#29 | Watch Best Actor Oscar Movies

I’m impressed mom and I got through this list much faster than the Best Picture category.  I was hoping to watch all these movies before the Oscars for 2012 was announced, but that didn’t happen and that is ok.

1928    Emil Jannings – The Last Command | Pretty good movie for a no talkie.  Jannings makes some of the funniest faces.
1929    Warner Baxter – In Old Arizona | BORING!  Hard to understand what they were saying too.
1930    George Arliss – Desraeli | CAN’T FIND MOVIE
1931    Lionel Barrymore – A Free Soul | CAN’T FIND MOVIE
1932    Wallace Beery – The Champ | Really good movie.  However, I think the kid in the movie should have won the Oscar instead.
1933    Charles Laughton – The Private Life of Henry VIII | I was dreading watching this movie, but it really wasn’t too bad.  And Laughton was great in this movie.
1934    Clark Gable - It Happened One Night | Very cute move.  Loved it!  And who doesn’t love Clark Gable?!
1935    Victor McLaglen – The Informer | This movie was alright.  It was fascinating to read about how the director got McLaglen to perform his drunken scenes.  However, it discredits his acting ability a little.
1936    Paul Muni – The Story of Louis Pasteur | This movie was a little slow, but not too bad.  I did sleep through the last part of it though…
1937    Spencer Tracy – Captains Courageous | I was not looking forward to this movie and I ended up loving it.  Tracy was wonderful!
1938    Spencer Tracy – Boys Town | Cool it was a true story.  The kids did a good job acting, but Tracy’s acting didn’t stand out to me.
1939    Robert Donat – Goodbye Mr. Chips | This movie didn’t hold my attention much at the beginning, but the ending was pretty good.  The acting was decent.  But knowing that it went up against Gone with the Wind, I think it should have won Best Actor instead.
1940    Jimmy Stewart – The Philadelphia Story | Chick flick that wins an Oscar…I’ll take it!
1941    Gary Cooper - Sergeant York | Movie was very boring, especially for a war movie.
1942    James Cagney – Yankee Doodle Dandy | Very slow at the beginning, but got better.  Really liked Cagney as a person.
1943    Paul Lukas – Watch on the Rhine |
1944    Bing Crosby - Going My Way | Ok.  Not sure why it won though.
1945    Ray Milland - The Lost Weekend | A pretty good movie.  It had some funny parts, but the story line is a little sad, especially since I have a few family members who have suffered from alcoholism.
1946    Fredric March - The Best Years of Our Lives | Definitely one of the best movies ever.
1947    Ronald Colman – A Double Life | Decent movie.  I was more excited to see a movie that had him in it just because they mention him in dad’s favorite movie, A River Runs Through It (and dad and I had no idea who he was.)
1948    Laurence Olivier  - Hamlet | I had to study way too much Shakespeare in high school so I think I’m still burned out.  But this was a really good rendition of the story.  The acting done by Olivier was pretty good.  I think Jean Simmons did a really good job too, but she didn’t win an Oscar for her performance.
1949    Broderick Crawford - All the King’s Men | Didn’t keep my attention
1950    Jose Ferrer-Cyrano de Bergerac | Boring movie.  Decent acting though.
1951    Humphrey Bogart-The African Queen | Kind of a strange movie.  Not sure why anyone would chosen to see this movie.  Bogart’s acting was decent.  This role was much different than anything else he has done.
1952    Gary Cooper – High Noon | Took a while to get into the movie.  I was completely wrong on my prediction of how the movie would end.
1953    William Holden – Stalag 17 | Loved it!  My guess on who the bad guy was wrong, but I have a good idea 
1954    Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront | Good movie.
1955    Ernest Borginine - Marty | Short, cute, and sweet.
1956    Yul Brynner – The King and I | Another movie I grew up watching.
