1990 was the beginning and ending of a lot of cinema releated things. It was the official end of the 80's which was quite the transitional decade for hollywood with the more riskier pictures being less budgeted by studios and more blockbuster films being made by these many studios. 1990 itself sort of represents this with the choice by the academy which was actor turned director Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves. The choice is rather odd nowadays which I can agree with having finally seen the film which admitadly was a struggle to get through. The film is so underdeveloped from a script level and Costner clearly lacks the direction skills to elevant it past this. Such a typical academy choice that I have to disagree with so harshly because Costner really has proven himself so much more being an actor and this picture just didn't work for me. The other choices for picture other than the obvious didn't inspire much adoration from me because clearly it was more about what made money this year. The other nominees were Awakenings, Ghost, Godfather Part II and Goodfellas. Other than Goodfellas this lineup is so off putting in terms of quality. Awakenings is average oscar bait that I feel doesn't work, Ghost aside from Whoopi Goldberg's oscar winning turn is a run of the mile romance and Godfather III just pails to it's predecesors and simply got in on name recongition rather than actually deserving a slot. Goodfellas is the only picture I fully agree with to a point like many I consider it to be one of the worst oversights by the academy because they waited so long to reward Scorsese when they had so many opportunities they just didn't take.
While the academy reflected the wrong side of hollywood film making there were some impressive cinematic feats to come out this year. Top of my list is the great foreign film Cinema Paradiso which premiered first in 1988 but didn't arrive stateside till this year. I believe if you love film and all the magic of it there is no way you cannot fall head over heals for this film. It's just filled the brime of clear adoration for cinema through these extended flashbacks of a young child learning to love cinema. While the film is filled with tragdegy every time the camera falls for cinema I can't help but agree with every department of this film. Just expert work from Giuseppe Tornatore who probably made the great love story for film of all time. Next in my list is Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. The mob culture has never been looked upon the same since this film came out and for good reason. While Godfather first showed america the mob way Goodfellas did it by capturing it in the most modern way as the film takes place from 1955 up till 1980. The film is filled with sweeping camera shots that even though copied to death today is never the same as when Scorsese directs them. Scorsese is the star of this film but he fills it the brime with character after character that in any other film would come across as cliche but from the creative mind of Scorsese is a cast of enjoyable characters that on each rewatch I discover a new love for each of them. Next is Jane Campion's Sweetie one of her pre-The Piano films is a complete Campion picture. She mixes zainy comedy with deep trauma like no other director. The trauma comes from the titular character of Sweetie and the zainy atmosphere comes from the universe building of Campion who fills the screen with vibrant colors, characters and just a general tone that no director but Campion is able to achieve. Wild at the Heart easily the oddest choice in my top five is David Lynch completly letting loose. He goes mad to the point sanity with his version of The Wizard of Oz story but through the eyes of Lynch is the oddest version of it. I just out right love this film even if some find issues with it because it's such a Lynchian picture and his particular style is something that just agrees with my inner oddness. Whether it's Diane Ladd going absolutely mad or Willem Dafoe hand rapping Laura Dern. Such a dark and twisted romance is Wild of Heart, The final film to make my top 5 is again another odd film Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. Yet again another unconventional love story this is one of Burton's crowning achievements before he lost the subtance. This film is full of life and character as well as plenty of death typical of a Burton film. This is Burton and Depp before they stopped caring and together the two create the weirdest of love stories that due to it's emotional highs will make me cry each time I watch this feature .As you can tell from my list so far of favourites from the year there is plenty of crossover in terms of themes and tones.
48 is the amount of films I saw from 1990 and all together it's an impressive list of films from some of the great directors. The year features a lot of signature films from these directors which is cool considering they all come in the same year. Below is the list of winners and nominees I would've chosen from the academy awards.
