Our Kind of Voting ~ Finale!
Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 7:52PM These were so much fun on election day (pt 1 & pt 2) that we'll do one more before we hunker down into this year's Oscars. Tell us who you'd vote for and why in these famously divisive and/or just plain fabulous Oscar categories.
BEST ACTRESS 1961
SOPHIA LOREN (Two Women) vs. AUDREY HEPBURN (Breakfast at Tiffany's) vs. NATALIE WOOD (Splendor in the Grass) vs. GERALDINE PAGE (Summer & Smoke) vs. PIPER LAURIE (The Hustler)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 2007
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Deakins) vs. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Elswit) vs. ATONEMENT (McGarvey) vs. DIVING BELL AND BUTTERFLY (Kaminsky) vs. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Deakins)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 1999
HALEY JOEL OSMENT (The Sixth Sense) vs. MICHAEL CAINE (The Cider House Rules) vs. TOM CRUISE (Magnolia) vs. JUDE LAW (The Talented Mr Ripley) vs. MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN (The Green Mile)
BEST PICTURE 1975
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST vs. BARRY LYNDON vs. NASHVILLE vs. DOG DAY AFTERNOON vs. JAWS
Can you even choose from all the awesome?
Reader Comments (82)
1. Natalie Wood
2. Deakins
3. Cruise
4. Nashville (or Dog Day Afternoon, but I'll go with Nashville)
Best Pic 1975: Really I could give the prize to anyone of these, but NASHVILLE has my heart so... It's a no-brainer.
Best Actress 1961: Natalie Wood. Easily. Second in line: Audrey Hepburn (but only because I know now how famous that movie end up being), but only if I could take back her Oscar for Roman Holiday. THIS is the performance that made her legendary.
Best Cinematography 2007: In this case, I think they got it right: I'd give it to Elswit too. It's sad that someone like Roger Deakins and with those two movies lost for both in a single year but... Hey that's life.
Best Supporting Actor 1999: I love Michael Caine but that win... Bleh. I'd give it to Tom Cruise. He was very very good in Magnolia. Second choice: Jude Law. Man look at how promising he was in the beginning and where he is now...
BEST ACTRESS 1961 - SOPHIA LOREN (Two Women)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 2007 - ATONEMENT
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 1999 - JUDE LAW (The Talented Mr Ripley)
BEST PICTURE 1975 - NASHVILLE
1. Natalie Wood
2. Seamus McGarvey for ATONEMENT
3. Jude Law all the way
4. JAWS
With the exception of the 1975 film lineup (2 GREAT films - "Jaws", "Nashville", 1 good one - "Dog Day Afternoon") I would think of these choices of year in the respective cats ('61 actress, '99 supporting actor, '07 cinematography) as amongst the LEAST memorable...
With the exception of the 1975 film lineup (2 GREAT films - "Jaws", "Nashville", 1 good one - "Dog Day Afternoon") I would think of these choices of year in the respective cats ('61 actress, '99 supporting actor, '07 cinematography) as amongst the LEAST memorable. That said, I LOVE me some Audrey Hepburn (even though Capote's Holly Golightly was sanitized beyond recognition) and I think Cruise gave the best perf of his career (though that's not necessarily saying much) in "Magnolia". That cinematography lineup is SO forgettable I can't really choose one (though I've seen them all)...
BEST ACTRESS 1961
SOPHIA LOREN (Two Women) vs. AUDREY HEPBURN (Breakfast at Tiffany's) vs. NATALIE WOOD (Splendor in the Grass) vs. GERALDINE PAGE (Summer & Smoke) vs. PIPER LAURIE (The Hustler)
I haven't seen 3 yet. So, I can't choose.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 2007 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Deakins) vs. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Elswit) vs. ATONEMENT (McGarvey) vs. DIVING BELL AND BUTTERFLY (Kaminsky) vs. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Deakins)
I truly admire Deakins's work in The Assassination, but Elswit's in There Will Be Blood is even greater. Elswit.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 1999
HALEY JOEL OSMENT (The Sixth Sense) vs. MICHAEL CAINE (The Cider House Rules) vs. TOM CRUISE (Magnolia) vs. JUDE LAW (The Talented Mr Ripley) vs. MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN (The Green Mile)
Michael Caine, easily.
