The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1961

1961

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke

I don't think that this performance of Geraldine Page is all that special. I mean, she's plays the part properly and she has lots of great moments but altogether, she's far from brilliant. Apart from the beginning, she played Alma just like she had to and she put on very decent work that could be expected from an actress of her calibre. However, she's not as amazing as some say.

4. Piper Laurie in The Hustler

This is not a performance for the ages but Piper Laurie is very good as Sarah in The Hustler. Although sometimes she's too overshadowed by Paul Newman, her work never loses its strength and occasionally, we see truly brilliant, unforgettable scenes. Her achievement is very evenly great and therefore she deserves some praise.

3. Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass

Natalie Wood took on a very difficult role and despite some early mistake, she put on a wonderful performance as Deanie Loomis. She portrayed all the fears and the tension so realistically and exceptionally that she became a truly luminous presence on the screen. She develops the character excellently, avoiding all the traps and obviousness that could have ruined her work.

2. Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's

It really must be my sentimental side that came to surface while I was watching this movie but I couldn't care less. I understand why some could criticise it but for me, Audrey Hepburn's work as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's is deservedly one of the most iconic performances of all time. Not only has Audrey Hepburn created an unforgettable character, but also some marvellous acting.

1. Sophia Loren in Two Women

I know I should sum up his performance somehow but I feel that my whole review was the shortened version of how I feel about her. Nothing can come close to this wonderful emotionality, the radiant, brilliant personality of Sophia Loren (none of the Hollywood stars of her time can come close to her). This watch of the movie and my review was the ultimate test of my love for this performance and it passed. With distinction. :)

So I can proudly announce

the winner is...

Sophia Loren

in

Two Women

Easy win.

Congratulations to Fritz and Louis on the correct predictions! :) You got a prize but since you got it right only after 4 reviews you can both pick only from these 10 possibilities: 1943, 1953, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1999.

Final thoughts: BRILLIANT year! I so loved this year. All of them interesting, strong performances. Two very good ones, one really great and two legendary ones. I'm happy that I had to opportunity to do this wonderful year. I feel bad about not picking Audrey (so far, she's my best one not to win, I refuse to say loser) as that performance was worthy of an Oscar. However, no tie was possible. This award belonged to Sophia alone and the Academy somehow (what a miracle) realised that. So I've agreed with the Academy 3 years in a row. :)

Omissions: Jeanne Moreau in La Notte

About the next year: It's no secret that it will be 1992. :)

What do you think?

Sophia Loren in Two Women

Sophia Loren received her first Academy Award nomination and only competitive Oscar to date for playing Cesira, a young Italian widow, who's trying to survive the horrors of WWII along with her daughter in Two Women. Sophia Loren basically won every award for this performance of hers, except for the Golden Globe for which she wasn't even nominated (that's about the Hollywood Foreign Press Association). The 60s were such beautiful times when the Golden Globe winner for Best Actress in a Drama never won (I miss those days when there were surprise winners). I guess if this role had been in English it would have been a shoo-in for the win but thankfully, it won. If we think about it it could not have been any other way. I mean can anyone imagine Sophia Loren without an Oscar? Well, at least I can't.

Two Women is a fantastic movie, in my opinion. I guess this kind of Italian realism is not for everyone but I so love the purity it. There are small leftovers in Two Women from the neorealism (after all it was directed by the brilliant Vittorio de Sica) and it's such a wonderful, touching tale about real women. It's also really interesting to see Jean-Paul Belmondo at such an early age (he almost cannot be recognised).

However, Two Women as a title is a little bit misleading. To tell the truth, it's such a stupid translation (very much like the Hungarian title that says A Woman and her Daughter) as the original title means "the woman from Ciociara". And that says something very significant. It says that this story is mainly about one woman and that is Cesira, played by the wonderful, unforgettable, beautiful and talented Sophia Loren. There's a reason why this performance is considered legendary. It gives the essence of Sophia Loren's whole character and it sums up her career so brilliantly. Katharine Hepburn once said that always the right actors win Oscars, for the wrong roles. That's simply not the case with Sophia Loren. She's really the one who got the award for the performance of her lifetime. Before this, in Hollywood, Sophia Loren was considered the sexy, sensual Latin woman who's singing to Cary Grant's children. If you're looking for this Sophia Loren, you'll surely be surprised but not disappointed. I guess that's another reason that contributed to her win: this was such a stunning, shocking achievement that you would never expect from a sex symbol.

