1982--The Year in Review

1982, in my arguable opinion, was the final year of the last Golden Age of cinema, stretching fifteen years from its origin in 1967. This period might reach a bit into 1983, however the Reagan-era clamor for blockbusters and a distinctively 80s-tinged indie movement would both really take hold in that year, so for all intents and purposes, the frank and harshly-flavored 1970s are largely dead hereafter. 1982 was also a big year for me, personally, because as a 15-year-old kid, I'd finally decided to devote my life to exploring cinema's past, present and future. It was the first year I nacsently predicted the top nominees for the Oscars: Gandhi (which dominated the awards this year; I like it, but it's a bit too repetitive), E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Tootsie, The Verdict and Missing (the last two were the iffiest inclusions). But so many OTHER movies moved me on top of these superb titles. And, ultimately, even though it took me a year to see it, it was Ingmar Bergman’s Dickensian, semi-autobiographical opus Fanny and Alexander that wholly stole my heart (the film would finally hit US shores in a 3-hour theatrical version, truncated from its original 6-hour Swedish TV running time; Bergman would say that cutting it down was horribly damaging to the work, but I adore both versions; in fact, the Academy would hand the theatrical cut four awards in 1983--a record sum for a non-English language picture). It's a thrill to finally award Paul Newman the Best Actor prize for what I think is his best performance: shaky, alcoholic Boston lawyer Frank Galvin, facing one final make-or-break case. Of course, this was the year that Meryl Streep was anointed (rightfully, for a while at least) as America's premier screen actress with her devastating lead in Alan J. Pakula's nearly-perfect adaptation of William Styron's Sophie's Choice. The horror/sci-fi/fantasy genres make further leaps towards commanding the culture with Blade Runner (which I'm sad to say, comes out on top here not once, and I sincerely am bummed about this), E.T. The Extraterrestrial, The Thing, Poltergeist, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Secret of NIHM, The Entity, Q, Cat People, Tron, Timerider, Basket Case, The Dark Crystal, Liquid Sky, and Creepshow. To boot, the year's output included lots of great comedy, indie work, off-kilter Hollywood product, UK/Canada/Australia stuff, foreign-language treasures, and one incredible, low-key masterwork by writer/director Joan Micklin Silver–Chilly Scenes of Winter–that still too few discerning filmgoers today have seen. Were I to meet with them in some dreamworld, this would be the first film I'd insist the folks at the Criterion Collection take a closer look at. Finally, and interestingly, my two winners of the Short Film awards are directed by filmmakers who'd make bigger splashes later in the 1980s. NOTE: These are MY choices for each category, and are only occasionally reflective of the selections made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (aka The Oscars). When available, the nominee that actually won the Oscar will be highlighted in bold.

