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.

1939 - The year the oscars would never be hungry again

There are so many times people hyperventilate and claim one year in cinema is the greatest year in cinema causing the question of what year is the best to be completely subjective. However while the question is always subject to who you ask I just know that of the many years of cinema 1939 has to up there for any cinema fan willing to see film from way back in the golden age. 1939 is impressive how it covers an appropriate amount of genres for any film fan to watch and while the year like many post 50's years can be accused of staleness due to the type of classical directing being done at the time. I consider this a high priority year of cinema and it all stars for me with Wizard of Oz. The film is probably the most known from this year because no matter who you are everyone has to have seen this classic film because everyone was a child once and this film is watched by so many youths that for me it introduced me to fantasy I was looking for in cinema. Wizard of Oz is the most known film but alongside this film is the nearly 4 hour epic to end all epics the multi oscar winning Gone With the Wind. Even at the time of release GWTW was being built up to be the greatest epic every but even watching this film it is unquestionably a feat in cinema history. Not only is the film the first to represent civil war era relationships between the different races in while a problematic way less then what was done previously and post this film. It also follows a rarely unsympathetic heroine portrayed by Vivien Leigh who is giving one of the best characterizations of a character every to be on screen done to every perfect reaction shot from Scarlett. I just love the film having it seen it multiple times then it's running time deserves me to see. The film blows away the competition for me even though there are so many great films from this year. Just looking at the 10 nominees for best picture it is a lineup that holds up so well. The other nine nominees losing to GWTW where Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz and Wuthering Heights.

The lineup is impressive with clear standouts being Oz, Mr. Smith, Stagecoach, Dark Victory, Love Affair and Ninotchka. All this films I consider top 10 material (all of them in ascending order make my personal top 10). Oz as I said is a classic kids picture, Mr, Smith is the perfect amount of Capracorn starring in James Stewart in what I consider to be his greatest work pre Alfred Hitchcock, Stagecoach is early western cinema from John Fords, Dark Victory is Bette Davis in while a less discussed film of hers Davis in any film at this time is just perfection no matter the story, Love Affair the original film of two falling in love just done write from scene to scene and Ninochka which is essential Great Garbo cinema being probably her last great film achievement of early cinema. These six films plus GWTW are film enough for me consider 39 a great film year. The other 3 films while good are nothing for me to write home about even if they have moments cinema like today is never going to have in their less then average films.

Much of my revisits have been about me lampooning the choices made by the academy due to all the cinema in retrospective discussed more recently. However I have to congratulate the academy in their early twelfth year actually looking to the great cinema. GWTW is unquestionable my favourite film of 1939 and an extra note for the film is the Hattie McDaniel factor. At the time when people of colour where still experiencing racism GWTW while showing the archetypes of slavery is made the greater by the stellar work by McDaniel who won the academy award this year and one of the great wins in the character as she explodes and shines in the truly complex role of house servant Mammy. My runner up is Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington which is an example of Capra that I consider truly timeless because unlike many I hold Capra in a high echelon of early film directors. As I mentioned before it's one of Stewart's great early roles and him losing the academy award is a great crime that led to a less then agreeable win a year later for 1940's The Philadelphia Story. Wizard of Oz is timeless children's entertainment and doesn't need to be talked about too much, Stagecoach is a less exposed western from John Ford because there isn't really any shootout of a kind but instead it's a simple story following a small amount of unrelated characters as they travel south with one another. My fifth choice of the year is the rare underrated John Ford film and the big question mark to me why the academy didn't look to this classic film as much as they should've. It's Ford really stretching himself showing as unconventional film biopic where we take the Abraham Lincoln president and instead of covering his rise to presidency it instead shows us the man in his younger years. It's one of the great Henry Fonda performances for me and I just can't get enough of this film and consider it truly criminal that the only nomination this film received was a small screenplay nomination.