It's amazing to see how many faces of Cesira Sophia shows. She's playing with the emotions so confidently and yet she never gets self-satisfied. Obviously, she knows what she's doing but I never felt that she was as self-aware as her fellow nominee, Geraldine Page. While the technical part of the performance, the timing and such are all brilliant, it's the stunning emotions that are really memorable in this work. They range from pride to desperation, through fear, passion, anger, fury, happiness, grief, sorrow, worry and above all, love. Above all, this performance is a beautiful tribute to women's (especially mother's) love. How strong it can be and that it can survive anything and such. It sounds very cheesy but it's all there in Sophia's performance and it seems so natural. In my review of Penélope Cruz in Volver, I was raving about Cruz's ability to recreate the greatness and earthy strength of the women of the European cinema in the twentieth century. However, in Two Women, it's all present in its true, original form, without any irony. Sophia Loren walks on the street, you see her and you're just blown away by her presence. You instantly say "What a woman!".

This performance is much more than that, though. Loren's chemistry with Eleonora Brown (the girl who plays her daughter, Rosetta) is just excellent. You see them as mother and daughter and I alway believe that Cesira would really sacrifice her life for her. Sophia made this relationship so real and so close to the audience that it's really astonishing. The constant worry that we see on Sophia's face in each and every second is so heart-breaking. I knew that horrible things would happen to them and yet I was hoping just like she was hoping. The scene where she tries to collect as much food as possible is just unforgettable. And her small interactions with Jean-Paul Belmondo are utterly fantastic. There's so much tension between them and they make some of the best scenes in this film.

However, the parts that are really unforgettable (and in the worst way possible) are in the last 20 minutes of the movie. Cesira and her daughter are gang raped by soldiers in a church and it's an almost unbearable scene. Those screams, the fear in the eyes. Sophia is so brutally realistic there that I really had trouble trying to go on. After that, Cesira gets deeper and deeper into devastation. Her big monologue (which would be her Oscar clip if she was nominated now) where she attacks some soldiers is almost as terrifying as the rape scene. Sophia mercilessly shows all the effects of this horrible thing. That hysterical cry and the way she puts her hand on her face. Brilliant, heart-breaking, unforgettable. And so are the last seconds of film where we see a broken, devastated and yet somehow hoping Cesira. I identified with Cesira's emotions so much that I totally forgot everything. It was just her, not me. It's chilling to see her tears rolling. So perfect, so natural and so tragic. And the best thing is that Sophia always remains beautiful. It's not a deglam role. Her radiant beauty (which comes from her personality, above all) shines through the screen and matched with her wonderful acting, they make up a cathartic experience. Unbelievable.

I know I should sum up his performance somehow but I feel that this whole review was the shortened version of how I feel about her. Nothing can come close to this wonderful emotionality, the radiant, brilliant personality of Sophia Loren (none of the Hollywood stars of her time can come close to her). This watch of the movie and my review was the ultimate test of my love for this performance and it passed. With distinction. :)

Again, the rating is so useless but the system should work.

What do you think?

Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass

Natalie Wood received her second Oscar nomination for playing Deanie Loomis, a furstrated teenage girl in Elia Kazan's movie, Splendor in the Grass. Many people were supporting Natalie's win back then and yet I don't think that I would have bet on her back then. Hedda Hopper was raging in her vicious style and writing in her paper that Natalie Wood was robbed of the Oscar. Besides her performance, there were many things going for her, she starred as Maria in West Side Story, a movie that received 10 Oscars plus she was a real star back then. However, she didn't win the precursor awards.

Splendor in the Grass is a very good movie and yet I had some problems with it. Although it was very exceptionally directed and the screenplay was quite good (though not worthy of an Oscar win over La dolce vita and especially Ballad of a Soldier), somehow the whole thing didn't tie me down at all and I quite often found myself struggling to pay attention, mostly during Warren Beatty's scenes, which were quite boring, in my opinion and lacked the real emotional tension. Some things were too shallowly mentioned and not talked about enough.

However, that doesn't apply to Natalie Wood's scenes. Although Natalie Wood's reputation could be better, she's really great as Deanie in Splendor in the Grass. It's the kind of role that she had already played in Rebel Without a Cause but Deanie is quite different from Judy. In some of Natalie Wood's performances, I felt something quite artificial and it was obvious that she was a child actor. The latter could be observed in Splendor in the Grass, too. There was a scene where Deanie is breaking down to Warren Beatty's character, Bud. It was just like watching Elizabeth Taylor, even Natalie's voice was just like Taylor's. Both of them grew up in front of the camera and we can see the old Hollywood in them (and its acting style). However, that's not a serious problem for me.

