1976 Oscar Shouldabeens

1927/28 through 1997
Damien
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Post by Damien »

--Big Magilla wrote:I will go to my grave insisting that How Green Was My Valley was and is a better film overall than Citizen Kane.

I wouldn't quite agree with that, but Mason and I always startled interviewers any time we said that we both felt How Green Was My Valley is the best movie ever to win Best Picture (adding that it just wasn't the best picture of 1941).




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Post by Big Magilla »

--Eric wrote:But for many, the 49th Academy Awards remains exhibit A in any argument about the academy's less than perfect taste -- a critique that usually cites the best-picture loss of "Citizen Kane" in 1942 (to John Ford's "How Green Was My Valley"), Alfred Hitchcock's lack of a best-director award or Art Carney's best-actor win in 1975 over Nicholson ("Chinatown"), Al Pacino ("The Godfather: Part II") and Dustin Hoffman ("Lenny").

A know-nothing writer.

Yes, Rocky was a poor choice to beat All the President's Men, Taxi Driver, Network and "the fifth nominee", Bound for Glory, but Oscar has a long history of rewarding the wrong films, directors and performances. Those he cities, howver, are ludicrous.

I will go to my grave insisting that How Green Was My Valley was and is a better film overall than Citizen Kane.

While I preferred Nicholson and Pacino to Carney in 1974, Carney's victory was a delightful surprise and an example of good, not bad, taste. Hitchcock's lack of a win is disheartening, but then so is his lack of recognition from other groups. The one film he won a New York Film Critics Award for, 1938's The Lady Vanishes, might have won him an Oscar were it not for the vagueries of the Oscar eligibility rules. It wasn't eligible until the following year.

Oh, and that Lumet quote is old news.




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Post by Eric »

Haha... yeah, the only reason I posted that when I saw it on the wires this morning was because I knew you'd have words for putting "Bound for Glory" in a paranthetical.

Plus I admired the idiocy of saying "auteur" was coined "recently" in 1976.
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Post by Damien »

Eric wrote:Sidney Lumet directed "Network," the darkly satirical portrait of TV news. It won three acting Oscars and best screenplay for Paddy Chayefsky, but the best-picture loss still stings for Lumet.

"I've been nominated five times," the director told The Associated Press last year. "But on two occasions, I got so pissed off about what beat us. With `Network,' we were beaten out by `Rocky' for Christ's sake." (Lumet, who was finally awarded an honorary Oscar in 2005, also mentions the best picture win for "Gandhi" over his "The Verdict" in 1983.)


Wow, not only is Lumet among the most inept of directors, he's a pompous ass, as well -- almost as pompous as Paddy Chayefsky.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Bound For Glory is by far the best of 1976's Best Picture nominees, and Alan J. Pakula, Scorsese and, of course, Lumet (not to mention John G. Avildsen) were not even fit to be Hal Ashby's P.A.

And I'm sick of the denigration of Art Carney's award -- that was one of the Academy's best and most incisive choices ever,
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Post by Eric »

30th anniversary of `Rocky' Oscars upset over `Network,' `Taxi Driver' and `President's Men'

By JAKE COYLE
AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- When Jack Nicholson opened the envelope and read "Rocky" as the best-picture winner at the 49th Academy Awards 30 years ago, Sylvester Stallone was caught without his tie.

The actor's rental bow tie had fallen off on his way to the ceremony, but producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff still dragged Stallone up to the stage. Stallone may have been caught unprepared for the occasion, but he wasn't alone -- most of Hollywood was surprised too.

In fitting underdog fashion, "Rocky" upset a legendary class of films. Also up for best picture at the 1977 Oscars were three movies generally considered among the best America has produced: "All the President's Men," "Network" and "Taxi Driver." (Hal Ashby's Woody Guthrie biopic "Bound for Glory" was the fifth nomination.)

As the 30th anniversary of those Oscars nears, there are a few notable parallels. Stallone has again produced a "Rocky" film ("Rocky Balboa"), though it would be fortunate to win one nomination, let alone the ten that the original did. "Taxi Driver" director Martin Scorsese is again in the hunt with "The Departed."

But for many, the 49th Academy Awards remains exhibit A in any argument about the academy's less than perfect taste -- a critique that usually cites the best-picture loss of "Citizen Kane" in 1942 (to John Ford's "How Green Was My Valley"), Alfred Hitchcock's lack of a best-director award or Art Carney's best-actor win in 1975 over Nicholson ("Chinatown"), Al Pacino ("The Godfather: Part II") and Dustin Hoffman ("Lenny").

