Alternate Best Actor 1973: Results

5. Robert Mitchum in The Friends of Eddie Coyle - Well this is unpleasant. I hate putting any of these performances "last" because they're all great, but I have to choose one. Anyway Mitchum gives a great performance giving this quietly devastating portrait of a man who essentially wasted his life.

Best Scene: "what a future he’s got, huh"

4. Robert Shaw in The Hireling-  Shaw gives a heartbreaking performance here showing a different shade of his talent in his powerful realization of a lonely man seeking love.

Best Scene: Declaration of Love.

3. Donald Sutherland in Don't Look Now - Sutherland's performance is both an unforgettable depiction of man struggling with his grief and also so effectively helps to realize the spine chilling horror of the film.

Best Scene: Seeing the Inspector.

2. Elliott Gould in The Long Goodbye - Gould gives a brilliantly funny and always compelling performance in his rather contradictory yet most effective take on Phillip Marlowe.

Best Scene: "I even lost my cat"

1. Edward Woodward in The Wicker Man - Edward Woodward gives a masterful performance that works as normalcy against the unknown, as a portrait of zealous if foolish conviction, and harrowing depiction of facing unspeakable horrors. This year frankly deserves multiple winners by the sheer quality of so many of the leading turns.

Best Scene: Seeing the titular man. 

Updated Overall

Next: 1973 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1973: Edward Woodward in The Wicker Man

Edward Woodward did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Sergeant Howie in The Wicker Man.

The Wicker Man is an effective horror film, other than a couple of strange musical choices, about a police officer traveling to a remote Scottish island to investigate the disappearance of a girl.

Edward Woodward plays the police officer and is our entry point into the strange island which is the setting of the film. There is a brief introduction on the mainland where we witness Woodward dutifully perform his duties as a Catholic in church before going off to perform his duties as a police officer after receiving a letter noting the disappearance of a girl. Woodward's performance is pivotal in establishing the tone of the film given that he is on such another wavelength than the rest of the actors as the islanders. The ensemble of the islanders, except Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle, as these odd "simple" folk where they are have this unsettling sinister joviality. Woodward is a complete separation from every else by presenting the complete outsider that is Howie, although this is not quite the more usual leading horror performance more on that later. Woodward though offers the right representation of a normality as he first arrives to the island and begins his investigation.

Woodward offers a strict reality with his performance and with that he assures that Howie has that separation of from the islanders. Woodward does something very important which is that he does not inflict his performance with any unnecessary style or needless mannerisms which in turn only amplifies the rest of the ensemble. Woodward at the core of his performance establishes the reflection of traditional society against the strange society of the islanders. When he first arrives Woodward is excellent by portraying the genuine reaction that would come from being accosted by such odd passive aggression right for the moment he merely asks for help to reach the shore from his plane. Woodward helps to convey the unpleasantness of this place by so earnestly portraying the sheer disbelief in Howie that would most likely would be the reaction of any person to the islanders seeming lack of concern for the life of the missing girl.

That is not all there is to Woodward's performance, as again this is not just the normal protagonist of a horror film as the sane man trying to figure things out. It's a bit different. Although Woodward does a proper representation of normalcy Howie brings more to the island than that. Howie is a strict law officer and a strict Christian in addition to that which Woodward utilized to be a powerful element in his performance. As noted intense actors go Edward Woodward truly needs to be named far more often than he is, as he's one of the very best at it. Woodward utilizes this intensity brilliantly here as he fashions it within his performance so naturally. Woodward utilizes it so well in revealing exactly Howie's state on the island. On one end the strict way Woodward presents himself, very to the point and with a directness is fitting to a law officer. Woodward extends this further though in portraying also the this as a part of his own beliefs. The Christian values in Howie, Woodward upholds through a depiction of a  tense undeniable conviction.

