About once every decade there is one Oscar year that is fairly indisputable. Like 1939 and Gone With The Wind or 1972 and The Godfather. 1993 was the year of Schindler's List. No matter what other good movies came out this year, it's hard to argue against Schindler's List. It's an epic masterpiece that still holds up and is one of the most moving motion pictures ever made. So Schindler's List wins, which is to be expected but even though some really cool movies like The Fugitive and In The Line Of Fire got nominated, it would have been nice if they had more fun with the nominees. Instead they nominated the same standard 90s fare like The Remains Of The Day (the standard Merchant/Ivory nominee) and The Piano (the expected Miramax nominee).
You can see my GABBY winners and nominees HERE
BEST PICTURE
5. The Piano - I really don't like this movie. It's artsy and pretentious. Holly Hunter plays a woman who doesn't talk, she has a daughter who talks a lot, she loves her piano, she gets married to a man she doesn't love, she has sex with Harvey Keitel a lot.
4. The Remains Of The Day - This is one of those Merchant/Ivory stuffy British dramas but this is probably the most watchable of them. I discovered why I hate costume dramas by watching a bunch of them for these blogs, they are mostly about rich white people and their problems. I couldn't care less about rich white people problems. This movie focuses on the help though so the story is a bit more identifiable. Anthony Hopkins plays a butler who is dedicated to the house he serves. He is so dedicated that he puts the needs of the house over his own desires. Just because I was able to get through this movie without passing out doesn't mean I'm going to vote for it under any means.
3. In The Name Of The Father - Daniel Day-Lewis plays a young Irish bloke who gets framed for a bombing he didn't commit. They beat a confession out of his buddy, put them both in jail and also arrest his father on phony conspiracy charges. They all spend some time in prison before a lawyer played by Emma Thompson reopens the case and gets them freed. It's a good film, Jim Sheridan movies are usually well made, but it's a bit anti-climactic. You spend most of the movie watching innocent men in jail and then they get out of jail and the movie is over.
2. The Fugitive - This is the start of that period in the 90s where they started turning every TV show into a movie. There was The Brady Bunch, The Little Rascals, Leave It To Beaver, My Favorite Martian, The Mod Squad and a slew of others. It comes to no surprise that this was the best one. Harrison Ford plays a doctor who goes to jail for the murder of his wife, a crime he didn't commit. On his way to prison, his bus crashes and he starts to run. Tommy Lee Jones plays a no-nonsense U.S. marshal on his trail. It's a cat and mouse thriller but what sets this apart is that they made both the cat and the mouse intriguing. Jones is as much an interesting character as Ford. It's also got amazing stunt work, great editing, good dialogue and is all together a well made thriller.
You can see my GABBY winners and nominees HERE
BEST PICTURE
5. The Piano - I really don't like this movie. It's artsy and pretentious. Holly Hunter plays a woman who doesn't talk, she has a daughter who talks a lot, she loves her piano, she gets married to a man she doesn't love, she has sex with Harvey Keitel a lot.
4. The Remains Of The Day - This is one of those Merchant/Ivory stuffy British dramas but this is probably the most watchable of them. I discovered why I hate costume dramas by watching a bunch of them for these blogs, they are mostly about rich white people and their problems. I couldn't care less about rich white people problems. This movie focuses on the help though so the story is a bit more identifiable. Anthony Hopkins plays a butler who is dedicated to the house he serves. He is so dedicated that he puts the needs of the house over his own desires. Just because I was able to get through this movie without passing out doesn't mean I'm going to vote for it under any means.
3. In The Name Of The Father - Daniel Day-Lewis plays a young Irish bloke who gets framed for a bombing he didn't commit. They beat a confession out of his buddy, put them both in jail and also arrest his father on phony conspiracy charges. They all spend some time in prison before a lawyer played by Emma Thompson reopens the case and gets them freed. It's a good film, Jim Sheridan movies are usually well made, but it's a bit anti-climactic. You spend most of the movie watching innocent men in jail and then they get out of jail and the movie is over.
2. The Fugitive - This is the start of that period in the 90s where they started turning every TV show into a movie. There was The Brady Bunch, The Little Rascals, Leave It To Beaver, My Favorite Martian, The Mod Squad and a slew of others. It comes to no surprise that this was the best one. Harrison Ford plays a doctor who goes to jail for the murder of his wife, a crime he didn't commit. On his way to prison, his bus crashes and he starts to run. Tommy Lee Jones plays a no-nonsense U.S. marshal on his trail. It's a cat and mouse thriller but what sets this apart is that they made both the cat and the mouse intriguing. Jones is as much an interesting character as Ford. It's also got amazing stunt work, great editing, good dialogue and is all together a well made thriller.
