Nominees: The Phantom of Liberty, Woman Under the Influence, Every Man for Himself, and God Against All, Young Frankenstein, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, The Conversation, La prima Angélica, Badlands, The Man Who Sleeps, Chorus
Oscars pick: Godfather Part II
Nominees: Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, The Towering Inferno
Godfather Part II was all right, not as good as the first and certainly not the best of the year, but all right. My problem with it is that it's too calculated and melodramatic (the overblown abortion argument, the soapy sibling interaction). The bits with the trial didn't work at all -- and Pacino -perhaps trying to mimic Brando's quiet brooding power- instead comes off as if he's doped up on Thorazine.
Bottom line: While I nominated 13, 1974 was all about 1 - Roman Polanski's iconic neo-noir -slash-psychological drama Chinatown.
Chinatown reveals its sordid mysteries without Godfather 2s contrivances and forced melodrama. The picture is about as tight and flawless a production as has ever been made, a textbook example of how to create a masterpiece - not a frame of it rings false, even when it shows off its lurid side at the end.
The script by Robert Towne might be the one of best ever written for the screen+, evoking the ghosts of Phillip Marlow and the like, while coming off fresh and -in the end- the equal of those noir masterpieces that came before it. It was director Polanski who brought those words to life and who rewrote the finish to make it a darker, tragic piece. Pitch perfect casting includes Faye Dunaway, who looks like she stepped out of the 1930s. And Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes, a sarcastic, hard-nosed, but honest detective who takes a routine ‘unfaithful husband’ gig and winds up smack dab in the middle of a land-water scheme, and a dirty secret one powerful city leader would like left buried.
Watching it with Godfather II -- I can't fathom how Chinatown failed to win the Oscar and win it in a landslide. I know many will vehemently disagree, but this is an Oscar blunder. Godfather II was decent enough, but Chinatown was a work of unparalleled genius.
The script by Robert Towne might be the one of best ever written for the screen+, evoking the ghosts of Phillip Marlow and the like, while coming off fresh and -in the end- the equal of those noir masterpieces that came before it. It was director Polanski who brought those words to life and who rewrote the finish to make it a darker, tragic piece. Pitch perfect casting includes Faye Dunaway, who looks like she stepped out of the 1930s. And Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes, a sarcastic, hard-nosed, but honest detective who takes a routine ‘unfaithful husband’ gig and winds up smack dab in the middle of a land-water scheme, and a dirty secret one powerful city leader would like left buried.
Watching it with Godfather II -- I can't fathom how Chinatown failed to win the Oscar and win it in a landslide. I know many will vehemently disagree, but this is an Oscar blunder. Godfather II was decent enough, but Chinatown was a work of unparalleled genius.
+ Update: Sam Wasson's book, The Big Goodbye (2020) reveals that Towne had some uncredited help on the script, and that Polanski's role in reworking the storyline was more encompassing than just tweaking the ending.
Best Actor: Gene Hackman, The Conversation
Honorable Mentions:
Jack Nicholson. Chinatown * Gene Wilder & Peter Boyle. Young Frankenstein * Peter Falk, A Woman Under the Influence * Dirk Bogarde, The Night Porter * Nino Manfredi, Bread and Chocolate * Martin Sheen, Badlands * James Earl Jones, Claudine * John Hurt & David Warner, Little Malcolm
Best Actress: Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence
Honorable Mention:
Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore * Margit Carstensen, Martha * Charlotte Rampling, The Night Porter * Faye Dunaway, Chinatown * Sissy Spacek, Badlands * Hanna Schygulla, Effi Briest * Goldie Hawn, The Sugarland Express * Diahann Carroll, Claudine
Supporting Actress: Cloris Leachman, Young Frankenstein
Honorable Mentions:
Jack Nicholson. Chinatown * Gene Wilder & Peter Boyle. Young Frankenstein * Peter Falk, A Woman Under the Influence * Dirk Bogarde, The Night Porter * Nino Manfredi, Bread and Chocolate * Martin Sheen, Badlands * James Earl Jones, Claudine * John Hurt & David Warner, Little Malcolm
Honorable Mention:
Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore * Margit Carstensen, Martha * Charlotte Rampling, The Night Porter * Faye Dunaway, Chinatown * Sissy Spacek, Badlands * Hanna Schygulla, Effi Briest * Goldie Hawn, The Sugarland Express * Diahann Carroll, Claudine
Supporting Actor: John Huston, Chinatown
