Danny Reviews — Oscar Blogathon  - Directors (1986 Academy Award...

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Oscar Blogathon  - Directors (1986 Academy Award For Best Director)

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I write this post on the same day that the 87th Annual Academy Awards is being held. Best Director is between Richard Linklater and Alejandro Inarittu for “Boyhood” and “Birdman”. Both films are innovative and if either of them or the other three nominees win, it would be well-deserved. However, there was one year where Best Director consisted of 4 amazing pictures and one weakling. Not only did the weakling “Platoon” win Best Director for Oliver Stone, it also won Best Picture. I, as an ardent lover of the Academy Awards history, considers this to be one of the worst decisions that AMPAS could have ever made. Here is my analysis of the 5 pictures from 1986.

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Platoon (Oliver Stone) (winner)

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Though I’m not a big fan of Oliver Stone for certain reasons that I will not divulge, I was nonetheless excited about seeing “Platoon” because I had heard a lot of praise for it. What I saw was a complete mess. There was no linear story line and continuous scenes of explosions that got monotonous and less interesting. Charlie Sheen was a pitiful leading man. His staleness made the action slow down. The Oscar nominated performances from Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger were halfway decent, but forgettable. Finally, the small roles of Johnny Depp, Forest Whittaker and Kevin Dillon came and went quickly. I believe that “Platoon” had the upper edge because it is an anti-war film which is automatically Oscar bait. Art and cinematic achievement played little of a role in this decision.

3/10

A Room With A View (James Ivory)

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Merchant-Ivory made up one of the most eye-opening period pieces in the last 30 years. “A Room With A View” is all of the facets of a cinematic masterpiece rolled into one. It had a great Oscar winning adaptation from E.M. Forster’s novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as well as Oscar wins for Art Direction and Costume Design. The ensemble was top notch starting with the couple played beautifully by Helena Bonham-Carter and Julian Sands to the supporting players like Denholm Elliot, Maggie Smith, Rupert Graves and a big break standout by future three time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis. What’s there not to like. 

10/10

Hannah And Her Sisters (Woody Allen)

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Personally, along with “Annie Hall”, “Hannah And Her Sisters” is Woody Allen at his best. He devised a simple, yet complex story of three siblings who try to find footing in their relationships with two men. It resulted in well deserved Oscar wins for Michael Caine and Dianne Wiest, both of whom would eventually win a second Oscar later in their careers. It has conflict, laughs, romance and a resolution for all its characters. I don’t think Woody’s best work after 1986 could top the witty one liners and dramatics of “Hannah…”.

10/10

Blue Velvet (David Lynch)

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David Lynch is one of those auteurs that creates his own screwed up world in his films. “Blue Velvet” mixes the suburbs and the white picket fence with the criminal underworld. Regular cast members Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern are great as a couple investigating an unfathomable crime that all started with a severed ear. The standouts are Dennis Hopper as sociopath Frank Booth and Dean Stockwell’s Ben who lip-syncs to Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams”. This screwed up masterpiece was probably too bizarre for AMPAS voters to choose, but to me it’s an underrated gem.

10/10

The Mission (Roland Joffe)

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Finally, the last of the 5 nominees is one of a artistic phenomenon. The once amazing Roland Joffe, before his fall from grace with the inadequate adaptation of “The Scarlet Letter” shined with this aura of beauty known as “The Mission”. Joffe managed to turn De Niro into a taciturn character unlike his usual city bred, street smart protagonists. It’s also nice to see pre-world famed appearences by Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson, as well as a BAFTA award winning performance from Irish film legend Ray McAnally. Chris Menges’ stunning Oscar winning cinematography is the icing on the cake. 

8/10

dannyreviews academy awards director platoon oliver stone a room with a view james ivory Hannah and her sisters woody allen blue velvet david lynch the mission roland joffé

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#academy awards #david lynch #dannyreviews #director #platoon #oliver stone #a room with a view #james ivory #Hannah and her sisters #woody allen #blue velvet #the mission #roland joffé