These are all huge names so I am expecting the category to be extra competitive this year. I am looking forward to some of these because I've been waiting awhile to see them in action finally. This one should be pretty awesome.
1969 Best Actor
John Wayne -True Grit
Let's be real right off the bat, this is simply a career Oscar for John Wayne and nothing more. I grew up watching John Wayne westerns and war films and just adored him. He was a movie star through and through and this is the Academy saying thanks for all you've done for Hollywood. Wayne himself admits Burton should have won and this wasn't his best work - and he's right. About it not being his best work and, well, possibly Burton winning - we shall see about that. But Wayne just plays his normal movie star self in this film. The remake by the Coen Brother's almost 50 years later is way better and Jeff Bridges is leaps and bounds better as Rooster Cogburn. There's nothing more to this win than simply the Academy liked him. I could talk about the actual performance but honestly if you've seen one John Wayne performance you've seen them all. I don't even think he's particularly good here. He's been better in other films of his and this was a guy just not doing much in the film. He's mostly sitting around or on horseback. So when I do look back at Wayne having won and being among all the winners, it doesn't feel wrong at all. But you also can't help but roll your eyes a little knowing John Wayne has an Oscar and Peter O'Toole was only given an Honorary one later in his career. There's lot of other actors like that, too. Hell, just look at Burton! Seven nominations and not even an Honorary one like O'Toole. Not a strong win but I guess it kind of makes sense a little if you don't think too hard on it.
Richard Burton - Anne of the Thousand Days
I gave Burton my win for the first nomination I reviewed of his back in 1977 for Equus. That was his last of seven nominations and I flat out loved it. It blew me away. I mentioned then that I was looking forward to his other work and here we are watching him as Henry the VIII. It's a story everyone knows and we've all seen many different iterations of Henry in all variations of media. So going into this was like, okay, what can Burton bring to the role that makes it worth watching. And the answer to that is Richard Burton. He just has a certain style as an actor where he is very theatrical in his performance. His Henry is loud and brash and dominating like a king should be. But Burton imbues the performance with a lot of emotion, some say too much. The knock I read is that it can be too much from Burton and his broad style. But I'm all in for it. He's not spouting off stuffy old English in some drawn out aristocratic, enunciated voice. He's bellowing his lines and talking like a normal person but it all some calculated by Burton to show off Henry's larger than life personality. He's not just hamming it up, he's acting like an impetuous king who wants to seem important at all times and like he's the one behind all the machinations. In one moment he will be telling Anne how much he loves her and wants to be with her in overtly romantic way and then the next after she insults him he roars about being the king and how he can have her head. I like that Burton can swing these extremes back and forth with ease while also maintaining a cohesive performance throughout the film. I actually really like when Burton is calm and collected the most because it makes Henry human to us. I think this is a good performance but it's nowhere near the level he was at during Equus for me. I've still got a few more performance of his to watch and I know he will deliver in those. This is a good version of Henry the VIIIth, though.
Dustin Hoffman - Midnight Cowboy
"Hey! I'm walking here, I'm walking here!" I'm pretty sure everyone knows that iconic line and it seems like everyone knows that it was an unscripted moment that Hoffman rolled with and it fit the character so they kept it in. It's a classic line and shows the dedication of Hoffman to staying in character no matter what. Hoffman's sad sack Ratso Rizzo is full of affectations. We all know how Hoffman loves to take on interesting roles like these especially if he can put his spin on it. Ratso has a lot going on with his character. Hoffman gives him a nasally high pitched voice, he coughs a lot, he's got a pronounced limp, is always disheveled and sweaty. It's a very put upon character and performance but Hoffman keeps it from being merely an amalgamation of parts. It becomes a fully fleshed out character. He is almost the opposite of Joe Buck in that he is the street vermin who knows the underbelly of NYC and does whatever he can to survive. But eventually throughout the film we see the two men bond in a symbiotic relationship and friendship and it's one that gives a little hope to their situations. I think in lesser hands Ratso would have been way too over the top and dominated the film. It would have been an annoying character shifting the focus of the story. But Hoffman expertly crafts a character that we eventually take pity on and see as being a good guy even if he's a street rat. It's a physical performance as much as it is an emotional performance. Ratso longs for company and you can tell he respects Joe. It's an interesting dichotomy between the two and you can't have one without the other. It's why I totally understand both of them getting nominated in this category. I think it's just going to come down to preference on who you like more. Hoffman does good work and gets you feeling about a street bum, a nice achievement.
