I was 13 and only saw The Right Stuff in the theater (the first movie I ever went to that had an intermission). The Big Chill and Terms of Endearment were rated R and The Dresser and Tender Mercies were not really on my radar at the time, though I do remember seeing Tender Mercies reviewed on "Sneak Previews" (it was the year after Siskel and Ebert had left, IIRC).
Terms of Endearment had strong characters and great performances, the music was used very well and Brooks was very successful at combining the comedic and sad parts of the story. It seemed very fresh at the time, a tear-jerker with so many funny scenes and witty lines. So, I certainly can't begrudge its Oscar. But...
It may not be fair because I have always been something of an aviation buff, but The Right Stuff just hit everything right for me. The characters were wonderfully drawn, the settings evocatively captured, the music completely effective, the details attended to beautifully. I don't feel that it amounted to complete hero-worship of the Mercury Seven, it pointed out their fallible humanity (perhaps going too far in the case of poor Gus Grissom). Still, I can't think of how you could downplay the fundamental courage of the first men to volunteer to ride tons of explosive fuel into a completely deadly environment.
Likewise for being nationalistic, I think there had to be a certain amount of that. There were only two space programs at the time, and one was shrouded in secrecy and propaganda. And the movie certainly showed some inconsistencies and cynicism in the US government's use of the astronauts for propaganda value.
It was a pretty strong year, actually, I would be happy to sit down and watch any of those nominees.
I'm not sure I follow... The Right Stuff has been shown on TCM a couple of times. Terms of Endearment, too, I 'm pretty sure.
Ha! Krull and The Dresser, same director.
And nobody's mentioned Flashdance yet!
--Justin
Terms of Endearment had strong characters and great performances, the music was used very well and Brooks was very successful at combining the comedic and sad parts of the story. It seemed very fresh at the time, a tear-jerker with so many funny scenes and witty lines. So, I certainly can't begrudge its Oscar. But...
It may not be fair because I have always been something of an aviation buff, but The Right Stuff just hit everything right for me. The characters were wonderfully drawn, the settings evocatively captured, the music completely effective, the details attended to beautifully. I don't feel that it amounted to complete hero-worship of the Mercury Seven, it pointed out their fallible humanity (perhaps going too far in the case of poor Gus Grissom). Still, I can't think of how you could downplay the fundamental courage of the first men to volunteer to ride tons of explosive fuel into a completely deadly environment.
Likewise for being nationalistic, I think there had to be a certain amount of that. There were only two space programs at the time, and one was shrouded in secrecy and propaganda. And the movie certainly showed some inconsistencies and cynicism in the US government's use of the astronauts for propaganda value.
It was a pretty strong year, actually, I would be happy to sit down and watch any of those nominees.
I'm not sure I follow... The Right Stuff has been shown on TCM a couple of times. Terms of Endearment, too, I 'm pretty sure.
What?!?!?! Where's Krull?!?!?!
Ha! Krull and The Dresser, same director.
And nobody's mentioned Flashdance yet!
--Justin