"In hindsight, it looks crazy that, of those nominated films, `Rocky' won -- because `Rocky' is the flimsiest by far, and was so at the time," says film critic and historian David Thomson. "But at the time, there was this stupid notion that Sly Stallone represented a great American success story."

"It's a shining example of how silly (the Oscars) can be," adds Thomson.

Sidney Lumet directed "Network," the darkly satirical portrait of TV news. It won three acting Oscars and best screenplay for Paddy Chayefsky, but the best-picture loss still stings for Lumet.

"I've been nominated five times," the director told The Associated Press last year. "But on two occasions, I got so pissed off about what beat us. With `Network,' we were beaten out by `Rocky' for Christ's sake." (Lumet, who was finally awarded an honorary Oscar in 2005, also mentions the best picture win for "Gandhi" over his "The Verdict" in 1983.)

"Rocky" has almost certainly affected American culture more than the other three nominees -- there is a statue of the film's main character in Philadelphia, after all. Propelled by Stallone's passion for it, the movie opened in limited release in late November of 1976 with modest hopes. Winkler says, "It just kind of got momentum as it went along." It won the Golden Globe for best drama and eventually landed two Oscars besides best picture: best director (John G. Avildsen) and best film editing.

But "All the President's Men," "Network" and "Taxi Driver" are all considered gems from one of the most vibrant periods of American cinema: the 1970s. It was then that directors -- newly labeled as "auteurs" -- like Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Altman flourished.

1976, when these films opened, was of course the bicentennial, which many think affected the Oscar voting. "Rocky" was wrapped up in the flag -- the boxer literally drapes it over himself in the movie's finale: a bicentennial bout against Apollo Creed.

"I think there was a kind of feeling in the country at the time -- we had just gone through a decade of terrible social problems in America," remembers Winkler, who went on to produce films including "Raging Bull," "The Right Stuff" and "Goodfellas."

"And all of a sudden this movie came along and said, `You know, if you believe in yourself, you'll be OK.' And suddenly it became part of what America was about. I think maybe if the picture had come out two years later or two years earlier, it might not have caught on the way it did."

Some would say, though, that "Taxi Driver," "Network" and "All the President's Men" all said more about America than "Rocky."

"All the President's Men," which was nominated for eight Oscars and won four, depicted in step-by-step detail the reporting of Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman) that exposed the depth of President Nixon's Watergate scandal.

Remembering "All the President's Men," Redford told the AP on the film's 30th anniversary: "It was very much about hard work that won the day, and that's an American ethic."

It was also an election year in 1976, and some think "All the President's Men" helped Jimmy Carter defeat incumbent Gerald Ford, who pardoned Nixon.

"Taxi Driver," which failed to win any of its four nominations, was the darkest of the best picture films from 1976. The story of Travis Bickle's (Robert De Niro) festering anger in New York City culminates in a bloody conclusion -- which even among the edgy cinema of the `70s likely made some academy members uncomfortable.

"I think `Rocky' won because it had a good feeling. It was an uplifting film," says Tim Dirks, who runs the "Greatest Films" Web site, www.filmsite.org. "The other films were a little bit too heavy or too edgy for the time and `Rocky' was a million-to-one shot -- and it went the distance."

According to Dirks (whose site lists the "Rocky" best-picture win as one of the "worst of the worst" awards), the theme is a familiar one: the academy often goes for less edgy material. There are always many factors in Oscar voting, but examples of cautiousness can perhaps be seen as recently as last year, when "Crash" upset "Brokeback Mountain" -- and as early as "Citizen Kane."

"Even `Citizen Kane' was a little edgy," Dirks says. "It had a lot of controversy over its portrayal of someone who looked a lot like William Randolph Hearst."

The academy can be proud that it managed to at least nominate "Taxi Driver," "All the President's Men" and "Network." Some very well-regarded movies were never nominated at all, among them Howard Hawks' "His Girl Friday" (1940) and John Ford's "The Searchers" (1956).

Despite the questionable victory by "Rocky," 1976 remains an impressive class for American films, which most years -- 2006 included -- would have difficulty living up to.

"We don't have those kind of pictures anymore," says Thomson. "We don't have the big entertainment that deals with serious subjects.

