1975 - The year when everyone went cuckoo

Yet again another incredible year for cinema. The 70's really emphasis the variety that film can be because there are just so many different kinds of film that everything is just so new and exciting at least at the time. 1975 was spread out in terms of winners and nominations but the big winner was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which like It Happened One Night before it and Silence of the Lambs after it is the rare film to win the top five awards (picture, director, actor, actress, screenplay). It is an incredible film that makes me personal five for how strong it is but there in my opinion are 2 better films from the year. Not saying there is anything wrong with Cuckoo's Nest in fact it is a glorious film that would've not been made in today's current film climate. In terms of the what the academy awards went for that year 1975 is for all arguments sake the strongest best picture lineup ever at the academy awards. Other then Cuckoo's the other nominees were Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Sidney Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon, Steven Spielberg's Jaws and Robert Altman's Nashville. First and foremost the list of directors with Forman as well are some of the greats that have been. All five are exceptional films that all make my top 10 with three making my top five. Barry Lyndon is Kubrick's attention to detail in high display with some truly breathtaking shots being captured by Kubrick and his camera in his most audience friendly picture he probably ever filmed. Dog Day Afternoon is iconic for Pacino's performance but the film is just as strong as he is and something I could watch over and over again. Jaws the original blockbuster forced hundreds of people to stay away from the ocean and with just cause. The final nominee is in fact my favourite film of 75 and one of the greatest films ever Nashville. Altman at his most Altman with multiple characters featured in the country music scene. He unlike any director is able to equally distribute time between all his characters where you come to love them all with Nashville being the prime example of this (later on you will see my supporting actress lineup is dominated by Nashville women with them obtaining the five spots).

As I mentioned 1975 was an exceptional year that while well represented by the academies choices there still where some films overlooked that I felt needed discussion. Firstly is Chantel Akerman's extremely long titled Jeanne Dielman... my second favourite film of the year is a film achievement that not many people are going to get or have the patience for but I recommend this film highly that even if you start to grow tired of this type of film keep with it because it is brilliant. The final film to complete my top five is Monty Python's Holy Grail one of the greatest comedies ever to be filmed and Monty Python's greatest film to date. The acting winners of 1975 as I said went to Nicholson and Fletcher for their leading turns and George Burns (Sunshine Boys) and Lee Grant (Shampoo) for their supporting turns. The leading wins I have no objection with but the supporting ones I find major issue with them due to my not positive reactions to the work by these actors in these films. Brad Dourif and Lily Tomlin would be my choices for the supporting trophies and in retrospective seem like most peoples choices in quite close races.

28 is the amount of films I've seen from 1975 and as I've said throughout this entire post it was a great year for cinema as will be seen in my top 10 films which just cover many genres and all time great directors. Below will be the list of my winners and nominees that I wish had happened.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Nashville (Produced by Robert Altman)

2. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Produced by Guy Cavagnac, Alain Dahan, Liliane de Kermadec, Corinne Jénart, Evelyne Paul & Paul Vecchiali)

3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Produced by Michael Douglas & Saul Zaentz)

4. Dog Day Afternoon (Produced by Martin Bregman & Martin Elfand)

5. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Produced by Mark Forstater & Michael White)

6. Barry Lyndon

7. Jaws

8. Night Moves

9. Love and Death

10. Chronicle of the Years of Fire

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Robert Altman for Nashville

Miloš Forman for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Stanley Kubrick for Barry Lyndon

Sidney Lumet for Dog Day Afternoon

Steven Spielberg for Jaws

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

John Cleese as Sir Lancelot / Second soldier in opening scene / Man in plague scene with body / Singing Knight #4 / Black Knight / Third Villager / French Taunter / Tim the Enchanter in "MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL"

Tim Curry as Dr. Frank N. Furter, a scientist in "THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW"

Gene Hackman as Harry Moseby in "NIGHT MOVES"

Jack Nicholson as R.P. McMurphy in "ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST"

Al Pacino as Sonny in "DOG DAY AFTERNOON"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Isabelle Adjani as Adèle Hugo in "THE STORY OF ADELE H."

Florinda Bolkan as Clara Mataro in "UNA BREVE VACANZA"

Faye Dunaway as Kathy Hale in "THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR"

Louise Fletcher as Nurse Ratched in "ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST"

Diane Keaton as Sonja in "LOVE AND DEATH"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

John Cazale as Sal in "DOG DAY AFTERNOON"

Brad Dourif as Billy Bibbit in "ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST"

Henry Gibson as Haven Hamilton in "NASHVILLE"

Chris Sarandon as Leon in "DOG DAY AFTERNOON"

Robert Shaw as Quint in "JAWS"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Ronee Blakley as Barbara Jean in "NASHVILLE"

Geraldine Chaplin as Opal in "NASHVILLE"

Barbara Harris as Albuqerque in "NASHVILLE"

Lily Tomlin as Linnea Reese in "NASHVILLE"

Gwen Welles as Sueleen Gay in "NASHVILLE"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Frank Pierson for Dog Day Afternoon

Woody Allen for Love and Death

Monty Python for Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Joan Tewkesbury for Nashville

Alan Sharp for Night Moves

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick; Based on The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray, Barry Lyndon

Screenplay by Peter Benchley & Carl Gottlieb; Based on Jaws by Peter Benchley, Jaws

Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben & Bo Goldman; Based on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Screenplay by François Truffaut, Jean Gruault, Suzanne Schiffman & Frances Vernor Guille; Based on Le Journal d'Adéle Hugo by Adéle Hugo, The Story of Adele H.

Screenplay by Lorenzo Semple Jr. & David Rayfiel; Based on Six Days of the Condor by James Grady, Three Days of the Condor

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by Ken Adam; Art Direction by Roy Walker for Barry Lyndon

Production Design by Richard Macdonald; Art Direction by John Lloyd; Set Decoration by George Hopkins for The Day of the Locust

Production Design by Roy Smith for Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Production Design by Jean-Pierre Kohut for The Story of Adele H.

Art Direction by John Clark for Tommy

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Ronee Blakley (Nashville)

Roger Daltrey (Tommy)

Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)

Patrick Stewart (Hedda)

Lily Tomlin (Nashville)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

John Alcott for Barry Lyndon

Victor J. Kemper for Dog Day Afternoon

Billt Butler for Jaws

Babette Mangolte for Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Paul Lohmann for Nashville

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Milena Canonero & Ulla-Britt Søderlund for Barry Lyndon

Ann Roth for The Day of the Locust

Hazel Pethig for Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Jacqueline Guyot for The Story of Adele H.

