My picks
Best Picture
1. Cinema Paradiso
2. Dead Ringers
3. A Fish Called Wanda
4. Dangerous Liaisons
5. Die Hard
Best Director
1. David Cronenberg, Dead Ringers
2. Charles Crichton, A Fish Called Wanda
3. Giuseppe Tornatore, Cinema Paradiso
4. Stephen Frears, Dangerous Liaisons
5. John McTiernan, Die Hard
Best Picture and Director 1988
Re: Best Picture and Director 1988
"Men get to be a mixture of the charming mannerisms of the women they have known." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Re: Best Picture and Director 1988
voted for Mississippi Burning and Parker
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Big Magilla
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Best Picture and Director 1988
The word that best describes the 1988 awards year is indifferent. It seems there was no film this year that any group felt passionately about, providing no stand-out pre-cursor for Oscar. Yet, I thought the minute TV's 60 Minutes put the focus on Rain Man and autism, a term most people were unaware of before the film, made it the go-to politically correct film of the moment and a clear front-runner in a weak year. I was more surprised that the early critics awards ignored the film than I was by their out of left field choices.
L.A. was out first with another "what the hell" pick - the two part, six hour adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit which had only played New York and L.A. to dismal box office. They went bold with their Best Director pick of David Cronenberg for Dead Ringers, one of the year's best films, but not one that would seemingly appeal to the staid Academy.
The NBR was next. Not only did Rain Man fail to win anything, it wasn't even among their top ten films. The award went to Mississippi Burning, a film which opened to strong reviews for its depiction of the investigation into the 1964 murder of three civil rights organizers. Ah, but then the film became something of a pariah, though, when the NAACP and civil rights organizations blasted it for creating two fictitious FBI agents as its heroes. That the NBR still stood by it, was something of a surprise. They also gave it their Best Director award for Alan Parker as well as Best Actor (Gene Hackman) and Supporting Actress (Frances McDormand). It seemed the film might have some awards traction after all.
Then the NYFC pulled another left field choice out of their hats in naming the likeable but rather slight romantic comedy-drama The Accidental Tourist the year's best film. Their Best Director prize went to Chris Menges for the anti-Apartheid drama, A World Apart which was their runner-up pick for Best Picture.
The NSFC went in a completely different direction choosing The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Philip Kaufman's romantic drama about a Czech doctor whose active sex life is interrupted by the 1968 Russian invasion, also picking Kaufman as the year's Best Director. In retrospect it was not only the most daring choice of awards season, but the best. Alas, it was another film that wasn't likely to appeal to the staid Academy.
It was up to the Globes to rescue Rain Man, which they did, choosing it for Best Picture - Drama over A Cry in the Dark and Gorillas in the Mist as well as NBR winner Missisippi Burning and NYFC winner The Accidental Tourist. Their Best Picture - Musical or Comedy choice was Mike Nichols' popular Working Girl which made a star, at least temporarily, of Melanie Griffith. That victory was a seemingly easy one over Big; A Fish Called Wanda; Midnight Run and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. But then they, too, pulled a win out of left field in naming Clint Eastwood Best Director for Bird, a warts and all biography of jazz great Charlie "Bird" Parker.
Eastwood won over a field of six nominees, which also included Levinson, Nichols, Parker and two other newbies to the year's race - Sidney Lumet for Running on Empty and Fred Schepisi for A Cry in the Dark.
The DGA's list of nominees included Levinson, Nichols, Parker and two other newbies to the race, Ealing Studios veteran Charles Chricton for A Fish Called Wanda and Robert Zemeckis for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Oscar went along with all of the DGA's picks except for Zemeckis who they replaced with Martin Scorsese for The Last Temptation of Christ, a controversial choice as the film had been wrongly lambasted by the religious right as being anti-religious for depicting the human side of Jesus who faces the same temptations of the flesh as all humans.