Many consider this one to be Natalie Wood's greatest performance. Although I haven't seen enough from her to decide, I'm saying that this is indeed the best work that I've seen from her. She excells at showing Deanie's pain and fears without overdoing these emotions. I guess the fact that she had one of the best directors an actor could have (Elia Kazan) helped her a lot and many times I really saw her transforming into Deanie.

In the beginning, she seems to be little bit off and I felt that it was a bit shaky but her performance improved a lot in a very short time. Her presence became quite magnetic and I really just couldn't take my eyes off the screen. In each and every moment, there was such emotional tension in her and that was probably the best way to portray such a character. Right now, I cannot even think about any other actress who portrayed a teenage girl so well. I really can't. There's nothing sugary about Natalie, nothing was exagerrated and each of her choices were good. Again, the guidance of the director was very important but after all it was Natalie who put on this performance.

Deanie is madly in love with a boy named Bud but she's terrified of any sexual contact but in a much different way than Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke. Natalie showed this fear with much realism and I really felt sorry for Deanie. After all, she gets to a mental institution and the scenes which show how she got to that point are played brilliantly. Deanie sinks deeper and deeper into desperation and Wood showed her transformation excellently. This development is really extraordinary because Wood doesn't look for the easy way, instead she was really fearless and wanted to create something very realistic. And she succeeded. Deanie became a very real character with whom you could easily identify.

Natalie Wood took on a very difficult role and despite some early mistake, she put on a wonderful performance as Deanie Loomis. She portrayed all the fears and the tension so realistically and exceptionally that she became a truly luminous presence on the screen. She develops the character excellently, avoiding all the traps and obviousness that could have ruined her work.

What do you think?

Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke

Geraldine Page received her second Oscar nomination for playing Alma Winemiller, the shy, sexually frustrated daughter of a minister in Summer and Smoke. Although Page won the Golden Globe for Best Actress (drama), I don't think that she had much of a chance of winning the Oscar that year. Too many stars were competing in that category and they all starred in very succesful movies that are now considered classic. Still, I feel that Page was ahead of Piper Laurie.

Summer and Smoke is a very entertaining movie. I mean Tennessee Williams was such an excellent writer and he created some of the best stories ever. This is not one of his best, though but that doesn't say much as even his weakest is among the best and this is not his weakest effort. Summer and Smoke (apart from the great story) is very well directed, acted, in short it's a really quality piece. Laurence Harvey is not an actor who's admired by many (my beloved Jane Fonda was not one of his fans, either as it seemed) but I think he was able to be really great and this performance of his is the best I've seen from him (besides Room at the Top). I really believe that he should have been nominated. Una Merkel did receive a nomination but she was quite unworthy of it, I think.

Geraldine Page seems to be dividing people much more than I used to think. Some are crazy about her skills and her immense talent (F. Murray Abraham is one of her biggest fans) and some are criticising her for being too over-the-top and self-aware. Personally, I admire her very much. Yes, she can be a little bit theatrical but I so love stage actresses in movies because of the energy that they give to the motion picture roles. Interesting enough, what I saw in Summer and Smoke justified both the love and the hate for Ms. Page.

She plays the neurotic preacher's daughter, a shy spinster who's terrified even by a touch of a man. However, she falls badly for Laurence Harvey's character and we get to see how their "relationship" goes. I really liked their chemistry on the screen and I was surprised how believable their "romance" was. I mean, I've seen actresses portraying spinster who are desperately in love with a man but this relationship was so different from them. Alma is neither too shy nor possessive. There's a bit of this and a bit of that.

As I said, this performance can be a justification for the both the admirers and the haters of Geraldine Page. In the beginning, Page is obnoxious and unbearable. She played Alma in such way too theatrically. I just felt so confused about her and I had trouble warming up to her work. It felt like watching a menstruating Deborah Kerr. In short, I didn't like her at all. That lasted for about 15 minutes and after that there seemed to be a wonderful change in either me or the performance.

In this movie, we can see many of Geraldine Page's famous nervous ticks and she excellently uses them when she needs to. I really loved her mentally unstable character in Interiors and her breakdowns there were so delicious and enjoyable so I hoped I would see something like that here. And I did, in fact. Whenever Page looked at Laurence Harvey, I felt that Alma's character is actually more controlling and manipulative than one would think and deep she tries to corner him emotionally with her breakdowns. Although John is also fooling around with Alma, Alma is not that different from him.

After all, Page got the shy personality of Alma right and she played that aspect of the character very well, despite the fact that the huge emotional scenes were the real highlights. Her big breakdown towards the end when she realizes the truth about her love is just excellently played by her. I really felt the character's pain and that scene was really intense.

