These are the nominees for the Best Director of 1991:
Jonathan Demme, The Silence of the Lambs
Barry Levinson, Bugsy
Ridley Scott, Thelma & Louise
John Singleton, Boyz n the Hood
Oliver Stone, JFK
There are two big stories here, one about a nominee, one about a non-nominee. Let's take the second one first.
When Barbra Streisand screened her directorial debut Yentl in 1983, no less than Steven Spielberg proclaimed it "the greatest directorial debut since Citizen Kane." She even won the Golden Globe, one of only three women (also: Nomadland's Chloe Zhao, The Power of the Dog's Jane Campion) to do so. It took almost a decade for her follow-up, The Prince of Tides, a box office smash that appeared to finally earn Streisand a seat at the table. She was nominated again for the Golden Globe, and, most importantly to her, at the Directors Guild of America Awards, voted on by her fellow auteurs. Indeed, she was the only one of the DGA Awards nominees who didn't make the Oscar cut.
But it's hard to argue with who did.
At only 24 years old, John Singleton became not just the youngest Best Director nominee in history (still!), he became the first Black filmmaker so honored by the Academy. He had been honored with New Director honors by various critics' groups, but the Academy has no such category, and instead of ignoring him gave him the proper plaudits, making history. Since then, six more Black men have been nominated, all in the 21st Century: Lee Daniels (Precious), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Jordan Peele (Get Out), Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman), and Ryan Coogler (Sinners). None have won.
For Singleton, as it would have been for Streisand, the nomination was the award. No one was beating Jonathan Demme that year:
My rankings, from fifth to first:
5. Barry Levinson for Bugsy
past winner, second and last directing nomination; LAFCA Awards winner for Best Director; DGA Awards nominee for Best Director, Golden Globe nominee for Best Director
Turns in a really solid adult drama with fine performances and attention to period detail that embraces Siegel’s patina of glamour without glamorizing the man himself. Kind of leans on how dull and dull-witted most of these people are. Gets what may be Beatty’s best performance (I haven’t seen Heaven Can Wait or Reds, to be fair).
4. Jonathan Demme for The Silence of the Lambs
only nomination; DGA Award winner for Best Director, National Board of Review's Best Director of 1991, NYFCC Awards winner for Best Director; BAFTA Award nominee for Best Direction, Golden Globe nominee for Best Director, NSFC Awards second runner-up for Best Director
The horror elements (my GOD, what’s in that jar??), the procedural elements (Starling and Mapp, on the case), the bits of dark humor, the memorable faces and performances of every actor, from Ted Levine to Brooke Smith to Paul Lazar, the embrace of theatricality and, uh, unreality when necessary (Lecter’s walls are basically a medieval dungeon, appropriately), and…well, it’s just so scary and yet entertaining.
3. John Singleton for Boyz n the Hood
only directing nomination; LAFCA Awards winner for New Generation Award, NYFCC Awards winner for Best New Director
Yes, Singleton shows you the tragedy, doesn’t shy away from the brutality of innocence lost and promising lives cut short, somehow you feel the danger in the air as the vibe shifts with one person's presence. But he’s also showing you life and its joys, a community of overly-flirtatious single mothers, a neighborhood that barbecues together, friends preoccupied with girls and hanging out. His ensemble work is exceptional, you see everyone, principal and extra, organically existing in the frame together. He knows we won’t truly care - won't let this story burrow itself within us - unless we know the whole community.
2. Ridley Scott for Thelma & Louise
first of three nominations; BAFTA Awards nominee for Best Direction, DGA Awards nominee for Best Director
He guides us comfortably through the changing moods and genres, a fun girls' trip movie turning into a road trip of rediscovery, of laughter and regret, bad choices and bad men, friendship strained and strengthened - a love story. The harrowing scene that sparks it is genuinely harrowing, horrified, we feel the violation but he doesn't revel in it. I sense real love coming from Scott, that passion, that understanding, makes for one hell of a movie.
1. Oliver Stone for JFK
past two-time winner, third and final directing nomination; Golden Globe winner for Best Director; DGA Awards nominee for Best Director
This man is juggling hundreds of names, dates, and conspiracy theories, all told through various film stock, sound tricks, blink-and-you'll-miss-'em inserts, with two vital monologues, one an exposition dump, one an unhinged ramble that is also expositional but also emotional - and no one is lost, no one is confused, no one is moved by Costner's punctuative look into the camera. He's juggling 1,000 balls and catching each one without misstepping. And he almost convinced you of his argument.
Next, the nominees for Best Picture: Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK, The Prince of Tides, and The Silence of the Lambs.
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