Thursday 28 September 2017

Alternate Best Actor 1974

And the Nominees Were Not:

Warren Oates in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

Robert Mitchum in The Yakuza

James Caan in The Gambler

John Hurt in Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs

Bruno S. in The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser

71 comments:

Luke Higham said...

1. Oates
2. Caan
3. Bruno S.
4. Hurt
5. Mitchum

Robert MacFarlane said...

1. Oates
2. Mitchum
3. Caan
4. Hurt
5. S.

John Smith said...

1.Caan
2.Oates
3.Mitchum
4.Hansen
5.Hurt

Luke Higham said...

For Supporting later on,

David Warner - Little Malcolm and From Beyond The Grave
Christopher Lee - The Man With The Golden Gun
Richard Harris - Juggernaut
Ken Takakura and Richard Jordan - The Yakuza

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Other films to watch.
Lacombe, Lucien
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Ali: Fear Eats The Soul
Still Life
Edvard Munch (Was orinally broadcasted before a theatrical release though watch it if you have the time)
Phantom Of The Paradise
From Beyond The Grave (David Warner's quite terrific in his segment)
Black Christmas
The Abdication
The Golden Fortress
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
The Sugarland Express
Celine And Julie Go Boating
Zardoz (Sean Connery)
Alice In The Cities
Pastoral: To Die In The Country
The Man Who Sleeps
The Great Gatsby
California Split
The Phantom Of Liberty
The Night Porter
The Front Page
Je, Tu, Il, Elle
Freebie And The Bean
Lancelot Du Lac
Mahler
Arabian Nights
Earthquake
Thieves Like Us
The Longest Yard
Symptoms
Vampyres
My Little Loves
Stavisky
Jacob The Liar
Lovin' Molly
The Execution Of Private Slovik (Made For TV)
Billy Two Hats
Busting
Swept Away
Claudine
And Now My Love
Uptown Saturday Night
Deranged
The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz

Luke Higham said...

And:
Luther (Stacy Keach)
We All Loved Each Other So Much
The Mouth Agape
Weighed But Found Wanting

Anonymous said...

1. Oates
2. Caan
3. Mitchum
4. Hurt
5. Bruno S.
Louis: How would you have improved Intruder in the Dust?

Omar Franini said...

1. Oates
2. Mitchum
3. Caan
4. Hurt
5. S.

GM said...

1. S.
2. Oates
3. Hurt
4. Caan
5. Mitchum

Supporting:
Charles Boyer in Stavisky...

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

The film actually follows the book in terms of the plot extremely closely I think perhaps too much so in that it feels like it is moving the whole time just to reach each plot point. The film frankly needed to take its time a bit more and develop the atmosphere of the setting which is lacking in the film. In addition it would have helped to have more captivating performers around.

Unknown said...

Glad to see you reviewing Oates

Anonymous said...

Louis: What cast changes would you have made for the film? Joel McCrea was considered for the lawyer role.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your 11-20 Jeremy Irons moments and thoughts on Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel.

Deiner said...

Louis: OMG yes! GM mentioned Keith Carradine in Thieves Like Us in the previous post. You should really check his performance.

Luke Higham said...

I hope you'll start off with John Hurt.

Henry W said...

There's been strong talk that DDL's final film will be secretly screening at the New York Film Festival in one of the private slots. I'll do my best to find out information about it. It seems like a lot of buzz for DDL's (and a lot of others) upcoming projects is centered here.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Seems like quite the fascinating line-up.
1. Oates
2. Caan
3. Hurt
4. Mitchum
5. S.

Luke Higham said...

I really don't see the top 3 changing at all. There's a small possibility of someone taking 4th spot from Pacino.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Pacino's always been my favorite of the 1974 nominees, I really hope Louis actually bumps him up a slot or two (although it's unlikely).

RatedRStar said...

It will be a very strong lineup if Mitchum finishes last because he was actually quite terrific, better than I originally said he was lol.

1. Oates
2. Mitchum
3. Caan
4. Hurt
5. S.

RatedRStar said...

