This year feels really weak, though I haven't seen everything. I managed to get twelve images made again this week, so I'll finish the other categories later. Note: You can click on the images to enlarge them.
I still need to see films like Le Cercle Rouge, El Topo, Woodstock, Gimme Shelter, Le Boucher, The Wild Child, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, The Great White Hope, Catch-22, Kelly's Heroes, Waterloo, Diary of a Mad Housewife, Brewster McCloud, The Landlord, Joe, I Walk the Line, A Man Called Horse, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Zabriskie Point, and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
BEST ART DIRECTION:
The Conformist*
Fellini Satyricon
Patton
Scrooge
Women in Love
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
The Conformist*
Fellini Satyricon
Little Big Man
Scrooge
Women in Love
BEST MAKEUP:
Little Big Man
Ryan's Daughter
Scrooge*
BEST SOUND (MIXING AND EDITING):
Airport
The Conformist*
M*A*S*H
Patton
Tora! Tora! Tora!
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Patton
Scrooge
Tora! Tora! Tora!*
I love the Nicholson win (my winner as well), but where is Sutherland!?!?! He was hilarious in MASH. I have The Conformist in 71, because it was nominated for Top Tier Oscars in that year. I have so much left to see from this year, to be honest. I think I've seen about seven films...
ReplyDeleteDon't worry: Sutherland shows up in 1980. ;) Ha, I kept The Conformist and The Passion of Anna in this year because it feels so weak.
DeleteThe only movie I've seen out of all of these is the Aristocats. I suck lol
ReplyDeleteHaha, I still have dozens I want to see from this year.
DeleteI think Ryan's Daughter is a fascinating film, it would certainly be in my best picture line-up. Also I have Women in Love as my greatest guilty pleasure ever, Glenda is sensational, she'd be my winner, but I've read just great things about Sophia Loren in Sunflower, what do you think about her?
ReplyDeleteRyan's Daughter is very underrated, and it's currently in my top 10 this year. Ha, Women in Love is a great guilty pleasure. I'm kind of surprised at the Oscar attention it received. I haven't seen Sunflower, but I'm intrigued by the praise for Loren.
DeleteWow, so I really need to see A Swedish Love Story as soon as possible. Thrilled that the ladies from The Passion of Anna got some love!
ReplyDeleteASLS is SO GOOD man. I don't know if it's available on DVD, but it's on Youtube. Oh, the ladies in Anna are magnificent! Love that film.
DeleteThis year was rough! I had a harder time coming up with enough competitors in every category than any other. Of all the films I really only felt one was worthy of the win. There are several key films and performances I'm missing and also some films I love, Airport chief among them, which I like for their entertainment value but would never say were the best film of the year. Even with the missing films it feels like a thin year.
ReplyDeletePicture:
Five Easy Pieces
Little Big Man
M*A*S*H-Winner
Rio Lobo
Ryan's Daughter
The only one even close to M*A*S*H's level is Pieces but it can be maddeningly diffuse. I realize that in some way that's the point of that film but it made it hard for me to connect to.
Director:
Robert Altman-M*A*S*H-Winner
Howard Hawks-Rio Lobo
David Lean-Ryan's Daughter
Arthur Penn-Little Big Man
Bob Rafaelson-Five Easy Pieces
I'm not a huge Altman fan but when his films come together like this one there are few better.
Actor:
Alan Bates-Women in Love
Melvyn Douglas-I Never Sang for My Father-Winner
Elliott Gould-M*A*S*H
Jack Nicholson-Five Easy Pieces
Donald Sutherland-M*A*S*H
This was the only category where I had an excess of possibilities and had to exclude James Earl Jones-The Great White Hope, Jason Robards-The Ballad of Cable Hogue, George C. Scott-Patton and George Segal in Loving. Bates is terrific in a complicated role, he's one of my favorite actors. I'm not that great of an admirer of Nicholson's later work but when he was young he gave some very fine performances, Five Easy Pieces is one of them. Gould and Sutherland are both very strong in their film but they're a pair, I couldn't say one was better than the other. I noticed you had Melvyn and Gene in reverse order of the academy and their roles could be judged either way but I felt Douglas was ever so slightly the main character. Either way both are great, perhaps not the nicest people but very real and my winners in both categories.
Actress:
Julie Christie-The Go-Between
Glenda Jackson-Women in Love
Liza Minnelli-Tell Me You Love Me, Junie Moon
Eva Marie Saint-Loving
Stella Stevens-The Ballad of Cable Hogue-Winner
Stella Stevens, a delightful actress who came along at the wrong time in Hollywood, was finally handed a role equal to her talent and she does wonderful things with it. It's a mystery why in a weak year the performance didn't gain more awards traction but at least for me she's the clear winner. The other four women are all very good although I think Glenda in the deceptively named Women in Love is a supporting character to the Bates/Reed dynamic.
Supporting Actor:
Richard Castellano-Lovers and Other Strangers
Gene Hackman-I Never Sang for My Father-Winner
Van Heflin-Airport
John Mills-Ryan's Daughter
David Warner-The Ballad of Cable Hogue
As with Douglas the man grappling with his feelings for his ailing father may not be the most perfect guy but Hackman makes him touching and real.
Supporting Actress:
Karen Black-Five Easy Pieces
Lee Grant-The Landlord
Sally Kellerman-M*A*S*H
Margaret Leighton-The Go-Between
Maureen Stapleton-Airport-Winner
Despite my love of Airport and my enjoyment of Helen Hayes's elfin Ada Quonsett the performance is a vaudeville turn, appropriate for the role but hardly worthy of an Oscar especially when in the same film is some really beautiful work. Stapleton's Inez is meticulously observed and full of subtle touches, the scene where she finds out her husband is on the plane and watches in hopeless bewilderment as it leaves is worth the statue alone.
Yeah, this year feels particularly weak. I love the M*A*S*H nods, and it's nice to see Ryan's Daughter in your top 5. It's also interesting that you don't nominate George C. Scott. I've never even heard of Stella Stevens, so I'll have to check out her performance.
DeleteStella Stevens's main recognition these days is probably as Linda Rogo, Borgnine's fun wife in The Poseidon Adventure, but she was a very skillful comedienne, as well as a decent dramatic actress, in The Nutty Professor, How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life and The Courtship of Eddie's Father and other frothy comedies. She had the bad luck to arrive on the scene at a point when just as she was being cast in those leads that sort of fluffy comedy went out of fashion. She's had a long career as a character actress but mostly in second string junk. A shame since she was much more talented than the material handed her.
ReplyDeleteOh, I didn't realize she was in The Poseidon Adventure, and it's been years since I've seen The Nutty Professor. I need to give those other performances a look.
Delete