Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1997 for Best Actress

1997 was a good year for this category. it was loaded with talent that delivered amazing performances. rating them 1 to 5 was quite difficult for me to do. thEy all deserved to go home with the gold. but rank them i will. here goes ....

#5

helena bonham carter was wondrous to behold in 'wings of the dove'. she left an indelible mark as a lead actress in this film. again the oscar could have been hers with no argument from me

#4

helen hunt's performance in 'as good as it gets' was as good as it could/would get. she gave a wonderful, heartwarming performance. helen won the oscar on the coat tails of the best picture and best actor wins. yet as with the other nominees in this category in '97 her win can be justified. but her on and off 'new york' accent was a tad annoying. a best actress should be able to sustain it.

#3

kate winslet in 'titanic' was wonderful. kate's chemistry with leonardo decaprio was heaven sent. there was not a moment you think 'hey these two don't belong together'. they so belonged together that separating her performance from his is an almost impossible situation. his snub is one of oscar's embarrassments. kate will go on to win her oscar four noms later.

#2

judi dench in mrs. brown was simply wonderful. it remains one of the best screen performances of all time. a stage actress who fit(s) quite well on film. she was amazing as queen victoria in her 'private' life. i repeat the oscar could have been her's with no argument.

#1

let's begin with the premise that julie christie plays a 'b actress' in 'afterglow'. that alone is a major fete as she was/is one of the best 'A' actresses in film. the critics associations hailed her performance in 1997. her fans were rightfully rejoicing. she would not get the oscar come award night but her fans were the true winners because the mostly reclusive actresses of her time returned to the screen. had i been able to vote, ms. christie amongst all the aforementioned wonderful performances would have gotten my vote after alot of nail biting.

sublime

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 2001 for Best Actress

2001 was a good year for the best actress nominations. all were deserving but only one could win. a rare comedy performance was nominated which is always a breathe of fresh air. a musical nominee emerged from, for me at least, an unlikelyplace. and then three amazing dramatic turns shined. here they are, the talented women of 2001...

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#5 renee zellweger in 'bridget jones's diary'

renee gave a charming performance as the lovelorn bridget in the title role. i always find it refreshing when a comedic turn is recognized in the lead actress category. her british acent worked. i find it amazing that brits can do 'american' but most american actors trying to do 'brit' fall flat.

#4 nicole kidman in 'moulin rouge'

a wonderful and to me unexpected musical turn here by ms kidman in one of 2001 best films. however good she was she should have been nominated for 'the others' this year. had that been her nomination she would have placed number two in this grouping.

#3 halle berry in 'monster's ball'

let me start by saying that i worked my ass off for barack obama in 2008. i will do so again for 2012. i like to say i single handedly helped him win florida. i say this before the hate mail starts coming. ms berry gave a wonderful if often overwrought performance in 'monster's ball'. she deserved the nomination but not the win. she won because a win in this category was long overdue to a woman of color and she gave a worthy performance. her follow up work, as with many oscar winners before and after her, shows how slight an actress she really is. yes it was a 'bravura' performance but not the best in 2001.

#2 judi dench in 'iris'

a remarkable, i expect nothing less of, performance by ms dench as iris murdoch and her battle with alzheimer's disease. as good as she was she split screen time with kate winslet as her younger self. ms winslet was rightfully nominated in the supporting category. i believe ms dench should have shared the category as well as the title role. perhaps she may have won there. perhaps.

(as an aside jennifer connelly who won in the supporting category belonged in the lead category. but that is the politics of hollywood)

#1 sissy spacek in 'in the bedroom'

i believed it then. i believe it now. sissy spacek was and remains the best actress of 2001. her range of emotions from the beginning to the end of this film carry us along in this wrenching tragic slice of life film. and in her final moment on film with an icy stare she asks 'is it done' her name should have been engraved on her not to be statue. this is truly ms spacek's best film role. it remains the apex of a long and strong career.

sublime

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1964 for Best Actress

1964's nominees went from dull as dishwater to rousing. two actresses in '64 were left out of the running and neither of them was dull as dishwater.

#'s 4 and 5 were basically dull as dishwater

#5 ann bancroft in 'the pumpkin eater'

'the pumpkin eater' is a dud. ms bancroft's performances rises above the material but suffers from lousy dialogue and dreary direction. this should have been audrey hepburn's slot for 'my fair lady' but hollywood wanted revenge for her being cast in that film.

# 4 kim stanley in 'seance on a wet afternoon'

film officianados know how good ms stanley was. see her in 1958's 'the goddess' and see how brilliant she could be. her myra savage in this film was good. it's the material here that killed her chances for a win. boring! her stage career outranked her film career. her nom here was a win for her.

#'s 3, 2 and 1 were all rousing in their own way

#3 debbie reynolds in 'the unsinkable molly brown'

ms reynolds gives a roaring musical performance to say the least. actually despite the material she gives one of the best musical performances of all time here. another year another time she may have won. the film and it's plot are slight. her leading man a dullard. the musical's lyrics and music are not top notch. however, debbie rises above the material and saves the whole damn thing.

