This Is It: The 1971 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part Three

It all ends today. This is the last of the Retro Hollmann Award of 1971.

Within, you will find: my favorite costumes; my full Top Ten; my lineup of Original Song, the final winner of which was not decided until three minutes before I hit PUBLISH...

And, to start us off, the prize for Best Ensemble, which has no equivalent at the Oscars, but hey -- these are the Hollmann Awards.

BEST ENSEMBLE

1. The Boy Friend

Always give props to a troupe of dancing, singing thesps, all bringing their A-Game, all on-tone, none ever better. Maybe you wouldn't think to combine the talents of Glenda Jackson, Twiggy, Tommy Tune, and Vladek Sheybal (not to mention Max Adrian, Georgina Hale, and Antonia Ellis) -- but thank goodness someone did.

4. Carnal Knowledge

Unexpected performances from Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen and Art Garfunkel; effective cameos by Carol Kane and Rita Moreno; an almost movie-stealing turn from Cynthia O'Neal; and a phenomenal Jack Nicholson at the center of it all.

5. Cold Turkey

Dick Van Dyke and Bob Newhart against type, yes -- but let's also give props to Barnard Hughes' desperate, chain-smoking doctor, Barbara Cason's snooty cigarette fiend, Simon Scott's surly tobacco exec, and Bob & Ray.

3. Dodes'ka-den

Kurosawa's cast has to run the gamut from comedy to drama, varying degrees of each, without being in different films. Nailed it. Little Hiroyuki Kawase is a real find as the beggar's son, Tomoko Yamazaki wrings your heart as the paper flower girl, and at the heart of it all -- Yoshitaka Zushi as the boy conducting a train.

2. The Last Picture Show

Ross Brown, casting director
Anarene feels like the real deal, not just because of the soon-to-be legends like Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, and Cybill Shepherd; not just due to the reliable character work of Eileen Brennan, Clu Gulager, and Ben Johnson; but also because of the work from Sharon Taggart, Joe Heathcock, Sam Bottoms, and Gary Brockette. It takes a village to make a masterpiece.

What more can I possibly give to the films of Ken Russell? Find out after the jump...

A Bit of Magic: The 1971 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part Two

The honors for the films of 1971 continue! Yesterday, the big winners were Fiddler on the Roof, The Devils, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. All but one of those titles return today...but not necessarily as winners!

BEST SOUND

5. The Anderson Tapes
Dennis Maitland, production sound
Al Gramaglia, sound mixer
Jack Fitzstephens, sound editor
Why do footsteps always seem different in Sidney Lumet's films? They scuff and shuffle, clip and clop. And of course, we mustn't forget the conversations we hear, whether in person, over headphones, or through the hiss of secret recordings played back for our benefit.

2. The Boy Friend
Maurice Askew, sound recordist
Brian Simmons, sound mixer
At times blending a scratchy vinyl recording with the voices of the on-screen ensemble, changing it up from polished and perfect to the sometimes-lost acoustics of the rundown theatre, and never missing a step -- quite literally, especially during the tap numbers.

1. Fiddler on the Roof
David Hildyard, sound mixer
Gordon K. McCallum, sound re-recording mixer
Les Wiggins, sound editor
Perfect. From the butcher chopping in time to "Tradition" to all atmosphere dropping out during the "Chava Ballet Sequence", from the subtle scrapings of the bottle dancers' feet to the soundtrack being overwhelmed by fire and pounding music. Grounds the musical in reality.

3. The French Connection
Chris Newman/Theodore Soderberg, sound
It's all about that chase sequence between a car and a city train, with the right amount of squeals, shrieks, screams, moans (from heart attacks), and so on. I'm also a big fan of the sequence where the cops are taking a suspicious car apart -- rejoice in the RIP RIP RIP!

4. El Topo
Gonzalo Gavira, sound effects
Lilia Lupercio, sound editor
Every little noise is exact, from the bullets to the crunching of the sand beneath a boot. The cacophony of the village at the end, the echoes of the cave of the misfits, the gutting final slaughter.

Visual Effects, Director, Supporting Actress and more, after the jump...