BEST PICTURE 1975
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST vs. BARRY LYNDON vs. NASHVILLE vs. DOG DAY AFTERNOON vs. JAWS
I haven't seen Dog Day Afternoon yet. Nashville.
These were really tough choices to make!
1961: Natalie Wood (2nd: Audrey Hepburn)
2007: There will be blood (2nd: Atonement)
1999: Haley Joel Osment (2nd: Jude Law)
1975: Nashville (2nd: Barry Lyndon)
1961 : AUDREY HEBURN
2007 : THERE WILL BE BLOOD
1999 : JUDE LAW
1975 : DOG DAY AFTERNOON
1961 : Audrey Hepburn
2007 : Elswit (There will be blood)
1999 : Jude Law
1975 : Dog Day Afternoon (I haven´t seen
1. Piper Laurie (but then I've only seen Hepburn otherwise).
2. Jesse James by a nose over Elswit.
3. The best work Cruise and Law have ever done, yet it has to be Osment.
4. Dog Day Afternoon. Easily, although Nashville is also utterly wonderful.
soooooooooo Jude Law in 1999: Fresh-Sexy-Fun-Nuance...That movie was REALLY Underated!
1961 : Audrey Hepburn (so hard between her, Loren and Wood though!)
2007 : There Will Be Blood (but what an amazing year! The best for cinematography ever? Could nominate another 5 easily!)
1999 : Tom Cruise
1975 : Jaws today, but I love Nashville
1961: Geraldine Page (love! "Alma means soul"), though I've never seen Splendor.
2007: Deakins for No Country. Images that are burned into my mind.
1999: Jude Law. Pure charisma, a golden god.
1975: Dog Day Afternoon
Drood -- you gotta be kidding me? 1999 Best Supporting Actor is an astonishing lineup. Cruise, Law and Osment would've all made worthy winners and that's usually such a lame category. Still it's too bad Christopher Plummer was weirdly snubbed that year for The Insider.
Travis -- interesting. I usually like PAGE but i really think she's bad in that movie. Weird that this was back to back with Sweet Bird of Youth in which I think she was totally statue-worthy.
You're killing me!
1961 - Piper Laurie. Such a quiet and moving performance (1962 is even a stronger year)
2007 - Deakins in Jesse James
1999 - Michael Caine.
1975 - Cuckoo's Nest and Altman or Nashville and Forman. Is that cheating?
I really want to rewatch Sweet Bird of Youth now... equally as much to watch Page as to drool over Paul Newman.
Not sure why Page in SAS has really stuck with me. She's just so naive and fragile and tender. So different from her performance in Pope.
No hand-wringing over these:
1961 - Hepburn
2007 - Elswit
1999 - Law
1975 - Nashville
1961 Best Actress: Abstain (have only seen Hepburn...and wouldn't consider it a statue worthy performance).
2007 Best Cinematography: The Assassination of Jesse James...
1999 Best Supporting Actor: It's a toss up between Osment and Cruise. I'd have voted for Haley Joel in '99, but right now I'd give it to Cruise (admittedly, in part, as a "Career Oscar").
1975 Best Picture: I think Dog Day Afternoon is narrowly the best of the five, but I'd still vote with my heart and give it to Nashville.
Best Actress 1961- I adore Piper Laurie's performance, but I have to give this to Audrey Hepburn. Just such an iconic role.
Best Cinematography 2007- The Assassination of Jesse James for its poetic, Malick-like grandeur. But all of these would have been worthy winners. In fact, take any one of these nominees and place them in any other year since 2007, and it would be my choice.
Best Supporting Actor 1999- Tom Cruise. It's the best performance of his career and probably the best of that movie, which is saying a lot considering the astonishing cast. Haley Joel Osment was very good but definitely seems to be one of those all too frequent cases of a leading role being considered supporting solely because it was done by a child actor. Jude Law would actually be my second choice. A true supporting performance: despite not much screen time, he's arguably the most memorable part of the movie.
