Friday 27 March 2015

Alternate Best Actor 1969: Results

5. Michael Caine in The Italian Job - Caine gives an appropriately charming performance and that's all there really is to it.

Best Scene: Croker is confronted by Mr.Bridger's men.
4. Lino Ventura in Army of Shadows - Ventura gives an effective withdrawn portrayal of a man who's learned to live in the darkness involved in the methods of the French resistance.

Best Scene: The death run. 
3. Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider - Hopper makes the most out of a rather thin role, and benefits from particularly strong chemistry with his co-stars.

Best Scene: The second campfire with George. 
2. Jean Louis Trintignant in Z - Trintignant gives an effective performance by making a very precise impact in his rather strict role.

Best Scene: The magistrate interrogates the main conspirator.
1. William Holden in The Wild Bunch - Well Holden very easily stood out for me as the best of these nominees and the only person I had to think twice about against the top two from the actual nominees. Holden gives a great performance by being uncompromising in his intense depiction of a violent man while managing to find some poignancy within the man's moral code.

Best Scene: The remainder of the bunch celebrating after their "victory".
Overall Rank:
  1. Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy
  2. Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy 
  3. William Holden in The Wild Bunch
  4. Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 
  5. Jean Louis Trintignant in Z
  6. Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 
  7. Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider
  8. Peter Fonda in Easy Rider
  9. Oliver Reed in The Assassination Bureau
  10. Peter Finch in The Red Tent
  11. Lino Ventura in Army of Shadows
  12. Richard Widmark in Death of a Gunfighter
  13. Elliot Gould in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
  14. Dirk Bogarde in The Damned
  15. James Garner in Support Your Local Sheriff!
  16. Michael Caine in The Italian Job
  17. Walter Matthau in Cactus Flower
  18. Robert Redford in Downhill Racer
  19. Michael Sarrazin in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? 
  20. Robert Culp in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
  21. Woody Allen in Take The Money And Run
  22. Steve McQueen in The Reivers
  23. Clint Eastwood in Paint Your Wagon
  24. James Mason in Age of Consent
  25. Richard Burton in Anne of the Thousand Days
  26. Mitch Vogel in The Reivers 
  27. Peter O'Toole in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
  28. Kurt Russell in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
  29. John Wayne in True Grit
  30. George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
  31. Lee Marvin in Paint Your Wagon 
  32. Richard Thomas in Last Summer
  33. Bruce Davison in Last Summer
  34. Wendell Burton in The Sterile Cuckoo
  35. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Hercules in New York
Next Year: 1969 Supporting

31 comments:

GM said...

Gene Hackman - Downhill Racer
Robert Ryan - The Wild Bunch
Ernest Borgnine - The Wild Bunch
Laurence Olivier - Oh! What a Lovely War
Colin Welland - Kes
Robert Blake - Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here

RatedRStar said...

Kes is 1970 for me.

Computer Wore what??

Ernest Borgnine - The Wild Bunch
Robert Ryan - The Wild Bunch
Laurence Olivier - Oh! What A Lovely War
Robert Blake - Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here
Helmut Berger - The Damned

John Smith said...

Erland Josephson/The Passion Of Anna

(You haven't revievew this legend a single time, this is not his greatest performance but it does deserve a review!)

JackiBoyz said...

Helmut Berger - The Damned (a winning request)
Helmut Griem - The Damned
Robert Blake - Tell Them Willie Boy is here
Laurence Olivier - Oh! What A Lovely War
Ernest Borgnine - The Wild Bunch

GM said...

@RatedRStar You're right, it's 70 by Louis rules.

RatedRStar said...

@GM: I live in Barnsley =D so trust me Kes will appear on this blog next time 1970 returns lol.

RatedRStar said...

Actually I would like to see a Passion Of Anna review because well 1969 has been pretty underwhelming for great performances =D. Surely a hidden gem has to be around here somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Thoughts/ratings on Minnelli in the Sterile Cuckoo?

Anonymous said...

Louis what were your top ten films of 1969?

GM said...

Von Sydow is great in The Passion of Anna.

Anonymous said...

Louis what are your thoughts on these films:

The Red Tent
Death Of a Gunfighter
Cactus Flower
Take The Money And Run
The Reivers
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Michael Patison said...

Ratings on Newman and Redford

For Supporting:
Ernest Borgnine in The Wild Bunch
Robert Ryan in The Wild Bunch

John Smith said...

