MARY GOT INTO THE MORPHINE AGAIN! - A Look at the Best Films of 1962

THIS IS MY 200th POST WRITING ON THIS BLOG. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS STUCK BY READING ME RAMBLE ON ABOUT FILM (and occasionally TV and Theatre...) FOR THE PAST DECADE.

I APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! 

Often times, I end up spoiling what to expect with my upcoming lists. Not only have already stated or hinted at a couple of films that will be making an appearance on this list, but I also stated that this is often considered one of the strongest years for cinema in history.

I happen to agree with that statement. While I might honestly prefer 1960 a bit more, I think there is a wealth to explore within '62...and there will be more films from the Hollywood scene making an appearance here.

HOWEVER - the majority of them will be listed as Honorable Mention.

Yep, that's right...the Honorable Mentions are back for this round! I will be listing SIX films in that category and of those, four of them are in English.

However, the top 10 will still be tilted towards the rest of the world with only THREE Hollywood films making the cut. Let's get started with our Honorable Mentions and with one film that contains a one-two punch of excellent Oscar winning performances.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Cape Fear

Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Written by James R. Webb

While most people know this material from Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake with Robert DeNiro ("Counselor...come out, come out wherever you are!) which in turn helped inspire the absolutely brilliant parody on The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob tries yet again to kill Bart ("Nobody who speaks German can be an evil man!), I personally cannot forget this original effort and a lot of that is due to the undeniably fascinating presence that Robert Mitchum had as an actor.

Known for often playing vile men just like the role of Max Cady here, Mitchum can play sinister like very few actors could. Here, his Max Cady is out for revenge against Sam Bowden, an attorney played by Gregory Peck, who helped put him behind bars several years before...and he is ready to target not just Sam, but his whole family. 

Cape Fear is an early glimpse into the darker material Hollywood would eventually churn out in another decade or so, and while maybe not as stellar as some of the films ahead of it, I do greatly admire what it accomplishes.

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Days of Wine & Roses

Directed by Blake Edwards

Written by JP Miller

If you were to say the name "Blake Edwards", normally films like The Pink Panther or Victor/Victoria or Breakfast at Tiffany's come to mind for me. He was very good at sly comedies and dramas that still had a bit of whimsy to them...which is why Days of Wine & Roses does play as a bit of a surprise considering its a darker dive into the dissolution of a marriage thanks to alcholism.

Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (a truly underrated actress) both give devastating performances as Joe and Kristen, with the former introducing Kristen to the joys of drinking socially after having spent all of her adult life as a teetotaler. Kristen consumes a few Brandy Alexanders and realizes that she loves how drinking makes her feel...and from there, the two get married, have a daughter, and descend into full-blown alcoholism. 

Joe eventually finds his way out, but it is the one whom he persuaded to drink that is still left behind. Maybe it does flirt a bit with melodrama, but Edwards does wonders here and it helps that Lemmon and Remick are at the top of their game.

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The Miracle Worker

Directed by Arthur Penn

Written by William Gibson

 A legendary film based on a highly regarded play which in turn was based on the true story/1903 autobiography "The Story of My Life" by Helen Keller. As many may know even without seeing the film, Helen Keller had become deaf, blind, and mute from a severe illness at infancy. She eventually would learn to communicate with others with the work of the tireless and passionate tutor Anne Sullivan.

Anne Bancroft won her only Oscar for her work as Sullivan, although her win is often overshadowed by the drama caused by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford...which we will get to later.

Patty Duke became, to that date, the youngest person to win a competitive Oscar and while I would argue another person should've won (more on that later as well), Duke is still immensely deserving in her own right. The rigorous and rather combative work these two accomplish together has got to be some of the finest acting put onscreen up to that point. Some of their more intense scenes were so intense that each of them had to wear extensive padding under their costumes...and this also happened 8 TIMES A WEEK when Bancroft and Duke originated the roles on Broadway.

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L'Eclisse

Written & Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni

Co-written by Tonio Guerra, Elio Bartolini, & Ottiero Ottieri 

Gather around everyone! Antonioni is back with the third and final entry in the "MONICA VITTI IS A HARLOT!" trilogy. Okay, I kid...it is more complicated than that.

As I stated following the 1960 entry of L'Avventura and the 1961 entry of La Notte, we now get L'Eclisse....but only as an Honorable Mention this time. When a young woman named Vittoria (Vitti) ends her most recent relationship, she tries to regroup and visits her mother at the chaotic Rome Stock Exchange. While there, she overhears a young stockbroker and takes an interest in him. That would be Piero (Alain Delon), who just so happens to be her mother's personal stockbroker. 

L'Eclisse is a film that does suffer from one very glaring attribute: blackface. 

Monica Vitti does blackface in a scene in which she is talking to one of her neighbors who is a white colonialist...and to be frank, it is a very offensive moment although what DOES work about it is how much it makes these rather well off rich (racist) people look absolutely pathetic as they drown in their ennui and first world problems. 

Antonioni did seem to always epitomize a certain type of glamour or allure in his work, but it could be seen as alienating in a lot of ways. I do think I had to grow to appreciate his work more over time, and even so, I still wouldn't rank him as being one of my all-time favorite filmmakers. Nevertheless, he did treat film in a very poetic and literal sense and sometimes I can't help but value that.

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Jules & Jim

Written & Directed by Francois Truffaut 

Co-written by Jean Gruault 

As Francois Truffaut's third feature film, Jules & Jim was seen as a return-to-form following his sophomore outing Shoot the Piano Player, which I also still like a lot. 

While it doesn't compare to his exquisite film debut with The 400 Blows, there is a lot to find charming about his take on a love trial set before, during, and after WWI in Paris. We meet Jim (Henri Serre), a French bohemian along with his timid best friend from Austria named Jules (Oskar Werner).

The two of them both have an encounter with a vivacious and free-spirited woman named Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) and take to her instantly. All 3 of them make for an inseperable trio, even though it is shy Jules who ends up wooing her to be his partner and eventually her husband. All the while, Jim can't help but pine for Catherine...and perhaps Jim may get his wish.

Truthfully, when I first saw Jules & Jim I wasn't quite expecting the darker turns that it did take. Serre, Werner, and especially Moreau are all splendid here. 

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Sanjuro 

Written & Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Co-written by Ryuzo Kikushima & Hideo Uguni

As the sequel to 1961's Yojimbo, I am by no means saying that the quality of Sanjuro is less than its predecessor, but it is also isn't helped by the fact that 1962 is such a strong year by comparison.

You have the imminent Toshiro Mifune back as our ronin, and somehow, it proves to be an even funnier and far more violent film than the last outing. Also, the film manages to be relatively short (a little over 90 minutes) and it is a joy to just watch Mifune bemoan about how he is surrounded by idiots for most of the time. 

Was Mifune one of the greatest actors to have ever lived? Yes, of course, I am not an idiot!

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#10 - WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?

Directed by Robert Aldrich

Written by Lukas Heller

Leave it to Hollywood. One might think "Oh! Look at what an event it was for people to see two legends like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in this film together. These veteran stars are still viable and we should cast them more!"

Instead, it became: "Oooohhhh...which old crone over the archaic age of 50 could star in this knock of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" The sad truth is that Baby Jane unearthed a new form of film horror known as "hagsploitation" which did exactly as I just said. Also, I am not saying that ageism is no longer issue for women in film these days, but it does seem truly depressing how Hollywood looked at someone like Bette Davis who had given some of the finest performances of that era and said..."Naahhhh! She's...she's..53..." and then proceed to scream in terror for the next 45 minutes. 

Aside from the ageism and, frankly, not going into the discord between Davis and Crawford, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? is such a delicious and campy psychological horror treat. 

Jane Hudson (Davis) had been a child star of vaudeville who got a lot of love and accolades from her family and the public, meanwhile her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) lived in her shadow and endured a lot of abuse from their father and not much support from their mother.