Best Picture 1975- I go back and forth on this all the time, but I think I'd rank them like this at the moment: Jaws, Nashville, Cuckoo's Nest, Dog Day Afternoon, Barry Lyndon. When Barry Lyndon is my least favorite of the bunch, that's a damn good year. Nashville would probably be the most "deserving" if I were to pick one, and I'd still give Altman the Best Director award that year, but Jaws was just such a big part of my childhood and remains a favorite to this day that I can't help but pick it.
1. I need to see these movies. I've only seen Tiffany, and that was about 20 years ago. I've actually never seen a Natalie Wood performance, and given the movies that she's been in, that's embarrassing. With all the love she gets here, I'll correct that toute suite.
2. Whoa. Is this the greatest lineup this category's ever had? This is even tougher than choosing Best Actress 1975. I'll give it to Assassination.
3. Jude - but now I know that in my little world Jude Law is a two-time Oscar winner, which is kind of weird, so I shall retroactively give the Best Actor prize I awarded him yesterday to Bill Murray - and forgive Oscar its many trespasses, since this is how that happens.
4. Nashville - and yes, the greatest Best Picture roster ever (so naturally the weakest movie takes the real Oscar.)
Best Actress: Haven't seen any of them. Even Hepburn's. I know, bad gay.
Best Cinematography: Deakins lights No Country with all the somberness of a world ending. It's incredible work. (Elswit's win is well deserved, and handsome work on the others as well.)
Best Supporting Actor: I go back and forth between Cruise and Osment, leaning towards the latter tonight.
Best Picture: Jaws is a beautifully made film that never captured me, Cuckoo's Nest is a blessing, but I have to go with Dog Day Afternoon. Some of the best editing I've ever seen and just incredible storytelling from beginning to end. What a knockout!
1961: Natalie Wood
2007: Elswit (though Deakins work in Assassination was my favorite thing about that film)
1999: As obsessed as I was with Jude's performance in Ripley back then, I have to give it to Tom Cruise in Magnolia.
1975: Dog Day Afternoon
i am enormously troubled that so many movie fans have never seen splendor in the grass!!!! you can't call yourself a movie fan unless you have seen this movie.....do you still love him deenie??? What tho the glory that was once so bright, be forever taken from our sight. Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower
We will grieve not, but rather find
Strength in what remains behind.
Natalie Wood - all the way. Turned me on to william Wordsworth. and, I'm still pissed Kathleen Turner lost.
Natalie Wood. Easily. None of the others compare. Hepburn is iconic but more-so for eating a pastry outside Tiffany's in fabulous clothes. Loren is nothing special at all and Page and Laurie are forgettable.
1. Natalie Wood.
2. Atonement.
3. Jude Law.
4. Nashville.
Best Actress 1961:
I've watched only 3 of the 5 films
SOPHIA LOREN (Two Women)
AUDREY HEPBURN (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
NATALIE WOOD (Splendor in the Grass)
I'm OK with Sophia's win
Now that I've watched Roman Holiday, My Fair Lady, and Breakfast at Tiffany's I'm convinced that Audrey Hepburn is a gorgeous woman, a nice gal, loved and respected by the universe, a very limited actress.
1999: I think I'd go with Tom actually :)
Hard to say on the others (if forced to choose I'd say Hepburn and Elswit), but as to 1999 - Law Law Law Law Law - a million times Law. That said, you are quite right to note that Plummer should've been in the mix for The Insider.
Natalie Wood, Robert Elswit, Jude Law (although John Malkovich was the best supporting performance of that year) and Nashville
Conrado - I agree about Malkovich. I was so annoyed when he wasn't nominated.
