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.
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