Comment Party: What do you think of 1989?
Tuesday, December 28, 2021 at 12:20PM Though it seems like the Oscar are right around the corner they're actually 89 days away!
So let's talk 1989 while your host here works on current Oscar charts. The 62nd Academy Awards has always struck us as an odd Best Picture vintage... maybe because we'd nominate none of them. But all were very popular with audiences at the time. The Oscars went for 2 blockbuster hits with Dead Poet's Society and Born on the 4th of July (yes, kids, audiences used to go for a little of every genre at the movies, not just superhero films. Both were among the top ten grossers of the year alongside things that would be hits nowadays like Batman and Ghostbusters II). The eventual winner was another very big hit in Driving Miss Daisy. To fill out the category a not-so little sleeper success Field of Dreams, and 1 arthouse favourite My Left Foot. With the exception of the Oliver Stone war drama and My Left Foot (inexplicably rated R), all were family friendly, too...
Another noteworthy thing about the lineup is that it implies that movies exist all year long (imagine that!) and not just around the winter holidays with one spring release, one summer release, a November release and two Christmas releases. We appreciate the calendar spread but we still don't love the lineup.
Nathaniel's 1989 ballot
That Oscar vintage would have aged much better had it included two critical sensations and summer breakthroughs for young directors: Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies and videotape and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing; they both had to settle for screenplay citations. Disney's still-beloved comeback queen The Little Mermaid would have also been a beautiful Best Picture contender, too. This would surely be unthinkable to Gen Z but Disney was not popular at all at the time (and considered strictly "for kids"). The Little Mermaid totally reinvigorating the Mouse House and Beauty and the Beast's Oscar nomination in 1991 never would have happened without Ariel's leggy dreams paving the way. Two favourites from 1989 are more personal, Heathers and The Fabulous Baker Boys, but Oscar at least admired the latter giving it four nominations (though it deserved eight nominations plus two wins!). This list give or take When Harry Met Sally, War of the Roses, and Crimes and Misdemeanors depending on the mood.
What are your favourites from 1989?
Some other films from 1989: Camille Claudel, Roger & Me, Glory, Blaze, Enemies a Love Story, War of the Roses, She-Devil, Valmont, Steel Magnolias, Mystery Train, Henry V, Bloodhounds of Broadway, The Bear, Fat Man and Little Boy, Drugstore Cowboy, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Crimes and Misdemeanors, A Dry White Seaon, Back to the Future II, Batman, Lethal Weapon II, Sea of Love, Shirley Valentine, Casualties of War, Uncle Buck, The Abyss, Parenthood, Turner & Hooch, When Harry Met Sally, Great Balls of Fire!, Honey I Shrunk The Kids, Ghostbusters II, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Miracle Mile, Earth Girls are Easy, Scandal, Say Anything, Heathers, New York Stories, Chances Are, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Lean on Me, The Burbs, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Tap.
1989, Best Picture, Oscar Trivia
Reader Comments (29)
1989 gets overshadowed by 1999,l, but I think it’s a contender for one of my favorite film years ever. My top five would have been:
1. Do The Right Thing
2. When Harry Met Sally…
3. Say Anything…
4. sex, lies, and videotape
5. The Little Mermaid
With Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Batman, and Dead Poets Society rounding out my top ten on the year.
Hmmm.... in alphabetical order
The Abyss
Born on the Fourth of July
Crimes and Misdemeanours
Henry V
Jesus of Montreal
My Left Foot
sex, lies and videotape
Sidewalk Stories
Speaking Parts
True Love
But a lot more I need to see.
I was a kid in 1989, so a lot of my feelings about this year are rooted in my childhood feelings and how many times I watched these five films over and over.
1. Steel Magnolias
2. Heathers
3. Parenthood
4. The Little Mermaid
5. Driving Miss Daisy (I've got no shame in how much I loved this movie growing up and I love Tandy's Oscar win.)
Isabelle Adjani, Andie MacDowell, Michelle Pfeiffer... Those are my thoughts.
The four films I adore most from my birth year are...
SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE
DRUGSTORE COWBOY
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
GLORY
The first two I'd consider masterpieces and the next two near-masterpieces.
