FilmFan720 wrote:Beah Richards (or Beach Richards as the poll states...does that sound like a bad porno name to anyone else?) is one of the stronger things in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a film I like best when the four leads are off screen.
Maybe that's why no one is voting for her.
I'd change it if I could, but there's no way to edit a poll.
This is one of the first years I have voted in, having seen four of the nominees (and feeling safe that not having seen Channing wouldn't change my thoughts, especially based on what I have seen here and my strong love for the other nominees).
I would actually rate frontrunner Natwick fourth here. She is a lot of fun in Barefoot in the Park, and she certainly hits those Neil Simon zingers better than most anyone. But in a year so hailed for deepening the cinematic language, are we really going to cite a Neil Simon mother-in-law over such more rounded characters.
Beah Richards (or Beach Richards as the poll states...does that sound like a bad porno name to anyone else?) is one of the stronger things in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a film I like best when the four leads are off screen. Still, I have such problems with the film that I have problems citing any of the performances.
Estelle Parsons is brilliant in Bonnie and Clyde, and I am surprised that some here are so critical of her performance. Yes, it goes over the top, but the whole movie is a little over the top, and she doesn't have a false moment in the whole film. As I always tell my students, you can push yourself big as long as you believe it. Don't do something just to do it, but find the truth in it. She is always honest, and everything she does is big but grounded. I think it is an exceptional performance, and one that should be taught to young actors.
However, I am one of two people here to vote for Katherine Ross. I have always found her an underrated actress (I would also nominate her for The Stepford Wives in the dry 1975), and here she is the unsung hero of the song. It may seem like a shallow performance, but Elaine is a shallow character and the film doesn't work if we don't love her. Beyond a lovely face, the pain she shows in the strip club scene and the confusion she carries through most of the film are pitch perfect. So much credit in that film is given to Hoffman, Bancroft and Nichols (and rightfully so), but Ross is what gives the film its heart (and why does no one ever sight the great performance by Murray Hamilton?)
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.
Mister Tee wrote:Perfectly solid analysis, Bruce. Obviously you have the facts and write well; I'd love to read your take on other races. (Even if you want to go back and elaborate on years already finished)
Yes, indeed, it would be great to read your analysis on past years.
Perfectly solid analysis, Bruce. Obviously you have the facts and write well; I'd love to read your take on other races. (Even if you want to go back and elaborate on years already finished)
As one of the "silent voters," my reasons for not voting for Richards are pretty much exactly in step with BJ's, and my reasons for not voting for Channing are pretty much exactly in step with Italiano's (she comes across to this under-30-year-old like a relic from an alien showbiz milieu that, to the extent that it even makes sense to me, I find completely off-putting).
I'll also echo the sentiment that Ross' character is so indispensible to The Graduate that it wouldn't have felt right to leave her out of the nominations, but I just don't see in her performance what others here have; I find her a nice-to-look-at blank.
In a lot of previous years, I've seen commentators note that a particular performance is very good, and the actor worthy of Oscar attention, but for whatever reason the nomination is enough. I'm going to invoke that argument for Natwick. It's every bit the expert, show-stealing comic turn you've all made it out to be, but when all's said and done, it's still in Barefoot in the Park, and there's only so much enthusiasm I can work up for even the best element of such an inconsequential movie.
Parsons would be an easy vote for me if only because her movie is on such a higher level than everybody else's (well, except Ross', but I've discussed her). But she helps her case by delivering a standout performance in an ensemble that has no weak links in the first place, layering her comically whiny surface with the pathos of her genuine love for her husband, and her concern over how badly it could all end. By the time she ends up blinded and widowed and still dismissed (this time by the police she's trying to help), she's become a surprisingly sympathetic figure due to the power of her performance. I honestly couldn't imagine voting for anybody else for this year.
Big Magilla wrote:I should tally the votes in these polls by the commentators, which would indeed show a different outcome in most years.
Yes!
We could also kindly ask these silent voters to even briefly explain the reasons behind their choices, but they haven't done it till now and I don't think they will - except when we get to more recent years and, I'm sure, the results will be less similiar to the Academy's.
Damien wrote:I was fortunate enough to see Mildred Natwick as Mrs. Gibbs in a 1969 Broadway production of Our Town with a dream cast: Henry Fonda as The Stage Manager, Elizabeth Hartman as Emily, Ed Begley as Dr. Webb, John Randolph as Mr. Gibbs, Irene Tedrow as Mrs. Gibbs, Margaret Hamilton as Mrs. Soames, John Beal as Simon Stimson and John Fiedler as Professor Willard.
It remains one of my very best theatre experiences.
I was fortunate enough to see Mildred Natwick as Mrs. Gibbs in a 1969 Broadway production of Our Town with a dream cast: Henry Fonda as The Stage Manager, Elizabeth Hartman as Emily, Ed Begley as Dr. Webb, John Randolph as Mr. Gibbs, Irene Tedrow as Mrs. Gibbs, Margaret Hamilton as Mrs. Soames, John Beal as Simon Stimson and John Fiedler as Professor Willard.
It remains one of my very best theatre experiences.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Big Magilla wrote:I should tally the votes in these polls by the commentators, which would indeed show a different outcome in most years.
A variation on Rotten Tomatoes' Cream of the Crop ratings.
Not to reopen a wound, but it does seem as if votes unattached to comments go disproportionately to the Academy choice, and one can't help but wonder if in some cases those are the only candidates some have seen. I know when I began my Oscar explorations I started off with the winners and only gradually made made my way through the nominees, esp. the more off-the-beaten-track ones -- of which Lenya and Natwick would probably be examples, compared to their competition.
Given that Natwick people are saying "But I'm also totally OK with Parsons", and Parsons people are saying the reverse, it'd almost be ideal if the vote remained as it is, a tie.
We're now getting to the period where I've usually seen at least four of the nominees in this category; I'm at five this year, so I voted.
Carol Channing's thoroughly bug-eyed billionaire...um...makes an impression. A beyond silly, ludicrous performance. A definite no from me.
As a drawing-room romantic comedy, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is actually pretty entertaining. As a serious drama about racial issues, it's a total bore. Beah Richards belongs firmly to the latter portion of the film.
I think Katharine Ross is kind of the unsung hero of The Graduate. I think her flighty yet appealing angst is the perfect contrast to Anne Bancroft's laid-back, sultry tease. No, it's not enough of a stand-out role to win, but I like her performance in the film.
I can see why Mildred Natwick has won a lot of votes. She's very funny in Barefoot in the Park, with great one-liners and real nuanced reaction shots. Plus, she's the sort of strong, always-lovable character actress who would deserve recognition based on her career alone.
But I went with Oscar's choice this time. Bonnie and Clyde isn't usually the kind of movie that wins acting Oscars, despite having excellent performances -- it's really the cast as an ensemble that wows, not any individual performance. But Estelle Parson is terrific nonetheless, hilarious in her crazy early scenes, powerful in her final beats. She might not be the film's standout (I'd side with Magilla that Hackman is probably that), but I think she's tops in this field.
Of course, I am under 30, so maybe I'm revealing my youth. =)