Shirley Russell for Tommy

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE:

Barry Lyndon (Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Hardy Krüger, Gay Hamilton, Godfrey Quigley, Steven Berkoff, Marie Kean, Murray Melvin, Frank Middlemass, Leon Vitali, Leonard Rossiter, André Morell, Anthony Sharp, Philip Stone, David Morley, Diana Koerner, Arthur O'Sullivan, Billy Boyle)

Dog Day Afternoon (Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, James Broderick, Lance Henriksen, Chris Sarandon, Penelope Allen, Sully Boya, Susan Peretz, Carol Kane, Beulah Garrick, Sandra Kazan, Estelle Omens, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Amy Levitt, Gary Springer, John Marriott, Philip Charles MacKenzie, Carmine Foresta, Floyd Levine, Dick Anthony Williams, Dominic Chianese, Marcia, Haufrecht, Theresa Basso-Wojtowicz, William Bogert, Ron Cummins, Jay Gerber, Edwin "Chu Chu" Malave, Lionel Pina)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Neil Innes, Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, Bee Duffell, John Young, Rita Davies, Avril Stewart, Sally Kinghorn)

Nashville (David Arkin, Barbara Baxley, Ned Beatty, Ronee Blakley, Timothy Brown, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert DoQui, Shelley Duvall, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, David Hayward, Michael Murphy, Allan F. Nicholls, Dave Peel, Cristina Raines, Bert Remsen, Lily Tomlin, Gwen Welles, Keenan Wynn)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson, Brad Dourif, Sydney Lassick, Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, William Redfield, Dean Brooks, William Duell, Vincent Schiavelli, Delos V. Smith, Michael Berryman, Nathan George, Lan Fendors, Mimi Sarkisian, Marya Small, Scatman Crothers, Louisa Moritz, Christopher Campagna, Peter Brocco, Alonzo Brown, Mwako Cumbuka, Josip Elic, Ken Kenny, Mel Lambert, Kay Lee, Dwight Marfield, Phil Roth, Tin Welch)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Tony Lawson for Barry Lyndon

Dede Allen for Dog Day Afternoon

Verna Fields for Jaws

Dennis Hill & Sidney Levin for Nashville

Don Guidice for Three Days the Condor

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Chronicle of the Years of Fire (Directed by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina)

Fox and His Friends (Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Directed by Chantal Anne Akerman)

The Story of Adele H. (Directed by François Truffaut)

Xala (Directed by Ousmane Sembene)

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/ADAPTATION SCORE:

Leonard Rosenman for Barry Lyndon

John Williams for Jaws

Richard Baskin for Nashville

Jack Nitzsche for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Nicky Hopkins for Tommy

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Nashville, "Dues" (Music and Lyrics by Ronee Blakley)

Nashville, "I'm Easy" (Music and Lyrics by Keith Carradine)

Nashville, "It Don't Worry Me" (Music and Lyrics by Keith Carradine)

Nashville, "My Idaho Home" (Music and Lyrics by Ronee Blakley)

Nashville, "Tapedeck in His Tractor (The Cowboy Song)" (Music and Lyrics by Ronee Blakley)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Karen Black (The Day of the Locust, Nashville)

Carol Kane (Dog Day Afternoon, Hester Street)

Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Passenger, Tommy)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING:

Rodney Holland for Barry Lyndon

George Frederick for Jaws

William A. Sawyer for Nashville

Ian Fuller for The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Les Healey for Tommy

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

Robert L. Hoyt, Roger Heman Jr., Earl Madery & John R. Carter for Jaws

Hugh Strain for Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Chris McLaughlin & Jim Webb for Nashville

Bill Rowe for The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Dennis Maitland for Three Days the Condor

Now having done two years in the 70's it's time to travel back to the decade considered the challenger for best decade of film the 1950's. The year in particular is 1954 when Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront won best picture and a whole lot more. The question is was Kazan's naturalistic test of a film good enough nowadays to deserve all it's wins or has something else overstepped it.

1974 - The year where a sequel won a lot

The 1970's considered by many to be the greatest decade for film because of the directors that arose during the decade but also because of the great films that have come from the decade. 1974 is one of the best years from the decade which unlike most years at the oscars was actually reflected in what was chosen for the nominees and eventual winner. The winner of the best picture prize was Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II. Unlike popular opinion I actually prefer this sequel to the original feature. The film is great even if I feel their where better films from the year but the fact that I can say a great film won the prize is unfortunately a rarity at the academy awards. The other nominees alongside Godfather where Roman Polanski's Chinatown, Francis Ford Coppola's second feature of 1974 The Conversation, Bob Fosse's Lenny and The Towering Inferno definitely the worst of the nominees. To have four deserving choices out of five is impressive which is why Towering Inferno sticks out so much like a sore thumb.

In terms of what I would've chosen for the best film of 1974 it would have to be Roman Polanski's Chinatown. The films is just expert from Polanski's direction, Robert Towne's game changing screenplay and performances from the great Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and especially John Houston. Towne wrote this film so expertly that years since the film came out his work is studied and taught in a many a film writing class. Francis Ford Coppola accomplished a feat not many directors have done producing two all time great films in one year. However I feel The Conversation is the better of his two films. Starring Gene Hackman in what should've been a best actor win Coppola made something quite original with The Conversation. The stillness and care he put into the film amounted to such a special feature that some how is overlooked for Coppola's bigger and brighter films. Bob Fosse known for his great musicals goes outside his zone with Lenny, telling the story of Lenny Bruce he is able to match his expert direction with Bruce's quick witted timing. A Woman Under the Influence has been praised to the heavens for Gena Rowland's all time great performance but the film is so much more than her like most Cassavetes films. The final film I feel that would've been worthy of a best picture nod is John Berry's Claudine. Similar to Women Under... this film is praised for it's leading lady performance and is a greatly rewarding feature to sort of discover. The acting prizes of 1974 went to Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn, Robert De Niro and Ingrid Bergman. Carney and Bergman are questionable for the lack of actual quality because having seen their performances they are such undeserving choices. Burstyn is good but in such a strong year for women her work is less to me and De Niro while brilliant in Godfather is out performed by John Cazale who was not even nominated for his iconic work. Madeline Kahn was great in both Mel Brooks comedies Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. She got the nomination for the latter and really should've gotten the win too.

