Best Actor 1976

[nightwingnova]

When I finally got around to seeing Taxi Driver, after hearing the hype for years, I did not like it.

The New York streetscape stands out. For the time, the cinematography must have been smashing. Today, it is perhaps somewhat better than what we get on Law and Order.

The plot is pedestrian and insubstantial. There is nothing there beyond the structure.

The screenplay tells us nothing much about Travis Bickle. The character is insubstantial.

The ending makes no sense at all. A silly way to get a happy ending, one that is unnecessary.

[HarryGoldfarb]

It struck me as some minor surprise to see the unstoppable love to De Niro, specially cause I've noticed this board can find fashionable neglecting the established canons...

As it is usual for me through this decade, I have missed one of theses performances. Haven't seen Seven Beauties but I definitely want to do so.

It is pretty easy not to like Stallone. The whole film is incredibly dated, in the worst possible way, but his acting, limited as it is (and as eventually he proved it to be), was quite decent here, just fitted for the role. The whole story is soapish and so is his acting. His nod doesn't bother me at all.

I just love Network... can't help it. However, Holden gives the best performance from the nominated duo. On the other hand, Taxi Driver is an incredible downer for me. That almost umbearable complexity in the central character, the existentialism and the exploration of a psyche that even though most of the times rings true in the end seems more than a little be extreme in order to be really likable are factors that keep me from loving it. Why do I need to see this character? What does it gives me? Maybe I just missed the point. However, De Niro is a pleasure to watch... he owns the camera, he conveys a wide range of "mental places" instead of emotions... but having said all this nonsense, Holden still got my vote.

[Bruce_Lavigne]

I actually think Finch was nominated in the right category; my general preference is for "borderline" performances to go lead.

Regardless of Finch's placement, however, this year belongs to De Niro. One of the all-time great screen performances in, for my money, one of the Great American Movies.

(Incidentally, I'm a bit surprised to see the vote skewed so heavily in De Niro's favor. Previous board discussions of '76 as a Year In Film led me to believe that while Network was mostly loathed around here, Holden's performance was held in the highest possible esteem; that, combined with a general ambivalence I've sensed [rightly or wrongly] toward Scorsese's work among board regulars, had me thinking he'd be a runaway winner.)

[Reza]

I also recall that Rocky and Stallone were looked at with a lot of affection by the Hollywood community. However, I dont think Stallone had a chance going up against the competition. De Niro, although great, did not have the support because of the nature of the film he was in. Finch's attention getting character and the fact that he died while promoting Network in January clinched him the award. If he had been nominated in support I think Holden would have easily won. He was an incredibly popular star even if he hadn't been around much since the late 60s. And he had enough friends in the Academy who could have swung a sentimental vote towards him.

Gianini is magnificent but I prefer Holden more.

[ITALIANO]

Eyes or no eyes, Giannini is obviously out.

It's not just about his eyes. Those were uniquely expressive, and helped - but the performance is a real tour-de-force, the character at times almost unberably unattractive - yet you still root for him - and it's generally considered here one of the best performances ever by an actor in an Italian movie. The movie may be forgotten abroad but not here (and how can one forget the seduction scene between Giannini and Shirley Stoler?) and it's certainly the second most famous Wertmuller movie - the most popular being still Swept Away, which seems to be on tv on a daily basis. She certainly knew a few things about Italians. It's a bit unfair that Giannini has zero votes here, but I guess this is what happens when you are up against De Niro at his best.

As for Rocky, yes, there is a tendency to dismiss it today, and considering all those sequels and Stallone's career, it's understandable. Yet at the time it wasn't just a box-office phenomenon, but also a movie which critics - while not considering it a work of art - treated with respect and affection. It was also a popular Oscar winner - nobody in America or here complained too much because Network or even Taxi Driver had lost. It can't even remotely be compared to, say, The King's Speech winning over The Social Network today, and the reactions it has caused - and honestly Taxi Driver is a better movie than The Social Network. Rocky, the story behind the film, Stallone himself - were generally loved. I was very young of course, but this is what I remember - and this was the first time I followed, as an child living in Italy could, the Oscars. After the big night, I insisted on my father bringing me to see Rocky and I loved it (the following year I did the same with Annie Hall and hated it - people change).

It's very possible by the way, almost sure actually, that had Peter Finch been considered Supporting, Sylvester Stallone would be an Oscar winner. So this is a case when we should be grateful for a wrong placement.

[Big Magilla]

Does anyone who was following the race at the time know if there was any talk about either Dustin Hoffman or Robert Redford in All The Presiden't's Men?

Not that I recall. The competition in the lead actor category was strong enough without them. I didn't Hoffman had much of a chance of being nominated for Marathon Man either. The five actual nominees plus Carradine seemed likeliest.

Rocky may have long since evolved into a joke, but at the time its popularity was enormous. In fact when newspaper headlines screamed ROCKY DEAD in January 1979 my first reaction was that Stallone had died, not the former Vice President and long time New York governor, Nelson Rockefeller.