1. Schindler's List - It's over 3 hours but it doesn't feel like it at all. There is no filler here and it moves at an incredible pace. The movie is just awe inspiring. It's got a documentary feel to it that puts you in the middle of the action and it's impossible not to be moved. Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler a business man who makes faulty shells for the Nazis and saves Jews to work in his factories. The most heartbreaking aspect of the film is that for all the good Schindler did it was just a drop in the bucket. So many lives lost and wasted. I'm not Jewish but for me this movie is about the horrors that man can do and it's equally depressing and uplifting. We can cause immense destruction but we are also capable of healing.
There's no beating Schindler's List. This is one of those movies you need to see and experience. It's not a movie you can watch anytime anywhere (which is why I gave my award to Groundhog Day) but it is one of the greatest movies ever made and deserved this win, hands down.
Oscar Winner: Schindler's List
My Vote: Schindler's List
GABBY Winner: Groundhog Day
BEST ACTOR
5. Anthony Hopkins - The Remains Of The Day - Hopkins just won for playing Hannibal Lecter and my rule is, if you win for a great performance you have to top it or at least equal it to win a 2nd Oscar. Hopkins is quite good as a dedicated butler but it would have to be an extremely weak category for me to vote for a Merchant/Ivory joint.
BEST ACTOR
5. Anthony Hopkins - The Remains Of The Day - Hopkins just won for playing Hannibal Lecter and my rule is, if you win for a great performance you have to top it or at least equal it to win a 2nd Oscar. Hopkins is quite good as a dedicated butler but it would have to be an extremely weak category for me to vote for a Merchant/Ivory joint.
4. Daniel Day-Lewis - In The Name Of The Father - The same reason I can't vote for Hopkins applies to Day-Lewis. He just won recently for My Left Foot so we need a little bit of time and a better performance to give him a 2nd Oscar. He is really committed to this role and does an incredible job. My problem with Day-Lewis is that he can sometimes be a little too showy. I start to see the method and the actor more than I do the character. He has some scenes in this film with Pete Postlethwaite where he is chewing the scenery and Pete is quietly reacting and I find myself way more enthralled by Pete and he doesn't have to break a sweat.
3. Laurence Fishburne - What's Love Got To Do With It? - Fishburne plays Ike Turner and he's really more of a supporting performance but he rides the line so I can see why they put him here. He's really great in the part but the movie is such a standard biopic and Fishburne's Ike is simply there to serve as a villain. The performances elevate the material in this film and Fishburne and Bassett have excellent chemistry, even though they are at odds the entire movie.
2. Liam Neeson - Schindler's List - Neeson plays Oskar Schindler which is probably the least flashy part of the film. Neeson mostly reacts to things in the film and he does so fantastically. Unfortunately for Neeson he gets overshadowed by other elements of the film. He plays second fiddle to the Holocaust.
1. Tom Hanks - Philadelphia - This is not a good film really by any means. Jonathan Demme fills the film with bizarre camera angles and the movie has many scenes of heavy handed dialogue. Tom Hanks plays a lawyer who is gay and has AIDS. He hides both of these facts from his employer but then gets fired when they find out. He hires Denzel Washington, another lawyer and a homophobic one at that, to defend him. I go back and forth on this performance. On one hand it's good but on the other hand this movie is more concerned with its message than its story.
In hindsight, if Tom Hanks doesn't win this year than his win for Forrest Gump seems more valid. As it stands now he won 2 Oscars back to back and Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman didn't win. If he was going to win just once I would rather it be for Forrest Gump than this but I'm putting myself in the mindset of 1993 where 3 of these guys didn't have Oscars and imagining who I'd vote for. Hopkins and Day-Lewis are out since they just won so that leaves Fishburne, Hanks and Neeson. Now in 1993 Hanks already had an impressive comedic resume (including Big, Splash and A League Of Their Own) and handled himself well in his first drama. Liam Neeson was Darkman. If I was voting for the actor I vote for Hanks. Knowing Hanks is going to win next year makes me want to vote for Neeson but I remember in 1993 thinking that Hanks deserved this. It was also the first Hollywood movie to handle the AIDS crisis and one of the first to feature a gay lead character. So the movie holds more of a place in history for that than being a good film, which like I said, it's kinda not.
