It's such a joy to watch someone talk about a topic they LOVE and want to tell you everything about it without making you feel dumb for not knowing as much as they do. Delightful! I could watch these every day.
My biggest anger is JUDY GARLAND losing to Grace Kelly (a lovely woman but Best Actress because she mushed her hair and wore less makeup? Come on!) Garland ran the whole gamut from one end to the other and in between (and her songs were part of the journey). When she says, with a tremor in her voice, 'Thi is..Mrs. Norman Maine!' chills down the back. All I can attribute it to is the 'Hollywood powers that be' saw Garland as troublesome and probably not a 'star with a future' as they did Kelly so pushed for this to happen.
Smart, witty analyses! Gore Vidal said Brando was in tee shirts in Streetcar to indicate he was repulsive, but he was so “hot” it backfired, and now we all wear tee shirts.
You were spot on except for one thing. Dismissing 'Million Dollar Baby' in any way is a grave injustice. It's two movies in one. It's about a woman rising up in a sport primarily dominated by men and it's a right to die film. Superb stuff and one of the best films from the last 20 years. Johnny Depp should have been left off the best actor list that year in favour of Paul G. because 'Finding Neverland' is nothing special or memorable. Depp was nominated only because he was still riding high on the success of 'Pirates of the Caribbean the year before.
Love the Jean Simmons shout-out to start things off. She did win a Golden Globe for "Guys and Dolls," Best Actress at Venice for "Hamlet," an Emmy and a couple Oscar nods, but deserved so much more. Saw an interview with Shirley Jones once at a "Gantry" screening right after Simmons' death, and in praising Simmons she stated she still couldn't understand how Jean missed a nomination for the film. Hear, hear, Shirley. As for Perkins, I've always wondered if a big reason he missed out was due to limited screentime while up against the heavyweights you mention. I wonder if he'd gone supporting (as Leigh did, who essentially splits the Lead character time with Perkins) if he might have won (and check out 1968's "Pretty Poison" if you haven't, for Perkins at possibly his post-"Psycho" best). Finally, two words for a pre-Brando screen natural: Joel McCrea.
@@mr29 I'm going by screentime (Leigh is front-and-center for the first 49 minutes then Perkins, who shows up 27 minutes into the film, takes over, alternating scenes with Miles and Gavin after Leigh is gone, and he does not appear in the long explanation scene at the end- I clocked him as having 38:52 minutes of screentime). I know Perkins is top-billed and is certainly considered the star so he may not have been allowed to enter the Supporting race anyway, but his screentime is limited in comparison to a typical Best Actor nominee, and is close to Leigh's, who is in virtually every scene until Marion's demise. However, I did just check the site for nominees' screentimes, and Trevor Howard did get in with the second-shortest screentime ever for a Best Actor nominee, while the other four nominees were in their movies for over an hour. I would love to see the initial vote count, to see how close Perkins came to making the final five.
Donald Sutherland convinced Robert Redford to refilm him in the dining room scene, fearing that he had overacted. The set was already broken down, so a minimal set was built for him. It was a good call. The resignation in his voice and body are heartbreaking. It also had the effect of showing his complete isolation from his wife by end of their marriage.
This is excellent, thank you, Louis! I was so happy to hear you talk about A Patch of Blue, which was my favorite movie throughout my tweens and teens, and I still watch it every few years along with To Sir with Love (sigh - Sidney Poitier dancing).
Enjoying these videos. SO GLAD to see your nods to Anthony Perkins and Donald Sutherland. I add Andy Griffith "A Face in the Crowd", and Tyrone Power, "Nightmare Alley".
Sydney Poitier not being nominated for In the Heat of the Night was outrageous. He stole that movie and made a statement by slapping the old racist guy back in the face. I would also add Tony Curtis not being nominated for The Boston Strangler was also egregious. His performance was terrifying and much scarier than Hannibal Lecter. It was a total transformation for him looks wise with the weight gain, dark contact lenses and false nose. He was almost unrecognisable. Plus the movie was very innovative with several split screen images which ramped up the tension and much copied by other directors in later movies.
I feel this is like an OG Movieline magazine article come to life! The wit, the Hollywood lore, a great topic. Thanks, Louis Virtel! Please do more of this… PS. Ordinary People represent! I watch this movie every year… ("Buck wouldn't be in the hospital!!")
Great video. Love the shout out to Jack Lemmon in Missing, one of the best nominations in the category. Totally heartbreaking. As for snubs, I would add Kirk Douglas for Ace in the Hole and Homayoun Ershadi for Taste of Cherry, two of the greatest performances ever.