A Fine Vintage: Best Actress, 1971

One of my favorite categories -- after Supporting Actress, of course, and right ahead of Adapted Screenplay. And I have to commend both 2014 and 1971 for the strength of their lineup. Even if not everybody made it to my personal ballot, I still find the overall list to be well above-average. Both years.

Here's to the ladies who...

...go back and forth between determination and humiliation. They're capable, haunted, and don't want to have to beg and plead to maintain their existence. 

(Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night / Glenda Jackson in Sunday Bloody Sunday)

...doggedly pursue a fresh start, as they sometimes face, sometimes escape their past. Too many strangers have seen them naked; they're getting their self-control, self-worth, and confidence back!

(Reese Witherspoon in Wild / Jane Fonda in Klute)

...live every moment with the threat of disease destroying their family, their household, and their legacy -- and refuse to let it defeat them.

(Julianne Moore in Still Alice / Janet Suzman in Nicholas and Alexandra)

...stick to their guns, even as the world around them gives them every reason and opportunity to abandon their cause. It's not about stubbornness; it's about love.

(Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything / Vanessa Redgrave in Mary, Queen of Scots)

...are in control of every situation, even if the man in their life thinks otherwise.

(Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl / Julie Christie in McCabe & Mrs. Miller)

More thoughts on the 70s gals, after the jump....

The Helmsmen: Director, 1971

We've landed on Best Director! Gave a lot of thought to this one in my 1971-2014 linking. I mean, who do I compare to whom? Of the five men nominated in 1971, two already had Oscars, one was on his third nomination, one was a first-time filmmaker, and one had finally found a film that suited both himself and audiences. Of the five men (always men!) nominated in 2014, two are previous nominees, two are beloved auteurs finally embraced by the Academy, and one is Morten Tyldum.

But dammit, I found a way! I found the common threads!

THE RIFFER

He's not just honing his voice via literary adaptation; he's also riffing off the tone and style of a respected director whose voice and interests neatly align with his own. This could be Wes Anderson adapting Stefan Zweig via Ernst Lubitsch for the invented Europe of The Grand Budapest Hotel, or Peter Bogdanovich adapting Larry McMurtry via John Ford to capture a Western community for The Last Picture Show.

THE PERCEIVED HIRED GUN

Working in a genre that's catnip to Oscar voters and audiences only mission was not to fuck it up. Probably anybody could have done this. Yet he still manages to bring a personal touch, not getting in the way of the story, yet offering a strong piece of cinema with superb performances. Morten Tyldum offers us another World War II tale (with a gay twist!) in The Imitation Game; Norman Jewison offers us a musical epic in Fiddler on the Roof.

THE MEMOIRIST

He's got a personal stake in the material, having shaped aspects of it from his own life, but he doesn't let that cloud his judgment. The performances he coaxes from his actors delve deep -- you know them all too well. Richard Linklater reportedly riffed off aspects of his childhood for Boyhood; John Schlesinger was more than willing to own up to the autobiographical elements of Sunday Bloody Sunday. 

THE LANE CHANGER

Raised eyebrows when he took on the project, as it's not exactly his "box", so to speak; not so much his "thang". Yet this is the one that makes people look up, and even his former critics find themselves applauding. Alejandro G. Inarritu traded in his mopey human dramas for showbiz comedy in Birdman. William Friedkin, known for niche stage adaptations and zany comedies (weirdly), became a power player with his cop thriller The French Connection. 

THE BULLSHIT ARTIST

Carefully-composed shots and a very deliberate tone, with observations and revelations tailor-made to make people think a little more deeply about things, man. Problem is: this emperor has no clothes. An empty, dull, unfocused horror. Yet it's fooled everyone. Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher is a worse offender than Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, though. Even more agonizing: these guys are usually great!

A further look at the filmmakers of 1971, after the jump.

Odd Pairings: Best Original Screenplay, 1971

Double feature time again -- only this time, instead of just throwing on a DVD or Blu-Ray or whatever the kids use (holograms? what were those little discs in Minority Report?), why not pick up a manuscript? Specifically, any published copies of the nominees for Best Original Screenplay, be they from 2014 or 1971. And allow me to suggest some travel companions to suit the mood...

You down for broad dramedy zeroing in on a male protagonist undergoing a personal crisis while performing his duties within a particular industry? Double the pleasure with 1971's medical satire The Hospital and 2014's showbiz satire Birdman! (Yes, I know I already made that comparison yesterday, but if the shoe fits...)