[mlrg]

Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver

[Reza]

Finch should have been nominated in support.

Voted for Holden.

My picks for 1976:

William Holden, Network
Giancarlo Giannini, Seven Beauties
Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver
John Wayne, The Shootist
Sylvester Stallone, Rocky

The 6th Spot: Dustin Hoffman, Marathon Man

[Greg]

Does anyone who was following the race at the time know if there was any talk about either Dustin Hoffman or Robert Redford in All The Presiden't's Men?

[Uri]

I guess everyone has this one big, dark secret. Mine is that I've never seen Rocky. Back in the '70, as a smugly wannabe highbrow teen, I avoided it for being beneath me. I'm afraid I've never changed enough to give it a try. The only best picture winner to win after 1933 I didn't see.

Eyes or no eyes, Giannini is obviously out. So is Finch, and not necessarily based on technicalities – even in the right category I will grant him a nomination at best. It's certainly an outlandish effort, but not a particularly poignant one, thanked to Chayefsky. As said by others, Holden does manage to overcome the histrionics of Network by working against them (while Dunuway triumphed by outdoing them), and he was a very worthy nominee.

But it really should be De Nero. His run from '73 to '83 was so phenomenal, he should have won all 4 times he was nominated (ok, in '78 it's by default, but sill) and a fifth one had he been nominated for Mean Streets. How he evolved into the actor he is nowadays is one of Cinema's greatest tragedies. Brando may have lost his dignity later in life but not his basic acting ability.

Now – along with De Nero, Holden and the already mentioned Caradine (in second place) and Wayne, I still have a fifth slot to fill. I haven't seen it in over 30 years, so I may change my mind if I see it again, but I remember his performance in The Front as the only time I got Allen as an actor and not as a (at times rather great) cinematic persona, so he's in.

[Mister Tee]

Stallone is of course a joke now, and he was something of a pain even by Oscar night (as when he used his new-found status as screenwriter extraordinaire to trash Chinatown).

Do you mind elaborating on Stallone's Chinatown diss for those of us who weren't around at the time?

Rocky of course ran counter to the anti-hero style of the time, and Stallone seemed to think by going back to ancient happy-ending formulas he had invented the wheel. His thoughts on Chinatown, as I (paraphrasing) recall -- "Worst ending for a movie I ever saw. What a downer. Everybody wanted the guy to make something of his life by getting away with the woman. I'd never have made that mistake"

[The Original BJ]

Stallone is of course a joke now, and he was something of a pain even by Oscar night (as when he used his new-found status as screenwriter extraordinaire to trash Chinatown).

Do you mind elaborating on Stallone's Chinatown diss for those of us who weren't around at the time?

[Mister Tee]

First, thanks to ksrymy for starting this up during Magilla's sabbatical. Things have been beyond death around here lately and I've missed these jousts. (Though I note the Harry Potter thread also appears to have kicked to life today)

To first address questions people have asked: Gianninni was not a startling nominee, but he wasn't a sure thing. David Carradine was a possibility (and one unjustly left off, in my view), and even Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man wasn't beyond consideration (seeing his co-star was cited). Seven Beauties had opened in January of '76 to thunderous raves -- Variety commented that even Altman's Nashville seven months earlier had not been as lavishly praised. But when critics' voting came around, the film finished behind not only All The Presidents' Men, which had also been exceptionally well received, but Network, which had been a more divisive item. It seemed time had cooled some of the ardor for Wertmuller's film, and, given Giannini's need to cross the always treacherous subtitled bar, it was a 50/50 proposition whether he'd make it.

Had Peter Finch not died, I think there's still a decent chance he might have won -- his role was flamboyant enough, in a movie fresh at voting time. Had he been demoted to support, I think you could have made cases for either Stallone (Frank Rich, then the critic at the NY Post, predicted him as it was) or Holden winning. I seriously doubt whether Robert deNiro could have won for this role. Taxi Driver was, praise be, best picture nominated, but it was anathema to a good chunk of Academy voters -- as witness the fact that they passed up the film in the supporting actress category, even though that required voting for a cameo, and in the musical score category, despite it being their last chance to honor the great Bernard Herrmann. They evidently considered Taxi Driver so satanic they opted for a film literally about the devil instead. Oh, and if that weren't enough, deNiro coming off a supporting Oscar only two years earlier sealed the deal.

So, to my choices:

Apart from trading off Carradine for Stallone, I'd have basically gone with the Academy five (their nominations in general improved the later in the decade we went). Stallone is of course a joke now, and he was something of a pain even by Oscar night (as when he used his new-found status as screenwriter extraordinaire to trash Chinatown). It struck me as telling that even while voting his film the year's best, voters managed to avoid choosing him personally in either writing or acting. But it's not as if he's terrible in Rocky. I'm working on 35 year old memory. but I'd side with "he knew how to create a role that showcased him well", and move on without a consideration of voting for him.

I liked Peter Finch well enough here -- and his parts of Network feel stronger today than the rest -- but I didn't see his performance as special enough to merit the win.

