Showing posts with label 1976. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1976. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Best Actor 1976: Results
Best Actor 1976: Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver
Taxi Driver is a portrait of a man off balance, and an examination of violence.Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, an insomniac war veteran who spends his nights in New York City during one of lowest period. Travis Bickle is a fascinating and strange character that certainly must have been a difficult character to play. One that could have been too mysterious, too crazy, or too bizaare but is not in the hands of Robert De Niro. Robert De Niro always has a perfect naturalism in the role of Bickle despite how odd Bickle can be at times in the film.
De Niro is effective because Bickle could have been played as just a psycho, but instead De Niro plays the character rather calmly. He never goes over the top at all, and always shows Bickle to be a man, just a man who has sort of lost touch with reality. He never exploits Travis and that is why his performance works so well. He brings the audience into his mind because he does not seem hostile at first. De Niro succeeds throughout the performance because he takes this approach.
De Niro is ggiid in every scene in this film It is interesting because he shows that Travis just does not exactly know how to behave correctly, and that his moral view is just strange. De Niro makes this strangeness to the character work, and seem natural despite the oddness. The way he tries to be romantic with Betsy(Cybil Shepard) is perfect. He is always at the just the right uneasiness in these scenes. De Niro makes it clear that he is trying but that he just cannot behave correctly. He doesn't know that people do not go to pornographic films normally, he just cannot comprehend why Betsy had a problem with it.
Another interesting part of the performance and character is the strange morality. A man who has two goals in the film, one insane and evil, the other technically noble and good although still off in some way. De Niro somehow shows that this is possible in the man, and he shows as naturally as possible. Bickle merely is that way, he will at one moment want to kill and innocent man although later want to kill guilty man to save a young girl. De Niro makes it all comes together and makes Bickle seem completely real, and out of that makes a memorable performance.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
Best Actor 1976: Peter Finch in Network
Peter Finch posthumously won his Oscar from his second and final Oscar nomination for playing Howard Beale.
Finch is the other best actor nominee from Network and both he and Holden are leads in my book. Both have sections of the film where they are absent, but they both have lead importance.
Peter Finch's performance is essential to the film, since the character of Howard Beale is the best part of the film, and the changes of his character move the film along. It is interesting how Beale moves along through the course of the film and that Finch actually does not stay as the same throughout the film. At first he is just a tired and disappointed News Anchor who was fired do to his low rating. Finch plays him here as a normal man who is merely tired of the world. He still does that in his second broadcast where he continues his way. I like these early scenes because they show Beale as just a man and Finch is perfect at that. His scenes with Holden still show him to be human.
His humanity though seems to vanish when a strange voice talks to him at night. He suddenly has found himself chosen to spread a message to people through television. At this point Beale has gone loco. He no longer really is ever again human, and the much of the rest of the performance are the speeches he makes to the people. Now these speeches are essential to the film and the most memorable scenes in my opinion and they depend completely on Finch to succeed. Finch succeeds full though and puts the right amount of force, power and madness into every speech that he gives. Everyone is made memorable because of the energy Finch puts into them. Whether it is the Mad as Hell, or the You are Real speeches. Finch completely succeeds at making both as clear and powerful as they need to be.
Beale though with his push for the individual is not looked upon well by the corporate heads. One in particular played by Ned Beatty wants him to understand that the individual does not matter. This scene where he yells and speaks to Beale about this is fascinating. Not just because what is being said but because of Finch who sort of steals the scene from Beatty without saying a word. Beale's quiet face is masterfully done by Finch who slowly changes just brilliantly well he is being spoken to. Finch does so much here without saying a word it is incredible. It also shows that Finch is not just over the top and loud in this performance but has this brilliant quiet moment too. After this Finch has his pessimistic speeches which he correctly infuses the right energy although the message is far more depressing than his earlier speeches.
Overall this performance is just brilliant from Finch. His win was not a sympathy win since he fully deserved to win for this astounding performance. Despite the downright craziness of his character Finch never plays Beale, in a wrong way. Somehow he makes Beale seem realistic in his own particular way even in the face of non realism involving some of the plot elements around him. Finch is technically over the top but Finch never seems to be saying look at me, but rather look at Howard Beale, the crazy prophet. A completely perfect performance that creates a fascinating and character, and is the most memorable part of a memorable film.
Finch is the other best actor nominee from Network and both he and Holden are leads in my book. Both have sections of the film where they are absent, but they both have lead importance.
