Alternate Best Actor 1981: Results

5. William Hurt in Body Heat- Hurt is good when he allowed to be, but much of the time it seems the filmmakers were more interested in his physical form than his acting ability.

Best Scene: Ned Racine looks over Matty's yearbook.

4. Klaus Maria Brandauer- Brandauer gives a very daring performance in his portrayal of the growing compromises of an artist that oddly brings out a greater humanity.

Best Scene: Hendrik Hoefgan tries to plead for one of his fellow artists.

3. Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark- Ford gives a great performance creating his most iconic role with his funny, thrilling and all together entertaining portrayal of Indiana Jones.

Best Scene: The opening quest.

2. Jürgen Prochnow in Das Boot- Prochnow's performance is a spectacular based on being a gritty face of reality aboard submarine on the wrong side of a war. 

Best Scene: The Captain watches the helpless men drown.

1. Mel Gibson in Gallipoli- Good Predictions Koook160, Psifonian, and RatedRStar. All I can say is my top four is an extraordinary group, but I'm going with the performance that I got the strongest emotional reaction from, which is really saying something considering I reacted pretty strongly to all of them. Gibson's performance though is an amazing piece acting, the early part of his performance being Gibson at his charismatic best in his depiction of the cynical Frank, and the end being such a heartbreaking portrayal of such a man having to face the harsh realities of World War I trench warfare.  

Best Scene: Frank and Archy both fail to complete their final run.

Overall Rank:

1. Bob Hoskins in The Long Good Friday
2. John Heard in Cutter's Way
3. Mel Gibson in Gallipoli
4. Jürgen Prochnow in Das Boot
5. James Caan in Thief
6. Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark 
7. Klaus Maria Brandauer in Mephisto
8. Dudley Moore in Arthur
9. Ian Charleson in Chariots of Fire
10. Ben Cross in Chariots of Fire
11. John Travolta in Blow Out
12. Michel Serrault in Garde à Vue
13. Robert Duvall in True Confessions
14. Alberto Sordi in Il Marchese del Grillo
15. Keith Carradine in Southern Comfort
16. Mark Lee in Gallipoli
17. Armin Mueller-Stahl in Lola
18. Powers Boothe in Southern Comfort
19. Henry Fonda in On Golden Pond
20. Herbert Grönemeyer in Das Boot
21. Lino Ventura in Garde à Vue
22. Jeremy Irons in The French-Lieutenant's Woman
23. Sam Neill in Possession
24. Ugo Tognazzi in Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man
    
25. Mario Adorf in Lola
26. Philippe Noiret in Coup de Torchon
27. Andre Gregory in My Dinner With Andre
28. Mel Gibson in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
29. Steve Martin in Pennies From Heaven
30. Richard Dreyfuss in Whose Life Is It Anways?
31. Kurt Russell in Escape from New York
32. Timothy Hutton in Taps 
33. William Hurt in Body Heat
34. Donald Sutherland in Eye of the Needle
35. David Naughton in An American Werewolf in London
36. John Gordon Sinclair in Gregory's Girl
37. Sean Connery in Outland  
38. Jeff Bridges in Cutter's Way
39. Fernando Ramos da Silva in Pixote
40. Craig Warnock in Time Bandits
41. Treat Williams in Prince of the City  
42. Marian Opania in Man of Iron
43. Jerzy Radziwiłowicz in Man of Iron
44. Carlos Alberto Riccelli in They Don't Wear Black Tie
    
45. Nigel Terry in Excalibur
46. John Belushi in Continental Divide
47. Mickey Rooney in The Fox and the Hound
48. Wallace Shawn in My Dinner With Andre
    
49. Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead
50. Mel Brooks in History of the World Part I
51. Kurt Russell in The Fox and the Hound
52. Harold Ramis in Stripes
53. Bill Murray in Stripes
54. Frédéric Andréi in Diva
55. William Hurt in Eyewitness
56. Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice
57. Peter MacNicol in Dragonslayer
58. Makiko Shibata in Muddy River
59. Diogo Dória in Francisca
60. Paul Newman in Absence of Malice 
61. Robert De Niro in True Confessions
62. Harry Hamlin in Clash of the Titans 
63. Warren Beatty in Reds 
64. Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only
65. Sylvester Stallone in Nighthawks
66. Sylvester Stallone in Victory
67. Stacy Keach in Butterfly
68. Richard Benjamin in Saturday the 14th 
69. Andy Kaufman in Heartbeeps
70. Stephen Lack in Scanners 

Next Year: 1981 Supporting 

Alternate Best Actor 1981: Jürgen Prochnow in Das Boot

Jürgen Prochnow did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the Captain in Das Boot. 

