by Allan Fish
Best Picture The Spirit of the Beehive, Spain (3 votes)
Best Director Victor Erice, The Spirit of the Beehive, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, World on a Wire TV & Martin Scorsese, Mean Streets (3 votes each, TIE)
Best Actor Robert Mitchum, The Friends of Eddie Coyle (5 votes)
Best Actress Liv Ullmann, Scenes from a Marriage TV (9 votes)
Best Supp Actor Robert de Niro, Mean Streets (9 votes)
Best Supp Actress Ana Torrent, The Spirit of the Beehive (7 votes)
Best Cinematography Tak Fujimoto, Stevan Larner, Brian Probyn, Badlands (5 votes)
Best Score Bob Dylan, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (6 votes)
Best Short H is for House, UK, Peter Greenaway (2 votes)
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on to…
1974
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Best Picture/Director
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Alice in the Cities (West Germany…Wim Wenders)
Allonsanfàn (Italy…Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani)
And Now My Love (France…Claude Lelouch)
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (Canada…Ted Koecheff)
Arabian Nights (Italy…Pier Paolo Pasolini)
An Argument and a Story (India…Ritwik Ghatak)
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (US…John Korty)
Behind the Rent Strike (UK…Nick Broomfield)
Behindert (West Germany…Stephen Dwoskin)
Big Bad Mama (US…Steve Carver)
Black Christmas (US…Bob Clark)
Blazing Saddles (US…Mel Brooks)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (US…Sam Peckinpah)
California Split (US…Robert Altman)
The Cars That Ate Paris (Australia…Peter Weir)
Castle in Sand (Japan…Yoshitaro Nomura)
Céline et Julie vont en Bâteau (France…Jacques Rivette)
Chinatown (US…Roman Polanski)
Cockfighter (US…Monte Hellman)
The Colours of Iris (Greece…Nikos Panayotopolous)
The Conversation (US…Francis Ford Coppola)
Conversation Piece (Italy…Luchino Visconti)
Cousin Angelica (Spain…Carlos Saura)
Cousin, Cousine (France…Jean-Charles Tachella)
Daily Life in a Syrian Village (Syria…Omar Amiralay)
Daisy Miller (US…Peter Bogdanovich)
Dark Star (US…John Carpenter)
Deadly Weapons (US…Doris Wishman)
The Deluge (Poland…Jerzy Hoffman)
Dersu Uzala (Japan/USSR…Akira Kurosawa)
Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer (US…Thom Andersen)
Edvard Munch (TV version) (Norway/Sweden…Peter Watkins)
Effi Briest (West Germany…Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Electra, My Love (Hungary…Miklós Jancsó)
Emmanuelle (France…Just Jaeckin)
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (West Germany…Werner Herzog)
Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 (Japan…Kazuo Hara)
Failed Youth (Japan…Tatsumi Kumashiro)
Fear Eats the Soul (West Germany…Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Female Trouble (US…John Waters)
Les Filles du Malemort (France…Daniel Daërt)
Flower & Snake (Japan…Masaru Konuma)
The Four Musketeers: Revenge of Milady (UK/US…Richard Lester)
General Idi Amin Dada (France/Switzerland…Barbet Schroeder)
The Godfather Part Two (US…Francis Ford Coppola)
La Gueule Ouverte (France…Maurice Pialat)
A Handful of Love (Sweden…Vilgot Sjöman)
Harry and Tonto (US…Paul Mazursky)
Les Hautes Solitudes (France…Philippe Garrel)
Hearts and Minds (US…Peter Davis)
Himiko (Japan…Masahiro Shinoda)
L’Hologer de Saint Paul (France…Bertrand Tavernier)
The Homeless (Japan…Koichi Saito)
Un Homme Qui Dort (France…Georges Perec, Bernard Queysanne)
How to Drown Dr Mracek (Czechoslovakia…Vaclav Vorlicek)
I’ll Take Her Like a Father (Italy…Alberto Lattuada)
Immoral Tales (France…Walerian Borowczyk)
The Immortals (Romania…Sergiu Nicoleascu)
L’Important c’est d’Aimer (France…Andrzej Zulawski)
In Celebration (UK…Lindsay Anderson)
Je, Tu, Il, Elle… (Belgium…Chantal Akerman)
Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (UK …Simon Cellan-Jones)
Karl May (West Germany…Hans-Jürgen Syberberg)
Lacombe, Lucien (France…Louis Malle)
Lancelot du Lac (France…Robert Bresson)
Lenny (US…Bob Fosse)
The Life of a Communist Writer (Japan…Tadashi Imai)
Life Size (Spain…Luis Garcia Berlanga)
The Longest Yard (US…Robert Aldrich)
Mahler (UK…Ken Russell)
The Man Who Sleeps (Tunisia/France…Bernard Queysanne)
Mes Petites Amoureuses (France…Jean Eustache)
Mirror (USSR…Andrei Tarkovsky)
Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (West Germany…Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Nada (France…Claude Chabrol)
Parade (France…Jacques Tati)
The Parallax View (US…Alan J. Pakula)
Penda’s Fen (UK…Alan Clarke)
The Phantom of Liberty (France…Luis Buñuel)
The Phantom of the Paradise (US…Brian de Palma)
The Red Snowball Tree (USSR…Vasili Shukshin)
Sandakan 8 (Japan…Kei Kumai)
Shoulder to Shoulder (UK…Waris Hussein, Moira Armstrong)
Stavisky (France…Alain Resnais)
Still Life (Iran…Sohrab Shahid Saless)
Successive Slidings of Pleasure (France…Alain Robbe-Grillet)
Sugarland Express (US…Steven Spielberg)
Sweet Movie (Yugoslavia/France…Dusan Makavejev)
Swept Away…by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (Italy…Lina Wertmuller)
Symptoms (UK…José Ramon Larraz)
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (US…Joseph Sargent)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (US…Tobe Hooper)
Thieves Like Us (US…Robert Altman)
Thriller: A Cruel Picture (Sweden….Bo Arne Vibenius)
Les Valseuses (France…Bertrand Blier)
Vampyres (UK…José Ramon Larraz)
Vincent, François, Paul et les Autres (France…Claude Berri)
