Alternate Best Actor 1970: Results

5. Jean Louis Trintignant in The Conformist- Trintignant fails to find consistency in his performance, and simply gives an uninteresting portrayal of a character with potential.

Best Scene: Marcello watches the assassination.

4. Alejandro Jodorowsky in El Topo- Jodorowsky gives an effective performance as a cool headed gunfighter then a repentant monk, but he never stands out past his own direction.

Best Scene: El Topo creates a new exit out of the cave.

3. Peter Boyle in Joe- Boyle gives a good performance as working class loud mouth by showing the man behind the bluster, but the film's shortcomings keep him from giving a great performance.

Best Scene: Joe's introduction.

2. Albert Finney in Scrooge- Finney overplays a moment here and there, but his alternate take on Ebenezer Scrooge does manage to work for the most part.

Best Scene: The redemption medley.

1. Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion- The only alternate that really brought much excitement for me is Volontè's work. Volontè gives an interesting and entertaining performance that cleverly manages to make sense of his character's seemingly random behavior.

Best Scene: The inspector openly confesses to his crime.

Overall Rank:

1. George C. Scott in Patton
2. Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces
3. Gene Hackman in I Never Sang For My Father
4. Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
5. Alec Guinness in Cromwell
6. Melvyn Douglas in I Never Sang For My Father
7. Albert Finney in Scrooge
8. Ron Moody in Twelve Chairs
9. Peter Boyle in Joe
10. Robert Mitchum in Ryan's Daughter 
11. Donald Sutherland in MASH
12. Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man
13. Telly Savalas in Kelly's Heroes
14. Paul Newman in Sometimes A Great Notion
15. James Earl Jones in The Great White Hope
16. Richard Harris Cromwell
17. Alejandro Jodorowsky in El Topo
18. Clint Eastwood in Kelly's Heroes
19. Elliot Gould in MASH
20. Frank Langella in Twelve Chairs
21. Ryan O'Neal in Love Story
22. Alan Arkin in Catch-22
23. Michael Sarrazin in Sometimes a Great Notion 
24. Dennis Patrick in Joe
25. Kenneth Nelson in The Boys in the Band
26. Jean Louis Trintignant in The Conformist
27. Christopher Jones in Ryan's Daughter

Next Year: 1970 Supporting

Read More

Alternate Best Actor 1970: Jean Louis Trintignant in The Conformist

Jean Louis Trintignant did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Marcello Clerici in The Conformist.

The Conformist is about a man who works for the Italian fascist country, and goes to arrange the assassination of an old friend. The film is visually striking, but I failed to find it particularly gripping, although that is mostly because of the factor I will be discussing here.

This is the second performance as a government lackey I have seen and unfortunately this is the distant second from Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. Trintignant does seem to randomly try to play the part in different ways, but unlike Volontè's work there is not an underlying purpose to this. Trintignant does not seem to know how to play the part, and does not even know how exactly to play the different approaches he decides to take. Trintignant often plays the part as the silent killer sort, sometimes just a non-entity, sometimes just a man who is pushed around by others, and sometimes an emotionally sensitive man. This would be fine if he went from one to another in a character arc but that is simply not the case.

Trintignant often is the non-entity who sits in rooms and listens to other speak. I will admit it is a difficult trick to make such a character interesting but it can be done, Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is one example. Trintignant seem thoroughly out of his element here as he is a non-entity as the character of Marcello, but he is also a non-entity when it comes to the film itself. He never has the right magnetism to draw you in to his performance, even though he does not seem t be doing something. There is not anything that Trintignant conveys in these scenes, he just seems to sit there and allows for Bernardo Bertolucci's direction to be the only star of the show.

Marcello is often a protagonist pushed around by the actions of others, not unlike the titular character in Bertolucci's later film The Last Emperor. Trintignant does nothing in terms of showing how this treatment affects Marcello in anyway, something John Lone did so brilliantly in that later film. Marcello changes for sure but not in the proper way as he just seems to go from one way to another, then another without the proper connection. One of the great aspects of John Lone's performance was that he portrayed the effort in his character that showed the way his character was changed by the way he was oppressed around him. There is none of that with Trintignant making every change in Marcello seem random in nature.

Of course there is the silent killer that shows up, and this probably Trintignant excels the most as Marcello but it still does not really work. For one thing Trintignant comes to it so haphazardly as he will sometime become an emotional fellow for no foreseeable reason, and Trintignant plays this version of Marcello as most just a whiner. This without a doubt takes away considerably from the cold Marcello, but as well there is nothing compelling in his performance. Trintignant is cold, but nothing more in his portrayal of Marcello and even his coldness is too simple. It is nothing like Edward Fox in The Day of Jackal where there was a striking soullessness in performance, there simply is nothing notable Trintignant brings to this killer.