34 is the amount of films I've seen from 1939 and I consider this an all out strong year of cinema. I will never apolgize for loving just about everything from this year because I can never admit to doing that with recent cinema because in no way is cinema the same as it was back in the golden age. Below is my list of winners and nominees.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Gone With the Wind (Produced by David O. Selznick)

2. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Produced by Frank Capra)

3. The Wizard of Oz (Produced by Mervyn LeRoy)

4. Stagecoach (Produced by Walter Wanger)

5. Young Mr. Lincoln (Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck & Kenneth Macgowan)

6. Dark Victory

7. Love Affair

8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 

9. The Women

10. Ninotchka

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Frank Capra for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

George Cukor for The Women

Victor Fleming for Gone With the Wind

Victor Fleming for The Wizard of Oz

John Ford for Stagecoach

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Charles Boyer as Michel Marnet in "LOVE AFFAIR"

Henry Fonda as Abraham Lincoln in "YOUNG MR. LINCOLN"

Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in "GONE WITH THE WIND"

Charles Laughton as Quasimodo in "THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME"

James Stewart as Jefferson "Jeff" Smith in "MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Jean Arthur as Clarissa Saunders in "MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON"

Bette Davis as Judith Traherne in "DARK VICTORY"

Greta Garbo as Nina Ivanovna "Ninotchka" Yakushova in "NINOTCHKA"

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in "THE WIZARD OF OZ"

Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in "GONE WITH THE WIND"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Ray Bolger as Hunk / Scarecrow in "THE WIZARD OF OZ"

Thomas Mitchell as "Diz" Moore in "MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON"

Thomas Mitchell as Doc Boone in "STAGECOACH"

Frank Morgan as Professor Marvel / The Wizard / Doorman / Cabbie / Guard in "THE WIZARD OF OZ"

Claude Rains as Senator Joseph Harrison "Joe" Paine in "MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Greer Garson as Katharine in "GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS"

Olivia de Havilland as Melanie Hamilton in "GONE WITH THE WIND"

Margaret Hamilton as Miss Almira Gulch / The Wicked Witch of the West in "THE WIZARD OF OZ"

Hattie McDaniel as Mammy in "GONE WITH THE WIND"

Rosalind Russell as Sylvia Fowler in "THE WOMEN"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Robert Buckner for Dodge City

Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart & S.N. Behrman; Story by Leo McCarey & Mildred Cram for Love Affair

Melchior Lengyel, Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder & Walter Reisch for Ninotchka

Jules Furthman for Only Angels Have Wings

Lamar Trotti for Young Mr. Lincoln

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Casey Robinson; Based on Dark Victory by George Emerson Brewer, Jr. & Bertram Bloch, Dark Victory

Screenplay by Sidney Howard; Based on Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind

Screenplay by Sidney Buchman; Based on The Gentleman from Montana by Lewis R. Foster, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Screenplay by Dudley Nichols; Based on The Stage to Lordsburg 1937 by Ernest Haycox, Stagecoach

Screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson & Edgar Allan Woolf; Based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Art Direction by Robert Haas for Dark Victory

Production Design by William Cameron Menzies; Art Direction by Lyle Wheeler; Set Decoration by Howard Bristol for Gone With the Wind

Art Direction by Van Nest Polglase; Set Decoration by Darrell Silvera for Love Affair

Production Design by Malcolm Brown, William A. Horning & Jack Martin Smith; Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons, George Gibson, Wade B. Rubottom & Elmer Sheeley; Set Decoration by Edwin B. Willis for The Wizard of Oz

Art Direction by James Basevi & Alexander Toluboff; Set Decoration by Julia Heron for Wuthering Heights

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Greer Garson (Goodbye, Mr. Chips)

Butterfly McQueen (Gone With the Wind)

Maureen O'Hara (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

James Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington)

John Wayne (Stagecoach)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Ernest Haller for Gone With the Wind

Joseph Walker & Paul Mantz for Only Angels Have Wings

Bert Glennon for Stagecoach

Harold Rosson for The Wizard of Oz

Gregg Toland for Wuthering Heights

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Walter Plunkett for Gone With the Wind

Walter Plunkett for The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Orry-Kelly for Juarez

Adrian for The Wizard of Oz

Omar Klam for Wuthering Heights

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

Gone With the Wind (Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil, Vivien Leigh, Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, George Reeves, Fred Crane, Hattie McDaniel, Oscar Polk, Butterfly McQueen, Victor Jory, Everett Brown , Howard Hickman, Alicia Rhett, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Rand Brooks, Carroll Nye, Clark Gable, Laura Hope Crews, Eddie Anderson, Harry Davenport, Leona Roberts, Jane Darwell, Ona Munson, Paul Hurst, Cammie King Conlon, J. M. Kerrigan, Jackie Moran, Lillian Kemble-Cooper, Marcella Martin, Mickey Kuhn, Irving Bacon, William Bakewell, Isabel Jewell, Eric Linden, Ward Bond, Cliff Edwards, Yakima Canutt, Louis Jean Heydt, Olin Howland, Robert Elliott, Mary Anderson)