Virgin Blues (Japan…Toshio Fujita)
Wife to be Sacrificed (Japan…Masaru Konuma)
Xala (Senegal…Ousmane Sembene)
We All Loved Each Other So Much (Italy…Ettore Scola)
A Woman Under the Influence (US…John Cassavetes)
A Woman’s Decision (Poland…Krzysztof Zanussi)
Young Frankenstein (US…Mel Brooks)
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Best Actor
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Warren Beatty The Parallax View
Jean-Paul Belmondo Stavisky
Bruno S. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
Art Carney Harry and Tonto
Gérard Depardieu Les Valseuses
Divine Female Trouble (whether this should be actress is open to debate)
Richard Dreyfuss The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Peter Falk A Woman Under the Influence
Vittorio Gassman We All Loved Each Other So Much
Gene Hackman The Conversation
Dustin Hoffman Lenny
Jack Nicholson Chinatown
Warren Oates Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Warren Oates Cockfighter
Al Pacino The Godfather Part Two
Robert Powell Mahler
Gene Wilder Young Frankenstein
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Best Actress
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Juliet Berto Céline et Julie vont en Bâteau
Ellen Burstyn Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Diahann Carroll Claudine
Faye Dunaway Chinatown
Shelley Duvall Thieves Like Us
Anita Ekström A Handful of Love
Georgina Hale Mahler
Goldie Hawn The Sugarland Express
Dominique Labourier Céline et Julie vont en Bâteau
Sophia Loren Verdict
Brigitte Mira Fear Eats the Soul
Marie-Jose Nat Les Violins du Bal
Valerie Perrine Lenny
Angela Pleasence Symptoms
Lee Remick Jennie – Lady Randolph Churchill TV
Gena Rowlands A Woman Under the Influence
Romy Schneider L’Important c’est d’aimer
Hanna Schygulla Effi Briest
Naomi Tani Wife to be Sacrificed
Cicely Tyson The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman TV
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Best Supp Actor
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Peter Boyle Young Frankenstein
Jeff Bridges Thunderbolt and Lightfoot
John Cazale The Godfather Part Two
Robert de Niro The Godfather Part Two
Allen Garfield The Conversation
Michael V.Gazzo The Godfather Part Two
John Gielgud Murder on the Orient Express
John Huston Chinatown
Harvey Korman Blazing Saddles
Hölger Lowenadler Lacombe Lucien
Alfred Lutter Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Ronald Pickup Jennie – Lady Randolph Churchill TV
Robert Shaw The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Lee Strasberg The Godfather Part Two
Sam Waterston The Great Gatsby
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Best Supp Actress
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Nathalie Baye La Gueule Ouverte
Ingrid Bergman Murder on the Orient Express
Karen Black The Great Gatsby
Eileen Brennan Daisy Miller
Jodie Foster Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Teri Garr Young Frankenstein
Jessica Harper Phantom of the Paradise
Wendy Hiller Murder on the Orient Express
Madeline Kahn Blazing Saddles
Madeline Kahn Young Frankenstein
Diane Ladd Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Cloris Leachman Young Frankenstein
Silvana Mangano Conversation Piece
Edith Massey Female Trouble
Miou-Miou Les Valseuses
Talia Shire The Godfather Part Two
Mary Tamm The Odessa File
Milna Vukotic The Phantom of Liberty
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Best Cinematography
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Nestor Almendros La Gueule Ouverte
Nestor Almendros Mes Petites Amoureuses
John A.Alonzo Chinatown
Bill Butler The Conversation
Luis Cuadrado Cousin Angelica
Pasqualino de Santis Conversation Piece
Pasqualino de Santis Lancelot du Lac
Tonino Delli Colli Arabian Nights
Tonino Delli Colli Lacombe, Lucien
Gerald Hirschfeld Young Frankenstein
Robby Müller, Martin Schäfer Alice in the Cities
Jörgen Persson A Handful of Love
Alex Phillips Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Gyorgy Rerberg Mirror
Odd Geir Seither Edvard Munch TV
Douglas Slocombe The Great Gatsby
Bruce Surtees Lenny
David Watkin The Four Musketeers: Revenge of Milady
Gordon Willis The Godfather Part Two
Gordon Willis The Parallax View
Jerzy Wojcik The Deluge
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Best Score
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Richard Rodney Bennett Murder on the Orient Express
Jerry Goldsmith Chinatown
John Morris Blazing Saddles
John Morris Young Frankenstein
Nino Rota, Carmine Coppola The Godfather Part Two
Lalo Schifrin The Four Musketeers: Revenge of Milady
David Shire The Conversation
David Shire The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
John Williams The Towering Inferno
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Best Short
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The Amputee (US…David Lynch) – begins at 57:11
Cat’s Cradle (Canada…Paul Driessen)
Closed Mondays (US…Will Vinton)
The Family That Dwelt Apart (Canada…Yvon Mallette)
The Heron and the Crane (USSR…Yu. Norshteyn)
The Happy Prince (Canada…Michael Mills)
Hunger (Canada…Peter Foldes)
It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! (US…Bill Melendez)
Miracle of Flight (UK…Terry Gilliam)
The Stars are Beautiful (US…Stan Brakhage)
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (US…Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr.)