1957    Alec Guinness - The Bridge on the River Kwai | Very unrealistic.  I can guarantee being a POW in WWII was not that easy.
1958    David Niven – Separate Tables | Not too bad.  Simple story.
1959    Charlton Heston - Ben Hur | I’ve seen this many times when I was little.  Very good.  3 ½ hours in a little long…
1960    Burt Lancaster – Elmer Gantry | Kind of weird.  Especially at the end.
1961    Maximillian Schell – Judgment at Nuremberg | Good movie and acting. Surprised Schell was up for main actor, but he did do a good job.
1962    Gregory Peck – To Kill a Mockingbird | I grew up watching this movie too, one of mom’s favorites.
1963    Sidney Poitier – Lilies of the Field | I love this actor!  Mom and I have done a few Sidney Poitier movie days before.
1964    Rex Harrison - My Fair Lady | I grew up watching this movie.  Been a while since I’d seen it and I remembered a lot of it.
1965    Lee Marvin – Cat Ballou | Slightly strange.  If someone was going to win an Oscar for this movie, it should have been Jane Fonda.  However, the best part of the movie was when Marvin sings Happy Birthday at a funeral.
1966    Paul Scofield - A Man for All Seasons | I listened to this movie…
1967    Rod Steiger - In the Heat of the Night | Good movie.  Seen it multiples times.
1968    Cliff Robertson – Charly | Robertson’s acting was great, worthy of this Oscar.  I read this book in middle school, didn’t realize it was turned into a movie and won an Oscar.
1969    John Wayne - True Grit | Much better than what I was expecting.
1970    George C. Scott - Patton | Pretty good movie.
1971    Gene Hackman - The French Connection |
1972    Marlon Brando - The Godfather | Excellent movie
1973    Jack Lemmon – Save the Tiger | I love Jack Lemmon.  He is one of my favorite actors, but this movie stunk.  However, the acting he did in this movie was different, more serious than what he normally does and he did a good job.
1974     Art Carney – Harry and Tonto | I strangely liked this movie.
1975    Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | One of dad’s favorites.  Good, but so sad.
1976    Peter Finch – Network | He was good in this movie, but I think William Holden should have won.
1977    Richard Dreyfuss – The Goodbye Girl | I’ve seen this movie before, but felt I needed to re-watch it.  Loved it the second time around too!
1978    Jon Voight – Coming Home | Really liked this movie.  And I really liked Voight’s character.  Interesting ending though.
1979    Dustin Hoffman - Kramer vs. Kramer | Good.  Classic.
1980    Robert DeNiro – Raging Bull | DeNiro was excellent in this movie.
1981    Henry Fonda – On Golden Pond | A family favorite.
1982    Ben Kingsley – Gandhi | Much better than what I was expecting.  Parts of the movie were slow, but overall it was pretty good.  Really creepy on how much Kingsley looks like the real Gandhi.
1983    Robert Duvall – Tender Mercies | Boring and the acting was nothing special.
1984    F. Murray - Amadeus | Kind of funny; loved it when the characters were describing the music.  It was fascinating, especially coming form a musical family.
1985    William Hurt – Kiss of the Spider Woman | Boring.  Strange.  Weird. I could have done without seeing this movie.
1986    Paul Newman – The Color of Money | Movie wasn’t too bad.
1987    Michael Douglas – Wall Street | I don’t like seeing Michael Douglas as a bad guy.
1988    Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man | So good! On the Top 10 list!
1989    Daniel Day Lewis – My Left Foot | The acting in this movie was amazing!
1990    Jeremy Irons – Reversal of Fortune | Interesting.  I wish I knew what really did happen.  Both Irons and Close were excellent.
1991    Anthony Hopkins - Silence of the Lambs | Creepy
1992    Al Pacino – Scent of a Woman | I like this movie; I’ve seen it many, many times.
1993    Tom Hanks – Philadelphia | Great movie.  Sad.  Great music.
1994    Tom Hanks – Forrest Gump | Seriously?  Who hasn’t seen this one? Of course it’s good!
