2008 - The year the industry fell for the underdog

It's been a while that my film year revisit has been such a modern year but as is the case when my exploration comes in a very random order. Anyone 2008 is a rather weak year for film even on this revisit the amount of stellar films is just not as high as what I would want from any year. This is especially present in the eventual best picture winner which was Slumdog Millionaire a film which I liked it parts at the time but on retrospective I continued to hate the film even more. The film has a great ending dance number and that's about it, how this film came from Danny Boyle is beyond me and should've stayed as a straight to DVD film like the plan was for it to be. The field as competition was equally as unexciting: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader. Slumdog is probably my least favourite of the five which makes the win even sorer. Benjamin Button is a Fincher film but not really your typical Fincher film which is why this film was probably embraced because even with a story so odd it's such an unconventional feature. Frost/Nixon is such a boring and stale film adaptation of a play filled with such life. Langella makes it worth watching but sadly Howard crafted such a flat and uneventful film to back him up, Milk is a fun and riot of a true to life bio drama. Penn is especially effortless and Sant makes a film worth your time that is why I see it as my choice from these five films. Finally is The Reader the film that changed the way best picture is presented due to it's surprise inclusion to the mainstream. The film is typical edge of your seat drama which is quite heavy to get through and through the camera of Daldry quite dry and dull that the nomination makes the field look even bleaker for something I consider all time great. So really the academy goes to show how unexciting the race became which sort of reflects my feelings of the year in film.

Anyway away from being depressed and now I'm going to move on and discuss what I feel is the best film had to offer in 2008. Charlie Kaufman is the creative genius of the modern film industry and with his directorial debut Synecdoche, New York he continues his train of exceptional films. This might be my favourite because it's completely his creation from a scripting level all the way to his camera. The film is such a love letter to theater which is such a main staple of my life and seeing someone so dedicated to the art through the portrayal of Philip Seymour Hoffman is a love of theater and life I don't think I've seen as strong before or since. No one other than Kaufman would've been able to craft an expert film like this and while some might be turned off by it's look and feel I was completely devastated. The Dark Knight is my runner up, blockbuster film making has been affected for the worse by this 2008 feature but that in no way takes from my enjoyment of this film. In the 8 years since gritty and dark has been done all wrong but Nolan just had the perfect formula with Dark Knight. Whether it's the exceptional stunts or the sadly departed Heath Ledger in a role he has put his stamp on and no matter what will be so synonymous with the role. Nolan is a director I respect more than love however with Dark Knight I feel both emotions for his work. Darren Aronofsky is for sure an underrated film maker that was overlooked for nearly 20 years until 2010's Black Swan however 2 years before he crafted a true to life underdog drama starring the unmatched Mickey Rourke. Who would've guessed Rourke a teen idol burned by time could deliver a performance this lived and experienced that his loss is considered so heartbreaking since that night in 2009. The film supports Rourke being so unwilling to give up and wanting to succeed which thankfully it does. Steve McQueen fresh out of art school broke big with Hunger his debut feature. Fassbender was such a find playing Bobby Sands and while the two went onto bigger and better things that is in no way a slight on Hunger. My final choice for best picture is the underrated Woody Allen gem Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Sure many have praised Penelope Cruz to the heavens (deservedly so) but the entire film is a rolicking fun adventure through Spain. Rebecca Hall is quite marvelous in a lead role and her Vicky is such an engaging character that whether we are dealing with her life problems or any of the other 2 female leads it's a pleasurable film to watch.

The amount of 2008 films I've seen is a lot and like I've said before it's not an overall great year but the film I have near the top are some truly great films. Below is my list of winners and nominees I would've chosen for 2008.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

01. Synecdoche, New York (Produced by Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel & Anthony Bregman)

02. The Dark Knight (Produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven & Christopher Nolan)

03. The Wrestler (Produced by Darren Aronofsky & Scott Franklin)

04. Hunger (Produced by Laura Hastings-Smith & Robin Gutch)

05. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Produced by Letty Aronson, Jaume Roures, Stephen Tenenbaum & Gareth Wiley)

06. Rachel Getting Married

07. Let the Right One In

08. Frozen River

09. Man on Wire

10. WALL•E

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Tomas Alfredson for Let the Right One In

Darren Aronofsky for The Wrestler

Charlie Kaufman for Synecdoche, New York

Steve McQueen for Hunger

Christopher Nolan for The Dark Knight

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sandsin "HUNGER"

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Caden Cotard in "SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK"

Richard Jenkins as Walter Vale in "THE VISITOR"

Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in "MILK"

Mickey Rourke as Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in "THE WRESTLER"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Juliette Binoche as Suzanne in "FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON"

Rebecca Hall as Vicky in "VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA"

Anne Hathaway as Kym in "RACHEL GETTING MARRIED"

Sally Hawkins as Poppy in "HAPPY-GO-LUCKY"

Melissa Leo as Ray Eddy in "FROZEN RIVER"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Liam Cunningham as Father Dominic Moran in "HUNGER"

Ralph Fiennes as The Duke in "THE DUCHESS"

Bill Irwin as Paul in "RACHEL GETTING MARRIED"

Heath Ledger as The Joker in "THE DARK KNIGHT"

Brad Pitt as Chad Feldheimer in "BURN AFTER READING"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena in "VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA"

Rosemarie DeWitt as Rachel in "RACHEL GETTING MARRIED"

Lina Leandersson as Eli in "LET THE RIGHT ONE IN"

Tilda Swinton as Elizabeth Abbott in "THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON"

Marisa Tomei as Cassidy in "THE WRESTLER"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Enda Walsh & Steve McQueen for Hunger

Dustin Lance Black for Milk

Jenny Lumet for Rachel Getting Married

Charlie Kaufman for Synecdoche, New York

Woody Allen for Vicking Cristina Barcelona

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by François Bégaudeau, Robin Campillo & Laurent Cantet; Based on The Class by François Bégaudeau, The Class

Screenplay by Eric Roth; Story by Eric Roth & Robin Swicord; Based on "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Screenplay by Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan; Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer; Based on Characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, The Dark Knight

Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley; Based on Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

Screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist; Based on Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

Kung Fu Panda (Directed by Mark Osborne and John Wayne Stevenson)

WALL•E (Directed by Andrew Stanton)

Waltz with Bashir (Directed by Ari Folman)

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by Catherine Martin; Set Design by Beverley Dunn for Australia

Production Design by Donald Graham Burt; Set Design by Victor J. Zolfo for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Production Design by Nathan Crowley; Set Design by Peter Lando for The Dark Knight

Production Design by Mark Friedberg; Set Design by Lydia Marks for Synecdoche, New York

Production Design by Ralph Eggleston for WALL•E

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married)

