New "Supporting Actress Smackdown" Schedule
Tuesday, August 30, 2022 at 12:57AM Apologies to do this but we have scheduling changes (a lot going on chez Nathaniel)
SMACKDOWN "1951" -NEW DATE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19th, 2022
1951 will be our "year of the month" for another few weeks. Email us your votes on the Smackdown (anytime before September 17th) with "1951" in the subject line. You should rate each performance you've seen on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (perfection) hearts. Feel free to include blurbs which we might quote but they aren't necessary.
- Joan Blondell, The Blue Veil - good luck finding!
- Mildred Dunnock, Death of a Salesman - available on YouTube
- Lee Grant, Detective Story. - rentable from multiple sources
- Kim Hunter, A Streetcar Named Desire - streaming on HBOMax / rentable elsewhere
- Thelma Ritter, The Mating Season - available on YouTube
SMACKDOWN "2004" -NEW DATE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 24th, 2022
Email us your votes on the Smackdown (anytime before October 20th) with "2004" in the subject line of your email. You should rate each performance you've seen on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (perfection) hearts. Feel free to include blurbs which we might quote but they aren't necessary.
- Cate Blanchett, The Aviator - streaming on HBOMax / rentable elsewhere
- Laura Linney, Kinsey - - rentable from multiple sources
- Virginia Madsen, Sideways - streaming on HBOMax / rentable elsewhere
- Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda - streaming on HBOMax / rentable elsewhere
- Natalie Portman, Closer - - rentable from multiple sources
Since this will bring us up to date on film years, we might try little experiments thereafter for fun.
Smackdown, The Film Experience
Reader Comments (33)
For 1951, Jan Sterling in Ace in the Hole deserves a look at.
I know '97 ended up as one of the final smackdowns because the result is in the bag, BUT even though Moore is the clear best, I'm really fond of Kim, Joan and Minnie's performances, and CANNOT WAIT to see which one comes in second.
I think Cusack is gonna give Moore a run for her money for the 1997 Smackdown.
Would you consider doing a smackdown in different categories? Maybe not switching over completely. but perhaps if there was some kind of theme or connecting line, you could do one from the other acting categories for next summer. We could make it easy and do 1935 for actor, 1972 or supporting actor and 1950 for actress since there are multiple nominees from one film (also I really want to see how 1950 plays out for actress personally )
My pick of the Oscar picks
97 Moore
51 Dunnock
04 Madsen
My own winners
97 Weaver
51 Dunnock
04 Portman
TomG -- 1950 would be fascinating!
While I am happy the smackdown is making a return it is a little bittersweet as the series covers the final years uncovered by any iteration of the smackdown. Some great performances still to be discussed has me for what will be the opinions of those on the panels.
In terms of futures I think covering best actress is a nice idea but there are so many series that have or are covering the leading actress category that I think it's being covered well enough. Obviously the male categories inspire less passion so I won't even suggest those categories. i guess an idea is covering female centric ensembles and trying to choose a best performance amongst them. I'm thinking mainly of a Nashville, The Help, The Women, etc. Basically films which feature a largely female ensemble and trying to decide who is the best performer in show based on assembled cast of panelists.
Kim Basinger's performance and L.A. Confidential were everything to me that year. Brilliance.
Extras for 1951:
Hope Emerson in William Wellman's rugged Western Westward the Women. A fascinating film in itself based on a true event of a wagon train composed almost completely of women heading west to find husbands.
Ava Gardner as the tragic Julie in Show Boat. She was robbed of a nomination.
I also cosign for Jan Sterling in Ace in the Hole.
Extras for 2004:
Sissy Spacek in A Home at the End of the World.
Cloris Leachman in Spanlish. The movie was rough but Cloris was memorable in a part that could have been a nothing.
For 2004, Corinna Harfouch playing Magda Goebbels in Downfall is one of the most harrowing performances of the year, so maybe that's worth talking about.
Sorry for Moore's fans, but 1997 should have been Cusack all the way. Like, really. One of the most hilarious comedic/dramatic performances - that tightrope! - of all time. Comedy is way harder than drama... and honestly, the In & Out cast should probably have won the SAG Ensemble in a heartbeat if given back then... Kline, Cusack, Selleck, Reynolds are all Oscar-worthy in it, and the rest of the cast delivers lines so perfectly... Frank Oz is such an underrated director...I'd would have nominated the film for Picture, Director, Actor, S. Actress (x2), S. Actor, Original Screenplay, Score... (but my winner for 97 is still "Chasing Amy", another LGTBQ+ masterpiece)
I mean... I'd be down for a Best Actress smackdown...
Nick Davis will return from his exile to discuss Sophie Okonedo.
Have you ever contacted Rosie O'Donnell? I believe she's a film buff.
Excited for this to come back. As to 2004, has someone already written on Joan Allen's turn to action movies? Her first Bourne (Supremacy) came out then, and I'd be curious to read something about that work/that move in her career. As to 1951 I'll join joel6 in that I'm always up for Ava Gardner content. As to 1997, this probably doesn't merit a piece but I'm just curious - Given Oscar's (and the box office's) love for As Good As It Gets, was there any push for a nomination for Shirley Knight? She doesn't have lots to do with that part, but I thought she was charming in it.
