PICTURE: UNFORGIVEN (US, Clint Eastwood)(2nd: Howards End (UK, James Ivory)
followed by: The Long Day Closes (UK, Terence Davies)
Glengarry Glen Ross (US, James Foley)
Reservoir Dogs (US, Quentin Tarantino)
The Crying Game (UK, Neil Jordan)
Hard Boiled (Hong Kong, John Woo)
A Midnight Clear (US, Keith Gordon)
Brothers Keeper (US, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky)
Bad Lieutenant (US, Abel Ferrara)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (US, David Lynch)
My Cousin Vinny (US, Jonathan Lynn)
Passion Fish (US, John Sayles)
Baraka (US, Ron Fricke)
Malcolm X (US, Spike Lee)
The Player (US, Robert Altman)
Life and Nothing More (Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)
Lessons of Darkness (France/Germany, Werner Herzog)
Visions of Light (US, Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy and Stuart Samuels)
Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (US, Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick)
Romper Stomper (Australia, Geoffrey Wright)
Map of the Human Heart (US, Vincent Ward)
Deep Cover (US, Bill Duke)
Under Siege (US, Andrew Davis)
Raising Cain (US, Brian De Palma)
Husbands and Wives (US, Woody Allen)
One False Move (US, Carl Franklin)
Lorenzo's Oil (US, George Miller)
Bitter Moon (France/UK/US. Roman Polanski)
Innocent Blood (US, John Landis)
American Heart (US, Martin Bell)
El Mariachi (US/Mexico, Robert Rodriguez)
Army of Darkness (US, Sam Raimi)
Gas, Food, Lodging (US, Allison Anders)
Of Mice and Men (US, Gary Sinise)
Death Becomes Her (US, Robert Zemeckis)
The Last of the Mohicans (US, Michael Mann)
In The Soup (US, Alexandre Rockwell)
A River Runs Through It (US, Robert Redford)
Noises Off! (US, Peter Bogdanovich)
Aladdin (US, John Musker and Ron Clements)
The Story of Qiu Ju (China, Zhang Yimou)
Indochine (France, Regis Wargnier)
Orlando (UK, Sally Potter)
The Waterdance (US, Neal Jimenez and Michael Steinberg)
Aileen Wuernos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (UK, Nick Broomfield)
Bebe's Kids (US, Bruce Smith)
Strictly Ballroom (Australia, Baz Luhrmann)
The Lover (France/UK, Jean-Jacques Annaud)
Damage (UK/France, Louis Malle)
The Tune (US, Bill Plympton)
Olivier, Olivier (France, Agnieszka Holland)
Leap of Faith (US, Richard Pearce)
Savage Nights (France/Italy, Cyril Collard)
Singles (US, Cameron Crowe)
Porco Rosso (Japan, Hayao Miyazaki)
Man Bites Dog (Belgium, Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel)
Dead Alive (New Zealand, Peter Jackson)
A Few Good Men (US, Rob Reiner)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (US, Francis Ford Coppola)
Hero (US, Stephen Frears)
Sister Act (US, Emile Ardalino)
Scent of a Woman (US, Martin Brest)
Basic Instinct (US, Paul Verhoeven)
A League of Their Own (US, Penny Marshall)
Alien 3 (US, David Fincher)
Batman Returns (US, Tim Burton)
Chaplin (UK, Richard Attenborough)
Hoffa (US, Danny De Vito))
ACTOR: Denzel Washington, MALCOLM X (2nd: Harvey Keitel, Bad Lieutenant, followed by: Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven; Stephen Rea, The Crying Game; Jack Lemmon, Glengarry Glen Ross; Russell Crowe, Romper Stomper; Harvey Keitel, Reservoir Dogs; John Lithgow, Raising Cain)
ACTRESS: Emma Thompson, HOWARDS END (2nd: Sheryl Lee, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, followed by: Michelle Pfeiffer, Batman Returns; Mary McDonnell, Passion Fish; Catherine Deneuve, Indochine; Gong Li, The Story of Qui Ju; Susan Sarandon, Lorenzo's Oil; Romane Bohringer, Savage Nights)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Gene Hackman, UNFORGIVEN (2nd: Tim Roth, Reservoir Dogs, followed by: Alec Baldwin, Glengarry Glen Ross; Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game; Al Pacino, Glengarry Glen Ross; Steve Buscemi, Reservoir Dogs; Jack Nicholson, A Few Good Men; Fred Gwynne, My Cousin Vinny)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Marisa Tomei, MY COUSIN VINNY (2nd: Vanessa Redgrave, Howards End, followed by: Judy Davis, Husbands and Wives; Helena Bonham Carter, Howards End; Alfre Woodard, Passion Fish; Miranda Richardson, Damage; Miranda Richardson, The Crying Game; Juliette Lewis, Husbands and Wives)
DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood, UNFORGIVEN (2nd: James Ivory, Howards End, followed by: Terrence Davies, The Long Day Closes; Neil Jordan, The Crying Game; Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs; James Foley, Glengarry Glen Ross; John Woo, Hard Boiled; Keith Gordon, A Midnight Clear)
NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM: HARD BOILED (Hong Kong, John Woo) (2nd: Life and Nothing More (Iran, Abbas Kiarostami), followed by: El Mariachi (US/Mexico, Robert Rodriguez); The Story of Qiu Ju (China, Zhang Yimou); Indochine (France, Regis Wargnier); Olivier, Olivier (France, Agnieszka Holland); Savage Nights (France/Italy, Cyril Collard); Porco Rosso (Japan, Hayao Miyazaki); Man Bites Dog (Belgium, Rémy Belvaux and André Bonzel))