Michael Fassbender (Hunger)

Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)

Misty Upham (Frozen River)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Claudio Miranda for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Wally Pfister for The Dark Knight

Sean Bobbitt for Hunger

Hoyte Van Hoytema for Let the Right One In

Frederick Elmes for Synecdoche, New York

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Catherine Martin for Australia

Jacqueline West for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Michael O'Connor for The Duchess

Danny Glicker for Milk

Gabriela Salaverri for Savage Grace

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY:

Man on Wire (Directed by James Marsh)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

Burn After Reading (George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, J. K. Simmons, Elizabeth Marvel, David Rasche, Jeffrey DeMunn, Devin Rumer, Olek Krupa, Dermot Mulroney)

A Christmas Tale (Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Paul Roussillon, Anne Consigny, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuelle Devos, Laurent Capelluto, Chiara Mastroianni, Hippolyte Girardot, Emile Berling, Françoise Bertin)

Rachel Getting Married (Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Debra Winger, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Victoria Haynes, Jerome LePage, Carol-Jean Lewis, Fab 5 Freddy, Robyn Hitchcock, Sister Carol East, Beau Sia, Andre Blake, Roger Corman, Tamyra Gray, Kyrah Julian, Roslyn Ruff, Sebastian Stan)

Synecdoche, New York (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Hope Davis, Tom Noonan, Sadie Goldstein, Robin Weigert, Deirdre O'Connell, Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen, Josh Pais, Daniel London, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Amy Wright, Paul Sparks, John Rothman, Frank Wood, Elizabeth Marvel, Daisy Tahan, Cliff Carpenter, Amy Spanger, Nick Wyman, Dan Ziskie, Rosemary Murphy, Tim Guinee, Joe Lisi, Alice Drummond, Michael Higgins, Christopher Evan Welch, Peter Friedman)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Robin Campillo & Stephanie Ledger for The Class

Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Lee Smith for The Dark Knight

Joe Walker for Hunger

Robert Frazan for Synecdoche, New York

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Che: Parts I & II (Directed by Steven Soderbergh)

A Christmas Tale (Directed by Arnaud Desplechin)

The Class (Directed by Laurent Cantet)

The Edge of Heaven (Directed by Fatih Akin)

Let the Right One In (Directed by Thomas Alfredson)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

John Caglione, Jr. & Conor O'Sullivan for The Dark Knight

Mike Elizalde & Thom Floutz for Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Maria Strid for Let the Right One In

Judy Chin, Naomi Donne & Mike Marino for Synecdoche, New York

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE:

Alexandre Desplat for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Carter Burwell for In Bruges

Johan Söderqvist for Let the Right One In

A. .R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire

Thomas Newman for WALL•E

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

"Dracula's Lament", Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Music and Lyrics by Jason Segel)

"Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire (Music by A. R. Rahman; Lyrics by Gulzar)

"O Saya", Slumdog Millionaire (Music and Lyrics by A. R. Rahman and M.I.A.)

"I'm Just a Little Person", Synecdoche, New York (Music and Lyrics by Jon Brion & Charlie Kaufman)

"The Wrestler", The Wrestler (Music and Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Robert Downey Jr. (The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder)

Ralph Fiennes (The Duchess, In Bruges, The Reader)

Richard Jenkins (Burn After Reading, Step Brothers, The Visitor)

Angelina Jolie (Changling, Kung Fu Panda, Wanted)

Tilda Swinton (Burn After Reading, The Chronciles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Curious Base of Benjamin Button)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING:

Douglas Murray, Will Files, Luke Dunn Gielmuda, Robert Shoup, Josh Gold, Andrea Gard, Steve Bissinger & Kim Foscato for Cloverfield

Richard King for The Dark Knight

Frank Eulner & Christopher Boyes for Iron Man

Dane A. Davis, William R. Dean, David A. Whittaker, Drew Yerys, Bryan O. Watkins, Christopher S. Aud, Adam Kopald, David Werntz, Mike Chock & Tom Ozanich for Speed Racer

Ben Burtt & Matthew Wood for WALL•E

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

Olivier Mauvezin, Agnes Ravez & Jean-Pierre Laforce for The Class

Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo & Ed Novick for The Dark Knight

Christopher Boyes, Sean England & Lora Hirschberg for Iron Man

Michael Semanick & Ben Burtt for WALL•E

Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño & Petr Forejt for Wanted

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton & Craig Barron for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber & Paul Franklin for The Dark Knight

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick & Shane Mahan for Iron Man

Mark Russell, Richard Friedlander, Eric J. Robertson & Brett Miller for Synecdoche, New York

After a recent revisit going far back in history seems just right. 1959 will be my next revisit when Ben-Hur dominated and won a total of 11 academy awards. Do I agree with this choice come back and see.

1945 - The year the industry embraced the alcoholic

1940's cinema like many of the earlier decades for cinema features my least amout of films seen because most of what I've seen in cinema is the more modern cinema due to my age and also places I can view film. 1945 like many of the years from it's decade is underseen with me really only have seen two films prior to my revisit. Lucky one of those films I'd seen prior was the big winner at the academy awards themselves. The Lost Weekend Billy Wilder's follow up picture to Double Indemnity while a good film is in no way top tior Wilder for me. Ray Milland is marvelous in the film and the film itself is a milestone in the cinematic landscape due to it's themes and matter of fact approach to them. For a film to so unapologethically approach the nature of alcoholism like this film does is a marvel. The film is however let down by it's age and certain parts of the film have not aged well (i.e. Jane Wyman's problematic performance). However I do consider the film a worthwhile watch. The other films nominated for picture in 1945 include Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary's, Mildred Pierce and Spellbound. Anchors Aweigh would've been my choice for picture because I find the film a purely delighful film featuring Gene Kelly in one of his signature performances. St. Mary's the worst of the bunch and as a followup to Going My Way from the year before even to a lackluster film like the previous one this sequel of sorts was an awful experience to watch. Mildred Pierce is iconic for a reason and Crawford does wonders in the role, even if moments fall flat there's so much in the film to like that I find it endlessly watchable. The final nominee Spellbound is one of the Hitchcock films from this period while I like is not a game changing or endlessly watchable as his others that I have to sort of not agree with the choice of this film even though I love most of it.

