Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

My picks for 1987:

1. Sean Connery, The Untouchables
2. Daniel Auteuil, Jean de Florette
3. Morgan Freeman, Street Smart
4. Denzel Washington, Cry Freedom
5. Vincent Gardenia, Moonstruck

The 6th Spot: Albert Brooks, Broadcast News

My nominees for this year:

Vincent D'Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket
R. Lee Ermey, Full Metal Jacket
Vincent Gardenia, Moonstruck
Dennis Hopper, River's Edge *WINNER*
Mandy Patinkin, The Princess Bride

D'Onofrio is sort of a joke to some people. I like him quite a bit, but others dismiss him as a ham with a constant need to chew every bit of scenery in the area. To be fair, he does do that to an extent, but I've always found him rather intense. In Full Metal Jacket, he used his intensity to his advantage. He really does make you believe he's certifiable. He's certainly more dynamic than Matthew Modine was.

Ermey was, well, playing himself. That does not take away from the fact that he was part of the reason Full Metal Jacket was so great. He drove and commanded every single second of his performance, and deserves to be recognized for his iconic role.

Speaking of iconic, is there any role as quoted by internet nerds as much as Inigo Montoya? Patinkin was brilliant in his finest screen performance, badass to the very end. Granted, I loved the entire cast of The Princess Bride, so what do I know?

Gardenia was really the only thing I enjoyed from Moonstruck. To be honest, he's the only thing I remember from Moonstruck period.

But my win goes to Hopper, the only actor I would ever award twice in a row. River's Edge is a film that was wonderfully directed, but had this misfortune of having Brat Pack actors like the insufferable Crispin Glover (though I liked him in Back to the Future). Luckily, they had a veteran among them. Hopper proceeds to steal the entire film away from his younger castmates. He crafts an fascinating and tragic character that was the most compelling element of an underrated film.

The only reason Brooks isn't here is because I consider him Lead. Voted for him regardless.

None of these men deserve a win IMO... so Im randomly voting.... vincent it is

The surprise nominee for me was Vincent Gardenia, who was fine in Moonstruck, but not notably better than just-emerging John Mahoney in the same film.

I have no issue with Denzel Washington in support. His Biko was clearly the most memorable presence in a dreary movie, but that doesn't automatically translate to "lead" -- a slot I thought Kevin Kline's drab character filled. Cry Freedom's box-office nose-dive meant Denzel had no chance at a win here, but it surely set him up nicely for two years hence.

It was clear early on Sean Connery was going to be our winner -- box-office giant, beloved veteran, hit movie, critical singling-out. When he started finishing second in critics' voting, I knew he had it. (Much the way the man he beat, Morgan Freeman, did 17 years later) I find Connery's work enjoyable, but he runs third in this impressive year.

Albert Brooks' nomination for Broadcast News was somewhat in doubt -- despite his film's strong showing throughout the season, he didn't seem to me sure to make the cut, so I was relieved he turned up. (As it turned out, the director category was where my doubt should have been focused) Brook is a somewhat limited actor, but his buddy James Brooks wrote him a wonderful, fit-like-a-glove part, and he delivered. In many years, he'd be my choice.

But Morgan Freeman is just too strong here. To give an idea of what a breakthrough this role was for Freeman: I have a friend with whom I've been doing an Oscar ballot since we were in high school. When we got to Freeman in our discussion, his comment was, "Yeah, he was really good...but you get the feeling it's what he's like in life." I'd already seen Freeman do Driving Miss Daisy onstage, so I knew how far off the mark that was, but it was probably a fairly widely held view. These days, to think of the godly Morgan Freeman delivering a performance of Pesci-level malevolence is mind-boggling. And, of course, he was if anything handicapped by his film -- an effort so lame, Pauline Kael memorably said that Freeman achieving this performance within it was equivalent to sustaining king Lear inside Gidget Goes Hawaiian. Morgan Freeman has done Oscar-level work at numerous points throughout his career, but here at what was basically the beginning (though he was well into middle age at the time) seems to me the time he most deserves victory.

Voted one of my favs from the late 80s and through the 90s - Albert Brooks

As I recall, South African Anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko (Denzel Washinton's character in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom) was dead at the outset of the film, which is told in flashback.

It's so long since I've seen it that I can't recall the length of his role, but his character is definitely more interesting in the film than Kevin Kline's Donald Woods even though the film is based on Woods' memoirs. In any event, the HFPA was impressed enough to nominate him in the lead actor category at the Golden Globes.

I don't see how anyone who isn't a Sean Connery fan could vote for him here. Ok, it's an enjoyable turn, the movie - while a minor De Palma - was a major box-office hit, and it opened a new phase of Connery's career... but still, honestly, a less beloved actor would have never won for such a performance.