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: BROTHERS KEEPER (US, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky) (2nd: Baraka (US, Ron Fricke), followed by: Lessons of Darkness (France/Germany, Werner Herzog); Visions of Light (US, Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy and Stuart Samuels); Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (US, Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick); Aileen Wuernos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (UK, Nick Broomfield))
ANIMATED FEATURE: ALADDIN (US, John Musker and Ron Clements) (2nd: The Tune (US, Bill Plympton), followed by: Porco Rosso (Japan, Hayao Miyazaki); Bebe's Kids (US, Bruce Smith))
ANIMATED SHORT: MONA LISA DESCENDING A STAIRCASE (US, Joan C. Gratz) (2nd: La Course a l'Abime (Switzerland, George Schwizgebel); The Dream of a Ridiculous Man (Russia, Alexandr Petrov); Still Nacht III: Tales from the Vienna Woods (UK, Stephen Quay and Timothy Quay))
LIVE ACTION SHORT: A SENSE OF HISTORY (UK, Mike Leigh) (2nd: Rispondetemi (Canada, Lea Pool), followed by: Smells Like Teen Spirit (US, Samuel Bayer); Swan Song (UK, Kenneth Branaugh); Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint (US, Michael Moore);
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: David Webb Peoples, UNFORGIVEN (2nd: Neil Jordan, The Crying Game, followed by: Terrence Davies, The Long Day Closes; Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs; John Sayles, Passion Fish)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, HOWARDS END (2nd: David
Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross, followed by: Michael Tolkin, The Player;
Keith Gordon, A Midnight Clear; Horton Foote, Of Mice and Men)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Phillippe Rousselot, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (2nd: Tony Pierce-Roberts, Howards End, followed by: Jack Green, Unforgiven; Robert Fraisse, The Lover; Michael Coulter, The Long Day Closes)
ART DIRECTION: HOWARDS END, Unforgiven, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Orlando, Toys
ORIGINAL SCORE: Richard Robbins, HOWARDS END (2nd: Lennie Niehaus and Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven, followed by: Wojciech Kilar, Bram Stoker's Dracula; Mark Isham, A River Runs Through It; John Barry, Chaplin)
ADAPTED OR SONG SCORE: Alan Menken, Aladdin (won as Original Score) (2nd: Robert Kraft, The Mambo Kings)
ORIGINAL SONG: "She Would Die for Love" from TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (Music by Angelo Badalamenti, lyrics by David Lynch); (2nd: "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin (Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman), followed by: "A Whole New World" from Aladdin (Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Tim Rice); "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" from The Mambo Kings (Music by Robert Kraft, lyrics by Artie Glimcher))
SPECIAL EFFECTS: DEATH BECOMES HER, Army of Darkness, Alien 3
Just today, one of my favorite film bloggers, Sasha Stone of Awards Daily, posted a deeply loving defense of LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER (which is the last time I'll be referring to it as such, because of the ridiculously pointless recent controversy over its original title, sans the director's name). Though I have read only a couple of relatively kind reviews, I have already gathered it's a movie that critics aren't going to get overly enthused about (however, there are raves for Oprah Winfrey's supporting performance, and for Forrest Whitaker's lead--and when has he not satisfied in anything?). And, though I have not seen it yet, I can understand this. For me, it just doesn't look that GREAT, although I am perfectly willing to admit it might be entertaining, and informative to some (most especially young viewers), and this is enough, is it not? Sasha's certainly right on point in her comments here. In the world of Oscar blogging, though--the world that Sasha Stone inhabits--we're at least ideally looking for the great, though we know, at least half of the time, the Oscars aren't anywhere near recognizing the greatest films of the year (that said, even many Oscar blogs don't come close to recognizing those films that deserve to be hailed). Yet, also, sometimes in their shunning of a certain movie, The Oscars get it correct (and, again, they more often get it wrong). I'm dunno what's gonna happen with THE BUTLER--as with all movies, I'm still hoping that it's terrific--but I do have some thoughts about the possibilities.