Oscar Winner: Tom Hanks
Oscar Winner: Tom Hanks
My Vote: Tom Hanks
GABBY Winner: Bill Murray for Groundhog Day
BEST ACTRESS
5. Emma Thompson - The Remains Of The Day - Emma Thompson just won last year for another Merchant/Ivory movie so there's no way I'm voting for her here.
BEST ACTRESS
5. Emma Thompson - The Remains Of The Day - Emma Thompson just won last year for another Merchant/Ivory movie so there's no way I'm voting for her here.
4. Debra Winger - Shadowlands - Debra Winger gave an Oscar worthy performance this year in A Dangerous Woman where she played a mentally challenged woman but instead she got nominated for this fairly dull period piece. Anthony Hopkins plays C.S. Lewis and he falls in love with Winger but she dies and the movie ends. I didn't care for this movie at all. I love Debra Winger but this feels like a filler nomination.
3. Stockard Channing - Six Degrees Of Separation - I really enjoyed this movie. It's about a bunch of rich white people who get conned by a young black guy who pretends to be Sidney Poitier's son. They are all so white and liberal and vain that this guy is able to con them so easily by simply catering to their values. He's black so they don't want to look racist and he offers them a part in his dad's movie adaptation of Cats, even though they all hated Cats. Channing doesn't do a whole lot in the movie but she is good. This is more of a nomination for the film and an actress who has been around for a while.
2. Holly Hunter - The Piano - Hunter plays a mute woman who loves her piano. I don't like this movie at all but I respect the heck out of Hunter's performance. She doesn't say a word during the movie but so much is done with just her face. She was also nominated twice this year and deserved an Oscar in 1987 so, I'm not voting for her because I don't like the movie but she totally earned this.
1. Angela Bassett - What's Love Got To Do With It? - Bassett plays Tina Turner in this run of the mill biopic. The performances in this film are way better than the movie. Bassett doesn't try to do a Tina Turner impression she just takes little pieces of her public persona and incorporates it into her performance. She is also amazing in the stage recreations of Tina's song where she nails all the dance moves, the mannerisms and the energy.
There was absolutely no beating Hunter this year. She was in a Best Picture nominee, got nominated twice in the same year and has been cranking out solid performances for quite some time to this point. I'm glad that Hunter won, I wish the movie was better. Which is why I'm voting for Bassett in another movie that's not that great, but a little better than The Piano.
Oscar Winner: Holly Hunter
My Vote: Angela Bassett
GABBY Winner: Angela Bassett
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
5. Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape? - Leo plays a mentally challenged teenager. He's very good here and very authentic. He really nails the part. I can't vote for him just because he's like 19 years old and in a category with Tommy Lee Jones, John Malkovich and Ralph Fiennes but this is a solid first nomination for an actor with a promising future.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
5. Leonardo DiCaprio - What's Eating Gilbert Grape? - Leo plays a mentally challenged teenager. He's very good here and very authentic. He really nails the part. I can't vote for him just because he's like 19 years old and in a category with Tommy Lee Jones, John Malkovich and Ralph Fiennes but this is a solid first nomination for an actor with a promising future.
4. Pete Postlethwaite - In The Name Of The Father - This movie is about a man and his father imprisoned for a crime they didn't commit. Postlethwaite plays the father who is emotionally absent from his son's life until they become cell mates. Seeing Postlethwaite and Day-Lewis together is like watching two sides of acting. Day-Lewis is method and Pete is just very natural. He provides a nice counter balance.
3. John Malkovich - In The Line Of Fire - This movie is totally rad. Clint Eastwood plays a secret service agent who was at Kennedy's assassination. Malkovich is a psycho trying to murder the current president and he's taunting Eastwood the whole time, calling him anonymously. Nobody plays stone cold psycho quite like Malkovich and he's incredible here. He kills people without blinking and has a terrific scene where he has Eastwood on a ledge. Clint is being held up by Malkovich by one arm and has a gun on him with the other. Malkovich puts the gun in his mouth and stares Clint right in the eyes.
2. Tommy Lee Jones - The Fugitive - Jones is the reason this movie works so well. Harrison Ford is on the run from the law trying to prove his innocence and Jones is on the hunt for Ford. The scene that cements his character is when the two are in a sewer tunnel. Jones loses his gun to Ford and Ford tells him that he didn't kill his wife. Jones replies straight forward, "I don't care". He's not here for any other reason than to do his job. This guy is a fugitive and Jones has to bring him in. This is a case where any other actor in this part wouldn't have been as memorable. Jones elevates the part into something special.