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Thomas Mitchell, Eugene Pallette, Beulah Bondi, H. B. Warner, Harry Carey, Astrid Allwyn, Ruth Donnelly, Grant Mitchell, Porter Hall, Pierre Watkin, Charles Lane, William Demarest, Dick Elliott)

Stagecoach (Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Andy Devine, John Carradine, George Bancroft, Louise Platt, Donald Meek, Berton Churchill, Tim Holt, Tom Tyler, Chris-Pin Martin, Elvira Ríos, Brenda Fowler, Nora Cecil, Francis Ford, Marga Ann Deighton, Vester Pegg, Joe Rickson, Jack Pennick, Duke R. Lee, Chief White Horse, Yakima Canutt)

The Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Clara Blandick, Charley Grapewin, Pat Walshe, Terry)

The Women (Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, Phyllis Povah, Joan Fontaine, Virginia Weidler, Lucile Watson, Marjorie Main, Virginia Grey, Ruth Hussey, Hedda Hopper, Florence Nash, Cora Witherspoon, Mary Beth Hughes, Dennie Moore)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Hal C. Kern & James E. Newcom for Gone With the Wind

Charles Frend for Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Al Clark & Gene Havlick for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Blanche Sewell for The Wizard of Oz

Daniel Mandell for Wuthering Heights

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Ben Nye, Hazel Rogers, Paul Stanhope & Monte Westmore for Gone With the Wind

Jack Dawn for Goodbye, Mr. Chips

George Bau, Mel Berns, Robert J. Schiffer & Perc Westmore for The Hunchback of Notre Dame

William Knight & Fred B. Phillips for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Jack Dawn for The Wizard of Oz

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE:

Max Steiner for Dark Victory

Max Steiner for Gone With the Wind

Alfred Newman for The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Herbert Stothart for The Wizard of Oz

Alfred Newman for Wuthering Heights

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Destry Rides Again, "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have" (Music by Friedrich Hollaender; Lyrics by Frank Loesser)

Love Affair, "Sing My Heart" (Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by Ted Koehler)

Love Affair, "Whishing" (Music and Lyrics by B.G. De Sylva)

The Wizard of Oz, "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead" (Music by Harold Arlen; Lyric by E. Y. Harburg)

The Wizard of Oz, "Over the Rainbow" (Music by Harold Arlen; Lyric by E. Y. Harburg)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Jean Arthur (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Only Angels Have Wings)

Bette Davis (Dark Victory, Juarez, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex)

Cary Grant (Gunga Din, In Name Only, Only Angels Have Wings)

Thomas Mitchell (Gone With the Wind, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Only Angels Have Wings, Stagecoach)

Claude Rains (Daughters Courageous, Four Wives, Juarez, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, They Made Me a Criminal)

OUTSTANDING SOUND RECORDING:

Thomas T. Moulton for Gone With the Wind

John E. Tribby for The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Only Angels Have Wings

Frank Maher for Stagecoach

Douglas Shearer for The Wizard of Oz

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL EFFECTS:

Jack Cosgrove, Fred Albin & Arthur Johns for Gone With the Wind

Roy Davidson & Edwin C. Hahn for Only Angels Have Wings

E. H. Hansen and Fred Sersen for The Rains Came

Arnold Gillespie for The Wizard of Oz

Now having gone back to golden age cinema I'm going to skip to 1966 next. This year is the mid point of the 60's decade and yet again Britain bet out america. A Man for All Seasons came in and won it all. Was this stage adaptation worthy tune in to see if I think so.