Peter Finch's performance is essential to the film, since the character of Howard Beale is the best part of the film, and the changes of his character move the film along. It is interesting how Beale moves along through the course of the film and that Finch actually does not stay as the same throughout the film. At first he is just a tired and disappointed News Anchor who was fired do to his low rating. Finch plays him here as a normal man who is merely tired of the world. He still does that in his second broadcast where he continues his way. I like these early scenes because they show Beale as just a man and Finch is perfect at that. His scenes with Holden still show him to be human.
His humanity though seems to vanish when a strange voice talks to him at night. He suddenly has found himself chosen to spread a message to people through television. At this point Beale has gone loco. He no longer really is ever again human, and the much of the rest of the performance are the speeches he makes to the people. Now these speeches are essential to the film and the most memorable scenes in my opinion and they depend completely on Finch to succeed. Finch succeeds full though and puts the right amount of force, power and madness into every speech that he gives. Everyone is made memorable because of the energy Finch puts into them. Whether it is the Mad as Hell, or the You are Real speeches. Finch completely succeeds at making both as clear and powerful as they need to be.
Beale though with his push for the individual is not looked upon well by the corporate heads. One in particular played by Ned Beatty wants him to understand that the individual does not matter. This scene where he yells and speaks to Beale about this is fascinating. Not just because what is being said but because of Finch who sort of steals the scene from Beatty without saying a word. Beale's quiet face is masterfully done by Finch who slowly changes just brilliantly well he is being spoken to. Finch does so much here without saying a word it is incredible. It also shows that Finch is not just over the top and loud in this performance but has this brilliant quiet moment too. After this Finch has his pessimistic speeches which he correctly infuses the right energy although the message is far more depressing than his earlier speeches.
Overall this performance is just brilliant from Finch. His win was not a sympathy win since he fully deserved to win for this astounding performance. Despite the downright craziness of his character Finch never plays Beale, in a wrong way. Somehow he makes Beale seem realistic in his own particular way even in the face of non realism involving some of the plot elements around him. Finch is technically over the top but Finch never seems to be saying look at me, but rather look at Howard Beale, the crazy prophet. A completely perfect performance that creates a fascinating and character, and is the most memorable part of a memorable film.
Best Actor 1976: William Holden in Network
William Holden received his third and final Oscar nomination for portraying Max Schumacher in Network.
Network is a very interesting film, and is incredibly well done in certain aspects. There are a few problems I have in the film, some of the things are a little too hard to believe, and the aspects involving the communist and terrorist groups kind of went from satire to farce.
William Holden plays Max Schumacher, an aged news president who does not like the changing way of the network, and is one of the few normalish people in the film. The only person who is truly human is Schumacher's wife, but Schumacher is closest to a normal human after her. Holden therefore does not constantly go over the top, and instead Holden is one of the few performance in the film that is mostly understated. He does a fine job of internalizing his feelings at times, although still letting the audience know them, without yelling, although he does that too.
Holden gives mostly a reactionary role. He always is reacting to basically the craziness of almost all the other character. Holden though does speak out on occasion and he does this well. He always shows that Schumacher really cannot stand the new nature of people, and the loss of humanity of the people. His last two speeches to Fay Dunaway's character are brilliant done by Holden and these scenes are the strongest moments in his performance. The way Holden really uses his own age and face to show that Schumacher sees that he is closer to being dead than alive is completely brilliant on his part, on the fact that Sideny Lumet used that too. His performance certainly is strong, and good, but I did feel his role was a bit limited in some ways.
He seemed slightly limited in that he had either one type of reaction of sad disbelief or the other of yelling back about his older age or about the lack of humanity in people. But these two reactions are always correct when he does them. I do not have a single problem with Holden's performance though, and he certainly was strong throughout the film. I do not think Holden does a single thing wrong in this performance, but I did feel he could have done a lot more if he was given more screen time and more to do. His character had a purpose and Holden served it but in the end his role did become a bit thankless at time since he went away completely from the films at times, and stopped being involved with the network at all. I wish he had one more scene with Howard Beale, or with Frank Hackett to be involved with the network more time, but Holden still is always good in the film, and still gives a strong performance.
Network is a very interesting film, and is incredibly well done in certain aspects. There are a few problems I have in the film, some of the things are a little too hard to believe, and the aspects involving the communist and terrorist groups kind of went from satire to farce.William Holden plays Max Schumacher, an aged news president who does not like the changing way of the network, and is one of the few normalish people in the film. The only person who is truly human is Schumacher's wife, but Schumacher is closest to a normal human after her. Holden therefore does not constantly go over the top, and instead Holden is one of the few performance in the film that is mostly understated. He does a fine job of internalizing his feelings at times, although still letting the audience know them, without yelling, although he does that too.