Still, I don't think that this performance of Geraldine Page is all that special. I mean, she's great and she has a lots of great moments but altogether, she's not that brilliant. Apart from the beginning, she played Alma just like she had to and she put on very decent work that could be expected from an actress of her calibre. However, she's not as amazing as some say.

What do you think? (I forgot to grade Piper last time but she'll also get a 4.)

Piper Laurie in The Hustler

Piper Laurie received her first Oscar nomination for playing Sarah Packard, a depressed girlfriend of a hustler in the Best Picture nominee, The Hustler. I'm quite sure that Laurie was the fourth runner-up. First, her role was not big enough to get enough votes plus the Academy didn't seem quite willing to give many awards to The Hustler. Moreover, the other nominees were much bigger names than Piper Laurie. I guess Laurie got closest to winning with Carrie and it was her time. I guess in her case the nomination was the reward.

The Hustler is such a terrific movie. Actually, I even think now that it should have won Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay. It's so dark and realistic (that's probably why it lost the Best Picture to the sugar coating of West Side Story). I loved the cinematography (deserved Oscar win) as it made the atmosphere even more depressing. Paul Newman is nothing short of amazing in the lead. I mean, I still can't believe how he could lose. This seemed to be such an Oscar moment (just like it was with Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys) and he never gave a better performance. The supporting actors are pretty great, too though now I've become a bit uncertain who would get my vote in that category.

Piper Laurie is an excellent character actress who's the best at playing very meaty supporting roles. People mostly remember her as the fanatically religious mother of Carrie in the shocking Brian de Palma horror. Many say that she was robbed of the Oscar that year though I'm not 100% sure. What I'm sure is that her role in The Hustler is also a supporting one. She plays the typical depressed girlfriend, appears more than 35 minutes into the movie plus she has quite minimal screentime. The reason why she could be considered leading is probably that the character is crucial to the stoy (though that could be argued).

This is just one of the two main things this working against Laurie here. The other one is that it's pretty damn hard to give a truly knockout performance as a co-lead or a supporting player when the real lead gives the performance of a lifetime. I guess the same goes for the two nominated supporting actors here but their roles were so heavy and the characters had enough strength. And it's true: Laurie suffers a little bit from Newman's towering achievement but I felt that Newman (that's the real brilliance in his performance) let the others shine, too. He throws up all the balls to the others to catch them and Laurie barely misses them. In fact, when she's given spotlight she uses it as much as she can.

I could say that Sarah Packard is probably a distant relative of the character that Rachel Roberts played in This Sporting Life. They are both hardened, extremely depressed characters who suffer from their men and they are often humiliated by them. The characters couldn't be more alike but the actresses' approaches to them could not be any different. After watching Roberts I wanted to cut my own neck because it was so depressing but with Laurie it was kind of different. I really don't know myself how I felt. I was actually quite captivated by her sometimes.

Another criticsm could be the little bit stiff and theatrical line readings. However, I got used to that gradually and I felt that it was the part of the character. I felt that Sarah loved making a scene and be theatrical. Laurie had these big monologues and I think she handled them just as she had to. She put enough emotion into them and they all became quite strange but in a very good way.

Her last scenes are really the best, however. She really rocks in those scenes and shows some incredible acting. They didn't make the whole performance seem incredible but they indeed had a very positive effect on me and probably influenced me a lot. Her desperate last monologue to Paul Newman was handled excellently by her and I really felt what she wanted to say with those lines.

This is not a performance for the ages but Piper Laurie is very good as Sarah in The Hustler. Although sometimes she's too overshadowed by Paul Newman, her work never loses its strength and occasionally, we see truly brilliant, unforgettable scenes. Her achievement is very evenly great and therefore she deserves some praise.

What do you think?

Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's

Audrey Hepburn received her fourth Oscar nomination for playing the iconic role of Holly Golightly, a carefree, bohemian young woman in Blake Edwards' classic, Breakfast at Tiffany's. I think Audrey had a fair chance of winning her second Oscar in 1961. In fact, had I been around there, I would have placed my bet on her (or Natalie Wood) as the others didn't seem to be very likely winners. Page (although she got the Golden Globe) wasn't in a big enough movie, Natalie Wood was a bit too young to win, Sophia had the foreign language factor against her and Laurie was overshadowed by her co-stars. I guess Audrey was second or third (if they really loved Natalie).

