115. Gia

115. (14 May) Gia (1998, Michael Cristofer) 58

It's almost inconceivable Angelina Jolie didn't win an Emmy for Gia. Her performance is fearless, brimming with energy and an organic quality rarely seen on the small screen. While the rest of the film aspires to an edginess that's not quite achieved here, Jolie is convincing throughout. The film is engaging though, to be sure, especially at its most sexually charged. Unfortunately, the film does little to elucidate who Gia Carangi was and only occasionally seems to capture the spirit of her times.

CHINATOWN

CHINATOWN
Written by Robert Towne
Directed by Roman Polanski
Starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston

Man with knife: You know what happens to nosy fellows? Huh? No? You wanna guess? Huh? No? OK. They lose their noses.
(Man with knife cuts Gittes' nose.)
Man with knife: Next time you lose the whole thing. Cut it off and feed it to my goldfish.

The last line in Roman Polanski’s CHINATOWN is perhaps one of its greatest ironies. “Forget about it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” These words are said to Jack Nicholson’s private investigator, J.J. Gittes, just moment after his entire world comes crashing down upon him and just moments before the camera pulls up to reveal one of the most infamous closing shots in film history. The irony, of course, is CHINATOWN is completely unforgettable.

The 1974 classic, which takes place in 1937, holds up incredibly well. Polanski places the viewer at the center of the investigation, which results in an addictive need to know where every bewildering turn is going to lead. And with Nicholson’s Gittes in every single scene in the film, we as an audience are given the opportunity to watch the case he is working on unfold in real time and piece together the evidence ourselves as well. And what a case it is! Robert Towne’s Oscar winning original screenplay (the only Oscar the film won out of it’s 11 nominations) is dense, engaging and constantly shocking. While Gittes is trying desperately to stay on top of a murder case that may or may not directly involve the woman who hired him in the first place (Faye Dunaway in her prime), the city of Los Angeles is in the process of figuratively raping its farmers in pursuit of redefining its borders. It is all somehow connected and its your job to figure it all out. It might take two viewings.

The brand new blu-ray release contains some recycled extras that shed more light on the controversial Los Angeles backdrop, as well as provide some pretty candid insight into the production itself, with archived interviews from Polanski, Nicholson and Towne. New to the set is a commentary between Towne and huge fan, David Fincher. CHINATOWN is simply a must for every film fan’s collection.

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1976

1976

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Talia Shire in Rocky

I didn't exactly hate Talia Shire in Rocky, I was just never impressed by her work. She doesn't do much except for standing and being silent and she doesn't even do that in an expressive way. Apart from the nice, moving ending, there's nothing in her performance that's really memorable.

4. Marie-Chirstine Barrault in Cousin Cousine

I still ask myself the question: was this performance much of a strech? Probably not. Marthe's not a very complicated character but Marie-Christine Barrault did a great job playing her. Although she's far from amazing, there are no flaws in this performance and it serves its purpuse perfectly. It's very enjoyable work that I would love to rewatch any time.

3. Faye Dunaway in Network

Faye Dunaway is just fantastic as Diana Christensen, in my opinion. Although I would be a little bit hesitant to call her amazing, her greatness is undeniable. She nailed all the aspects of Diana, she turned this incredibly difficult character into gold. Truly memorable work by a great actress at her peak.

2. Sissy Spacek in Carrie

I can confidently say that Sissy Spacek's performance as Carrie White is worthy of its iconic status. Not only is it creepy horror acting but something much more frightening. We get to experience so much frustration and fear and Sissy displays these emotions perfectly. Chilling, wonderful, beautiful performance.

1. Liv Ullmann in Face to Face

Liv Ullmann, in short, is astonishing as Jenny Isaksson in Face to Face. Liv shows such depths of this character that it becomes a very disturbing, frightening experience for the viewer. Although it might be too much for some, nothing can stop me from saying that Liv is just unbelievable as Jenny. Truly unforgettable work by a brilliant actress.