Holden gives mostly a reactionary role. He always is reacting to basically the craziness of almost all the other character. Holden though does speak out on occasion and he does this well. He always shows that Schumacher really cannot stand the new nature of people, and the loss of humanity of the people. His last two speeches to Fay Dunaway's character are brilliant done by Holden and these scenes are the strongest moments in his performance. The way Holden really uses his own age and face to show that Schumacher sees that he is closer to being dead than alive is completely brilliant on his part, on the fact that Sideny Lumet used that too. His performance certainly is strong, and good, but I did feel his role was a bit limited in some ways.
He seemed slightly limited in that he had either one type of reaction of sad disbelief or the other of yelling back about his older age or about the lack of humanity in people. But these two reactions are always correct when he does them. I do not have a single problem with Holden's performance though, and he certainly was strong throughout the film. I do not think Holden does a single thing wrong in this performance, but I did feel he could have done a lot more if he was given more screen time and more to do. His character had a purpose and Holden served it but in the end his role did become a bit thankless at time since he went away completely from the films at times, and stopped being involved with the network at all. I wish he had one more scene with Howard Beale, or with Frank Hackett to be involved with the network more time, but Holden still is always good in the film, and still gives a strong performance.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Best Actor 1976: Giancarlo Giannini in Seven Beauties
Giancarlo Giannini received his only Oscar nomination for portraying Pasqualino Frafuso in the Italian film Seven Beauties.
Seven Beauties is a very strange film, yet it is incredibly fascinating. It story is odd, and most of the direction is too yet it is fascinating to watch even it is rather difficult to at times.
Giancarlo Giannini's performance is a rather strange thing like the film. He plays Pasqualino Frafuso who is not a good man at all. In fact he is mostly a very bad man, and when he is better he is not very good. Not that he is a villain but he rather is just an oddity of a person. A character that even the greatest actor would have to struggle with I imagine. Giannini though never seems to have trouble with this role even at the oddest and strangest parts of it. He always seems to have a naturalness in the role despite how odd the role can become.
Giannini gives a masterful performance always striking the exact note that is needed for everything his character does no matter what. His performance is always fascinating and his character undergoes extreme changes each which he meets perfectly. His character shown before World War II in Italy as a man concerned with his family's honor, despite having none of it himself. In these scenes it is fascinating the way he plays the character with this cocky stride, despite the pathetic nature of the character. Giannini perfectly shows in a perfect understatement that although Pasqualino thinks he is "cool" and acts that way he is not at all. He is especially great in a scene where he threatens a man all too well with a gun but then shoots before he wanted to, and his face of surprise and upset is too perfect.
Later though he no longer can be cool precisely since he ends up in a concentration camp since he deserted from the Italian army. He no longer is as confidant and shows a powerful portrait of a man who does not wish to die, and will do anything not to die, even that means trying to seduce the female commandant of the camp. The scenes of his efforts are particularly astounding in the fact they seem believable because of Giannini's unbelievable performance. The way he attempts the seduction then deals with the commandant are all too perfectly played in scenes of incredible oddness. Giannini somehow never strikes a wrong note in these scenes despite how easy it would have been.
Every thing about this performance is special, and some how Giannini makes the viewer sympathize and like his character at all despite how despicable his character is. He still has a certain charm to his performance in all his scenes even when he is doing the most horrible things. It is fascinating how he gives both a loud performance than never goes over the top despite being so strange, and at the same time an incredibly subtle portrayal. Giannini does both wonderfully in this performance. He conveys so much with his mannerisms and voice, and just with his eyes. His eyes and face are perfectly used especially in the two last scenes where the worst comes to worst. His eyes are astoundingly powerful at all times especially in the final scene. He shows the true story of this odd man with just his eyes, in the last look at himself. Giannini's performance is just as the film is strange, but powerful and always brilliant.
Giancarlo Giannini's performance is a rather strange thing like the film. He plays Pasqualino Frafuso who is not a good man at all. In fact he is mostly a very bad man, and when he is better he is not very good. Not that he is a villain but he rather is just an oddity of a person. A character that even the greatest actor would have to struggle with I imagine. Giannini though never seems to have trouble with this role even at the oddest and strangest parts of it. He always seems to have a naturalness in the role despite how odd the role can become.
Giannini gives a masterful performance always striking the exact note that is needed for everything his character does no matter what. His performance is always fascinating and his character undergoes extreme changes each which he meets perfectly. His character shown before World War II in Italy as a man concerned with his family's honor, despite having none of it himself. In these scenes it is fascinating the way he plays the character with this cocky stride, despite the pathetic nature of the character. Giannini perfectly shows in a perfect understatement that although Pasqualino thinks he is "cool" and acts that way he is not at all. He is especially great in a scene where he threatens a man all too well with a gun but then shoots before he wanted to, and his face of surprise and upset is too perfect.