One thing that did kind of rub me the wrong way about Sasha Stone's piece (and perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but I think it's pretty obvious) was the notion that anyone who doesn't like THE BUTLER just doesn't like black film, or at least doesn't understand it, or its worth. And that those who do not are unjust film critics that should really start trying to make their own films rather than writing about other people's films. While I recognize that there are maybe MANY film critics out there who aren't as educated as some, this idea kind of erases the entire art form of film criticism, and it doesn't even take into account that, while book critics can easily write books, and music critics can easily play music, and food critics can easily cook, it's not as equally easy (even in this more democratic film age) to sit down and just make your own film. Film is radically different from other art forms in the sense that a film can rarely be made by one sole person; it requires collaboration, and by definition, collaboration goes against the idea of "one person, one vision." It's really this aspect of the article that got my ire up.
Anyway, I would advise you to read the article. And then I would council you to take a look at the trailer, then read my words, and come to your own conclusions, most preferably after seeing the film itself:
Here is my response, posted originally online at AWARDS DAILY:
Some thoughts:
1) It’s true there are a lot of bad critics, or bloggers, or whatever you wanna call ‘em, out there. On FILMICABILITY, I really try, in my writing, to discuss mainly the films I love, because I prefer talking positively about films over tearing down things that are just not my cup of tea–and that’s really how I feel about most movies I don’t like, or even despise: that there might be something there for someone, but perhaps not for me. However, on the podcast I do, when I do discuss something a film I don’t like, or one that I like but has problems, I do tend to be quite blunt. And I do try and suggest ways the film could have been improved (if I care, that is). Nothing wrong with that; it’s a form of expressing exactly what’s wrong with a picture. You’re correct, Sasha, in saying that some film commentators need to get up off their butts and direct or participate in the making of movies; doing so DOES sharpen one’s critical senses. I know this from having made my own films, TV shows, having programmed a film festival, and having worked on other people’s films (mainly as an actor and editor). But I don’t think filmmaking experience is absolutely necessary for the critical line of work–some commentators have just decided to be writers about film, and this is okay; this is no reason we should denigrate their opinions. The real question is, are their opinions (1) intelligently and fairly arrived at, (2) interestingly expressed, and (3) informed in all aspects. This is where a few (like you, Sasha) shine, and where many fall.
