Somewhat of a controversial year in hindsight because a lot of people feel Goodfellas is the better pick overall for Best Picture. It'll be interesting to go through the choices and figure out if that holds true.
A quick aside here, I have contemplated doing a best of or most surprising finds list or something to mark off each decade and better organize my thoughts on the whole entire project. Not sure what I'll do, if anything, but I wonder if breaking the flow of the project would be worth it? Dunno. Just not sure ranking 26 years is a task I want to undertake.
1990 Best Picture
Dances with Wolves
I ended up watching the four hour extended version of this film and I can't figure out if that was a good or bad thing. On the one hand, it's an extra hour of a film that can be quite dull at times. On the other hand, there could be more characterization and plot that enriches the story in that extra hour and makes for a more satisfying, and whole, viewing experience. I think I fall somewhere in between and honestly, I wouldn't know or remember what is extra and what isn't anyway. There are a lot of issues when discussing this film. The main issue is how dull it is. No wait, I'm kidding - kinda. The main issue is the whole white man savior thing going on. It's as if Costner's Army Lieutenant can do no wrong. He escapes death in the beginning, goes out West and befriends the Indians there after some slight issues and then gets in tight with the Chief and Medicine Man and falls for the Medicine Man's white adopted daughter who had been kidnapped when young. Costner is arrested by the Army and rescued and just plays the hero without much tension or conflict. But Costner helps the Native Americans in a few different ways and we get a love story between the only two white people. There's also the whole environmental issue, punctuated by the white man killing buffalo wantonly and leaving the bodies behind. It's just very in your face which gets annoying. The length of course is an issue, also. There's no reason why this should be a three hour epic other than self indulgence on the part of Costner. I saw the four hour version which was plenty long enough. The story isn't compelling enough to sustain itself. There are some fantastic views of the prairies and rolling hills and the buffalo hunt scene is a truly amazing and dizzying experience. I liked Mary McDonnell's performance in a very tough role. I enjoyed the score and the fact that the film shines a positive light (mostly) on the Sioux is something film could use a lot more of today. So there are a few positives to go along with the dullness and tedium. With a better leading actor, I think this could have been a really great film, especially if it were trimmed down to form a more cohesive, intriguing story. As it is now, I agree with most people who think this is a bad Best Picture winner, especially when given the alternative.
Awakenings
This was always one of those films that I kept an eye throughout my project because I didn't know what it was about from title alone. A lot of the films you know what they are about because they've entered the zeitgeist and get talked about endlessly by Oscar lovers and film nerds. Haven't heard a peep about this film which seemed curious given the actors involved and the seemingly interesting subject matter. After watching it, though, I get why it's overlooked and somewhat forgotten. It's not exactly De Niro's best nominated work and the film has a feel good tilt to it until the end when you realize these patients return to their catatonic states. The film is about said patients who are awakened after being in a vegetative state for so long through the miracle of drugs and Robin Williams' determination. It's an interesting concept based off a true story but the film itself feels so slight for the most part. We don't even get to De Niro until almost an hour in so in that mean time we are mostly with Williams adjusting to a new hospital setting and see these catatonic patients - not exactly riveting stuff. It gets a lot better once the patients are awaken and you see the different personalities of the people and realize that they are actually human beings and not just vegetables. Things don't feel fully formed or fleshed out or pursued. De Niro's little romance almost seems like an afterthought, his outbursts could have used a little more intensity and respect from the other scientists and doctors, and the relationship with his mother doesn't even feel heartbreaking when he returns to his catatonia. Maybe the material needed to be treated differently with another director to make it stand out more because the direction, score, cinematography, etc. don't stand out one bit. It all seems formulaic and generic and that hurts what is a really interesting story. This film could have been a lot better which is why I'm being pretty negative about it. It has it's moments but not sure it's good enough to be a Best Picture contender.
Ghost
I will admit that this film scared the ever living shit out of me when I was younger. It had to do with the shadow things with the fucked up sounds that came to take away the bad people. It touched off an existential crisis in me after I saw it when younger because it made me think about death at like 6-7 years old. I really thought shadows would come grab you when you died. Now I recognize this as a pretty great film starring Patrick Swayze who is one of my favorite actors. All of his films are so heartfelt and good and entertaining that you can't really hate on him. I only wish that more of his film were nominated for Best Picture and that he was nominated for Best Actor. Anyway, this film is about a guy who gets murdered while out with his girlfriend and doesn't go anywhere and remains a ghost. He communicates with Whoopi Goldberg's character and gets things done that way. He protects his beau and rights a wrong and then ascends to heaven. Quality entertainment. I love this film. It's of its time and was the highest grossing film of 1990. That's why it made the BP group, which is fine by me. It also has one of the most famous scenes in movie history with the pottery scene soundtracked by The Righteous Brothers. It's just so entertaining. That's my main draw to the film. I could watch it over and over and never get sick of it. Whoopi and Swayze are great and the rest are fine but it's a good idea for a story with bankable stars, can't go wrong. I just really like the idea that Patrick Swayze starred in a Best Picture film. You'll be hard pressed to find me saying anything bad about this one.
