A revolutionary, an alien, an actor in drag, a missing journalist and an alcoholic lawyer. It was a mixed bag of Best Picture nominees at the 55th Academy Awards ceremony, but in the end there weren’t a lot of surprises. The epic film with the most nominations won the most awards; however, a fantasy film that garnered a surprising nine nominations won the hearts of millions and cemented a place in film history. The Best Director and three of the four acting winners were first-time nominees, and the fourth acting winner was on a record-setting streak that would last decades, while a couple nominees were on losing streaks. The hosts were also a bit of a mixed bag, with Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor and Walter Matthau joining forces to steer the event. Let’s flashback 40 years to the ceremony on April 11, 1983.
The esteemed British filmmaker Richard Attenborough was nominated for two Academy Awards during his career, and won them both that night. As both producer and director of the epic biopic “Gandhi,” he walked away with a pair of statues, which were just two wins out of eight (including Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography) from a leading 11 nominations for that film. Each of his Best Picture contenders remain acclaimed 40 years later: “Missing,” “Tootsie,” “The Verdict” and one of the most beloved films of all time, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Four of the five films earned a matching director bid; “Missing” was left out in that category, but director Costa-Gavras‘ script (with Donald E. Stewart) won Best Adapted Screenplay, and was the sole victory out of four nominations. Attenborough and Costa-Gavras weren’t the only directors who were double nominees.
Taking the extra Best Director nominee slot was Wolfgang Petersen, who also received a writing nom for the epic German WWII film “Das Boot.” Considered one of the greatest German films of all time, “Das Boot” set the record for most Oscar nominations for a German film with six, which was broken this year with nine nominations for the German WWI film “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Like Attenborough, Sydney Pollack (“Tootsie”) and Steven Spielberg (“E.T.”) were double nominees for Best Picture and Best Director. Sidney Lumet was the only one with a single nom, for his direction of “The Verdict,” which lost all five of its bids. Neither Petersen nor Lumet ever received another nomination nor won a competitive Oscar, although Lumet would eventually receive an honorary award in 2005. Both Pollack and Spielberg would go on to win years later, and Spielberg and Attenborough would collaborate 10 years later, with the latter starring in the former’s “Jurassic Park.”
Among the big wins for “Gandhi” was Best Actor for Ben Kingsley, in his first major film role. Having spent most of his acting career on stage, Kingsley’s mesmerizing performance as the titular character launched a successful career that continues to thrive. The first-time nominee beat out a group of men who had 22 prior acting nominations among them, two of whom had won before and two of whom were on terrible losing streaks. Dustin Hoffman was up for his role as an actor acting in drag to get a role, in the classic comedy “Tootsie,” and Jack Lemmon was up for his role as the father determined to find his son in “Missing.” This was Newman’s sixth Best Actor nomination, for one of his best performance as an alcoholic has-been lawyer in “The Verdict,” and it looked like the legendary actor would never get his win; however, he’d eventually receive an honorary in 1986 and a competitive in 1987 for “The Color of Money.” Peter O’Toole was up for number seven out of eight failed bids, and, like Newman, was nominated for an alcoholic character (an actor) with a fading career, in the comedy “My Favorite Year.” O’Toole also received an honorary award, in 2003.
Two actors were on the tail-end of their Oscar losing streak, while an actress was on her way to becoming the most-nominated performer in Academy history. Meryl Streep had won in supporting three years before, for “Kramer vs. Kramer,” and achieved her first of two career Best Actress wins with her moving portrayal of a Polish immigrant with a tragic past in “Sophie’s Choice.” As with Best Actor, two of the women nominated were prior recipients: Julie Andrews (“Victor/Victoria”) and Sissy Spacek (“Missing”). Debra Winger garnered her first of three nominations in this category, for “An Officer and a Gentleman.” The final nominee was the fourth person to receive two acting nominations in the same year. Jessica Lange didn’t win for her powerful portrayal of tragic classic Hollywood actress Frances Farmer; however, she claimed victory for Best Supporting Actress.
Lange won her supporting trophy for “Tootsie,” beating out her co-star Teri Garr. Lange would go on to win in lead in 1995, for “Blue Sky,” while none of her contenders have won. Both Garr and Lesley Ann Warren (“Victor/Victoria”) each garnered their sole nominations, while Lange’s “Frances” co-star Kim Stanley earned her second. While O’Toole was towards the end of his Oscar run, Glenn Close began hers, with her first of eight acting nominations, for “The World According to Garp.”
History was made in Best Supporting Actor, with Louis Gossett, Jr. becoming the first African-American to win in that category, for his portrayal of strict Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” Two of the men in this category, Gossett and Robert Preston (“Victor/Victoria”) earned their sole nominations, while two more each received his first of two. John Lithgow was up for “The World According to Garp,” and Charles Durning was up for “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas;” ironically, these two men would be in competition again the following year. The final competitor received his third and final career nomination, with James Mason earning a bid for “The Verdict.”
Although “E.T.” lost out on the bigger awards, it won four, coming in second to “Gandhi.” Besides three technical wins, John Williams won for Best Original Score, continuing what has been a long and prosperous collaboration with Spielberg.
“An Officer and a Gentleman” was the only other film to win more than one statue, with a second victory for Best Original Song, for one of the most successful and enduring winners in this category — “Up Where We Belong.” Also in contention was “Eye of the Tiger” from “Rocky III;” both of these songs were number one hits.
After more than 50 years in the film industry, Mickey Rooney was bestowed an honorary Oscar.
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