And yet...SURPRISE! As an adult, Jane's career floundered while Blanche became a highly respected actress, much to the dismay of Jane who longs for the glory days. However, Blanche's career is cut short when she is involved in a car accident that leaves her paralyzed. Jane, who had been on a 3 day drunken stupor, is considered to be the cause of the accident. 

Now the two live in a house that Blanche had been able to purchase from her savings, but Jane is about to find the means to stage a comeback...by writing a letter to daddy. If you know, you know... ;-)

Did Bette Davis deserve to actually win Best Actress that year? Honestly, it would've been deserved. Bancroft deserved it too, but we also have one other contender I might've considered instead. Stay tuned for that one!

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#9 - VIVRE SA VIE

Written & Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

What could one say about Jean-Luc Godard? He was a bit of an interesting and mythical figure in a lot of ways, perhaps even more so than anyone else who came from either Cahiers du Cinema and/or The French New Wave. Overtly political, he often expressed Marxist and at one time, even identified as a Maoist which led to him clashing with Jane Fonda on the set of Tout va Bien. Perhaps more problematically, he was frequently labeled an antisemitic and that he might have harbored sexist tendencies on top of that.

If I were to label him strictly as a filmmaker, even at that stage I wouldn't call him my favorite of the French New Wave. I feel like I responded more to Francois Truffaut or Jacques Demy or Agnes Varda in that respect.  If I can say anything about Godard as praise, I do admire the experimentation he attempted with film or what one would consider a film to actually be.

While nowhere the eventual abstract nature he would eventually become accustomed to, I have always considered Vivre sa vie to be my favorite of his works...even over Breathless; perhaps battling for the title with Pierrot le Fou. 

Anna Karina is 22 year old Nana, a woman who is seeking more out of life and asks her husband Paul for a divorce so she can go off to be an actress. In the process, she is also giving up custody of her infant son. Not everything will work out smoothly for her as her desire for stardom soon leads her into a world of prostitution.

Could one read this as Godard saying "if only the woman stayed at home"? I suppose so...and that certainly goes along with the idea of him being a sexist. However, the film works so well thanks to Anna Karina's performance as Nana. She gives this character so much depth and humanity when she easily could come across as truly despicable at every turn...sort of in a similar vein as Harriet Andersson in Summer with Monika only on a darker level. I would certainly rank her as giving one of the finest performances of the 1960s at the very least.

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 #8 - THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL

Written & Directed by Luis Bunuel

French filmmakers, a lot like the Brits across the Channel, do love tackling the idea of class and putting the rich through hell.

Jean Renoir did it with The Rules of the Game which is one of the gold standards, but Luis Bunuel practically honed it into an artform, with one of the best examples being The Exterminating Angel.

A group of guests gather at a very lavish dinner party at a mansion, but some mysterious force seems to keep them all there even when they express a desire to go. As the days go by, the eloquent and sophisticated attributes of these partygoers descends into something more savage and scathing...as if they are suddenly the 1% taking up a lifestyle more akin to Lord of the Flies.

The idea of watching the rich suffer is something most people love to do. It was part of the reason the primetime soap opera boom of the 1980s was so popular, and why films like Parasite managed to overcome the foreign "stigma" and become a worldwide sensation in a way very few foreign films are.

The Exterminating Angel is cynically and hilariously funny, but that is in the darkest sense possible. Bunuel takes us into some pretty distressing places, but hey...I guess maybe there is one line that rings very true: "I believe the common people, the lower class people, are less sensitive to pain".

EAT THE RICH!!

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#7 - THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE

Directed by John Frankenheimer

Written by George Axelrod

Back in my middle and high school days, I found it fascinating when my classmates would respond positively to certain films that I might've expected them to find dull.

There were some examples of them not being particularly enthused. I remember my 6th Grade music teacher showing us The Sound of Music and most of the class was bored. Two years later in the same class, we were shown Amadeus which everyone adored.

I had already seen The Manchurian Candidate before we watched it in my AP 20th Century History class my junior year, but I was curious how my class would respond to it. For a film made in 1962, it DOES have a bit more bite to it; a sign of what was to come from our cinematic output by the end of the decade...and due to that, they were over the moon with it.

The Manchurian Candidate is a chilling thriller revolving around Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), a Korean War vet who had been captured and brainwashed by communists. Once he returns to the United States, he falls into being an assassin as part of a communist conspiracy. 

This is likely one of the more seen and known entries on this list, so I may not delve into this one as much.

HOWEVER - I did want to single out Angela Lansbury, who plays Raymond Shaw's mother Eleanor Shaw-Iselin, who married Senator John Iselin. He is the Vice Presidential nominee for the upcoming election but the goal is for the main candidate to be assassinated so that John Iselin can become the nominee by default.

Lansbury is the person I referred to earlier when I said that I would've voted for someone else other than Patty Duke, but it just goes to show how problematic some of these awards competitions can be. Most of us think as Lansbury these days for her work as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote or her legendary streak of Broadway musical performances from Mame to Sweeney Todd or the fact that she was the voice of Mrs. Potts in Beauty & The Beast. 

To see her in this role was an absolute mindblower for me when I first saw it. Her screen presence is pure power and could send a shiver down your spine.

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#6 - LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT

Directed by Sidney Lumet

Written by Eugene O'Neill

The fact that this film is only #6 on this list is a clear example of how strong of a year 1962 is, because I am typically a sucker for this material

Long Day's Journey into Night is the semi-autobiographical magnum opus of the luminous playwright Eugene O'Neill, who had passed away nearly a decade prior to the film getting released. In fact, he had written the play more so to work out his own family and personal demons and forbid anyone to produce it as a play even after he passed away.

When he did pass in 1953, his widow Carlotta insisted it be published. O'Neill had given a sealed manuscript of the play to Random House saying they should wait for it to be published 25 years following his death. He sent another sealed copy to the O'Neill Collection at Yale.

The results were truly stunning. I would gladly accept the claim of someone calling it the finest play ever written, and as expected, the film does excel because they use O'Neill's text without any real adjustment aside from making the film a bit more cinematic in its staging. 

We watch a family crumble to their various dysfunctions throughout a single day, which includes father James (Ralph Richardson), mother Mary (Katharine Hepburn), eldest son Jamie (Jason Robards), and youngest son Edmund (Dean Stockwell). 

Each of them has various resentments and bitter feelings towards the others...to put it mildly...and all of this leads up younger Edmund developing what is believed to be tuberculosis and Mary falling captive to her morphine addiction.

I have never exactly been as passionate a fan of Katharine Hepburn compared to some of her contemporaries (I responded more to Bette Davis typically), but this might very well be the finest Hepburn had ever been in a film. Mary Tyrone is such a devastating and difficult role and frankly, I think she should've won an Oscar for this over Bancroft and Davis and Remick (there was also Geraldine Page in Sweet Bird of Youth). 

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#5 - IVAN'S CHILDHOOD 

Written & Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

(Although he was uncredited for writing it)

Co-written by Vladimir Bogomolov, Andrei Konchalovsky, & Mikhail Papava

It is always a treat when I get to discuss a filmmaker who hit a bullseye on their first go-round. While not as abstract or challenging as his later films would be, Ivan's Childhood is a clear sign that this Andrei Tarkovsky fellow would be going places.

Upon its release, the Soviet Union was still in the midst of the Khrushchev Thaw, which was the ease on censorship and a quest of finding a "peaceful coexistence" with other nations following the reign of Joseph Stalin.

What better way to go after that kind of ideal than looking into the horrors of war and how it can deeply affect young children? Based on Vladmir Bogomolov's short story "Ivan", Ivan's Childhood focuses on the titular 12-year old boy who is left orphaned following his parents' murder by German forces in the midst of WWII.

Even though Tarkovsky felt passionate about conveying his hatred of war, he certainly didn't feel the film was as strong as it could of been. It may not be his best work, but I would argue that the emotional weight of it is a lot stronger. Perhaps that might be due to the film being a little more "accessible" than say Stalker or Mirror.