GM: He Is

moviefilm said...

Gene Hackman – Downhill Racer
Laurence Olivier – Oh! What a Lovely War
Mitch Vogel – The Reivers
Philippe Noiret – Topaz
Red Buttons – They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Maciej said...

Robert Ryan - The Wild Bunch
Ernest Borgnine - The Wild Bunch
Laurence Olivier - Oh! What a Lovely War
Red Buttons – They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Ernest Borgnine in The Wild Bunch
Robert Ryan in The Wild Bunch
Noel Coward in The Italian Job
Laurence Olivier - Oh! What a Lovely War
Colin Welland - Kes

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Also thoughts and rating for Peter Finch in The Red Tent, Richard Widmark in Death of a Gunfighter, Woody Allen in Take The Money And Run, Steve McQueen in The Reivers, Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin in Paint Your Wagon, James Mason in Age of Consent

Luke Higham said...

Ernest Borgnine - The Wild Bunch
Robert Ryan - The Wild Bunch
Noel Coward - The Italian Job
Laurence Olivier - Oh! What A Lovely War
Helmut Berger - The Damned

Michael Patison:
Newman - 4.5(Technically a bit like his performance in the Sting although with less of an exact purpose though. Newman's work though is all about his charm which he has plenty of here and is one incredibly likable outlaw. In addition though Newman knows how to do this especially well while still maintaining at least enough of a menace for the character. Also he works quite well with...)

Redford - 4(Although I might still say a tad overshadowed by Newman not to the extent that he is in the Sting, although there's no Robert Shaw around to do an extra bit shading either. Redford though has a great dynamic with Newman here as he kinda acts well as the humorless one which plays well against Newman's more colorful performance. In addition the more emotional moments that are there, mostly in the final act, are made appropriately moving as the two certainly create an endearing friendship)

Kes is 1970 by Louis's rules

Cinderella Ratings
James - 3.5
Blanchett - 4
Carter - 3
Madden - 3
Jacobi - 3 (leaning towards a 3.5)
Grainger & McShera - 3
Skarsgaard - 3
Anozie - 3.5

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your Top 5 Female Lead & Supporting performances for 1969.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Plus Ratings for the last comment.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Just in case you don't review Noel Coward for The Italian Job, can I have your rating & thoughts on him as well please.

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

Well looking at recent film trailers:

Spectre looks really, really promising.
Slow West looks beautiful.
Can't say I'm looking forward to Southpaw at all.

Luke Higham said...

GDSAO:
I'm really looking forward to Spectre and Slow West (Any film with Fassbender's name attached, is likely to pique my interest) and I have very mixed feelings about Southpaw (I think Gyllenhaal will be great as usual, but the vibe that I've been getting from the story itself is not particularly good at all).

RatedRStar said...

I kicked a chair over when I heard that one of the writers of Southpaw also worked on The Expendables 2.

Spectre looks um, just like Skyfall it has this mysterious brooding quality which I really like, I think that Big Eyes was a one off for Waltz and this will be a return to form.

Anonymous said...

Louis did you like Last Summer? I heard Burns was really good.

Louis Morgan said...

In regards to the Spectre trailer, well I'm sold...although I already was.

RatedRStar:

You heard me Tennis shoes.

Anonymous:

Minelli - 4(Although her line delivery has the same problem that a few other performers had this same year, that being that odd amateurish bland over accentuation line delivery, if that makes any sense. Past that though I did find she managed to be fairly charming the role while being fairly moving in creating how her character's enthusiasm is her way of coping with her vulnerabilities. It's not her most assured performance, and she has a block of wood to work with, but she gives a good performance)

Anonymous:

Top Ten 1969:

1. Z
2. Army of Shadows
3. The Wild Bunch
4. They Shoot Horses Don't They?
5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
6. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
7. Midnight Cowboy
8. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
9. Take the Money and Run
10. The Reivers

Anonymous:

The Red Tent - (It's a film with a great story about a doomed artic exploration and the guilt faced by the commander who lived when not all of his men did. I liked the set up of his imagination making his own trial of the people he's believed to have wronged. Unfortunately it's one of those films that just seems to miss the heights that seemed possible given the material. I did think it was good still though I feel it could have created a more palatable atmosphere, and it does feel like it never goes for the jugular the way it should)

Death Of a Gunfighter - (The story is quite interesting in yet another film from the period where the old west hero finds himself no longer needed. Unfortunately it doesn't quite make use of its premise as it should particularly since the characters are rather weak outside of the sheriff. It lacks vision in terms of direction which makes sense given that it was directed by "Alan Smithee". It's not bad but it feels like a missed opportunity)

Cactus Flower - (Harmless and unsubstantial comedy. I thought it was okay.)