#2 julie andrews in 'mary poppins'

we all know why ms andrews won the oscar. jack warner is why. his 'fair lady' was not even

nominated although she, audrey hepburn, was divine in the role of eliza doolittle. after snubbing julie andrews for 'my fair lady' hollywood took revenge on jack warner in this category. although 'my fair lady' would win best picture ms hepburn was snubbed. so was the revenge really on audrey who was told ms andrews would not get the part no matter what as some other actress was waiting in the wings? therefore audrey has revealed she could not say 'no'.

i do not begrudge julie her oscar. as she said said in her acceptance speech 'americans are so generous but this is ridicolous''. well in this case she was right. it was generous and it was ridiculous. she just ranks as another winner who should not have won.

#1 sophia loren in 'marriage italian style'

sophia gives her second best performance ever as filumena in 'marriage italian style' right after cesira in 'two women'. it's amazing to me that her roles in hollywood films leave me cold. she is so so much better in her native tongue and on her home turf. her comedic range and dramatic turns in this film are a true example of a multi talented actress. a talent, gift, to behold. she would have won her second oscar putting the andrews/hepburn thing aside.

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so who got left out? both ava gardner and deborah kerr in 'the night of the iguana'. i can only guess they split the votes on the nomination ballot. ms gardner gave the best performance of her career here. ms kerr generally gave wonderful performances and this was no exception. they both deserved the nomination over ann bancroft and kim stanley.

and the aforementioned ms hepburn was regally snubbed

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1960 for Best Actress

1960 best actress nominees range from the sublime to the ridiculous

#5

elizabeth taylor in 'butterfield 8'

'butterfield 8' simply put was trash. hollywood thought elizabeth was dying after a tracheotomy. paleeze!

even ms taylor said the film was crap and that she was awful in it. it may be the worst performance by a respected actress of all time.

it's a damn shame because two wonderful performances got left in the dark.

ms taylor for 'butterfield 8' is...
the ridiculous!

(in fact: the most ridiculous nomination and win in this field to date)

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#4 greer garson in 'sunrise at campobello'

definitely an also ran performance. it was ralph bellamy's film. ms garson has ms taylor to thank for not placing last.

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#3

melina mercouri in 'never on sunday'

ms mercouri shined as the ilya the proverbial 'prostitute with a heart of gold'. i still love watching her performance every now and then even as the film itself becomes more 'creaky'.

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#2

shirley maclaine in 'the apartment'

ms maclaine was a wonder as fran kubelik in 'the apartment'. it cemented her fate as leading lady and star. being nominated for this best picture winner certainly pumped up her resume.

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#1

deborah kerr in 'the sundowners'

what to do about deborah? ms kerr lost the oscar yet again but this time to a damn tracheotomy. i ask you, beg you, to watch the train sequence where ms kerr as ida, wife of 'sundowner' robert mitchum, eyes her compartment companion. without a single line of dialouge ms kerr lays bare to us ida's very being and her longings of all that might have been but never would be. a superb performance. ms taylor indeed!

the sublime

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1942 for Best Actress

it was a mixed crop in 1942. only two of the performances stand the test of time. the remaining three are either forgotten or should be. it was for the most part a mediocre year for actresses on film.

#5

teresa wright in 'pride of the yankees

this was gary cooper's film. ms wright always charmed on screen but never a great actress. ms wright would justifiably win this same year in the supporting category in 'mrs miniver'

#4

rosalind russell in 'my sister eileen'

ms russell charmed as usual but this film and her role in it were not award worthy in the least. the frothy tale of two sisters in greenwich village would be considered a just a piece of fluff and her performance just short of cotton candy.

#3

greer garson in 'mrs. miniver

a long drawn out bore of a film. it was a propaganda film for the allies in world war 2. it was highly popular at the time and it's very nature ms garson to the stage to receive her oscar. she then proceeded to give one of the most effusive acceptance speeces ever. they should have grapped it from her hands then and there and handed it to the rightful winner.

#2

katharine hepburn in 'woman of the year'

damn when she was with spencer tracy ms hepburn she shined. the film, mr tracy and the wonderful ms hepburn stands the test of time.

#1

bette davis in 'now voyager'

ms davis shines as the repressed, overweight charlotte vale dominated by an overbearing verbally abusive upper crust mother. the transformation of charlotte from ugly duckling to swan and from an abused 'nothing' to a woman of strength and courage lies in ms davis's performance. she is perfectly magnificent and she 'wuz' robbed.

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1928-1933 for Best Actress

i have not seen all the nominees so i will not rank them here. actually it is virtually impossible to see all the nominees in their respective films. for instance 'the letter' starring jeanne eagels (1929) is seemingly gone as in non existent.

the only way i can handle the first six years is to just name the winners so they can go into the ranking of all the winners eventually.

so moving on the winners between 1928 and 1933 are:

1987: janet gaynor for, well like, three films. yup 3 out of the 5 best actress nominations went to ms. gaynor. most cinema historians name 'seventh heaven' as the win although it seems the official academy records seem to name her for all of them. so what the hell i'll go with 'seventh heaven' as it's the only one i saw. as is obvious for it's time it was a silent film. the only silent actress performance to win.

