Re: Acting Bunch Winners of the 60s
Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:53 am
I'm realizing how difficult is to find a group that isn't disappointing for some reason or another.
We should probably call Butterfield 8 to find out what is Elizabeth Taylor doing on that group if it doesn't have anything to do with a tracheotomy. Shirley Jones? Fine, but both of them utterly undistinguished. And an Oscar for Lancaster is a need, but who remembers Elmer Gantry when you have The Leopard, Atlantic City (my vote in the other current poll) or Gruppo di famiglia in un interno? As for Ustinov, it's nice there's a winning for a (subtle) performance for a Kubrick movie (or a first kind of Kubrick). No vote at all.
George Chakiris and Ed Begley absolutely spoil two very good bunches.
Then there's the out of common 1963, with the glorious Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas (the former winning for a supporting role as well, but who cares when the performance is THAT good?), the delightful to see and hear Margaret Jane Marple Rutherford and Sidney Poitier in a truly pleasant performance, if not a very exciting one. I'm tempted to vote for this year, but my brain dictates there are more compelling choices in sight.
We could name 1964 "The Year of Charisma". Four vivid, intelligent, stimulating performances we all remember no matter their movies. This is my runner-up.
I've yet to see Lee Marvin and Martin Balsam but I assume that can wait without guilty feelings. Shelley Winters is good but tiresome, and Julie Christie is a mannered breath of fresh air. No vote, of course.
1967 is average, and you know it's average when the best here is Rod Steiger in In the Heat of the Night. Kennedy is not that impressive. I've always found Parsons ridiculously over the top at some points, and Katharine Hepburn was just stepping by them.
If 1968 is Big Magilla's choice, it worths consideration, but I'm passing here as well because I've always thought about this one as one of the most awkward groups no matter the tie. I say so because these five performances feel like from a different decade each.
1969 is miscalculated. Maggie Smith and Gig Young are memorable. Goldie Hawn at their side? Really? And I haven't seen this True Grit, but I think I don't need to see John Wayne in True Grit to know it's John Wayne in True Grit if you know what I mean.
So my vote goes to 1966, though I have to say I'm not the number one fan of Sandy Dennis' performance, but it's clear she makes an impression, even if sometimes I want her out of the screen, but the other three are that good, mesmerizing and different at such different levels it's a vote I can only cast with enthusiasm.
We should probably call Butterfield 8 to find out what is Elizabeth Taylor doing on that group if it doesn't have anything to do with a tracheotomy. Shirley Jones? Fine, but both of them utterly undistinguished. And an Oscar for Lancaster is a need, but who remembers Elmer Gantry when you have The Leopard, Atlantic City (my vote in the other current poll) or Gruppo di famiglia in un interno? As for Ustinov, it's nice there's a winning for a (subtle) performance for a Kubrick movie (or a first kind of Kubrick). No vote at all.
George Chakiris and Ed Begley absolutely spoil two very good bunches.
Then there's the out of common 1963, with the glorious Patricia Neal and Melvyn Douglas (the former winning for a supporting role as well, but who cares when the performance is THAT good?), the delightful to see and hear Margaret Jane Marple Rutherford and Sidney Poitier in a truly pleasant performance, if not a very exciting one. I'm tempted to vote for this year, but my brain dictates there are more compelling choices in sight.
We could name 1964 "The Year of Charisma". Four vivid, intelligent, stimulating performances we all remember no matter their movies. This is my runner-up.
I've yet to see Lee Marvin and Martin Balsam but I assume that can wait without guilty feelings. Shelley Winters is good but tiresome, and Julie Christie is a mannered breath of fresh air. No vote, of course.
1967 is average, and you know it's average when the best here is Rod Steiger in In the Heat of the Night. Kennedy is not that impressive. I've always found Parsons ridiculously over the top at some points, and Katharine Hepburn was just stepping by them.
If 1968 is Big Magilla's choice, it worths consideration, but I'm passing here as well because I've always thought about this one as one of the most awkward groups no matter the tie. I say so because these five performances feel like from a different decade each.
1969 is miscalculated. Maggie Smith and Gig Young are memorable. Goldie Hawn at their side? Really? And I haven't seen this True Grit, but I think I don't need to see John Wayne in True Grit to know it's John Wayne in True Grit if you know what I mean.
So my vote goes to 1966, though I have to say I'm not the number one fan of Sandy Dennis' performance, but it's clear she makes an impression, even if sometimes I want her out of the screen, but the other three are that good, mesmerizing and different at such different levels it's a vote I can only cast with enthusiasm.