Legendary performances that didn't win an Oscar- Perkins in Psycho, Bogart in Casablanca & The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre, Mitchum in Out Of The Past, Cagney in White Heat, Sellers in Dr. Strangelove to name a few. A lot of times when you look at who won & who didn't get nominated you wish they'd go back and correct all the mistakes.
Humphrey Bogart wasn't even nominated for The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre! Unbelievable! And James Cagney wasn't nominated for White Heat! Also unbelievable! Those two would have been my personal picks to win for their respective years, without a doubt! Those were unhinged explosive performances that were noticeably before Marlon Brando and deserve much more credit and recognition for their greatness than they do today in my opinion. Great picks! And yes, Mitchum's laid back cool demeanor as his doomed character in Out Of The Past was also fantastic and Oscar worthy. And yeah, I would have voted for Sellers in Strangelove as well, but at least he was actually nominated unlike the previous 3 that you mentioned. You're spot on about all your choices, for sure.
Honestly, was never a huge Anthony Perkins fan; but some of his moments in the 1978 British TV-movie, Les Miserables, is some of the best work of all time.
Agree with you 100%! Also notable performances, maybe snubbed Oscar-worthies: Anthony Perkins in "Pretty Poison" and Donald Sutherland in "Day of the Locust."
Wow. "The Day Of the Locust"! Starring Karen Black, "Pathetic" in human form, As-Insane-As-A-Human-Can -Be-Driven Mr. Sutherland, and the ADORABLE "Adore" (Jackie Earl Haley's film debut) has lived rent-free in my mind for nearly 50 years. The only thing more disturbing than Ms. Black's devious, slightly cross-eyed, twisted stare is the horrifying fate that Adore meets when Donald Sutherland's character snaps. Hard.
Fascinating list of snubs and I was delighted to see you recommend some great performances I also love. Edith Evans is the definitive Lady Bracknell in my opinion. I saw The Whisperers in a small town theatre when I was a young teenager and still remember that when it finished, the audience clapped: we knew we had just seen a wonderfully authentic acting performance. Joan Cusack always turns in a good performance, especially in a supporting role eg The Adams Family movie you named, Gross Pointe Blank, Working Girl. Great list. Thank you. Subscribed.
The fact that Mary Tyler Moore did not win this Oscar, and yet had in real life lost her only son due to an accidental death is shocking. To deal with the odd circumstance of confronting the grief she had just acted on screen is shattering!
when i think of oscar snubs, donald sutherland in ordinary people is the first name that comes to my mind. you really nailed it with your analysis of that film, which i recommend to everyone i meet
Thank you for all your positive comments on Ordinary People (one of my faves) and for the negative ones on Million Dollar Baby (the popularity of which I will never understand).
in the context of things the Bogart win makes sense, he was one of Hollywood's biggest stars, already had a streak of successful movies that eventually would become classics and still was outrage because of his snub for Treasure of Sierra Madre 3 years prior, so this was a "now or never" kind of moment. Also Brando was not very famous at the moment and the lead Oscars at that time were mostly reserved for well... stars
You are so handsome in these front shots! I was trying to video-call with my husband while watching this video on my laptop, and paused the video, but my eyes kept wandering to it instead of my hubby on the phone's screen. I'm a bad man!!
Humphrey Bogart should have won an Oscar for The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948) or In A Lonely Place (1950). His performances in those were unhinged, explosive, yet grounded and tragic. They were fantastic. The fact that he wasn't even nominated for either is unbelievable!
My favorite of his performances was in The Caine Mutiny, he's absolutely brillant and cast against type, but that's more of a supporting role. (He was nominated for it, though.)
For me Jack Lemmon losing for his turn in the Apartment is so egregious. He effortlessly switches between suave, funny, angry and sad from scene to scene which is so hard to do. I don’t get why he lost Best Actor as the Apartment also won Best Picture mostly due to his performance and the overall quality of the film. I’d highly recommend a watch if you haven’t seen it, it is amazing.
I agree . I remember his performance and Colman Domingo’s far more than Murphy’s no offense to him. I just remember the other two more. Jeffery Wright as well.