OUTSTANDING PICTURE:
1. Cinema Paradiso (Produced by Franco Cristaldi & Giovanna Romagnoli)
2. Goodfellas (Produced by Irwin Winkler)
3. Sweetie (Produced by John Maynard)
4. Wild at Heart (Produced by Steve Golin, Monty Montgomery & Sigurjon Sighvatsson)
5. Edward Scissorhands (Produced by Tim Burton & Denise Di Novi)
6. War Requiem
7. Postcards from the Edge
8. Metropolitan
9. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down a.k.a. Atame
10. Miller's Crossing
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:
Jane Campion for Sweetie
Derek Jarman for War Requiem
David Lynch for Wild at Heart
Martin Scorsese for Goodfellas
Giuseppe Tornatore for Cinema Paradiso
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:
Alec Baldwin as Frederick J. Frenger Jr. in "MIAMI BLUES"
Johnny Depp as Edward Scissorhands in "EDWARD SCISSORHANDS"
Danny Glover as Harry in "TO SLEEP WITH ANGER"
Richard Harris as "Bull" McCabe in "THE FIELD"
Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bülow in "REVERSAL OF FORTUNE"
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:
Mary Alice as Suzie in "TO SLEEP WITH ANGER"
Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes in "MISERY"
Sandra Bernhard as Herself in "WITHOUT YOU I'M NOTHING"
Laura Dern as Lila Pace Fortune in "WILD AT HEART"
Julia Roberts as Vivian Ward in "PRETTY WOMAN"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Willem Dafoe as Bobby Peru in "WILD AT HEART"
Brad Dourif as The Gemini Killer in "THE EXORCIST III"
Philippe Noiret as Alfredo in "CINEMA PARADISO"
Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito in "GOODFELLAS"
Harry Dean Stanton as Johnnie Farragut in "WILD AT HEART"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Whoopi Goldberg as Oda Mae Brown in "GHOST"
Diane Ladd as Marietta Fortune in "WILD AT HEART"
Geneviève Lemon as Dawn aka Sweetie in "SWEETIE"
Shirley MacLaine as in "POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE"
Sheryl Lee Ralph as Linda in "TO SLEEP WITH ANGER"
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Giuseppe Tornatore for Cinema Paradiso
Tim Burton & Caroline Thompson for Edward Scissorhands
Whit Stillman for Metropolitan
Jane Campion & Gerard Lee for Sweetie
Charles Burnett for To Sleep with Anger
OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese; Based on Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas
Screenplay by William Goldman; Based on Misery by Stephen King, Misery
Screenplay by Carrie Fisher; Based on Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher, Postcards from the Edge
Screenplay by Nicholas Kazan; Based on Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case by Alan M. Dershowitz, Reversal of Fortune
Screenplay by David Lynch; Based on Wild at Heart by Barry Gifford, Wild at Heart
OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:
Production Design by Richard Sylbert; Set Design by Rick Simpson for Dick Tracy
Production Design by Bo Welch; Set Design by Cheryl Carasik for Edward Scissorhands
Production Design by Kristi Zea; Set Design by Les Bloom for Goodfellas
Production Design by Dennis Gassner; Set Design by Nancy Haigh for The Grifters
Production Design by Patricia Norris for Wild at Heart
OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:
Ethel Ayler (To Sleep with Anger)
Lorraine Bracco (Goodfellas)
Geneviève Lemon (Sweetie)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (To Sleep with Anger)
Tilda Swinton (War Requiem)
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Blasco Giurato for Cinema Paradiso
Michael Ballhaus for Goodfellas
Sally Bongers for Sweetie
Richard Greatrex for War Requiem
Frederocl Elmes for Wild at Heart
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:
Colleen Atwood for Edward Scissohands
Richard Bruno for Goodfellas
Marilyn Vanice for Pretty Woman
Judianna Makovsky for Reversal of Fortune
Amy Stofsky for Wild at Heart
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY:
American Dream (Directed by Barbara Kopple and Arthur Cohn)
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:
Goodfellas (Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Sivero, Frank Vincent, Tony Darrow, Mike Starr, Chuck Low, Frank DiLeo, Johnny Williams, Samuel L. Jackson, Frank Adonis, Catherine Scorsese, Gina Mastrogiacomo, Debi Mazar, Margo Winkler, Welker White, Julie Garfield, Paul Herman, Detective Ed Deacy, Christopher Serrone, Charles Scorsese, Michael Vivalo, Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico, Frank Pellegrino, Tony Ellis, Elizabeth Whitcraft, Illeana Douglas, Anthony Powers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ed McDonald, Tony Lip, Joseph Bono, Kevin Corrigan, Tobin Bell, Henny Youngman, Vito Picone)
