Today we cover the last month of films in 1997, including two Best Picture nominees and Kevin Costner's second directorial effort.
December 19, 1997, is one of the most important dates in cinema history, as it is the release date of James Cameron's Titanic. People forget this, but at the time, disaster was expected. The film went over $100M over budget, shooting went two months over schedule, and the release date was pushed back multiple times before being given an inauspicious pre-Christmas date. "Cameron's ego's done him in this time!" people thought. It soon became the world's highest-grossing film in history, a title it would hold until...James Cameron's Avatar in 2009, another film that people thought would bomb its release (people online said with Avatar: The Way of Water, this time the long-foretold end of Cameron's career would finally take place, it's bound to be a flop, no one cares about these movies! both Avatar films rank above Titanic in all-time box office). The movie was the #1 film at the box office for 15 weekends in a row, 3.75 straight months of Titanic dominance.
But just because something wasn't #1 doesn't mean it didn't make a lot of money. As Good As It Gets came out Christmas Day. The fourth film by James L. Brooks, it follows the unlikely relationship between an obsessive-compulsive ornery romance writer, his big-hearted but sharp-tongued waitress, and his gay artist neighbor. A heartfelt rom-com with very little in the way of special effects, it wound up a sensation, grossing over $300M and winning Oscars for lead actors Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.
That was just one of several Christmas Day releases, including The Postman. It had been seven years since Kevin Costner had made his directorial debut with (and won the Oscar for) Dances with Wolves. In the years between, though he didn't direct, he produced many of the films he starred in, some of which (Wyatt Earp, Waterworld) people bring up when talking about Costner as a filmmaker. No one made that error with his films immediately following Dances with Wolves: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, JFK, and The Bodyguard. I think the reason is obvious: they were hits, and people want to associate Costner the Director with less-than-successful, big-budgeted epics. Something about the success of Dances with Wolves seemed to stick in people's craw.
The Postman, at least, would finally prove them right. He got the job directing because the source novel's original author, David Brin, felt Costner channeled his titular hero throughout his filmography. The hero being a drifter in a post-apocalyptic United States who is mistaken for a postal service worker, and in a world without mail or phones, he represents healing, communication, hope. Sentimental and sincere, critics hated it and audiences didn't see it. It grossed less than half its budget...worldwide. It would be another six years before he directed again.
But there were more than just three December releases. There were also these:
Deconstructing Harry
release: December 12
nominations: Best Original Screenplay
dir/scr: Woody Allen
pr: Jean Doumanian
cin: Carlo Di Palma
A rewatch for me, I think the first time I saw it was on TV at my grandparents'. Is this Allen's meanest film? At the very least, his most self-loathing: he plays an author who uses the people and situations in his life as models for his books; a road trip has him mixing scenes from his memories with those of his books, underlining the influence and blurring reality. Harry Block is a gaslighting, opportunistic, selfish weasel. To see this man imagine a ceremony where his own creations applaud him is nauseating, depressing. It's a great movie and a hilarious one. The effect that keeps Robin Williams' face out of focus while everyone around him remains clear is impressive.
Scream 2
release: December 12
dir: Wes Craven
pr: Cathy Konrad / Marianne Maddalena
scr: Kevin Williamson
cin: Peter Deming
A rewatch for me, I think I first saw this on AMC during Halloween season. Some go-for-broke performances from its ensemble (Laurie Metcalf! Timothy Olyphant! Jada Pinkett Smith! Omar Epps!). Feels chaotic and unpredictable, not least due to a particularly grisly, unexpected murder; actually, this series has always been pretty good at nightmare setups for chases and kills. Fine job!