Oscar's slate included NBR winner Missisippi Burning; NYFC winner The Accidental Tourist and both Globe winners, Rain Man and Working Girl. Their sole independent pick for Best Picture was Dangerous Liaisons, from Christopher Hampton's play based on the oft-filmed French classic, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which was filmed simultaneously with Milos Forman's version, Valmont, whose release was delayed for another year.
Like all the awards bodies, I'm indifferent as to this year's winners as well. My two favorite films of the year, The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Dead Ringers and their directors aren't nominated, making Rain Man and Levinson more palatable choices, but I think I'll vote out of the mainstream and throw my support behind Dangerous Liaisons and Scorsese for their boldness.
L.A. was out first with another "what the hell" pick - the two part, six hour adaptation of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit which had only played New York and L.A. to dismal box office. They went bold with their Best Director pick of David Cronenberg for Dead Ringers, one of the year's best films, but not one that would seemingly appeal to the staid Academy.
The NBR was next. Not only did Rain Man fail to win anything, it wasn't even among their top ten films. The award went to Mississippi Burning, a film which opened to strong reviews for its depiction of the investigation into the 1964 murder of three civil rights organizers. Ah, but then the film became something of a pariah, though, when the NAACP and civil rights organizations blasted it for creating two fictitious FBI agents as its heroes. That the NBR still stood by it, was something of a surprise. They also gave it their Best Director award for Alan Parker as well as Best Actor (Gene Hackman) and Supporting Actress (Frances McDormand). It seemed the film might have some awards traction after all.
Then the NYFC pulled another left field choice out of their hats in naming the likeable but rather slight romantic comedy-drama The Accidental Tourist the year's best film. Their Best Director prize went to Chris Menges for the anti-Apartheid drama, A World Apart which was their runner-up pick for Best Picture.
The NSFC went in a completely different direction choosing The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Philip Kaufman's romantic drama about a Czech doctor whose active sex life is interrupted by the 1968 Russian invasion, also picking Kaufman as the year's Best Director. In retrospect it was not only the most daring choice of awards season, but the best. Alas, it was another film that wasn't likely to appeal to the staid Academy.
It was up to the Globes to rescue Rain Man, which they did, choosing it for Best Picture - Drama over A Cry in the Dark and Gorillas in the Mist as well as NBR winner Missisippi Burning and NYFC winner The Accidental Tourist. Their Best Picture - Musical or Comedy choice was Mike Nichols' popular Working Girl which made a star, at least temporarily, of Melanie Griffith. That victory was a seemingly easy one over Big; A Fish Called Wanda; Midnight Run and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. But then they, too, pulled a win out of left field in naming Clint Eastwood Best Director for Bird, a warts and all biography of jazz great Charlie "Bird" Parker.
Eastwood won over a field of six nominees, which also included Levinson, Nichols, Parker and two other newbies to the year's race - Sidney Lumet for Running on Empty and Fred Schepisi for A Cry in the Dark.
The DGA's list of nominees included Levinson, Nichols, Parker and two other newbies to the race, Ealing Studios veteran Charles Chricton for A Fish Called Wanda and Robert Zemeckis for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Oscar went along with all of the DGA's picks except for Zemeckis who they replaced with Martin Scorsese for The Last Temptation of Christ, a controversial choice as the film had been wrongly lambasted by the religious right as being anti-religious for depicting the human side of Jesus who faces the same temptations of the flesh as all humans.
Oscar's slate included NBR winner Missisippi Burning; NYFC winner The Accidental Tourist and both Globe winners, Rain Man and Working Girl. Their sole independent pick for Best Picture was Dangerous Liaisons, from Christopher Hampton's play based on the oft-filmed French classic, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which was filmed simultaneously with Milos Forman's version, Valmont, whose release was delayed for another year.
Like all the awards bodies, I'm indifferent as to this year's winners as well. My two favorite films of the year, The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Dead Ringers and their directors aren't nominated, making Rain Man and Levinson more palatable choices, but I think I'll vote out of the mainstream and throw my support behind Dangerous Liaisons and Scorsese for their boldness.