1961: Still Sophia Loren, although Audrey Hepburn gave her best performance here
1999: One vote for Haley Joel Osment. His performance hold up really well after many viewing, and I think one of the key factor that contribute to the success of The Sixth Sense
2007 Cinematography: what a great year! But for me There Will Be Blood hold the bag here
1975: I'm also surprised with the love of Nashville here. I thought if the Oscar were going to vote today, the award would be Jaws. This is such a god line-up and I'll go with my heart here: Nashville
MIke & Conrado --- that's who i was forgetting. Replace Duncan & Caine with Malkovich and Plummer and you have like the best Supporting Actor lineup of all time :)
Best Actress of 1961: Natalie Wood's performance as Wilma Dean Loomis was, hands down, the best of the year but Holly Golightly is my adored Audrey's best role so I declare a tie.
Best cinematography of 2007: "Atonement".
Best supporting actor of 1999: Tom Cruise, of course. He was sensational in "Magnolia".
Best film of 1975: "Jaws" was a great pop corn movie. "Barry Lyndon" a beautiful bore. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was very good but overrated. "Nashville" was excellent but not my cup of tea. I vote "Dog Day Afternoon", a fantastically good movie with a magnificent performance by Al Pacino and the whole supporting cast.
1964: Audrey - Too iconic
2007: No Country for Old Men - All worthy winners
1999: Tom Cruise - It's his career best. Don't really like him, but he was incredible in Magnolia.
1975: Cuckoo
1961: Natalie Wood
2007: Roger Deakins
1999: Jude Law
1975: Nashville!
1961 BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Wood "Splendor in the Grass"
2007 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: "The Assassination of Jesse James"
1999 BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Haley Joel Osment "The Sixth Sense"
This kid was robbed blind, and by a dull Michael Caine! If Tom Cruise has been as superb in all his scenes as he was in the final confrontation during the interview, my pick would probably be different.
1975 BEST PICTURE: "JAWS", with Dog Day Afternoon a very close second. but I love the other 3 as well
I can't believe there are people who support Caine's second Oscar. I never liked either of his Oscar wins. The best part of his win was his class act acceptance speech where he acknowledged his fellow nominees. When Michael Clarke Duncan passed, I went to You Tube to watch Caine's acceptance speech just to see him recognized in such a happy and beautiful way.
That statuette was Cruise's and he lost due to the politics of Academy members hating him more than his then wife Nicole.
Looking back, I really am surprised Haley Joel Osment didn't win.
Man, good choices.
'61: AUDREY HEPBURN: The role is too classic. Sophia Loren (being an italian man, she is my true prima bella donna) is a great winner who deserves it so, but I would give her next year for Marriage: Italian Style.
'07: ATONEMENT: Each film is beautiful in so many different ways but every image of that film just sticks in my mind and never lets go.
'99: JUDE LAW: A perfect embodiment of what a great SUPPORTING performance is. Fits so well into the world of the movie and he still haunts the film long after hes gone. True mark of a great performance.
'75: JAWS: the populist choice, but it just changed cinema in so major a way. Plus (sacrilege) I am not a Altman fan and can't get through Nashville. Not my cup of tea
Best Actress '61-Natalie Wood-All very fine performances but Natalie was never better than in Splendor she obviously connected with the character and you can't imagine another actress in the role.
Cinematography '07-Atonement
Supporting actor '99-I'd still go with Michael Caine but just barely over Haley Joel Osment who was so great in the Sixth Sense.
Best Picture '75-Dog Day Afternoon-No contest.
1961 - Sophia Loren
2007 - Jesse James
1999 - Osment (or Duncan)
1975 - One Flew
1961 - Natalie Wood. I have a very soft spot in my heart for that movie. She's absolutely stunning in that film.
2007: Atonement
1999: Tom Cruise, but my second would be Haley Joel Osment. He's the one of the main reasons this movie works and still works. Great performance by a really talented kid.
Loren
Diving Bell
Law
Nashville
1961: Natalie Wood, of course!!
2007: The only thing sure is that I wouldn't give it to No Country, the other four are just awesome works... I guess The Assassination would finally take the gold.
1999: Tom Cruise (in my world, Haley Joel Osment would be nominated in leading, Jude Law wiould be the close second, and Michael Caine third)
1975: NASHVILLE. The most amazing picture of all time. And yet, Barry Lyndon is such a masterpiece...