25 is the amount of films I was able to see from 1974. The complete sum of quality is all time great with the films making the top of my list among some of the greatest films of all time. Below is the list of nominees and winners I would've chosen.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Chinatown (Produced by Robert Evans)

2. The Conversation (Produced by Francis Ford Coppola)

3. Lenny (Produced by Marvin Wroth)

4. A Woman Under the Influence (Produced by Sam Shaw)

5. Claudine (Produced by Hannah Weinstein)

6. Scenes From a Marriage

7. The Godfather: Part II

8. Blazing Saddles

9. Young Frankenstein

10. Amarcord

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Ingmar Bergman for Scenes From a Marriage

John Cassavetes for A Woman Under the Influence

Francis Ford Coppola for The Conversation

Bob Fosse for Lenny

Roman Polanski for Chinatown

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Peter Falk as Nick Longhetti in "A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE"

Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in "THE CONVERSATION"

Dustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce in "LENNY"

Jack Nicholson as J.J. Gittes in "CHINATOWN"

Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Diahann Carroll as Claudine in "CLAUDINE"

Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray in "CHINATOWN"

Valerie Perrin as Honey Bruce in "LENNY"

Gena Rowlands as Mabel Longhetti in "A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE"

Liv Ullman as Marianne in "SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

John Cazale as Fredo Corleone in "THE GODFATHER: PART II"

Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in "THE GODFATHER: PART II"

Marty Feldman as Igor in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"

John Huston as Noah Cross in "CHINATOWN"

Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr in "BLAZING SADDLES"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Bibi Andersson as Katarina in "SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE"

Teri Garr as Inga in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"

Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp in "BLAZING SADDLES"

Diane Keaton as Kay Adams-Corleone in "THE GODFATHER: PART II"

Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Robert Towne for Chinatown

Lester Pine & Tina Pine for Claudine

Francis Ford Coppola for The Conversation

Ingmar Bergman for Scenes From a Marriage

John Cassavetes for A Woman Under the Influence

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola & Mario Puzo; Based on The Godfather by Mario Puzo, The Godfather: Part II

Screenplay by Julian Barry; Based on Lenny by Juliane Barry, Lenny

The Parallax View

Screenplay by Stirling Silliphant; Based on The Tower by Richard Martin Stern & The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia & Frank M. Robinson, The Towering Inferno

Screenplay by Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks; Based on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Young Frankenstein

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by Richard Sylbert; Set Design by Ruby Levitt for Chinatown

Production Design by Dean Tavoularis; Set Design by Doug von Koss for The Conversation

Production Design by Dean Tavoularis; Set Design by George R. Nelson for The Godfather: Part II

Production Design by John Box; Set Design by Peter Howitt & Herb Mulligan for The Great Gatsby

Production Design by Dale Hennesy; Set Design by Bob de Vestel for Young Frankenstein

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Tamu Blackwell (Claudine)

Marilyn Burns (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Claudine)

Alfred Lutter III (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore)

Valerie Perrine (Lenny)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

John A. Alonzo for Chinatown

Bill Butler for The Conversation

Gordon Willis for The Godfather: Part II

Bruce Surtees for Lenny

Gerald Hirschfeld for Young Frankenstein

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Danilo Donati for Amarcord

Anthea Sylbert for Chinatown

John Furniss for Daisy Miller

Theadora Van Runkle for The Godfather: Part II

Theoni V. Aldredge for The Great Gatsby

OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY:

Hearts and Minds (Directed by Peter Davis)

That's Entertainment! (Directed by Jack Haley Jr.)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE:

Blazing Saddles (Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Slim Pickens, Dom DeLuise, Mel Brooks, Liam Dunn, George Furth, Burton Gilliam, John Hillerman, David Huddleston, Richard Collier, Alex Karras, Jack Starrett, Robyn Hilton, Rodney Allen Rippy, Charles McGregor, Robert Ridgel, Carol Arthur)

Claudine (Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu Blackwell, David Kruger, Yvette Curtis, Eric Jones, Socorro Stephens, Adam Wade, Elisa Loti, Roxie Roker)

The Godfather: Part II (Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, Morgana King, G. D. Spradlin, Richard Bright, Marianna Hill, Gastone Moschin, Troy Donahue, Dominic Chianese, Amerigo Tot, Joe Spinell, Bruno Kirby, Frank Sivero, Maria Carta, Francesca De Sapio, Giuseppe Sillato, Roman Coppola, John Megna, Julian Voloshin, Larry Guardino, Danny Aiello, John Aprea, Leopoldo Trieste, Salvatore Po, Harry Dean Stanton)

The Towering Inferno (Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O. J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Sheila Matthews, Norman Burton, Jack Collins, Don Gordon, Felton Perry, Gregory Sierra, Ernie Orsatti, Dabney Coleman, Ross Elliott, William Bassett)

Young Frankenstein (Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, Liam Dunn, Rolfe Sedan, Danny Goldman)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Danford B. Greene & John C. Howard for Blazing Saddles

Sam O'Steen for Chinatown

Richard Crew for The Conversation

Barry Malkinm Richard Marks & Peter Zinner for The Godfather: Part II

Alan Helm for Lenny

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Ali–Fear Eats the Soul (Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Amarcord (Directed by Federico Fellini)

Scenes From a Marriage (Directed by Ingmar Bergman)

Swept Away (Directed by Lina Wertmüller)

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/ADAPTATION SCORE:

Nino Rota for Amarcord

Jerry Goldsmith for Chinatown

David Shire for The Conversation

Nino Rota for The Godfather: Part II

Murder on the Orient Express

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Blazing Saddles, "Blazing Saddles" (Music by John Morris; Lyrics by Mel Brooks)

Blazing Saddles, "I'm Tired" (Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks)

Claudine, "On and On" (Music and Lyrics by Curtis Mayfield)

The Little Prince, "I Never Met a Rose" (Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)

The Towering Inferno, "We May Never Love Like This Again" (Music and Lyrics by Maureen McGovern & Joel Hirschhorn)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

John Cazale (The Conversation, The Godather: Part II)

Faye Dunaway (Chinatown, The Four Masketeers, The Towering Inferno)

Gene Hackman (The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, Zandy's Bride)

Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles, Young Frakenstein)

Diane Ladd (Alica Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Chinatown)

OUTSTANDING SOUND:

Charles Grenzbach & Larry Jost for Chinatown

Walter Murch & Art Rochester for The Conversation

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Theodore Soderberg & Herman Lewis for The Towering Inferno

Richard Portman & Gene Cantamessa for Young Frankenstein

Just because the 1970's are so good I'm going to go in chronological order and move next on 1975. This year holds a special distinction where a film won the 5 big prizes (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay) on oscar night. This film that won these awards was Miloš Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Did the film deserve those prizes for me or did any of the other exceptional nominees from this year deserve prizes too.