In the end, the artist may always bemoan their work while others praise it. Tarkovsky would further develop his craft, but considering it was his debut, he gave us one of the most beautiful and poetic war-themed films ever made.

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#4 - LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

Directed by David Lean

Written by Robert Bolt & Michael Wilson

If I were to be basing this list off of what film is most often selected as the best film from 1962, it just seems like Lawrence of Arabia would be the likely candidate.

Looking at a film like this, one might just see it as a grand sweeping epic of such scale that perhaps some directors would've relied simply on that to carry everything. Certainly it IS an epic of that scale, but David Lean was the kind of filmmaker who could find a way to portray a strong character arc within the cacophony. 

Lawrence of Arabia manages to be an excellent character study that masquerades as a sweeping epic. Lean's take on the involvement of the British in Arabia is rather biting and cynical, and he certainly doesn't shy away from T.E. Lawrence's (a remarkable Peter O'Toole) tendency to be obsessed with himself and how that can cloud some of his own judgements.

Much like with The Manchurian Candidate, this is likely one of the more widely seen films on this list and I am not sure I have as much to offer to the discourse either. I will admit that perhaps this is one of those films that I admire greatly as a whole rather than the sum of its parts. It can be a bit slow moving at times, but I can't help but marvel at what David Lean accomplished here...but considering I am one of those film people who thinks Lean's best film was Brief Encounter, maybe that comment shouldn't come as a surprise.

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#3 - AN AUTUMN AFTERNOON

Written & Directed by Yosujiro Ozu

I would be remiss if I didn't say I felt a tinge of sadness as I began writing this. When I wrote about The End of Summer on my 1961 post, I mentioned we would be getting Ozu's swan song for 1962.

When it comes to a grand finale, I think Ozu should be very pleased that he was able to go out with something like An Autumn Afternoon, which I think is one of his best. Perhaps the only unfortunate aspect is that his frequent muse Setsuko Hara is not featured here, but we still have a strong ensemble of Ozu regulars including Chishu Ryu and Shima Iwashita.

As for what Ozu gives us with An Autumn Afternoon, he sticks very closely to his usual themes: family, societal expectations, and the patriarchy.

Ryu plays Shuhei, a widower with 3 adult children. The only daughter Michiko (Iwashita), who is 24, is still single and he feels he has a duty to see to it that she gets married...so in true Anatevka fashion, he tried to arrange a marriage for her.

What I always find so remarkable about Ozu's work is that he challenges some of the stuffier and archaic customs of his home country, but always does it in a way that doesn't feel preachy or melodramatic. He also handles all of his characters with grace and dignity. Ozu was a filmmaker who had no ounce of pretension; for every flash provided by Kurosawa or Mizoguchi or Teshighara or Kobayashi, Ozu was there (along with Mikio Naruse) to provide the quiet and genteel dramas and bittersweet slice-of-life stories. 

In some ways, it makes me think of Ingmar Begman...although not necessarily in the visual aesthetic area as Bergman could be seen as very distinct in his style...but the comparison for me is that both he and Ozu relied a lot on the face of their actors to be their canvas. 

I treasure Ozu's work, and while at first glance he may seem a bit static, the passion brimming in his work is rather glorious...and I wish I could've had more of his films to discuss for the 60s. However, one of these days I will tackle the 40s and 50s which will give me a chance to go gaga for him again.

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#2 - HARAKIRI

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

Written by Shinobi Hashimoto

When I wrote about Kobayashi's A Soldier's Prayer in my 1961 post, I mentioned that another one of his films is the current reigning #1 film on Letterboxd as of this writing: Harakiri.

Samurai films are certainly known for their action sequences, and sure, those are done to absolute perfection here, but what makes Harakiri so spellbinding is how its story is structured and how well it uses the flashback motif as way to give us information without it seeming like an earful of exposition. 

The story is pretty straightforward in that Tsugumo Hanshiro (Tatsuta Nakadai) is a veteran who has lost everything good in his life. He has no job and he has no family to call his own, so he comes into the courtyard of the House of Iyi with one mission in mind: to find someone to help him commit seppuku (or "harakiri"), or rather - a ritualistic suicide. 

Instead, the senior counselor of the Iyi clan Saito (Rentaro Mikuni) tries to disaude him from doing this by telling him the story of Motome, another ronin veteran who approached the clan for the same exact ritual and the painful details of what occurred when the clan took offense to the increased number of suicides that had come about. 

Harakiri is a brutal and devastating film; Kobayashi's visions come off as very dark compared to other similar Japanese filmmakers like Kurosawa or Mizoguchi, but I am shocked at how often I end up overlooking him. It seems like more people are taking notice of his work (hence the Letterboxd rankings) and the more I think about Harakiri, the more I compelled to revisit it again.

It is hard to truly convey the experience that a lot of these post-war Japanese films can bring, even the smaller ones like those by Ozu or Naruse. 

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#1 - CLEO FROM 5 TO 7

Written & Directed by Agnes Varda

If I were to come up with a Mount Rushmore of films that would be symbolic of representing the finest of the French New Wave, Cleo from 5 to 7 would undoubtedly be on it. 

It gives me great joy whenever I get to talk about the badass and groundbreaking filmmaker that was Belgian-born Agnes Varda, a true icon for women in film and also the spouse of another icon of French cinema, Jacques Demy, who will we see making some appearances in the coming years. 

Varda was, in my opinion, the filmmaker who should truly be given the distinction of starting the French New Wave with her debut 1955 film La Pointe Courte. Although, Cleo from 5 to 7 was something else entirely. I can still vividly remember watching it for the first time.

I was 15 years old and it was January of 2004. We were in the midst of the award season where Sofia Coppola was getting a lot of attention for her wonderful film Lost in Translation which she make her the first American (and only 3rd ever overall) to get an Oscar nomination for Best Director.

My local library had a great film curator who recommended I check out the works of two beloved female filmmakers, one was Chantal Akerman (who was also Belgian) and Agnes Varda. 

It took me a little while to warm up to Akerman, but Varda had me compelled from the very beginning. We watch a professional singer known as Cleo Victoire (Corrine Marchand) who attends a tarot card reading. She is a bit on edge because she is awaiting the results of a biopsy to learn if she has stomach cancer. When the reader pulls the Death card, she tries to quell Cleo's fears that it just means a big transformation is coming; it doesn't have to mean that it is anything bad. Cleo takes it to heart and we proceed to follow her life for the next hour and a half while she waits to hear back from her doctor. 

I know that sounds simple and it might sound like I am just trying to sound like I am wanting to praise something for being profound even if it seems like not much happens. All I can say was that this is one of those films that felt like a game changer when I saw it that cold January evening. 

On the surface, this may be a film about a singer waiting to find out if she does have cancer, but Varda makes it so much more. A lot of the film has us seeing Cleo through her reflections in mirrors...including ones that are broken (like the one above). She has an image for herself, even if the idea of "Cleo" is not entirely real to her, and she is not willing to be looked at as an object no matter how others might try. She is a woman of individuality...and in terms of presence, it is hard to take your eyes off of her.

When Agnes Varda passed away at the age of 90 in 2019, I mourned her death just as many film fans and filmmakers did. Varda herself was a woman of individuality and I treasure everything she was able to give to us. What I would give for her to be able to live another 90 years.

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FINAL THOUGHTS: 

Yeah, I would say 1962 lives up to its reputation. This isn't even taking into account that I didn't call out some films that were fun, but not quite up to snuff to make a list like this. One example was the rather solid film adaptation of Meredith Wilson's seminal Broadway hit The Music Man or the very first James Bond outing with Dr. No or Stanley Kubrick's respectable though rather hollow adaptation of Lolita or perhaps one of the more glaring omissions from this list that some might have noticed: To Kill a Mockingbird.

As we come to the end of this post, I will mention again that I approach 1963 with a little bit of gloom. There WILL be some fantastic films on it, but it was a year that Hollywood greatly struggled and won't make as much of a dent. 

