Born on the Fourth of July
1989/Drama, Biopic, War movie
Of Oliver Stone’s other films, this one seems to fit the Oscar-winning movie stereotype the most. Here are anti-war themes, a suffering disabled hero, a political component, an epic plot, and large-scale filming, for which the “academicians” have long been noted to have a weakness, and Tom Cruise, regarding whose talent no one was mistaken by that time. But the film failed to rise above the statuette for directing. He, like everyone else in 1990, unexpectedly lost to the film “Driving Miss Daisy” about racial and national problems.
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
1989/Drama/USA
It would be simply stupid for young Steven Soderbergh to hide a grudge against the Film Academy, by that time he had already received the Palme d’Or at Cannes for his debut film, and Cannes, as well as anything else outside the United States, Oscar is not a decree. In any case, both in the work of Soderbergh and in American cinema at the end of the century, the film occupies a significant place, so the absence of an Oscar did not affect his fate in any way. It is noteworthy that the film had only one nomination, for the screenplay.
For All Mankind
1989/Historical film, Documentary/USA
This is one of the most unusual and impressive films of the 20th century, and its value will grow every year, although it would seem that nothing could be easier. Director Al Reinert requested from the archives the original films shot during the flight of the Apollo 11 spacecraft and edited them into an hour-and-a-half film, putting the voices of the flight participants behind the scenes. He did the impossible: many years after the flight, when many ambitious plans for the conquest of space had already been implemented, we seem to be going back with completely new eyes, like people in 1969, who followed every second of the farthest journey that has ever been. or done by a person. The title of the film, as you might guess, refers to Neil Armstrong’s famous phrase, effectively said after landing on the moon.
Goodfellas
1990/Crime, Drama/USA
There were a lot of films about the mafia in the 80s and 90s, and Martin Scorsese’s picture is among them. If not the best, it is definitely in the top five. Robert De Niro became so accustomed to the image of gangster Jimmy Conway that many were sure of their close acquaintance (Conway had an easily recognizable namesake prototype with a different surname), without which work on the role would have been impossible. Moreover, his role was not the main one, the producers simply insisted that Scorsese invite a superstar to the film, otherwise the budget would not have been allocated.
Wild At Heart
1990/Drama, Crime, Comedy/USA
Another confirmation of the hidden controversy that has long existed between Europe and the United States in the cultural field. David Lynch’s Cannes Gold-winning film, filled with powerful audiovisual imagery, receives only one nomination, for supporting actress, and doesn’t win that one either. Nicolas Cage, who played one of the best roles of his career, is not noticed. Yes, and his fees in the country are quite modest-$ 15 million against almost two hundred from the winner of the Oscar. The tape is Dances with Wolves, which hardly anyone remembers today.