1985. The 57thAcademy Awards were handed out in March 1985. The nominees for Best Picture were Amadeus” (Orion, Saul Zaentz, producer), “The Killing Fields” (Warner Bros., David Putnam and Iain Smith, producers), “A Passage to India” (Columbia, John Brabourne, producer), “Places in the Heart” (TriStar, Arlene Donovan, producer), and “A Soldier’s Story” (Columbia, Norman Jewison, producer). “Amadeus” is based on a stage play by Peter Shaffer. Milos Forman was the director. It stars F. Murray Abraham, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice, Christine Ebersole, Tom Hulce, Jeffrey Jones, and Charles Kay. The story is nominally based on life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (played by Tom Hulce), but many things are fictionalized. In particular, the play was based on a play by Pushkin about the jealousy of Antonio Salieri (played by F, Murray Abraham) for Mozart’s talent. [Salieri was a successful composer of the late 18th century and early 19th century. He was a contemporary of Gluck and studied with Gassmann. As an opera composer of the time, he developed the form of the opera that became the standard during that time. His music was sparkling, but it ultimately fell out of the performance repertoire as the 19th century passed.] The movie is presented in flashback from Salieri’s deathbed, as he confesses his belief that he killed Mozart to a young priest. The character of Mozart is quite interesting. He is a genius at music, but he is also petulant and a bit off in left field. Hulce plays the character marvelously. In particular, in one scene where Mozart is conducting, he appears more to be flailing his arms as in some sort of dance. He also has a strange laugh that goes right through you. Salieri, as played here, is wise about music, but considers himself at best “mediocre”. The flashback ends at Mozart’s death, with Salieri supposedly there. A great film, but not really historically accurate. “The Killing Fields” is based on true experiences and was written by Bruce Robinson. It stars Athol Fugard, John Malkovich, Craig T. Nelson, Haing S. Ngor, and Sam Waterston (who previously starred in “Rancho Deluxe” with Jeff Bridges). It is the story of the experiences of a Cambodian journalist (Ngor) and an American journalist (played by Waterston), as they negotiate the war in Cambodia that spilled over from the Vietnam conflict. The Cambodian must deal with the fact the Khmer Rouge killed many citizens simply because they could not or would not be re-educated in the Communist ideology of its leader, Pol Pot. He is able to escape through his connection to a lower-level Khmer Rouge administrator, but not without seeing the hideous results of the re-education campaign. The American, in the meantime, has won a Pulitzer prize, which he declares he should share with the Cambodian journalist. In the end they reunite as the friends they had become when they first met. “A Passage to India” is based on a novel by E. M. Forster. It was directed by David Lean. Although not as sweeping as “Gandhi”, it is epic in scope. It stars Peggy Ashcroft, Victor Banerjee, Judy Davis, James Fox, and Alec Guinness. The music is by Maurice Jarre. The story is set during the British Raj in India. A young woman (Davis) is headed to India with an older lady (Ashcroft), whose son in India is the fiancé (Havers) of the young woman. An Indian (Banerjee) takes them on a tour of the “real India”. During this trip, the Indian is accused (unfairly) of rape of the young woman. At the trial neither woman will testify against him. He is freed and becomes disgusted with the Anglicization of himself. After many years, we find a kind of reconciliation of him and the British. “Places in the Heart” was written by Robert Benton, who also directed the film. It stars, Lindsay Crouse, Sally Field, Danny Glover, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, and John Malkovich. It was filmed in Waxahachie, Texas. The movie is set in the Depression era. The sheriff in Waxahachie (played by Ray Baker) is killed accidentally by a young black man (De’voreaux White), who is “punished” by a group of whites. The sheriff’s wife (Field) is concerned about raising her family and operating her farm. An itinerant black man (Glover) arrives at the farm, and she has him do some work, in return for a meal. He steals some of her flatware and is caught with it. Rather than press charges, she gets him to help with the farming. In particular, there is a prize for the first bale of cotton brought in, which the two win. That night the Ku Klux Klan visits the black man, and decided to move on. “A Soldier’s Story” is based on a play by Charles Fuller. It stars Adolph Caesar and Howard E. Rollins, Jr. The story takes place at the end of World War II. A black sergeant was murdered in Louisiana, and a black officer has been sent to investigate the incident. The sergeant (Caesar) is not a particularly nice person, so there are plenty of suspects. The investigator (Rollins) also has great problems because of the racism and segregation. He ultimately puts the pieces together and finds the murderers, one of whom is played by the then comparatively unknown Denzel Washington. And the Academy chose “Amadeus” as the Best Picture. A very fine picture, but “The Killing Fields” would have been a reasonable choice. Other movies from 1984 that are worth watching: “2010” (a sequel to “2001”, but the story is still mirky), “Beverly Hills Cop” (Eddie Murphy at his funniest), “Blame It on Rio” (a comedy starring the great Michael Caine; in it he has an affair with his best friend’s young daughter and then regrets it; directed by Stanley Donen), “Blood Simple” (the first Cohen Brothers film), “Children of the Corn”, “Conan the Destroyer” (a breakthrough for Schwarzenegger before he was governor), “The CottonClub” (directed by Francis Ford Coppola), “Dune” (after the great mystic novel by Frank Herbert, starring a young Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides; directed by David Lynch, it includes Sting as on of the villains. It was not well-received by critics when made, but I like it.), “Footloose” (with a very young Kevin Bacon), “Ghostbusters” (a great comedy by Harold Ramis, with an exceptional cast; a must-see), “Gremlins” (a cute horror film in which cute little puffballs become nasty vandals, and it has Phoebe Cates), “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (the second installment with more of the same, but no Karen Allen), “The Karate Kid” (with a wonderful performance by Pat Morita), “Moscow on the Hudson”, “The Natural” (from the novel by Bernard Malamud, and with a great cast), “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (with Robert Englund as Freddy Kruger), Once Upon a Time in America”, “Paris, Texas” (with music by Ry Cooder), “Purple Rain” (Prince’s first film), “Red Dawn” (a story about what might happen when the Russians invade the US and teens have to save the country), “Revenge of the Nerds” (Hooray for the nerds, whoever and wherever they are), “Secret Honor” (Robert Altman’s take on Richard Nixon), “Sixteen Candles” (Molly Ringwald, worrying about whether her family will remember her birthday; cute movie), “Splash” (Ron Howard’s first big hit; a love story between a mermaid (Daryl Hannah) and a young man (Tom Hanks), whose bumbling brother (JohnCandy) ultimately helps get them together), “Starman” (This is one of my favorite movies. Jeff Bridges did a brilliant job in playing an alien who grows up onscreen, as he comes in contact with a young widow (Karen Allen); a wonderful story and the acting is superb; I cannot say enough about this picture.), “The Terminator” (the first of the series, but Schwarzenegger is the bad guy in this one. The special effects were good for the time, but they got better. Linda Hamilton provided a great female hero.), “This is Spin Tap” (Rob Reiner’s satire of documentaries about rock bands), and “The Woman in Red”.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 12:02:19 +0000
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