The Godfather Part III
When it came to this film, I was faced with a dilemma: watch all three films in order to write these reviews or just watch this film without the context of the others. I felt that watching the trilogy is important to understanding this film as a whole and within the context of the trilogy itself. But then a new dilemma occurred: do I write my thoughts about the other two films and save them to post later or rewatch them again because it will take me years to get to the 70s in this project? That was a tough one to decide. I went ahead and wrote those reviews down anyway, just to get them out of the way. As for Part III, there is no doubt that this is a lesser film than the first two. It's hard to live up to two films that are rightly considered some of the best of all time and do so after so many years away from being in that world. You almost have to preface a review by saying that some of the originals like Robert Duvall weren't part of the film because of money issues, which means the end product wasn't exactly what it could have been. And of course, you have to mention that Winona Ryder was set to play Mary, Michael's daughter but dropped out due to exhaustion and the director's daughter, Sofia Coppola filled in basically on an emergency basis. Her performance was widely derided and rightfully so because it looks like she isn't very confident and she looks very green. They even had to redo dialogue because of her Valley Girl accent. Last thing to mention is that this wasn't really meant to be the third part of the trilogy but rather an epilogue and Francis Ford Coppola wanted to name it The Death of Michael Corleone. Even with all that said, Part III is still a pretty good film, just not up to the standards of the Godfather name. It does offer some interesting storylines such as the whole Vatican Bank stuff which held my attention even if I was a tiny bit confused as to how it all worked. Also, the whole ending scene at the opera is pretty riveting stuff, too. I was thinking about going to bed and watching the rest the next day but then I couldn't look away because the whole set up hooked me. I do feel like there were parts to tighten and clean up, other parts that could have been expanded on or removed altogether. If it were shorter, I wouldn't complain because it didn't have the steam to keep going in the middle parts. It's a decent enough close to a trilogy where the first two films are out of this world amazing and it seems fitting to have this one nominated to complete the whole thing. It's a nice sense of finality.
Goodfellas
Some people call this the greatest gangster flick ever and those people wouldn't be too far from the truth. There's a lot of good arguments to be made for it's case. It's a different style than say The Godfather, obviously, but it's got such a vibrancy and modern, realistic feel to it that it sets itself apart from those more dramatic type of films. And that's not to say this film isn't dramatic, of course, because it's story is richly compelling as we follow Henry Hill's rise into the Mafia world and the demise of that world. We get some really phenomenal acting from pretty much everyone in this film, even the most basic supporting players. Liotta, De Niro, Bracco, Paul Sorvino, and especially Pesci are all perfect for their roles and make Goodfellas into a bonafide classic. Scorsese directs the hell out of the film as per usual with some inspired scenes and inventive techniques. Everyone remembers the continuous shot following Liotta through the club but there's also a lot of interesting and stylistic editing choices and the use of freeze frame adds another great element to the film and story. Not to mention it's been lifted and used ad nauseam since then (yes, I know Scorsese isn't the first to do freeze frame but he definitely made it popular). Plus you've got Scorsese really mixing in the musical elements with this film. Songs are used at key moments to explain feelings or things in the scene or used as further dialogue for the characters. You can tell there was a lot of painstaking work put in to craft scenes around the musical cues and to figure out which songs to use and when. Goodfellas is a perfect example of music and film coalescing. I stop short of calling the film perfect because I think there could have been more time for Bracco and some other ladies even in this male dominated film. It is certainly wildly entertaining, though, and is one of the classics for a reason. I think when you look back on this year, it will be tough not to choose this as the winner, as it has stood the test of time and only grown in importance and legend.
80's here I come! Goodfellas is my winner because it's so beloved and iconic and great even today. Ghost is a wildly entertaining second and I can't get enough of Swayze. The Godfather Part III is square in the middle because it fails to live up to it's predecessors but is still worth a watch. Dances with Wolves is too long (especially if you see the extended edition like me) and just isn't as important as it wants you to believe it is. I'd be fine with it here if it didn't win because I like big Western epics but not for the win and not in the Costner way. Awakenings is just a really bad choice for a Best Picture film. I don't think it belongs and would rather see something else in its place. I know others will say the same about Ghost, but preferences! Just didn't connect with it on any level. Not a bad year for the G films, could have been even better with a different choice.
Oscar Winner: Dances with Wolves
My Winner: Goodfellas
Ghost
The Godfather Part III
Dances with Wolves
Awakenings
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