We do have some of our best masters making more appearances, so that is always something to rejoice.

ALONG CAME A SPIDER...& IT WAS GOD...& HE WANTS SEX: The Best Films of 1961

Bouncing around from decade to decade without a care in the world, I decide to venture into the fascinating decade for cinema that was the 1960s. What I find fascinating about the 1960s is how much international cinema still continues to dominate much like it was in the 1950s.

By comparison, Hollywood cinema was suffering. I say that there were obviously some amazing exceptions going against the rule, but the early 60s were still embracing the tired and archaic boundaries of the Hays Code. Once we get to the late 60s and the advent of the MPAA rating system...which is still problematic in its own way...we begin to see a dramatic shift in the kinds of films we will see come out from Hollywood as the seeds are planted for the glorious renaissance of the 1970s.

I wrote about 1960 a couple of years ago, which you can read about here. I have yet to tackle the rest of the decade, so we shall start with 1961 and proceed.

I do want to make one comment about a film that I am leaving off this list which will likely surprise a lot of you. I am not including West Side Story, and I will say that as a fan of musicals, I have a bit of a rocky history with this one. I do acknowledge its groundbreaking legacy for how certain stories could be told in a musical, but I do think the film suffers GREATLY thanks to its leads. Richard Beymer gives such a wooden and lifeless performance as Tony that it is hard to even connect with him. Natalie Wood fares a little bit better as Maria, but of course...she is acting in brownface. 

The Hays Code did say that different races could not appear onscreen in a romantic capacity, which would lead to some rather heinous casting decisions in those first 30-40 years of Hollywood. 

With that said, we shall begin the list with...not surprisingly...a non-English-language film. 

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 #10 - A DIFFICULT LIFE

Directed by Dino Risi

Written by Rodolfo Sonego

A somewhat forgotten Italian film that got lost in the shuffle next to works by the likes of Fellini and Antonioni, A Difficult Life is one of the pinnacles of Commedia all'italiana.  

Dino Risi is a filmmaker who reveled in this style, and he is able to make a story surrounding a rather serious topic and give it a lot of levity.

Silvio (Alberto Sordi) is a journalist who had fought during WWII and is facing the changes in Italy's political arena, but when he writes some vitriolic articles against the fascist regime, he ends up facing jail time. The story is told from the ending of WWII up to 1960 and it is remarkable how the film is able to accomplish telling so much from that span of time. 

It manages to be such a strong and biting satire while having this amazing mix of melancholy at the same time. It manages to tell so much while not sacrificing a lot of our emotional well-being...not that a film that drives us to tears is a bad thing, but it is always the mark of a strong filmmaker when he can mold comedy and tragedy together and not make it seem jarring in any way.

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#9 - THE END OF SUMMER 

Written & Directed by Yasujiro Ozu

Co-written by Kogo Noda

While not as discussed as some of his other works, The End of Summer is yet another strong effort from the master that was Yosujiro Ozu, a filmmaker I have raved about many a time on this blog and one that I feel had one of the most consistent streaks of any filmmaker in history.

The End of Summer would also be his penultimate film (spoiler alert: we will be seeing his final film on the 1962 list), as he passed away in 1963 at only 60 years old.

As is the case with many of his works, the story revolves around family dynamics within the confines of Japanese cultures and society. An older man by the name of Manbei (Nakamura Ganijiro) is the proprietor of a small sake factory, but his family becomes concerned as finances seem to be dwindling fast. They soon discover that he has been visiting with an old mistress from his past and that he may be giving her a lot of his money.

As expected, some of Ozu's regulars are here, such as the ever-lovely Setsuko Hara...but this is also one of the very few films that Ozu made in color. For some reason, I always felt him working in color was a bit jarring...but I will admit that the images of this film are quite lovely and it might be where the color cinematography works best.

Ozu was so adept at making these bittersweet stories that could be described as tragicomic and this is one of his strongest in that regard. It is essentially a look at the idea of death and the changing of Japan...which still seems particularly fitting with Ozu nearing the end of his own life.

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#8 - LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD

Directed by Alain Renais

Written by Alain Robbe-Grillet

Combing the feeling of the French New Wave mixed with the flourishes of Italian masters like Fellini and Antonioni, Alain Renais and his collaborator were able to achieve something so surreal with Last Year at Marienbad. In fact, Renais wanted the film to feel like it was a relic of the silent era of cinema and even asked Eastman Kodak to help him recreate the sort of mildly warped look old film often had...and in the process, wanted his performers to wear makeup more appropriate for the 1920s. The filmmaking effect was not fully achieved, but it still very much comes off as a fascinating aesthetic.

The image above is very well known as we see long shadows of the people, but the trees don't give off a shadow. This is because there was no sun that day, so the shadows of the people were painted on the ground. Oh, the magic of filmmaking...

Set at a luxury hotel with a ornate park accompanying it on the property, we meet two people who are only credited as "The Man" and "The Woman", these would be Giorgio Albertazzi and Delphine Seyrig (yes, Jeanne Dielman herself!). Everything about them, and a second man who appears (Sacha Pitoeff) are more or less a mystery.

We think that the man and the woman may have met before and it is possible they may have had an affair. The second man's identity also seems to be in question, but it is also possible he is the husband to the woman. 

A lot of the reason why I wanted to include Last Year at Marienbad here is that it feels like one of the most unsung achievements of arthouse cinema. It is so surreal and unusual in its approach but made with such style and care and detail that I can't help but admire it. 

It isn't necessarily a film I have a desire to revisit often, but it is one that I do think deserves more attention for how successful it is at setting out such an alluring and mysterious story that challenges its audience to not fully grasp what is happening and even if it may be real.

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#7 - A TASTE OF HONEY

Directed by Tony Richardson

Written by Shelagh Delaney w/Richardson

We are right in the heart of the era of British entertainment where the "social realist" style became quite popular, or as it became to be known: "kitchen sink dramas".

Usually these plays/films were mostly connected to that of writer Harold Pinter but another writer (and a female at that) who received a lot of attention for that genre was Shelagh Delaney.

In 1958, her play A Taste of Honey premiered to great success at the Theatre Royal Stratford East which was considered a fringe socialist theatre and one of the only outlets that would take it on as it was deemed a bit too radical for the relatively stuffy British society at the time. Delaney's goal was to revitalize British theatre and address social issues that weren't being discussed. That production happened to star two legends: Angela Lansbury and Joan Plowright. 

Our lead is Jo (Rita Tushingham), who is 17 going on 18 and living with her other Helen (Dora Bryan), a loud- and foul-mouthed woman who is unable to pay the rent and frequently takes in gentleman callers (and apparently not the kind that send jonquils...I guess Helen isn't like Amanda Wingfield...).

Helen ends up going off with Pere, a much younger man while Jo takes a similar path by meeting a younger black sailor named Jimmy (Paul Danquah). When it seems as though they may get married upon Jo turning 18, he goes back out to sea and Jo discovers she is pregnant by him.

Once she gives birth to the child, she takes up lodging with an acquaintance named Geoffrey (Murray Melvin) who just so happens to be gay...although he becomes something of a surrogate father.

I think A Taste of Honey is the kind of film that was very important for its time...and it is no surprise that it began its life as a play. While some of the storylines might scream like something you'd see on a soap opera, the dynamics and the grittier smokestack surroundings of North England ground you.

I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I once had a coworker who claimed that the Brits don't make good films...and shockingly, I understood what he meant when he said it. And yet...now I think about it, and I realize how terribly wrong he was.

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#6 - THE HUSTLER

Written & Directed by Robert Rossen

Co-written by Sidney Carroll

When I think of actors who exuded some kind of charisma that could be seen as "off the charts" with a screen presence that felt cool even as they entered old age, I wouldn't object if that list began and ended with Paul Newman. 

In one of the defining roles of his illustrious career, the titular hustler known as Fast Eddie Felson is one cocky son of a bitch and he is out to prove something. His goal is to challenge a legendary pool shark known as Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) and strengthen his reputation, but in reality, his own self-destructive tendencies get the better of him.