Trintignant's performance in this film is almost entirely a failure in finding the right tone to set for his character. He never knows how to play the character of Marcello in the film, which is a shame as the character in the right hands could have easily been a great one. Trintignant never seems to find a grip on this character, instead trying many different ways to play him without the right rhyme or reason to it. It is only made worse by Trintignant inability to make any of the different attempts at a character particularly interesting either. His boring man who gets pushed around is too boring, his emotional man is too whiny, and his cold man just is not cold enough.

Read More

Alternate Best Actor 1970: Peter Boyle in Joe

Peter Boyle did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Joe Curran in Joe.

Joe tells the story of a wealthy man Bill (Dennis Patrick) who befriends a working class man after he accidentally kills his daughter's drug dealer boyfriend. It is an interesting enough film even though it is very dated, and not in a good way.

Peter Boyle plays the working class man who comes later into the picture than Dennis Patrick, but the film is very much about both of their stories. Boyle plays the titular Joe who we first meet in a bar that Bill runs into after having killed a man. We meet Joe in the middle of a tirade about everything that he hates from politics, to race, to young people, to music, he pretty much hates everything. Boyle handles this scene while conveying the casual discontent he has. Boyle shows that Joe is very much ticked off and the anger is real, but Boyle says every line as if Joe has been saying it his whole life and he is. In the scene Boyle is just a bit much, but a bit much in a wholly natural fashion to the character of Joe.

Boyle importantly tones it down when we meet Joe in his day to day life showing properly that his bar rant was what he does at the bar with a few drinks in him. Boyle is effective in making Joe a well average Joe the rest of the time. He is rather genuine with his wife and at home. Boyle does not make him a great guy by any means but he does not have that intensity in the bar, and shows him to be a man who is able to function in his day to day time with even a certain charm. Boyle importantly in these scenes shows there nothing all that special about Joe making him a man who does seem to take his life in stride most of the time, even if there is always that barroom Joe within him.

The film takes a turn when Joe figures out that Bill murdered a man and decides to meet with him, not to blackmail him but rather to merely meet a man who has done something that he always talks about. Boyle has an effective chemistry with Patrick. They both have a certain nervousness and disconnect in regards to their differing social perspective, but where they connect is their connection of a hatred. What I like is that neither overplay this hate, keeping it the underlying tissue of their friendship, but still making it obviously what keeps the two together as they always keep their social disconnect a very strong factor between them throughout.

The film eventually follows them into the world of the young people which they hate, but they eventually embrace. This whole section of the film does feel somewhat contrived, but Boyle does well with these scenes nevertheless. Boyle once again calls back onto Joe as just a normal man when you get right down to it. He is very good in giving Joe just standard needs for a man that leads him into trying just about everything that he hates. Although the film does portrays it as far too swift of a transition, Boyle realizes the very human elements in the situation as something that believable drives Joe to this behavior, something that Dennis Patrick fails to do.

Joe and Bill's fall into the antics of though is swift, but just as swift is the violent of the film when Joe and Bill go after the property the hippies stole from them. Boyle is good in this scene as he reverts to the barroom Joe, and it is is believable because Boyle established this side to Joe so well in that first scene. It does not quite carry the impact it should though mostly because of how instant it is. Yes it's trying to be jarring by how fast it is, but in doing so it does not make the ending as powerful as it could have it was a little more character based. Boyle still is solid in his performance at the end, as he is throughout his performance, but the way the film ends fails realize the full potential of this performance.

Read More

Alternate Best Actor 1970: Alejandro Jodorowsky in El Topo

Alejandro Jodorowsky did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the titular character of El Topo which would be the Mole in English.

El Topo is a strange film of first a gunfighter fighting other master gunfighters than helping disfigured people in some sort of retribution. One can either take this as a surreal masterpiece or a bunch of weird striking scenes that amount to nothing. I'll say it is certainly interesting.

Alejandro Jodorowsky, who also directed the film, plays the wandering gun man who wanders the desert shooting men, riding with his naked son, or romancing/raping a woman. El Topo is without a doubt a director's film, the fact that Jodorowsky is also the star only seems to reinforce this point. This is not a case where a single performance stands out past the vision of the director either. Every scene is dominated by the images not by anything that actors are doing who are mainly used as parts of every painting that Jodorowsky creates. This is true for every single performance of the film including Jodowsky's although his performance comes the closest to breaking away form his own direction.

The first half of Jodorowsky's performance consists of a steely gaze as he defeats his foes as he does in his own Man With No Name sort of way. Jodorowsky is a pretty effective quiet bad ass. There is a slight quirk in the method of shooting his opponents, but Jodorowsky's during the duels keeps his performance very much restrained. That is unless there is something else that happens other than him vanquishing a foe. Jodorowsky screams, makes wild eyes, and his expressions seem to become as insane as his set pieces. This all works in tandem with his direction, but again it always stays securely with this direction never really standing out on his own. Jodorowsky does use himself well and his performance properly adds to his scenes.