I mentioned under 1975 that I'd have nominated Giancarlo Giannini there, so it should come as no surprise I endorse him here for, still, the great international role of his career. I'm surprised only BJ mentioned his eyes, because at the time no one could stop talking about them. He had a full character to play, in a very strong film, but his magnetic eyes seemed to carry the work to another level. Against lesser competition, I could choose him.

At the time, my best actor pick was William Holden, for a few reasons. First, I was playing by Academy rules: I knew recent winner deNiro was off the table for winning, and I wanted a rooting choice among the possibles. Second, I found his performance incredibly moving -- far more engaging on a human level than Finch's. This in spite of the fact that he gets Paddy Chayefky's most ostentatiously smug dialogue -- Max Schumacher is the film's moral exemplar, and Chayefsky (likely identifying with him) seems to feel the need to have him lecture his inferiors on a regular basis. For Holden to retain my sympathy despite that was a major feat. But my third reason was one that you probably can't appreciate without having been there: this role was a major comeback for Holden. For those born around when I was, William Holden had only been in one film of importance -- The Wild Bunch -- in my entire filmgoing life. Mostly on TV, I'd seen his older triumphs (Kwai, Sabrina, Sunset Boulevard), but in terms of films in theatres, he had become close to a non-entity. So to see him deliver so strongly in a role like this gave me great pleasure, and likely influenced my choice.

But the obvious winner, with all those contexts stripped away, has to be Robert deNiro, for one of the two most iconic performances of his great (if brief) time at the top. His Travis Bickle was a kind of anti-hero we hadn't seen before -- sometimes ignorant and rude (as in his courtship of Cybill Shepherd), but also solicitous and righteous (as with Jodie Foster). Scorsese/deNiro as a team didn't make it easy for us to identify with this character, but they still made him compelling for many of us. As I say, overall a good field, and I could live with Holden, Giannini or deNiro as winners in many years. But deNiro's the one that stands out in the end.

[ITALIANO]

Poor Giancarlo Giannini. He got his only nomination in a year with three iconic performances, three performances that, for different reasons, still are in the history of movies. (Giannini's performance is also iconic, but in Italy, certainly not in the US). This doesn't mean that those three performances were all better than Giannini's - Stallone's definitely isn't, and I'd say that Giannini was probably the second-best in this race. He's also a very nice, very humble man, one of the best actors we have in my country, and Pasqualino in Seven Beauties is his signature role (and yes, those eyes!)...

... but then Travis Bickles isn't just De Niro's signature role, it's also one of the great roles of American cinema in the 70s - a decade full of wonderful roles for actors. A complex, fascinating, contradictory character, of the kind we only rarely see nowadays. De Niro can't lose here.

[The Original BJ]

Damien isn't around to cheer for David Carradine, so I'll pick up the slack. I think his performance in the great Bound for Glory is just lovely, and I think it's a real shame he was omitted this year.

Obviously, Sylvester Stallone is the weakest link, but I'm not as grouchy about this performance as some. I think his luggish charisma actually works pretty well for the role -- Stallone is well cast here, or, rather, he wrote a part for himself that made the best use of his limited abilities. His personality is one of the major reasons why Rocky is appealing to so many people. I'm not necessarily one of those people, though, and his acting here isn't remotely worthy of an Oscar, let alone even a nomination.

Giannini is very strong in Seven Beauties, in a role that allows him to show quite a bit of range, from the film's more comic opening sequences to the horrors of its concentration camp scenes. And those eyes, my god, they're so expressive! A charming, haunting, and very memorable performance, though perhaps not titanic enough to garner my vote.

I know a lot of people have soured on Network over the years, but I remain enthusiastic after about a half-dozen viewings. There's something very symbolic about the casting of William Holden, an icon of the classical era, paired here with Faye Dunaway's New Hollywood, post-modern woman. And Holden's internalized acting style is the perfect compliment to Dunaway's outwardly expressive abrasiveness. Holden's work as Max Schumacher is very touching -- he's the beating heart of Network -- and it's nice that he scored this late career nomination.

But, of course, Peter Finch steals the show, no more so than in the sequence that has become the stuff of film legend. (We all know which one I'm talking about.) His mad prophet of the airways is a glorious creation -- hilarious, frightening, pathetic -- but human enough to be completely believable and, in the end, tragic. I think one of the great achievements of Network is the way it balances the absurd with the alarmingly mundane, and Finch's performance matches that balance perfectly. He would be a perfectly deserving Oscar winner...as Best Supporting Actor. His lead placement doesn't irk me, but I think the role is just a little smallish to win Best Actor.

Especially with a nominee as magnificent as Robert De Niro on the ballot. He also has a scene that is beyond legend. (We all know this one, too.) And his Travis Bickle is an electrifying character, vicious and brutal, and yet protective and touching in his scenes with Jodie Foster. De Niro had done impressive work in the years just before this (obviously in Mean Streets and Godfather II), but I think this had to be the moment when he staked his claim as one of the great actors of the era. The '76 field is pretty strong overall, but for me, De Niro is Best Actor all the way.