So I can proudly announce

the winner is...

Liv Ullmann

in

Face to Face

What's the problem?

Final thoughts: A very enjoyable year. I'm not saying it's the best ever but it offered some really great performances. The Top 3 is masterclass, Barrault is very good, Shire is the weakest link for me. She just didn't belong to this category. Choosing between the fantastic Liv and the wonderful Sissy was just so difficult. I noticed a certain pattern: whenever Sissy is close to being my pick, she fights a fierce battle with another actress (that was with 1980 and 2001) for my vote. I mean does it count that a performance is more iconic and popular than the other? Does screentime matter? Should I take into consideration that I've already given a win to Sissy while this is Ullmann's last chance to get my vote? Plus if you take a closer look, the two roles are so similar and equally difficult. In the end it came down to which performance I liked more and who sticks in my memory more (what a surprise).

Congrats to Fritz and Anonymous (who said good things about my design, next time please leave a name :D)! You can pick an available year both (or any other where you can give me access to all of the movies): 1933, 1953, 1956, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008

Omission: Mari Törőcsik in The White Lady from Lőcse

About the next year: Since this one is going to be my 40th year, I want to make it special so it's going to be a total surprise. After that it's 1995 as Louis requested.

What do you think? Any thoughts on your mind?

Faye Dunaway in Network

Faye Dunaway received her third Best Actress nomination and only Oscar to date for playing Diana Christensen, a "heartless young woman"in the Best Picture nominated movie Network. Although nowadays it seems like an easy win, Faye Dunaway wasn't the overwhelming front-runner for the Best Actress award. In fact, according to some sources, Liv Ullmann was the favorite to win (also because of the Scenes from a Marriage controversy). Even Faye seemed to be very surprised as she said in her speech that she didn't expect to win. However, if we look at the race, this win seems to be so obvious. She was the only true Hollywood star of the bunch and it was a real Best Actress crowning moment.

Network is a pretty great film. It's kind of shaky sometimes and the storyline with the communist group is a bit useless and pointless. Still, it's excellently written by Paddy Chayefsky (deserved Oscar for him) and directed by Sidney Lumet (a deserved nomination). The story is very interesting and kind of depressing as you are faced with the horrible power of television. The movie is highly critical of this phenomenon. I wonder how this movie would be nowadays. The actors are great in their parts though I must say that everyone was a bit too much. They got difficult part and unfortunately nobody was able to avoid overacting.

The one who succeeded the most, in my opinion, is Faye Dunaway, the big star of the 1970s. Honestly, I can't imagine a better choice for this part. Her nervous persona totally fits the character and she's a damn beautiful, seductive woman and that added a lot to this part. If I picture other actresses in this part. Nobody could match over-the-topness with a certain distance like Faye Dunaway and nobody is able to create a more disturbing and chaotic atmosphere than her. Yes, she can be very unpleasant on the screen and that's probably why Mommie Dearest was such a flop (no, I haven't seen it yet, I'm just speculating. :D)

Diana is a ruthless, "cut the bullshit" type of woman who's not very good at being a good human being but she's damn great at her job. She represents the pushy, overachiever generation in this movie who gradually the honest old folks. Nowadays, if you would take a look at Diana's Facebook page, next to favorite quotations you would see: "All I want out of life is a 30 share and and a 20 rating." If I think about it, Diana is kind of a cliché but I felt that was the whole point about this movie. We saw people like her so many times but I think nobody was better in such a part than Faye.

Paddy Chayefsky wrote some really great parts for actors but they were all so incredibly difficult, especially the lines. One wrong step and it's all gone. As I said, everyone fell into the trap of overacting in this movie, except for Faye who had the most difficult job to do. Everything was working against her and her task was to make us hate Diana and yet we have to feel pity for her. Another tough thing was that she didn't have as much screentime as such hard role would normally require. She really had to concentrate all her talent into the scenes and if I'm totally honest, she didn't always make it. It's not her fault but sometimes she was a bit overshadowed by the other loud scenes with Peter Finch or the marital problems of William Holden.