Voyage to Next (US…Faith Hubley, John Hubley)
Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (US…John Lounsbery)
Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (US…Bill Melendez)
Click on names for archives
Writers/Founders
Yay for “Badlands” winning best cinematography in 1973.
I vote “Fear Eats the Soul” for best film of 1974.
I vote Rainer Werner Fassbinder for best director (“Fear Eats the Soul”) in 1974.
I vote Jack Nicholson for best actor in “Chinatown” in 1974
I vote Brigitte Mira for best actress in “Fear Eats the Soul” in 1974
I vote Peter Boyle for best supporting actor in “Young Frankenstein” in 1974
I vote Madeline Kahn for best supporting actress in “Blazing Saddles” in 1974
I vote “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” for best cinematography in 1974.
I vote “Young Frankenstein” for best score in 1974.
I vote “Miracle of Flight” for best short in 1974
My Top 5:
1. Fear Eats the Soul
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
3. Dark Star
4. Chinatown
5. Young Frankenstein
Best Picture: The Godfather Part II
Best Director: Jacques Rivette (Celine et Julie von en Bateau)
Best Actor: Bruno S. (The Mystery of Kasper Hauser)
Best Actress: Divine (Female Trouble)
Best Supporting Actor: Holger Lowenadler (Lacombe Lucien)
Best Supporting Actress: Edith Massey (Female Trouble)
Best Cinematography: Gyorgy Rerberg (The Mirror)
Best Score: Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown)
In the end I decided to give my Best Picture vote to GODFATHER PART II, but this was a year where several other masterpieces could have won out: CELINE ET JULIE VONT EN BATEAU, EDVARD MUNCH, THE MYSTERY OF KASPER HAUSER, LACOMBE LUCIEN, THE MIRROR, THE CONVERSATION, PENDA’S FEN, XALA, FEMALE TROUBLE and ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL.
Best Short: Twas the Night Before Christmas
Technically, Divine was a transvestite playing a girl, so he should be best actor. A least it’s a new way of you BENDING the rules.
Coppola’s year.
Best Picture: Godfather II
(runners-up: The Conversation, Lacombe Lucien, Dersu Uzala and Carlo Lizzani’s Crazy Joe)
Director (and runner-up): Coppola
Best Actor: Pacino (runners-up: Hackman, Oates)
Best Actress: Burstyn (honorable mention: Christina Lindberg, Thriller:A Cruel Picture)
Supporting Actor: Strasberg
Supporting Actress:Miou-Miou
Cinematography: Willis
Score:Rota/Coppola
Angelo will be happy to know that my top four films for 1974 are American.
Best Picture: The Godfather 2
Top Five: 1. The Godfather 2 2. Chinatown 3. Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia 4. The Conversation 5. The Phantom Of Liberty
5 Almosts: California Split, The Mirror, The Enigma Of Kasper Hauser, The Parallax View, and Lancelot Du Lac.
Picture: Chinatown
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky, Mirror
Actor: Jack Nicholson, Chinatown
Actress: Brigitte Mira, Fear Eats the Soul
Sup. Actor: Robert de Niro, The Godfather Part II
Sup. Actress: Diane Ladd, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Cinematography: John A. Alonzo, Chinatown
I’m wondering why “Mirror” is listed as a 1974 release. IMDb gives a release date of 1975 and other sources I consulted list it as a 1975 film.
Here we go:
BEST PICTURE: THE GODFATHER PART 2
Top 5: 1. The Godfather Part 2 2. The Enigma Of Caspar Hauzer 3. Chinatown 4. The Conversation 5. A Woman Under The Influence
Tough choice when I consider the five films that made my top 5 for 1974. On one hand, you have Polanski belting one out of the park with his twisted ode to the kind of crime films that ran rampant through the 1940’s by no less than his own cast member John Huston, and certainly Herzog is moving into ucharted visual territories with the astonishingly realistic fable of CASPAR HAUZER. Cassavettes never tapped into this raw material as he does with the stomach churning WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE. On the other hand, Coppola strikes gold twice and I almost had to do a coin flip on which of his two masterowrks from this very same year would triumph.