1999 - What a way to end the millennium

I was very familiar with the cinema released in 1999 previous to this rewatch as the year falls in the 20 years of my existence making the films released in this year more known for me as I grew up as a young film fan seeking out to see only the best of film. I've seen many of the standout features from this year and while my first film was obviously Toy Story 2 I feel I fully invested myself in watching cinema was when I watched American Beauty for the first time. I was clearly too young to watch the film at the time but even I could appreciate this film on a aesthetics level as the look of this film was a dazzle to behold. The film has been sadly millined over the years which I find undeserved because the film has moments of greatness and it shows what 90's culture was like. Another feather in Beauties cap is that it's my choice of the academy five. The other nominees were Cider House Rules, Green Mile, The Insider and Sixth Sense. Cider House is the only film no longer discussed but the other tree plus Beauty help to show what the film state was during this time. Green Mile shows the american race experience although through a studio gaze meaning their was so much further the story could've gone but being a big film it was never going to do this. The Insider is Michael Mann (Manhunter aside) at his best. It helped to increase the popularity of Russell Crowe who is sight to behold in this film. Then there's Sixth Sense the biggest culture shock of the year as it showed amrica one of the greatest (debatable) twists in modern american cinema. Cider is your typical run of the mile give this picture awards moving which under the guidance of Miramax never work for me. Insider stands high above the competition as I don't overly like Mile and Sense. So really for quite the impressive cinematic year this lineup I consider terribly disappointing.

So you must wonder why I consider this quite the impressive cinematic year when I find major issues with the choices made by the academy. The fact is that in 99 the academy was willing to embrace some of my favourite films in smaller areas but never in the major areas these films deserved.  My top choice of the year is Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley. So rarely would I use the word beautiful to describe every aspect of a film. Beautiful on the outside clearly as we follow these up and coming actors throughout Italy. Beautiful is thiw thrilling murder mystery that without Mighella would be half the film it is. Minghella was smart to realize that he needed to push father ideas Highsmith was covering secretly and make them clearly like the homoerotic relationship between Tom and Dickie much more allowing his actors to really shine. This film is almost too much for me to talk about because I don't think I've ever seen a film like this where a film departs far from it's source material to even better this material. My runner up is PTA's third feature film  Magnolia. Anderson continues his Robert Altman's inspired style probably even further as he follows these many characters related by their many levels of sadness rather then plot wise. Anderson creates a character study epic with Magnolia that features too many strong individual performances that there's far too many to name. Next on my list is Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich. Really I should be saying this is a Charlie Kaufman film who was the writer of this picture and like many know Kaufman has such control on these early films that Spike becomes the perfect person to direct this multi layer romantic comedy. Next is Almodóvar's masterpiece All About My Mother. We start the film with an Opening Night (1977) inspired opening where see this actresses life possibly changed by one small accident. Truely an exceptional Spanish film that ranks up there with the best of it's countries own film. My fifth and final choice for picture is Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry. The film is rightfully praised for it's two actress performances by Sevigny and Hilary. Both are great but with Peirce crating this beautiful picture around them this is a timeless picture that should be remembered for so much more then the Swank win which I would never argue with. So yeah these five and many more films make this exceptional film year.

Too many films to number off as I was alive to live through this year and since have seen just about every important film from this year. Below is my perfered list of winners and nominees.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

01. The Talented Mr. Ripley (Produced by William Horberg & Tom Sternberg)

02. Magnolia (Produced by Paul Thomas Anderson, JoAnne Sellar, Dylan Tichenor & Michael De Luca)

03. Being John Malkovich (Produced by Steve Golin, Vincent Landay, Sandy Stern & Michael Stipe)

04. All About My Mother (Produced by Agustín Almodóvar & Michel Ruben)

05. Boys Don't Cry (Produced by Christine Vachon & Eva Kolodner)

06. Eyes Wide Shut

07. Rosetta

08. Topsy-Turvy

09. American Beauty

10. Election

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Pedro Almodóvar for All About My Mother

Paul Thomas Anderson for Magnolia

Spike Jonze for Being John Malkovich

Stanley Kubrick for Eyes Wide Shut

Anthony Minghella for The Talented Mr. Ripley

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Jim Broadbent as W. S. Gilbert in "TOPSY-TURVY"

Jim Carrey as Andy Kaufmnan/Tony Clifton in "MAN ON THE MOON"

Matt Damon as Tom Ripley in "THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY"

Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham in "AMERICAN BEAUTY"

Denzel Washington as Rubin Carter in "THE HURRICANE"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Émilie Dequenne as Rosetta in "ROSETTA"

Nicole Kidman as Alice Harford in "EYES WIDE SHUT"

Cecilia Roth as Manuella in "ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER"

Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena in "BOYS DON'T CRY"