The year may've not been properly remembered by the best picture nominees but there are some great films to discuss that came out this year. My favourite film and best overall from 45 is Elia Kazan's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Kazan as I've mentioned previously has a way with actors and the ensemble from the youngest child actor to oldest adult actor are so strong that they make the material which could've been too small so engrossing that I find it to be one of Kazan's best. In the film I need to give special mention to Peggy Ann Garner my choice for best actress an actress young in her age but under Kazan's direction gives a magicial turn that I can't really think of a young performance so well thought out that I've seen since (there has been a lot of great child performances since but nothing like Garner's). Anchors weigh is my runner up and I just have to mention again how special Gene Kelly was to cinema and this might be my favourite performance of his because he clearly enjoys every second he is on screen. Spellbound while not top tior Hitchcock is a film I love. It mainly comes down to the trior of actors Hitchcock assembled including the sublime Ingrid Bergman, eye catching Cary Grant and respectable Michael Chekhov. The film your typical 40's thriller is made better by their inclusion. My next choice would by The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Powell and Pressburger so impecable during this period hit it strong again with Colonel Blimp for me. Handling a film telling a multi timeline story with such care and attention is a feat in itself. Actually making a film with a love to say on life and death as the title suggests is what added to making this dynamic duo as special as they were. My final choice for picture would've been The Story of G.I. Joe. A war film was nothing new during this period of world war II but I just really found myself taken by Joe, this may be due to Robert Mitchum who in every role I've seen him in has been like no actor I've seen on screen before. Mitchum is both the most masculine person in the room while also being the emotional person to walk across the screen. The film around Mitchum is also great.

31 is the amount of films I've seen from this year and while the films I rank highest are especially strong for the most part the year is a lot weaker than I was expecting. This is clearly shown in the academies choices but below is what I would've chosen to make the year look a lot stronger.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Produced by Louis D. Lighton)

2. Anchors Aweigh (Produced by Joe Pasternak)

3. Spellbound (Produced by David O. Selznick)

4. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Produced by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger)

5. The Story of G.I. Joe (Produced by Lester Cowan)

6. The Lost Weekend

7. Dillinger

8. Fallen Angel

9. Leave Her to Heaven

10. Mildred Pierce

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Alfred Hitchcock for Spellbound

Elia Kazan for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

George Sidney for Anchors Aweigh

Billy Wilder for The Lost Weekend

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Gene Kelly as Joseph Brady in "ANCHORS AWEIGH"
Ray Milland as Don Birnam in "THE LOST WEEKEND"

Robert Mitchum as Lieutenant Walker in "THE STORY OF G.I. JOE"

Edward G. Robinson as Christopher Cross in "SCARLET STREET"

Lawrence Tierney as John Dillinger in "DILLINGER"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Ingrid Bergman as Dr. Constance Petersen in "SPELLBOUND"

Joan Crawford as Mildred Pierce in "MILDRED PIERCE"
Peggy Ann Garner as Francie Nolan in "A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN"

Deborah Kerr as Edith Hunter / Barbara Wynne / Johnny Cannon in "THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP"

Dorothy McGuire as Katie Nolan in "A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Michael Chekhov as Dr. Alexander Brulov in "SPELLBOUND"
James Dunn as Johnny Nolan in "A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN"

Edmund Lowe as Specs Green in "DILLINGER"

J. Carrol Naish as Devers in "THE SOUTHERNER"

Lloyd Nolan as Officer McShane in "A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Ann Blyth as Veda Pierce in "MILDRED PIERCE"

Joan Blondell as Sissy Edwards in "A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN"

Doris Dowling as Gloria in "THE LOST WEEKEND"

Anne Revere as Clara Mills in "FALLEN ANGEL"

Jessice Tandy as Louise Kane in "THE VALLEY OF DECISION"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Philip Yordan for Dillinger

Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Frank Butler, John Steinbeck & Frank Butler for A Medal for Benny

Muriel Box & Sydney Box for The Seventh Veil
Leopold Atlas, Guy Endore & Philip Stevenson for The Story of G.I. Joe

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Jo Swerling; Based on Leave Her to Heaven by Ben Ames Williams, Leave Her to Heaven

Screenplay by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder; Based on The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson, The Lost Weekend

Screenplay by Ranald MacDougall; Based on Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain, Mildred Pierce

Screenplay by Angus MacPhail & Ben Hecht; Based on The House of Dr. Edwardes by Hilary Saint George Saunders & Francis Beeding, Spellbound
Screenplay by Frank Davis, Tess Slesinger & Anita Loos; Based on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Art Direction by Maurice Ransford & Lyle Wheeler; Set Design by Thomas Little for Leave Her to Heaven

Production Design by Alfred Junge for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Art Direction by Anton Grot; Set Design by George James Hopkins for Mildred Pierce
Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons & Hans Peters; Set Design by Edwin B. Willis for The Picture of Dorian Gray

Art Direction by Lyle Wheeler; Set Design by Thomas Little for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Ann Blyth (Mildred Pierce)

Peggy Ann Garner (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)

Deborah Kerr (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp)

Jessica Tandy (The Valley of Decision)

Lawrence Tierney (Dillinger)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Leon Shamroy for Leave Her to Heaven

Georges Perinal for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Ernest Haller for Mildred Pierce

Harry Strandling for The Picture of Dorian Gray

George Barnes for Spellbound

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Irene for Anchors Aweigh

Kay Nelson for Leave Her to Heaven

Joseph Bato for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Milo Anderson for Mildred Pierce

Valles for The Picture of Dorian Gray

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

The Bells of St. Mary's (Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Joan Carroll, Martha Sleeper, Rhys Williams, Richard Tyler, Una O'Connor)

Leave Her to Heaven (Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price, Mary Philips, Ray Collins, Gene Lockhart, Reed Hadley, Darryl Hickman, Chill Wills)

Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Butterfly McQueen, Bruce Bennett, Lee Patrick, Moroni Olsen, Veda Ann Borg, Jo Ann Marlowe)

The Story of G.I. Joe (Burgess Meredith, Robert Mitchum, Freddie Steele, Wally Cassell, Jimmy Lloyd, John R. Reilly, William Murphy)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Dorothy McGuire, James Dunn, Peggy Ann Garner, Ted Donaldson, Joan Blondell, Lloyd Nolan, James Gleason, Ruth Nelson, John Alexander, B.S. Pully)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Adrienne Fazan for Anchors Aweigh

John Seabourne for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Doane Harrison for The Lost Weekend

Hal C. Kern for Spellbound

Dorothy Spencer for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

George Blackler & Dorrie Hamilton for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Jack Dawn for The Picture of Dorian Gray

Perc Westmore for Mildred Pierce

Dillinger

Ben Nye for Leave Her to Heaven

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE:

Miklós Rózsa for The Lost Weekend

Max Steiner for Mildred Pierce

Herbert Stothart for The Picture of Dorian Gray

Werner Janssen for The Southerner

Miklós Rózsa for Spellbound

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Anchors Aweigh, "We Hate to Leave" (Music by Julie Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn)
Anchors Aweigh, "I Fall in Love Too Easily" (Music by Julie Styne; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn)