Hmmm...could someone revamp this into a modern-day story for Timothee Chalamet????

It's not just Newman or Gleason who give strong performances here. You also have the great George C. Scott and Piper Laurie, both also nominated for Oscars as well. Laurie, in particular, is captivating here and its also interesting how she stopped working for 15 years after this film only to get an Oscar nomination for her first film upon her return: Carrie...a dramatic horror film no less. 

Perhaps the film does falter a bit in the middle. In fact, that was one of the major reasons I never thought much of the film when I first saw it, but it is hard to deny how slick and stylish The Hustler is. Black & White cinema was seen by some as archaic as people viewed silent films in the 30s, but the truth is that B&W can be so glorious. It also lends itself perfectly to films like The Hustler to the point where I don't think its vibe would've exceeded as well in color.

Newman would go on to win his long overdue Oscar for the film's defacto sequel The Color of Money, which certainly isn't a bad performance, but it is the prime example of how the Academy has the history of finally giving a legend an Oscar for lesser work. Newman could've won for The Hustler (although the person who did win that year is in the next film on this list and he was very deserving), but I do think Newman was truly win worthy for Cool Hand Luke and especially The Verdict. He did always seem to compete against people who always edged him out, but if he had won for any of those films, it would've been well deserved.

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#5 - JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG

Directed by Stanley Kramer 

Written by Abby Mann

The highest of the Hollywood films to make the list for this year, Judgement at Nuremberg is a fictionalized depiction of the legendary Nuremberg trials that saw four judges and prosecutors (in reality, it was 16 total) facing charges for crimes against humanity as they had been part of the judicial system during the Nazi Occupation in Germany.

Even if the film is fictionalized, I do think that Mann's script handles the subject matter with a lot of dignity and vitality. Considering how pulpy or melodramatic films in the same vain as this could often get at that time, I feel like the emotional power was earned here.

The ensemble here is stellar. Spencer Tracy doing sterling work alongside Maximillian Schell in his Oscar winning performance as the German defense attorney Hans Rolfe; he especially is such a fascinating screen presence. He would even go on to have a lot of power in such a minimal role in 1977's Julia that he'd get an Oscar nomination for it. Nowadays, it actually feels like a surprise when these awards bodies actually give their trophies to legit supporting performances rather than co-leading ones. But I digress...

Lancaster, Dietrich, Widmark, and Montgomery Clift (in what may be his best work) give their all...it makes me feel like this may have been the film to win the SAG Best Ensemble award had it existed in the 60s. Although, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the lady of prowess that is Judy Garland.

In a smaller role as Irene Hoffman, Garland gives one of the finest performances of her career. It doesn't require any of her musical talents whatsoever but proves just how capable she was as a dramatic actress. Her scene on the stand when she feels as though she may indirectly end up helping the prosecution despite the horrors she faced during the Holocaust is so captivating. Aside from A Star is Born, this is easily the finest achievement of her career. She was expected to finally win an Oscar for it but lost in what was considered an upset to Rita Moreno for West Side Story. Unlike her loss to Grace Kelly when she was up for A Star is Born, it is hard to begrudge Moreno's win as she was far and away the best thing about West Side Story. 

Sorry, I went off on a tangent there. Nevertheless, Judgment at Nuremberg is a strong achievement from this era of Hollywood. A very bold and intense look at such a horrific time in human history. 

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#4 - LA NOTTE

Written & Directed by Michaelangelo Antonioni

Co-written by Ennio Flaiano & Tonino Guerra

La Notte was a film that bored me to tears when I first saw it, and then when I watched it a second time, it was as if the world went from black & white to technicolor...even though the film IS in black & white.

Antonioni was, perhaps, the true definition of an arthouse filmmaker. I don't typically put him on the same level as someone like Ingmar Bergman, but if we are talking about a filmmaker who is able to drive a lot of his films based on mood/vibe and making it compelling, I would put money down on Antonioni being a master at that. 

La Notte was the second film of a trilogy that began with 1960's L'Avventura (which was featured on my list for that year) and was followed by 1962's L'Eclisse (spoiler alert: that will be on that year's list)...and I might be inclined to say it's my favorite of the trilogy even though I am not even sure why that is the case.

La Notte tells the story of a couple going through a difficult time in their marriage: Giovani (Marcello Mastroianni) and Lidia (Jeanne Moreau). Giovanni and Lidia visit the hospital of a dying friend named Tommaso (Bernhard Wicki) and despite his ailment, they all drink champagne to celebrate the release of Giovanni's latest novel, which translates to The Season.

However, Tommaso's pain becomes too severe which causes Lidia to leave the room and to wait outside the hospital. Once Giovanni leaves his friend, he is accosted by a sick younger woman who tries to seduce him. He agrees to do it until nurses interrupt them. Once he returns to Lidia and go to return home, he realizes Lidia is already onto him after he tries to pass off the encounter as "sleazy" and thus sets off the disintegration of a marriage over the course of a single day.

La Notte is paced to perfection. Antonioni always had a knack for allowing his stories to flow in rather subtle manner and before you would even realize what was happening, the character beats have drastically moved forward which leads to a truly remarkable ending.

Considering Antonini was a peer to Federico Fellini, I would say that he managed to find something of a middle ground between the glitzier and sumptuous style of Fellini and the grittier feeling of the Neorealist age that mostly had its time in the 40s and 50s. I do think Antonioni's work has a glitzier style compared to the neorealist works, but there was always something more grounded about his work if you were to put it next to something like La Dolce Vita or 8 1/2. 

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#3 - YOJIMBO

Written & Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Co-written by Ryuzo Kikushima & Hideo Uguni

Another iconic and influential film from the master known as Akira Kurosawa.

What is so hilarious about Yojimbo is that despite its high pedigree, it might be his 4th or 5th best film when it would likely be the best film for pretty much any other director. The themes of the film would go on to inspire Sergio Leone to make his spaghetti westerns, such as A Fistful of Dollars...although, Leone essentially plagiarized Yojimbo which led to a lawsuit.

Our protagonist is a nameless ronin (a forerunner to Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name in the previously mentioned Leone films). A ronin essentially means a samurai without a master, and not surprisingly, he is played by Kurosawa's muse Toshiro Mifune. This is likely one of his absolute best performances he ever gave which is sure saying a whole hell of a lot.

He takes on the name of Sanjuro Kuwabatake and gets involved with crime lords who are seeking for full authority of their small village. His "in" with the lords are that they both want to hire him as a bodyguard.

This might also be the funniest of Kurosawa's works as it is dripping with satire and farcical elements, and with how it takes on the brackets of the class system, I do think of it as having elements that would also go on to describe how Bong Joon-ho would tackle class in Parasite...although that was with far bleaker results. 

I do have to say one of my favorite stories about this film is how it had a screening in Maryland back in 1968 and that the hosts of the event hid away in the bathroom as attendees were freaking out at the violence. My how the times have changed...

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#2 - THE HUMAN CONDITION 3: A SOLDIER'S PRAYER

Written & Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

It's a shame that I have been writing a blog for almost a decade, and I don't believe I have ever talked about the work of Masaki Kobyayashi.

The first two installments of The Human Condition trilogy came out in 1959, which is a year I have not discussed on this blog. Those films are both great, but it is the final installment of A Soldier's Prayer that is the grandest. However, Kobayashi's best work will be featured on my 1962 list so stay tuned for that.

My history with the whole trilogy is not exactly positive, but I think part of that was due to how horribly these films were presented when they were released on DVD in the late 90s. I had been compelled to check them out after having seen and loved Kurosawa's work, so it only made since to give Kobayashi a try. The visual and audio quality of those DVDs were horrendous to the point I couldn't even finish the films in full. 