Reese Witherspoon as Tracy Flick in "ELECTION"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Philip Seymour Hoffman as Phil Parma in "MAGNOLIA"

Spike Jonze as Conrad Vig in "THREE KINGS"

Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf in "THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY"

John Malkovich as John Horatio Malkovich in "BEING JOHN MALKOVICH"

Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in "FIGHT CLUB"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Cameron Diaz as Lotte Schwartz in "BEING JOHN MALKOVICH"

Antonia San Juan as Agrado in "ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER"

Julianne Moore as Linda Partridge in "MAGNOLIA"

Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge Sherwood in "THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY"

Chloe Sevigny as Lana Tisdel in "BOYS DON'T CRY"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Pedro Almodóvar for All About My Mother

Alan Ball for American Beauty

Charlie Kaufman for Being John Malkovich

Paul Thomas Anderson for Magnolia

John Ridley and David O.Russell for Three Kings

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Paul Schrader; Based on Bringing Out the Dead by Joe Connelly, Brining Out the Dead

Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor; Based on Election by Tom Perrotta, Election

Screenplay by Jim Uhls; Based on Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

Screenplay by Eric Roth and Michael Mann; Based on "The Man Who Knew Too Much" by Marie Brenner, The Insider

Screenplay by Anthony Minghella; Based on The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr. Ripley

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design by K.K. Barrett; Set Design by Gene Serdena for Being John Malkovich

Production Design by Anthony Pratt; Set Design by John Bush and Joanne Woollard for The End of the Affair

Production Design by Roy Walker; Set Design by Bruno Cesari for The Talented Mr. Ripley

Production Design by Dante Ferretti; Set Design by Carlo Gervasi for Titus

Production Design by Eve Stewart; Set Design by John Bush and Eve Stewart for Topsy-Turvy

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Amy Adams (Drop Dead Gorgeous)

Wes Bentley (American Beauty)

Emilie Dequenne (Rosetta)

Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley)

Antonia San Juan (All About My Mother)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Conrad L. Hall for American Beauty

Lance Acord for Being John Malkovich

Larry Smith for Eyes Wide Shut

Robert Elswitt for Magnolia

John Seale for The Talented Mr. Ripley

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Casey Storm for Being John Malkovich

Mimi Melgaard for Drop Dead Gorgeous

Sandy Powell for The End of the Affair

Gary Jones and Ann Roth for The Talented Mr. Ripley

Lindy Hemming for Topsy-Turvy

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

All About My Mother (Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz, Candela Peña, Rosa Maria Sardà, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Eloy Azorin, Toni Cantó, Sapic)

Being John Malkovich (John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Orson Bean, Mary Kay Place, Charlie Sheen)

Magnolia (Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Melinda Dillon, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, John C. Reilly, Felicity Huffman, Jason Robards, April Grace, Michael Murphy, Melora Walters, Michael Bowen, Ricky Jay, Luis Guzmán, Henry Gibson, Danny Wells, Patton Oswalt, Orlando Jones, Neil Flynn, Clark Gregg, Michael Shamus Wiles, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Jim Beaver, Ezra Buzzington, Robert Downey, Sr., William Mapother, Alfred Molina)

The Talented Mr. Ripley (Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, James Rebhorn, Sergio Rubini, Philip Baker Hall, Celia Weston, Ivano Marescotti)

Topsy-Turvy (Jim Broadbent, Ron Cook, Allan Corduner, Eleanor David, Dexter Fletcher, Vincent Franklin, Lesley Manville, Timothy Spall, Martin Savage, Dorothy Atkinson, Louise Gold, Shirley Henderson, Kevin McKidd, Wendy Nottingham, Cathy Sara, Andy Serkis, Naoko Mori, Michael Simkins, Sukie Smith, Ashley Jensen, Mark Benton, Steve Speirs, Sam Kelly, Alison Steadman, Katrin Cartlidge, Brid Brennan)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Eric Zumbrunnen for Being John Malkovich

Thelma Schoonmaker for Bringing Out the Dead

Dylan Tichenor for Magnolia

Marthilde Bonnefoy for Run Lola Run

Walter Murch for The Talented Mr. Ripley

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

All About My Mother (Directed by Pedro Almodóvar)

Rosetta (Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne)

Run Lola Run (Directed by Tom Tykwer)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Jorge Hernández & Juan Pedro Hernández for All About My Mother

