The Smackdowns. A History
Thursday, April 2, 2015 at 9:40AM Yes, it's true. The Smackdowns will return. StinkyLulu was gracious enough to let us reboot the series here. In our one bifurcated season thus far (Aug 2013 thru Sept 2014) we covered 1941, 1952, 1964 (which special guest Melanie Lynskey) 1968, 1973 (with special guest Dana Delany) 1980, 1989, and 2003. So... where to now?
Let's look at our options after the jump...
The Smackdown will return on Sunday May 24th but which film years should we cover? StinkyLulu's original site covered over 30 years of Supporting Actress competitions so unless we switch categories (which we might start doing to spice it up every so often) only these years remain:
AVAILABLE YEARS
Let us know which of these contests you think would make a great smackdown. We're still trying to line up special guests but hopefully we'll nab an actress or two. Whether or not we do you'll get a panel of great critics.
1943 - Cooper | Goddard | Paxinou | Revere | Watson
1947 - Barrymore | Grahame | Holm | Main | Revere
1948 - Bel Geddes | Corby | Moorehead | Simmons | Trevor
1954 - Foch | Jurado | Saint | Sterling | Trevor
1963 - Cilento | Evans | Rutherford | Redman | Skala
1965 - Gordon | Redman | Smith | Winters | Wood
1979 - Alexander | Barrie | Bergen | Hemingway | Streep
1981 - Dillon | Fonda | Stapleton | Hackett | McGovern
1984 - Ashcroft | Close | Crouse | Lahti | Page
1986 - Harper | Laurie | Mastrantonio | Smith | Weist
1987- Aleandro | Archer | Dukakis | Ramsey | Sothern
1991 - Ladd | Lewis | Nelligan | Ruehl | Tandy
1995 - Allen | Quinland | Sorvino | Winningham | Winslet
1997 - Basinger | Cusack | Driver | Moore | Stuart
1998- Bates | Dench | Blethyn | Griffiths | Redgrave
2000 - Dench | Harden | Hudson | McDormand | Walters
2001 - Connelly | Mirren | Smith | Tomei | Winslet
2002 - Bates | Moore | Latifah | Streep | Zeta-Jones
2004 - Blanchett | Linney | Madsen | Okonedo | Portman
2005 - Adams | Keener | McDormand | Weisz | Williams
UNFORTUNATELY WE CAN'T DO
1937 | 1938 | 1944 | 1946 | 1951 | 1957 | 1960 | 1972 | 1977
At least 1 or two films from each of these shortlists is either a) too costly to obstain or b) totally not available anymore *sob*... 1960 and 1977 would make G-R-E-A-T smackdowns but fall into the latter worst kind of retrospective problem
NO INSTANT REEVALUATION SO NOT YET ON...
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014
Reader Comments (91)
I'd love 1979, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2001 & 2004.
1965, 1979, 1986, 1991, 2000
[heh - i didn't realise i'd chosen five different decades until now]
I'm happy with any year, although I wonder: Some of the StinkyLulu smackdowns had limited panelists (2 or 3) - had you considered giving those another shot?
And the fact there are 10 years where at least one nominee is unavailable makes me sad.
PoliVamp -- i think it works better with multiple panelists. Finding critics is not that hard since the site is fairly well known. Finding celebrity guests much more challenging :)
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!
1949, 1979, 1986, 1991 and 2002 look the most interesting IMO.
1993 has already been done, no?
1984, 1998, and 2005 (and they already did 1993 on Stinky's old site).
I'd vote for: 1943, 1979, 1981,1998, 2001.
2004! 2004!
I vote for 48, 63, 79, 91, 05
Also you have 54 on both the available years and the ones you can't do.
I'd like 2002. Love Meryl Streep in one of her more understated performances (in an outrageous film), and I don't know if I think Kathy Bates was funny or mean-spirited in About Schmidt. And Zeta-Jones for the win?
In order:
1984
1948
1979
1998
1981
1987
1997! 1997! 1997!