The Bells of St. Mary's, "Aren't You Glad You're You" (Music by Jimmy Van Heausen; Lyrics by Johnny Burke)

Love Letters, "Love Letters" (Music by Victor Young; Lyrics by Edward Heyman)

The Story of G.I. Joe, "Linda" (Music and Lyrics by Ann Ronell)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Ingrid Bergman (The Bells of St. Mary's, Spellbound)

Linda Darnell (Fallen Angel, The Great John L., Hangover Suite)

Dorothy McGuire (The Enchanted Cottage, The Spiral Staircase, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)

J. Carrol Naish (Getting Gertie's Garter, A Medal for Benny, The Southerner, Strange Confession)

Gregory Peck (Spellbound, The Valley of Decision)

OUTSTANDING SOUND RECORDING:

Douglas Shearer for Anchors Aweigh

Desmond Dew & C.C. Stevens for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Douglas Shearer for The Picture of Doriam Gray

Richard De Weese for Spellbound

Frank McWhorter for The Story of G.I. Joe

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL EFFECTS:

W. Percy Day & Jason Richardson for The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Mark Davis for The Picture of Dorian Gray

Jack Cosgrove for Spellbound

Barney Wolff for The Story of G.I. Joe

A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahraus, R.A. MacDonald & Michael Steinore for They Were Expendable

It's been a while since I revisited a modern cinema year but next I'm going to go onto 2008 when Slumdog Millionaire meant to be a DVD went onto to win best picture. Did the film deserve all the love come back on the 9th and see if I agree.

1969 - The year the oscars felt a little grown up

Through this revisits I've noticed a trend starting to arise and that is the hidden strength of each year in a second ending with 9 (i.e. 39, 99) being one of the strongest if not the strongest year for cinema in that given decade. Maybe this is artists wanting to get their brilliance just before the change of a decade which is always game changing due to it being a difference of 10 years. Anyway 69 was a special year to consider especially with the choice made by the academy which was one of the oddest choices in the awards history. Their winning choice was the X rated Midnight Cowboy which in retrospective which is a rare and exciting choice given the films content and unapologetic nature in it's storytelling. Starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman it was easily the breakout of Voight and really a game changer for Hoffman. The film set the two actors on the track they would follow for the decades following. The film is truly great and quite out there even nowadays in it's approach to sexual content and everything that surrounds that. The choice is especially confusing considering the other films considered which included Anne of the Thousand Days, Butch Cassidy, Hello Dolly and Z. The Anne Boylen films is good from an actors perspective but like the many British royal films that were filmed before and since there is nothing new to discover even if Genevieve Bujold is unapologetically brillIant. Butch Cassidy is an american classic and easily one of my favourites of the year. Like Cowboy it stars two big movie stars with the two of them almost being effortless in their work. Z my favourite of the list and a truly landmark feature film in both american and foreign cinema. The film is tense, thrilling and a quick watch like no two our foreign language film I've ever seen. The film that sticks out like a sore thumb is Hello Dolly. Oh boy was this film a chore and time I'm never going to get back. So really it was a strong enough lineup with one major outlier but the choice still stands good and a film the academy should embrace more but sadly does not.

Now moving onto what I consider the great cinema of this year it starts and ends with They Shoot Horses, Don't They? One of the biggest surprises that this film given 9 nominations was left off the picture lineup. The film really stands out and is easily one of Pollack's great films. The film is non stop like the dance hall. The cast is on fire the entire time being led by Pollack in such a strong leading voice that this film will stay with me surely for such a long time to come. As I mentioned I love Z and it plants itself as my runner up for the year. As a very modern film watcher it was fun to see Amour's Jean-Louis Trintignant almost 45 years earlier being as great as I consider him in 2012. My third choice is The Wild Bunch. Sam Peckinpah was one of the masters of his time but Wild Bunch stands above all his work for me. The film is such an influential effort on the film industry through it's many forms of shooting. The cast is also a great sight at the top talent performing to the best of their abilities. Following this is Paul Mazursky's Bob & Carol & Alice & Ted. The name may be a mouthful to say but it's worth it when this film of relationship is Mazursky at his most powerful. The main quartet are good and the film almost non-linear is about how one maintains relationships between partners and if people are willing to change them to stay in them. Dyan Cannon was the find of the century in the role and Alice to make another point about this great feature. My final choice for my top 5 is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Like I mentioned before it is a distinct american classic amount the american experience almost. The film is enjoyable and endlessly watchable and unlike most modern successful film the film is unafraid to challenge it's audience and is aiming for everyone while not singling anyone out. So really this was an impressive year that is well represented by the academies choice even if I'd rank it third in the lineup but it just misses my top 5 so I have no issue with the choice.

34 is the amount of films I was able to see from this year and I was very impressed by the list put together. It was a rather great year. Below is the list of winners and nominees I would've prefered.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Produced by Robert Chartoff & Irwin Winkler)

2. Z (Produced by Jacques Perrin & Ahmed Rachedi)

3. The Wild Bunch (Produced by Phil Feldman)

4. Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (Produced by Larry Tucker)

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Produced by John Foreman)

6. Midnight Cowboy

7. Easy Rider

8. The Round-Up

9. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

10. Pierrot Le Fou

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Costa-Gavras for Z

Paul Mazursky for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Sam Peckinpah for The Wild Bunch

Sydney Pollack for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

George Roy Hill for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Dustin Hoffman as Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo in "MIDNIGHT COWBOY"

William Holden as Pike Bishop in "THE WILD BUNCH"

Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy in "BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID"

Jean-Louis Trintignant as The Examining Magistrate in "Z"

Jon Voight as Joe Buck in "MIDNIGHT COWBOY"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Genevieve Bujold as Anne Boleyn in "ANNE OF THE THOUSAND DAYS"

Jane Fonda as Gloria Beatty in "THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?"

Shirley Knight as Natalie Ravenna in "THE RAIN PEOPLE"

Maggie Smith as Jean Brodie in "THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE"

Shirley Stoler as Martha Beck in "THE HONEYMOON KILLERS"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Red Buttons as Harry Kline in "THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?"