Lynn Barron, Debra L. Ferullo & Gucci Westman for Being John Malkovich

Jean A. Black, Julie Pearce & Margaret Prentice for Fight Club

Kevin Yagher & Peter Owen for Sleepy Hollow

Christine Blundell & Trefor Proud for Topsy-Turvy

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCORE:

Thomas Newman for American Beauty

Carter Burwell for Being John Malkovich

Jocelyn Pook for Eyes Wide Shut

Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek & Reinhold Heil for Run Lola Run

Gabriel Yared for The Talented Mr. Ripley

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

"Amphibian", Being John Malkovich (Music and Lyric by Björk)

"Save Me", Magnolia (Music and Lyric by Aimee Mann)

"Blame Canada", South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Music and Lyric by Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman)

"You'll Be in My Heart", Tarzan (Music and Lyric by Phil Collins)

"When She Loved Me", Toy Story 2 (Music and Lyric by Randy Newman)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Philip Baker Hall (The Insider, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Flawless, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley)

Allison Janney (10 Thing I Hate About You, American Beauty, Drop Dead Gorgeous)

Julianne Moore (Cookie's Fortune, The End of the Affair, An Ideal Husband, Magnolia, A Map of the World)

Reese Witherspoon (Best Laid Plans, Cruel Intentions, Election)

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING:

Richard Anderson, Elliott Koretz & Marvin Walowitz for Being John Malkovich

Ren Klyce & Richard Hymns for Fight Club

Dane A. Davis for The Matrix

Dirk Jacob, Markus Münz & Kai Storck for Run Lola Run

Blake Leyh & Glenfield Payne for Titus

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING:

Harry Cohen, Gerry Lentz, Dana Meeks, Jack Sherdel & Rich Weingart  for The Blair Witch Project

Todd Boekelheide, David Parker & Michael Semanick for Fight Club

John T. Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, David E. Campbell and David Lee for The Matrix

Michael Herbick, Dan Leahy, Robert Litt & Lisa Pinero for Three Kings

Howard Bargroff & Adrian Rhodes for Topsy-Turvy

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Daniel Radford for Being John Malkovich

John Gaeta, Janek Sirrs, Jon Thum & Steve Courtley for The Matrix

John Andrew Berton Jr., Daniel Jeannette, Ben Snow & Chris Corbould for The Mummy

Jim Mitchell, Kevin Yagher, Joss Williams & Paddy Eason for Sleepy Hollow

John Knoll, Dennis Muren, Scott Squires & Rob Coleman for Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Now having done 99 I will travel back 60 years to 1939. Considered by historians one of the greatest film years the year was dominated and still is by Gone With the Wind. The film one so much but there is so much more cinema aside from it that I consider great. We'll see if I agree with the acdemy and go with Wind.

1953 - The year the academy wanted to be Deborah Kerr in the arms of Burt Lancaster on the beach

1953 had only been familar to me in one way. It was when my undying love for Audrey Hepburn began with her great breakthrough (oscar winning) turn in Roman Holiday. RH was the only film I'd seen from 53 prior to this revisit which is why the prospects looked promising going in because there was bound to be a lot of new cinema for me to discover. The academy conservation that year seemed to be dominated by Fred Zinnemann multiple award winning war romance drama From Here to Eternity. My feelings on the film are not what I would've expected as a usual fan of torn romance tales. Something about this felt off and my conclusion is that each of the romances is lacking that something special to make each section of the film as worthwhile as it could've been. I consider the fact that our two central females were miscast from the very beginning and the possibility of the two switching roles more suited to their gifts might've made the entire film work for me. The saving grace of the film however is Montgomery Clift who shines in everything I see him in and this being his peak of everything for me. Just A-Class acting that was sadly looked over because of how effortless his work is. The other nominees for picture that year were Julius Caesar, The Robe, Roman Holiday and Shane. The former two outside of some captivating elements are dated by the time they are made and don't trensend time like the best films should. I am a giant fan of Roman Holiday and find it to be one of the cutest romance films from this decade. Hepburn is winning in the role of the princess and deservedly won her academy award. Shane marks the final film performance by the legend that is Jean Arthur and she's great in it but the film aside from her also is great directed by George Stevens a director who I adore.

