Take a look at the announcement of the nominees for the 63rd Academy Awards. Particularly, 2:52 onward. Listen, you'll hear murmurs, stunned surprise, as the third Best Picture nominee is named: Ghost.
Well, why not Ghost? A supernatural romance about a murdered man's ghost trying to save his living girlfriend from being the killer's next victim, it's a film with something for everyone: hot protagonists (Patrick Swayze! Demi Moore! Tony Goldwyn!), Whoopi Goldberg providing comic relief, heartfelt conversations about faith and the afterlife, about love and the expression of it, and the kind of ending guaranteed to wring tears. Critics, from what I can tell, were generally, "Eh," on it, with the main criticisms being its various tones and the "sentimental" finale.
Audiences, on the other hand, loved it. In its first weekend following its July 22nd release, Ghost settled for the #2 slot while Die Hard 2 took #1. The week after, it was #1; by the end of the year, it was the top-grossing movie of 1990 - not just in the USA, in the world. It brought the Righteous Brothers' recording of "Unchained Melody" back to the Billboard charts. In the leadup to the Oscar nominations, it was acknowledged as among the best of the year by the American Society of Cinematographers, the American Cinema Editors, the Writers Guild of America, and the Golden Globes. Before its Best Picture nomination, it had already, that very morning, captured nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Whoopi Goldberg - who won), Best Original Screenplay (which it won), Best Film Editing, and Best Score. The critics were shocked and appalled, but people liked the movie!
I'll get more into my own feelings on Ghost when I discuss the Best Picture nominees. I've also already given my thoughts on The Two Jakes (August 10) and The Exorcist III (August 17). So here are other releases comprising Summer 1990...
RoboCop 2
release: June 22
dir: Irvin Kershner
pr: Jon Davison
scr: Frank Miller & Walon Green, story by Frank Miller
cin: Mark Irwin
Well, it's doing its best, but it's not quite RoboCop. The freshest, most exciting idea it has is making one of its main villains a child. Dan O'Herlihy is having a blast, again. Some great stop motion and other effects, but there's something missing.
Days of Thunder
release: June 27
nominations: Best Sound (Charles M. Wilborn / Donald O. Mitchell / Rick Kline / Kevin O'Connell)
dir: Tony Scott
pr: Jerry Bruckheimer / Don Simpson
scr: Robert Towne, story by Robert Towne and Tom Cruise
cin: Ward Russell
Hotshot race car driver has a shot at the top, but a doctor fears the effects on his health. From the team that gave you Top Gun comes another Tom Cruise-starring, romance-speckled, high-adrenaline, rival buddies drama, complete with a rock ballad. What does this one boast? Robert Duvall as the grizzled old expert who becomes a father figure to the young hotshot! Nicole Kidman as the hot, no-nonsense doctor whose chemistry with Cruise is, well, if you know, it's pretty self-evident. A screenplay by the Robert Towne (!), from a story by Tom Cruise (his only writing credit!)! And gorgeous beautiful cinematography capturing the heat and action of the Southern states - including my beloved Florida! Oh, it's not a movie to be loved, necessarily, but I do admire a perfectly crafted studio entertainment.
Young Guns II
release: August 1
nominations: Best Original Song ("Blaze of Glory" by Jon Bon Jovi)
dir: Geoff Murphy
pr: Paul Schiff / Irby Smith
scr: John Fusco
cin: Dean Semler
The continuing adventures of Billy the Kid, the Regulators, and friend-turned-Judas Sheriff Pat Garrett. Never saw the first one, had no idea these movies weren't just Brat Pack In The West but, rather, based in actual history. This is a movie about myth-making: Emilio Estevez's William Bonny makes his every move with full knowledge of his legend, and he expects everyone else to know, too. Arrogant, yes, but not wrong. Well-made movie!
Metropolitan
release: August 3
nominations: Best Original Screenplay
dir/pr/scr: Whit Stillman
cin: John Thomas
Prep school kids on winter break in New York City. Funny that I had to go back to his first to see the best Whit Stillman movie (well, maybe; I haven't seen Barcelona). A sharp social satire about the privileged class and about intellectual youth, the latter of whom I recognized immediately: maybe we weren't the most privileged, but we theatre and film school kids were so lofty in our conversations, just as confident in our pretensions as these kids, just as confident in the strength of our relationships as these devoted friends (who won't see each other once spring term starts). I can't stop laughing over the main kid, who straight-facedly declares, "I prefer good literary criticism. That way you get both the novelist's ideas as well as the critic's thinking. With fiction, I can never forget that none of it really happened, that it's all just made up by some author." Laugh-out-loud movie.
Mo' Better Blues
release: August 3
dir/pr/scr: Spike Lee
cin: Ernest R. Dickerson
A jazz musician balances his career, his two girlfriends, his uneasy friendships, and his own ego. This was the first collaboration between Spike Lee and star Denzel Washington; right out of the gate, you know this is a partnership for the ages. Also, gotta say, Lee shoots Washington like Von Sternberg did Dietrich: he is mesmerized, he is in love, he cannot believe his good fortune in getting this man! And Washington brings that sexy swagger, magnetic but frustrating. Could have done with a little less of Spike Lee the actor, not because he's bad, but because as necessary as his character is, it does not merit the amount of screentime given him. Worth watching if just for the luscious cinematography paired with Bill Lee's music.