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a classic. I think if you asked some people to say the title of one of Audrey's films, 80% would answer Breakfast at Tiffany's. And for a reason. This is a truly extraordinary movie that aged well. And it's surely loved by people. When I bought the DVD exactly a week ago in Germany at least 5 people in my group screamed when they saw my copy.I asked myself the question: Do I love it that much, too? The answer is a very firm YES. Indeed Blake Edwards created a totally originally, beautifully bittersweet fairy tale that charms people and warms up their hearts and souls.

However, there's one real reason why people love this movie that much. Surprise! It's Audrey Hepburn who created one of the ten most iconic performances of all time, in my opinion. If I'm very honest to myself, many of the performances that I love know won't be remembered at all in like 100 years. But that doesn't apply to dearest Audrey in Breakfast at Tiffany's. This istimeless, ageless work that will captivate the soul of people for ever. Some people say that Audrey was God's special gift to the Earth, a real angel. Although that seems to be a bit sentimental and cheey thought, there are times where I really believe it. For example, when I see the first minutes of Breakfast at Tiffany's. We see a beautiful, angelic person in front of the window of Tiffany's having breakfast and looking at all the diamonds and jewelry. Again, this scene really depends on your mood. If you let yourself become a little bit sentimental, you'll be amazed by Audrey instantly. The same goes for the scene where she's singing Moon River, which is probably one of the most adorable moments in history.

Holly Golightly is a much better developed character than people actually give Audrey credit for. In fact, this is a brilliant achievement by her. I loved how Audrey added all the layers to this girl. On the outside, she seems to be a very carefree, even careless bohemian girl who doesn't have much to worry about and she doesn't even want to. She feels good in her body, in her life. However, Audrey showed the vulnerable, insecure side of Holly and she gave her so much more depth than one would expect. I can compare the character to Liza Minnelli's Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Both are hopeful, carefree girls who are really unable to take responsibility even though they know what's right. They are terrified. While Sally has an abortion, Holly just throws her cat out of the cab. They act because of fear and devastation and not because they are bad in any way. Sally's hoping to have a film career, Holly still wants to bo to Brazil.

The way that Holly's relationship with her brother is shown is extraordinary. There's a tiny bit lame scene where she's screaming her brother's name in her sleep. Still, Audrey saves the scene because she didn't overdo it (it was a bit on the edge, though). For Holly, Fred is a reminder of her old life and she doesn't even try to give him up despite the fact that she's more than willing to forget her old life. It's a heart-breaking moment when she's faced with that. We see her old husband and for some minutes Holly becomes Lula Mae, the 14-year-old trying to get rid of her poverty. She finally says goodbye to her old life at the bus station and it's probably the most beautiful scene of Audrey that I've ever seen. I thought nothing of hers could top the beauty of The Nun's Story but, in fact, this one is quite close to that.

One of the biggest criticsm that Audrey usually receives that she only plays herself and relies exclusively on her charm to win the audience's sympathy. Breakfast at Tiffany's, in a weird way, disproves it (or at least in this performance). We all think that we identify Holly Golightly with Audrey Hepburn. However, if we take a closer look at it, we see how wrong that thought really is. In fact, it's really the other way around. We actually think that Audrey Hepburn IS Holly Golightly. It's no wonder since we can see the picture of her in this movie in the 75% of the shops all around the world. However, it was Audrey who got into the body of Holly and transformed herself.

I must also mention how great the comedy scenes are. I love how she poses to the press when she's arrested or how lovely she is when she's really drunk (and she doesn't overdo it). But I can also talk about her wonderful chemistry with George Peppard (The A-Team, how lovely childhood memories) whose performance is a little bit lacking. They are excellent together, though. I especially loved the scene where Holly went into Paul's apartment for the first time (and slept there). Audrey really excelled there, showing the vulnerability of Holly fascinatingly once again. You know, I really wanted Holly and Paul to be happy and everything and that's why their last scene in the rain is so adorable and yes, it's a bit soappy but it was really forgivable in this case, in my opinion.

It really must be my sentimental side that came to surface while I was watching this movie but I couldn't care less. I understand why some could criticise it but for me, Audrey Hepburn's work as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's is deservedly one of the most iconic performances of all time. Not only has Audrey Hepburn created an unforgettable character, but also some marvellous acting. She's both funny and shows all the layers and feelings of this character. Beautiful.

What do you think?

The Next Year

1961

So the nominees were:

• Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's
• Piper Laurie in The Hustler
• Sophia Loren in Two Women
• Geraldine Page in Summer and Smoke
• Natalie Wood in Splendor in the Grass

Sophia Loren made history in 1961 by becoming the first actress to win for an entirely foreign language-speaking performance. Will she be my winner, too or will I pick one of the other incredible ladies?

What do you think? What's your ranking? What's your prediction for my ranking?