"Today, `Network' would be an independent film."
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Post by flipp525 »

--Reza wrote:I have always thought Straight's win was richly deserved. The size of her role never bothered me. She brings such anguish to that one scene where she berates Holden. Not unlike a similar scene between Miranda Richardson and Jeremy Irons in Damage - for which Richardson was nominated.

I hate the idea that a performance has to be a certain length in order to be considered worthy of an Oscar and/or nomination. It's the impact and level of connection with the audience that the actor is able to accomplish in that short amount of time that should be used to evaluate a performance.

What Beatrice Straight pulls off as Louise Schumacher in Network makes you believe she deserved the Oscar. It's a brilliant monologue, a heartbreakingly genuine moment in a movie largely comprised of satire and artifice (which makes sense since it's about the television industry). Her sense of urgency breaks through the screen like a window, almost into a different movie, that demands and commands the audience's attention. Straight goes from hurt to anger to complicity to, finally, acceptance and shared humor with her co-star William Holden - and all in only 7 minutes. It was a brilliant turn that was worthily acknowledged.




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Post by Mister Tee »

I can't say I hated it, but I thought it was mediocre at best (and dismally shot -- my recollection from the one time I saw it, in January '77, was that some cuts were extremely jarring and seemingly mismatched).

Rocky was heavily pushed as "antidote" to the feel-bad movies that dominated the era, and became a sleeper hit on that basis. Despite the film's great success, hoever, I didn't see it as a threat for best picture until I heard it had won the Directors' Guild award. Up till then, I'd been relatively certain All the Presidents' Men would walk away with the prize.

It's actually always struck me Rocky was a very weak best picture winner -- failing in all the acting categories (though Shire would have won had she been properly placed in support), plus in screenplay, song and sound categories. My theory at the time was that Network and Presidents' were very evenly matched candidates that split the hipsters' votes, enabling the old-fogey representative to slip through. Whenever either Presidents' or Network faced Rocky one-on-one (as in screenplay or sound), Stallone's movie lost. Rocky's three wins came in catetgories where all three films competed.

Sabin, I think Stallone was viewed more as "the plugger who pushed through to his dream" than as any great actor. It's always pleased me that the Academy, even while awarding his picture, managed to avoid honoring him individually. (Given where his career went, I'm sure a lot of them feel the same)
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Post by Big Magilla »

Oddly enough I was flipping channels last night and came upon Rocky on TNT. I didn't watch much of it, but I was shocked by how bad it looked. It's probably been thirty years since I've actually watched the whole thing.

But Rocky a sexual predator? You've been watching too much Gene Shalit. Talia Shire's character is shy, not retarded.

The theme from Rocky was a hit in its day. The screenplay, a throwback of sorts to the halcyon days of Frank Capra, was considered endearing. It now looks hackneyed as its simple formula has been copied so many times by crappy Rocky wannabes not only in theatrical films, but TV movies and episodes of so many TV series. It's definitely a film of its time even if there were those who hated it at the time (Damien?)
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Post by Sabin »

I don't know quite how to work my way into this, so I'll just say it outright.

I hate "Rocky" and I think Sylvester Stallone's character might be a sexual predator. He's kind of a low life and a failed fighter who thinks quite highly of himself, and he seduces a visibly retarded girl who on several occasions tries to get away and would succeed were she not swayed by his verbal trickery and sense of entitlement...and of course were she not visibly retarded.

The direction is point-and-shoot, the soundtrack is obnoxious, the plot is unbelievable, the dialogue is lousy, it looks like ass, smells like ass, and tastes like ass. How depressed were people in the seventies? I mean, Jesus!

It amazes me that at that time, only Stallone, Charlie Chaplin, and Orson Welles were nominated for both writing and acting when those two were world-changing icons and he can't do either. Seriously, did people really think that Sylvester Stallone was a good actor back then? Like, a fresh talent or something?
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Post by Mack Ten »

Acting only:

Best Supporting Actor

Ned Beatty ... Network
Peter Finch ... Network *
Burgess Meredith ... Rocky
Jason Robards ... All The President's Men
Laurence Olivier ... Marathon Man

Best Supporting Actress

Jane Alexander ... All The President's Men
Jodie Foster ... Taxi Driver *
Piper Laurie ... Carrie
Talia Shire ... Rocky
Beatrice Straight ... Network

Best Actor

David Carradine ... Bound For Glory
Robert DeNiro ... Taxi Driver *
William Holden ... Network
Dustin Hoffman ... Marathon Man
Sylvester Stallone ... Rocky