In the mood for a bizarre crime flick with a sick sense of humor and an unstoppable protagonist that you kind of wish would, just once, get punched in the face? Double-tap that sucker with 1971's cop-focused Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and 2014's late-night news-focused Nightcrawler.

Perhaps you like crime just fine, but would rather trade in the humor for something that takes a closer look at gender and America. Learn about the ladies from 1971's Klute, and learn about the lads from 2014's Foxcatcher.

Or maybe you're highly specific and could really go for a coming-of-age story focusing on the influence certain adults have over children's lives, and the melancholic nostalgia that comes from looking back? Get out the tissues, because I'm talking about 1971 drama Summer of '42 and 2014 comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Nah, you're the type of person that wants to see the reverse -- the effect a younger person has on the older people in his life -- and you want it spiced up with realizations of how everyone always hopes that they're almost on the brink of Getting It Right, but rarely do. They just thought there'd be more! Yes, yes -- double the fun with 1971's bisexual menage a trois at the center of Sunday Bloody Sunday and 2014's saga of parents and children Boyhood.

For a further look at the films of 1971, please do jump after the jump...

The More Things Change...: Best Actor, 1971

It is interesting, I think, when one looks at this year's crop of Best Actor compared to 1971's, to notice the surprising similarities among the nominees. After more than 40 years, there will always be a certain type of role, or performance, or actor, that attracts Oscar's attention.

Birdman and The Hospital

Michael Keaton (also a Hollmann Award Nominee) brings terrific subtlety to the role of Riggan Thomson, a washed-up actor literally staging his comeback, constantly questioning and doubting himself, surrounded by an ensemble of crazies with their own insecurities and hang-ups, in a beautifully-realized dark comedy about the theatre. George C. Scott is more bellowy and blowsy as Dr. Herbert Bock, a doctor at the end of his rope, constantly questioning and doubting himself, surrounded by an ensemble of crazies with their own insecurities and incompetencies, in a so-so dark comedy about the medical establishment. Oscar, it seems, loves sweaty, drunken monologuing.

The Imitation Game and The French Connection 

Benedict Cumberbatch is superb as the real-life mathematician Alan Turing, portrayed in this film as a super genius who must prove to an increasingly hostile Establishment that his ideas and instincts are not only correct, but the only thing standing in the way of a great evil -- Herr Hitler. Gene Hackman is superb as Popeye Doyle, based on real-life cop Eddie Egan, portrayed in this film as a cocky-but-honest cop who must prove to an increasingly hostile Establishment that his instincts are not only correct, but the only thing standing in the way of a great evil -- heroin trafficked in from France. Oscar, it seems, loves the smartest guy in the room, especially when he has to defy his superiors, man!

American Sniper and Fiddler on the Roof

Bradley Cooper bulked up to play Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, unwavering in his conviction that the Iraq War, and his part in it, are necessary to preserve the United States -- at times, he's absolutely frightening in his black-and-white certainty. Topol greyed up to play middle-aged milkman Tevye, but while Chris Kyle holds firm to what he believes to be true, Tevye is starting to look with curiosity, and maybe a little excitement, at the changing world around him -- he holds on to his traditions, yes, but he's beginning to adapt. Oscar, it seems, loves a man with strong beliefs.

The Theory of Everything and Sunday Bloody Sunday 

Eddie Redmayne is the great quantum physicist Stephen Hawking, conveying warmth, strained patience, uncertainty, and eventual acceptance in an unconventional love story -- forget the ALS, it's the odd triangle between Stephen, wife Jane, and friend/church choir leader Jonathan Hellyer Jones, that's the real draw. Peter Finch is Dr. Daniel Hirsh, conveying warmth, strained patience, insecurity, and willful self-delusion in an unconventional love story -- Daniel, his young lover Bob, and Bob's female lover Alex. Oscar, it seems, loves to check "It's Complicated."

Foxcatcher and Kotch 

What on earth could Steve Carell's performance as John du Pont possibly have in common with Walter Matthau's performance as Kotch? Honey, I don't even know why these people got nominated. Oscar, it seems, loves grey toupees.

For a further look at the performances of 1971, please continue after the jump.