And in terms of performances--- even after seeing all the actual nominees, the memorable star turns of Matt Dillon and Meg Ryan are the two greatest of the year in my mind. Matt Dillon reminded me of James Dean or a young Marlon Brando in the way he deftly and sexily commanded DRUGSTORE COWBOY. And Meg Ryan brilliantly played the comedic elements of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY... reminiscent of Diane Keaton in ANNIE HALL, making me absolutely adore a neurotic character that a less capable actress would've made grating or annoying.
A lot of fabulous performances from 1989, but Dillion and Ryan stand out to me among my all-time favorites. The Academy really dropped the ball by ignoring those two performances, as well as the SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE cast.
I love British comedies more than anyone, but Pauline Collins for SHIRLEY VALENTINE? ...Seriously?
My 1989 top 10 in alpha order:
- A CITY OF SADNESS, Hou Hsiao-Hsien
- A DRY WHITE SEASON, Euzhan Palcy
- BLACK RAIN, Shohei Imamura
- DO THE RIGHT THING, Spike Lee
- HENRY V, Kenneth Branagh
- SWEETIE, Jane Campion
- THE LITTLE MERMAID, Ron Clements & John Musker
- TONGUES UNTIED, Marlon Riggs
- WAR REQUIEM, Derek Jarman
- WHEN HARRY MET SALLY..., Rob Reiner
Favorite of the year - War of the Roses
Others I remember liking a lot but am a little hazy on since I haven't watched any of them in a long time - Enemies, A Love Story, Earth Girls Are Easy, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Casualties of War, Scandal
The real question is which best picture nominee would you have voted for. The 5 films all have good elements, but none of them feels like it's the BEST of the year.
My Best Picture of 1989 is Do the Right Thing. The other nominees are Born on the Fourth of July, Heathers, Say Anything, and sex, lies and videotape
I guess these would be my nominees:
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Do the Right Thing
Drugstore Cowboy
The Fabulous Baker Boys
The Little Mermaid
Other films that would have merited some (more) Oscar love include:
The Rainbow (nominations for Original Screenplay and best supporting actress, Amanda Donohoe)
When Harry Met Sally (nominations for best actress and best cinematography)
Sea of Love (nod for original screenplay)
Cousins (nod for best actress, Isabella Rossellini)
Do the Right Thing is a masterpiece, so that's #1 on my list. But also have real fondness for Dead Poet's Society (the ending has a Pavlovian effect on me, cry every time), War of the Roses (Turner and Douglas have the most wonderful chemistry), Drugstore Cowboy, Heathers, & Mystery Train.
With "The Rainbow," I obviously meant "best adapted screenplay," Blurg ^^
1989 is all about Valmont
The sublime comic brilliance of Meg Ryan in WHMS.
Sally Field's graveside breakdown
Mary Stuart Masterson in Immediate Family when I thought she'd have a huge career
The return of legends Hepburn,Lancaster and Brando
My first sight id DDL.
Bobby Brown's Ghostbusters 2 theme
Pfeiffer Makin' Whoopee
Best Picture Nominee 1989
1. Do the Right Thing
2. Mystery Train
3. Driving Miss Daisy
4. The Abyss
5. Music Box
Enemies a Love Story and War of the Roses are my 2 picks from 1989. Both were so well done, and added a new train of thought for me - a movie can be great even if it's a "dark" comedy. There was nothing so satisfying as Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner fighting it out...
1. Dead Poets Society
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3. Crimes and Misdemeanors
4. The Fabulous Baker Boys
5. The Bear
6. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
7. Camille Claudel
8. Distant Voices, Still Lives
9. Born on the 4th of July
10. The War of the Roses
Not a great year for cinema in my opinion, my top 10 in no particular order (with my Oscar nominee choices in bold):
Do the Right Thing
Valmont
Heathers
Crimes and Misdemeanors
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
When Harry Met Sally
Tongues Untied
Back to the Future II
My Left Foot
Coming Out
Do the Right Thing is my clear #1 of the year... the rest are filler "nominations". it should have won...
Picture
Director
Original Screenplay
Film Editing
Cinematography
at the very least...
sex, lies, and videotape (winner)
Glory
My Left Foot
Steel Magnolias
When Harry Met Sally
1. Distant Voices, Still Lives
2. The Story of Women
3. Drugstore Cowboy
4. The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen
5. War of the Roses
1989 is not my most prolific year, but of my top five for best picture are:
Do the Right Thing
Dead Poets Society
Uncle Buck
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Batman
My top 5 films of 1989 (that isn't The Decalogue):
1. The Killer
2. Do the Right Thing
3. Glory
4. Crimes & Misdemeanors
5. Batman.
Here's the rest of my list of the best films of 1989. Fuck Driving Miss Daisy!