Later though he no longer can be cool precisely since he ends up in a concentration camp since he deserted from the Italian army. He no longer is as confidant and shows a powerful portrait of a man who does not wish to die, and will do anything not to die, even that means trying to seduce the female commandant of the camp. The scenes of his efforts are particularly astounding in the fact they seem believable because of Giannini's unbelievable performance. The way he attempts the seduction then deals with the commandant are all too perfectly played in scenes of incredible oddness. Giannini somehow never strikes a wrong note in these scenes despite how easy it would have been.
Every thing about this performance is special, and some how Giannini makes the viewer sympathize and like his character at all despite how despicable his character is. He still has a certain charm to his performance in all his scenes even when he is doing the most horrible things. It is fascinating how he gives both a loud performance than never goes over the top despite being so strange, and at the same time an incredibly subtle portrayal. Giannini does both wonderfully in this performance. He conveys so much with his mannerisms and voice, and just with his eyes. His eyes and face are perfectly used especially in the two last scenes where the worst comes to worst. His eyes are astoundingly powerful at all times especially in the final scene. He shows the true story of this odd man with just his eyes, in the last look at himself. Giannini's performance is just as the film is strange, but powerful and always brilliant.
Friday, 18 June 2010
Best Actor 1976: Sylvester Stallone in Rocky
Sylvester Stallone received his first acting Oscar nomination for his most famous role Rocky Balboa in Rocky.
Although Rocky is constantly maligned today, but I do enjoy the film myself.
Stallone is someone today who most people would think would have never ever been nominated for an Oscar. But he was and that was not the feeling at the time at all. He was heavily praised for this performance even being compared to Marlon Brando, but I image they just did not know him well enough yet.
Stallone is a performance that I do not hate in fact I enjoy his performance to a degree, although I cannot defend it exactly as great acting, though it certainly works for the character of Rocky. Stallone is good and seems dim witted enough as Rocky. I think is fine as the hard headed boxer persona, but he has obvious problems when it comes to doing more than this. He is fine when he is just acting stupid and trying to attempt to stand up for himself.
Although I'll say they overwork the way she's made up Stallone does strike up some chemistry with Talia Shire as Adrian. It is a simple though effective sort of way as the two people broken in a certain way comes together. Stallone does well to portray Rocky's slowness as almost a way of being able to easily deal with her own shyness, since he's a man who frankly does not mind waiting, and knows exactly how it is that he should maneuver around her. When Adrian breaks out of her shell there is a genuine warmth and sweetness when they are together that work well.
Stallone perhaps later on proved he was not Marlon Brando as he did not prove to have a great deal of range later on. Nevertheless Stallone simply is Rocky for a reason. You can't see anyone else in his role as the certain personality of the man is definitely well realized by Stallone and he makes a truly endearing character out of this. You want him to succeed and perhaps it might not be a great performance, it is a good one that is perhaps too often derided.
Although Rocky is constantly maligned today, but I do enjoy the film myself.
Stallone is someone today who most people would think would have never ever been nominated for an Oscar. But he was and that was not the feeling at the time at all. He was heavily praised for this performance even being compared to Marlon Brando, but I image they just did not know him well enough yet.
Stallone is a performance that I do not hate in fact I enjoy his performance to a degree, although I cannot defend it exactly as great acting, though it certainly works for the character of Rocky. Stallone is good and seems dim witted enough as Rocky. I think is fine as the hard headed boxer persona, but he has obvious problems when it comes to doing more than this. He is fine when he is just acting stupid and trying to attempt to stand up for himself.
Although I'll say they overwork the way she's made up Stallone does strike up some chemistry with Talia Shire as Adrian. It is a simple though effective sort of way as the two people broken in a certain way comes together. Stallone does well to portray Rocky's slowness as almost a way of being able to easily deal with her own shyness, since he's a man who frankly does not mind waiting, and knows exactly how it is that he should maneuver around her. When Adrian breaks out of her shell there is a genuine warmth and sweetness when they are together that work well.
Stallone perhaps later on proved he was not Marlon Brando as he did not prove to have a great deal of range later on. Nevertheless Stallone simply is Rocky for a reason. You can't see anyone else in his role as the certain personality of the man is definitely well realized by Stallone and he makes a truly endearing character out of this. You want him to succeed and perhaps it might not be a great performance, it is a good one that is perhaps too often derided.
Best Actor 1976
Giancarlo Giannini in Seven Beauties
William Holden in Network
Sylvester Stallone in Rocky
Peter Finch in Network
Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver
Who is your Pick? Who do you predict I will Pick?
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