Yesterday, Victor/Victoria and Poltergeist led the pack with two wins each out of the nine categories. Today, we conclude our trip back to 1982. Again, check out the 1982 Retro Hollmann Awards Nominations and Top Ten for more context.
Now - on with the show!
Best Editing
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
David Bretherton / Nicholas Eliopoulos / Walt Hannemann / Pembroke J. Herring / Jack Hofstra
2. Tootsie; 3. The Road Warrior; 4. The Long Good Friday; 5. Edo Porn Everything hits at the right time in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas: every dance step, musical sting, double entendre. It takes its time for "Hard Candy Christmas" and the date night between Mona and Ed Earl, then ramps up the energy for "The Aggie Song", "Little Bitty Pissant Country Place" and the encounter between Ed Earl and Melvin P. Thorpe. Not a wasted moment.
In second, the laughs and confusion of Tootsie. In third, the high-speed action of The Road Warrior. In fourth, the violence of The Long Good Friday. In fifth, the erotic exuberance of Edo Porn.
The 90th Academy Awards are just five days away, but here at the Silver Screening Room, it's still 1982. You've taken a look at my Top Ten of that year - now I present the complete best-ofs: the nominees for the 1982 Retro Hollmann Awards. Order of categories was decided by random drawing. So let's begin with...
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
Larry L. King & Peter Masterson and Colin Higgins
based on the musical play by Larry L. King and Peter Masterson
Edo Porn
Kaneto Shindô
based on the play Hokusai Manga by Seiichi Yashiro
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Cameron Crowe
based on his book
The Thing
Bill Lancaster
based on the short story "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell Jr. (alias Don A. Stuart)
Victor/Victoria
Blake Edwards
based on the 1933 film written by Reinhold Schünzel
The rest of the nominees, starting with Best Actor, after the jump....
After two months, I am ready to unveil my Top Ten of 1982. Before I do, I'd be remiss not to name some honorable mentions... Blade Runner and Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Blade Runner's groundbreaking future-noir aesthetics. Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean's incredible ensemble of women. Fast Times at Ridgemont High's poignant sense of humor. Their absence from the Top Ten is greatly felt, and is in no way a reflection of their quality. I wish I had room in my Top Ten for thirteen titles, but that's not how numbers work. As it stands now, these will do. The Top Ten of 1982, in alphabetical order, after the jump...
Louis Gossett, Jr., made history at the 1982 Oscars by becoming both only the second African-American man to win an Academy Award (Sidney Poitier was first) and the first to do so for Best Supporting Actor.
(Ok, can I just point out: no, Susan Sarandon, two of those roles could not have been played by women. Preston does one scene at the end of his film in a dress. Fun "drag race" joke, though.)
Supporting Actors come in many forms and flavors. Here are a few of them, taking into account not just 1982's crop, but also the current batch of nominees for the 2017 film year.
The Movie Thief: Though his on-screen time is relatively brief compared to the rest of the cast, his character is unforgettable, the one you leave thinking about. It also helps if he has a big scene, like a monologue or a musical number. For the latter, take Charles Durning's sidestepping guv'nor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; for the former, Woody Harrelson's sheriff in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.
The Tough Love Father Figure: He's not fighting the protagonist, he's making him/her/them a better person - but he's gonna do it with discipline. When his eyes brim with tears at movie's end, that's the cue for the audience to lose its mind. Take Louis Gossett, Jr.'s, drill sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman or Willem Dafoe's motel manager in The Florida Project.
The Best Friend: There for the protagonist to connect with the way he/she can't with a romantic partner; also there to help hatch and execute any harebrained schemes alongside the hero/ine. Take John Lithgow's trans bestie to Robin Williams in The World According to Garp or Richard Jenkins' gay bestie to Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water.
The Guy You Can't Trust: A worthy adversary, he's not just the charmer - he's the snake as well. Take James Mason's high-powered defense attorney in The Verdict or Christopher Plummer's megalomaniacal billionaire in All the Money in the World.
The Co-Lead: Well, almost - I mean, you can make the argument. He gets just as juicy an arc - and almost as much screentime - as the supposed protagonist. Hell, the movie ends with him! Take Robert Preston's nightclub singer/manager in Victor/Victoria or Sam Rockwell's dim-witted cop in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Continuing our look back at 1982. Yesterday, we talked movies that I finally caught up with after years of waiting. Today, ten films I needed to re-watch.
Blade Runner
dir: Ridley Scott
scr: Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
Oscar Nominee: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Visual Effects Previously seen: The 1992 Director's Cut in high school; this screening, I caught the original theatrical cut
In the future, a specialized cop hunts down rebellious human replicants long past their due date. Clunky voice-over aside, it's a deservedly iconic and jaw-dropping feat of filmmaking, lusciously photographed and meticulously designed. A melancholy, stunning sci-fi noir.
Poltergeist, Tootsie, and more, after the jump....