As an Oscar completist, I'm pretty proud of myself, last week I finally watched every single Best Actor nominee (minus the lost films of course). I'll avoid some of my favorites that obviously had no chance at being nominated and I'll avoid foreign films because, lol at the Academy nominating a bunch of foreign performances. 1943 Roger Livesey - The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1949 James Cagney - White Heat 1951 Kirk Douglas - Ace in the Hole (surprised by this since they seemed to love Douglas a lot around that time) 1955 Danny Kaye - The Court Jester 1962 Robert Preston - The Music Man (surprised by this one since they obviously loved the film) 1973 Steve McQueen - Papillon 1984 Harry Dean Stanton - Paris, Texas (one of my favorite performances ever) 1988 William Hurt - The Accidental Tourist (I'm kind of shocked that snubbed this since Hurt had a streak before that and they nominated the film in a bunch of other categories) 1988 Willem Dafoe - The Last Temptation of Christ
Small correction for Hitchcock: That so few of his actors (and movies and himself as director for that matter) were nominated or even won, was largely due to the fact that thrillers were hardly ever recognized by the Academy until the 70's.
I'll a few others for everyone to contemplate: Eric Stoltz for Mask (1985)... he should have been nominated. Also: Hugh Grant and/or James Wilby for Maurice (1987).
When you mentioned Timothy Hutton being nominated for Best Supporting Actor all you have to say is Al Pacino in The Godfather. He's in the movie for like 2 1/2 hrs & Brando is in it for little over 1/2 hr.
You are spot on about Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People. As the strong but silent loving backbone of that family, he was overshadowed in a showier role by MTM playing completely against type. And brilliantly too. Not a hint of Laura Petrie or Mary Richards there. But at the end of the picture, where he sits quietly at the table in the middle of the night and says, "I don't love you anymore." it's devastating. We see the internalized turmoil people go through in making that heartbreaking decision. Also, Leonardo di Caprio is the most overrated actor of this generation. He youthful looks faded fast and there's nothing particularly difficult about any role he's played. Hell, the bear mauling in The Revenant was CGI for Chrissakes!
The Academy hates the anti-hero. Giamatti was robbed. IMO Elia Kazan should have won best director for Streetcar. I'm sure you have a director version. Great content and clips.
13:23 _The King of Comedy_ would have competed in 1983, not 1982. It had one release in a theater in Iceland or something in the last week of 1982 (for some reason), but got released everywhere else in 1983. It competed at the 1984 BAFTAs. It's really a 1983 film.
i would love love LOVE to see an entire episode of yours on TV crossovers from TV to film - there was a time when that was a big NO-NO - TV Stars were not worthy or deserving of oscar nominations - MTM & Travolta loom large as succeeding in this - also Melissa McCarthy - people rarely talk of it - but Melissa was on 'GIlmore Girls' and while I never ever thought I'd watch or even like that show - it was amazing and she played the most bubbly happy person and she was BRILLIANT -
Marlon Brando not winning for Streetcar is the reason for the Oscars to stop existing!!!! How??? I watched it in the 80s and even then it was groundbreaking! The best performance by a male actor ever
Dominic Sessa should have recieved a Supporting Actor nomination for The Holdovers. Gary Oldman absolutely did not deserve an Oscar for Darkest Hours. Daniel Kuluyaa or Timothee Chalumet deserved the Oscar that year
Sessa should definitely have been recognized, though I think it was a longshot because the category was already determined by the time of the nominations.
Sean Penn should have gotten a Supporting nomination for Carlito's Way. He was almost unrecognizable. That and Paul Giamatti for Sideways are the two snubs for male actor awards that I'm still huffy about.
Giamatti is one of those actors who everyone respects and yet always puts on a lower shelf for incredible acting...even when it's obvious he's a great actor. Eventually he's going to receive an Oscar...and it will be a "Lifetime Achievement" award. The ultimate backhand prize given more out of the Academy being ashamed they walked over or past so many great performers.
Ordinary People...Yeah, I have argued against Raging Bull since my teens. My position was less propping up OP and more saying The King of Comedy is clearly superior. But as I've grown older I defend OP more firmly. It is a devastating story and it is incredibly important that it be shown. My connection to the movie deepened after my eldest brother was killed by a drunk driver when I was in my 20s. It is a very different situation compared to the movie: no survivor guilt, 3rd party is to blame, totally different ages, and I have 3 other brothers. However, I can now better imagine how true this story could be. My parents grew closer through their grief, but nothing can ever go back to how it was. We have to figure out how to move forward. The biggest change for me is my view of Mary Tyler Moore's character...I can no longer view her as being the obvious "bad guy." Her breakdown on the golf course makes me cry every damn time I see it because I think of my mom and I cannot fathom her pain. I didn't feel something like that until Hereditary...the immediate reaction in that movie is way too close to home.
I can not begrudge Rod Steiger for “In the Heat of the Night” 1967, but if Richard Burton ever deserved an Oscar, it was for “Taming of the Shrew”. Surely his best ever performance.