I, ultimately, go with GODFATHER PART 2 as it’s not only the greatest sequel ever brought to screen, but far richer in tone and moral examination than even his earlier GODFATHER. Add to the mix the breathless recreation of the turn of the century as he follows young Vito in his rise to the big chair and PART 2 takes on operatic proportions that he would only ever achieve again, one more time in the rest of his career, with his masterpiece APOCALYPSE NOW.
DIRECTOR: Francis Ford COPPOLA (THE GODFATHER PART 2)
Runner Up: Werner Herzog (The Enigma Of Caspar Hauzer)
The ping-ponging back and forth between the late 1950’s and the turn of the century is a balancing act that would have failed in the hands of a lesser director than Coppola. At one moment the direction and conception of the film resembles the kind of political dramas that were the rage of the Cold War sixties (I keep thinking of SEVEN DAYS IN MAY when ever Coppola bounces into the Cuba sequences) and then, without warning ,vollies into the flashbacks of the turn of the century that resemble the cinema-verite styles of 60’s Italian filmmaking. His eye for detail is unwavering and the structure of epic filmmaking is not only homaging masters of the form like Lean, DeMille and Griffith, but reinventing and refining it at the same time.
And, to think, he also directed the brilliant THE CONVERSATION in the same year???? The 1970’s were Coppolas decade more than any other American director…
LEAD ACTOR: Gene HACKMAN (THE CONVERSATION)
Runners Up: Bruno S. (The Enigma Of Caspar Hauzer), Jack Nicholson (Chinatown)
Many will bemoan my non-choice or showing of the supremely intense AL PACINO for GODFATHER PART 2. However, as good as he was, he was no match for the likes of Bruno S. and his virtually silent turn in CASPAR HAUZER or Jaaaaack’s fist of his three signature turns in CHINATOWN (those other “signatures” are ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST and Kubrick’s THE SHINING).
The prize, though, goes to the effortlessly superlative Gene Hackman as his work in THE CONVERSATION is not only the highpoint in male acting for 1974, but the career best work Hackman has ever done. Caustic, reclusive, shy and silently competetive, Hackman’s Harry Caule is a brilliant concoction of silent angst and Catholic quilt all rolled into a perfect package of fear and confusion. If I had to put two performances by Hackman in a time capsule for future generations to see so they could know who he was, I’d have THE CONVERSATION and NIGHT MOVES preserved for posterity. Funny too, when THE CONVERSATION was recently restored and presented to audiences only a few years back Coppola begged Hackman, who keeps and apartment in NYC, to come to the premiere screening. Hackman, who never revisits his films after they wrap, asked the director why it was so important he be there. Coppola said it was because “it’s the greatest performance you ever gave in your life.” Reluctantly, the reclusive Hackman went and viewed the film for the first time since 1974. Ironically, he fully admitted to Coppola that night that he too thought it was his best work.
LEAD ACTRESS: Gena ROWLANDS (A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE)
Runner Up: Faye Dunaway (Chinatown)
NO BRAINER: If you want a lesson on how to give a performance that will leave your audiences stomachs in knots than look no further than Gena Rowlands turn in WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE. Studying alcoholics from a rehabilitation center for months before she stepped in front of her husband’s (the late, great John Cassavettes) all seeing lenses, Rowlands embues her attained knowledge on the quirks of addiction with her own personal demons and delivers one of the truly nerve-shattering performances of all time. You tense up every time she’s on screen or she blasts out in one of her non-sensical, whacked-out dialogues and you can feel the soul at her center straining to maintain some kind of human normalcy. Almost unbearable to watch because it’s THAT intense and truthful, Rowlands is, IMO, miles ahead of every other actress this year. Not only one of the best performances of 1974, but one of the top ten for the entirety of the 1970’s.
SUPP. ACTOR: Robert DENIRO (THE GODFATHER PART 2)
Runners Up: John Cazale (The Conversation), Lee Strassberg (The Godfather Part 2)
SUPP. ACTRESS: Diane LADD (ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE)
Runner Up: Talia Shire (The Godfather Part 2), Valerie Perrine (Lenny)
PHOTO: Gordon WILLIS (THE GODFATHER PART 2)
Runner Up: Bill Butler (The Conversation)
MUSIC: Nino ROTA-Carmine COPPOLA (THE GODFATHER PART 2)
Runner Up: Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown)
Dennis, since you’re an animation buff, I encourage you to vote for shorts at least for the next few decades. I’m finally catching up with the entries I posted and I think we may be entering a golden age of short animation here. So much great stuff!
Best Picture: Chinatown
Best Director: Roman Polanski
Best Actor: Gene Hackman- The Conversation
Best Actress: Gena Rowlands- A Woman Under the Influence
Best Supporting Actor: John Huston- Chinatown
Best Supporting Actress: Diane Ladd- Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Best Picture: The Godfather II
Best Director: Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather II)
Best Actor: Gene Hackman (The Conversation)
Best Actress: Gena Rowlands (A Woman Under the Influence)
Best Supporting Actor: Holger Lowenadler (Lacombe Lucien)
Best Supporting Actress: Valerie Perrine (Lenny)
Best Cinematography: Gordon Willis (The Godfather II)
Best Score: Nino Rota (The Godfather II)
Best Short: Cat’s Cradle
PICTURE: Celine and Julie Go Boating
DIRECTOR: Rivette
LEAD ACTOR: Bruno S., Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
LEAD ACTRESS: Gena Rowlands, Woman Under the Influence
SUPPORTING ACTOR: John Huston, Chinatown
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Madeline Kahn, Blazing Saddles
SHORT: we’ll have to be back, when the chance arrives…
SCORE: Jerry Goldsmith, Chinatown
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jorg Schmidt-Ritwein, Kaspar Hauser
Plus bonus picks:
Script: Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence
Music/Sound: I’d say Kaspar Hauser – mix of classical, Bruno on the piano, and so on… very nice.
