Word: ryans
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan: Of course he's a sure shot--he's won, what, like ten Oscars already, right? Surprisingly, no. Although big Steve has racked up six nominations, he only has one win to his name, for 1994's Schindler's List. Get ready to make it two, though, folks. Whether viewed as an underdog or a front-runner, Spielberg's got it in the bag this year, and rightly so. No other director in the world could have created the searingly realistic battle scenes of Private Ryan. Don't talk to me about narrative flaws--with...
...WILL WIN: Steven Spielberg. The Academy loves to reward Spielberg for taking on serious themes. And why not? The fact that he does films like Jurassic Park 2 simply highlights the highflown goals of a movie like this. Saving Private Ryan is every bit the directorial triumph. However, keep an eye out for a dark horse-scads of film critics' organizations have been giving Best Picture to Spielberg while reserving directorial honors for quirky, Harvard-educated Malick...
Saving Private Ryan: Spielberg's WWII baby is clearly the front-runner here, and notonly because its Oscar victory been foreshadowedby the Golden Globes, the DGA awards and hundredsof critics' associations. Private Ryan is aquintessentially American movie. Despite criticalhyperbole setting the film up as a panculturalantiwar film a la All Quiet on the WesternFront, it is as hyperpatriotic as any JohnWayne picture of the 50s. And that's what theAcademy wants--clean lines. Kill the damnedGermans, and try to get out alive.Shakespeare in Love: John Madden's lovelyfilm came out of nowhere to wow the movie goingpublic with something that...
...WILL WIN: Saving PrivateRyan, Movies that score with critics andaudiences alike (Ryan was uniformlywell-reviewed, and its box-office receipts morethan double its nearest Best Picture competitor)have a tendency to dominate the highly politicalAcademy Awards. Another element in the film'sfavor: the Academy will doubtless conform to itsrecently instated unwritten law--the longest moviewins. Sound ridiculous? Believe it. Recent winnersTitanic, The English Patient, Braveheartand Schindler's List all conform to thismoronic but increasingly reliable dictum. Okay,Private Ryan only edges out The Thin RedLine by a few seconds (both films have anofficial running time of 170 minutes), but itsmonster...
...tough one, butI'm calling Shakespeare in Love. Maybe thisfilm doesn't have the lofty philosophicalaspirations of its bloodstained competitors, butit succeeds more completely, on its own terms,than any other film in the running. And it's fun!Shakespeare, in my book, is more whollyinvolving than even Ryan, which begins tomeander in its second half. The movie conjures upmemories of the classic romantic comedies of the40s with its brilliant writing, immenselycharismatic leads and flawless, breakneck pacing.It may just be a matter of taste, but I'll take anear-perfect comedy over a flawed drama...