Woodward presents Howie well as a truly righteous man at the very least in his own eyes, and often plays the part as the man attempting to bring some sort of justice in what seems to be a Godless island. In that sense Woodward cut through every scene like a razor in the way he so incisively proceeds with Howie's investigation. Woodward never makes it merely the investigation though, even though that aspect Woodward emphasis most strongly that also offers Howie's most sympathetic attitude. There is not a single scene where Woodward is not captivating to watch because of how he handles every scene. It's amazing in the way that Woodward realizes this very idea of kind of a proper societal oversight in the film. Woodward in a way makes Howie both seem absolutely in command yet wholly out of his element all the same. In every moment of the investigation, as he questions the whereabouts of the girl, Woodward's performance makes Howie the irreproachable detective who will discover whatever mystery that island holds.

Woodward plays with that conviction towards solving the case also in his conviction towards his own faith. Woodward is terrific in portraying this disdain Howie has towards the villagers would seem to relish in all behaviors that Howie finds morally reprehensible. Woodward takes this further than merely a possible puritanical attitude towards their more lax views on open sexuality, as he shows this disdain churning to disgust as he comes to know that the islanders are pagans. The severity of the reaction Woodward conveys shows this not to be merely Howie hating a religion that is not his own, rather he contributes this sense of disbelief that in his modern times such a community could even exist that reject his own beliefs. Woodward does have that intensity of the zealot but this does not make Howie as distant as the villagers to the viewer. This again because Woodward does layer this to further convey the notion that there is something seriously wrong with the villagers, particularly in the classroom scene where Howie admonishes their psychotic lack of empathy in the school children due to seemingly having no concern whatsoever for their own classmate. Woodward makes Howie's cause a righteous one, even if Howie can be rather self-righteous.

The island though slowly reveals itself to be even more sinister than just the general rudeness of its denizens as they seem to be building towards their annual festival which may entail human sacrifice. Woodward excels in portraying the frustrations in dealing with the antagonist locals own disdain for his beliefs particularly Lord Summerisle. What's so good about Woodward's work though is the way reveals that every time Howie's resolve is hit, Woodward expresses this building back towards his confidence that he in the right. He does this rather quickly, but Woodward importantly shows that it still must be done. The most severe test before the climax comes when the landlord's daughter of the inn he's staying at attempts to seduce him. Woodward again does reveal the difficulty in his resolve as Howie almost succumbs to the advances, though he's able to stop himself. I love though how Woodward again presents the resolve having returned summed best by his oh so proper delivery of Howie's explanation of his rejection to the woman. Now before tackling the climax of the performance, which is a quite thing all in itself. This performance up until that point is an outstanding piece work. He makes Howie understood as a man, but he also helps to create that terrible sense of isolation that is so pervasive in the film through this. He is so unlike the other performances, yet again though Howie is a particular sort of man Woodward still makes him an honest one. This makes the horror of the film all the more unsettling particularly as he arrives to the finale where he discovers that someone is going to be sacrificed unfortunately, it's him.

Woodward is simply amazing for every second of the final scene. In the early part of the scene as Woodward shows the effort in Howie as he is trying to come to grips with what is happening, and almost in a certain disbelief in if the villagers really are serious. This changes severely when he sees the wicker man in full view. Woodward's reaction  realizes the terror by the sheer terror he expresses in the moment. It horrifying as he makes the fear real. Woodward never loses the fear for the rest of the scene and is harrowing as he grants the situation a genuine gravity. Woodward does not become one note, which would almost be warranted, nevertheless Woodward makes the most of what remains. Woodward depicts the painful attempt to basically gain his resolve once again as he pleads with the islanders trying to explain that the sacrifice will be meaningless. When this does not work though I love the vicious anger, alluding to perhaps a justice in the end, he directs right at Lord Summerisle by stating that the Lord will be next to fill the burning man. No reprieve is granted and Woodward again is unforgettable. Woodward makes the terror so vivid in his disturbing yet heartbreaking final anguish. As he reveals this proper mess of fear, hatred but also just an attempt at solace as he holds onto his own faith one last time.