Documentary: another great Kazuo Hara film – Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974
Film: Effi Briest; The Godfather, Part II; Going Places
Director: Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Part II & The Conversation); Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Effi Briest); Bertrand Blier (Going Places)
Actor: Jack Nicholson, the greatest film actor of the 70’s (Chinatown); Gene Hackman (The Conversation); Gerard Depardieu (Going Places)
Actress: Hanna Schygulla (Effi Briest); Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore); Juliet Berto (Celine and Julie Go Boating)
S. Actor: Robert De Niro (The Godfather, Part II); Charles Denner (And Now My Love); John Huston (Chinatown)
S. Actress: Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles & Young Frankenstein); Jeanne Moreau (Going Places); Cindy Williams (The Conversation)
Photography: Gordon Willis (The Godfather, Part II); no second or third choice
Oops, the Hubley short is actually online, although I didn’t link it (will fix later). You can watch it here:
Despite some worthy selections, I can’t look beyond one film.
It would help if I posted what that film was 🙂 So here are my votes
Best Film: The Godfather Part Two
Best Director: Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part Two
Best Actor: Gene Hackman, The Conversation
Best Actresses: Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the Influence
Best Supporting Actor: Robert de Niro, The Godfather Part Two
Best cinematography: Gyorgy Rerberg, Mirror
Best score: Jerry Goldsmith, Chinatown
And the Coppola juggernaut continues. As usual, the capitalized titles are the ones that didn’t make it into the final list by Allan (lots of fun exploitation titles this year, by the way). Also, finally added a category for Best Non-English-Language Film. Probably should have been doing this the entire time, really…
1974
BEST PICTURE: THE GODFATHER PART II, followed by, in descending order: Chinatown, The Conversation, Edvard Munch, A Woman Under the Influence, The Parallax View, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Celine and Julie Go Boating, Young Frankenstein, General Idi Amin Dada, The Emigma of Kaspar Hauser, Thieves Like Us, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Harry and Tonto, Blazing Saddles, ITALIANAMERICAN, Cockfighter, Lancelot du lac, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Daisy Miller, Hearts and Minds, Ali: Fear Eats The Soul, Lenny, Alice in the Cities, Xala, California Split, THE OUTFIT, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, The Sugarland Express, CONRACK, L‘Hologer de Saint Paul, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Black Christmas, THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT, Lacombe Lucien, The Longest Yard, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, Phantom of the Paradise, Dark Star, Female Trouble, CLAUDINE, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, ZANDY‘S BRIDE, BUSTER AND BILLIE, The Cars That Ate Paris, THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT!, FREEBIE AND THE BEAN, GONE IN 60 SECONDS, TRUCK TURNER, FOXY BROWN, DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY, THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, JANIS, THE GROOVE TUBE, ZARDOZ, CAGED HEAT, MACON COUNTY LINE, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, PHASE IV, THE TOWERING INFERNO, EARTHQUAKE, BENJI
DIRECTOR: Francis Ford Coppola, THE GODFATHER PART II (2nd: Roman Polanski, Chinatown, followed by: Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation; Peter Watkins, Edvard Munch; John Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence; Alan J. Pakula, The Parallax View)
ACTOR: Gene Hackman, THE CONVERSATION (2nd: Jack Nicholson, Chinatown, followed by Peter Falk, A Woman Under the Influence; Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II; Art Carney, Harry and Tonto; Bruno S., The Enigma of Kaspar Hausar)
ACTRESS: Gena Rowlands, A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (2nd: Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, followed by Cicely Tyson, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman; Brigitte Mira, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul; Goldie Hawn, The Sugarland Express; Faye Dunaway, Chinatown)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Robert De Niro, THE GODFATHER PART II (2nd: John Huston, Chinatown, followed by: Jeff Bridges, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot; John Cazale, The Godfather Part II; Alfred Lutter, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore; Harvey Korman, Blazing Saddles)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Valerie Perrine, LENNY (2nd: Madeline Kahn, Blazing Saddles, followed by Eileen Brennan, Daisy Miller; MARGOT KIDDER, BLACK CHRISTMAS; Edith Massey, Female Trouble; Diane Ladd, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Gordon Willis, THE GODFATHER PART II (2nd: John A. Alonzo, Chinatown, followed by: Gordon Willis, The Parallax View; Pasqualino De Santis, Lancelot du lac; Gerald Hirschfeld, Young Frankenstein; Bruce Surtees, Lenny)
SCORE: Jerry Goldsmith, CHINATOWN (2nd: David Shire, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, followed by: Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola, The Godfather Part II; John Morris, Young Frankenstein; Richard Rodney Bennett, Murder on the Orient Express; David Shire, The Conversation)
SHORT: CLOSED MONDAYS (Will Vinton) (2nd: The Family That Dwelt Apart (Yvon Mallette), followed by: Hunger (Peter Foldes); Voyage to Next (John and Faith Hubley); Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too (John Lounsbury); The Heron and the Crane (Yuri Norshteyn))
FURTHER:
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Robert Towne, CHINATOWN (2nd: Francis Ford Coppola, The Conversation, followed by John Cassavetes, A Woman Under the Influence; Robert Getchell, Alice Doesn‘t Live Here Anymore; Paul Mazursky and Josh Greenfield, Harry and Tonto; Mel Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Norman Steinberg, Richard Pryor and Alan Uger, Blazing Saddles)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, THE GODFATHER PART II (2nd: David Giler and Lorenzo Semple Jr., The Parallax View, followed by: Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder, Young Frankenstein; Frederic Raphael, Daisy Miller; Mordechi Richler, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz; Peter Stone, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three)
NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM: CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (Jacques Rivette) (2nd: The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Werner Herzog), followed by Alice in the Cities (Wim Wenders); Lancelot du lac (Robert Bresson); Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder); Xala (Ousmene Sembene)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: GENERAL IDI AMIN DADA (Barbet Schroeder) (2nd: Hearts and Minds (Peter Davis), followed by: Italianamerican (Martin Scorsese), Janis (Howard Alk), That’s Entertainment! (Jack Haley Jr.))