2) I’ve had discussions with a fellow critic at the NYFF, where we talked about the surly manner most film critics display. We characterized it as them sitting in their theater seat, before the movie, with their arms crossed, and sternly saying “Okay, impress me, genius!” They watch movies with a chip on their shoulder. Where my friend and I, we said that we go into every movie expecting something great, and only when and if things begin to turn for the worst do our judgment centers kick in. I think these other critics are just ready to be mean, because that’s what the internet has become–a mean place. I guess it’s more fun for some to write a negative review, and to make fun of something. I don’t get it. For me, it’s like going to a wake. And NOT an Irish one…
4) I like PRECIOUS (mainly for its performances, though I wouldn't have given it all the Oscar nominations it eventually got, simply because it didn't deserve them, though Mo'nique and Gabourey Sidibe were terrific in it). Still, a very good film. THE PAPERBOY is sweaty, trashy pulp, and that’s all it set out to be, and that makes it a success of sorts, even though it’s not really my thing. THE HELP was an underrated movie, for sure, even with all the attention it got–that was a film with integrity, and I liked how it framed the struggle for equal rights. I thought it worked, and was moving and inventive (though I don't wanna go overboard here--I recognize its faults). As for MALCOLM X, that’s a movie I admire and want to like a little more than I actually do. The first hour, with its out-of-place touches of comedy and musical theater, is where its major problems lie; the last two hours are extremely well done, though, and I agree I’d rather see it on the Best Pic nominees instead of either SCENT OF A WOMAN (execrable) or A FEW GOOD MEN (kind of a bore). However, I would posit that UNFORGIVEN indeed was the best movie of that year, and I bristle at any sort of implication that says that if you aren’t over-the-moon about MALCOLM X (or THE BUTLER, for that matter), then there’s something perhaps morally wrong with, or at least partially blinding, you. In 1992, there were many movies that were better than or on the same par with MALCOLM X: Unforgiven, Howards End, The Long Day Closes, The Crying Game (actually released in 92), Glengarry Glen Ross, Brother’s Keeper, Reservoir Dogs, One False Move (my favorite black-directed film of the year, by Carl Franklin), Baraka, Hard Boiled, A Midnight Clear, Bad Lieutenant, The Player, My Cousin Vinny, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Passion Fish, The Story of Qui Ju, Deep Cover, Brother’s Keeper, Lessons of Darkness. MALCOLM X is certainly of more hubris than some of those movies…but better? I dunno…it’s debatable. Often it falls into that same lumbering trap that so many other biopics fall into–it’s just too bloated and reductive, with a cornpone edge to it that, luckily, in this case, starts to fall away as the movie progresses (its last half IS undeniably powerful). I respect Spike Lee's film more than love it (though I do love Denzel Washington's lead, and also Al Freeman Jr. as Elijah Muhammad, and I very much do recognize the film's historical import). At any rate, I have a feeling that this is how I’m gonna feel about THE BUTLER, but I’m keeping my mind open. (By the way, one of the mistakes that biopics–including MALCOLM X or, say, RAY–make is that, when they do a birth-to-death story, they get overloaded with information and you sort of lose the essence of the subject; biopics always do better when they examine only a short section of a person’s life.)
5) In my case, I truly adore black film, but I tend not to like it when I feel it’s being watered down for some marketing or budgetary or horribly race-based reason. I really prefer the classics: Killer of Sheep, Eve’s Bayou, Roots, Nothing But A Man, Shadows, Do The Right Thing, Mandabi, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Cooley High, Menace II Society, Sidewalk Stories, Hoop Dreams, Bird, Round Midnight, She's Gotta Have It, The Watermelon Man, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Pinky, Imitation of Life, One False Move, The Green Pastures, The Jackie Robinson Story, To Sleep With Anger, Daughters of the Dust, Coffy, Richard Pryor Live in Concert, Sankofa, City of God, Car Wash, A Raisin in the Sun, Lady Sings The Blues, Dead Presidents, The Learning Tree, Greased Lightning, Carmen Jones, Blue Collar, Shaft, Xala, The Glass Shield, Hustle and Flow, the Barber Shop series, Foxy Brown, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, Far from Heaven, Deep Cover, Devil in a Blue Dress, Glory, Sounder, Claudine, How High, Malcolm X (the documentary), King: From Memphis to Montgomery, Moolaade, Fresh, Wattstax, Boyz N The Hood…that sort of thing. I think every one of those films (and, yes, a few were directed by non-blacks) is at or near masterwork level. And we’re not even getting into those drive-in movies from the 70s…those films some like to term "blaxploitation," but which I look at as being just another arm of black film. At any rate, if I were advising someone young and curious about the black experience, all around the world, I would recommend that they watch these movies–even one or two of them–over recommending something that I felt was substandard or really, not a great movie, but the best that we have available that’s new.
Anyway, Sasha, I liked your article and am glad you’re positive on THE BUTLER. I hope to be so, too, but if it doesn’t happen, it just doesn’t happen. I just felt compelled to comment on some observations you ably expressed.
My eventual review of LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER can be seen here.