1984 Best Picture Nominees

Yesterday I inadvertently found myself watching two of the movies nominated for Best Picture for 1984.  I had access to one more, so ended up watching that to.

A Passage to India (available on Hulu until May) is the movie based on an E. M. Forster that doesn't have Helena Bonham Carter in it (at the time her career was period pieces).  This is a typical Oscar caliber film--sweeping period piece by one of the big directors.  There was no way it wasn't going to get award nominations.  It's a well-crafted film except for the fact I didn't care about the characters.  I have this problem with most of David Lean's film.  He made things look great, but there is no heart to them.  For a movie to stand up over time, you have to develop some feelings for the characters.  Actually, the only one of Lean's films I like is Hobson's Choice and that's probably only because Charles Laughton is in it.

The Killing Fields (available from Amazon VOD free for Prime members) is not my kind of film.  It's the story of an American reporter in Cambodia and what happens to his Cambodian friend when the Khmer Rouge takes over.  Sam Waterston is the reporter which works well since the part calls for righteous indignation and conflicted self-doubt, two things he does well.  Hiang S. Ngor  plays the Cambodian and deservedly won the Best Supporting Actor award (wow--Pat Morita was nominated for The Karate Kid that year).  Ngor did a great job for a non-actor although that was largely because he was acting things he had lived through in real life.  He probably deserved any award they could throw at him just for being willing to take the role and relive that experience.  I like the choice made not to use subtitles when the characters spoke Cambodian.  Subtitles would have been distracting and you really didn't need to know exactly what was said.  This film is well worth seeing, but it's one that will leave you emotionally rung out.

Amadeus (again on Amazon Prime for free) won Best Picture.  I remember going to see that in the theater when it came out.  like A Passage to India, this film was made to get award nominations.  Unlike Passage, the characters draw you into the story.  Having seen Animal House more times than I can count, I still have a disconnect seeing Tom Hulce as Mozart, but he does a great job.  Love Jeffery Jones as the emperor.  The true star (and Best Actor winner) is F. Murray Abraham.  This is one of the great acting performances of all time.  The moment he starts talking, you can't take your eyes off of him.  Most remarkably, his best scenes are when he's acting in old-age makeup.  The richness and subtlety of emotions he conveys while acting through all that stuff on his face is truly remarkable.  Awesome film.  If possible go with the director's cuts since the added scenes add to the plot and character motivations.