1995 - The year Mel Gibson went from Mad Max to oscar winning director

In terms of 1995 I had seen really the bare minimum before this revisit. Toy Story was an obvious given by youth and the film being big at the time of it. Other then that I had seen the occasional films but not enough to make a final opinion on what is the best from 1995 cinema. The oscars surprisingly went for Mel Gibson's war drama Braveheart. This for me is a poor choice reflecting badly on the male specific section of the academy which tends to be large if stats are to be believed. The film is your typical male hero tale that just on a basic level doesn't work for me and that's mainly because of Gibson's inexperience and the nonfactual script the film has. The win itself on the night was as surprising as for me it is over 20 years later especially given the trajectory of the season and even other nominees in the field. Those other four films where Apollo 13, Babe, Il Postino and Sense and Sensibility. Really the final nominee Ang Lee's 1995 film is the only one I consider truly special. Not only is it a clear example of how Lee masters any genre but it also is the greatest Jane Austin adaptation to ever be filmed for the big screen. Apollo 13 is a good film but nothing ground breaking, Babe is a cute well told story of a pig and Il Postino is fetching at best. Ultimately if it were up to me I would've gone with Sense and Sensibility which sadly had no shot at the prize.

In terms of what I feel is truly ground breaking cinema my choice for the greatest single film of 1995 is Todd Haynes spellbinding [safe]. Haynes has always been a genus with his 1995 film probably being his greatest achievement in my opinion. It follows Julianne Moore's character as she goes through a life change due to a chemical illness that arises. Moore gives her careers greatest performance achievement to date and Haynes with the greatest care and delicacy paints this captivating story of a women truly suffering. Sense and Sensibility is my runner up for the best of 1995. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet play the greatest of sisters and this story of how people act with one another is just great film making first. It's just simply made but there is so much power to Lee's camera and the cast he has to work with. Clueless captures what being a teen in the 90's was all about and while it may not reflect on how the youth of today acts it's just too good at capturing the mid nineties while adapting Austen's classic Emma and all together creating cinematic gold. Heckerling may be limited by the modern film world but back in 1995 she was able to make Clueless and cinema was changed forever. Leaving Las Vegas won Nicholas Cage his oscar but other then a few other key nominations was not able to make the picture list even though it really should have. A film about an alcoholic wanting to die this film is gripping and hard to watch but must be watched for Cage and Shue's great leading turns. The final film I feel was overlooked is the Australian comedy hit Muriel's Wedding. First and foremost Muriel is pure fun with some great work by Toni Collette and especially Rachel Griffiths who would've been my choice for the supporting actress prize but was sorely overlooked.

43 is the amount of films I've seen from 1995. It is an exceptional year for cinema that ultimately was not reflected in the academies choices but when you have directors like Ang Lee, Todd Haynes and Amy Heckerling creating what are arguable their greatest works it is surely a great film year to me. Below are the list of nominees and winners I wished the academy had gone with.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. [safe] (Produced by Christine Vachon & Lauren Zalaznick)

2. Sense and Sensibility (Produced by Lindsay Doran)

3. Clueless (Produced by Barry M. Berg, Twink Caplan, Robert Lawrence, Scott Rudin & Adam Schroeder)

4. Leaving Las Vegas (Produced by Lila Cazès & Annie Stewart)

5. Muriel's Wedding (Produced by Lynda House & Jocelyn Moorhouse)

6. The Bridges of Madison County

7. A Little Princess

8. To Die For

9. Before Sunrise

10. Toy Story

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Mike Figgis for Leaving Las Vegas

Todd Haynes for [safe]

Amy Heckerling for Clueless

John Lasseter for Toy Story

Ang Lee for Sense and Sensibility

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Nicholas Cage as Ben Sanderson in "LEAVING LAS VEGAS"

Clint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid in "THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY"

Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon in "NIXON"

Ian McKellen as Richard III in "RICHARD III"

Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelet in "DEAD MAN WALKING"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Kathy Bates as Dolores Claiborne in "DOLORES CLAIBORNE"

Nicole Kidman as Suzanne Stone Maretto in "TO DIE FOR"

Julianne Moore as Carol White in "[SAFE]"

Alicia Silverstone as Cherilyn "Cher" Horowitz in "CLUELESS"

Meryl Streep as Francesca Johnson in "THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Benicio Del Toror as Fenster in "THE USUAL SUSPECTS"

Robert Downey Jr. as Tommy Larson in "HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS"

Peter Friedman as Peter Dunning in "[SAFE]"

Ted Lavine as Jake in "GEORGIA"

Kevin Spacey as John Doe in "SE7EN"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Joan Allen as Pat Nixon in "NIXON"

Illena Douglas as Janice Maretto in "TO DIE FOR"

Rachel Griffiths as Rhonda Epinstall in "MURIEL'S WEDDING"

Brittany Murphy as Tai Frasier in "CLUELESS"

Judy Parfitt as Vera Donovan in "DOLORES CLAIBORNE"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan for Before Sunrise

P. J. Hogan for Muriel's Wedding

Todd Haynes for [safe]

Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alex Sokolow, John Lasseter, Pete Docter & Joe Ranft for Toy Story

Christopher McQuarrie for The Usual Suspects

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Amy Heckerling; Based on Emma by Jane Austen, Clueless

Screenplay by Mike Figgis; Based on Leaving Las Vegas by John O'Brien, Leaving Las Vegas

A Little Princess

Screenplay by Emma Thompson; Based on Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

Screenplay by Buck Henry; Based on To Die For by Joyce Maynard, To Die For

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by Bruno Rubeo; Set Design by Steve Shewchuk for Dolores Claiborne

Production Design by Tony Burrough for Richard III

Production Design by Luciana Arrighi; Set Design by Ian Whittaker for Sense and Sensibility