ART DIRECTION: THE GODFATHER PART II, followed by: Chinatown, Young Frankenstein, Daisy Miller, Murder on the Orient Express, The Great Gatsby
COSTUME DESIGN: DAISY MILLER, followed by Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, The Great Gatsby, Murder on the Orient Express, The Three Musketeers
FILM EDITING: THE GODFATHER PART II, followed by The Longest Yard, Chinatown, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, The Parallax View, Lenny
SOUND: THE CONVERSATION, followed by Earthquake, Young Frankenstein, The Parallax View, The Godfather Part II, Chinatown
SCORING OF A MUSICAL/ADAPTATION SCORING: PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (Paul Williams and George Aliceson Tipton) (2nd: The Little Prince (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Lowe))
ORIGINAL SONG: “Benson, Arizona“ from DARK STAR (music by John Carpenter, lyrics by Bill Taylor) (2nd: “Special to Me“ from Phantom of the Paradise (music and lyrics by Paul Williams), followed by “Blazing Saddles” from Blazing Saddles (music by John Morris; lyrics by Mel Brooks); “I’m Tired” from Blazing Saddles (music by John Morris; lyrics by Mel Brooks); “Truck Turner” from Truck Turner (music and lyrics by Isaac Hayes); “On and On“ from Claudine (music and lyrics by Curtis Mayfield))
SPECIAL EFFECTS: EARTHQUAKE (2nd: The Golden Voyage of Sinbad)
MAKEUP: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MISS JANE PITTMAN
Incredible presentation!!!!!!!! Wow!!!!
Thanks, Sam. It takes me the better part of a day to do these entries!
Presentation? More like segregation. Let’s dump the foreign stuff out separately, heaven forbid it might beat USA, ra ra ra!
An absurd statement .
In addition to the separate category that you note here on the main ‘Best Picture’ category Dean has eight (8) foreign language titles right behind his Number 1 film:
Edvard Munch
Celine et Julie von en Bateau
General Idi Amin Dada
Enigma of Kasper Hauser
Lancelot du Lac
Ali: Faer Eats the Soul
Xala
Lacombe Lucien
And yes Dean, you and Dennis Polifroni every week provide this thread with incomparable commitment and comprehensive and versatile coverage. We are fortunate to have these amazing contributions.
It’s funny, because I actually got the idea to add the foreign-language film category from Allan, whom I noticed in his separate ballots always includes a Best English-language film (since most of his winners are not in English). I find that hilarious that he thinks I’m segregating the foreign films. That said, it’s true that I like English-language films better; I always feel I’m missing out on something essential in the performances or in the translation of non-English-language films.
I’ve got Tarkovsky’s The Mirror under 1975, so with that in mind my top five for 1974:
1. Chinatown – Roman Polanski
2. Celine and Julie Go Boating – Jacques Rivette
3. Edvard Munch – Peter Watkins
4. The Godfather: Part II – Frances Ford Coppola
5. California Split – Robert Altman
Best Picture: Chinatown
Best Director: Roman Polanski
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson (Chinatown)
Best Actress: Gena Rowlands (A Woman Under the Influence)
Best supporting actor: Robert De Niro (The Godfather: Part II)
Best supporting actress: Valerie Perrine (Lenny)
Best Cinematography: Gordan Willis (The Godfather: Part II)
Best Score: Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola (The Godfather: Part II)
I’m happy a chunk of people are voting for Chinatown. I almost went with a second (dreaded) tie to include that Polanski… then sucked it up and picked The Godfather 2 alone. Really both films are equals for me, but I decided on just one.