Best Actress

Faye Dunaway ... Network
Barbara Harris ... Family Plot
Audrey Hepburn ... Robin And Marian
Sissy Spacek ... Carrie *
Liv Ullmann ... Face To Face
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Post by Precious Doll »

Best Film

1. Carrie
2. Taxi Driver
3. The Man Who Fell to Earth
4. 1900
5. Chinese Roulette

Best Director

1. Brian De Palma, Carrie
2. Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver
3. Nicolas Roeg, The Man Who Fell to Earth
4. Bernardo Bertolucci, 1900
5. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Chinese Roulette

Best Actor

1. Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver
2. David Carradine, Bound for Glory
3. Heinz Schubert, Strongman Ferdinand
4. Gerard Depardieu, The Last Woman
5. Jack Weston, The Ritz

Best Actress

1. Sissy Spacek, Carrie
2. Liv Ullman, Face to Face
3. Geraldine Chaplin, Cria
4. Delphine Seyrig, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
5. Ornella Muti, The Last Woman

Best Supporting Actor

1. Rip Torn, The Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Volker Spengler, Chinese Roulette
3. Donald Sutherland, 1900
4. Treat Williams, The Ritz
5. David Warner, The Omen

Best Supporting Actress

1. Piper Laurie, Carrie
2. Candy Clark, The Man Who Fell to Earth
3. Brigitte Mira, Chinese Roulette
4. Betty Buckley, Carrie
5. Valeska Gert, Coup of Grace

Best Screenplay

1. Taxi Driver
2. 1900
3. The Omen
4. Chinese Roulette
5. Cria

Best Screenplay Adaptation

1. Carrie
2. The Man Who Fell to Earth
3. Illustrious Corpses
4. Don’s Party
5. The Ritz

Best Cinematography

1. The Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Taxi Driver
3. 1900
4. The Omen
5. Private Vices and Public Virtues

Best Editing

1. The Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Carrie
3. Taxi Driver
4. Illustrious Corpses
5. The Omen

Best Sound

1. The Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Taxi Driver
3. Carrie
4. The Omen
5. The Marquise of O

Best Art Direction

1. The Man Who Fell to Earth
2. Ugly, Dirty and Bad
3. The Marquise of O
4. The Tenant
5. 1900

Best Costume Design

1. Silent Movie
2. The Tenant
3. Ugly, Dirty and Bad
4. Bound For Glory
5. Vampyres

Best Music

1. Carrie
2. The Omen
3. Taxi Driver
4. Obsession
5. Silent Movie
Last edited by Precious Doll on Sat Jul 27, 2019 1:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by rudeboy »

Magilla, Rita Moreno was a hoot in The Ritz - but I think you have her listed in both actress categories at present...
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Post by Sabin »

Zero Mostel was great in "The Front!" I had forgotten about him and that film.
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Post by Eric »

PICTURE: God Told Me To (d. Larry Cohen)
DIRECTOR: Roman Polanski, The Tenant
ACTOR: Rudy Ray Moore, The Human Tornado
ACTRESS: Sissy Spacek, Carrie
s. ACTOR: Zero Mostel, The Front
s. ACTRESS: Piper Laurie, Carrie
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1976 Oscar Shouldabeens

Post by Reza »

1976
Picture
All the President's Men
*Network
1900
Taxi Driver
The Tenant

Best Actor
Woody Allen, The Front
Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver
Gerard Depardieu, 1900
*William Holden, Network
John Wayne, The Shootist

Best Actress
*Faye Dunaway, Network
Audrey Hepburn, Robin and Marian
Sarah Miles, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea
Sissy Spacek, Carrie
Liv Ullmann, Face to Face

Best Supporting Actor
*Peter Finch, Network
Zero Mostel, The Front
Laurence Olivier, Marathon Man
Jason Robards, All the President's Men
Oskar Werner, Voyage of the Damned

Best Supporting Actress
Jodie Foster, Taxi Driver
Piper Laurie, Carrie
Katherine Ross, Voyage of the Damned
Talia Shire, Rocky
*Beatrice Straight, Network

Best Director
Ingmar Bergman, Face to Face
Bernardo Bertolucci, 1900
*Sidney Lumet, Network
Alan J Pakulla, All the President's Men
Martin Scorsese, Taxi Driver
Last edited by Reza on Sun Jan 07, 2024 12:31 am, edited 9 times in total.
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