Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)
Simone Signoret (Ship of Fools)
Biggest Snub:
Julie Christie – Doctor Zhivago
My Overall Thoughts:
This is a year with 4 very powerful performances and one that isn’t quite on par with the rest. Any of the 4 would have been worthy winners.
My Rankings:
Actress
5. Julie Christie
4. Simone Signoret
3. Samantha Eggar
2. Elizabeth Hartman
1. Julie Andrews
Movies
5. Darling – This is a film that sounds like it would be much better than it really is. Christie is quite good here, but I’m not sure her performance could be considered Best Actress worthy. I believe that this story was more relevant during the 1960’s but doesn’t really translate well enough half a century later.
4. The Collector – Very interesting film because it deals with subject matter that was considered taboo at the time. Stamp is amazing as this very disturbed young man and Eggar is equally great as his prisoner. The story moves a bit slowly, but still works quite well. Very disturbing to watch yet done in a way that we are very curious to see what will happen.
3. A Patch of Blue – Very bold film for its time. Love the message that some things are more important that physical appearance. Poitier and Hartman have very nice chemistry together. Winters (who won a Best Supporting Actress for this role) obviously steals every scene she is in because of her character’s ability to say what she thinks without any kind of restraint holding her back. Parts move along a bit slowly, but overall, the end result is nice to watch because it was so groundbreaking at the time.
2. The Sound of Music – Great musical, fun movie. A true classic! Very deserving of al of the accolades that it has received including Best Picture.
1. Ship of Fools – Excellent film that is able to capture the various views and opinions of German society before World War II broke out. This is a perfect example of an ensemble film because there are so many characters and each have equal weight when it comes to storytelling. The overall scope of the times is truly the main character here and the passengers are all just samples of the various opinions and attitudes of that naive era. The title is perfect because each of the characters have problems that seem quite minor when compared to what awaits them a few years down the road and having their heads buried in the sand won’t help any of them overcome this oncoming obstacle. Each of the characters are developed really well and based on their mood, they act and react so different throughout the story to the various other characters that they interact with along the way. The cast is superb and just looking at the list itself shows how many famous and recognizable actors were willing to be a part of this film where none of them are the real star. This film could very well gave been the impetus for creating the TV show The Love Boat a decade later.
Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Not at all! JC is fine in Christie and the film is also ok, but I’m not sure if she was better than any of her competition because they all would have been better choices IMHO.
Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!
MovieRob 