Alternate Best Actor 1973

And the Nominees Were Not:

Donald Sutherland in Don't Look Now

Robert Shaw in The Hireling

Robert Mitchum in The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Elliott Gould in The Long Goodbye

Edward Woodward in The Wicker Man

Alternate Best Actor 1980: Results

5. Anthony Hopkins in The Elephant Man- Hopkins gives a good performance making the most out of his relatively simple character and bringing to life the complexities of the character where they exist.

Best Scene: Treves first sees the Elephant Man.

4. Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant- Thompson has a simple but showy role bringing the emotional punch to his courtroom scenes.

Best Scene:  Major J.F. Thomas's summation.

3. Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People- Sutherland gives an understated and moving turn showing the attempt of a man to hold his life as well as his family together after a terrible tragedy.

Best Scene: Calvin confronts Beth.

2. Edward Woodward in Breaker Morant- Woodward gives an excellent performance showing a courageous gentlemanly soldier, whose capable of horrible deeds.

Best Scene: Morant tells the court of rule 303.

1.Tatsuya Nakadai in Kagemusha- Nakadai gives an amazing performance playing two characters brilliantly one a cunning war lord, and the other an impersonator who has a difficult journey of pretending to be the other man. I am going to face all the wraith of meddling with the grand scheme of things and go my own way this year altogether. I have a confession to make which is watching Ordinary People again really made me lose a lot of my enthusiasm for Timothy Hutton's performance. I still think he is great, but actually watching it this time Donald Sutherland left the bigger impression on me. As for Robert De Niro I do believe his performance is tremendous but its never been a performance that I love. Therefore my very personal win goes to Tatsuya Nakadai.

Best Scene: The Lord and Kagemusha meet for the first time. 

Overall Rank:

1. John Hurt in The Elephant Man
2. Tatsuya Nakadai in Kagemusha
3. Robert De Niro in Raging Bull
4. Edward Woodward in Breaker Morant
5. Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People
6. Timothy Hutton in Ordinary People
7. Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant
8. Lee Marvin in The Big Red One 
   
9. Anthony Hopkins in The Elephant Man
10. Burt Lancaster in Atlantic City
11. John Savage in Inside Moves
12. Ken Takakura in A Distant Cry of Spring
    
13. Anthony Quinn in Lion in the Desert
14. Naseeruddin Shah in Sparsh
15. George C. Scott in Changeling
16. Kurt Russell in Used Cars
    
17. Art Garfunkel in Bad Timing
18. Tommy Lee Jones in Coal Miner's Daughter 
19. Kris Kristofferson in Heaven's Gate
    
20. William Hurt in Altered States 
21. Hector Alterio in El Nido 
22. Peter Andorai in Confidence
23. Hidetaka Yoshioka in A Distant Cry of Spring
24. Gerard Depardieu in The Last Metro
    
25. Paul Le Mat in Melvin and Howard  
    
26. Gerard Depardieu in Mon Oncle d'Amerique
    
27. Mark Hamill in The Empire Strikes Back 
28. Brinsley Forde in Babylon
    
29. John Travolta in Urban Cowboy 
30. Walter Matthau in Hopscotch
    
31. Ray Sharkey in The Idolmaker 
32. Marcello Mastroianni in City of Women
33. Robert Redford in Brubaker
34. Stacy Keach in The Ninth Configuration
    
35. Christopher Reeve in Superman II   
36. Gerard Depardieu in Loulou
    
37. Nicola Zarbo in Palermo or Wolfsburg
    
38. Andrzej Seweryn in The Orchestra Conductor
39. Richard Gere in American Gigolo
40. Richard Dreyfuss in The Competition
    
41. John Belushi in The Blues Brothers
42. Al Pacino in Cruising
43. Christopher Reeve in Somewhere in Time
    
44. Jack Nicholson in The Shining    
45. Woody Allen in Stardust Memories
    
46. George C. Scott in The Formula 
47. Hans van Tongeren in Spetters
48. Maarten Spanjer in Spetters
49. Toon Agterberg in Spetters
    