Elliott Gould as Ted in "BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE"

Jack Nicholson as George Hanson in "EASY RIDER"

Robert Ryan as Deke Thornton in "THE WILD BUNCH"

Gig Young as Rocky in "THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Dyan Cannon as Alice in "BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE"

Pamela Franklin as Sandy in "THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE"

Mary Jane Higby as Janet Fay in "THE HONEYMOON KILLERS"

Brenda Vaccaro as Shirley in "MIDNIGHT COWBOY"

Susannah York as Alice LeBlanc in "THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Paul Mazursky & Larry Tucker for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

William Goldman for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper & Terry Southern for Easy Rider

Haskell Wexler for Medium Cool

Screenplay by Sam Peckinpah & Walon Green; Story by Walon Green & Roy N. Sickner for The Wild Bunch

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Bridget Boland, John Hale & Richard Sokolove; Based on Anne of the Thousand Days by Maxwell Anderson, Anne of the Thousand Days

Screenplay by Waldo Salt; Based on Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy, Midnight Cowboy

Screenplay by Jay Presson Allen; Based on The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Screenplay by Robert E. Thompson & James Poe; Based on They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Screenplay by Jorge Semprún & Costa-Gavras; Based on Z by Vassilis Vassilikos, Z

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by Maurice Carter; Set Design by Peter Howitt & Patrick McLoughlin for Anne of the Thousand Days

Production Design by John De Cuir; Set Design by Raphael Bretton, George Hopkins & Walter M. Scott for Hello, Dolly!

Set Design by Jack D. Moore for Sweet Charity

Production Design by Harry Horner; Set Design by Frank McKelvey for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Production Design by Jacques D'Ovidi; Set Design by Jacques D'Ovidio for Z

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Genevieve Bujold (Anne of the Thousand Days)

Dyan Cannon (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice)

Pamela Franklin (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)

Shirley Stoler (The Honeymoon Killers)

Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Conrad L. Hill for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Laszlo Kovacs for Easy Rider

Philip H. Lathrop for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Lucien Ballard for The Wild Bunch

Raoul Coutard for Z

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Margaret Furse for Anne of the Thousand Days

Moss mabry for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Ann Roth for Midnight Cowboy

Joan Bridge & Elizabeth Haffenden for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Donfeld for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY:

In the Year of the Pig (Directed by Emile de Antonio)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon, Horst Ebersberg, Lee Bergere, Donald F. Muhich, Noble Lee Holderread Jr., K.T. Stevens, Celeste Yarnall, Lynn Borden, Greg Mullavey, Linda Burton, Leif Garrett)

Easy Rider (Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Antonio Mendoza, Phil Spector, Mac Mashourian, Warren Finnerty, Tita Colorado, Luke Askew, Luana Anders, Sabrina Scharf, Sandy Wyeth, Robert Walker, Jr., Robert Ball, Carmen Phillips, Ellie Walker, Michael Pataki, Jack Nicholson, George Fowler, Jr., Keith Green, Hayward Robillard, Arnold Hess, Jr., Buddy Causey, Jr., Duffy Lafont, Blasé M. Dawson, Paul Guedry, Suzie Ramagos, Elida Ann Hebert, Rose LeBlanc, Mary Kaye Hebert, Cynthia Grezaffi, Colette Purpera, Toni Basil, Karen Black, Lea Marmer, Cathé Cozzi, Thea Salerno, Anne McClain, Beatriz Monteil, Marcia Bowman, David C. Billodeau, Johnny David)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Maggie Smith, Robert Stephens, Pamela Franklin, Gordon Jackson, Celia Johnson, Diane Grayson, Jane Carr, Shirley Steedman, Lavinia Lang, Antoinette Biggerstaff, Margo Cunningham, Isla Cameron, Rona Anderson, Ann Way, Molly Weir, Helena Gloag, Heather Seymour)

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young, Red Buttons, Bonnie Bedelia, Bruce Dern, Allyn Ann McLerie, Robert Fields, Michael Conrad, Al Lewis, Madge Kennedy)

The Wild Bunch (William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sánchez, Ben Johnson, Emilio Fernández, Strother Martin, L. Q. Jones, Albert Dekker, Bo Hopkins, Jorge Russek, Alfonso Arau, Dub Taylor, Rayford Barnes, Paul Harper, Chano Urueta, Elsa Cárdenas, Bill Hart, Stephen Ferry, Fernando Wagner, Jorge Rado, Aurora Clavel)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

John C. Howard & Richard C. Meyer for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Hugh A. Robertson for Midnight Cowboy

Frederic Steinkamp for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Louis Lombardo for The Wild Bunch

Françoise Bonnot for Z

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Pierrot Le Fou (Directed by Jean-Luc Godard)

The Round-Up (Directed by Miklós Jancsó)

Z (Directed by Costa-Gavras)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Irving Buchman & Dick Smith for Midnight Cowboy

Frank McCoy & Maggie O'Connor for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Al Greenway & Keester Sweeney for The Wild Bunch

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/ADAPTATION SCORE:

Burt Bacharach for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

John Barry for Midnight Cowboy

John Green for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Jerry Fielding for The Wild Bunch

Mikis Theodorakis for Z

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (Music by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David)

Cactus Flower, "The Time for Love Is Any Time" (Music by Quincy Jones; Lyrics by Cynthia Weil)

Midnight Cowboy, "Everybody's Talkin'" (Music and Lyrics by Fred Neil)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, "Jean" (Music and Lyrics by Rod McKuen)

The Sterile Cuckoo, "Come Saturday Morning" (Music by Fred Karlin; Lyrics by Dory Previn)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Richard Burton (Anne of the Thousand Days, Staircase, Where Eagles Dare)

Irene Papas (Anne of the Thousand Days, A Dream of Kings, Z)

Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Downhill Racer, Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here)

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

David E. Dockendorf & William E. Edmondson for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Le Roy Robbins for Easy Rider

Tom Overton & Tex Rudloff for They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Robert J. Miller for The Wild Bunch

Lionel de Souza & Alexandre Popovic for Z

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Bud Hulburd, Ralph Ayres & James Rugg for The Wild Bunch

Next I'm moving onto 1945 the year when a little unknown called Billy Wilder came in and dominated with The Lost Weekend. Did this film deserve it all come back on the 30th and you'll see.

1976 - The year the underdog won

Without a question the 70's is one of the greatest decades for cinema and really it comes down to the middle three years (74, 74, 76) where for me most of the great cinema is generated. 76 is a seminal year I think because it contains some of the greatest cinema and probably the closest race I've seen for my personal taste in cinema because there were so many films I've seen that hold a great place in my heart. At the academy awards the underdog came from behind and won. Sure Rocky is a great film any other period in cinema when stacked up against the endless list of films from especially this year it's a questionable choice for me. Just look at the competition Rocky was up against All the President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network and Taxi Driver. 3 of the other nominees are considered amoengst the greatest films to ever be made. Bound for Glory is a great example of 70's cinema and especially the ease in which Hal Ashby just follows people who may not live the most interesting of lives but is able to make their lives so interesting. So really it was an impressive lineup with a slightly overrated winner.