BEST ACTRESS 1961
1. NATALIE WOOD (Splendor in the Grass)
2. PIPER LAURIE (The Hustler)
3. SOPHIA LOREN (La Ciociara)
4. GERALDINE PAGE (Summer & Smoke)
5. AUDREY HEPBURN (Breakfast at Tiffany's)
My Top Ten for 1961 - a great year for women:
1. Harriet Andersson in „SAESOM I EN SPEGEL“ (Sweden)
2. Jeanne Moreau in „LA NOTTE“ (Italy)
3. Emmanuelle Riva in „LÉON MORIN, PRÊTRE“ (France)
4. Anouk Aimée in „LOLA“ (France)
5. Alida Valli in „UNE AUSSI LONGUE ABSENCE“ (France)
6. Delphine Seyrig in „L'ANNÉE DERNIÈRE À MARIENBAD“ (France)
7. Natalie Wood in „SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS” (USA)
8. Piper Laurie in „THE HUSTLER“ (USA)
9. Deborah Kerr in „THE INNOCENTS“ (Great Britain)
10. Lucyna Winnicka in „MATKA JOANNA OD ANIÓLOW“ (Poland)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 2007
1. THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Deakins)
2. THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Elswit)
3. DIVING BELL AND BUTTERFLY (Kaminsky)
4. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Deakins)
5. ATONEMENT (McGarvey)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR 1999
1. JUDE LAW (The Talented Mr Ripley)
2. TOM CRUISE (Magnolia)
3. HALEY JOEL OSMENT (The Sixth Sense)
4. MICHAEL CAINE (The Cider House Rules)
5. MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN (The Green Mile)
My Numer One:
John Malkovich in "Being John Malkovich"
2007 Best Cinematography:
Atonement
1999 Best Supporting Actor:
Jude Law, The Talented Mr Ripley
1961 Actress - Piper Laurie is so good in The Hustler. I'm meh on Woods and Loren and Hepburn (they're all very pretty, but they don't do it for me). Summer & Smoke is not Page's best performance.
2007 Cinematography - How do you choose between Deakins (for Assassination) and Elswit? Oy.
1999 S. Actor - Osment's performance seems like the best "scary" kid performance ever, right? Sort of how Glenn Close's Fatal Attraction character spawned a lot of "insane lady" performances, his did the same. How Caine won is beyond me ... this is not even in his top 5 best performances. I guess you have to choose between Cruise and Law. And I hate to give it to either of them considering how mediocre they both are now.
1975 Picture - Barry Lyndon is not for everyone. Dog Day Afternoon and Cuckoo's Nest are great one time watches. Jaws is exhilarating fluff. So, I guess I go with Nashville, which is just so great. You can watch it over and over and love it every single time.
I must be living in a parallel universe. I had no idea Michael Caine's Oscar was so despised!
Actress 1961 - Haven't seen Sophia or Geraldine, but of the other three, Natalie Wood, in a heartbeat. And the other two would have to be jaw-droppingly amazing to beat her.
Cinematography 2007 - A really amazing category, so I have to go with degree of difficulty: McGarvey or Kaminski. Diving-Bell is such a gorgeous film, but so many images from Atonement are seared onto my mind (and then there's THAT tracking shot) that I have to go with McGarvey.
Supporting Actor 1999 - Haley Joel Osment was my choice back then, but when I look at Sixth Sense now, I find his really great, incisive moments are balanced by highly questionable ones, and it's mostly a one-note performance. So, now I give it to the man who was my runner-up: Jude Law.
Picture 1975 - I haven't seen Barry Lyndon or Nashville (or Jaws all the way through), so I feel unqualified, but while I have no problem with Cuckoo's Nest I would have to go with Dog Day Afternoon. WOW but that film is GREAT.
And for the record, 1972 had the best Best Picture lineup: Cabaret, Deliverance, The Emigrants, The Godfather, and Sounder. The only modern ones that come close to the 70s heyday of the category are 2007 and 2010.