1965: because it's the 50th, and I have no idea who would win.
1979: because it's my birth year, and would be the kick in the pants I need to get around to watching KvsK.
1995: because I'm a fan of the Sorvino win, and I wonder if she would have other defenders.
2000/2001: because they're recent, but I genuinely don't know who would win.
I'm all about the 7s
1947
1977 <sniff sob sniff>
1987
1997
(though 1954 would be cool)
do 2005!
79, 81, 84. I don't know the era or films as well as I'd like, and I feel like it's an overlooked period.
1963, please, if only because I love Margaret Rutherford to tiny little bits and pieces (in my personal universe, in which I pick all Oscar winners and nominees, she's a seven-time nominee with three wins), and even although, admittedly, I wouldn't even vote her Best in Show in 'The V.I.P.s' (that would be Maggie Smith), it's a great performance (and one of my aforementioned seven Rutherford career nominations) nevertheless - and most of all, I'm glad this film made her an Oscar winner and the actual universe, as well.
2005!
I want to see where you all stand on the trifecta of Adams/Weisz/Williams
I love reading these Smackdowns so I'm happy with any year but having recently watched Cape Fear I'm dying to hear the panelist's thoughts on Juliette Lewis, so my vote is for 1991.
I'd put my vote on 2000 -- recent enough that you (and readers) can easily access all 5 nominees; plus, there's only 4 films to track down given Almost Famous's double dip.
I loved that year for being all over the place - the BFCA (McDormand), Golden Globe (Hudson), SAG (Dench), BAFTA (Walters) AND Oscar (Harden) split -- literally all 5 nominees won a major prize by the end of the awards season. So, why not use the Smackdown to settle once and for all who reigned supreme?
BJ -- i was *obsessed* with her in 91... so she'd get lots of hearts from me :)
stinkylulu -- i can't understand why a film as famouis as Looking for Mr Goodbar with actual stars who are still famous in it, is out of print. plus it's a good movie. UGH.
I know which one is unavailable in 1960 (The Dark at the Top of the Stairs), but I'm stunned that any of 1977's crop are unavailable. Julia was the first appearance of Streep in any context, The Turning Point got 11 nominations even if it didn't win any, The Goodbye Girl won Lead Actor, Close Encounters is a genuinely great movie and Looking for Mr. Goodbar is a Diane Keaton movie. You should be able to sell ALL OF THOSE.
1986 or 2002 please!!!
1995 and 1997 are two of my favorite years in this category, and of the big anniversary years (10, 25, 50, 75) I much prefer 2005's crop to 1965's.
Omg 1995 - Allen | Quinland | Sorvino | Winningham | Winslet please!
Any year you want to do is fine with me. I find something interesting in them all.
I love this series! Any year is fun to read, but I'm going to throw my weight behind a 1995 retrospective. I love Georgia and it's a movie that sadly doesn't get discussed a lot, so any attention it can get all these years later, I'm all for it.
Also, because of that graphic, I'm now dying to see what would happen if Marylee Hadley and Mary Jones actually sat down in the same room and had a conversation.
1979
1986
1995
1997
2000
So many great years to choose from!
I can't comment on great early years but among newer ones:
-2004 but Joe MUST be included so he can discuss Sophie Okonedo.
-2005 to discuss Amy Adams's breakthrough role.
Any of the above!
Has 1976 been done already? If so, where can I find it?
I'd love to see 1963 (three nominated performances from ONE film!), 1987, 1998, and 2005 (although I already know who would win the latter -- hello, Amy Adams!).
1979, 1997, or 2002!
Mid century classics - 1948, 1963
My logic - 1948 & 1963 are easier for actresses to comment on (no contemporary colleagues) but the actresses are an interesting group. 1963 contains 3 actresses from "Tom Jones" and they are all good.
IMO anything 2000-present is too recent for unbiased revision.