Production Design by Arthur Max; Set Design by Clay A. Griffith for Se7en

Production Design by Jeffrey Beecroft; Set Design by Crispian Sallis for 12 Monkeys

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Toni Collette (Muriel's Wedding)

Illena Douglas (To Die For)

Rachel Griffiths (Muriel's Wedding)

Chloë Sevigny (Kids)

Alicia Silverstone (Clueless)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Gabriel Beristain for Dolores Claiborne

Declan Quinn for Leaving Las Vegas

Alex Nepomniaschy for [safe]

Michael Coulter for Sense and Sensibility

Darius Khondji for Se7en

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Mona May for Clueless

Judianna Makovsky for A Little Princess

Shuna Harwood for Richard III

Jenny Beaven & John Bright for Sense and Sensibility

Beatrix Aruna Pasztor for To Die For

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE:

Clueless (Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Dan Hedaya, Elisa Donovan, Justin Walker, Wallace Shawn, Twink Caplan, Julie Brown, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Jeremy Sisto, Nicole Bilderback)

Home for the Holidays (Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, Claire Danes, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott, Austin Pendleton, Geraldine Chaplin, Steve Guttenberg, Cynthia Stevenson, David Strathairn)

Kicking and Screaming (Josh Hamilton, Olivia d'Abo, Carlos Jacott, Chris Eigeman, Eric Stoltz, Jason Wiles, Parker Posey, Elliott Gould, Marissa Ribisi, Dean Cameron, Kaela Dobkin, Perrey Reeves, Cara Buono, Noah Baumbach)

Muriel's Wedding (Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Bill Hunter, Sophie Lee, Jeanie Drynan, Gennie Nevinson, Daniel Lapaine, Matt Day, Roz Hammond, Belinda Jarrett, Pippa Grandison)

Waiting to Exhale (Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon, Loretta Devine, Gregory Hines, Dennis Haysbert, Mykelti Williamson, Michael Beach, Giancarlo Esposito, Donald Faison, Leon, Wendell Pierce, Jeffrey D. Sams, Jazz Raycole, Brandon Hammond, Kenya Moore)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Debra Chlate for Clueless

Pasquale Buba, William Goldenberg, Dov Hoenig & Tim Rolf for Heat

John Smith for Leaving Las Vegas

James Lyons for [safe]

Richard Francis-Bruce for Se7en

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

The City of Lost Children (Directed by Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet)

Il Postino (Directed by Michael Radford)

La Haine (Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison & Lois Burwell for Braveheart

Alan 'Doc' Friedman for Clueless

John Blake & Mindy Hall for Nixon

Jean Ann Black, Michael A. Hancock, Margaret Prentice & Monty Westmore for Se7en

Christine Beveridge, Ailen Weisinger for 12 Monkeys

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE:

Danny Elfman for Dolores Claiborne

Ed Tomney for [safe]

Patrick Doyle for Sense and Sensibility

Howard Shore for Se7en

Danny Elfman for To Die For

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Dead Man Walking, "Dead Man Walking" (Music and Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen)

A Little Princess, "Kindle My Heart" (Music and Lyrics by Maggie Smith)

Pocahontas, "Colors of the Wind" (Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz)

Safe, "Give Yourself to Love" (Music and Lyrics by Kate Wolf)

Toy Story, "You've Got a Friend in Me" (Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Angela Bassett (Strange Days, Waiting to Exhale)

Robert De Niro (Casino, Heat)

Kevin Spacey (Outbreak, Se7en, Swimming with Sharks, The Usual Suspects)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING:

Richard L. Anderson, Dean Beville, Donald Flick, Warren Hamilton Jr., Elliot Koretz, Patricio A. Libenson & Eric Lindermann for Apollo 13

Lon Bender & Per Hallberg for Braveheart

Christopher Assells, Rick Bozeat, Richard Dwan Jr., Scott Martin Gershin, Randy Kelley & Mark R. Pointe for Heat

Philip Bothamley, David Brady, William Parnell, Rocky Phelan & Elaine 'Chucks' Thomas for Richard III

Kim B. Christensen & Jennifer L. Ware for Se7en

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

Rick Dior, Steve Pederson, Scott Millan & David MacMillan for Apollo 13

Renoita Giannelli, Chris Nuttall, Lee Taylor & Aad Wirtz for Richard III

Neil Danziger, Alan deGraaf, John Gare, Elliot Jacobson, David Novack & Reilly Steele for [safe]

Willie D. Burton, Rick Hart, Robert J. Litt & Elliot Tyson for Se7en

Gary Rydstrom & Gary Summers for Toy Story

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Leslie Ekker & Matt Sweeney for Apollo 13

Soctt E. Anderson, Charles Gibson, Neal Scanlan & John Cox for Babe

12 Monkeys

After completing two years of the 90's on my revisit I now go onto my first revisit of the aparent greatest decade for film the 70's The first year is 1974 the rare year that a sequel The Godfather Part II won the big prizes after it's predecessor The Godfather won the big prize two years previous.

1982 - The year the oscars were captivated by Gandhi

I'd only seen a couple of 1982 films before revisiting this year. As a massive fan of actressing of all kinds I had of course seen Meryl Streep's winning turn but I'd also seen Tootsie, Victor/Victoria, Annie and An Officer and a Gentlemen. However while I'd seen three of the acting winners (Streep, Gossett Jr. and Lange) I had not seen probably the most important film in terms of the academy awards that year. That "little" film is Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. This is a film that I just hold contentment towards because it's such a disappointing film like unsurprisingly many of the academy's choices for best picture. It runs through the typical biopic beats and while Kingsley has been praised for his work in the lead role even winning the eventual actor oscar his work like the film is just average. The story the film is trying to tell well is epic in itself but due to some artistic liberties taken and some bad directing choices I just am perplexed by this film able to win the academy award. What makes the choice even worse is the other nominees which are so much stronger in every aspect I just hold even more bad feelings toward this film. The other nominees were E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Missing, Tootsie and The Verdict. Of those four others Missing is the only other film I would hold ill feeling to getting a nomination just because there are better film from 1982 in my opinion but still it's a worthy film which is not something I can say for Gandhi.