50. Dan Aykroyd in The Blues Brothers
51. Steve Railsback in The Stunt Man
52. Robert Hays in Airplane
53. Omero Antonutti in Alexander the Great
    
54. Robin Williams in Popeye
55. Sam J. Jones in Flash Gordon
56. Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit II
57. Jack Lemmon in Tribute 
58. Michael O'Keefe in Caddyshack 
59. Tom Atkins in The Fog
    
60. Leigh McCloskey in Inferno 
61. Neil Diamond in The Jazz Singer
    
62. Christopher Atkins in The Blue Lagoon
    

Next Year: 1980 Supporting

Alternate Best Actor 1980: Edward Woodward and Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant

Edward Woodward did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the titular Lt. Harry "Breaker" Morant.

Breaker Morant is an excellent film about three lieutenants court martialed for executing prisoners during the Boer war. 

Now I did put Jack Thompson as the only nominee but after the film I feel it is best to review both leads of the film as Woodward's performance should not be forgotten. Woodward as Morant gives often a withdrawn but interesting enough a very emotional performance. The reason for this is that he plays a soldier in the British army. Although he is a special unit mostly composed of Australians to deal with the Boer guerilla fighters he still is a British soldier and still therefore has the manner of a British soldier. it is always something to watch an actor give a powerful performance while still being in the restrictions of their character.

Woodward is terrific in creating Breaker Morant as a character and the history of the man even though that is something we only ever receive glimpses of it. Woodward throughout the film keeps Morant as the perfect soldier in his posture and overall manner. There are breaches of this at times but he is always very firm in being the soldier he would have to be to be the career soldier he is. Woodward is uncompromising in this depiction is something quite special because in his portrayal he shows an emotionally volatile nature in Morant even while he stays in structures of being the ideal British soldier.

We see the killing of the men that Morant ordered to killed in flash back. Woodward is outstanding in these scenes as we see the workings of this man and the way that he came to kill the men. What really drives Morant more than anything was that his friend was killed by the Boer in a brutal fashion and what he is doing is taking revenge out on them any way he could. Woodward is especially chilling because he conveys this violent intensity in these scenes well staying well put together for the most part. When he orders someone to do die he does not yell it, rather Woodward delivers it in a very simple yet harsh fashion as he stays cold on the surface even as he burns inside.

Woodward is brilliant in the way that he makes Morant still such a refined fellow who you would not think would be capable of such horrible actions. Woodward does have a certain charm, and more than that there is always an underlying humanity in his performance. Although he does act professional it is never that of a heartless professional in anyway. When he orders the killings it is not of a passionless man but instead a man whose passions in fact overwhelm him to do such things. Woodward mostly does this through his eyes which are so piercing in the way they portray the emotions in this man so fervently while the rest of his body tries hard to suppress them.

Woodward does not necessarily make you sympathize with the man, but he importantly does make you understand the man. Whenever he explains why he has done such things in the court or in a more private moment with one of the men we can see that where the atrocities came from are quite clear. On one hand there is that sense of duty which Woodward is masterful in depicting. That pride in being a soldier is always something that he brings to Morant with such tremendous affirmation, he shows the soldier who would follow such orders as well as even how the man could keep stay so calm, cool and even witty during his own execution.

In the same man though he does bring out the very human qualities. Whenever he speaking of the killing it is clear that the pain of his friends death is never something he can forget, Woodward makes it something he cannot even ignore. It is something on him at all times. That is not all though and Woodward never leaves him as just a man with a vendetta either. His pain is past that as in the court room scenes there is also a bitterness in him over the refusal of his higher ups to recognize the fact that what he did was part of the duty a duty that he served proudly. Woodward makes the betrayal known in a powerful way in which he both underplays but forcefully establishes these feelings when he admonishes the court.