1986 - Harper | Laurie | Mastroianni | Smith | Weist &
1998- Bates | Dench | Blethyn | Griffiths | Redgrave
These line-ups had really good actresses in some excellent films, so choices won't be automatic or easy. It's really a shame about 1977 & Mr. Goodbar not being available.
Good Luck !!
1991 - I would love to hear what people think of Ruehl's category placement (she won LA Critics as Best Actress) as well as what they think about Lewis in Cape Fear. She was such a sensation back then. The performance really became a topic of conversation to anyone who had seen the movie, one of my favorite Scorsese movies (King of Comedy #1).
1995 - I love, love, love Winninhgham in Georgia (and everything else about it, so I'd be curious to see what people have to say upon revisiting this gem)
2004 and 2005 are also interesting.
Merely looking at these lists brings back so many memories of thoughts I had about the nominees and their nominations (Weisz, who gave one of Kate Winslet's best performances; Adams, who would be a two-time winner by now if it were up to me; Archer, whose nod always struck me as peculiar, as did Basinger's win).
I guess I say all of that to say 1987, 1997, and 2005, but any year would do for me.
Yaaas Smackdown! I like the idea of alternating between old and new (I vote 2001).
Now that Cate Blanchett has an Oscar she deserves, can we go back to 2004 and figure out who should have really won that year?
1965, please. I wonder if Winters would be dethroned.
1986: Mastroianni? You mean Mastrantonio.
San FranCinema: That's an easy one -- Virginia Madsen.
1948
1981
1998
2004
@San FranCinema
Blanchett deserves several Oscars. And I'm grateful that she joined Streep and Lange as the only supporting actress winners to return with second wins in best actress. Turning Katharine Hepburn into an Oscar winning role. She is also the second woman to win under the direction of Scorsese.
YAY!!!!
I would love: 1986, 1987, 1995, 1997, and 2000-2005.
Pretty please and thank you with a cherry on top!? :)
For recent years, I would go with 1995 and 2005. I think that both lineups were very strong and diverse, and featured signature performances from most of the actresses nominated.
Hate picking the most recent, but that's the one I'm most obsessed about from the available lineup. One day it's Weisz, and the next day it's Adams (and how much "overdue" talk would have been solved for her if they just took care of Adams for her breakthrough role). I just watched "Brokeback Mountain" again last week and was stunned by how strong Williams was. I guess all I could see back then was Ledger and Gyllenhaal. Keener's an afterthought to me, and wouldn't it have been awesome if she had somehow been nodded for "The 40-Year Old Virgin" instead! McDormand, ummmm, you were awesome in "Olive Kitteridge" :-). 2005 FTW!
These are just about my favorite thing. I've read them for years. So excited more are coming up. I'd love to see 1948, 1979, 1986, 2001, 2002, and 2005.
2002! only because i fear adaptation is a movie people are starting to forget and that nearly everything about that film (including streep, so hilarious) is brilliant and stunning in how they managed to pull it off.
3rtful: Sure, just not for her Aviator work IN SPECIFIC, where I doubt she even really deserved THAT nomination. Elizabeth? Sure, I saw the sequel so I have a sense what the original work was like. Blue Jasmine? Definitely. I'm Not There? I'm absolutely there. Her Hepburn in The Aviator? Meta commentary decision that ignores actual quality. It's JUST a fun turn, which has it's place, sure, but I'd have much rather seen Sandra Oh (the only one of the other four on my ballot who conceivably could have made it) get nominated instead of that Blanchett turn.
@Volvagia
The Aviator performance is my least liked nomination from Blanchett. But I'm glad she won because it was her second nomination and the auteur who directed her to it.
I asked Nathaniel twice what his favorite Kathy Bates performance is---maybe watching Primary Colors will force him to consider what her most substantial film work is quality wise. A vote for 1998. By the way, I like every nominee in the line up. Though I disagree with Dench's win, I believe this later benefited Marcia Gay Harden and Halle Berry. Also, what exactly makes Mercedes Ruehl a lead performance to some?---I do believe she would have been nominated for Best Actress if she were a bigger name.