I will give my winning request later. with the Golden Horse nominations being this Sunday I might go back to my roots for my request.

Charles H said...

1. Oates
2. Mitchum
3. Caan
4. Hurt
5. S.

I love this line-up. But i think the top 3 are untouchable. But i kinda want Nicholson to go over Carney

JackiBoyz said...

1. Oates
2. Mitchum
3. Caan
4. Hurt
5. S.

RatedRStar said...

Funnily enough Christopher Lee in The Man with the Golden Gun reminds me of Joseph Wisemans performance in Dr.No, good but with very little screentime although Lee has a lot more, surprising that Lee actually isnt in the film that much, shame because the film is pretty awful when he isnt in it.

Louis: Thoughts on Joseph Wiseman in Dr.No

Anonymous said...

Luke , I think Ebert was the better writer and gave good logic behind his opinions , but I think Siskel had better taste in films and wasn't scared to be in the minority.

Maciej said...

1. Oates
2. Mitchum
3. Hurt
4. Caan
5. S.

Charles H said...

Louis: Your updated top 10 male lead of the 40's.

Calvin Law said...

Just finished first two seasons of Twin Peaks. Absolutely loved the finale, and I think I'd say I loved the series overall even if there were some very questionable aspects. My ranking of the cast: http://reelandroll.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/twin-peaks-cast-ranking.html

Calvin Law said...

Also,

1. Oates
2. Hurt
3. Mitchum
4. Caan
5. S. (the film is more of a director's film I'd say, but he's still really really good, and it's also my favourite Herzog film)

Luke Higham said...

1. Oates
2. Mitchum
3. Hurt (I thought his argument with Warner over a Corduroy jacket was Gold)
4. Caan
5. S.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I haven't seen The Gambler, so to those who have: Was Caan like he was in Thief and The Godfather? Because truth be told, I'm not a fan of his sort of jerky intense style of the early performances of his I've seen. I love low-key Caan in stuff like Misery, Dogville, and The Yards much more.

Henry W said...

Okay guys, here's a question for you all. I'll name actors who were in their prime in the 20th Century, can you name a couple of candidates of contemporary acting whom you think can portray them well enough in a biopic set in their prime years?

Montgomery Clift
Marlon Brando
James Dean
Al Pacino
Jack Nicholson
Peter O'Toole
Anthony Perkins
Daniel Day-Lewis

Michael McCarthy said...

Joaquin Phoenix as Montgomery Clift. Forever and always.

Henry W said...

Michael: This needs to happen. Joaquin's work in The Master brought to mind a very angry and jaded version of Montgomery Clift to be honest. What about the other actors?

Calvin Law said...

James Franco was a decent James Dean. I'd say also Andrew Garfield as Anthony Perkins (or James D'Arcy).

Michael McCarthy said...

I actually think D'Arcy would be a perfect Dirk Bogarde.

Henry W said...

D'Arcy? As Bogarde? Really? Interesting, why?

John Smith said...

Louis, your thoughts on the suicide of tommen? Propably one of my favorite scenes in game of thrones.

BRAZINTERMA said...

5 - S.
4 - Caan
3 - Mitchum
2 - Hurt
1 - Oates

Anonymous said...

@robert

Closer to more of a Dogville Caan, than a Godfather Caan.

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

Joel McCrea would have been a major upgrade, and step in the right direction in that regard.

Luke:

With Siskel and Ebert there are no other critics as entertaining as those two were whether it was in one of the legendary fights or one of the team take downs of an awful movie. Furthermore these discussions could also be very insightful whether it was when they trying to take down each other's arguments or coming to mutually a praise a film they loved. Now I can't speak on how they compare as writers, since I've never read a Siskel review though that's because they don't have an easily accessible database as far as know. Ebert was an incredibly talented critical writer though, even though I think there were just a few times where he might have allowed the analysis to overrule the review itself, however they were never poorly written. I would say I never agreed with one more than the other since there were definitely times I sided with Siskel (Blue Velvet, Die Hard), and those were I sided with Ebert (Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven). There was no exact consistency in that regard. I would say perhaps Siskel was a bit more honest when he would throw a certain general logic out the window aka child in danger moments, whereas Ebert would strangely embrace in a strange way, giving Die Hard a negative review just because of Paul Gleason's character. They were both very talented critics though, and most importantly emphasized their love of film rather than any gimmicks, or being a critic seemingly just to hate.