The second half of the film El Topo is thoroughly shaven and seems to become a monk of sorts and seems to put away his killing ways. Jodorowsky's performance becomes a bit more regulated in monk form as he is more expressive yet more restrained as well. Jodorowsky plays the reformed El Topo, who is trying to help the group of disfigured people, as a most joyous man who seems fervent in his cause with a great appreciation for his work. There of course is not really much a transition, it is a rather instant jump due to El Topo being shot, but this again fits perfectly in with the whole style of the film that is more about the individual scenes than a precise journey. Jodorowsky though once again fits within his film well in the changed El Topo. 

The story of the character of El Topo is one of leaps rather than steps, in the end when he does return to his killing ways he is again forced to do it. Jodorowsky's performance does always work for Jodorowsky the director. His individual acting work, just like everyone else in the film, simply is part of the tapestry. Jodorowsky's work adds color, the right color in the fact through his portrayal of the different sides of El Topo, but never once does that small part of the picture seem more interesting than the whole. It is a solid performance by Alejandro Jodorowsky, which prove him capable of being both an actor and a director. In the end though it is his direction of the film that you remember after watching the film not his performance within in it. 

Read More

Alternate Best Actor 1970: Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Gian Maria Volontè did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying the police inspector in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion.

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion is an entertaining film where the title is pretty self explanatory.

For most of the film it is hard to get a beat on the work of Gian Maria Volontè in this film. Volontè plays the titular citizen and when we first meet him he goes and murders a woman. Afterwards he sets up the crime scene in elaborate fashion then it appears he will be the one who is in charge of the investigation of this murder. Volontè's performance seems quite random throughout the film, and really the most consistent thing about him is the way he walks. He always has the walk of an official government agent every step he makes seems to be very particularly yet with a certain casual style to it emphasizing that in his position he does not need to rush doing anything. Now past the walk Volontè seems to take a rather random approach.

One scene Volontè will play the part as you would if the film was a straight less satirical picture as the apparently determined government man. Volontè is very good at the serious looks and showing the extreme importance of job. He is able to seem as though he really is doing his job as he commands everyone around him to do their duties thoroughly. Volontè, as shown in his Sergio Leone directed performances as well, carries a naturally menace with him so well. The way he leans on any particular witness or even one of his underlings is very effectively handled by Volontè. The inspector does not need to really say anything he only needs to indicate his position and give a look because of the ease of Volontè's intensity.

Of course without much notice Volontè can go off an erratic deep end as he seems genuinely insane as the inspector. The inspector unsuspectingly goes from intimidating those to be silent, to seemingly making it so evidence will be found that he is guilty quite randomly. There seems to be no method to his madness and the same can be said for Volontè's performance. He goes off the deep end without warning and this deep end can be a series of different deep ends. Sometimes Volontè plays the cold cunning killer creating witnesses, sometimes he is just off the wall in every way, sometimes he just seems to be doing it for the fun of it and is enjoying every moment of it. Volontè is never consistent with his portrayal, although he is most entertaining throughout.

I was not sure what to make of Volontè's work until it all came together in his final scene of the film where the inspector openly pleads his guilt to his associates who refuses to accept such guilt. Volontè's scene shows a break down to just a pathetic mess who wants to punished for what the has done wrong. The way Volontè plays this scene unlocks the secret of his character which is that he is just a child, a child who has been playing a game and finally wants to get punished for what he does wrong. Volontè brilliantly shows no maturity in the moment as he just pleads basically to be recognized that he is capable of wrong. It is not really regret that Volontè suggests for his crime, but rather he acts as though the inspector is a spoiled kid wanting some recognition of his behavior.

This is a most interesting performance by Volontè as he manages to create the mystery of the film, why the inspector killed the woman at the beginning, through his portrayal of the inspector. Volontè keeps you guessing what exactly is going on in the inspector's mind through his constantly changing method which always remains very watchable and enjoyable. I will admit I was not ready to get behind Volontè's performance until his last scene as he is pretty scatter shot in the way he plays the part, and it is hard to know what he is going for much of the film. Volontè completely nails that ending though, and in doing so he gives logic not only to his entire performance, but as well to the film as a whole.

Read More

Alternate Best Actor 1970: Albert Finney in Scrooge

Albert Finney did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite winning a Golden Globe, for portraying Ebenezer Scrooge in Scrooge.

This is a musical version of A Christmas Carol is enjoyable and effective even if it longer than it needs to be, and not all the songs are exactly amazing.