1. Ralph Fiennes - Schindler's List - Fiennes is probably the greatest villain in film history. He plays Amon Goth, a Nazi who relishes in shooting people from his balcony before his morning pee. He's simply terrifying in the role with a quiet menace. For about an hour of the movie, things are going pretty good. The war is on and Jews are being rounded up but Schindler's doing his part to save people. In walks Fiennes and immediately shoots a guy in the head. It's one of the best character introductions of all time.
This category is terrific, in a weaker year I could see voting for DiCaprio or Postlethwaite but there is nobody here I'm considering voting for other than Fiennes. I love that Tommy Lee Jones won an Oscar and he's great in The Fugitive but Fiennes creates an incredible villain and steals his film.
Oscar Winner: Tommy Lee Jones
My Vote: Ralph Fiennes
GABBY Winner: Ralph Fiennes
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
5. Winona Ryder - The Age Of Innocence - You know how I hate costume dramas? Turns out I hate costume dramas even if they are directed by Martin Scorsese. It's weird that Scorsese gets consistently passed over by the Oscars in favor of more "Oscar fare" type films so he goes an makes a period piece when that's all the Oscars were honoring and they still pass him over. Winona Ryder plays Daniel Day-Lewis's fiance but he falls in love with Michelle Pfeiffer and Ryder becomes the other woman. I could not get through this movie so maybe there's something in the last 30 minutes that earned Ryder a nomination but I didn't see it.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
5. Winona Ryder - The Age Of Innocence - You know how I hate costume dramas? Turns out I hate costume dramas even if they are directed by Martin Scorsese. It's weird that Scorsese gets consistently passed over by the Oscars in favor of more "Oscar fare" type films so he goes an makes a period piece when that's all the Oscars were honoring and they still pass him over. Winona Ryder plays Daniel Day-Lewis's fiance but he falls in love with Michelle Pfeiffer and Ryder becomes the other woman. I could not get through this movie so maybe there's something in the last 30 minutes that earned Ryder a nomination but I didn't see it.
4. Holly Hunter - The Firm - I'm watching The Firm and about an hour in I realize, oh that's right Holly Hunter got nominated for this. Tom Cruise stars as a young lawyer who takes a job at a firm and finds out that he works for some shady people. It's a convoluted John Grisham legal thriller that I didn't much care for. Holly Hunter has the "fun" role in the film and I kept thinking that she could have been more fun. I think she got this nomination just to cement the fact that she was going to win Best Actress because this movie isn't that good and she's just okay in it. She plays the secretary to Gary Busey, a private eye, she also is having an affair with him. He gets murdered and she is under the desk at the time. So she goes to Tom Cruise and starts working for him. She chain smokes and she's sassy but there is really nothing Oscar worthy about this.
3. Emma Thompson - In The Name Of The Father - Thompson is good but she shows up about 90 minutes into a 2 hour film. For me, it was a little too late for her to leave much of an impact. She plays the lawyer who reopens the case and defends the wrongly accused men. She has some impassioned speeches in the courtroom but other than that her part is kind of slight.
2. Anna Paquin - The Piano - It's hard to decipher how much of a child's performance is natural acting talent and how much is coached or just good acting. Tatum O'Neal in her Oscar winning role reportedly took up to 100 takes to effectively nail a line. Paquin though seems like a force to be reckoned with. She plays Holly Hunter's daughter and since Holly doesn't speak Anna does most of the talking for her. She's really good in the film but just like with Hunter, I don't like the movie so I don't want to vote for it. Also I don't want to vote for an 11 year old when I can vote for an actress who has proven herself Oscar worthy.
1. Rosie Perez - Fearless - This is a movie that is almost perfect except for an anti-climactic ending. Jeff Bridges survives a plane crash and starts to go through some PTSD. He starts to feel like he's immortal and loses his grip on reality. Rosie Perez plays another survivor of the crash and she is much more devastating. Her young son was killed in the crash and she blames herself because she didn't hold on tight enough. This is a terrific performance of a woman dealing with guilt and loss. Rosie was so good the year before this in White Men Can't Jump that I gotta vote for her here.