So I've gone on for some time in this post going gaga over the impressive films from this year and really there's no question this film are great. Network still stands high above just about every film which is why it's unquestionable my choice for the year. Paddy Chayefsky is one of the greatest screenwriters to have ever worked in the film industry and with Network he outdid himself. Chayefsky accomplished what most creatives haven't which is he created a work of it's time but also timeless for how much the culture has grown to basically be all this film predicted. It's quite scary how close a film made 40 years ago was able to so accurately predict what was to come next in the cinema landscape. Another positive Network has is Lumet and his cast of actors he brought in to the project to really support Chayefsky's work. All the President's Men another stable to this era and of all time is my favourite journalism film that while not in the age of electronic news is just as thrilling as anything relaying of information through text that we would get in today's films. The film like Network starts with a very strong script which I guess is something today's film is without which is strong scripting which is too important to the success of a film for me. Following these two my next best is Taxi Driver. Martin Scorsese had already made a name for himself with Mean Streets but with Taxi he was able to show himself in quite a different league that the film was able to shock and amaze american audiences as it did. De Niro arguable has never been better as he just so invests himself into the role of the devilish Travis Bickel that he has never shed part of this role for me no matter how outlandish his work has been over the following 40 years. Harlan County U.S.A. is easily one of my top documentaries that I've ever seen. It just sits you down with the people it tracks and invests you in their live struggle that is shown in this documentary. It really is a moving piece as we see all these people struggle. My final choice for picture would've been Carrie the Brian De Palma classic that made the ignored girl the scary star. Sissy Spacek in Carrie stars straight into your sole and De Palma a man of many films really knocked it out of the park with Carrie for me. Unlike the shitty remake this film was so wide and ranging that every element of this film works.

29 is the amount of films I was able to see from this year and for the most part I was impressed by about every single one of these films. It's really a completely different time for cinema then what we have nowadays because all the films are just too good to count. Below is my winners and nominees.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Network (Produced by Howard Gottfried)

2. All the President's Men (Produced by Walter Coblenz)

3. Taxi Driver (Produced by Julia Phillips & Michael Phillips)

4. Harlan County, U.S.A. (Produced by Barbara Kopple)

5. Carrie (Produced by Paul Monash)

6. Solaris

7. The Spirit of the Beehive

8. Face to Face

9. The Outlaw Josey Wales

10. Seven Beauties

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Brian De Palma for Carrie

Sidney Lumet for Network

Alan J. Pakula, All the President's Men

Martin Scorsese for Taxi Driver

Andrei Tarkovsky for Solaris

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in "TAXI DRIVER"

Peter Finch as Howard Beale in "NETWORK"

William Holden as Max Schumacher in "NETWORK"

Dustin Hoffman as Thomas Babington "Babe" Levy in "MARATHON MAN"

Robert Redford as Bob Woodward in "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Marie-Christine Barrault as Marthe in "COUSIN COUSINE"

Faye Dunaway as Diana Christensen in "NETWORK"

Glenda Jackson as Sarah Bernhardt in "THE INCREDIBLE SARAH"

Sissy Spacek as Carrie White in "CARRIE"

Liv Ullmann as Dr. Jenny Isaksson in "FACE TO FACE"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Ned Beatty as Arthur Jensen in "NETWORK"

Robert Duvall as Frank Hackett in "NETWORK"

Hal Holbrook as "Deep Throat" in "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN"

Burgess Meredith as Mickey Goldmill in "ROCKY"

Laurence Olivier as Dr. Christian Szell in "MARATHON MAN"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Jodie Foster as Iris "Easy" Steensma in "TAXI DRIVER"

Piper Laurie as Margaret White in "CARRIE"

Alexis Smith as Mrs. Hallet in "THE LITTLE GIRL WHO LIVES DOWN THE LANE"

Beatrice Straight as Louise Schumacher in "NETWORK"

Shelley Winters as Faye Lapinsky in "NEXT STOP, GREENWICH VILLAGE"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Ingmar Bergman for Face to Face

Paddy Chayefsky for Network

Paul Mazursky for Next Stop, Greenwich Village

Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties

Paul Scharader for Taxi Driver

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by William Goldman; Based on All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward, All the President's Men

Screenplay by Robert Getchell; Based on Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie, Bound for Glory

Screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen; Based on Carrie by Stephen King, Carrie

Screenplay by William Goldman; Based on Marathon Man by William Goldman, Marathon Man

Screenplay by Philip Kaufman & Sonia Chernus; Based on Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter, The Outlaw Josey Wales

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by George Jenkins; Set Design by George Gaines for All the President's Men

Production Design by Geoffrey Kirkland; Set Design by Harry Cordwell for Bugsy Malone

Art Direction by Jack Fisk & William Kenney; Set Design by Robert Gould for Carrie

Production Design by Elliot Scott; Art Direction by Norman Reynolds for The Incredible Sarah

Production Design by Philip Rosenberg; Set Design by Edward Stewart for Network

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Betty Buckley (Carrie)

Melinda Dilon (Bound For Glory)

Jodie Foster (Taxi Driver)

Amy Irving (Carrie)

Jessica Lange (King Kong)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Gordon Willis for All the President's Men

Haskell Wexler for Bound for Glory

Mario Tosi for Carrie

Owen Roizman for Network

Michael Chapman for Taxi Driver

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

William Theiss for Bound for Glory

Monica Howe for Bugsy Malone

Rosanna Norton for Carrie

Anthony Mendleson for The Incredible Sarah

Ruth Morley for Taxi Driver

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY:

Harlan County, U.S.A. (Directed by Barbara Kopple)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

All the President's Men (Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards, Jane Alexander, Meredith Baxter, Ned Beatty, Stephen Collins, Penny Fuller, Penny Peyser, Lindsay Crouse, Robert Walden, F. Murray Abraham, David Arkin)

Carrie (Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, John Travolta, P. J. Soles, Sydney Lassick, Stefan Gierasch, Priscilla Pointer, Harry Gold, Doug Cox, Noelle North, Michael Talbott, Edie McClurg)

Network (Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Wesley Addy, Ned Beatty, Beatrice Straight, Jordan Charney, William Prince, Lane Smith, Marlene Warfield, Conchata Ferrell, Carolyn Krigbaum, Arthur Burghardt, Cindy Grover, Darryl Hickman, Lee Richardson)

Rocky (Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Thayer David, Joe Spinell, Tony Burton, Pedro Lovell)

Taxi Driver (Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Harry Northup)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Robert L. Wolfe for All the President's Men

Paul Hirsch for Carrie

Alan Heim for Network

Richard Halsey & Scott Conrad for Rocky

Tom Rolf & Melvin Shapiro for Taxi Driver

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Face to Face (Directed by Ingmar Bergman)

Seven Beauties (Directed by Lina Wertmüller)

Solaris (Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky)

