul Freeman-Raiders of the Lost Ark
John Gielgud-Arthur
Sean Penn-Taps
Rod Steiger-The Chosen
Nicol Williamson-Excalibur-Winner
'81 wasn't a strong year for male supporting roles and while Gielgud was terrific in Arthur in all the sweeping mysticism of Excalibur no one was having more fun than Williamson or giving the audience more pleasure.
Supporting Actress:
Karen Allen-Raiders of the Lost Ark-Winner
Ava Gardner-The Priest of Love
Christine Lahti-Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Helen Mirren-Excalibur
Frances Sternhagen-Outland
I love to find good work in a bad movie and Ava Gardner's work in the otherwise wretched Priest of Love is that film's only redeeming feature. Christine Lahti's gives a beautiful reading of Dreyfuss's conflicted physician in Whose Life. Helen Mirren's flashy performance almost matches Nicol Williamson's in Excalibur and I love Sternhagen's crabby but resourceful doctor in Outland. But Karen Allen's spunky, resourceful Marion makes the picture almost as much as Ford's Indiana, too bad she was never in the sequels.
Great work, as usual. I can't argue with any of your winners, even if I'm not a big fan of Dunaway's performance. Also, Williamson just missed my Best Supporting Actor lineup. I didn't like Excalibur as much, but it is a very entertaining film. I really need to see Whose Life Is It Anyway?, which I've never even heard of.
DeleteLOVE Raiders of the Lost Ark! Boy that movie just never gets old. Nice to see Karen Allen got a mention.
ReplyDeleteYay! I've loved that film ever since I was a child. Karen Allen used to be my winner, until I moved Sarandon to Supporting.
DeleteGreat work! I love the praise for Possession and Atlantic City. Two great films that aren't discussed enough today. Adjani is insane in that movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks man! I know you're not an Indiana Jones fan, but I love that you also dig Possession and Atlantic City. Adjani is so ON in that performance. When I update my top 100 performances list soon, she'll probably be on there.
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