Like most people here I always assumed The Mirror was 1975. Regardless, I won’t lobby an objection because this stuff is just for fun and it really doesn’t matter anyway. Fish probably uncovered some festival in 1974 where it first premiered. He has been very consistent with his criteria for when films should be dated. Don’t worry guys, I’m sure Tarkovsky won’t mind either lol.
No problem until next week. The Mirror is my number one for 1975. Now what do I do.
Actually, I believe Mirror is listed as “1974” on the disc itself. At any rate, Allan’s isn’t the only listing I’ve seen for that year, so go figure.
I am at odds with 2 of the movies that have been mentioned as 1974 films – The Mirror & Dersu Uzala, as all my references mention their year of release as 1975. Could you please let me know on what basis you included them this year, so that I can update my database accordingly?
My votes for 1974:
Best Picture: Godfather Part 2
Best Director: Francis Ford Coppola (Godfather Part 2)
Best Actor: Al Pacino (Godfather Part 2)
Best Actress: Margarita Terekhova (The Mirror)
Best Supporting Actor: John Cazale (Godfather Part 2)
Best Supporting Actress:
Best Cinematography: Robbie Muller (Alice in the Cities)
Best Score: Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown) & Nino Rota (Godfather Part 2)
Top 5:
1. Godfather Part 2
2. Chinatown
3. Alice in the Cities
4. The Conversation
5. Celine & Julie Go Boating
Just Missed: Chorus (Mrinal Sen), Jukti Takko O Gappo (Ritwik Ghatak)
p.s. For the purpose of this poll I’ve considered The Mirror & Dersu Uzala, but refrained from including them in my yearly Top 5.
p.p.s. I’m really surprised, and a tad saddened, that John Cazale hasn’t had any takers – I beleive he gave an absolutely astounding turn in Godfather 2, even though De Niro (undeservingly, in comparison) got more awards. Also, though I’m not as big an admirer of Pacino as most people are, I believe his performance as the cold & ruthless Michael Corleone was jaw-droppingly brilliant, and easily surpassed Nicholson’s turn in Chinatown & Hackman’s in Conversation.
Best Supporting Actress: Yella Rottländer (Alice in the Cities)
I seriously considered Cazale this year, but I had to give it to De Niro for taking the Vito Corleone character and making it his own, while still tipping his hat to Brando’s performance. Plus, I think I’m saving Cazale for next year…
Best Picture: Still Life
Best Director: John Cassavetes (A Woman Under the Influence)
Cassavetes’ greatest film and one of the ten best from the decade. This was a very very very very close call for the top spot of the decade.
Runner Up: Sohrab Shahid Saless, Werner Herzog
Best Actor: Warren Oates (Cockfighter)
A year of phenomenal male lead performances with Pacino, Nicholson, Hackman and Faulk all delivering brilliant performances for their respective films. However, I went with Warren Oates who gave my two favorite performances that year (the other in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia). Oates is able to give a fantastic performance with really saying anything.
Runner Up: Bruno S, Gene Hackman, Peter Faulk
Best Actress: Gena Rowlands (A Woman Under the Influence)
The finest female performance in the history of American cinema.
Runner Up: Margarita Terekhova, Brigitte Mira, Faye Dunaway
Best Supporting Actor: John Cazale (The Godfather, part II)
Of all the great performances in this film, his goes overlooked too often. A very underrated actor. If things were different, who knows how many great performances Cazale would have had?
Runner Up: Robert de Niro, Lee Strasberg, Michael V.Gazzo
Best Supporting Actress: Talia Shire (The Godfather, part II)
This film just has too many great performances.
Runner Up: Diane Keaton, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall
Best Cinematography: Daniel Pearl (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre)
The grainy newsreel look of the film is one of the reasons it’s so effective.
Runner Up: Nestor Almendros, Gordon Willis, John A.Alonzo
Best Score: David Shire (The Conversation)
Shire’s finest score and one my favorites of the decade.
Runner Up: Jerry Goldsmith, Nina Rota/Carmine Coppola, Michael Franks
Best Short: Déjeuner du matin (Patrick Bokanowski)
Not that great of a year for shorts in my opinion, but this early Bokanowski piece is good.
Runner Up: Noctiluca, Once Upon a Time, Colour Poems
Top 15:
Still Life/Tabiate Bijan – dir. Sohrab Shahid Saless (Iran)
A Woman Under the Influence – dir. John Cassavetes (US)
The Text of Light – dir. Stan Brakhage (US)
The Man Who Sleeps/Un homme qui dort – dir. Bernard Queysanne (France)
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser/Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle – dir. Werner Herzog (West Germany)
Chinatown – dir. Roman Polanski (US)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul/Angst essen Seele auf – dir. R. W. Fassbinder (West Germany)
The Phantom of Liberty/Le Fantôme de la liberté – dir. Luis Buñuel (Italy/France)
Cockfighter – dir. Monte Hellman (US)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre – dir. Tobe Hooper (US)
The Conversation – dir. Francis Ford Coppola (US)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia – dir. Sam Peckinpah (Mexico/US)
The Godfather Part II – dir. Francis Ford Coppola (US)
Murder on the Orient Express -dir. Sydney Lumet (UK)
Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974/Gokushiteki erosu: Renka 1974 – dir. Hara Kazuo (Japan)
Disagree; I thought this was one of the best years for shorts yet!