The Spirit of the Beehive (Directed by Víctor Erice)

Vincent, François, Paul and the Others (Directed by Claude Sautet)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Robert A. Westmoreland, Bob Stein & William Turner for Bound for Glory

Wesley Dawn & Ron Snyder for Carrie

Ben Nye & Brad Wilder for Marathon Man

Irving Buchman for Taxi Driver

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/ADAPTATION SCORE:

Pino Donaggio for Carrie

Jerry Goldsmith for The Omen

Bill Conti for Rocky

Roger Kellaway for A Star is Born

Bernard Herrmann for Taxi Driver

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Bugsy Malone, "Bugsy Malone" (Music and Lyrics by Paul Williams)

Carrie, "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me" (Music by Pino Donaggio; Lyrics by Merrit Malloy)

The Omen, "Ave Satani" (Music & Lyrics by Jerry Goldsmith)

Rocky, "Gonna Fly Now" (Music by Bill Conti; Lyrics by Carol Connors & Ayn Robbins)

A Star is Born, "Evegreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born)" (Music by Barbra Streisand Lyrics by Paul Williams)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Robert De Niro (The Last Tycoon, Taxi Driver)

Faye Dunaway (Network, Voyage of the Damned)

Jodie Foster (Bugsy Malone, Echoes of a Summer, Freaky Friday, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, Taxi Driver)

Dustin Hoffman (All the President's Men, Marathon Man)

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

Bertil Hallberg for Carrie

Harry W. Tetrick, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin & Jack Solomon for King Kong

David Ronne & John K. Wilkinson for Marathon Man

Harry Warren Tetrick, William McCaughey, Lyle J. Burbridge & Bud Alper for Rocky

Dick Alexander, Les Lazarowitz & Vern Poore for Taxi Driver

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Gregory M. Auer & Kenneth Pepiot for Carrie

Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson & Frank Van der Veer for King Kong

Tony Parmelee for Taxi Driver

The next year I will be covering in 10 days time is 1969 the year when the X rated Midnight Cowboy won best picture.

1966 - The year the academy fell for British royalty

The 60's is probably the forgotten decade as it comes between the 50's (my personal favourite decade for cinema) and the 70's (the decade considered by most the greatest). The year I'm revisiting in this post is 1966. A mid year of the decade the British cinema invasion was in full force by this year. This reflects in the best picture choice by the academy which went for the very traditional choice of Fred Zinnemann's A Man for All Seasons. Based on the 1960 play of the same name it is a fine feature well told by Fred Zinnemann but a winning choice I can't really agree with that. It's  typical British royalty biopic that aside from a few strong performances (oscar nominated Paul Scofield and Robert Shaw) it's that visually appealing or in anyway new material being approached. Even looking at the best picture lineup of this year's oscars outside of one major outlier it isn't that exciting a lineup. The other films nominated in 66 where Alfie, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Sand Pebbles and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Virginia Woolf is the clear outlier and Russians has it's moments of greatness but the other two especially Alfie are rather dated and while they might be considered great at the time by first viewing of them was not that well. Alfie was especially problematic to be character wise where I just couldn't track the central character of Alfie as he seemed to change to frequently. Sand Pebbles is a 60's blockbuster and showed Steve McQueen at his great power but I didn't find it that thrilling as I'm sure the film wanted me to find it. Returning to Virginia Woolf? I find it laughable and I'm sure many more people do that this film achievement did not dominate the film conversation that year. First the film introduced the film industry to Mike Nichols who grew onto be a stable of america cinema for over 4 decades. Also it is the great time capsule showing as Taylor/Burton flaws and all while they were at the height of their powers. Really all the actors are genius in this film because the material is so strong and Nichols (his first film) is so visually strong that everything of this film works and is endlessly watchable.

The oscar race of 66 wasn't that exciting but there was so many other choices that if nominees and winners were picked today these films I love would be more embraced. Viriginia Woolf is my clear number one and one of my favourites of all time. My runner up is Jean-Luc Godard's Masculine Feminin. The 60's also was about the french invasion related to the french new wave and many of these film changed everything because of how matter of fact they approached their ideas and how they were filmed through camera. Godard was one of these big french directors at the time and Masculine is probably my favourite of his (although Breathless is as the title suggests Breathless). The film is classic for it's non linear structure and just following these young characters is something to behold and why the information we learn about them might not be too important it's just a joy to be so brought in by Godard's camera and these actors natural charisma it's hard not to love this film. My choice for the great British film of 66 is Michaelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up. His first film entirely in English it follows a fashion photographer who believes we has filmed a murder. The film is big for it's sexual content and how counterculture the film is. It's just a changing point of cinema and how fully the film flows into it's mode rather than focusing on any important plot. One note I have to make about the film is Vanessa Redgrave who burst onto the scene in 66 with three varying roles (Morgan, Blowup, A Man for All Seasons) and Redgrave being one of my favourite actresses ever is a wonder to behold even in her early films. Cul-De-Sac is an early Roman Polanski film and boy does it not disappoint. It's Polanski's second English language film is set in and around one location and is some comedy gold. The film is in Polanski's wheel house and covers themes of horror, frustrated sexuality and alienation. It's a great film that I'm sure I never would've seen before this revisit. The fifth film to fill out my personal picture lineup is The Shop on Main Street. The film explores the terrible Aryanization programme during World War II that destroyed thousands of lives. The film is quite a subtle somber piece of cinema. Every action of the film is simple but the deep depressing feelings taken from these characters is cinema like I've never seen before. It's a film that can never be recreated and never would I want it to be.

29 is the amount of films I saw from 66 and if it's not clear most of my favourite films are quite depressing choices but cinema can send you into some dark places and when those films are best I have to shout about them all. Below is my list of winners and nominees that I would've chosen.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Produced by Ernest Lehman)

2. Masculin Féminin (Produced by Anatole Dauman)

3. Blow-Up (Produced by Carlo Ponti & Pierre Rouve)

4. Cul-De-Sac (Produced by Gene Gutowski, Michael Klinger & Tony Tenser)

5. The Shop on Main Street (Produced by M. Broz & Jaromír Lukás)

6. Seconds

7. Tokyo Olympiad

8. 7 Women

9. The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

10. The Gospel According to St. Matthew

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Michaelangelo Antonioni for Blow-Up

John Frankenheimer for Seconds

Jean-Luc Godard for Masculin Féminin

Mike Nichols for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Roman Polanski for Cul-De-Sac

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Richard Burton as George in "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?"