When it comes to playing the miser Ebenezer Scrooge no one will top Alistair Sim for me. Sim plays the role perfectly capturing every part of his transformation and taking the right approach by making Scrooge an intelligent and shrewd businessman. Well that is not the way Albert Finney plays the part, but trying to simply copy Sim does not work as Jim Carrey's ineffective performance proved. George C. Scott did pretty well in the same realm of Sim's approach, but where the two differed Sim was stronger. Finney takes a completely different approach instead of playing Scrooge like a smart businessman, Finney play Scrooge like a complete idiot, which is the way he is written here as well.

The casting of Albert Finney may seem a bit strange considering he was only in his thirties which is not the usual age of an elderly miser. Well they do capitalize on the fact that he can play the younger Scrooge in the flashbacks, although capitalize is probably too strong of a word as he has barely any lines as the younger Scrooge and can't barely make much of an impact there. His performance is all about his portrayal of the old Scrooge and he actually does a fine job of it. When I watch this performance I don't even think for a second about Finney's actual age as he completely becomes this rather strange character he makes out of Scrooge. Finney keeps every mannerism consist in his creation in this film.

Now to be sure this is not the most realistic portrayal of Scrooge, leave that to Sim and Scott, this is much more colorful depiction which makes sense being that the film is a musical. Scrooge sings a lot in this version, unlike Michael Caine in the Muppets version who only sang a single song after Scrooge's redemption, including when he is miserly. It would be a bit hard for Scrooge to be taken completely seriously when he sings a song actually titled "I Hate People". This Scrooge also has no idea of his own behavior in anyway even at times stating how he really is good a man because of his penny pinching, so Finney's somewhat absurd performance is fitting for this film's depiction of the sinner.

As the evil Scrooge Finney has a hunched back, an askew mouth, and a bit of a trollish accent. In every regard Finney goes pretty far in making Scrooge a reprehensible and unsightly sort, but he stops short at the of just being a parody. Although I would not call Finney's Scrooge a real man, Finney does deliver some of his more important lines with the weight needed. He does not let the mannerisms just do the performance for him and remembers to bring the depth of character when needed. Now most of the time his performance is about the absurdity of this Scrooge, which leaves the question of whether or not Finney's mannerisms are unintentionally funny or just funny. I would go with the latter because again "I hate people" is the name of one of his songs.

The transition of Scrooge as he sees the past, present and future is rather different from other versions because this Scrooge is just so thick and even when it seems there is some leeway Scrooge returns back to his old ways. Finney is good in the emotional moments, and since he plays him as a bit of a dope it is believable enough that he would bargain away every step forward he makes. The only thing is this structure does not give his performance the power of Sim's and Scott's by any measure. He goes from A to B back to A back to B and repeat until he finally arrives at C. Finney's portrays A with all the miserly foolishness he should, and for the most part brings a poignancy as Scrooge sees his faults, but there is not much growth in his portrayal.

Well how about the singing since this is a musical. Well Finney is not one of the greatest singers who ever lived and not only that he sings in character, the character having a voice that would never be described as beautiful. It actually would have been quite wrong to have given a booming voice anyway though, and all I want from singing in a film is if they carry the meaning of the song through. Well Finney manages to do this quite well and it matches every stop of his performance as he changes his style of singing as Scrooge changes. He grumbles as the mean Scrooge, but brings a resonance when Scrooge remembers his mistakes. The highlight though of the musical side and performance side is the Scrooge seeking redemption.

The redemption actually is summed up in a group of song reprises. Finney is very charming as he shows Scrooge drop any of his grumpiness and miserly behavior to fully embrace life. Finney goes all in and presents the happiness a man would most likely have if he came from literally seeing Hell. Even though the film hardly needs four songs for its ending, I don't even mind because Finney gives it his all with his extremely energetic performance. The joy of Scrooge's second chance is beautifully realized by Finney, and this is easily the best part of his performance. This end is not built to as well as in other adaptations for sure, but it's easy to buy because of what Scrooge sees before he returns to his room in this version.

Finney's performance isn't perfect as there are a few reaction just a little too odd, like when he barely reacts to a ghost carriage riding down the stairs of his house where most men would be looking for a new pair of pants (I apologize for the crudity). As I said this is not the best performance of Ebenezer Scrooge as his more flamboyant portrayal prevents his work from having the dramatic weight offered by Alistair Sim. I would put him in top five anyways, and I certainly appreciate a different take on the character. This is not he most compelling version of greedy man turned good, but looked at on its own Finney gives a fairly entertaining performance in this musical.

Read More

Alternate Best Actor 1970

And the Nominees Were Not:

Albert Finney in Scrooge

Alejandro Jodorowsky in El Topo

Gian Maria Volontè in Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Jean Louis Trintignant in The Conformist

Peter Boyle in Joe

Read More