I have to admit that I have never been much able to stomach David Thomson but I must say he's spot on regarding Christie vs. La Jambon, and Bardem.
Edited By Damien on 1204408411
80th Annual Academy Awards
He's not supposed to be human, he's essentially Death. To pose this as a "limitation in the novel" is to miss the point entirely. I agree with him though that Bardem won because of the character -- even though Bardem is a terrific actor, his was the least impressive performance in No Country.Big Magilla wrote:What is the character doing but serving an author's misanthropic purpose? Grapple with that question and you find the limitation in the McCarthy novel and the Coen brothers film. The character has no reason; he does not change; he is not quite human.
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Big Magilla
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Upon reflection, I pretty much agree with what David Thomson had to say in the Guardian:
So the results are in and some of us are right, and some are wrong. But mysteries remain. For example, if Daniel Day-Lewis was really head and shoulders above the other actors, was he actually floating in space far above the movie, There Will Be Blood, that claimed to have him as its "lead"?
When the cinematographer on that film, Robert Elswit, received his well-deserved Oscar, he surmised that everyone on the film was "riding on Daniel's shoulders". What that seems to mean is that Day-Lewis was acting in a vacuum. So let me say again that the reason Day-Lewis was so powerful is because Paul Thomas Anderson had given him an instrument to play.
In other words, the mysterious There Will Be Blood is a message - about oil, power, determination, about America - that deserves to be brooded on. It is a great film, and - much as I admire No Country for Old Men - I think it's a picture that will outlive the Cormac McCarthy adaptation.
While I have a grudging admiration for the Coen brothers' studied indifference to the Oscar show, there was a way in which their reluctance to say very much admitted to how far their picture was a closed book, a pitiless job perfectly executed, but not a film that gets at the terrifying clashes in human nature. That's the tune Day-Lewis played - but it was a tune Anderson had heard.
Congratulations to Marion Cotillard for winning as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose - but please don't forget that the actor did not sing the Piaf songs in the film. She lip-synched to another voice. Then recollect that Piaf's collapse - predictable in every way - was a lot less daring than the kind of affliction Julie Christie revealed in Away from Her. I know plenty of people who shunned that small Canadian film because they're afraid of Alzheimer's. With good reason. But that won't make the subject fade away. I still think of Christie as the champion in that category.
Javier Bardem was always a strong favourite, and like most people I relished and can imitate his scenes. Yet I'm bound to say that I think a hundred actors in town might have won if given that rich, emphatic part - the man of amazing surface and absolute emptiness. What is the character doing but serving an author's misanthropic purpose? Grapple with that question and you find the limitation in the McCarthy novel and the Coen brothers film. The character has no reason; he does not change; he is not quite human.
The big surprise of the evening for me was Tilda Swinton's victory. She's a friend, and I reckoned I just wanted her to win in a category with many high-class contenders. She seemed at least as surprised as I was. But that victory could change her career. Is there now a chance - and a danger - that Tilda the magnificent maverick could become mainstream?
In general, in showing so many clips from the past the Academy revealed its lack of glamour and wit in the present day - and I fear the Coen brothers left the impression that the Oscars have become a merely professional occasion. In which case the show might as well be held in Cleveland as in Los Angeles.
So the results are in and some of us are right, and some are wrong. But mysteries remain. For example, if Daniel Day-Lewis was really head and shoulders above the other actors, was he actually floating in space far above the movie, There Will Be Blood, that claimed to have him as its "lead"?
When the cinematographer on that film, Robert Elswit, received his well-deserved Oscar, he surmised that everyone on the film was "riding on Daniel's shoulders". What that seems to mean is that Day-Lewis was acting in a vacuum. So let me say again that the reason Day-Lewis was so powerful is because Paul Thomas Anderson had given him an instrument to play.
In other words, the mysterious There Will Be Blood is a message - about oil, power, determination, about America - that deserves to be brooded on. It is a great film, and - much as I admire No Country for Old Men - I think it's a picture that will outlive the Cormac McCarthy adaptation.
While I have a grudging admiration for the Coen brothers' studied indifference to the Oscar show, there was a way in which their reluctance to say very much admitted to how far their picture was a closed book, a pitiless job perfectly executed, but not a film that gets at the terrifying clashes in human nature. That's the tune Day-Lewis played - but it was a tune Anderson had heard.
Congratulations to Marion Cotillard for winning as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose - but please don't forget that the actor did not sing the Piaf songs in the film. She lip-synched to another voice. Then recollect that Piaf's collapse - predictable in every way - was a lot less daring than the kind of affliction Julie Christie revealed in Away from Her. I know plenty of people who shunned that small Canadian film because they're afraid of Alzheimer's. With good reason. But that won't make the subject fade away. I still think of Christie as the champion in that category.
Javier Bardem was always a strong favourite, and like most people I relished and can imitate his scenes. Yet I'm bound to say that I think a hundred actors in town might have won if given that rich, emphatic part - the man of amazing surface and absolute emptiness. What is the character doing but serving an author's misanthropic purpose? Grapple with that question and you find the limitation in the McCarthy novel and the Coen brothers film. The character has no reason; he does not change; he is not quite human.
The big surprise of the evening for me was Tilda Swinton's victory. She's a friend, and I reckoned I just wanted her to win in a category with many high-class contenders. She seemed at least as surprised as I was. But that victory could change her career. Is there now a chance - and a danger - that Tilda the magnificent maverick could become mainstream?
In general, in showing so many clips from the past the Academy revealed its lack of glamour and wit in the present day - and I fear the Coen brothers left the impression that the Oscars have become a merely professional occasion. In which case the show might as well be held in Cleveland as in Los Angeles.