In 2009, The Criterion Collection stepped in and worked their magic. I am fully convinced that a lot of people had a similar experience as me because in the past 15 years, the passionate raves this trilogy has received are undeniable. As of this writing (though it is subject to change very fast, and I didn't even realize it was THIS high), A Soldier's Prayer is ranked as the #2 film of all time! Part 1 is 9, and Part 2 is at 25. Yet another spoiler alert: the current #1 on Letterboxd just so happens to be the next Kobayashi film that I said will be on my 1962 list.

I do eventually want to talk about the first two installments once I make my way through the 50s to 1959, but the main storyline of the film follows Kaji (Tatsuka Nakadai) leading his soldiers behind enemy lines after Japan had lost their battle with Russia. 

This is not a film with a happy ending, but it stays with you: that image of Kaji walking through the bitter winter landscapes desperate for aid. I get the idea of not wanting to watch depressing films all the time, but I am of the belief that I don't always want something to end on a positive note. Life doesn't work that way, and I feel like films need to take on that approach. It all depends on how you frame it, and in the case of something like A Soldier's Prayer, it is first class.

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#1 - THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY

Written & Directed by Ingmar Bergman

For the second year in a row, Ingmar Bergman took home the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar following The Virgin Spring. Of the two, I actually think I prefer the former even though this one is ranking higher on this list. Although, saying it is "higher" is certainly cheeky considering it is at #1.

As is his won't, Bergman is ready to delve in headfirst to tell the tale of a family in crisis amped up to 11. One of his earlier mainstays, Harriet Andersson, plays a young wife with schizophrenia named Karin. She is married to Martin (another Bergman regular, Max von Sydow) and they are traveling to a remote island (the first of many films shot on the island of Faro) along with Karin's novelist father David (yet another Bergman regular, Gunnar Bjornstrand), and her youngest brother Minus (Lars Passgard...in his film debut and wouldn't work with Bergman again). 

This was a period of Bergman's career where he was heavily focused on faith in God whether that be in relation to questioning his existence, his motives, if he is love or if he is hate.

Andersson gives quite possibly her finest performance in this, and it is easily one of the greatest Bergman ever captured. It is to be expected that if you were to watch the majority of Bergman's biggest successes, you aren't in for the easiest of rides.

Through a Glass Darkly is beautiful, but also very haunting and you're left with a near-constant sense of unease. You could even go as far to say that the film is essentially us witnessing pure mental torment for nearly 90 minutes...but by golly, if there is a filmmaker who is going to make me willing to go along for that ride, it is Ingmar Bergman.

I will add that one thing that greatly hurts this film is its ending, which is something Bergman himself has regretted as he felt as though the idea of "God is Love" was mainly disingenuous and that it felt as though he was trying to "smear a diffuse veneer of love" to be more positive and reassuring.

Also - if you want shock value, you get some incest and talk of God as a spider trying to rape you so there's that. ;-)

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

As I mentioned in my intro, the first half of the 60s was mainly dominated by international films...but perhaps what I find really interesting about the first part of the decade is how erratic it becomes year by year. I really love 1960 as a year for film, but 1961 wasn't as strong in comparison. 1962 is often considered one of the great years of cinema, while 1963 is one of my least favorites off the top of my head...despite there being a couple of masterpieces. That trend continues as I recall 1964 being better and then 1965 taking a bit of a dip. 

Things start to turn with 1966...and while I would argue the decade ends on a mild whimper with 1969, I do consider this to be such a fascinating decade in so many facets beyond just cinema.

Stay tuned for 1962!

ONE ONLINE DISCOURSE AFTER ANOTHER: My Reactions to the 98th Oscars

I read a comment online that claimed that One Battle After Another would become known as this decade's Crash. I know art is supposed to be objective, but this comment is preposterous in my eyes. This person further claimed that a similar enough robbery occurred when Oppenheimer beat Barbie. 

I am not expecting everyone who watches these awards to follow the season like a lot of crazy people do...such as myself...but there was no way in hell Barbie was winning Best Picture that year. That would've been the biggest Best Picture upset of all time.

Having said that, Sinners really did have the means to pull off a surprise.

We will get to that, though. 

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THE CEREMONY ITSELF:

There was something very kitschy but classy about the set this year. It felt like a relic of the past, but in a refreshing way. On top of that, Conan O'Brien was back and managed to impress me as the host yet again. I do say that as someone who has been a huge fan of his since childhood, so I am pretty die hard when it comes to him. 

I recall last year when he made the very pointed joke about Karla Sofia Gascon and her infamous Tweets, and I thought before the show that I hope he calls out Timothee Chalamet and his misguided comments about ballet and opera...and he did. Oh, and also him calling out how England arrested their pedophile, but God forbid if we arrest any of ours in power. I also really loved his joke about Jessie Buckley giving birth alone in the woods in Hamnet as being a great example of affordable health care by American standards...the truth hurts. 

The actual opening with him being chased by kids a la Amy Madigan's Aunt Gladys was truly a lot of fun, and it does signal how iconic that character has become in such a short amount of time. 

I do think they got VERY picky and choosy about which speeches to cut off, and at times, it just felt rude. I also see why some might bemoan the fact that they let "Golden" and "I Lied to You" be the only Best Song nominees to perform as it shows a certain disrespect to the other nominees...including perennial nominee Diane Warren. However, it is clear that the two songs that got to be featured were the far and away strongest contenders. I also love that we didn't get any extraneous film bits or random homages, such as the James Bond one from last year. Those are often filler and even with them being very tight with cutting speeches, the show still ran over by 40 or so minutes.... not that this is anything new.

The fact the show starts at 7 now is a godsend. I can still remember how they would start at 8:30 and run past midnight...which was completely unnecessary and brutal. Considering some of us have day jobs that make us want to slap people on a daily basis and have us wake up at 5am, I do love the idea of being able to get to bed before 11.

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THE TECH CATEGORIES:

I don't have much to say about these. The fact that Frankenstein won Production Design, Costumes, and Makeup/Hairstyling was pretty expected, as was Avatar: Fire & Ash taking Visual Effects.

I do think it was interesting to see the results of both Cinematography and the brand-new category of Casting. Most of us suspected that OBAA would win the former while Sinners would win the latter...and then both films swapped. It did signal early on that OBAA was likely going to be the big victor, even if the Cinematography win for Sinners proved it was not out of it yet.

We also got ourselves a rare tie, this time in the Live Action Short Film category. We've only had, what, 3 true ties in Academy history? (1931 Best Actor was technically not a legit tie).

I will say that part of me is still bummed that Jonny Greenwood has yet to win an Oscar for one of his scores. The crazy thing was I left other films thinking about their score more than Sinners, even the snubbed Marty Supreme. In the end though, Ludwig Goransson is such a great composer, so it is hard to begrudge him getting more flowers.

Even with that swap between Sinners and OBAA, I wouldn't the results in these categories are that surprising.

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THE ELITE 8:

Best Adapted Screenplay - Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

Even if Sinners had taken off with a surprise Best Director win and a Best Picture victory that would've felt similar in its path to films like Parasite, we at least had the guarantee that PTA was going to finally win his first Oscar. 

This was simply a long time coming. I would argue that in his career up to this point, I would've given maybe 5-6 Oscars for a mix of Directing and Screenwriting. He was so overdue that it was insane. If I am being honest though, I am not sure if I felt a win for him here was as necessary. If we are talking strictly from a dialogue standpoint, I was more impressed with Will Tracy's work on Bugonia. 

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Best Original Screenplay - Ryan Coogler, Sinners

Another foregone conclusion and we can now claim Ryan Coogler as an Oscar winner. I feel like this category was very stacked compared to Adapted. Despite getting unfairly snubbed for Best Picture, I did really love seeing It Was Just an Accident on this list. Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, and Blue Moon all had such strong scripts, and all felt so different from each other that it is hard to determine which I liked more.

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Best Supporting Actor - Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

I was one of the people who wanted to go out on a limb and predict Delroy Lindo even though that was a crazy gamble. Sean Penn won both of the two major industry precursors and that is hard to deny when it comes to predicting...BUT...he basically did no campaigning, didn't even show up to give a speech at either of the two previous award shows, has a bit of a bad reputation, and has two Oscars to his name already.