E.T. which thankfully got nominated for best picture is hands down my favourite film from that year. Spielberg may not have hit us home with a heart wrenching ending like in Close Encounters but still E.T. is probably better as this is a story of a child and his friend alien. Spielberg crafts just film magic on screen with E.T. which is why it's easily my favourite choice and is something that I know I will rewatch over and over again for all time. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner the other great sci-fi feature from this year on initial release isn't the greatest but the directors cut is the reason why this film has become a cult classic and to me the runner up for the picture prize to E.T. Shoot the Moon probably the least seen of my picture nominees is yet again another Alan Parker film that I love. Diane Keaton and Albert Finney in the lead roles are exquisite and this family separation film is just so unlike others that I love it to bits. The Verdict along with E.T. is the other best picture nominee that I would personally nominate. Sidney Lumet is one great director who is able to make this film about a a rather unlikeable hero in Paul Newman be as fascinating and breath taking to watch that I yet again have to stretch Gandhi winning over a picture like this is so wrong. The final nominee of my personal lineup is Das Boot. This is easily the best foreign film choice of the year and while it came to peoples radar in 1981 it didn't hit the states till the following year making it eligible for my revisit this year. It is a great feature that people should seek to watch now. As I said before Streep was deserving of her actress prize giving one of the greatest film performances captured. My other choices for acting would've been Dustin Hoffman for his complicated comedic performance in Tootsie. James Mason for his villain lawyer turn in The Verdict and Lesley Ann Warren for her spellbinding comedy turn in Victor/Victoria.

29 is the amount of films I was able to see from 1982 and while there were some special films that year I just have a negative reflection on the year that sadly all comes back to the academies choice to reward 8 awards to Gandhi one of the most flat and boring films ever to win the prize. Below are the list of winners and nominees I wish would've occurred.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Produced by Kathleen Kennedy & Steven Spielberg)

2. Blade Runner (Produced by Charles de Lauzirika & Michael Deeley)

3. Shoot the Moon (Produced by Alan Marshall)

4. The Verdict (Produced by David Brown & Richard D. Zanuck)

5. Das Boot (Produced by Ortwin Freyermuth & Günter Rohrbach)

6. Tootsie

7. Fitzcarraldo

8. Fast Times at Ridgemont High

9. Moonlighting

10. Victor/Victoria

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Sidney Lumet for The Verdict

Alan Parker for Shoot the Moon

Wolfgang Petersen for Das Boot

Ridley Scott for Blade Runner

Steven Spielberg for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Albert Finney as George Dunlap in "SHOOT THE MOON"

Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels in "TOOTSIE"

Jack Lemmon as Ed Horman in "MISSING"

Paul Newman as Franke Galvin in "THE VERDICT"

Jürgen Prochnow as  Kapitänleutnant in "DAS BOOT"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Sandy Dennis as Mona in "COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN"

Diane Keaton as Faith Dunlap in "SHOOT THE MOON"

Jessica Lange as Frances Farmer in "FRANCES"

Sissy Spacek as Beth Horman in "MISSING"

Meryl Streep as Sophie in "SOPHIE'S CHOICE"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Rutger Hauer as Roy Batty in "BLADE RUNNER"

David Keith as Sid Worley in "AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN"

Kevin Kline as Nathan in "SOPHIE'S CHOICE"

James Mason as Ed Concannon in "THE VERDICT"

Robert Preston as Carole "Toddy" Todd in "VICTOR VICTORIA"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Karen Black as Joanne in "COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN"

Teri Garr as Sandy in "TOOTSIE"

Dana Hill as Sherry Dunlap in "SHOOT THE MOON"

Charlotte Rampling as Laura Fischer in "THE VERDICT"

Lesley Ann Warren as Norma Cassady in "VICTOR VICTORIA"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Barry Levinson for Diner

Melissa Mathison for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Jerzy Skolimowski for Moonlighting

Bo Goldman for Shoot the Moon

Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal & Don McGuire for Tootsie

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Hampton Fancher & David Webb Peoples; Bases on Do Androids Dream of

Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner

Screenplay by Wolfgang Petersen; Based on Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, Das Boot

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Screenplay by Costa-Gavras & Donald Stewart; Based on Missing by Thomas Hauser, Missing

Screenplay by David Mamet; Based on The Verdict by Barry Reed, The Verdict

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by Lawrence G. Paull; Set Design by David L. Snyder & Linda DeScenna for Blade Runner

Production Deign Hilton Mc Connico; Set Design by Gerard Marcireau for Diva

Production Design by James D. Bissell; Set Design by Jackie Carr for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Production Design by Stuart Craig; Set Design by Michael Seirton for Gandhi

Production Design by James H. Spencer; Set Design by Cheryal Kearney for Poltergeist

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Cher (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean)

Dana Hill (Shoot the Moon)

Ben Kingsley (Gandhi)

Kevin Kline (Sophie's Choice)

Michelle Pfeiffer (Grease 2)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Jordan Cronenweth for Blade Runner

Jost Vacano for Das Boot

Philippe Rousselot for Diva

Allen Daviau for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Nestor Almendros for Sophie's Choice

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Charles Knode & Michael Kaplan for Blade Runner

Hilton McConnico for Diva

John Mollo & Bhanu Athalya for Gandhi

Norma Moriceau for Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior

Patricia Norris for Victor Victoria

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE:

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Sandy Dennis, Cher, Karen Black, Sudie Bond, Marta Heflin, Kathy Bates, Mark Patton, Caroline Aaron, Ruth Miller, Gena Ramsel, Ann Risley, Dianne Turley Travis)

Diner (Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Bacon, Tim Daly, Ellen Barkin, Paul Reiser, Kathryn Dowling, Michael Tucker, Jessica James, Colette Blonigan, Kelle Kipp, Clement

Fowler, Claudia Cron)

Shoot the Moon (Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller, Dana Hill, Viveka Davis,

Tracey Gold, Tina Yothers)

Tootsie (Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill

Murray, Sydney Pollack, George Gaynes, Geena Davis, Doris Belack, Lynne Thigpen, Estelle Getty,

Willy Switkes)

The Verdict (Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O'Shea,

Lindsay Crouse, Edward Binns, Julie Bovasso, Roxanne Hart, James Handy, Wesley Addy, Joe Seneca, Lewis J. Stadlen, Kent Broadhurst, Colin Stinton)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Terry Rawlings for Blade Runner

Hannes Nikel for Das Boot

Carol Littleton for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Michael Balson, David Stiven & Tim Wellburn for Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior

Michael Kahn for Poltergeist

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Das Boot (Directed by Wolfgang Petersen)

