I am so happy to finally be in the 70s. Real progress is being made in this blog! I was also glad to be back to the old years after doing 2016 because these are all mostly unknown while I lived through the 2016 race and had read and heard about those films for months. I felt refreshed to come back to this year and power through. I've only seen Apocalypse Now previously but a few of the others look really interesting and I'm thinking this group will be pretty good.
1979 Best Picture
Kramer vs. Kramer
This was the first of two straight gritty, realistic dramas to win Best Picture. I am a fan of those types of films especially when they handle whatever subject matter in a frank, real way. Kramer vs. Kramer is a very authentic look at divorce and more particularly, life as a single father when dealing with a divorce. The story is mostly one sided as we follow Dustin Hoffman as he has to deal with raising his son on his own while juggling a hectic, demanding job. Throw in dating woes and a mother/ex-wife who comes back into the picture to get custody of the kid and you can see just how dramatic it gets. It's not often we get to see this side of the divorce coin, where the focus is on the man providing for the kid(s) and struggling to adapt to a new life and then fight for custody. Usually we see things from the other side, so this was really progressive for 1979. I can't even imagine this film being made today without a lot of changes because it makes the mother into almost a villain and can easily see the awful blogs written on Jezebel and elsewhere on the internet. The film, though, is about the father dealing with all this and losing his job because he'd rather take care of his kid and having an innocent moment where the kid busts his eyebrow open and Hoffman races him to the ER be used against him in court as if he's a terrible, dangerous father. It's really heavy stuff and makes for a highly compelling watch. It's got great acting (minus Justin Henry's undeserved nomination) and is surprisingly short at an hour and forty plus minutes. If this film were made today, there's no doubt this would be stretched to two plus hours and suffer, a la Manchester by the Sea. I feel like choosing this film for the win was maybe a statement or a way to bring light to the subject? I think the film is very powerful and has an important message and I wonder if that played into things at all. It's a great film worth checking out for some very good acting and a heavy hitting story.
All That Jazz
I had been excited to watch this because a few people I read online were exuberant in their love and praise for this film and it seemed like one of those films that has become underrated and underappreciated as time has gone by. I think that holds true after finally watching it. The main thing that every review talked about was how this was an egotistical, self reverential, indulgent semi-autobiographical work from Bob Fosse about Bob Fosse. It's just whether you fall on the side of this being a mess or it being a masterpiece. I lean towards the latter because the film is so interesting and intriguing and full of energy, no matter how maudlin. We follow Roy Scheider's version of Bob Fosse as he rehearses his new play, finishes his new film, and deals with his daughter, ex-wife, and girlfriend and all that goes along with that. He's a womanizer that drinks a lot, smokes a lot, and does drugs and that's how he is able to get through each day. Eventually he has a heart attack but continues his lifestyle even when staying in the hospital by partying in his room. He has more heart attacks and undergoes bypass surgery. The film is lively and turns it up when the bypass occurs and we get this dream sequence where people from Scheider's life come back and it's this intense, engaging spectacle. And I have forgotten to mention that this is a musical, so these scenes are done with singing and dancing and are very entertaining to watch. But this isn't some straightforward musical like you'd think from the 50s or 60s or something, it's a little avante garde and modern which gives it a freshness that's apparent even 40 years later. And it's interesting that the Bob Fosse character ends up in a body bag and he actually died of a heart attack a couple years after this, so he must have known where his life was going to end up. I would have liked if Scheider had been a little more lively and flamboyant (not in a gay way) and been a better dancer because I feel like that would have better served the character. Ultimately, your view of the film is going to be based off whether you like musicals and if you think this is a self indulgent mess or something tremendously refreshing to watch. I really enjoyed the film's craziness and it was a nice respite from super serious Oscar films that are always nominated. A little crazy every now and then is always good.
Apocalypse Now
You should know this film and should have seen it already. If not, just go watch it and cross it off your bucket list. The film is as big and crazy as you've ever heard from anyone that talks about it and it lives up to that billing. I think that after watching this film, one should be required to watch the documentary about the making of it to get the full effect of just how crazy the whole production truly was. The film shot for 16 months, went through a ton of changes both story and personnel wise, and was allowed to do things on location in the Philippines that wouldn't ever be allowed here in the States. The star, Martin Sheen, suffered a heart attack while filming that was kept hush hush so that the production could keep going without any interference. Marlon Brando showed up almost 90 pounds overweight and was therefore shot in the shadows to minimize his appearance which actually adds to the performance and film overall. Laurence Fishburne was 14 years old and lied about his age and ended up getting addicted to heroin because Dennis Hopper got him hooked. A bunch of different actors were considered for Sheen's part and Robert Duvall's iconic character. Francis Ford Coppola threatened suicide a few times while making it and used millions of his own money to fund it and get it made. It took three years for the film to actually come out because the editing and sound processes were so long. They actually killed a live water buffalo in the scene you see at the end of the film. All of that craziness was going on and yet somehow a coherent and masterful film was completed. Apocalypse Now is as good as everyone says it is. I watched the Redux version and it adds like 49 minutes of footage but I don't think it's necessary for the complete experience. The big additions are a terrible little trip to a French plantation with people still holed up and clinging to yesteryear. It grinds the film to a halt and is long and boring and ultimately pointless, which is why it probably doesn't make the theatrical version. The only other real big addition is that the guys in the boat meet the Playboy Bunnies stranded on some small base and trade gasoline for sex with them. But the film has so many iconic moments and lines and performances that it doesn't matter which version you watch. Some people might find it a little too cerebral and slow but I think if you stick with it, it's pretty rewarding. This Heart of Darkness adaptation is a cinematic classic and really transcends being just an Oscar film.