Peter O'Toole - Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Peter O'Toole is one of the greatest actors ever. Which is why I am so glad that this project introduced me to his other, less widely known work. His previous four nominations that I've seen were all wildly interesting and indicative of an actor who was not scared to take on any role. I enjoy all of those because they are so telling that he was more than just a Shakespearean actor and more than just Lawrence of Arabia. I'll get to those roles soon enough, but first is this one. This is a remake of a film that already won a Best Actor Oscar for Robert Donat back in 1939. And this remake starts with a long Overture and is partly a musical and is way longer than it needs to be. But it has a lot of heart. O'Toole plays a shy school teacher who uses every second of his class time. He's kind of a stick in the mud until he meets a woman who is a stage actress and they eventually hit it off and get married. She's full of life and just a positive person and presence in his life, lifting him up from being boringly academic. By the end something happens that you can probably guess but we see a changed man who is well liked by his peers and students. I actually like most of the songs in this film but O'Toole is definitely not much of a singer, but I guess he's earnest in his trying. It's also not that challenging of a role for O'Toole, minus the singing. His charm and biting wit is put to good use but I don't think anyone is going to be clamoring for this to be what wins O'Toole his first Oscar (because he never won an acting one, only getting an Honorary award in 2002). I think he's perfectly fine, but doesn't have much heavy lifting to do in the role save for the final big scene when the incident happens and he is giving a speech to his students. It showcases how great he is as an actor but it really only leaves you wanting more scenes of that quality in the film. It's a decent performance, but obviously O'Toole has been much better in his career.
Jon Voight - Midnight Cowboy
It's interesting how these things work out. I'm not a fan of the current Voight and his politics and opinions, yet I have loved most of his acting work from the beginning. This was Voight exploding onto the scene with his big, tall Texan hustler. From the opening scene he had me hooked. He's got this big dopey, aw shucks personality that fits an idealistic Texas boy with big dreams of going to NYC and hooking up with all the hot rich women to a T. But that personality hides a dark secret that is probably driving his decisions in life to be who he is and go where he's going to get away from the memory of it. The flashbacks tell the tale of his rape and having to watch a girl he was with get raped, too. That's heavy stuff and most likely fuels him to move away and take ownership of his sexuality. He becomes the one getting paid for, or at least trying to, and he becomes the dominant part when hustling guys. I think that Voight mixes this intensity well with the golly gee naive boy part of his personality, the one that trusts everyone he meets. He also has this pervasive optimism that affected me and made me hopeful for his finally getting a break. But then we get a scene late in the film where Joe is with an older guy trying to get money to send Ratso to Miami and he roughs the guy up and gets violent. This shift works because of the desperation he feels in helping his friend and because NYC has hardened this naive young man into being someone jaded by his interactions. The friendship part of the story is probably the best part of the performance. Voight and Hoffman develop this very real friendship that feels real and gives us hope for the both of them. It is this symbiotic relationship that starts out rocky, but their being together is fun to watch. They play off each other so well and it really deepens the impact of both of their performances. In lesser hands, Joe Buck would have come off as hokey or completely unbelievable as a character. But Voight crafts a perfect representation of the character that makes the film seem so much more real to me. His work is why it's so sad at the end when he brings Ratso closer to him on the bus. It's also why we are optimistic his life is changing for the better in that moment, as well. It's just really great work from Voight with a character that seems pretty hard to nail down and he does just that.
This category is actually pretty hard to judge who to win. I don't think Wayne deserves it for this performance. It's not that great at all and you've got a couple other performances here that are easily better. I'm sure that Voight and Hoffman split their vote. I can also see Burton and O'Toole splitting the vote between themselves. Both were due for a veteran win and gave decent enough performances even if it wasn't their best work by a wide margin. I think I'm gonna give my win to Burton. I mean I already did in 77, but if I give it here maybe that changes things in the future? Also, both Voight and Hoffman have their Oscars and O'Toole shouldn't be winning for this one in my opinion. So Burton by default but this is just a weird category altogether. I'm fine with Wayne having won but we all know it's for his career and nothing more. Really this is just up to whoever you like or whatever narrative you want to push. Or flip a coin. I hope 68 offers up something with a little more clarity.
Oscar Winner: John Wayne - True Grit
My Winner: Richard Burton - Anne of the Thousand Days
Dustin Hoffman
Jon Voight
Richard Burton
Peter O'Toole
John Wayne
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