PICTURE: FANNY AND ALEXANDER (Sweden, Ingmar Bergman)
(2nd: Blade Runner (US, Ridley Scott)
followed by: Chilly Scenes of Winter (US, Joan Micklin Silver)
Sophie’s Choice (US, Alan J. Pakula)
E.T. The Extraterrestrial (US, Steven Spielberg)
Missing (US, Costa-Gavras)
The Verdict (US, Sidney Lumet)
Tootsie (US, Sydney Pollack)
Shoot the Moon (US, Alan Parker)
Diner (US, Barry Levinson)
Burden of Dreams (US, Les Blank)
The Night of the Shooting Stars (Italy, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani)
Koyaanisqatsi (US, Godfrey Reggio)
The Thing (US, John Carpenter)
Gandhi (UK, Richard Attenborough)
The Executioner’s Song (US, Lawrence Schiller)
The Grey Fox (Canada, Philip Borsos)
Deathtrap (US, Sidney Lumet)
Lonely Hearts (Australia, Paul Cox)
The Year of Living Dangerously (Australia/US, Peter Weir)
The World According to Garp (US, George Roy Hill)
Best Friends (US, Norman Jewison)
Victor/Victoria (US, Blake Edwards)
Frances (US, Graeme Clifford)
48 HRS. (US, Walter Hill)
The Escape Artist (US, Caleb Deschanel)
Night Shift (US, Ron Howard)
La Nuit de Varennes (France/Italy, Ettore Scola)
Personal Best (US, Robert Towne)
Poltergeist (US, Tobe Hooper)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (US, Nicholas Mayer)
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (US, Robert Altman)
The Border (US, Tony Richardson)
Brimstone and Treacle (UK, Richard Loncraine)
Alsino and the Condor (Nicaragua, Miguel Littin)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (US, Carl Reiner)
The Draughtsman’s Contract (UK, Peter Greenaway)
The Secret of NIHM (US, Don Bluth)
My Favorite Year (US, Richard Benjamin)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (US, Amy Heckerling)
An Officer and a Gentleman (US, Taylor Hackford)
Eating Raoul (US, Paul Bartel)
Say Amen, Somebody (US, George T. Nierenberg)
Fitzcarraldo (West Germany, Werner Herzog)
Veronika Voss (West Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Just Another Missing Kid (Canada, John Zaritsky)
La Truite (France, Joseph Losey)
Moonlighting (UK, Jerzy Skolimowski)
The Atomic Cafe (US, Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty and Pierce Rafferty)
The State of Things (West Germany, Wim Wenders)
The Man From Snowy River (Australia, George Miller)
The Return of Martin Guerre (France, Daniel Vigne)
Baby, It's You (US, John Sayles)
The Entity (US, Sidney J. Furie)
Q (US, Larry Cohen)
Barbarosa (US, Fred Schepisi)
First Blood (US, Ted Kotcheff)
One From The Heart (US, Francis Ford Coppola)
White Dog (US, Samuel Fuller)
Evil Under the Sun (UK, Guy Hamilton)
Cat People (US, Paul Schrader)
Tron (US, Steve Lisberger)
Timerider (US, William Dear)
La Traviata (Italy, Franco Zeffirelli)
Yol (Turkey/Switzerland, Serif Gören, Yilmaz Güney)
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (US, Woody Allen)
Basket Case (US, Frank Henenlotter)
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (US, Lou Adler)
The Dark Crystal (US, Jim Henson and Frank Oz)
Pink Floyd The Wall (UK, Alan Parker)
Liquid Sky (US, Slava Tsukerman)
Creepshow (US, George A. Romero)
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (UK, Terry Hughes and Ian McNaughton)
Tenebrae (Italy, Dario Argento)
Querelle (West Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Café Flesh (US, Stephen Sayadian))



ACTOR: Paul Newman, THE VERDICT (2nd: Ben Kingsley, Gandhi, folowed by: Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie; John Heard, Chilly Scenes of Winter; Jack Lemmon, Missing; Henry Thomas, E.T. The Extraterrestrial; Tommy Lee Jones, The Executioner’s Song; Richard Farnsworth, The Grey Fox; Peter O’Toole, My Favorite Year)



ACTRESS: Meryl Streep, SOPHIE'S CHOICE (2nd: Diane Keaton, Shoot the Moon, followed by: Mary Beth Hurt, Chilly Scenes of Winter; Barbara Hershey, The Entity; Jessica Lange, Frances; Sissy Spacek, Missing; Wendy Hughes, Lonely Hearts; Ewa Froling, Fanny and Alexander, Julie Andrews Victor/Victoria; Debra Winger, An Officer and a Gentleman)

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jan Malmsjo, FANNY AND ALEXANDER (2nd: Borje Ahlstedt, Fanny and Alexander, followed by: Michael Keaton, Night Shift; Rutger Hauer, Blade Runner; Jarl Kulle, Fanny and Alexander; Eddie Murphy, 48 HRS; Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria; Mickey Rourke, Diner; John Lithgow, The World According to Garp; Charles Durning, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Gunn Wallgren, FANNY AND ALEXANDER (2nd: Lindsey Crouse, The Verdict, followed by: Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously (won in 1983); Jessica Tandy, Best Friends; Glenn Close, The World According to Garp; Audra Lindley, Best Friends; Zelda Rubenstein, Poltergeist; Kim Stanley, Frances; Rosanna Arquette, The Executioner's Story; Teri Garr, Tootsie)



DIRECTOR: Ingmar Bergman, FANNY AND ALEXANDER (2nd: Ridley Scott, Blade Runner, followed by: Steven Spielberg, E.T. The Extraterrestrial; Sidney Lumet, The Verdict; Joan Micklin Silver, Chilly Scenes of Winter; Constatine Costa-Gavras, Missing; Sydney Pollack, Tootsie; John Carpenter, The Thing; Alan J. Pakula, Sophie’s Choice; Richard Attenborough, Gandhi)

NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM: FANNY AND ALEXANDER (Sweden, Ingmar Bergman, won in 1983) (2nd: The Night of the Shooting Stars (Italy, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani); La Nuit de Varennes (France/Italy, Ettore Scola); Alsino and the Condor (Nicaragua, Miguel Littin); Fitzcarraldo (West Germany, Werner Herzog); Veronika Voss (West Germany, Rainer Werner Fassbinder); La Truite (France, Joseph Losey); The State of Things (West Germany, Wim Wenders); The Return of Martin Guerre (France, Daniel Vigne); Parsifal (West Germany, Hans-Jürgen Syberberg); La Traviata (Italy, Franco Zeffirelli); Yol (Turkey/Switzerland, Serif Gören, Yilmaz Güney))



DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: BURDEN OF DREAMS (US, Les Blank) (2nd: Koyaanisqatsi (US, Godfrey Reggio), followed by Say Amen, Somebody (US, George T. Nierenberg); Just Another Missing Kid (Canada, John Zaritsky); The Atomic Café (US, Jayne Loder, Pierce Rafferty and Kevin Rafferty))



ANIMATED FEATURE: THE SECRET OF NIMH (US, Don Bluth)



ANIMATED SHORT: VINCENT (US, Tim Burton) (2nd: Zhil-byl-pyos (There Once Was a Dog) (USSR, E. Nazarov), followed by: The Snowman (UK, Dianne Jackson and Jimmy T. Murakami); Dimensions of Dialogue (Czechoslovakia, Jan Svankmajer); The Great Cognito (US, Will Vinton))



LIVE ACTION SHORT: THE DISCIPLINE OF D.E. (US, Gus Van Sant) (2nd: Ballet Robotique (US, Bob Rogers), followed by: A Shocking Accident (US, James Scott); The Haircut (US, Tamar Simon Hoffs); All Summer in a Day (US, Ed Kaplan); The Children’s Story (US, James Clavell))



ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Ingmar Bergman, FANNY AND ALEXANDER (2nd: Barry Levinson, Diner, followed by: Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal, and Don McGuire, Tootsie; Bo Goldman, Shoot the Moon; Melissa Mathison, E.T. The Extraterrestrial; John Briley, Gandhi; Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin, Best Friends)



ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Joan Micklin Silver, CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER (2nd: Alan J. Pakula, Sophie's Choice, followed by: Costa-Gavras and Donald Stewart, Missing; Norman Mailer, The Executioner’s Song; David Mamet, The Verdict; Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples, Blade Runner; Cameron Crowe, Fast Times at Ridgemont High)

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Sven Nykvist, FANNY AND ALEXANDER (won in 1983) (2nd: Jordan Cronenweth, Blade Runner, followed by: Nestor Alamendros, Sophie’s Choice; Andrezj Bartkowiak, The Verdict; Allen Daviau, E.T. The Extraterrestrial; Billy Williams, Gandhi)

ART DIRECTION: FANNY AND ALEXANDER (won in 1983), Blade Runner, Sophie’s Choice, Cannery Row, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, One From The Heart

COSTUME DESIGN: FANNY AND ALEXANDER (won in 1983), Sophie’s Choice, Evil Under the Sun, Gandhi, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, La Traviata



FILM EDITING: E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, Blade Runner, Chilly Scenes of Winter, The Thing, Gandhi, Sophie’s Choice



SOUND: TRON, Blade Runner, E.T. The Extraterrestrial, Gandhi, The Thing, Pink Floyd The Wall

SOUND EFFECTS: TRON, Blade Runner, The Thing 



ORIGINAL SCORE: John Williams, E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL (2nd: Philip Glass, Koyaanisqatsi,, followed by: John Barry, Frances; Vangelis, Blade Runner; Marvin Hamlisch, Sophie’s Choice; Ken Lauber, Chilly Scenes of Winter)

ADAPTATION SCORE/SCORING OF A MUSICAL: Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse, VICTOR/ VICTORIA (2nd: Tom Waits, One From the Heart, followed by: James Levine, La Traviata)



ORIGINAL SONG: “How Do You Keep The Music Playing?” from BEST FRIENDS (Music by Michel Legrand, lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman) (2nd: “Putting Out Fire” from Cat People (Music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by David Bowie), followed by: “Up Where We Belong” from An Officer and a Gentleman (Music by Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie, lyrics by Will Jennings); “Somebody’s Baby” from Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Music and lyrics by Jackson Browne); “Love Will Turn You Around” from Six Pack (Music and lyrics by Even Stevens, David Malloy, Kenny Rogers and Thom Schuyler); “It Might Be You” from Tootsie (Music by Dave Grusin, lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman); "I Burn for You" from Brimstone and Treacle (Music and lyrics by Sting); “That’s What Friends Are For” from Night Shift (Music by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager); “(The Boys are) Back in Town” from 48 HRS (Music and lyrics by Brian O’Neal))

SPECIAL EFFECTS: E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, Blade Runner, Tron, Poltergeist, Q

 
MAKEUP: THE THING, Gandhi, Blade Runner, Fanny and Alexander, Tootsie