Diva (Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix)

Fitzcarraldo (Directed by Werner Herzog)

Stalker (Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Marvin G. Westmore for Blade Runner

Tom Smith for Gandhi

Karla O'Keefe for Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior

Dottie Pearl for Poltergeist

Ken Chase & Phyllis Newman for The Thing

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/MUSICAL SCORE:

Vangelis for Blade Runner

John Williams for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Jerry Goldsmith for Poltergeist

Marvin Hamlisch for Sophie's Choice

Ennio Morricone for The Thing

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

An Officer and a Gentleman, "Up Where We Belong" (Music by Jack Nitzche & Buffy Sainte-Marie; Lyrics by Will Jennings)

Rocky III, "Eye of the Tiger" (Music and Lyrics by Jim Peterik & Frankie Sullivan)

Tootsie, "It Might Be You" (Music by Dave Grusin; Lyrics by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman)

Victor Victoria, "Chicago, IIllionois" (Music and Lyrics by Henry Mancini)

Victor Victoria, "Le Jazz Hot" (Music and Lyrics by Henry Mancini)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER:

Charles Durning (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Tootsie)

Albert Finney (Annie, Shoot the Moon)

Teri Garr (One from the Heart, Tootsie)

Jessica Lange (Frances, Tootsie)

James Mason (Evil Under the Sun, The Verdict)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING:

Peter Pennell for Blade Runner

Mike Le Mare for Das Boot

Charles L. Campbell & Ben Burtt for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Stephen Hunter Flick & Richard L. Anderson for Poltergeist

Warren Hamilton Jr. & Kendrick Sweet for The Thing

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

Bud Alper, Graham V. Hartstone & Gerry Humphreys for Blade Runner

Milan Bor, Trevor Pyke & Mike Le Mare for Das Boot

Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don Digirolamo & Gene S. Cantamessa for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Roder Savage & Bryon Kennedy for Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior

Art Rochester for Poltergeist

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Douglas Trumbull, Richard Yuricich & David Dryer for Blade Runner

Roy Field, Brian Smithies & Ian Wingrove for The Dark Crystal

Carlo Rambaldi, Dennis Muren & Kenneth Smith for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Richard Edlund, Michael Wood & Bruce Nicholson for Poltergeist

Rob Bottin for The Thing

Next time on my revisit I'm going to travel over a decade into the future to 1995 when a little film none as Braveheart came by surprise to win a lot of oscars. Mel Gibson was an actor turned director who was able to win it all with his film. Did the film deserve it's wins in my opinion. Next time I'll be writing about it I know for sure.

1936 - The year the oscars actually realised there were supporting actors

1936 like many of the earlier years of cinema was entirely new to me as I had previously seen none of the films I eventually saw when revisiting the year. Like I mentioned in the title 1936 was the first year acting prizes separated leading and supporting performances which in retrospective really should've been done since the beginning of the institution. 1936 like many earlier years had 10 eventual nominees for best picture with the final prize going to Robert Z. Leonard's The Great Ziegfeld. This best picture choice is rather questionable as having now seen this film it is quite a weak choice. Sure Luise Rainer is great but outside of her rather small part this film inspires nothing of opulence and grandeur that the film makers might believe it does as they tell the story of the beginnings of the american Broadway. The others nominees for best picture that year were Anthony Adverse, Dodsworth, Libeled Lady, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Romeo and Juliet, San Francisco, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities & Three Smart Girls. I've only seen 5 of them and other then Mr. Deeds, and especially Dodsworth the ones I watched are rather stale and of a time that I dispice seeing in cinema as films should be for all time rather then for one time. So really what I'm trying to say with 1936 is that the academy had a film like Dodsworth sitting there and yet they chose Great Ziegfeld as their choice for it's scale.

There actually were some great films outside of Dodsworth and Mr. Deeds making my top 5 picture lineup that just were overlooked. The obvious answer and deserving choice for the best film of 1936 is Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times. Chaplin was a genius in his own time and a master of all time with Modern Times being yet again another exquisite silent picture from Chaplin who stoke to the dying medium that was silent film. His film just is crafted expertly and the comedy is timeless that I just fell hard in love with it. Dodsworth which unlike Modern Times was nominated is a less discussed William Wyler film that is so strong that I can't help but wonder why people do not discuss it as much. The cast and creatives are strong especially Ruth Chatterton in the role of Fran Dodsworth who should've taken the best actress prize but unlike male co-star wasn't even nominated for the oscar. The other greatly underrated William Wyler film from this year is These Three which is an adaptation of the stage play which is probably more none for the 1961 adaptation The Children's Hour. This is the better adaptation for me and features what should've been the supporting actress winner Marcia Mae Jones who at 12 years old was an early example of how children can act and continue to act sometimes greater then their adult co-stars. My Man Godfrey one of the great screw ball comedies was embraced by the academy other then the important picture nod but really should've been included for how ingenious it is. It's one of the great Lombard performances and seen throughout is a cast of actors having truly great fun. The final film to complete my best picture lineup is Mr. Deeds which was up for the prize and deservedly so as this is one of the many Capra films that worked now and still work then no matter how much people seem to look down on Capra nowadays.

22 is the number of films I was able to find and watch because sadly some just seemed impossible to find to due to passing of time and not proper documenting. There are some great films that I watched but there are also some horribly dated ones too that the film year is overall average at best but still an standout for actually rewarding your typical awards from present days. Below is the list of what should've been and what I dearly wish had been the 1936 oscars.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Modern Times (Produced by Charlie Chaplin)

2. Dodsworth (Produced by Samuel Goldwyn & Merritt Hulburd)

3. These Three (Produced by Samuel Goldwyn)

4. My Man Godfrey (Produced by Charles R. Rogers)

5. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Produced by Frank Capra)

6. Swing Time

7. Libeled Lady

8. The Petrified Forest

9. Rembrandt

10. Things to Come

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Charlie Chaplin for Modern Times

Fritz Lang for Fury

George Stevens for Swing Time

William Wyler for Dodsworth

William Wyler for These Three

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Fred Astaire as Lucky Garnett in "SWING TIME"

Charlie Chaplin as Factory Worker in "MODERN TIMES"

Gary Cooper as Longfellow Deeds in "MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN"

Walter Huston as Sam Dodsworth in "DODSWORTH"