Irons:

11. Odd phone call - Dead Ringers
12. Bad Jokes - Reversal of Fortune
13. Special tools - Dead Ringers
14. tv theft - Moonlighting
15. Accepting Rodrigo - The Mission
16. "Something Constitutional" - Reversal of Fortune
17. Seeing John off to war - The Man Who Knew Infinity
18. Caught - Damage
19. Performance - M. Butterfly
20. "Be Prepared (first half)" - The Lion King

RatedRStar:

Wiseman - 3.5(Successfully set the standard for all Bond villains to come afterwards, and has stood the test of time as one of the best ones even in his limited screentime. Wiseman creates the original Bond style, though perhaps some earlier setup by Mason in North By Northwest, in being that very coldly suave sort with a genuine menace. Wiesman is terrific in that dinner scene as he really brings such a genuine curtsy about the man yet makes the menace in those incisive glares palatable. There is also embracing just a bit of flamboyance needed to fit in with his surroundings, yet he doesn't go overboard in that regard.)

Henry W:

Marlon Brando - Tom Hardy
Al Pacino - Oscar Isaac (obviously)
Peter O'Toole - Michael Fassbender
Daniel Day-Lewis - Older Daniel Day-Lewis

Louis Morgan said...

Charles:

1. James Stewart - It's A Wonderful Life
2. Ray Milland - The Lost Weekend
3. Humphrey Bogart - The Treasure of Sierra Madre
4. Laurence Olivier - Rebecca
5. Richard Attenborough - Brighton Rock
6. Humphrey Bogart - The Maltese Falcon
7. Toshiro Mifune - Stray Dog
8. Pierre Fresnay - Monsieur Vincent
9. Toshiro Mifune - The Quiet Duel
10. Joseph Cotten - Shadow of a Doubt

Anonymous said...

97% for Blade Runner 2049, fantastic =D.

Bryan L. said...

Maayybbee DiCaprio as Nicholson?

Calvin Law said...

Saw Racer and the Jailbird. Huge disappointment though Schoenaerts and Exarchopoulos were both very impressive.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Do you prefer iOS or Android.

Louis Morgan said...

Saw American Made, I quite enjoyed it.

94dk1:

Please no, and I like DiCaprio. I honestly doubt anyone really can pull off Nicholson.

Tahmeed:

I don't have a smart phone, out of choice, *gasp*.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Thoughts on the film and cast.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

I will admit the moment I heard about the film I was excited at the prospect of this potentially being a Wolf of Wall Street for Tom Cruise. Now on one side of that it kind of is, but I'll focus on the other side of it the film itself. The film isn't quite great, but I don't want to say that too derisively since that is mostly in a literally technical sense. The editing for example clearly is trying to go for a Thelma Schoonmaker type of flow a la Wolf or Goodfellas, but it doesn't quite make. Luckily it's not really too distracting in that sense either. The cinematography also was something concerning from the trailer, but actually wasn't too bad, definitely not great though. The film though I did quite enjoy it doesn't quite make something extraordinary out of the naturally compelling story, but it makes one fun ride balancing the tone nicely, without any haphazard moralizing. The film though works best though as a strong vehicle for a certain actor just to let loose a bit, and that was more than enough.

Wright - 2(Found her performance underwhelming much of the time, and really just found she let Cruise handle everything. This was not a major determent to the film thanks to the film going on some Cruise control there though. She's mostly there to be the trophy wife however she could have brought a bit more into the few moments she does have whether it was hit harder in a more dramatic sense or could have had better timing in the more comedic moments. She really just doesn't make much of an impact.)

