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I am probably going to take a break from these retroactive awards for a few weeks coming up, but I had to close out the decade I have been working on first. This time, I am covering 1980. The 1970s, a significant decade for films, gave way to the 1980s. Does this year feel like a transitional period for movies? Well, maybe these awards will help.
Best Supporting Actress: Shelly Duvall, The Shining
The Shining is all about Jack Nicholson and Stanley Kubrick, but Duvall has been getting love more and more as the years have gone on. It was, by all accounts, a harrowing experience for a fairly inexperienced actor (she had been discovered by Robert Altman working a makeup counter or something and had basically only worked with him). Duvall gives a raw nerve performance as a raw nerve character, so it really works.
Best Supporting Actor: Lloyd Bridges, Airplane!
Airplane! is loaded with funny performances and “serious” actors who were playing against their image. One of those actors, Leslie Nielsen, fully embraced his comedic persona. Bridges did as well, though not to the same level of success. However, Bridges is the best in Airplane! of all the supporting performers.
Best Actress: Goldie Hawn, Private Benjamin
I wasn’t around, at the time, but I imagine Hawn had to deal with some nonsense as her career unfolded. Well, nonsense, but also some fair questions. She rose to fame playing a ditz on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In before taking on similar roles in movies. Private Benjamin taps into some of that energy, but also has a more serious element to it, which Hawn is able to pull off. Eileen Brennan stole the show to many, but I feel Hawn holds her own.
Best Actor: Robert De Niro, Raging Bull
Not exactly a hard decision to make. De Niro is one of the most-revered actors to ever live, and this was probably the largest showcase he ever got. It was Martin Scorsese and De Niro working together on a boxing biopic of Jake LaMotta. Raging Bull is all about De Niro, his acting, and how Scorsese shoots him. A true whirlwind effort from two legends.
Best Picture: Raging Bull
I mean, did I kind of want to say Airplane!? Yeah, I did. I’ve certainly watched Airplane! more than I have ever watched Raging Bull. It’s an entertaining comedy loaded with jokes. However, I have to still acknowledge Raging Bull as a better movie. I mean, Airplane! is barely a movie. It’s a joke factory. Raging Bull, though, is a well-crafted piece of cinema.
