by Heath Lynch, Contributing Writer
Hello internet! To everyone who loves to wonder about what could have been, or what should have been, in regards to the Academy Awards, a favorite pastime for all of us movie lovers, welcome back to Oscars: What If! As always, we’re not looking at what should’ve won for existing categories. You can find articles like that anywhere. With this series, we are looking at what should’ve won for categories that don’t even exist, and recognizing the greatness that the Academy has overlooked. Let’s go back to the year in which Mount St. Helens erupted, the arcade video game Pac-Man was released, the United States boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, and John Lennon was assassinated. It is time to examine the films of 1980, celebrated at the Oscars in 1981. Let’s see what could have been!
Best Stunts and Choreography
Given to the best achievement in dance, stunts, related performances, and overall choreography for film.
And the nominees are… The Blues Brothers, The Empire Strikes Back, Fame, Kagemusha, Raging Bull
And the winner is… The Blues Brothers!
Is this controversial? I’m not sure… I guess it could be. But to hell with it. The Blues Brothers delivers a well-rounded balance of both stunts and choreography, making it the rightful winner for this award. Whether it’s John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd dancing on stage in synchronized harmony, or the two of them surviving the destruction of a building that was blown up by a rocket launcher, there’s something quirky about the stunts and dance throughout this film that makes it really endearing and truly memorable. While some of these other nominees definitely have their moments in which they shine, like the large ensemble dances in Fame,or the massive battles encompassing hundreds of extras on the fields of feudal Japan in Kagemusha, they are not as consistent as The Blues Brothers. Surprisingly, The Blues Brothers brings the most to the table, the length of the entire runtime, and because of that it deserves the win.
Best Performance by Voiceover or Motion Capture
Given to the best off screen voice performance, or on screen motion captured performance, for film.
And the nominees are… James Earl Jones as Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, John Huston as Gandalf in The Return of the King, Pascal Mazzotti as King Charles V + III = VIII + VIII = XVI in The King and the Mockingbird, Frank Oz as Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back, Arrin Skelley as Charlie Brown in Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown
And the winner is… Frank Oz as Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back!
Well, will you look at that? For the first time ever in the history of this article we have a back-to-back winner! And honestly, it’s entirely deserved. Frank Oz crushed it in The Muppet Movie, and now here he is crushing it once again in The Empire Strikes Back. With his portrayal of Yoda, he created one of the most infamous movie characters of all time. Whether it’s his unique dialect in which he jumbles around his sentence structure, his whimsical and silly laugh, or his stern resolve in trying to return balance to the Force, Yoda is a fully-realized character and that’s all due to Oz’s portrayal of him. It’s a tremendous performance that every voice actor should study and aspire to emulate even 10% of the talent that Oz is bringing to the table. I can’t think of a more deserving winner. Because I know, as do you all, that we will still be mimicking Oz’s voice performance of Yoda, and jumbling around our sentence structures, for decades to come.
Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast
Given to the best overall ensemble cast performance for film.
And the nominees are… Airplane!, The Elephant Man, The Empire Strikes Back, Ordinary People, Raging Bull
And the winner is… Ordinary People!
If we’re being honest with ourselves I don’t think there was any other possible contender for ensemble cast this year. I can hear the Raging Bull fanatics yelling at me now… But it had to be said. Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, and Timothy Hutton all already received acting nominations for this film. Hutton actually took home the gold for Supporting Actor. Plus, you could make a solid argument that Donald Sutherland was snubbed for a nomination himself. This film is brimming with tremendous performances across the board. What makes it more impressive is that this film does not work without these stellar showings because of the intense and personal subject matter. The way these actors show their emotions, or intentionally withdraw their emotions, makes you feel things that few movies ever achieve. Especially since this was such a forward-thinking film for the time with a real sense of understanding as to the importance of mental health and the value of therapy. While Raging Bull and other films may have a swath of great performances, Ordinary People shines because these performances totally rely upon one another. This movie is nothing if Sutherland and Moore aren’t coming to a head about whether love still exists, or ever existed, in their marriage. This movie is nothing if Hirsch and Hutton cannot spar with each other and deliver intense and believable therapy sessions. This film absolutely deserves the ensemble award.
Best Directorial Debut
Given to the best achievement in direction by a debut directing talent for film.
And the nominees are… Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker for Airplane!, Pedro Almodovar for Pepi, Luci, Bom, Peter Greenaway for The Falls, Harold Ramis for Caddyshack, Robert Redford for Ordinary People
And the winner is… Robert Redford for Ordinary People!
Here’s another one that’s hard to argue with, and another one that brings the gold home for Ordinary People. Don’t get me wrong, there are some decent directorial debuts here that I’m happy to nominate, but Redford actually won Best Director this year. In his directorial debut. Over legends like David Lynch and Martin Scorsese. That’s how great Redford was. This is one of the most cut-and-dry wins that we have ever had with this series. The way in which Redford constructs his narrative with interspersed flashbacks to give us the full picture of what’s going on with our characters leads to a massive conflux of emotion that is only heightened by the tremendous performances he is able to pull out of his terrific ensemble cast. There’s a very distinct vision here and it’s clear that Redford achieved everything he was aimed for. What’s most impressive is how this also catapulted his directorial career, this was not a one-off success. He continued to be a great director and legendary actor for decades after this. Redford put forth tremendous work for Ordinary People and is deserving of this gold.
Best Popular Film
Given to the best audience supported motion picture that earned a spot as one of the top 25 box office films of the year.
And the nominees are… 9 to 5, Airplane!, Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining
And the winner is… The Empire Strikes Back!
When you look back at this year, there really aren’t any surprises out of left field. It all goes fairly chalk. Best Popular Film is no exception. You could have predicted this one from a mile away. The Empire Strikes Back was the follow-up to the largest cultural phenomenon of all time, Star Wars. It made just short of $300 million at the domestic box office with the closest competitor to it being the Dolly Parton-led 9 to 5, which just barely made $100 million. That’s such a massive disparagement between first and second place that it’s almost incomprehensible. Empire also went on to win two Academy Awards: one for Best Sound, and the other was a Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects. There were an additional two nominations for Art Direction and Original Score, because John Williams is the man. To this day, over 40 years later, a vast majority of fans and critics alike consider The Empire Strikes Back to be the greatest Star Wars film ever made, including myself. It is a marvel of film. A gigantic space opera that delivers the action, drama, and, on top of it all, the most infamous plot twist in the history of cinema. In fact, it’s so famous that it’s not even really considered a plot twist anymore. It’s just common knowledge; Darth Vader is Luke’s father. But at the time, this blew the audience’s minds and set the cinematic world on fire. It is impossible to properly express how big of a deal this was. That’s the impact this film had. It was a great commercial success, critical success, and it has a lasting reverence to it that is still appreciated to this day, and will continue to be appreciated for decades to come.
Well, l there it is! As always, I certainly enjoy taking a look back at the Oscars of years past to see what could have been. While the Academy Awards of 1981 were a little bit more straightforward than some of our previous years, I still had fun going back and watching these films. I’m happy to honor a film that appreciates the importance of mental health, another that acts as a tribute to the lost art of rhythm and blues, and arguably the greatest sci-fi film of all time. But we don’t stop here! Make sure to come back as we take a look at classics like The Evil Dead, Das Boot, and the ever-adventurous Raiders of the Lost Ark. Join us next month as we return to the Oscars of 1982, celebrating the films of 1981!
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