The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1976

1976

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Talia Shire in Rocky

I didn't exactly hate Talia Shire in Rocky, I was just never impressed by her work. She doesn't do much except for standing and being silent and she doesn't even do that in an expressive way. Apart from the nice, moving ending, there's nothing in her performance that's really memorable.

4. Marie-Chirstine Barrault in Cousin Cousine

I still ask myself the question: was this performance much of a strech? Probably not. Marthe's not a very complicated character but Marie-Christine Barrault did a great job playing her. Although she's far from amazing, there are no flaws in this performance and it serves its purpuse perfectly. It's very enjoyable work that I would love to rewatch any time.

3. Faye Dunaway in Network

Faye Dunaway is just fantastic as Diana Christensen, in my opinion. Although I would be a little bit hesitant to call her amazing, her greatness is undeniable. She nailed all the aspects of Diana, she turned this incredibly difficult character into gold. Truly memorable work by a great actress at her peak.

2. Liv Ullmann in Face to Face

Liv Ullmann, in short, is astonishing as Jenny Isaksson in Face to Face. Liv shows such depths of this character that it becomes a very disturbing, frightening experience for the viewer. Although it might be too much for some, nothing can stop me from saying that Liv is just unbelievable as Jenny. Truly unforgettable work by a brilliant actress.

 

1. Sissy Spacek in Carrie

I can confidently say that Sissy Spacek's performance as Carrie White is worthy of its iconic status. Not only is it creepy horror acting but something much more frightening. We get to experience so much frustration and fear and Sissy displays these emotions perfectly. Chilling, wonderful, beautiful performance.

So I can proudly announce

the winner is...

Sissy Spacek

in

Carrie

What's the problem?
 

Final thoughts: A very enjoyable year. I'm not saying it's the best ever but it offered some really great performances. The Top 3 is masterclass, Barrault is very good, Shire is the weakest link for me. She just didn't belong to this category. Choosing between the fantastic Liv and the wonderful Sissy was just so difficult. I noticed a certain pattern: whenever Sissy is close to being my pick, she fights a fierce battle with another actress (that was with 1980 and 2001) for my vote. I mean does it count that a performance is more iconic and popular than the other? Does screentime matter? In the end it came down to which performance I liked more and who sticks in my memory more (what a surprise).

Congrats to Fritz and Anonymous (who said good things about my design, next time please leave a name :D)! You can pick an available year both (or any other where you can give me access to all of the movies): 1933, 1953, 1956, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2007, 2008

Omission: Mari Törőcsik in Mrs. Dery, Where Are You? *My pick*

About the next year: Since this one is going to be my 40th year, I want to make it special so it's going to be a total surprise. After that it's 1995 as Louis requested.

What do you think? Any thoughts on your mind?

Marie-Christine Barrault in Cousin Cousine

Marie-Christine Barrault received her only Oscar nomination to date for playing Marthe, an unhappily married woman who find happiness on the side of her cousin by marriage. Barrault's nomination is kind of a miracle to say the least. I mean, how the hell did she get nominated? I don't see a reason. She didn't have a showy, stylish foreign-language performance that usually get nominated, she wasn't an international superstar plus she wasn't even nominated for a César. The years ending with a 6 have usually quite unusual Best Actress fields (1966, 1976, 1986, 1996). So in Barrault's case it was more than true that it's an honor just to be nominated.

Cousin Cousine is a very entertaining lightweight French movie. It's really not something for the ages but as I said it's very amusing from the beginning to the end. It doesn't make you laugh very often but it keeps a smile on your face. I'm not sure if it deserved its Best Foreign Language Film nomination but why not. It's really not an Oscar movie to say the least. It follows two people living in bad marriages who meet at a wedding and fall in love gradually. The actors give very entertaining and strong performances. Nobody is amazing but I have to mention Marie-France Pisier who was the standout of the supporting cast. She's really funny.

I'd like to give an opinion about Marie-Christine Barrault but I really can't say anything about her talent and works. Cousin Cousine was the first movie I saw her in so I can only form an opinion about her based on this performance alone. From what I saw, she's a very charming actress but I just can't imagine her in a heavy drama. However, she wasn't required to do anything serious in Cousin Cousine. Her task was bascially to be as charming and loveable as possible and she succeeded.

Again, this nomination is sort of shocking because of the unspectacular character AND performance. Barrault's character Marthe is not a very complicated person, she doesn't have to go through some big changes (though she doesn change a bit) and she's not always at the centre of the movie. Moreover, Barrault is not the real standout here. Is there still something to love about her? Surprisingly, quite much.

We first see marthe at her mother's wedding and she seems to be just a really nice person. Somehow, Barrault radiates so much charm and loveliness and it's always pure joy just to look at her. She was the perfect choice to play Marthe. Acting-wise, she doesn't have to do much and yet there's something utterly irresistable and lovely about her which still continues to impress me. I especially loved her towards the middle of the movie where we saw scenes of Marthe's affair. Actually, these are the scenes where Barrault adds some depth to her character. The scenes with Victor Lanoux and Marie-Christine Barrault are just excellent. They have a very unusual but wonderful chemistry and they are the perfect couple in their imperfection. They seem to be like children playing at the playground. They are throwing each other some balls and they never fail to catch them. Their happiness made me feel so good while watching the feel. I haven't seen adultery shown in such a loveable way. If I think about it, it comes to my mind that they actually cheat on their spouses and yet it's far from scandalous and offensive.

My favorite scene in the whole film was when Marthe and Ludovic (her lover) are talking about their previous experiences with adultery. Both actors excel there. Barrault and Lanoux let me inside the heads of their loveable characters and they seemed so human. I guess that's what got the attention of the Academy members. Barrault made Marthe's character so loveable and ordinary and yet very interesting. There was real depth there and it was actually quite touching to see Marthe talk about he previous affair with a guy from the office in a casual and yet quite bitter way.

I still ask myself the question: was this performance much of a strech? Probably not. Marthe's not a very complicated character but Marie-Christine Barrault did a great job playing her. Although she's far from amazing, there are no flaws in this performance and it serves its purpuse perfectly. It's very enjoyable work that I would love to rewatch any time.

What do you think?

The Next Year

1976

So the nominees were:

• Marie-Christine Barrault in Cousin Cousine
• Faye Dunaway in Network
• Talia Shire in Rocky
• Sissy Spacek in Carrie
• Liv Ullmann in Face to Face

A three-way race to many, we'll see how these ladies will do with me. :)

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