Still, Faye was able to get a lot out of this character and personally, I was totally blown away by some of the scenes. The first one that really stuck in my mind is the one where she tells her lover to stop kissing her because she had to concentrate on the screen. An excellent moment in it weirdness. Another memorable sequence is where she watches Howard Beale breaking down on live television while eating a sandwich. Faye really nailed the irony of these moments and it was just wonderful to see her whenever she was on the screen.

However, her famous breakup scene blows the others away. That was once again incredibly hard to do but she totally nailed it (and outdid William Holden, in my humble opinion). The way she switched from being loud to being broken-down and silent is just brilliant and unforgettable. She runs through a wide range of emotions and she's a real treat to watch as a result.

Faye Dunaway is just fantastic as Diana Christensen, in my opinion. Although I would be a little bit hesitant to call her amazing, her greatness is undeniable. She nailed all the aspects of Diana, she turned this incredibly difficult character into gold. Truly memorable work by a great actress at her peak.

What do you think?

The Next Year

1976

So the nominees were:

• Marie-Christine Barrault in Cousin Cousine
• Faye Dunaway in Network
• Talia Shire in Rocky
• Sissy Spacek in Carrie
• Liv Ullmann in Face to Face

A three-way race to many, we'll see how these ladies will do with me. :)

What do you think? What's your ranking? What's your prediction for my ranking?

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1974

About the field: I don't mind telling you that I was a bit disappointed by this field. Of course it's very strong, but I wouldn't say that this is the stongest one ever. Nevertheless, it was again very versatile and I saw five great performances. Nobody got under 4 Meryls (though I was tempted to go lower with my last one and go higher with my #4), so that makes it the strongest year in terms of Meryls so far (though I prefer 1959 to it). My #1 was not as easy as I thought since sometimes I thought that my #2 could be #1 too (it should have been released a year later). OK, so now it's high time to see the ranking:

5. Faye Dunaway in Chinatown
Her whole performance was not substantial enough to completely grab me and sometimes she paled a bit.Nevertheless, Faye was able to put on a very memorable and mysterious performance, which can certainly impress everyoneand totally fits her brilliant-brilliant movie.

4. Valerie Perrine in Lenny
I can say that I saw a very-very good performance, which might be more of supporting, but has such a huge effect on you with it's emotional honesty and naturality that you are certainly amazed. Memorable work, worthy of a nomination and deserving of a good rating.

3. Diahann Carroll in Claudine
Although the heavy drama was missing and her material was not the best one ever, Diahann was fantastically real as a struggling woman in Harlem. This nomination was richly deserved and in a weaker year, it could have earned Carroll an Oscar win.


2. Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence
Gena Rowlands gave a breathtaking, gutwrenching performance, which is not for entertainment purpuses, but it's thought-provoking, stunning and sometimes unbearable to watch. Rowland's courage and talent really payed off here as she was able to give one of the greatest performances ever put on film. Haunting and terrifying job.

 
1. Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
She totally grew on me in these few days. I can honestly say that I saw a very-very fantastic performance by an actress I love and I was quite impressed by her. It's not her greatest performance, but it's still an unforgettable and excellent portrayal of an ordinary woman.


So I can proudly announce
that my winner is...  
Ellen Burstyn in 
Alice doesn't Live Here Anymore

You got this one, Ellen

So the ranking of the already reviewed years:

1. 1974
2. 1959
3. 2009
4. 1963
5. 1948
6. 1940
7. 1998

So, I've already planned my next 2 years. But since you know my next one, this time there are no clues (I may only start it next Tuesday)! But I can take suggestions for my 3rd one.

Faye Dunaway in Chinatown

Legendary Faye Dunaway who was in her prime in the 70s received her second Best Actress nomination for playing the mysterious Mrs. Evelyn C. Mulwray in Roman Polanski's masterpiece Chinatown. I'm pretty sure that Dunaway had an excellent chance to win that Oscar: she was a major star (the most famous of the nominees), Chinatown was a front-runner for Best Picture, Actor, Director and everything. And yet she lost, but Mrs. Mulwray became one of her iconic roles and probably the most appreciated one next to Bonnie.



Chinatown is a chillingly brilliant and brilliantly chilling masterpiece, which in my opinion was cheated out of that Best Picture, Director and Score Oscar (yes, I have seen The Godfather Part II). I mean it's so utterly fascinating that you really cannot take your eyes off the screen as it's really suspenseful, mysterious and witty. Naturally the performances help it a great deal, especially Jack Nicholson's unforgettable turn as J. J. Gittes, the cynical private detective with a heavy past.



And Faye Dunaway, who certainly gives one of her greatest performances here. Her biggest fans are simply crazy about her in Chinatown and even though I don't share their enthusiasm, I must admit that I was quite impressed. Just like in Network, she does not have much screentime (I assume that it can be about 30-35 minutes not a second more), but leaves a huge impact on the audience by her strange and strong presence. Nobody can even try to deny that Faye is Mrs. Mulwray. She's so her that I really cannot explain it.



Even mediocore actresses could give great performances having such a brilliant material Faye got, but we all know how talented she is and that she can do miracles with the worst roles. When she first appears, we know almost everything we need about Evelyn. She's a mysterious, cold and beautiful woman who hides a terrible secret but is also desperately seeking something she cannot get. I can only think of Julie Christie who has as radiant as Dunaway. Whenever she's onscreen, you cannot really take your eyes off her and just want more, more and more of her. In fact you want so much more that it becomes negative. Personally sometimes I felt that her performance was lacking something which could have been able to make it more substantial and I also felt that the impressions she left on me in a scene was not enough until the next one and that's why her overall effect became a bit weaker than I remembered. Also, occasionally she was overshadowed by Jack Nicholson.



Nevertheless it would be highly unfair from me to deny Faye's brilliance. I was certainly very impressed by some of her scenes, especially the one in the restaurant and the "my sister, my daughter" breakdown. She filled the latter with so many emotions and rage that it was really breathtaking. But the biggest achievement of her whole performance was that she added so many layers to the character of Evelyn and by this she made her incredibly mysterious and exciting. We always get to know a new face of her, get to discover her secrets.



There's also a fantastic symbol of Evelyn which Faye Dunaway says towards the end: she has a flaw in her iris and by this she reveals the whole solution of the mystery. Evelyn has an terrifying secret and Faye creates some kind of a suspense without giving anything away. And this completely sums up her whole performance: it says a lot about the plot, but never gives anything away.



When I saw her for the first time I was utterly amazed by her and though I really loved her this time too, I couldn't help being a little disappointed about it. As I said her whole performance was not substantial enough to completely grab me and sometimes she paled a bit. This might have been also due to the fact that the screentime is not on her side, but that can be overcome. And she ended up being a performance where I cannot really know what else to write about.



Nevertheless, Faye Dunaway was able to put on a very memorable and mysterious (count how many times I used it in this review) performance, which can certainly impress everyone (some more, some less) and totally fits her brilliant-brilliant movie. Good job anyway.

What do you think? How do you think my ranking will look like? Now it's your very last chance to participate in the contest or change your predictions.

The next year...

Until I'm able to start 2002 (which will be next week and thanks for offering help, it's a bit of scheduling problem I have) I do a very much talked about and strong year, whose line-up includes five very famous and loved performances, two of them might be even legendary. This time I did not give you clues, but I hope this year will be as exciting as people say. So right now you might have found out that it's 1974.

The nominees were:

• Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
• Diahann Carroll in Claudine
• Faye Dunaway in Chinatown
• Valerie Perrine in Lenny
• Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence

So what do you predict for my ranking? What's yours and who's your pick? The predicting contest is on.