1995    Nicolas Cage – Leaving Las Vegas | I can’t believe I had to watch this movie.  About an alcoholic and a hooker.  Very graphic and disturbing.
1996    Geoffrey Rush – Shine | The person Rush portrayed was crazy, but Rush’s acting was incredible.
1997    Jack Nicholosn – As Good as it Gets | Decent movie, but I think Leonardo DiCaprio should have gotten this for Titanic.
1998    Roberto Benigni – Life is Beautiful | Didn’t realize this movie was not in English and had to change the settings before watching.  It took us about 10-15 minutes to figure this out.  Oops!  The beginning was really strange but the last half was really good.  It was heart breaking when they have to go to the concentration camps.  I can’t imagine what that would have been like, especially with an innocent young child.  This movie had a very interesting way expressing what was going on in the camps.  It wasn’t until the end of the movie before I appreciated Benigni’s acting.
1999    Kevin Spacey – American Beauty | Strange.  Makes me want to keep my windows shut at night so people can’t see in.
2000    Russell Crowe – Gladiator | Great movie!
2001    Denzel Washington – Training Day | It has been a while since I’ve sent this movie, but Denzel definitely deserved getting this Oscar.
2002    Adrien Brody - The Pianist | This movie is about the Holocaust, so of course it is depressing.  But it is also incredible because it is a true story.  I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to live through that time.
2003    Sean Penn – Mystic River | Another family favorite.  This came out right around the time dad lived/worked in Boston for 3 months.  In fact, we saw it in Boston when mom and I went to visit him over Thanksgiving.  (Seriously, one of the best Thanksgivings we have ever had.)
2004    Jamie Foxx – Ray | Really good movie.  I think Jamie Foxx definitely deserved this win.  I read that he really did play the piano in the movie and he wore fake eyelids which made him blind.  His acting was extremely authentic and is shows.
2005    Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote | Hoffman’s acting was incredible.  The only other movie that I really know him from is Along Came Polly and his character was the polar opposite of what he played in Capote.  I wasn’t sure how I’d like the movie since it was about a gruesome murder, but I actually really liked it.  It was a little slow, but that was ok.
2006    Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland | Great movie.
2007    Daniel Day Lewis - There Will Be Blood | I liked this movie up until the last 30 minutes.  The ending just seemed strange to me.  But Daniel Day Lewis was amazing in this movie, just like everything else he is in.
2008    Sean Penn – Milk | Penn was phenomenal in this movie!  It was like I was watching the real Harvey Milk, not an actor trying to portray him. Definitely one of the best acting I’ve seen in this category.
2009    Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart | Not my favorite, but ok.
2010    Colin Firth - The King’s Speech | Really, really good.  Totally understand how it won Best Picture and Colin Firth was great.  And I really liked the cinematography.
2011    Jean Dujardian – The Artist | I was skeptical, but I really liked it!  And the acting in it was wonderful!
2012    Daniel Day Lewis – Lincoln | I was surprised at how boring I found this movie.  However, Daniel Day Lewis was amazing in it, so that’s all that matters.

Top Ten (Me)
1.  It Happened One Night
2.  Captains Coutageious
3.  Coming Home
4.  Rain Man
5.  My Left Foot
6.  Philadelphia
7.  Gladiator
8.  Ray
9.  Milk
10.  King’s Speech

Top Ten (Mom)
1.  Spencer Tracy-  Captains Courageous
2.  Charlton Heston – Ben Hur
3.  Gregory Peck – Mockingbird
4.  Jack Nicholson- Cuckoos Nest
5.  Daniel Day Lewis – My Left Foot
6.  Tom Hanks – Philadelphia
7.  Denzel Washington – Training Days
8.  Sean Penn- Mystic River
9.  Philip Seymour Hoffman – Capote
10.  Sean Penn – Milk


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Completed: August 21, 2013