Take The Money And Run - (Woody Allen being a hardened criminal is already pretty funny and with that idea it has some pretty hilarious moments, I particularly enjoyed when he tried running someone over with a car, it's ending leaves something to be desired but I certainly had more than enough laughs up till that point)

The Reivers - (I rather enjoyed its low key buddy/coming of age story. It stays pretty unassuming throughout, but in a good way. I liked the characters and although I would not call the performances great that are nice and charming. Really it's just a fairly pleasant movie)

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice - (The Bob and Carol stuff is mostly one note and mostly unremarkable other than the one scene where Carol reveals her affair to Bob. The Ted and Alice stuff is much more engaging and interesting to be sure. I thought it developed their relationship rather well even if I feel it is let down by an ending that I feel they could only have gotten away with in 1969. You can be ambiguous but that just felt like, eh can't come with anything that feels natural for the characters so we'll just do something weird)

Louis Morgan said...


GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar:

Finch - 4(It's a good performance as he does a good job of portraying his character's refinement conveying his background while giving the sense of his pervasive guilt over abandoning his men. Like the film there's never that moments where he really gets to the heart of the matter, but technically he does give a solid performance)

Widmark - 4(A lot like Finch really. Again I think he does a good job of giving the uncompromising roughness of his character while bringing out his exasperation over the years of making difficult decisions. Again it's a good performance, but again it never quite reaches the heights it seems it should)

Allen - 3.5(He's enjoyably one note doing his usual thing which becomes particularly funny playing this sort of character)

McQueen - 3.5(This is not him exactly at his coolest but that's just fine as it works for his part here. His low key performance works well for the film and realizes an endearing enough presence for the film)

Eastwood - 3(What a disappointment, he's really not all that bad. This still is probably one of his least confidant performances, but he does try)

Marvin - 2(Marvin on the other hand gives the sort of singing you wanted from him which is something to behold. Otherwise than that he's way over the top here and not in a good way)

Mason - 3(From what I've seen this is James Mason's worst performance. I still did not think he was bad I still have yet to see a truly bad performance from him, but it's a major step down from what I've come to expect from the usually extremely consistent Mason. His accent is way too all over the place and he just never quite seems to find his character in this one. He still bring a nice bit of charm, and he's still watchable)

Luke:

Actress:

Maggie Smith - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Jane Fonda - They Shoot Horses Don't They?
Dyan Cannon - Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
Liza Minelli - The Sterile Cuckoo
Catherine Burns - Last Summmer - 4

Supporting Actress:

Pamela Franklin - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Simone Signoret - Army of Shadows
Celia Johnson - The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Susannah York - They Shoot Horses Don't They?
Diana Rigg - Her Majesty's Secret Service

Anonymous:

I did not care for Last Summer which was probably a little too random for its own good not to mention I did not really care for three of the four leads. Burns even suffers from the same problem I listed about Minelli, but everything else she does makes up for it. Also a rape scene should not feel tacked. In fact 1969 seems to be the year of the sudden very bad ending, while it least it worked in Z and Army of Shadows)

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

RatedRStar: The more I think about it, Waltz's horrendous performance in Big Eyes was likely due to studio interference. If he'd stayed consistent the whole way through with what Louis called his 'Wacky Walter' routine I'd give him a solid 3.5.

Also Louis surprised by how low Miss Jean Brodie and Midnight Cowboy are on your list, are all 6 films above films that you rather loved then :)

GetDonaldSutherlandAnOscar said...

1969 has some awful endings, with some exceptions:

Midnight Cowboy (one of the most powerful, downplayed endings ever)
The Wild Bunch and On Her Majesty's Secret Service (incredibly iconic endings)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
And The Shoot Horses Don't They?

Louis Morgan said...

The only films that do not have a "bad" ending in my top ten are The Reivers and Take the Money and Run (which originally was apparently going to end with Allen getting shot to death in the style of Bonnie and Clyde)

JamDenTel said...

Oh! What a Lovely War. That's all.