Revisiting the Academy Awards, 2000

 


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.

2000:

Best Picture:
* Gladiator
* Traffic
* Erin Brockovich
* Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
* Chocolat

About: Gladiator got the win here. This is an interesting group of nominees. I enjoyed Traffic when it was released, and I still think it's an interesting film, but I don't know that it has held up. In the end, I'm sticking with Gladiator.

Best Director:
* Steven Soderbergh
* Ridley Scott
* Ang Lee
* Stephen Daldry

About: Soderbergh won here for Traffic. He was actually nominated for both that and Erin Brockovich, and it's fair to say it was a huge year for him. Scott delivered a pretty great epic and Lee delivered a film that had some stunning visuals. I am actually going with Lee here. I didn't love the narrative of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon a ton, but the visual production was pretty outstanding.

Best Actor:
* Russell Crowe
* Tom Hanks
* Javier Bardem
* Ed Harris
* Geoffrey Rush

About: Crowe got the win here. I think the only very strong contender for me is Hanks in Castaway. That being said, I'm sticking with Crowe.

Best Actress:
* Julia Roberts
* Joan Allen
* Juliette Binoche
* Ellen Burstyn
* Laura Linney

About: Roberts got the win here, and it felt like more of a coronation. Burstyn delivers a pretty great and memorable performance in a very difficult film, and that's compelling to me. But I'm sticking with Roberts in what felt like a signature role.

Best Supporting Actor:
* Benicio del Toro
* Joaquin Phoenix
* Jeff Bridges
* Albert Finney
* Willem Dafoe

About: del Toro got the win, and I really enjoyed his work in Traffic. In the 20 years since its release, I feel like Traffic has become a bit under-rated. But then there's Phoenix, who was great in Gladiator. It's a tough call, but I think I'm going with Phoenix.

Best Supporting Actress:
* Kate Hudson
* Marcia Gay Harden
* Judi Dench
* Frances McDormand
* Julie Walters

About: Harden got the win here. She's a great veteran actress. However, at the time I felt like Hudson got robbed. She is great in Almost Famous, and 20 years later I feel the same. I'm going with Hudson here.

That's a wrap on 2000, tune in next week for 2001.

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