Breaking Away
Oh man, this is a great movie! There is no doubt that this film gets lost in this group because you have basically four heavy hitters. It might be the one most people don't know (although All That Jazz might be right there with it) unless they are from Indiana or really into sports films. Breaking Away is a sports film, yes, and many people view it as such with it getting put on lists where it ranks right up there as one of the best of all time. I understand that sentiment one hundred percent, but this film is so much more than just a sports film. It's about a group of cutters, or local boys in Bloomington, Indiana, who end up participating in a cycling race put on by the University. But that really only explains part of the film. It's also about the group of four friends and how frustrated they are to be second class citizens in their own town because they don't go to the university and their search for a purpose. The main character loves cycling and pretends to be Italian because he is so into it. Oh, and the friends are Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, and the Italian loving Dennis Christopher. It's cool to see them all together in a film at such young ages and I've never even seen or heard of it before. Anyway, the film is so sweet and sincere which is why I really enjoyed it. This could easily devolve into kitschy cliches and become an outright joke, but it maintains its sincerity all the way through. Christopher's family is a hoot and his romantic fling is actually done really well. It's not a happy ending and it feels right in ending that way. Now, the impetus to actually getting to the bicycle race is a little contrived, I'll give you that, but it certainly doesn't bring the film down at all. The race at the end is also a highlight because it stayed compelling and tense all the way to the end. It's one of those ends where you're holding your breath until the moment happens and you give a little fist pump when it does. If a film can make me believe in its characters and its story so much then it has done a great job. I am super glad that this was nominated for Best Picture (and Supporting Actress) because I got to watch a film that is very easy to recommend. So Miss Peanut Gallery, find this and watch it pronto because I think you might enjoy it as much as I did.
Norma Rae
Norma Rae is probably the classic union film. I'm drawing a blank on any others besides like, Hoffa, but I think this is the film that comes to mind when you think of a union film. In it, Sally Field is the eponymous Norma Rae, a small town woman who works at a textile mill that treats all the workers like shit. She meets a New York labor union representative who comes to town and is convinced to help organize a union for the town mill. That's the film in a nutshell and it is invariably Field's film through and through. She fights the good fight because the mill treats everyone like slaves and pays them crap and doesn't have healthcare and if anyone tries to speak up they get canned. The mill does all this because the mill is all the townspeople have. Without it, they wouldn't be able to live so it's like a catch-22 and the mill knows this. Field fully earns her Best Actress Oscar by giving us a fully realized performance. She is the main draw and very much worth it. The film can also be seen as a woman's empowerment type of film. Field starts off as a bored single mother who is screwing a married man and then ultimately finds her true calling in life by organizing the union for the mill workers. The message being that even a small town single mother can do great things and not be limited by those around her. She fights hard and keeps long hours of going to work and raising her kids and looking after her husband (she eventually marries) and doing work for the union late into the night. It's awesome to watch Field become this strong woman who can take on a big mill and win. There is that iconic scene where she gets on a table in the mill as she's being escorted out after being fired where she holds up a handwritten union sign and the rest of the workers all shut their machines off. It's a really great scene that really encapsulates what the film is all about. I would say that the film is worth watching for Field's performance alone but the message part of it is a good reason to watch as well.
This is a very strong year. I liked every film and that really makes it tough to pick a winner and do a ranking of the films. I mean, I dunno. I do think Apocalypse Now is a classic masterpiece of film making and it being the winner would be great. I liked the realism of Kramer vs. Kramer and it really ushers in what films in the 80s were going to be about. Breaking Away is such a fun, sincere, hilarious film that I wasn't expecting at all and truly enjoyed immensely. Norma Rae is a strong female focused film that doesn't feel too preachy and doesn't sell out Sally Fields as a woman. It's a good film. And All That Jazz is such a crazy, indulgent mess that you'll either love or hate it and I loved what it was going for. So, I dunno. Below is my rankings and I'll take Apocalypse Now as my winner because it is an all time classic. Very good year, though. Every film was strong and this is what I'm looking for in every category. I just hope 1978 can live up to this year!
Oscar Winner: Kramer vs. Kramer
My Winner: Apocalypse Now
Kramer vs. Kramer
Breaking Away
Norma Rae
All That Jazz
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