In the end, his performance was rather strong and that was what carried the day. What a chaotic race that became! Early on, he was seen as the frontrunner and then we kept getting thrown curveballs with his co-star Del Toro sweeping critics' prizes, Elordi winning CC, and Skarsgard winning the Globe. 

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Best Supporting Actress - Amy Madigan, Weapons

To be clear, I really thought highly of all these nominees...but Amy Madigan winning this feels like such an awesome and truly remarkable selection because not only is it a horror movie villain performance, but she was the sole nominee for her film.

Not even Demi Moore could win for The Substance despite winning multiple precursors and being in a Best Picture nominee...but it just seems like this was a year where too much buzz and passion for Madigan's narrative and work carried the day. It also helps that she is just so quirky and delightful and eccentric which only adds to the joy of seeing her get to give a speech.

When I saw Weapons back in August, I walked out of that film saying that I wanted her to get an awards campaign, but I wasn't confident that it would happen. I thought, like many, that at best she would be a filler nominee that would get people buzzing but the fact that critics embraced her and then her buzz took off was extraordinary.  

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Best Actor - Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

It is crazy to think that even just a month ago, most of us felt that Timothee Chalamet's first Oscar win was going to happen. He won the CC and the Globe, and even when many suspected he would lose at SAG as they've never given anyone back-to-back awards for Lead Acting, the expectation was that he'd win BAFTA and that would solidify him as the true frontrunner.

Then, BAFTA gave their prize to Robert Aramayo for I Swear, a film that has not been released in the States yet. I did believe there was a world where Jordan could take SAG but that it likely wouldn't translate to an Oscar. However, once he won AFTER Chalamet lost at BAFTA, I decided to predict him here...even though someone winning an Oscar with just SAG doesn't really happen. There was still a path for Chalamet...and his comments about the ballet/opera only went viral the day after voting closed so it was likely just his snobby/cocky demeanor for months on end that helped cost him.

Plus, they made DiCaprio wait over 20 years for his first and he gave far superior performances to anything Chalamet has done...and I say that as someone who really did love his work in Marty Supreme.

Jordan winning here was a moment and considering I can still recall watching him on The Wire way back when, I love seeing him get this kind of moment.

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Best Actress - Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

One of the true locks of the night and the only acting performance to sweep the season of televised precursors awards (although Rose Byrne did do very well with critics).

Buckley is such a wonderful actress, and it has been such a joy to watch her give all of these amazing and passionate speeches. Her work in Hamnet was powerful and I will always have the image of her wailing at her son's death seared into my brain. 

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Best Director - Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

There was certainly a part of me who was a tad pensive with this one. Was there a world where Ryan Coogler could pull off an upset here similar to that of Bong Joon ho beating Sam Mendes?

I did think it was possible, but the big difference is that 1917 didn't seem like a passionate favorite in the same vein as not just OBAA but Sinners as well. Sam Mendes also already had an Oscar to his name while PTA was immensely overdue. 

I do think it is a shame we have still yet to have a black person win in Best Director. It feels even more jarring to think that we've had films like 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight win the top prize, but McQueen and Jenkins didn't get a Directing prize.

In the end, PTA winning his first Directing Oscar is about as gratifying for me as when Scorsese finally got his...except I admittedly feel this was an even better win. 

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Best Picture - One Battle After Another

I can understand why some would take issue with the film, or at least the first act as Teyana Taylor's character is a bit much and hard to connect with. I know that I admittedly struggled with the film and didn't begin to truly love it until it moved on to the portion where Chase Infiniti came into the picture. 

I say this as a cis white man, so I guess take that as you will, but I think the reason the film worked for me was that in the end, I love the absolutely ridiculous take it had on white supremacy. I almost get the sense from some of the online discourse that people feel like the film somehow glorified the racism. 

One could argue that the black fetishism was a bit uncomfortable to say the least, but also...that felt like the point to me. Sean Penn's character is evil and unrepentant...and the people he is eager to impress are just as vile. 

DiCaprio's character of Bob, while a hero of sorts, is bumbling and is buoyed up by immigrants, like Benicio Del Toro's immortal Sensei, and the help of such women of color like Regina Hall's character of Deandra. 

To me, I took the film as an example of two big themes: we need to rely on the youth and that immigrants/POC need to be embraced. Oh, and the third theme: White Supremacists are certainly dangerous, but it is fun to belittle them.

And with that, we end this very long and rather bizarre award season.

I will need to look more into the films that are due to come out in 2026 as some of the offerings do seem to be very up my alley, not to mention the return of some really wonderful filmmakers.

ONE PREDICTION POST AFTER ANOTHER: What I Predict to Win at the 2026 Oscars

It is time for my final predictions for this year's Academy Awards. 

I would say of the top 8 categories, I am mostly predicting what is considered to take the prize. Maybe one of the categories is a tad risky, but I do only have one prediction I would call a big gamble.

We still have another two weeks until Oscar night, but I think this is what I intend to stick with.

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BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

#1 - One Battle After Another

#2 - Hamnet

#3 - Bugonia

#4 - Frankenstein

#5 - Train Dreams

Every year, there always seems to be one film that I suspect will take a Screenplay award as a consolation prize, but instead we get a sweeper with the film expected to win the top prize.

I was part of the group early on that thought Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell had a shot to win here for Hamnet. It seems that even if somehow PTA ends up losing Best Director (which I really don't think will happen), this category is locked up for him. 

If I were being completely honest though, I LOVED Will Tracy's Bugonia script, but I feel like any year that a Yorgos Lanthimos film is in the running, its Screenplay is always overlooked despite being my favorite in the category. 

I really don't think Train Dreams or Frankenstein should be here. I know I am in a bit of a minority on Train Dreams, but I just didn't find that script to be the least bit compelling. I also think its use of the narration trope was unnecessary and intrusive. 

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BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

#1 - Sinners

#2 - Sentimental Value

#3 - Marty Supreme

#4 - It Was Just an Accident

#5 - Blue Moon

I would say this category is stronger than Adapted Screenplay...but much like PTA, I would say Ryan Coogler is a lock to win here for Sinners. I think that Sinners is such a far and away winner here that I also want to single out the other contenders here as they are quite stellar in their own ways.

Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt gave us Sentimental Value, which I will admit is not as strong as their previous effort The Worst Person in the World, but the film has managed to stay with and grow on me in the months since seeing it. However, I do think what makes the film sing is its acting quartet at the helm.

I know there are some who frankly cannot stand the film or the lead character (and its performer) that is its primary focus, but I personally loved Marty Supreme and considered its script to be very vibrant and propulsive. 

Then you have the two non-Best Picture nominees, which is a shame to say considering one of them is It Was Just an Accident. It is crazy to think that early in the season it seemed as though Jafar Panahi was being touted as the biggest competition in Best Director against PTA and now, the film barely squeaked by with this nod. I still think it deserved a lot more, including a couple of acting bids, and I am still glad Panahi got SOME kind of recognition.

Blue Moon was a mild surprise to sneak in here, and while some of the dialogue and bits might come off as a bit twee or old-fashioned, the script overall is rather fanciful and effective. It gives Ethan Hawke so much to work with, and the result is his best performance in film after First Reformed...but more on that later. 

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

#1 - Delroy Lindo, Sinners

#2 - Sean Penn, One Battle After Another

#3 - Stellan Skarsgard, Sentimental Value

#4 - Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein

#5 - Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another

No Guts-No Glory. This is the big swing I will be predicting.

What an insane category and it is also proof how chaotic award season can be, especially when there is a gap between the major awards. 

Before the season even began, Sean Penn was seen as the frontrunner but some suspected that his reputation and the fact that he already won 2 Oscars would not make him viable. 

Then the critics awards started pouring in which were heavily tipping towards his co-star Del Toro...but then CC went for Elordi in an upset and GG went for Skarsgard.