I just finished all 3 of your Trophy Strife videos in a row and I want more. Please. I have to say, I adore Paul Giamatti, he is a national treasure, and I can’t stand Marlon Brando. I think it’s the whole “method acting” thing. Just act, for gad’s sake. Anyway, just wanted to let you know I’m really enjoying what you’re doing.
I'm going to talk about a best actor snub and in my opinion should have won. Tony LEUNG Chiu-Wai for Happy Together by Wong Kar-wai was one of the most solid and brilliant performances I've ever seen.
Excellent assessments. Here’s my take on Donald Sutherland and “Ordinary People.” Timothy Hutton should have been nominated for Leading Actor. Sutherland should have been nominated for Supporting Actor (along with Judd). Timothy wouldn’t have beaten DeNiro. The film hinges upon the relationship of the mother and the son. Even Sutherland’s character supports the behavior of his wife toward his son by doing nothing…until he has his epiphany at the end. At that time, he learns to support his son fully. The ultimately supporting part.
Sutherland worked with Altman and Fellini yet no Oscar? Did you see him in Citizen X? ‘Nuff said. The film scene that made me more uncomfortable than any I’ve ever known is when DeNiro crashes Lewis’ home, his clueless GF in tow. At that moment I realized Scorsese’s true genius, never mind DeNiro’s. Giamatti is pure beaten gold. I’m sure you’ve seen American Splendor, John Adams, and Cold Souls.
Great video, Louis. As a fellow awards obsessive, I feel compelled to say that The King of Comedy came to U.S. theaters in 1983, so De Niro would’ve maybe had an easier time cracking that top five. He certainly wouldn’t have defeated Robert Duvall who deserved his win for Tender Mercies. It’s cool to see that the British Academy embraced The King of Comedy, and Sandra Bernhard even got a prize from the National Society of Film Critics.
Also, Anthony Perkins as lead for _Psycho?_ The film doesn't really have a lead. Well, actually, it did for like 45 minutes. But it's a film with a unique narrative structure that doesn't have a traditional lead. Perkins in Supporting would feel like category fraud.
Hutton was put into Supporting since it was obvious to everyone that DeNiro would win Actor for Raging Bull. The only way to reward Hutton for his (outstanding) performance was to move him to Supporting.
I have a disagreement with your analysis who brought method acting to Hollywood. John Garfield is the first Star/lead actor to bring method acting to Hollywood
Personal take: The bathroom is the ONE room in which I wouldn't want a poster of Anthony Perkins. But that's just me. I completely agree with you about Ordinary People, especially the case of poor Timothy Hutton's character fraud (not his fault natch). This was a case of discrimination against a younger actor just for being younger, similar to Tatum O'Neal (clearly the lead) in Paper Moon before him and the nomination for River Phoenix (also clearly the lead) for the criminally underrated masterpiece Running on Empty after him. But I also think it's unfortunate that, because Sutherland was so great (tied with his next performance in The Eye of the Needle for his career best), people tend to underrate Judd Hirch's magnificently solid work. Incidentally, as a boxing fan, a historian, and a New Yorker, I consider Raging Bull to be a grossly overrated work. (Blasphemy, I know.) The only thing I like about it is the perfectly chosen black and white cinematography, especially in the exterior scenes.
one of the biggest snubs was Jack Lemmon in GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. they could have skipped over his nomination for TRIBUTE (Sutherland could fill that spot).
Just hear me out here, Donald Sutherland's snub for Ordinary People is NOT the worst against him (for best actor). The worst snub is for 1978's Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Bah bah bah! I asked you to hear me out. OP snub is the most egregious given all the hype around the movie, but IOTBS is Donald at his finest. He nails everything he needs to do from every angle: it is a fantastic performance separate of everything, the performance is perfectly played for the story of the movie, and the performance is perfectly crafted to interact with the 4 other main characters. It was a horror movie so it never stood a chance, but it still riles me up about Sutherland!!! I want to talk to you about this just so we can commiserate for an hour until we'd inevitably find some other performance we disagree on, at which point we'd argue for an hour.
The trophy always goes to the right person because that's the person who received the most votes. Whether you like it or not or you agree with the decision doesn't change the fact that the right person always gets the trophy .
There is one problem with this analysis. Although " King of Comedy " was released internationally in 1982, it was not releaaed in the U.S. until February, 1983 so it waa ineligible for the 1982 awards as cited. Not to negate the inclusion here ; just the nominees it would have faced are different.
Wait what? I'm fine with you saying take Clint out of best actor, but you don't think Million Dollar Baby deserved nominations??? You're fucking crazy, it deserved best picture