There is a little more than just the soldier though in the briefest of moments when it is mentioned he was engaged to the sister of his friend who was killed. These are done with the utmost subtly but Woodward makes this moment quite beautiful in his subtle facial reactions. There is an incredible poignancy that Woodward brings to his performance in these moments suggesting there could have been so much more for Woodward if he had not been part of this war. One particularly great moment is when a sympathetic soldier suggests escape to him but he refuses saying "He has been everywhere". It is heartbreaking because Woodward suggests that really what Morant means is he has in actually no where to go as he has no purpose outside the army, and nothing left to go to.

This is a great performance by Edward Woodward due to the complexities that he brings to the part. There is never moment where he just makes Breaker Morant a typical man in any way. He makes him a charming poet with qualities like loyalty and bravery in him, but in the same man there lies hatred and the ability to do some very terrible things. There is never a disconnection and credit must be given to Woodward is that he never demands empathy or sympathy with his performance he lets Morant be Morant. Woodward puts him as a man and lets you judge him any way you wish. Woodward gives a fully realizes portrayal of Morant as  human being witt many good qualities but as well many flaws.

Jack Thompson did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite winning Cannes and an AFI award, for portraying Major J.F. Thomas in Breaker Morant.

Apparently the often repeated fact that Samuel L. Jackson won the only award ever for Best Supporting Actor in Cannes is no truer than that Columbus was trying to prove the world was round. Jack Thompson also won the limited Best Supporting Actor award at Cannes for his performance here although I would not put him in the supporting category. His role is technically much more limited and less complex than Edward Woodward's performance but he has the showiest role in the film receiving the most focus in the courtroom scenes as well has several scenes outside of the courtroom from his perspective.

The courtroom, as shown by films like Judgment at Nuremberg, The Verdict and Anatomy of a Murder, can often be a great showcase for acting. This is most certainly true in this film and most of this is brought by Thompson as the Australian Major who defends the three men and tries his best to help them even though the court very much wants to bring their conviction quickly to use them as scapegoats for all the atrocities committed during the war. Thomas though although is the man that the men choose he is not experienced in the military trial as well as not even as this sort of defense.

In the early trial scenes Thompson is rather good in showing Thomas work up to be able to defend them properly which Thompson does very well with his  hesitations and nervousness expressed along with an attempt at being properly in charge of the situation. Once Thomas feels confidant though he comes out as the sense of righteous indignation of the film. Thompson has the right style of cross examination showing exactly how Thomas will try to get to his point during the trial which is that the men were following the orders that brought the atrocities rather than the men just going off on their own.

Thompson brings out the point that Thomas is trying to make marvelously through his performance because there actually is not the type of sympathy one might expect from the good defense attorney. Thompson creates a unique balance in that he portrays a certain understanding for the man, but as well a frustration that is very much away from the men and rather a frustration with the authority above them. This distaste in Thompson is effectively portrayed by by Thompson because he really brings it with a force but never making it seem heavy handed either.

The indignation is present throughout but Thompson smartly keeps it underneath his words building to the point in which he comes out with it fully in his dramatic summation speech that tears into the established military for not viewing the atrocities as their own. The speech is a classic courtroom speech and Thompson delivers it with all of the conviction and passion that it deserves. He is unyielding in his resolve and Thompson brings the message that Thomas has been trying to get across the whole trail in remarkable fashion which is one of the best moments in this great film.

We don't learn a lot about Thomas in the film other than he is willing to fight for the men, and hates what is going on around him. Thompson even with his more limited role makes the most out of it through every one of scenes especially in the courtroom. He has that punch that all great performances of this kind due and he really tears into every scene leaving an impression. He is not only great in the courtroom but as well still creates complexities in his character particularly in the moral view held by Thomas as well as his interactions with the men. Thompson never leaves anything just black white in his performance, while still creating the moral high ground within the film.

Alternate Best Actor 1980

And the Nominees Were Not:

Anthony Hopkins in The Elephant Man

Edward Woodward in Breaker Morant

Donald Sutherland in Ordinary People

Tatsuya Nakadai in Kagemusha

Jack Thompson in Breaker Morant