This really is an all-star year in many ways, just not necessarily what was nominated. That said, "Field of Dreams," as syrupy as it is, is what you'd want from an adult studio drama. I tear up at the same three spots every single time it's on TV: when Burt Lancaster talks about his one at-bat in the time-travel scene, when the young Archie steps off the field to save Gaby Hoffman (!), and of course "have a catch."
Also, "Crimes & Misdemeanors" is Top 5 Woody from me, an excellent film in so many ways -- I would've given it the win. Expertly explores themes of guilt and living with a cloudy conscience. (Plus a "Law & Order" pre-union with Sam Waterston and Jerry Orbach.) My 5 would be:
"Crimes & Misdemeanors" (winner)
"Field of Dreams"
"Sex, Lies, & Videotape"
"Drugstore Cowboy"
"Do the Right Thing"
My deep affection for the 1989 Oscars is solely because I was in labor during the broadcast, so when I put together a scrapbook of "headlines the day you were born," Driving Miss Daisy's win is prominent.
I saw Batman again just after Halloween. Haven't seen it in its entirety in quite a long time. The film drags a lot, tho it is overall very good. Jack was great tho not as great as I remember, and he's closer to a lead than I remembered. Film looks amazing, the actors all good, but man. Not a top 10 in review.
I like all the films that were nominated. Maybe even close to love. I wouldn't nominate Driving Miss Daisy, or even Field of Dreams. But I remember being a big fan of both. Driving Miss Daisy I saw in its entirety more recently (not too recently), but I did think Field of Dreams was great, as I remember it. Just a lovely little film. Driving Miss Daisy is the type of film that film lovers should be into. It's superbly acted, intelligent, not overly sentimental. I wouldn't nominate it but it's a film that's surprising to see so disliked. I also love Dead Poets Society. Sometimes the handsomely made films are ok. And Born On The Fouth Of July (can't believe it's a huge movie in theaters, given how it is nowadays) is truly a great film. That, When Harry Met Sally, and Do The Right Thing reign supreme. But 1989 is loaded with films. I don't remember Sex, Lies and Videotape, and I haven't seen Henry V. But all the known films are pretty damn good.
Wow, 1989 was stacked! Even with the caveat that I haven't seen sex, lies, and videotape, Drugstore Cowboy, or Crimes and Misdemeanors (among many others), there were so many films from this year that are either all-time faves or stone-cold classics, or both.
1. DO THE RIGHT THING
2. INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
3. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
4. HENRY V
5. DEAD POETS SOCIETY (I know it's probably not one of the best five of the year, but I have a *very* soft spot for it)
Also loved SAY ANYTHING (though it's been a while and I suspect some aspects have not aged well), PARENTHOOD (ditto), THE ABYSS (seriously underrated for being a James Cameron hit), and THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS, think Tim Burton's BATMAN is still the best Batman, and believe DRIVING MISS DAISY gets a somewhat unfair rap, so much so it's become almost underrated (it's very good for what it is, even if not Best Picture worthy).
My top 5 films of 1989:
Batman
Dead Poets Society
Do the Right Thing
Roger and Me
When Harry Met Sally...
The big studio movies of the '80s were really good.
I'm biased because this was my birth year, but I love this vintage of films. The Best Picture lineup is certainly disappointing considering all the great options (and yuck to Driving Miss Daisy winning), so mine would look like this:
Do the Right Thing (WINNER)
Steel Magnolias
The Fabulous Baker Boys
A Dry White Season
When Harry Met Sally
...with The Little Mermaid, Field of Dreams, Dead Poets Society, Born on the Fourth of July, sex, lies, and videotape, Yaaba, Drugstore Cowboy, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Parenthood, Heathers, Miracle Mile, Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East, and Batman among my other favorites.
Special shoutouts to All Dogs Go to Heaven (a childhood staple in my house), Kickboxer (terrific action), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (not great but not as terrible as reputation suggests), and the 227-minute director's cut of Lawrence of Arabia.