Gleeson - 3.5(I would not have minded more of him, well I suppose that's always true just like with his dad. Gleeson though I quite liked sort of the cheekiness he brought into his delivery of the character that I found captured the sort of tone the film was striving for. In that Gleeson has just the right comedic bent while fully fulfilling the real historical and dramatic intention as well.)

Jones - 2(I'd prefer if they'd start going to his British equivalent Alfie Allen for this roles, as I don't think Jones is quite great at being the resident layabout creeper. The best he's been at it was in Twin Peaks, but even then I'd say he definitely was not a stand out there. Jones here just doesn't quite find it, and I think in the right hands the character could have really stood out in better hands, maybe just go get Jesse Plemons he's right there.)

Plemons by the way is good, but there's just not much of him. I also did like the incidental performances like the various agents, particularly in the arrest scene, the other pilots, and the Medellin guys.

Anonymous said...

Louis: your top 20 leonardo dicaprio acting moments

Bryan L. said...

Louis: Fair enough haha. Nicholson does have a presence that could be very hard to imitate or evoke.

Bryan L. said...

Also glad to see Tom Cruise is getting saved, since it's been awhile since he's had a performance that could make it to the Alternates, chronologically-speaking of course.

Matt Mustin said...

In terms of the actor biopics, maybe Mark Rylance for Daniel Day-Lewis?

Louis Morgan said...

Anonymous:

11. Interview - The Departed
12. Refusing to quit - The Wolf of Wall Street
13. Hearing about his father - Catch Me If You Can
14. Awkward park exchange - The Wolf of Wall Street
15. Interrogation - The Departed
16. Dream of his son - The Revenant
17. First Christmas Phone Call - Catch Me If You Can
18. Letting Solomon Go - Blood Diamond
19. Tied in the plane - The Wolf of Wall Street
20. Dealing with the runaway - Django Unchained

Matt:

Rylance is only three years younger, and doesn't really look like him. Even though Day-Lewis is transformative actor, he's still kind of one of a kind, if there's another Day-Lewis I don't think we have met him yet.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: If only we could see Rylance's work on stage, since that's where the Day-Lewis comparisons tend to come from.

What about Mark Rylance as Alec Guinness.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

Well I'd say he, Day-Lewis and Oldman are the same types of talents so to speak, however they aren't interchangeable.

Rylance would be a great Guinness though.

Matt Mustin said...

Luke: You can find clips of Rylance's stage work on YouTube. I know it's not the same as seeing him live, but it gives enough of a taste as to what a supreme artist he clearly is on stage.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: I know we haven't talked about dream pairings in a long while but I would love to see Rylance and Dillane as brothers in a film.

Luke Higham said...

Matt Mustin: I have seen clips of his work in Jerusalem and Twelfth Night but I mean his performances in full.

Luke Higham said...

Matt: And filmed for TV or DVD as well.

Matt Mustin said...

Luke: Oh, sure.

Louis Morgan said...

Matt:

A real shame of the delay, hopefully it is only a delay and they get both Isaac and Rylance back, of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara is we would've been granted a real juicy role for Rylance. Although I would say Rylance has already proven his measure on screen via the work he's done so far particularly Wolf Hall.

Luke:

That would make for an especially compelling contrast I would say since Rylance excels in sort of warm intensity, while Dillane is the master of the ice cold type.

Matt Mustin said...

Luke: Wait, has some of his stuff been filmed for DVD? Or are you saying you wish they'd do that?

Matt Mustin said...

Louis: Oh, I absolutely agree he's more than proven his worth on screen.

Luke Higham said...

Matt: I wish they filmed his performances. Some of McKellen's work on stage were filmed such as Macbeth and King Lear.

Luke Higham said...

Also it's a great shame that we never got to see Scofield's Salieri.

Luke Higham said...

Though there are few clips of him.

Luke Higham said...

*are a few clips

Calvin Law said...

I've seen the full recording of Jerusalem. He's astounding.

Matt Mustin said...

Calvin: Where did you find that?

Calvin Law said...

Matt: we took a school trip to the Victoria and Albert museum to watch a recording of it for our coursework essay where I compared it to Wordsworth and Wuthering Heights. There's no recordings online I'm afraid.