Metropolitan (Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols, Allison Parisi, Dylan Hundley, Isabel Gillies, Bryan Leder, Will Kempe, Ellia Thompson, Stephen Uys, Roger W. Kirby)
Miller's Crossing (Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, Albert Finney, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J. E. Freeman, Steve Buscemi, John McConnell, Mike Starr, Al Mancini, Olek Krupa, Michael Jeter, Michael Badalucco, Frances McDormand, Sam Raimi)
Sweetie (Geneviève Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling, Dorothy Barry, Michael Lake, Andre Pataczek, Jean Hadgraft, Paul Livingston, Louise Fox, Ann Merchant, Robin Frank, Bronwyn Morgan, Sean Fennell, Sean Callinan)
To Sleep with Anger (Danny Glover, Paul Butler, DeVaughn Nixon, Mary Alice, Reina King, Cory Curtis, Richard Brooks, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Carl Lumbly, Paula Bellamy, Vonetta McGee, Wonderful Smith, Ethel Ayler)
OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:
Mario Morra for Cinema Paradiso
Thelma Schoonmaker for Goodfellas
Veronika Jenet for Sweetie
Rick Rlgood for War Requiem
Duwayne Dunham for Wild at Heart
OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Cinema Paradiso (Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore)
Cyrano de Bergerac (Directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau)
The Killer (Directed by John Woo)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down a.k.a. Atame (Directed by Pedro Almodóvar)
The Vanishing (Directed by George Sluizer)
OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:
Michèle Burke and Jean-Pierre Eychenne for Cyrano de Bergerac
John Caglione, Jr. & Doug Drexler for Dick Tracy
Ve Neill & Stan Winston for Edward Scissorhands
Michelle Buhler for Wild at Heart
John Stephenson & The Creature Shop for The Witches
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE:
Ennio Morricone for Cinema Paradiso
John Barry for Dances With Wolves
Danny Elfman for Edward Scissorhands
Elmer Bernstein for The Grifters
Mark Isham for Reversal of Fortune
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:
Dick Tracy, "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)" (Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim)
Dick Tracy, "What Can You Lose" (Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim)
The Godfather, Part III, "Promise Me You'll Remember" (Music by Carmine Coppola; Lyrics by John Bettis)
Postcards from the Edge, "I'm Checkin' Out" (Music and Lyrics by Shel Silverstein)
Young Guns II, "Blaze of Glory" (Music and Lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi)
OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:
Alec Baldwin (Alice, The Hunt for Red October, Miami Blues)
Kathy Bates (Dick Tracy, Men Don't Leave, Misery, White Palace)
Glenn Close (Hamlet, Reversal of Fortune)
Robert De Niro (Awakenings, Goodfellas, Stanley & Iris)
Anjelica Huston (The Grifters, The Witches)
OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING:
Richard L. Anderson, Michael J. Benavente, James Christopher & Dave Stone for Edward Scissorhands
Clayton Collins & Leslie Shatz for Ghost
Cecelia Hall and George Watters II for The Hunt for Red October
Stephen H. Flick for Total Recall
Luis Colina, Ken Fischer & Richard Hymns for Wild at Heart
OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:
Petur Hliddal, Stanley Kastner & Steve Maslow for Edward Scissorhands
Tom Fleischman & James Sabat for Goodfellas
Allan Byer & Lee Dichter for Miller's Crossing
Nelson Stoll, Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios & Aaron Rochin for Total Recall
Randy Thom, Richard Hymns, Jon Huck & David Parker for Wild at Heart
OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:
Visual Effects Team for Dick Tracy
Stan Winston for Edward Scissohands
Bruce Nicholson, John T. Van Vliet, Richard Edlund & Laura Buff for Ghost
Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern & Alex Funke for Total Recall
Next I'm gonna go back half a century to 1940. The year an Alfred Hitchcock film won best picture and one other award. The academy really never wanted to reward Hitchcock and really this was an award for David O. Selznik. The film was Rebecca and did it deserve it's prize or was there another film deserving of a win.
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