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anonymous1980
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Big Magilla
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He was.flipp525 wrote:Big Magilla wrote:though it is Niven everyone remembers because of his introduction of Katharine Hepbnurn in her only Oscar appearance and the famous streaker incident.
I thought Niven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor before the infamous streak.
The introduction of Hepburn to present the Thalberg award to Lawrence Wiengarten was the other "surprise" of the evening as Hepburn had never been to an Oscar ceremony, was not announced and did not appear on the red carpet.
Big Magilla wrote:though it is Niven everyone remembers because of his introduction of Katharine Hepbnurn in her only Oscar appearance and the famous streaker incident.
I thought Niven was introducing Elizabeth Taylor before the infamous streak.
I hate goddamn Braveheart. Homophobic, way too long and boring. I knew the second I walked out of the theater that I'd never see it again. Oh, whoops. Jack was talking about Dragonheart. Whatever.
Edited By flipp525 on 1204245118
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
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Big Magilla
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The friends of Oscar concept was first used at the 1968 awards. The "friends" that year were Ingrid Bergman, Sidney Poitier, Jane Fonda, Frank Sinatra, Natalie Wood, Walter Mattahu, Diahann Carroll, Tony Curtis, Rosalind Russell and Burt Lancaster, who got to pass out all teh awards.
It was used again the following year when the "friends" were Claudia Cardinale, Elliott Gould, Myrna Loy, Barbara McNair, Jon Voight, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Ali MacGraw, Cliff rfobertson, Katharien Ross, James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, Raquel Welch, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and Bob Hope.
With the 1970 awards, they went back to having different presenters for each award, and all teh presenters were billed as "hosts".
With the 1971 awards they went to four hosts, Helen Hayes, AAlan King, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Jack Lemmon along with multiple presenters.
The 1972 awards again had four hosts, Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Chalton Heston and Rock Hudson.
The 1973 awards also had four hosts, John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds and David Niven, though it is Niven everyone remembers because of his introduction of Katharine Hepbnurn in her only Oscar appearance and the famous streaker incident.
The four host concept continued until the 1977 awards when Bob Hope returned as sole host.
It was used again the following year when the "friends" were Claudia Cardinale, Elliott Gould, Myrna Loy, Barbara McNair, Jon Voight, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, Ali MacGraw, Cliff rfobertson, Katharien Ross, James Earl Jones, Candice Bergen, Raquel Welch, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne and Bob Hope.
With the 1970 awards, they went back to having different presenters for each award, and all teh presenters were billed as "hosts".
With the 1971 awards they went to four hosts, Helen Hayes, AAlan King, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Jack Lemmon along with multiple presenters.
The 1972 awards again had four hosts, Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Chalton Heston and Rock Hudson.
The 1973 awards also had four hosts, John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds and David Niven, though it is Niven everyone remembers because of his introduction of Katharine Hepbnurn in her only Oscar appearance and the famous streaker incident.
The four host concept continued until the 1977 awards when Bob Hope returned as sole host.
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OscarGuy
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basically, in lieu of one host, they decided to bring on a slew of stars in hopes of drawing big ratings. Each one basically shared hosting and performing duties during the show. I've only seem clips on the Oscar VHS that came out several years ago (featuring David Niven, I think, and others singing something that I can't remember right now)
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
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HarryGoldfarb
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"Ten Freiends of Oscar?"... Can you explain a little bit more of that?Big Magilla wrote:Add Diahann Carroll, one of the 1968 awards' "ten friends of Oscar".
I saw I clip on youtube (maybe the best one of a previous Academy Award) where Carroll, Fonda, Russell, Bergman and Wood presented Best director (absolutely funny!)... guess that have something to do with it...
"If you place an object in a museum, does that make this object a piece of art?" - The Square (2017)
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Big Magilla
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OscarGuy
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I picked up the Oscar winner thing from something else posted here. Still, she was the first of all those others I mentioned, which is really nothing to shake a stick at.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
The first was Frank Capra back in 1935. Others were Frank Sinatra (1962) and Jack Lemmon (1963 and 1984). For co-host years, there are too many to mention but they include Laurence Olivier, Celeste Holm, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, James Stewart, David Niven and Helen Hayes.
African-Americans priot to Goldberg (albeit as co-hosts) were Sammy Davis, Jr., Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor, and there was a female black co-host, Barbara McNair.
Edited By Damien on 1204220518
African-Americans priot to Goldberg (albeit as co-hosts) were Sammy Davis, Jr., Sidney Poitier, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor, and there was a female black co-host, Barbara McNair.
Edited By Damien on 1204220518
"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
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Mister Tee
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Big Magilla
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The L.A. Times has an article by Patrick Goldstein on how to fix he Oscar broadcast that actually makes sense.
http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards....9.story
As for Whoopi, she may no longer be a top drawer movie star but she is working more steady than ever and probably bringing in a bigger paycheck than ever with both the View and and a daily radio show. She's apparently also hawking her own brand of bed linens on QVC now.
I personally find The View tiresome and annoying but also fascinating to watch the opening "hot topics" segment on those mornngs when I'm enjoying a late breakfast in front of the TV and don't want to watch anything heavy. ZContrary to expectations, viewship for The View has increased since Rosie O'Donnell left and Whoopi took over.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1204207199
http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards....9.story
As for Whoopi, she may no longer be a top drawer movie star but she is working more steady than ever and probably bringing in a bigger paycheck than ever with both the View and and a daily radio show. She's apparently also hawking her own brand of bed linens on QVC now.
I personally find The View tiresome and annoying but also fascinating to watch the opening "hot topics" segment on those mornngs when I'm enjoying a late breakfast in front of the TV and don't want to watch anything heavy. ZContrary to expectations, viewship for The View has increased since Rosie O'Donnell left and Whoopi took over.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1204207199