While these film nominated are good there are two film which being snubbed is a crime because if you ask most cinephiles these are the two discussed more then any of the academy's choices. The first being my favourite of the year and easily one of the most fun and enjoyable films I've ever seen is Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Hawks is a director known for his willingness to direct what he wants and do it to the best of his ability. This film is quintasential Marilyn Monroe and made her the icon she became for the rest of the decade. Monroe and Russell as our central pair of great chemistry that the vision of just women trying to achieve a rich husband through any means necessary one of the cinematic pleasures I seek to relive over and over again. My runner up then is Fritz Lang's The Big Heat. One of the classic crime films of this decade I could take pleasure for all time in watching all these actors in their prime directed by the visually strong director that Lang is. Whether it's Gloria Grahame as the put upon girlfriend of Lee Marvin's Victor Stone both are so iconic in their roles that they make everything in this film rise even higher to greatness. The actors and director clearly went to make the greatest film did that which is why I consider it a worthy runner up to Blondes. The other three films come from the academies lineup with my order running 3. Shane, 4. From Here to Eternity and 5. Roman Holiday. While I have a few quibables with Eternity I can't knock that it is a good film and in a year that I have to admit was probably the weakest in the history of these lineups so far it became difficult for me to nail down a solid 10 films that I see as standing the test of time.

28 was the amount of films I was able to see from 53 and maybe there are some major omssions I'm missing that where released in the states during this year but overall this was the worst lineup of films to consider of any year which is why I guess I don't hold much anger to the academies choice like I would had it been a stronger year. Below is my list of winners and nominees.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Produced by Sol C. Siegel)

2. The Big Heat (Produced by Robert Athur)

3. Shane (Produced by George Stevens)

4. From Here to Eternity (Produced by Buddy Adler)

5. Roman Holiday (Produced by William Wyler)

6. Calamity Jane

7. Stalag 17

8. All I Desire

9. Pickup on South Street

10. Niagara

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Howard Hawks for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Fritz Lang for The Big Heat

George Stevens for Shane

Fred Zinnemann for From Here to Eternity

Billy Wilder for Stalag 17

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler in "THE WILD ONE"

Montgomery Clift as Private Robert E. Lee "Prew" Prewitt in "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY"

Glenn Ford as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion in "THE BIG HEAT"

Burt Lancaster as First Sergeant Milton Warden in "FROM HERE TO ETERNITY"

James Mason as Brutus in "JULIUS CAESAR"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Doris Day as Calamity Jane in "CALAMITY JANE"

Audrey Hepburn as Princess Ann (Anya "Smitty" Smith) in "ROMAN HOLIDAY"

Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee in "GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES"

Jane Russell as Dorothy Shaw in "GENTLEMAN PREFER BLONDES"

Barbara Stanwyck as Naomi Murdoch in "ALL I DESIRE"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Marlon Brando as Mark Anthony in "JULIUS CAESAR"

Jack Buchanan as Jeffrey Cordova in "THE BAND WAGON"

Brandon deWilde as Joey Starrett in "SHANE"

Lee Marvin as Vince Stone in "THE BIG HEAT"

Otto Preminger as Colonel von Scherbach in "STALAG 17"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Nanette Fabray as Lily Marton in "THE BAND WAGON"

Allyn Ann McLerie as Katie Brown in "CALAMITY JANE"

Jeanette Nolan as Bertha Duncan in "THE BIG HEAT"

Thelma Ritter as Moe in "PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET"

Teresa Wright as Annie Jones in "THE ACTRESS"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Betty Comden, Adolph Green & Alan Jay Lerner for The Band Wagon

James O'Hanlon for Calamity Jane

Sam Rolfe & Harold Jack Bloom for The Naked Spur

Samuel Fuller & Dwight Taylor for Pickup on South Street

Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter & John Dighton for Roman Holiday

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Robert Blees, James Gunn & Gina Kaus Bases on Stopover by Carol Ryrie Brink, All I Desire

Screenplay by Sydney Boehm; Based on the Saturday Evening Post serial by William P. McGivern, The Big Heat

Screenplay by Daniel Taradash; Based on From Here to Eternity by James Jones, From Here to Eternity

Screenplay by Charles Lederer; Based on Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos and Joseph Fields, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Screenplay by A.B. Guthrie Jr. & Jack Sher; Based on Shane by Jack Schaefer for Shane

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Art Direction by Preston Ames & Cedric Gibbons; Set Design by Keogh Gleason & Edwin B. Willis for The Band Wagon

