In Contention

Tag: Milos Forman

  • 10/21 Oscarweb Round-up

    Charlie Kaufman• Jeffrey Wells passes along further second-hand indication that “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is the one to beat this year. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Steven Zeitchick responds to the suddenly wide open acting races. [Risky Biz Blog]

    • Some folks think Robert Downey Jr. can’t score a Best Supporting Actor nomination…emphatically.  I beg to differ, but that race is weird at the moment. [Vulture]

    • Tom O’Neil wonders how what happened to the AMPAS hopes of “W.”  But I’m not so sure it was ever a “hot Oscar player.” [Gold Derby]

    • John Anderson profiles Milos Forman, set to be feted by the DGA. [Variety]

    • The Carpetbagger, David Carr, goes inside the mind of Charlie Kaufman. [New York Times]

  • Actor/movie star — who walks the line the best?

    Continuing the conversation from a few days ago on actors that are more than icons, only one name comes to mind: JACK.

    For more than 40 years Jack Nicholson has been one of the most dominat acting forces in movies, with an impressive array of performances that both challenge him as an artist and also please audiences from time to time with his wild man portrayals.

    In fact, after “Batman,” in which he stole the film from under the nose of Michael Keaton, Nicholson was often accused of playing “Nicholson.” It’s a claim I find absurd considering his performances in subsequent films such as “Hoffa,” “A Few Good Men,” and “The Crossing Guard,” one of his most daring performances ever. Recently the actor has given at least two of his most courageous performances, in “The Pledge” for director Sean Penn, and going totally against type in “About Schmidt,” reminding audiences of the great thespian lurking within the body of the movie star they know so well.

    (more…)

  • Amadeus deserving Best Pic winner

    OK! OK! Right you are, “Amadeus” was indeed a worthy winner in 1984 for best film. It was my hope that by not writing about it, you folks would realize I too liked the film, but in truth I should have covered it. I was worried about the article becoming too long.

    Milos Forman made a masterpiece out of the Peter Shaffer play, a stunning study of art and the differences between genius and mediocrity as played out in the Vienna Court during the time of Mozart. Imagine being old Salieri and listening to your own music become extinct while that of your hated rival becomes immortal.  And the only two people who really knew how brilliant Mozart’s work was were Mozart and Salieri, who quietly in the film despises Mozart the man, but adores Mozart the artist.

    I love the manner in which the wigs of Mozart are pink or purple, slightly different from the rest to suggest his rebelliousness, which came across in his music. He was the punk rocker of the opera set during his short lifetime.

    F. Murray Abraham was superb as Salieri, best of all when he is standing over music written by Mozart and realizes it is truly astonishing, while Tom Hulce is his equal in every frame as the brilliant Mozart.

    What I liked best about the film was the study of two artists, each in love with their art, one reasonably talented, the other gifted beyond human measure, finally coming face to face to create on Mozart’s death bed where Salieri sees and hears first hand how that brilliant mind composed, and simply cannot keep up. And what a stroke of genius to use the music of both on the soundtrack??!! A period masterpiece that never feels like a period film at all.

    And each one of you is right…I should have discussed it because I love it.