1929: mary pickford in 'coquete'. this was ms pickford's first talkie. thus the first actress to win for a 'talkie'.

1930: 'norma shearer in 'the divorcee'. the director wanted joan crawford. he did not think ms shearer was sexy enough. she finally got the part and the oscar. hollywood lore says crawford never forgave her. who cares.

1931: marie dressler in 'min and bill'. i think ms dressler is a hoot on film. she certainly was in this film and received this early oscar before hollywood decided comedic roles not worthy of them

1932: helen hayes in 'the sins of madelon claudet'. good work here by ms hayes in her first talkie. along with ms dressler she is the best of this crop of early oscar winners.

1933: katharine hepburn in 'morning glory'. this was ms hepburn's first film role and she was quite lucky it was not her last. the film and her performance in it were absolutely awful. totally unwatchable. this i can say: may robson was robbed for 'lady for a day'.

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1970 for Best Actress

1970's best actress nominees was a strong crop.

#5

sarah miles

ms. miles got her nom for 'ryan's hope'. her performance got lost in david lean's over bloated film. i am surprised she got a nom. she never stood a chance at a win.

#4

ali macgraw

ali macgraw got a nom because of the popularity of 'love story'.otherwise she would have been overlooked. interestingly enough she was not nominated the year before for her wonderful debut in 'goodbye columbus'. however, when all is said and done

ms macgraw was glorious as the middle class heroine jenny. the nom was her win. she would not receive another.

#3

jane alexander

ms alexander repeated her stage role in this still important film 'the great white hope' but her performance as well as the film itself was too 'stagey' as happens with 90% of stage to film transfers. ms alexander is a wonderful actress whose film work never quite matched her stage work.

#2

carrie snodgress

ms snodgress was amazing in this one and only major film of her career, 'diary of a mad housewife'. a loveless marriage with an abusive husband and an affair lead her deeper and deeper into depression. there are moments of her performance that are almost to painful to watch.

#1

glenda jackson

the moment 'women in love' was released ms jackson won her first oscar. ms jackson tore the screen apart in a blazing performance as the strong willed, self confident, predatory gudrun brangwen. another actress would not have made this rather unlikable character an award winner. her performance remains one of the best on film and ranks in my top 10 deserved oscar wins.

Oscarbation: A Look Back at 1969 for Best Actress

I'VE BEEN WANTING TO REVIEW THE OSCAR WINNERS FOR AGES.

i hope you indulge me. the oscars are to gay men what the super bowl is too straight men. they don't always get their favorites in the game. we don't always get the performances in that we think should be there or the one that should have won out of the five choices given.

i hope to make this a sunday regular as we head toward oscar season. more during the week time permitting. but we start today.

for those of you who follow my blog you have probably guessed i love actresses. so that's where i'll begin with the best actress nominees of 1969. i'll endeavor to add supporting actresses from time to time.

1969 was a year that all the female nominees deserved to be nominated.

they were:

genevieve bujold in 'anne of a thousand days'

jane fonda in 'they shoot horses don't they'

liza minelli in ''the sterile cuckoo'

jean simmons in 'the happy ending'

maggie smith in 'the prime of miss jean brodie'

so in ascending order here goes:

#5

jean simmons

a wonderful performance in a small film. ms. simmons always lights up the screen large and small. in this film the light was not quite bright enough. her best film performance was in 'elmer gantry'. as a woman on the verge of a breakup in 'the happy ending' she gives a heartfelt performance but not an oscar winning performance.

#4

liza minnelli

as 'pookie' adams ms minnelli broke your heart. it was her first 'staring' role and she delievered the goods. she went on to win the oscar three years later. in 1969 she should be proud to have been an also-ran.

#3

genevive bujold

in her first major staring role ms bujold held her own opposite richard burton. no small feat. she has never been better than in this film. sadly she was never given a better role. again, she should feel proud she was nominated.

#2

maggie smith

ms smith won the oscar. it was a worthy win when you look at all best actress winners in the academy's history. it's just that her performance was a tad too theatrical. not her fault really. it was a theater piece first and was wonderfully translated to the screen. she gave a brilliant 'stage' performance where she was always more comfortable. she gave a really good film performance but she was not the best actress of 1969 yet remains one of the best actress winners.

#1

jane fonda

jane fonda would no longer be considered a pretty face, a sex symbol or henry fonda's daughter after her performance in 'they shoot horses don't they'. she proved her mettle in a heart wrenching performance in one of the best films in modern history. as a down and out of luck woman in the depression era she tried to make a buck in a dance marathon. she sold her soul, and body, to the slick emcee in an effort to win. but it was lost before it began. she took us on an emotional roller coaster and as much as we rooted for her we knew all was lost. her nomination and her performance stand the test of time.

ms fonda would go on to win two oscars in films that were far less than this one. this remains her best performance ever. her losing it one of oscar's bigger shames.

without reservations i say jane fonda is and was the best actress of 1969

who do you believe was the best actress of 1969 among the nominees. perhaps you believe it was an actress other than these. it can happen. i certainly have years like this.