Best Score
1. War and Peace
Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov
2. The Young Girls of Rochefort
Michel Legrand
3. Romeo and Juliet
Nino Rota
4. Rosemary's Baby
Christopher Komeda
5. Yellow Submarine
George Martin
The remaining awards - writing, directing, lead acting, Best Picture - and Original Song! - after the jump.
Best Original Screenplay
Melvin Frank & Denis Norden & Sheldon Keller
2. The Young Girls of Rochefort; 3. Hour of the Wolf; 4. Kuroneko; 5. Night of the Living Dead
The sex comedy premise - one girl, three possible fathers! - provides plentiful laughs, but what is never forgotten is the human cost of the lies, the hope that that daughter represents for some of these men, the security and status a married name provides, the playground troops made of their European visits.
In second, the pure joy of The Young Girls of Rochefort. In third, the horror of a troubled psyche in Hour of the Wolf. In fourth, war, remembrance, and family come together in Kuroneko. In fifth, society
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Killing of Sister George
Lukas Heller
adapted from the play by Frank Marcus
A perfect adaptation, The Killing of Sister George is. Sees the potential in the source material and deepens it, keeping what works, clarifying what's cloying, seamlessly adding characters and events to make these characters real human beings. Smart and funny.
In second, The Devil Rides Out brings sophistication to Satanic panic. In third, Rosemary's Baby's mounting horror. In fourth, The Detective's mysteries blow the whistle on society's ills. In fifth, Uptight brings an old classic to the present by ripping from the headlines.
Best Actor
Jack Albertson as John Cleary
The Subject Was Roses
As I said earlier, when he was named Best Supporting Actor, "Albertson knows this man down to his bones. A believable, wrenching performance of a resentful patriarch trying to capture some feeling of dignity, accomplishment, and family." He deserves an award, but in the right category. This one.
In second, Jones' heroic if stubborn Ben. In third, O'Toole's petulant Henry II. In fourth, McQueen's stoic Bullitt. In fifth, Von Sydow's depressed, haunted Johan Borg.
Best Film Editing
Kuroneko
Hisao Enoki
Oh, I wish I could find a full clip for you, but see the film yourself and you'll see how the editing creates a surreal dreamscape, playing with our sense of time and place as it layers a moving bamboo forest over a still interior. Too, much of its "horror" is quickly dealt with in a montage that builds witht he score, so that we may get to the story of trauma and grief at its center.
In second, Night of the Living Dead tightens the noose with every cut. In third, The Battle of Algiers captures the chaos of revolution. In fourth, Bullitt takes its time with the investigation - and cuts to the quick with the action. In fifth, The Devil Rides Out gives you adventure and terror.
Best Original Song
1. "Chanson des Jumelles" from The Young Girls of Rochefort
music by Michel Legrand
lyrics by Jacques Demy
music by Michel Legrand
lyrics by Jacques Demy
2. "Skidoo" from Skidoo
music and lyrics by Harry Nilsson
3. "Springtime for Hitler" from The Producers
music and lyrics by Mel Brooks
4. "The Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair
music by Michel Legrand
lyrics by Alan & Marilyn Bergman
5. "Funny Girl" from Funny Girl
music by Jule Styne
lyrics by Bob Merrill
Best Director
Kaneto Shindô
Kuroneko
I think very many horror films have tried and just missed the dreamlike execution of beauty and terror Shindô goes for here - he nails it, allowing his audience to match his protagonist's constant questioning of what is real and what is false. Palpable anger and sadness throughout.
In second, Bondarchuk's impressive scale. In third, Romero's claustrophobia. In fourth, Pontecorvo's righteous fury. In fifth, Milligan's madness.
Best Actress
Patricia Neal as Nettie Cleary
The Subject Was Roses
As I said initially, Neal "constantly surprises with her varying degrees of sympathy, bitterness, affection, wit." Despite her frequent dismissals and tension with her husband, Neal charts the intimacy and (sometimes strained) affection of 25 years of partnership.
In second, Streisand's Fanny Brice really is "the greatest star". In third, Hepburn's Eleanor of Aquitaine gets all the best lines. In fourth, Lollobrigida's Carla Campbell is humanly desperate, desperately human. In fifth, Farrow's Rosemary Woodhouse gives good fear.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
Night of the Living Dead
produced by Karl Hardman / Russell Streiner
2. The Subject Was Roses; 3. War and Peace; 4. Seeds; 5. Kuroneko
6. The Birthday Party; 7. The Young Girls of Rochefort; 8. The Battle of Algiers; 9. The Devil Rides Out; 10. The Killing of Sister George
Night of the Living Dead invented a whole genre. It is a thought-provoking examination of society under pressure. People are willing to work together, as long as everyone else does it on their terms; they make terrible miscalculations when they try their best; they would rather turn on each other than admit wrong. That's us, baby. We consume each other before the zombies even get the chance.
And there it is! The 1968 Hollmann Awards end with 11 films honored, none winning more than two awards, and a Best Picture horror!
Starting Monday, we move up a year as we explore the cinema of 1969. See you there!
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