Charles Laughton as Rembrandt van Rijn in "REMBRANDT"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Ruth Chatterton as Fran Dodsworth in "DODSWORTH"

Irene Dunne as Theodora Lynn in "THEODORA GOES WILD"

Carole Lombard as Irene Bullock in "MY MAN GODFREY"

Luise Rainer as Anna Held in "THE GREAT ZIEGFELD"

Ginger Rogers as Penny Carroll in "SWING TIME"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Mischa Auer as Carlo in "MY MAN GODFREY"

John Barrymore as Mercutio - Kinsman to the Prince and Friend to Romeo in "ROMEO AND JULIET"

Humphrey Bogart as Duke Mantee in "THE PETRIFIED FOREST"

Walter Brennan as Swan Bostrom in "COME AND GET IT"

Charley Grapewin as Gramp Maple in "THE PETRIFIED FOREST"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Mary Astor as Mrs. Edith Cortright in "DODSWORTH"

Helen Broderick as Mabel Anderson in "SWING TIME"

Bonita Granville as Mary Tilford in "THESE THREE"

Marcia Mae Jones as Rosalie Wells in "THESE THREE"

Gail Patrick as Cornelia Bullock in "MY MAN GODFREY"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Maurine Dallas Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers & George Oppenheimer for Libeled Lady

Charlie Chaplin for Modern Times

Eric Hatch & Morrie Ryskind for My Man Godfrey

Pierre Collings & Sheridan Gibney for The Story of Louis Pasteur

Mary McCarthy & Sidney Buchman for Theodora Goes Wild

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Sinclair Lewis; Based on Dodsworth by Sidney Howard, Dodsworth

Screenplay by Robert Riskin; Based on Opera Hat by Clarence Budington Kelland, Mr. Deed Goes to Town

Screenplay by June Head and Lajos Bíró; Based on a story by Carl Zuckmayer, Rembrandt

Screenplay by Howard Lindsay & Allan Scott; Based on "Portrait of John Garnett" by Erwin S. Gelsey, Swing Time

Screenplay by Lillian Hellman; Based on The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman, These Three

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Art Direction by Anton Grot for Anthony Adverse

Art Direction by Richard Day for Dodsworth

Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons & Eddie Imazu for The Great Ziegfeld

Art Direction by Vincent Korda for Rembrandt

Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase for Swing Time

OUTSTANDING ASSITANT DIRECTOR:

William Cannon for Anthony Adverse

Carter DeHaven for Modern Times

Scott R. Beal, Fred Frank & Nate D. Slott for My Man Godfrey

Joseph M. Newman for San Francisco

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Paulette Goddard (Modern Times)

Bonita Granville (These Three)

Gertrude Lawrence (Rembrandt)

Marcia Mae Jones (These Three)

Luise Rainer (The Great Ziegfeld)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Rudolph Maté for Dodsworth

George J. Folsey, Karl Freund, Merritt B. Gerstad, Ray June & Oliver T. Marsh for The Great Ziegfeld

Ira H. Morgan & Roland Totheroh for Modern Times

Georges Périnal for Rembrandt

David Abel for Swing Time

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Milo Anderson for Anthony Adverse

Adrian Adolph Greenburg for The Gorgeous Hussy

Adrian Adolph Greenburg for The Great Ziegfeld

Adrian Adolph Greenburg & Oliver Messel for Romeo and Juliet

Bernard Newman for Swing Time

OUTSTANDING DANCE DIRECTION:

Seymour Felix for The Great Ziegfeld

Agnes de Mille for Romeo and Juliet

Vals Raset for San Francisco

Hermes Pan for Swing Time

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

Dodsworth (Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas, Mary Astor, Kathryn Marlowe, David Niven, Gregory Gaye, Maria Ouspenskaya, Odette Myrtil, John Payne, Spring Byington, Harlan Briggs)

Follow the Fleet (Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott, Harriet Hilliard, Astrid Allwyn, Betty Grable, Harry Beresford, Russell Hicks, Brooks Benedict, Ray Mayer, Lucille Ball, Tony Martin, Jane Hamilton, Doris Lloyd)

My Man Godfrey (William Powell, Carole Lombard, Alice Brady, Gail Patrick, Eugene Pallette, Jean Dixon, Alan Mowbray, Mischa Auer, Pat Flaherty, Robert Light)

The Petrified Forest (Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran, Joe Sawyer, Porter Hall, Charley Grapewin, Paul Harvey, John Alexander, Eddie Acuff, Gus Leonard)

These Three (Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Alma Kruger, Bonita Granville, Marcia Mae Jones, Catherine Doucet, Margaret Hamilton)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Daniel Mandell for Dodsworth

Williams S. Gray for The Great Ziegfeld

Charlie Chaplin & Wilard Nico for Modern Times

Ted J. Kent & Russell F. Schoengarth for My Man Godfrey

Jerome Kern for Swing Time

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE:

Erich Wolfgang Korngold for Anthony Adverse

Alfred Newman for Dodsworth

Werner Janssen for The General Died at Dawn

Charlie Chaplin for Modern Times

Alfred Newman for These Three

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Born to Dance, "I've Got You Under My Skin" (Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter)

Follow the Fleet, "Let Yourself Go" (Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin)

Follow the Fleet, "Let's Face the Music and Dance" (Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin)

Swing Time, "A Fine Romance" (Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields)

Swing Time, "The Way You Look Tonight" (Music by Jerome Kern; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Gary Cooper (Desire, The General Died at Dawn, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, The Plainsman)

Leslie Howard (The Petfrified Forest, Romeo and Juliet)

Carole Lombard (Love Before Breakfast, My Man Godfrey, The Princess Comes Across)

William Powell (The Great Ziegfeld, Libeled Lady, My Man Godfrey)

Spencer Tracy (Fury, Libeled Lady, San Francisco)

OUTSTANDING SOUND RECORDING:

Louis Mesenkop & Harry D. Mills for The General Died at Dawn

Douglas Shearer & James Brock for The Great Ziegfeld

John P. Livadary for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

Douglas Shearer for San Francisco

George Marsh & Hugh McDowell Jr. for Swing Time

Next time on revisit a film year will be my first revisit of the 80's The decade that is on reflection is considered by many not to be what many remember it being. The first 80's year I'll revisit is 1982 the year in which actor turned director Richard Attenborough directed the supposed epic Gandhi to oscar gold. Was I overpowered by the epic or was there better films for me to love.