Friday, April 30, 2010

Best Actress 1974: Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore



Ellen Burstyn received her third Oscar nomination and won for playing Alice Hyatt in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Alice's husband dies in a car accident and she and her foul mouthed kid leave their home to go to Monterey. Alice is looking for a job as a singer, and she gets one, but when that doesn't work out, she movies to Tuscan and gets a job as a waitress, and there she meets a man named David who she falls in love with. Ellen Burstyn is simply terrific in this movie. She is always so real, funny, and believable. She makes Alice a very moving character and one that we can identify with and she shows us her flaws. Her romance with Kris Kristofferson is a little underwritten, but they work great together. Her scenes with her son are just wonderful to watch and they form the core of the movie. I thought that she had a little too many crying scenes, but most of them are done superbly especially the one in the club she goes in before her audition and the one in the car after she can't find her son. She also is able to make Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore a great experience to watch, and she makes up for the flaws in the script. Ellen Burstyn gives a natural, enjoyable, and outstanding performance which gets

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes! Well, let's hope she's your pick :)

joe burns said...

Ha ha, we'll see. I'm not sure who'll win. But Geena Rowlands is next.

Anonymous said...

Did you think Diane Ladd did anything worthy in the movie?

I thought she was fine, just wish there was more with her and the other waitress played by Valerie Curtain.

joe burns said...

I would give her a nomination, but yes, I wish there had been more scenes with her, and then she could have been great. I also agree that Valerie Curtain should have gotten more too, I thought her character was very interesting.

Anonymous said...

That was really my only problem with the movie, Scorsese didn't really develop the supporting women as well as he did the men. I thought Jodie Foster was great as always, but she's barely in it.

joe burns said...

I thought that their romance could have used a bit more, but I thought that the men were developed. Do you know if Burstyn was the frontrunner in 73?

Anonymous said...

From what I've read it wasn't much of a surprise, but Gena won the majority of the pre-awards.

joe burns said...

I was asking about 73, but I wondered that too! I think she and Rowlands were neck and neck and she pulled it out. But she herself didn't think she was gonna win.

Anonymous said...

Oops, nevermind :)

I think 73 was an open field, which let Glenda Jackson win easily.

joe burns said...

I would do that year, but I'm scared to see The Exorcist and Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams isn't on Youtube anymore (But it might be back on). And Cinderella Liberty isn't avaliable either. Do you have a link to it?

Anonymous said...

LOL, well it's not that scary, maybe if it's the first time seeing it.

No, that's very hard to find.

joe burns said...

I'm not really a fan of horror films and from what I've heard, it's pretty scary. Maybe I'll see it someday. And too bad about Cinderella Liberty!

dinasztie said...

Don't be scared, The Exorcist is soooooooo great! I mean it's worth being scared because of that movie. And from what I've heard Joanne Woodward and Barbra Streisand were the frontrunners to win in 1973. Apparently Burstyn and Woodward were very upset about not winning. I think Glenda deserved it though.

Louis Morgan said...

Nice Write up. I think I know what you mean with Exorcist. I understand not wanting to watch a film that is suppose to be an unpleasant experience.

joe burns said...

Dinasztie: I'll eventually see it, but not soon. Maybe at a halloween party or something, lol. Yeah, I read that Burtsyn and Woodward weren't pleased, probably because they weren't expecting it.

Louis Morgan: Thanks! And I know! Some movies are just too horrifying to sit thorough.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about The Exorcist. I think the novelty of it has worn off and besides some flashing images of a demon, I had no disturbing experience with it.

joe burns said...

Oh, okay. I'll see it eventually, for sure. Just not soon. What would you say is the scariest movie you've seen?

Anonymous said...

haha, well it's hard to say really...I've been a horror fan since as long as I can remember.

Maybe Halloween.

joe burns said...

I haven't seen that either. There are still SO MANY movies I have to see! But I certainly have seen much more then I did before I started my blog.