Best Picture: The Godfather Part II
(RU: The Mirror, Chinatown, The Conversation, A Woman Under the Influence)
Best Director: John Cassavetes (A Woman Under the Influence)
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson (Chinatown)
Best Actress: Faye Dunaway (Chinatown)
Best Supporting Actor: John Huston (Chinatown)
Best Supporting Actress: Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles)
Best Cinematography: Gyorgy Rerberg (The Mirror)
Best Score: David Shire (The Conversation)
Best Picture: Godfather 2
Best Director: Francis Ford Coppola (Godfather 2)
Best Actor: Bruno S. (Kasper Hauser)
Best Actress: Gena Rowlands (A Woman under the Influence)
Best Supporting Actor: Holger Lowenadler (Lacombe Lucien)
Best Supporting Actress: Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles)
Best Short: Voyage to Next
Best Cinematography: Tonino delli Cilli (Lacombe Lucien)
Best Score: Richard Rodney Bennet (Orient Express)
Best Picture: Fear Eats the Soul
Best Director: Rainer Warner Fassbinder (Fear Eats the Soul)
Best Actor: Gene Hackman (The Conversation)
Best Actress: Brigitte Mira (Fear Eats the Soul)
Best Supporting Actor: Holger Lowenadler (Lacombe Lucien)
Best Supporting Actress: Edith Massey (Female Trouble)
Best Short: The Stars are Beautiful
Best Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli (Arabian Knights)
Best Score: John Williams (The Towering Inferno)
Picture: Chinatown
Director: Roman Polanski
Actor: Jack Nicholson – Chinatown
Actress – Faye Dunaway – Chinatown (runner up – Ellen Burstyn)
Supporting Actor: John Huston
Supporting Actress: Diane Ladd
Cinematography: Chinatown
Im hoping Hackman wins here, as great as characters such as Michael corleone and JJ Gittes were I think Harry Caul is by far the more difficult character to play, both Pacino and Nicholson’s performances are supported by excellent writing, flashy scenes, dialogue and interesting backstories, and scenes that give them character development and places to go, whereas Hackman’s is all reacting, pondering, that could easily be dull but in Hackman’s capbale hands is utterly compelling. It must have been very difficult to play such a character on paper.
Pic- The Godfather Part II
Dir- Coppola (Godfather Part II)
Actor- Hackman – The Conversation
Actress- Rowlands- A Woman Under the Influence
Supp. Actor- Cazale – Godfather Part II
Supp. Actress- Madeline Kahn – Blazing Saddles
Score- Rota/Coppola – Godfather II
Cinematography- Willis – Godfather II
BEST PICTURE; THE GODFATHER PART TWO
BEST DIRECTOR; ROMAN POLANSKI for CHINATOWN
BEST ACTOR; AL PACINO for THE GODFATHER PART TWO
BEST ACTRESS; ELLEN BURSTYN for ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR; JOHN HUSTON for CHINATOWN
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS; DIANE LADD for ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY; BRUCE SURTEES for LENNY
BEST SCORE; JERRY GOLDSMITH for CHINATOWN
BEST SHORT; N/A
Best Picture: The Godfather Part Two
Best Director: Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather Part Two
Best Actor: Gene Hackman, The Conversation
Best Actress: Ellen Burstyn, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Best Supporting Actor: Robert DeNiro, The Godfather Part Two
Best Supporting Actress: Madeline Kahn, Blazing Saddles
Best Cinematography: John A. Alonzo, Chinatown
Best Score: David Shire, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
Another great year.
Feature: The Godfather Part II
followed by:
2. Mirror
3. Chinatown
4. Place de la Republique
5. Celine and Julie Go Boating
Short: Closed Mondays
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky, Mirror
Actor: Al Pacino, The Godfather Part II (almost went with Bruno S, but last time around Michael Corleone lost out to another Herzog character; he can’t be passed over twice…)
Actress:
Gena Rowlands, A Woman Under the InfluenceShabana Azmi, AnkurSupp. Actor: John Huston, Chinatown (great as Cazale is…)
Supp. Actress: Madeleine Kahn, Blazing Saddles
Cinematography: Gordon Willis, The Godfather Part II
Score:
Jerry Goldsmith, ChinatownMichael Small, The Parallax ViewScreenplay: Chinatown (WITH Polanski’s ending)
Editing: Hearts and Minds
Ensemble: The cast of The Godfather Part II
Line: “”I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!
Use of Music: Young Frankenstein (insanely weak year for using pre-existing music, so this wins for the amusing “Puttin’ on the Ritz” number)
Scene: Brainwashing Montage, The Parallax View
I caught this scene on AMC years ago (back when they weren’t playing Commando in a loop), channel-surfing and completely out of context. Didn’t even known Warren Beatty was in the movie until the montage was over. It blew my mind and remains one of my favorite sequences ever. Really raw, disturbing, powerful stuff.
Not listing close calls this year.
Replaced Rowlands with Azmi after I realized I’d forgotten Ankur. Like Place de la Republique, a wonderful but forgotten film from the year. You can see it on You Tube which is where I first discovered it a few years ago:
I am regular reader, how are you everybody? This post posted at
this site is actually pleasant.