The 1982 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part One

It's the 1982 Retro Hollmann Awards, celebrating the best in cinema 35 years ago!

For full context, remember to check out the Top Ten, which includes a complete list of the film screened. Also, take a look at the Retro Hollmann Awards Nominations, for a complete list of the nominees.

With the exception of Best Ensemble, which doesn't exist at the Oscars, the categories are presented in the same order as they were at the original 55th Academy Awards on April 11, 1983. Shall we begin?

Best Ensemble

Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Scott Bushnell

2. Fast Times at Ridgemont High; 3. Eating Raoul; 4. Tootsie; 5. Best Friends

If you want an effective cast, have them do the play first! It worked for Fences, and it worked for Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, which transfers the entire cast from the original Broadway production to the big screen. Smart move for a story about women who've known each other 20 years; there's a real sense that everyone not only knows one another but has for decades. An easy, unmistakable familiarity.

In second, the students and faculty of Ridgemont High. In third, the offbeat assemblage of personalities in Eating Raoul. In fourth, Tootsie's New York showbiz types. In fifth, the families at the center of Best Friends.

Best Supporting Actor

Robert Preston as Carol Todd

Victor/Victoria

2. Dom DeLuise in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; 3. Harry Hamlin in Making Love; 4. James Mason in The Verdict; 5. Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner

Admittedly, a lot of the mileage one gets out of Preston's performance is related to how familiar one is with his persona in general and The Music Man in particular. For me, The Music Man is one of the works that unites my family - we all know the lyrics, we all have a copy of the soundtrack, we've all seen the movie. So to see Harold Hill opening a film in bed with a twink and closing it in drag is monumental, the kind of reassurance I wish I had had as a teen. Beyond that, of course, it's a phenomenal performance, as discussed in my earlier Supporting Actor rundown.

In second, Dom DeLuise minces away with the show as Melvin P. Thorpe. In third, Harry Hamlin's masc gay man learns how to love for more than an evening. In fourth, James Mason is both a snake and a charmer. In fifth, Rutger Hauer's replicant is all too human.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

The Thing
Rob Bottin, special makeup effects creator and designer
Vivienne Walker, special wigs

2. Tootsie; 3. Gandhi; 4. Quest for Fire; 5. The Beast Within

The Thing has rightfully gone down in cinema history for its elaborate gore and makeup effects. The stomach becoming a mouth, the head becoming a spider-creature, the half-completed attempts at assimilation - it's all, genuinely, the stuff of nightmares. BUT ALSO - let's not forget Kurt Russell's beautiful hair and frosted beard! This is, after all, an award for makeup and hair.

In second, Tootsie turns Michael Dorsey into Dorothy Michaels. In third, Gandhi spends fifty years with the man. In fourth, Quest for Fire presents early man. In fifth, The Beast Within makes monsters out of men.

Best Score

1. Victor/Victoria

Henry Mancini

2. Conan the Barbarian

Basil Poledouris

3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

John Williams

4. The Thing
Ennio Morricone

5. Edo Porn
Hikaru Hayashi

Best Costume Design

Quartet

Judy Moorcroft

2. Victor/Victoria; 3. Evil under the Sun; 4. Lola; 5. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

Quartet is a weirdly dull movie; its costumes are not. Every evening seems to be a masquerade for the Heidlers and their friends, and even when they're not out and about, their daywear is simply divine. And when I think of our lusty protagonist Marya, I think of her flimsy, almost transparent wardrobe, covering up but seeming to hint at more.

In second, the stage costumes and 1930s street clothes of Victor/Victoria. In third, the large shoulder pads of Evil under the Sun. In fourth, class and capital worn proudly in Lola. In fifth, turn-of-the-century summer fashion in A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy.

Best Visual Effects

Poltergeist
Mike Wood, mechanical effects supervisor
Richard Edlund, visual effects supervisor

2. Blade Runner; 3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; 4. TRON; 5. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

A great mix of practical and post-production effects work. Chairs move about, horrifying beasts appear in doorways, spirits fly out of the TV, items in a bedroom are sucked into a portal, a goopy tennis ball comes out of a portal - non-stop, imaginative.

In second, Blade Runner's flying cars, large advertisements, and thoroughly realized future Los Angeles. In third, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial's...E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. In fourth, TRON's in-game universe. In fifth, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's Starfleet crafts and new planet.

Best Sound

Poltergeist
Richard L. Anderson / Stephen Hunter Flick / Vanessa Theme Ament, supervising sound editors
Alan Howarth, special sound effects
John Chih Chao Dunn / Mark A. Mangini, sound effects editors
Steve Maslow / Kevin O'Connell / Bill Varney, re-recording mixers

2. Blade Runner; 3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; 4. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; 5. The Road Warrior

Few movies are as inventive and exemplary in its design, editing, and mixing as Poltergeist. From Carol Anne's electronic echo to the roar of the Beast, from the mix of bicycles, children, and pets in suburbia to Esmeralda screaming over the roar of the portal, every element comes together to create a magnificent soundscape.

In second, Blade Runner's future sounds. In third, E.T.'s feline growls. In fourth, the music and dancing of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. In fifth, the explosive big rig car chases of The Road Warrior.

Best Production Design

Blade Runner
Lawrence G. Paull, production design
David Snyder, art direction
Linda DeScenna / Leslie Frankenheimer / Tom Roysden, set decoration

2. Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean; 3. Victor/Victoria; 4. Lola; 5. Das Boot

Every detail of Blade Runner's production design is just perfect. There's Tyrell's homebase, which doesn't just look uncomfortable, but also a sort of temple; this manufacturer of replicants has made himself a God. Contrast that J.F. Sebastian, living among cluttered, dusty animatronics in a rundown Bradbury Building. There's the Japanese-influenced New Los Angeles, the freezer-like Hannibal Chew's, the neon! It's extraordinary!

In second, the crowded, cluttered store at the heart of Come Back to the 5 & Dime. In third, the art deco decor of Victor/Victoria. In fourth, the colorful brothel and conservative offices of Lola. In fifth, the submarine of Das Boot.

Best Cinematography

1. Lola
Xaver Schwarzenberger

2. Blade Runner
Jordan Cronenweth

3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Allan Daviau

4. A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
Gordon Willis

5. Das Boot
Jost Vacano

A good showing for Poltergeist and Victor/Victoria so far - two awards apiece!

Tomorrow: Best Actress, Best Original Song, and more - including Best Picture of the Year! What deserved it 35 years ago? Find out tomorrow....



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