Very much looking forward to this series again. I really enjoy discovering some lesser-known movies and would vote for next doing a Best Supporting ACTOR smackdown.
I love Smackdown although I'm still not 100% sure how it works for the average reader (like me). Do we just put our comments here?:
I adore Joan Cusack in In and Out, but also allow that Kim Basinger was good.
1951 seems quite enthralling, but i wasn't even BORN yet. Several films I'll have to look for on Criterion Channel (if I can afford it).
Laura Linney was wonderful in Kinsey, but I was totally bowled over by Natalie Portman in Closer. Saw that twice and will watch again. All 4 leads are wonderful and the film is Just So Smart.
Personally, I think that it would be okay to revisit all of the previous years that were covered by the stinky lulu site. I've read some of their smackdowns and I find that this site has way more comments, more voices/opinions and even a podcast to discuss the performances! Most of those smackdowns were covered over 10 years ago. It shouldn't be sac-religious to Want to spend my summer revisiting 1967/The Graduate, Bonnie & Clyde, 1969/They Shoot Horses/Cactus Flower or 1975/Nashville, Shampoo. Just start with whichever years were covered first on Lulu.
1997: I submit Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter,and Stacy Edwards, In the Company of Men
Not sure about 1951 or 2004. I have to look to remind myself what I was crowing in 2004.
Sorry about the delay. Hope we're getting best costumes writeup!
What about an alternate list of supporting actresses of your choosing from any given year.
If this feature was going to stay on the supporting actress category, I'd be most interested in having a panel go over the Oscar ceremonies Stinkylulu covered as they were happening. Would Breslin still win the 2006 Smackdown? Would all the Oscar champs repeat with the panel again? I like the idea of redoing older years, and there's the gulf of 2010-2015 where y'all were discussing those supporting actress lineups without doing a Smackdown (though maybe that's too recent), but I kinda like the idea of doing something else for a while. Hopscotching through different noteworthy races, maybe even non-acting categories? Doing podcasts to go with star birthdays or centennials? Something like the 2004 anniversary podcast y'all did in 2014, where we everyone can do a top 10 or recommend something they really treasure from a certain year. There's choices!
Individual films with big ensembles would be fun, especially when you get past some of the obvious choices and start digging into lesser known ensemble films. I also think it would be really interesting to do a sort of Category Fraud Court given how often you’ve highlighted the issue here, wherein you could have the panel debate and vote on whether some famous borderline cases are lead or supporting roles. Either way I’ll be reading!
97
1. Cusack *****
2. Julianne Moore *****
3. Kim Bassinger ****
4. Gloria Stuart *** 1/2
5. Minnie Driver *** 1/2
I can kind’ve go for a Best Song Smackdown throughout the winter. Nominated songs are east to listen to on YouTube. The 40s had more than 10 nominees each year because film songwriting mattered. I can barely whistle (or even remember) a majority of the titles that have been nominated over the past 20 years.
I love TOMG's idea, and I have some suggestions for this new GREAT OSCAR RACES SMACKDOWN:
Paltrow vs Blanchett (OF COURSE)
Rowlands vs Burstyn
Penn vs Rourke
Holliday vs Davis vs Swanson
Cher vs Close
Streep vs Lange
Loren vs Hepburn
Nicholson vs Pacino
OMG PECK VS O'TOOLE
If anyone knows where a decent version The Blue Veil can be found, please let us all know. I found a really awful copy streaming a couple of years ago. Well at least the sound was good, but the visuals were wretched. I don't know if I really have a right to have an opinion on Blondell's (or Wyman's) performance.
amy -- can you shoot me your email address to filmexperience@gmail.com
a poor quality version of the blue veil is available on ok.ru - no registration or download necessary, just make sure to play full screen. can definitely still fairly judge the performances (cinematography not so much)
Vanessa - I think that's the version I saw. Joan Blondell was the absolute last Best Supporting Actress nominee I had to see - not just for 1951, but every single one of them - so seeing The Blue Veil took on an outsized importance for my own viewing history.
Oh yes, I wanted to say that the actress I would have most liked to see in the 1951 lineup was Marion Lorne as Bruno's mother in Strangers on a Train. It's barely more than a cameo, but what an impact! She's nuttier than Bruno!
Always happy to have more time to explore smackdown years, Nathaniel!
BTW, I have one of those bad copies of The Blue Veil and happy to mail it on to the first person to email me - chadconfetti@yahoo.com
We have all heard the sniping about supporting nominees who are believed to be in lead roles. I think it would be intriguing to see a smackdown where the supporting nominee allegedly in a lead role was matched with that year’s Oscar nominees for lead performance.
How would Tatum O’Neal in Paper Moon fare when matched with the five Best Actress nominees Glenda Jackson in A Touch of Class, Barbra Streisand in The Way Were, Marsha Mason in Cinderella Liberty, Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist and Joanne Woodward in Summer Wishes Winter Dreams?
How would Haing S. Ngor in The Killing Fields fare on the Best Actor ballot with F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce in Amadeus, Jeff Bridges in Starman, Albert Finney in Under The Volcano, and his co-star Sam Waterston in The Killing Fields?
The Blue Veil > https://ok.ru/video/1478548720229