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.
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