It's true that the general level of the nominees this year is dignified but not very exciting - with one exception: the intense, and intensely talented, Morgan Freeman. Today he's become a sort of national monument, kind of a black Spencer Tracy, so it's almost a miracle that he can still give good and sometimes very good performances. But back then he had an energy and a power that, clearly, had to lead to an important career (and if they hadn't, the color of his skin would have been the only reason). I know that one can vote for Freeman in the future, and that while he is memorable in this movie the movie itself isn't - but I think he's the best of these five and certainly the type of actor one can vote more than once for.

I would have considered Albert Brooks, too, if I hadn't seen Broadcast News again very recently, after many years. It's still a pleasant experience, but it's unfortunately much less relevant than I remembered, and the roles are nice, well-acted but rather on the thin side. It's a typical film of the 80s, with some very good things in it, but I'm not surprised that its reputation hasn't lasted long.

The other two do what they have to do and actually do it reasonably well. Gardenia was a solid character actor and makes the most of his nice role in Moonstruck; and Denzel Washington - who's killed, if I remember correctly, at about half of his long movie's running time, so was rightly considered supporting - while very young had already, if not a devastating acting talent, the charisma that his part required and that would have soon made him a star. It's probably his best nominated performance to date - which of course doesn't mean that it's a great one.

Sean Connery - The Untouchables

I can't quibble with the nominees here.

Denzel Washington is co-lead in Cry Freedom but wasn;t yet a big enough screen star to be nominated in lead, which is where he rightly should have bene considered. He's a decent nominee, though cases could be made for R. LeeE rmey in Full Metal Jacket and teh shamefully ignored Vicent Price in a lovely bit in The Whales of August.

Vincent Gardenia gives a stellar performance in Moonstruck, holding his own in a cast of scene hoggers. He deserved that nomination.

Albert Brooks is phenomenal in what is a definitely a co-lead in Broadcast News.

Morgan Freeman, an actor I had previously not been familiar with, is so good as heh pimp in Street Smart he seems like a real one they hired off the street.

I've never been a huge Sean Connery fan. I thought he sleep-walked through most of his Bond films and just about everything he did outside of them. His character roles in The Untouchables Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were a revelation. Too bad he didn't do more of them. He gets my vote.

Very strong lineup, but Albert Brooks takes it. As Michael Gebert once said, when you can quote an entire performance, you know it's something special. I'll join the leading performance bandwagon. Brooks wasn't supporting anyone.
(Needless trivia: Brooks turned down When Harry Met Sally... Because he thought it wasn't anything new or special. While he's right, imagine what that would have done to his career. Also imagine his reading of "No, you pretty much wanna nail them too."

bizarre wrote:

ksrymy wrote:His work here is political but effective.

I am perplexed by this statement.

Sounded better earlier. I find most "THIS IS A STATEMENT" political films and roles to be ineffective and lame. Sean Penn was great in Milk. Jane Fonda was not in Coming Home. I'm sorry. I'm tired. I make no sense.

Im really baffled Sean Connery won, I don't think his performance was memorable at all. He should have been nominated 2 years later for Indiana Jones.

Its between Freeman and Brooks for me, both are outstanding yet Freeman is frightening, intense, and gives a true scene stealing performance

ksrymy wrote:His work here is political but effective.

I am perplexed by this statement.

1987 was certainly an improvement over the more recent supporting actor line-ups with Connery and Brooks the real standouts of the nominees. I've never liked Washington and Cry Freedom is no exception.

My choices:

1. Richard Griffiths for Withnail and I
2. Robert Loggia for Gaby - A True Story
3. Sean Connery for The Untouchables
4. Albert Brooks for Broadcast News
5. Rupert Graves for Maurice

One of the absolute strongest years ever in this category. I'm almost spot-on with my personal nominations.

Denzel is the only one I'm iffy on. I've never enjoyed his work except for in Glory and when I saw John Q in school I thought it was pretty swell. His work here is political but effective.

Vincent Gardenia is pretty alright in this role and deserves his second nomination but he's nowhere near as good as the other three men.

Where to go from here. These three men are just spectacular.

Morgan Freeman, as the self-absorbed pimp, is marvelous.
Albert Brooks, as the neurotic, confidence-less news anchor, is hilarious.
Sean Connery, as the brassy Irish cop, is better than ever.

Freeman is the obvious standout in his film as is, but moreso than, Connery. Connery has made the "knife-to-a-gunfight" quote legendary. After his portrayal here, we could tell Freeman was going places.

Yet I have to give to to Albert Brooks for one of my all-time favorite films. While he does have to play against William Hurt and the Oscar-worthy-for-this-role Holly Hunter, his neuroticism is Allen-esque but never borders on annoying. His sweaty head anchor speech speech and phone conversations with Hunter are just spectacular. I'm going to have to go with the Boston Film Critics and pick Brooks.

Fun fact: NSFC had him split as lead and support: 2nd place in lead, 3rd in support. I don't understand how he's a lead though.

My picks
____________________
1) Albert Brooks - Broadcast News
2) Morgan Freeman - Street Smart
3) Sean Connery - The Untouchables
4) R. Lee Ermey - Full Metal Jacket
5) Vincent Gardenia - Moonstruck

6) Denzel Washington - Cry Freedom