Art Direction by Robert Peterson; Set Design by William Kiernan for The Big Heat

Art Direction by John Beckman; Set Design by G.W. Berntsen for Calamity Jane

Art Direction by Lyle Wheeler & Joseph C. Wright; Set Design by Claude Carpenter for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Art Direction by  Edward Carfagno & Cedric Gibbons; Set Design for Hugh Hunt & Edwin B. Willis for Julius Caesar

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Brandon De Wilde (Shane)

Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday)

Lee Marvin (The Big Heat)

Allyn Ann McLerie (Calamity Jane)

Gerladine Page (Hondo)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Carl Guthrie for All I Desire

Charles Lang for The Big Heat

Burnett Guffey for From Here to Eternity

Harry J. Wild for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Loyal Griggs for Shane

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Rosemary Odell for All I Desire

Mary Ann Nyberg for The Band Wagon

Howard Shoup for Calamity Jane

Travilla for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Edith Head for Roman Holiday

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

The Band Wagon (Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, Nanette Fabray, Jack Buchanan, James Mitchell)

Calamity Jane (Doris Day, Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie, Philip Carey, Dick Wesson, Paul Harvey, Chubby Johnson, Gale Robbins, Francis McDonald, Monte Montague, Bess Flowers)

From Here to Eternity (Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Philip Ober, Mickey Shaughnessy, Harry Bellaver, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, John Dennis, Merle Travis, Tim Ryan, George Reeves, Claude Akins, Alvin Sargent, Robert J. Wilke, Carleton Young, Arthur Keegan, Barbara Morrison)

Shane (Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Walter Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook, Jr., Douglas Spencer, John Dierkes, Ellen Corby, Paul McVey, John Miller, Edith Evanson, Leonard Strong, Nancy Kulp)

Stalag 17 (William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves, Sig Ruman, Neville Brand, Richard Erdman, Michael Moore, Peter Baldwin, Robinson Stone, Robert Shawley, William Pierson, Gil Stratton, Jay Lawrence, Erwin Kalser, Paul Salata)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Charles Nelson for The Big Heat

William Lyon for From Here to Eternity

Hugh S. Fowler for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

William Hornbeck & Tom McAdoo for Shane

Everett Douglas for The War of the Worlds

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

Clay Campbell for The Big Heat

Gordon Bau for Calamity Jane

Clay Campbell for From Here to Eternity

Ben Nye & Allan Snyder for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Alberto De Rossi & Wally Westmore for Roman Holiday

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/MUSICAL SCORE:

Adolph Deutsch for The Band Wagon

Ray Heindorf for Calamity Jane

George Duning for From Here to Eternity

Lionel Newman for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Victor Young for Shane

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Calamity Jane, "I Can Do Without You" (Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)

Calamity Jane, "Secret Love" (Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)

From Here to Eternity, "Re-Enlistment Blues" (Music and Lyrics by James Jones, Fred Karger, Robert Wells)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, "Anyone Here for Love?" (Music by Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics by Harold Adamson)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, "When Love Goes Wrong" (Music by Hoagy Carmichael; Lyrics by Harold Adamson)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Montgomery Clift (From Here to Eternity, I Confess, Terminal Station)

Lee Marvin (The Big Heat, Gun Fury, The Wild One)

James Mason (Botany Bay, Charade, The Desert Rats, Julius Caesar, The Man Between)

Marilyn Monroe (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Niagara)

Jean Simmons (The Actress, The Robe, Young Bess)

OUTSTANDING SOUND RECORDING:

Dave Forrest & Stanley Jones for Calamity Jane

Lodge Cunningham for From Here to Eternity

Roger Heman & E. Clayton Ward for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Loren L. Ryder for The War of the Worlds

George Cooper for The Wild One

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Calamity Jane

From Here to Eternity

Niagara

Farciot Edouart & Gordon Jennings for Shane

Ivyl Burks, Jan Domela, Gordon Jennings, Wallace Kelley, Paul Lerpae & Irmin Roberts for The War of the Worlds

Now having gone back to my favourite decade I will next travel just over 45 years in the future to 1999 one of the best cinematic years in modern cinema history. The year ended with Sam Mendez' American Beauty seemingly came out of nowhere and won the top prizes at that years academy awards. Did it deserve the praise or was there something better.