I remember watching the Oscars this year and I would have been 11 years old and seeing an 11 year old win was really cool. Looking back on it now it was also a very cute Oscar moment. Little Anna Paquin clutching her Oscar, almost hyperventilating and searching for words. This category is really weak, with only Rosie Perez worth voting for in my opinion so it's not the worst thing that they gave the win to a kid. It just would have been nice if Rosie won. Imagine that acceptance speech.
Oscar Winner: Anna Paquin
My Vote: Rosie Perez
GABBY Winner: Alfre Woodard for Heart And Souls
Best Director
Steven Spielberg wins in a no contest decision for Schindler's List. Not only does he make the best movie of the year but he also made Jurassic Park this year and he had been overlooked by the Academy so much to this point. Movies like Jaws, E.T., The Color Purple, Raiders Of The Lost Ark. If he lost this one it would be a bigger travesty than Martin Scorsese losing for Goodfellas.
Best Original Screenplay/Adapted Screenplay
The Piano wins Original Screenplay which is an okay decision since the category was kinda weak. Dave and In The Line Of Fire are really good films but aren't quite Oscar fare. I'll watch them over The Piano any day of the week though. Philadelphia and Sleepless In Seattle were the other nominees. Schindler's List rightfully wins the Adapted category.
Best Original Score/Song
John Williams wins for his Schindler's List score. He really should have been nominated for his work on Jurassic Park as well. Bruce Springsteen wins Best Song for Streets Of Philadelphia from Philadelphia over Neil Young's more haunting tune. The other three nominees need not have applied. The love theme from the Beethoven sequel, Harry Connick Jr. crooning from Sleepless In Seattle and a forgettable Janet Jackson ballad from Poetic Justice.
Best Sound/Sound Effects Editing
Jurassic Park rightfully wins both categories.
Best Art Direction/Cinematography/Film Editing
Schindler's List wins these three technical categories. No complaints from me at all. The movie is a technical marvel.
Best Makeup
Robin Williams dressed up as a woman in Mrs. Doubtfire beats putting some lesions on Tom Hanks's forehead and Schindler's List. I like the makeup category because you usually see a weird mix of movies. Imagine watching Schindler's List, Philadelphia and Mrs. Doubtfire in one day. I did.
Best Costume Design
Martin Scorsese's The Age Of Innocence wins its only Oscar for costumes. It's probably the best decision in the category. The costumes were really impressive. The movie was lame.
Best Visual Effects
Jurassic Park was the only thing worth a vote here. Cliffhanger and The Nightmare Before Christmas can't compete against those dinosaurs.
Up Next
1973
Best Director
Steven Spielberg wins in a no contest decision for Schindler's List. Not only does he make the best movie of the year but he also made Jurassic Park this year and he had been overlooked by the Academy so much to this point. Movies like Jaws, E.T., The Color Purple, Raiders Of The Lost Ark. If he lost this one it would be a bigger travesty than Martin Scorsese losing for Goodfellas.
Best Original Screenplay/Adapted Screenplay
The Piano wins Original Screenplay which is an okay decision since the category was kinda weak. Dave and In The Line Of Fire are really good films but aren't quite Oscar fare. I'll watch them over The Piano any day of the week though. Philadelphia and Sleepless In Seattle were the other nominees. Schindler's List rightfully wins the Adapted category.
Best Original Score/Song
John Williams wins for his Schindler's List score. He really should have been nominated for his work on Jurassic Park as well. Bruce Springsteen wins Best Song for Streets Of Philadelphia from Philadelphia over Neil Young's more haunting tune. The other three nominees need not have applied. The love theme from the Beethoven sequel, Harry Connick Jr. crooning from Sleepless In Seattle and a forgettable Janet Jackson ballad from Poetic Justice.
Best Sound/Sound Effects Editing
Jurassic Park rightfully wins both categories.
Best Art Direction/Cinematography/Film Editing
Schindler's List wins these three technical categories. No complaints from me at all. The movie is a technical marvel.
Best Makeup
Robin Williams dressed up as a woman in Mrs. Doubtfire beats putting some lesions on Tom Hanks's forehead and Schindler's List. I like the makeup category because you usually see a weird mix of movies. Imagine watching Schindler's List, Philadelphia and Mrs. Doubtfire in one day. I did.
Best Costume Design
Martin Scorsese's The Age Of Innocence wins its only Oscar for costumes. It's probably the best decision in the category. The costumes were really impressive. The movie was lame.
Best Visual Effects
Jurassic Park was the only thing worth a vote here. Cliffhanger and The Nightmare Before Christmas can't compete against those dinosaurs.
Up Next
1973
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