Only for Penn to bounce back to win both industry awards.

The logical answer is that Penn will likely win thanks to the power of his performance and the fact that OBAA is such a steamroller...but then again, Lindo's surprise nod and narrative and his campaigning mixed with the love of Sinners does make me wonder if he could somehow pull this off.

I decided to say yes. I would've felt a tad more confident if someone like Del Toro had won at SAG...but it's not like I am going to lose money on this so whatever I guess...

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

#1 - Amy Madigan, Weapons

#2 - Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners

#3 - Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another

#4 - Inga Ibsdotter Lileaas, Sentimental Value 

#5 - Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value

Where to even begin here? This category has been a bit all over the place; despite winning at CC and SAG, I don't think Madigan is a sure thing. It's not unheard of but considering Madigan is the sole nominee for her film, I do think the odds are a little stacked against her...not to mention she is playing a scary almost cartoonish villain of a horror film. Not even Demi Moore could win for a body horror film after winning GG, CC, and SAG and having her film in Picture, Director, and Screenplay. 

I am going to predict her though if only for the fact that she does seem to have a lot of goodwill and it's such a delicious performance. Mosaku may make a tad more sense on paper considering she won BAFTA and is in one of the major frontrunners.

Taylor may have won GG and had been seen as an early frontrunner, but I still don't think she will have the strength to make a major comeback. I'd admittedly be a bit shocked, and if I am also being honest, I don't think she would deserve it. I get why Warner Bros did it, but I think Chase Infiniti should've been campaigned in Supporting and she would've been very worthy to be on this list.

It's a shame the Sentimental Value ladies didn't take off because I really loved both of them...especially Lileaas. I also really hate that Odessa A'zion isn't here for Marty Supreme, because while watching that film, all I kept thinking was that I was floored she wasn't getting nominated everywhere.

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BEST ACTOR:

#1 - Michael B. Jordan, Sinners

#2 - Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme

#3 - Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

#4 - Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another

#5 - Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon 

This has been a very interesting category in that Timothee Chalamet was expected to waltz his way through the season and win the award. However, the one bump in the road that some warned about was him losing at SAG due to the fact he won last year for A Complete Unknown and no one had ever won back-to-back SAG awards except for one instance: Renee Zellweger winning Lead for Chicago and then the next year in Supporting for Cold Mountain. Considering that SAG does tend to run a bit more populist, I did think Jordan had a shot to pull it off...and he did. 

Now the question is...will he win the Oscar too?

What's crazy is that there was a time that someone just winning GG and CC would be far more viable for a win. In fact, Sean Penn's first win for Mystic River was won with these precursors. 

In recent years, I do think winning SAG and BAFTA has been far more viable because those voting bodies have overlap with the Academy. The big twist this year is that BAFTA went for a hometown selection: Robert Aramayo in I Swear, a film that has not yet been released over here.

The path to Chalamet's Oscar was expected to be GG, CC, BAFTA but here is where the mental math begins: if it weren't for Aramayo, would Chalamet have won BAFTA? Could that end up causing him to bounce back if those voters would prefer him without Aramayo in the picture?

Or - will Jordan's last minute surge in a potential Best Picture spoiler that got a huge swath of recognition be the one that carries day?

OR - could Wagner Moura somehow benefit from vote splitting?

As you can see, I decided to go for Jordan. I will openly admit that while I do find him to be a bit insufferable as a person in interviews, I preferred Chalamet to Jordan. I also really loved all these nominees honestly...but I do wish Jesse Plemons were here for Bugonia.

Hawke is more of a traditional pic in terms of it being a biopic with a transformative performance that he could sink his teeth into. I do wish he had played more of a role in this season because it was some of the best work of his career.

DiCaprio is an interesting case because he is in the frontrunner, but he is also not the sole focus of that film as it is more of an ensemble piece. I am not sure it was the kind of performance that felt undeniable in the end, but I did really love his work...especially the comedic edges. 

In the end, Jordan is my final prediction, but I do see a world where Chalamet could somehow sneak in...or even Maura pulling off a major upset.

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BEST ACTRESS:

#1 - Jessie Buckley, Hamnet

 

#2 - Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

#3 - Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value

#4 - Emma Stone, Bugonia

#5 - Kate Hudson, Song Sung Blue

Easily the only true acting lock of the night, Jessie Buckley will coast to this win with ease...and deservedly so. However, I can't deny the brilliance of Rose Byrne, whose performance in If I Had Legs is essentially an exposed nerve the entire time. 

Reinsve getting this nod is splendid, especially considering she deserved to be in WINNING contention for The Worst Person in the World and wiped the floor with basically every contender nominated that year. 

Emma Stone has become a true Academy darling, and she is certainly very strong in Bugonia...certainly better than in her first Oscar winning role in La La Land.

Then you have Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue...a performance that has divided people down the middle saying she is the worst of any of the 20 acting nominees this year and others saying she is actually worthy to win. 

But all that matters is that Buckley gave an emotionally raw performance and deserves the sweep of wins that she received.

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BEST DIRECTOR:

#1 - Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another

#2 - Ryan Coogler, Sinners

#3 - Chloe Zhao, Hamnet

#4 - Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value 

#5 - Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme 

PTA should be leaving the Oscars this year with, at least, his first two wins yet. It is still insane to me that with the career and quality of work he has done that this will be his very first time. 

The only person here that I think could pull off an upset would be Ryan Coogler, and that would be if they go all in for Sinners almost like they did when they gave Director to Bong Joon ho for Parasite over Sam Mendes for 1917...and thank God for that. 

I personally would give this to PTA...and I do think it would be an upset if he did lose. However, I think the upset of sorts could happen in our final category.

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BEST PICTURE:

#1 - One Battle After Another

#2 - Sinners

#3 - Hamnet

#4 - Sentimental Value

#5 - Frankenstein

#6 - Marty Supreme

#7 - Bugonia

#8 - The Secret Agent 

#9 - Train Dreams 

#10 - F1

I knew it was a possibility after its PGA nod, but I really didn't think F1 would sneak in. I had predicted It Was Just an Accident but felt that if any populist film would make it in, it would be fellow PGA nominee Weapons since it had the exposure of Amy Madigan and was seen as a potential candidate in categories like Original Screenplay and Casting. 

I do think in terms of Best Picture nominations, F1 has got to be one of the most laughable. Maybe not as bad as something like The Blind Side or Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, but it just seems like a cheap choice. 

One Battle After Another has won basically every major prize it could EXCEPT for the SAG/Actor Ensemble award which went to Sinners. To be honest, I am not surprised it won...and it isn't like OBAA needed it. Anora certainly didn't need that extra boost.

HOWEVER - there is a path for Sinners to sneak in and take the prize.

It may be true that OBAA has had an epic sweep, but we've seen films win Best Picture simply by winning SAG/Actor Ensemble and a Screenplay win at the WGA. Both Spotlight and Parasite come to mind, and I do think the passion and widespread appeal and financial success of Sinners would make it a viable possibility. It used to be very common for the film with the most nominations to be the contender most likely to win...and potentially sweep. Lately, that hasn't been much of a factor. If that were the case, Emilia Perez would've won more than two awards last year...which I shudder at the thought of that universe.

Sinners breaking the all-time record with 16 nominations is not nothing. OBAA also got 13 nominations which is certainly a pretty strong haul. Had it gotten an Actress nod for Chase Infiniti, it would've tied the old record of 14 nominations. 

I am going to stick with OBAA, but Sinners really could sneak in. It wouldn't shock me in the least. As for the rest of these nominees, they are just happy to be here. 

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FINAL THOUGHTS:

I am honestly ready for the 2026 films to start rolling out. I am not saying 2025 was necessarily a bad year, but I don't have many films I feel truly passionate about...especially of the contenders. Early signs of 2026 make me feel a bit more excited but that doesn't necessarily mean anything because I felt that about 2022 and that turned out to be one of my least favorite years for film in recent memory. 

So yeah...that's all I wrote.