Vintage '87 (and what would have been nominated in an expanded Best Picture list?)

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1987 is two weeks away so get your votes in! We've already had a lot of fun revisiting 1987 films but before we get to the main event let's get some general context of that year in showbiz history. Ready? 

Great Big Box Office Hits:
The comedy Three Men and a Baby, the erotic thriller Fatal Attraction, and the Eddie Murphy action comedy sequel Beverly Hills Cop II, and the Robin Williams vehicle Good Morning Vietnam were easily the four biggest hits of the year, box-office wise. The enduringly popular Moonstruck wasn't quite in their league in tickets sold back then but still very popular, rounding out the top five. The other top ten hits of that year were the acclaimed mobs vs feds costume drama The Untouchables, the now arguably forgotten comedies The Secret of My Success and Stakeout, and the buddy action movie Lethal Weapon (which spawned a franchise). 

The competition for #10 was down to just a $320,000 dollar difference with best-seller all-star adaptation The Witches of Eastwick just barely beating out teen favourite Dirty Dancing. But back in the 1980s adults actually went to the movies a lot rather than only obsessing over "peak TV"...

Oscar's Best Picture Nominees: Of those 11 box office smashes of '87, Oscar cherry picked Moonstruck (6 nominations) and Fatal Attraction (6 nominations) as the cream of the crop and included them in the Best Picture race (correct choices).The beloved Broadcast News (7 nominations) and the costume drama historical epic The Last Emperor (9 nominations) were also popular with Oscar voters (and ticket buyers, too, it should be noted)...

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1987: The Untouchable Sean Connery, a look at the late actor's Oscar-winning performance

by Josh Bierman

When I heard about our 1987 retrospective I wanted to choose a film that I had never seen. I’ve been striving to cover blindspots in my film viewing history since the start of quarantine. I looked at the list of movies released in that year and when I saw The Untouchables the choice became obvious. At my home film festival, Cinema Quarantino, I’ve fallen in love with Kevin Costner as if it was 1991. I’ve also been really drawn to the films of Brian De Palma. All of that fell by the wayside when I woke up on Saturday morning to the news of Sean Connery’s passing. 

We’re all friends here, so please don’t judge when I say in keeping with the theme of having serious blind spots, the only other Sean Connery movie I’d seen is Murder on the Orient Express. Connery released his last studio film just as I was becoming obsessed with movies around the age of ten, so he wasn’t someone who was on my radar. I mainly associated Connery with Darrell Hammond’s inimitable SNL impersonation on Celebrity Jeopardy as well as his later career interviews (we’d be remiss to forget his one worded declaration of the Best Supporting Actress winner of 2002, we know Kathy Bates hasn’t). As if I wasn’t eager enough to watch it already, I welcomed the opportunity to not only watch a bit of Connery’s filmography, but the movie that won him his Academy Award...

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Best Supporting Actress 1987: Getting to know the nominees

by Cláudio Alves

The Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1987, the last episode of this season, is approaching. As we did with the '38 Oscar lineup, we invite you to peruse the biographies and careers of these stupendous actresses. The 60th Academy Awards may be one of the few times all of the contenders were single-nomination actresses, but that doesn't mean their legacies and stories aren't fascinating. These women make up an impressive lot that includes Argentinean acting royalty, a Presidential candidate's cousin, and one of Old Hollywood's queens of comedy…

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Where to stream movies from 1987, our 'year of the month'

As we keep promising you, the Supporting Actress Smackdowns are much more fun if you play along at home. The final Smackdown of the year is on 1987 and it'll be a goodie because two of the movies (Moonstruck & Fatal Attraction) are already bonafide classics. We've already told you where to watch all five of those films but don't forget to send in your votes (1 to 5 hearts for each lady) by November 17th.  

If you REALLY wanna dive into the cinema of 1987 before the event, here is a list of movies that are currently streaming and where.

Far more titles (unlisted) are available through Hoopla if you have that through your local library but we don't have that in NYC so we can't look it up for you. Let us know in the comments which 1987 titles from this list (or otherwise) that you'd most like us to cover at TFE...

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Sally Kirkland's legendary Oscar campaign

by Cláudio Alves

The next Supporting Actress Smackdown will focus on the contenders of 1987. Before that celebration of great acting at the margins, we'll be exploring the cinematic year, its glorious pictures, and memorable Oscar races. Speaking of which, one can't discuss 1987 in the context of awards, without mentioning and paying respect to one of the ballsiest campaigns ever made by an actress. Through her sheer will, impressive determination, and tireless ambition, Sally Kirkland managed to conquer a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Anna, a little-seen American indie about an aging performer.

First things first, before we delve into Kirkland's pursuit of little golden men, we should appreciate the work for which she was recognized. The movie is discussed nowadays to snicker at the thirsty campaign, but it's a masterclass of acting...

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