Flatliners
release: August 10
nominations: Best Sound Effects Editing (Charles L. Campbell / Richard C. Franklin)
dir: Joel Schumacher
pr: Rick Bieber / Michael Douglas
scr: Peter Filardi
cin: Jan de Bont
Medical students experimenting with near-death experiences find past traumas resurrected in their journeys. This must have felt crazy, coming out a full five months after Pretty Woman and yet having Julia Roberts play The Girl - an interesting The Girl, sure, but still second fiddle to the battle of wills between Kiefer Sutherland and Kevin Bacon. Three elements I adored: the cinematography; the score; and the idea that the things that haunt us from childhood, the great regrets we carry with us, mean absolutely nothing to anyone else; we self-flagellate and they've moved on. An unexpected insight into the human condition from a pulpy supernatural thriller.
My Blue Heaven
release: August 17
dir: Herbert Ross
pr: Herbert Ross / Anthea Sylbert
scr: Nora Ephron
cin: John Bailey
As a mob informant adjusts to life in the suburbs, his FBI handler adjusts his worldview and approach to life. Steve Martin is a little too in on the joke of him, specifically, playing a mafia mook, but he's a gifted comedic and dramatic actor who sells the parts he needs to sell - his testimony, specifically, I'm thinking of. Y'know, Nora Ephron was inspired by her husband Nicholas Pileggi's relationship with Henry Hill, whose life story was the basis for Pileggi's Wiseguys - adapted this very same year as GoodFellas. I love that we have two versions of the same guy in one year; Ephron is much more charitable.
Wild at Heart
release: August 17
nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Diane Ladd)
dir/scr: David Lynch
pr: Steve Golin / Monty Montgomery / Sigurjon Sighvatsson
cin: Frederick Elmes
Couple on the run, Lynch-style. I get Nicolas Cage is "doing" Elvis Presley - I didn't have to look that up, I've seen enough Elvis movies to understand - and it is so distracting! There were aspects I liked (Willem Dafoe, for one) but, overall, this one didn't work for me.
The Church
release: August 22
dir: Michele Soavi
pr: Dario Argento / Mario Cecchi Gori / Vittorio Cecchio Gori
scr: Dario Argentio & Franco Ferrini & Michele Soavi, story by Dario Argento & Franco Ferrini
cin: Renato Tafuri
People are trapped in an ancient church with an evil secret buried underneath. There's a lot of promise in a historic Catholic cathedral holding a dark secret and frequented by tourists. The movie throws all the elements together but, unfortunately, that's all it does. Individual moments and creature designs are kind of cool, but they are moments in an otherwise dull film. The kills should be impactful!
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
release: August 24
dir/scr: Akira Kurosawa
pr: Mike Y. Inoue / Hisao Kurosawa
cin: Takao Saitô / Shôji Ueda
Vignettes tell of loss and regret, of fear of losing one's home/country/sense of self, of the tragedy of war and the dangers of nuclear proliferation. A child weeps for the orchard that is no longer there, depriving gods and spirits of their home, while an adult man enters Vincent Van Gogh's paintings to walk around, meeting the artist himself. Are these actual dreams Kurosawa had? The anthology approach, and the fact that is clearly supposed to be him at the center of the dreams (the wardrobe is unmistakable), makes me feel that it is so, making the bookends all the more poignant: it begins with a young boy spying on a solemn, secret wedding procession in the forest...by foxes; it ends with an adult man joining a joyous celebration through the streets...for a funeral.
Darkman
release: August 24
dir: Sam Raimi
pr: Robert Tapert
scr: Chuck Pfarrer and Sam Raimi & Ivan Raimi and Daniel Goldin & Joshua Goldin, story by Sam Raimi
cin: Bill Pope
A scientist left for dead by a ruthless mobster uses his smarts, disfigurement, and newfound strength to become Darkman, a vengeful vigilante out to right the wrongs done against him. Wacky, committed - it feels like it's obviously another comic book film, the characters come and go like we should know them already. But no, Raimi made up his own character because he couldn't do The Shadow, drawing on his love of Lon Chaney films to create a character that is physically grotesque (like, beyond), somewhat unhinged (the violence he metes out!), but still undoubtedly a hero. Everything is big, bold, and ballsy. A fine entertainment.
Men at Work
release: August 24
dir/scr: Emilio Estevez
pr: Cassian Elwes
cin: Tim Suhrstedt
Garbage men stumble on a dead body - and a conspiracy involving local politics and organized crime. Emilio Estevez writes, directs, and stars, with his brother Charlie Sheen playing the best friend. Naturally, they've got great chemistry. Unfortunately, the action parts are eh, the criminal plot a little tedious, the romantic plot a dud, and the jokes are uneven. But: worth it just to see Keith David as an unhinged, cop-hating war veteran observing our heroes to make sure they are in compliance with city and county regulations.
The Witches
release: August 24
dir: Nicolas Roeg
pr: Mark Shivas
scr: Allan Scott
cin: Harvey Harrison
We started with Ghost and now we end with The Witches, in which a boy and his grandmother go for a seaside holiday and find out their hotel is hosting a convention for child-snatching, black magic witches. Anjelica Huston is the Grand High Witch, using a Dutch (I think) accent and having a wild time. Cool puppetry and prosthetics courtesy Jim Henson Productions and Jim Henson's Creature Shop, making the witches not just horrifying but horrifyingly present, tactile.
Sunday, Martin Scorsese enters the race.
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