The Apostle
release: December 17
nominations: Best Actor (Robert Duvall)
dir/scr: Robert Duvall
pr: Rob Carliner
cin: Barry Markowitz
Robert Duvall writes, directs, and stars as a traveling evangelist preacher who flees to a backwater town following the accidental murder of his wife's boyfriend; there, he starts to build a new church. An interesting take on a character that is either given too much leeway or too much condemned as a hypocrite and fraud. Here is a character study that embraces the flaws of this man while acknowledging that he may still be sincere in his faith and blessed with a power of preaching unlike any other. He does not merely build churches, he brings life to a community. He is a proud man, yes, a man who will not settle for anything less than Leadership, a man who has slept around on his wife, who repeats his own favorite sermons the way a singer does the hits, a performer, a star, and, yes, a killer and a fugitive. And? I suppose Jacob and Moses and David and Solomon could boast stainless records, too? It is a slow-burn film that asks us to consider the questions of sincerity and showmanship, to reflect on the power and the format and the motivations behind what Duvall himself notes is a uniquely American artform, to reconcile the flaws and sins of a man who may be nevertheless touched, in a very real way, by the Holy Spirit - and that sets the stage for retribution and salvation. Great American cinema, I think.
Titanic
release: December 19
wins: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Score (James Horner), Best Original Song ("My Heart Will Go On"), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Peter Lamont / Michael Ford), Best Film Editing (Conrad Buff IV / James Cameron / Richard A. Harris), Best Costume Design (Deborah L. Scott), Best Sound (Gary Rydstrom / Tom Johnson / Gary Summers / Mark Ulano), Best Sound Effects Editing (Tom Bellfort / Christopher Boyes), Best Visual Effects (Robert Legato / Mark A. Lasott / Thomas L. Fisher / Michael Kanfer)
nominations: Best Actress (Kate Winslet), Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Stuart), Best Makeup (Tina Earnshaw / Greg Cannom / Simon Thompson)
dir/scr: James Cameron
pr: James Cameron / Jon Landau
cin: Russell Carpenter
A rewatch for me, I've seen it several times since high school. We'll talk about it more later this week.
Tomorrow Never Dies
release: December 19
dir: Roger Spottiswoode
pr: Barbara Broccoli / Michael G. Wilson
scr: Bruce Feirstein
cin: Robert Elswit
A rewatch for me, I first saw it during a Thanksgiving weekend James Bond marathon on Spike TV. The villain here is a media magnate orchestrating, ahem, fake news to start a war between China and the United Kingdom, all for the sake of a complex plan that culminates with his company getting exclusive broadcasting rights to China for 100 years: power and legacy! Luckily, Bond and Chinese agent Wei Lin (Michelle Yeoh!) are here to stop it. Jonathan Pryce is having a hammy good time, Pierce Brosnan and Yeoh make a great pair, but overall, this is one of the dumber Bond films, wrapping up before it really gets going.
As Good As It Gets
release: Christmas Day
wins: Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets)
nominations: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Greg Kinnear), Best Original Screenplay, Best Musical/Comedy Score (Hans Zimmer), Best Film Editing (Richard Marks)
dir: James L. Brooks
pr: James L. Brooks / Bridget Johnson / Kristi Zea
scr: Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks, story by Mark Andrus
cin: John Bailey
A rewatch for me, I want to say I rented in college? More to discuss later this week.
Jackie Brown
release: Christmas Day
nominations: Best Supporting Actor (Robert Forster)
dir/scr: Quentin Tarantino
pr: Lawrence Bender
cin: Guillermo Navarro
The last Quentin Tarantino movie I hadn't seen, an Elmore Leonard adaptation written as a star vehicle for Blaxploitation queen Pam Grier. Flight attendant Jackie Brown is in the middle of a battle between the ATF and arms dealer Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson, one of his best performances). Poised, bad-ass, intelligent, icy under pressure even when we see her muscles tightening: Grier gives an excellent performance of an excellent character. Funny, genuinely shocking at times, thrilling.
Kundun
release: Christmas Day
nominations: Best Score (Philip Glass), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Dante Ferretti / Francesca Lo Schiavo), Best Costume Design (Dante Ferretti)
dir: Martin Scorsese
pr: Barbara De Fina
scr: Melissa Mathison
cin: Roger Deakins
The life of the Dalai Lama, from early childhood to his crossing from Tibet into India with the Red Army at his heels. You will not be surprised, if you've been reading a long time, to hear that I was very into this Scorsese-directed, Philip Glass-scored biopic of a spiritual leader that weaves in the PRC (and features an appearance by Chairman Mao!). I love the way Scorsese's faith films deal as much with the dedication to one's faith as they do the molding of faith to suit one's purpose - yes, we must take for granted that the monks believe this boy to be the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, but my, they do a lot of work sculpting and shaping him into that role. Interesting watch. Incredibly beautiful.