Das Boot is a great film that depicts that life of the crew of a German U-boat during World War II. 

This film seems quite strange in conception in that it actually takes the perspective of German soldiers fighting the war against the allies, and even more than that it shows them in a sympathetic light. The film is able to do this by firstly very sharply making it clear that there is a separation between the standard soldiers, and Nazi superiors. What really makes it work above that though is found in the character of the Captain played by Jürgen Prochnow. The Captain is the oldest most experienced man on the submarine even though he technically isn't even that old himself, and  unlike some of the men he has been around long enough to know that there is nothing grand about the Nazi cause. 

Prochnow is terrific in setting up the Captain in the early scenes of the film which establish the nature of the Captain. Although the film really does not delve into the past of the Captain it does not need to. Prochnow presents the past of the Captain right in his face as he is a war weary man. Prochnow is careful though to still show the Captain who is fully in control of his facilities, which is the case for one of his other fellow veterans. Prochnow performance has the right striking cynicism with the Captain and this is very important in frankly allowing us to go along with Captain and his crew as we the audience think the whole Nazi movement is a crock of (four letter expletive), and Prochnow shows that the Captain feels pretty much the same way. 

The Captain is an interesting character in the film as for a leader of men he is a fairly quiet man. This actually makes sense though due to the nature of the particular form of combat they are participating in which seems most of the time is finding ways to pass the time getting to the war than fighting in the war itself. Prochnow's handles his role brilliantly in finding the very distinct role he has on the ship. In the scenes of boredom Prochnow makes the Captain a properly reserved man. He never makes his own frustrations known, rather he keeps as a calm figure in the crew. Prochnow finds the right underlying strength in his performance, and it is easy to see him as a man the men will look up to and respect. 

Prochnow's performance is actually largely a reactionary one, as the film does leave much of the Captain's character unsaid. Prochnow has a challenge to bring everything between the lines so to speak, and Prochnow does this pretty much flawlessly with his performance. There is such strength to Prochnow's work in the way he always let's us in on the Captain's mindset all while not being overly emotional which would be inappropriate for such a man. Prochnow is able to show why exactly the Captain is even bothering to try to fight the way. The Captain does not believe in the cause, and Prochnow's shows no blood lust in the Captain for this. What drives the Captain is survival for his men, which Prochnow always brings this in his devoted performance. 

Without a doubt the greatest scenes of Prochnow performance are the intense scenes where the submarine fights in the battle and must deal with the damage the U-boat suffers from the sea battles. Prochnow is amazing in every one of these scenes as he internalizes the internal pressure so powerfully in every one of the scenes. Where the other men are often scared, the Captain cannot and Prochnow is exceptional the way he expresses the Captain firm grasp of his command while bringing to life the very human fears that the Captain must bottle up for the sake of the ship and his crew. The weight of every scene is built up to extraordinary levels in the film and Prochnow deserves a great deal of his credit for his uncompromising depiction of the horror of the situation. 

Prochnow's performance is extremely fascinating because he is so withdrawn at times yet always magnetic in his presence. Prochnow does so much with mostly just his facial expressions with his performance to show the silent conflicts of the Captain. One of his best moments in the film is when the Captain watches a decimated allied destroyer that still has live crewmen who have not been rescued and attempt to swim to the U-Boat. The Captain has no choice but to move away from the men. Prochnow is outstanding in the scene because again the Captain stays calm as the Captain should, but behind that Prochnow shows that the Captain is truly torn apart inside as he is forced to watch men slowly dying in the ocean. 

 Prochnow is able to make journey of the Captain much like the journey of the ship itself. Through all the trials of it the ship it seems as though it just is able to just pull through by the end, Prochnow reflects this in the Captain in a natural fashion. Every trail Prochnow portrays as getting under the Captain's skin deeply, but through it all there is always a strong resilience even within the decay. The connection between the two never seems even the slightly melodramatic or forced in anyway because Prochnow is able to deliver the dynamic with such a honest passion and the utmost conviction to make the ending of the film something very special. Prochnow's work throughout the film is a thoughtful and moving portrait of a commander trying to bring his men through a war he does not believe in.

Alternate Best Actor 1981

And the Nominees Were Not:

Jürgen Prochnow in Das Boot

Klaus Maria Brandauer in Mephisto

Mel Gibson in Gallipoli

William Hurt in Body Heat

Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark