Revisiting the Academy Awards, 1980

 


As some of you know, I have been a frequent guest host on the Music City Drive In Movie podcast this summer. We've been looking at movies since 2000, re-nominating the Academy Awards. That got me thinking about the actual fields of the awards themselves. In a new weekly series, I'll be looking back at the last 40 years of Oscars and reviewing the choices at Best Picture, Best Director and the four acting categories.

1980:
Best Picture:
* Ordinary People
* Raging Bull
* Coal Miner's Daughter
* The Elephant Man
* Tess

About: The winner here was "Ordinary People," the drama from Robert Redford. It's a fine film about a family dealing with tragedy and loss. I think these are the kind of films that stand out strong in the immediate aftermath. This continued a string of great Martin Scorsese films that didn't get a lot of Awards love. If I was picking this group again, I'd go with "Raging Bull."

Best Director:
* Robert Redford
* Martin Scorsese
* David Lynch
* Richard Rush
* Roman Polanski

About: A pretty loaded category. Redford does a nice job with "Ordinary People" and gets the win. I liked what Lynch did with "Elephant Man," too, but I would have gone with Scorsese here. I think "Raging Bull" is the film of this year's group that has best stood the test of time.

Best Actor:
* Robert De Niro
* John Hurt
* Robert Duvall
* Jack Lemon
* Peter O'Toole

About: This is another pretty stout group. Hurt is amazing in "Elephant Man," and Duvall's performance in "The Great Santini" is still remembered fondly. But this was one of the few places where the Academy honored "Raging Bull," and I'd keep the award with De Niro.

Best Actress:
* Sissie Spacek
* Goldie Hawn
* Ellen Burstyn
* Gena Rowlands
* Mary Tyler Moore

About: What a group of actresses, all of whom had varied and strong careers, several of whom are still going strong. There are some good performances here, but I think the two more oft remembered are Hawn for "Private Benjamin" and Spacek, who won for portraying Loretta Lynn in "The Coal Miner's Daughter." You could make a case for either, but I'd say that the Academy got it right from this group.

Best Supporting Actor:
* Timothy Hutton
* Judd Hirsch
* Michael O'Keefe
* Joe Pesci
* Jason Robards

About: Hutton got the win here, and was one of two actors nominated for "Ordinary People" in this category. He does a nice job. But I think you can guess where I'm going here, give it to Pesci for "Raging Bull."

Best Supporting Actress:
*Mary Steenburgen
* Eileen Brennan
* Cathy Mortiary
* Diana Scarwid
* Eve La Gallienne

About: Steenburgen got the win here, and I'll be honest that I've never seen the movie she was in, "Melvin and Howard." She's a great actress, though, and scanning the field I don't have strong feelings. I'm gonna say this seems like a decent choice to me.

Check back next week for a look at 1981.

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