Mr. Magoo
release: Christmas Day
dir: Stanley Tong
pr: Ben Myron
scr: Pat Proft & Tom Sherohman
cin: Jingle Ma
A rewatch for me, though I first saw it on VHS, having rented it when it first came to home video. Mr. Magoo gets in the middle of a jewel heist and international gangsters. Leslie Nielsen's got the muttering and confidence of the character down, but what he and the writers forget is that Magoo could have a short fuse, he'd shake his cane at imagined slights. It's a bizarrely nothing film.
The Postman
release: Christmas Day
dir: Kevin Costner
pr: Kevin Costner / Steve Tisch / Jim Wilson
scr: Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland
cin: Stephen F. Windon
OK, you've read above what a flop it was and what a critical drubbing it received. It swept the Razzie Awards for this year, too. One of my friends told me she loves Kevin Costner, but The Postman is where she draws the line. Well, heh-heh, maybe the expectations were too low or maybe I'm a kook, but I liked this movie. I liked it more than Dances with Wolves, even! Costner's character is a hero, but not noble: he's always trying to wriggle out of his heroism, he's constantly tripping into good deeds, he honestly operates like a buffoon angel. It's a valentine to literacy and maintaining connections, it shakes us out of our own myopia so that we may remember how much others - being with them, hearing from them - complete our experience of life. A beautiful music score and a chilling Will Patton (also buffoonish, but evil)! Yeah, I'm a fan of this one.
Wag the Dog
release: Christmas Day
nominations
dir: Barry Levinson
pr: Robert De Niro / Barry Levinson / Jane Rosenthal
scr: Hilary Henkin and David Mamet
cin: Robert Richardson
A rewatch for me, I first saw it in the same film studies class where I watched I saw G.I. Jane. The idea of political consultants hiring a Hollywood producer to fake a war to make the incumbent look good during an election year...it's chilling, it's funny, it's believable. Love the way the movie plays the audience the way the main trio (Hoffman, De Niro, Anne Heche) plays the American public: we're so distracted by the audacious plotting, amusing dialogue, magnetic performances, and our own "oh, I'm in on the joke" laughter, we may forget what it was the President actually did to necessitate this plot (it's bad!). It's genius, the film's ability to indict us as well. We love the distractions, they go down easier.
Afterglow
release: December 26
nominations: Best Actress (Julie Christie)
dir/scr: Alan Rudolph
pr: Robert Altman
cin: Toyomichi Kurita
An older married couple and a younger married couple don't realize that they've switched partners - what do I mean, and how do they not know? It's not interesting enough to find out.
The Boxer
release: December 31
dir: Jim Sheridan
pr: Arthur Lappin / Jim Sheridan
scr: Jim Sheridan & Terry George
cin: Chris Menges
A boxer serving time for his IRA activities gets out and returns home, hoping to rebuild his career and the community while not involving himself with any more political activities. Eh, I appreciate, I guess, what this si going for in terms of the protectors becoming monsters and a cause becoming a cult and a man who's always fighting, inside the ring and out. I don't think it successfully blends the sports stuff with the political stuff with the romantic stuff, much of it just isn't that interesting.
Oscar and Lucinda
release: December 31
nominations: Best Costume Design (Janet Patterson)
dir: Gillian Armstrong
pr: Robin Dalton / Timothy White
scr: Laura Jones
cin: Geoffrey Simpson
An awkward and sincere minister who can't quit gambling befriends an eccentric wealthy woman obsessed with glass and glassworks. Exquisite.
Next time, the nominees for Best Director: James Cameron (Titanic), Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty), Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter), Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential), and Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting).
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