Rock Hudson as Antiochus "Tony" Wilson in "SECONDS"

Jozef Kroner as Anton "Tóno" Brtko in "THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET"

Jean-Pierre Léaud as Paul in "MASCULIN FEMININ"

Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More in "A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Anne Bancroft as Dr. D. R. Cartwright in "7 WOMEN"

Françoise Dorléac as Teresa in "CUL-DE-SAC"

Chantal Goya as Madeleine Zimmer in "MASCULIN FEMININ"

Margaret Leighton as Agatha Andrews in "7 WOMEN"

Elizabeth Taylor as Martha in "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Richard Attenborough as Frenchy Burgoyne in "THE SAND PEBBLES"

John Randolph as Arthur Hamilton in "SECONDS"

George Segal as Nick in "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?"

Robert Shaw as Henry VIII in "A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS"

Lionel Stander as Dickey in "CUL-DE-SAC"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Sandy Dennis as Honey in "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?"

Catherine-Isabelle Duport as Catherine-Isabelle in "MASCULIN FEMININ"

Vanessa Redgrave as Jane in "BLOW-UP"

Jessica Walter as Libby in "THE GROUP"

Shelley Winters as Ruby in "ALFIE"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra & Edward Bond for Blow-Up

Roman Polanski & Gerard Brach for Cul-De-Sac

Pier Paolo Pasolini for The Gospel According to St. Matthew

Jean-Luc Godard for Masculin Féminin

David Mercer for Morgan!

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Robert Bolt; Based on A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons

Screenplay by William Rose; Based on The Off-Islanders by Nathaniel Benchley, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Screenplay by Lewis John Carlino; Based on Seconds by David Ely, Seconds

Screenplay by Ladislav Grosman, Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos; Based on The Shop on Main Street by Ladislav Grosman, The Shop on Main Street

Screenplay by Ernest Lehman; Based on Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Art Direction by Assheton Gorton for Blow-Up

Production Design by Luigi Scaccianoce; Set Design by Andrea Fantacci for The Gospel According to St. Matthew

Production Design by John Box; Art Direction by Terence Marsh for A Man for All Seasons

Production Design by Karel Skvor; Set Design by Frantisek Straka for The Shop on Main Street

Production Design by Richard Sylbert; Set Design by George James Hopkins for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Sandy Dennis (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?)

Chantal Goya (Masculin Féminin)

Lynn Redgrave (Georgy Girl)

Vanessa Redgrave (Blow-Up)

Jessica Walter (The Group)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Carlo di Palma for Blow-Up

Gilbert Taylor for Cul-De-Sac

Willy Kurant for Masculin Féminin

James Wong Howe for Seconds

Haskell Wexler for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Jocelyn Rickards for Blow-Up

Danilo Donati for The Gospel According to St. Matthew

Elizabeth Haffenden & Joan Bridge for A Man for All Seasons

Jocelyn Rickards for Morgan!

Irene Sharaff for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

7 Women (Anne Bancroft, Sue Lyon, Margaret Leighton, Flora Robson, Mildred Dunnock, Betty Field, Anna Lee, Eddie Albert, Mike Mazurki, Woody Strode, Jane Chang, Hans William Lee, H. W. Gim, Irene Tsu)

Cul-De-Sac (Donald Pleasence, Françoise Dorléac, Lionel Stander, Jack MacGowran, Iain Quarrier, Geoffrey Sumner, Renée Houston, Robert Dorning, Marie Kean, William Franklyn, Jackie Bisset, Trevor Delaney)

The Group (Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Joanna Pettet, Mary-Robin Redd, Jessica Walter, Kathleen Widdoes, James Broderick, James Congdon, Larry Hagman, Hal Holbrook, Richard Mulligan, Robert Emhardt, Carrie Nye)

A Man for All Seasons (Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Leo McKern, Orson Welles, Robert Shaw, Susannah York, Nigel Davenport, John Hurt, Corin Redgrave, Colin Blakely, Cyril Luckham, Vanessa Redgrave, Jack Gwillim, Michael Latimer, Thomas Heathcote, Yootha Joyce, Anthony Nicholls, John Nettleton, Eira Heath, Molly Urquhart, Paul Hardwick, Philip Brack, Martin Boddey, Eric Mason, Matt Zimmerman)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal, Sandy Dennis)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Frank Clarke for Blow-Up

Alastair McIntyre for Cul-De-Sac

Ferris Webster for Seconds

Tatsuji Nakashizu for Tokyo Olympiad

Sam O'Steen for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini)

A Man and a Woman (Directed by Claude Lelouch)

Masculin Féminin (Directed by Jean-Luc Godard)

The Pornographers (Directed by Shohei Imamura)

The Shop on Main Street (Directed by Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Alan Brownie for Cul-De-Sac

Eric Allwright & George Frost for A Man for All Seasons

Del Acevedo, Ben Nye & Bill Turner for The Sand Pebbles

Jack Petty & Mark Reedall for Seconds

Gordon Bau & Ronnie Berkeley for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/ADAPTATION SCORE:

Herbie Hancock for Blow-Up

Komeda for Cul-De-Sac

Luis Bacalov for The Gospel According to St. Matthew

Georges Delerue for A Man for All Seasons

Alex North for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Alfie, "Alfie" (Music by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David) 

Born Free, "Born Free" (Music by John Barry; Lyrics by Don Black)

Georgy Girl, "Georgy Girl" (Music by Tom Springfield; Lyrics by Jim Dale)

Hawaii, "My Wishing Doll" (Music by Elmer Bernstein; Lyrics by Mack David)

A Man and a Woman, "A Man and a Woman" (Music by Francis Lai; Lyrics by Pierre Barouh)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Vanessa Redgrave (Blow-Up, A Man for All Seasons, Morgan!)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING:

David Campling for Cul-De-Sac

Barry Gray Fahrenheit 451

Walter Rossi for Fantastic Voyage

Sidney E. Sutherland for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Bernard Freericks, Murray Spivack & Douglas O. Williams for The Sand Pebbles

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

Bob McPhee, Gordon K. McCallum, Norman Wanstall & Otto Snel for Fahrenheit 451

David Dockendorf & Bernard Freericks for Fantastic Voyage

Al Overton & John Romness for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Bernard Freericks, Murray Spivack & Douglas O. Williams for The Sand Pebbles

Ichirô Hoshi for Tokyo Olympiad

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Charles Staffell & Les Bowie for Fahrenheit 451

Art Cruickshank for Fantastic Voyage

Linwood G. Dunn for Hawaii

Daniel W. Hays for The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming

Jerry Endler for The Sand Pebbles

Again I have to put a change to my release of my revisit posts. I've been releasing 4 every month for the last two months and now I'm decreasing that down to 3 starting on the 10th of October and from then on every 10th, 20th & 30th of the month I will released a post. So for now I say bye till the 10th when I will be revisiting 1976 the year when Rocky the literal underdog came from behind and won best picture.