Best Actor 1972: Results

5. Paul Winfield in Sounder- Winfield is okay with his short performance but he does not go anywhere beyond what his role requires.  

4. Peter O'Toole in The Ruling Class- O'Toole's first half is a bit too over the top and repetitive, but he is enjoyable to watch. The second half of his performance is brilliant, giving a very dark and incredibly convincing performance of a man who has gone truly insane.

3. Marlon Brando in The Godfather- Brando is brilliant and gives an iconic performance. A great performance and does everything with the time he is given. He is incredibly memorable in an incredibly memorable movie.

 2. Michael Caine in Sleuth- Caine is brilliant in every scene in Sleuth. He plays a dual role of sorts which he handles very well. A interesting performance with a large range which Caine handles as well as possible.

1. Laurence Olivier in Sleuth- Both Olivier and Caine are brilliant in Sleuth and work incredibly well together. Olivier also has a wide range in this role and handles all of it just as well. I pick Olivier though because all the risky accents and mannerisms all pay off, and I find his performance is just one of the most entertaining performances I have ever seen.

Deserving Performances:Al Pacino in The Godfather
Robert Redford in The Candidate

Best Actor 1972: Paul Winfield in Sounder

Paul Winfield received his only Oscar Nomination for playing Nathan Lee Morgan the patriarch of the struggling black family in Sounder.

Sounder tells the story of the family but mostly of the son played by Ken Hooks who should have been nominated instead of Winfield. Winfield has his first scene where he is hunting with his son where he does a fine job showing the man's frustrations and his love for his family. Then he goes to Jail. He has one scene where his son visits him which he again his fine but not anything overly special. After a long while he returns home and has one more scene with his son. This scene he is good but again not anything amazing. Winfield must be one of the shortest nominees and he does a fine job with what he has but not a great job. This performance there is not that much to write about because of its shortness. I was a little surprised how little he was in the film and maybe if he had more time he would have gotten higher than

Best Actor 1972

And The Nominees were:
Michael Caine in Sleuth

Laurence Olivier in Sleuth

Peter O'Toole in The Ruling Class

Marlon Brando in The Godfather

Paul Winfield in Sounder