Following the example of my Sci Fi Movie Project, I thought I would wrap-up the Top 50 Actresses Project with some final thoughts. Before I started the project, I guessed what rating I would give each movie. So first, here are a few stats related to those guesses.
Out of the 50 movies reviewed for this project:
4 movies, I guessed my rating accurately
15 movies, I was within a quarter star (plus or minus)
15 movies, I was within half a star (plus or minus)
9 movies, I was within three-quarters of a star (plus or minus)
3 movies, I was within 1 star (plus or minus)
4 movies, I was within 1+ stars (plus or minus)
Biggest difference in the positive: It’s a 3-way tie between The Country Girl (I guessed 3, gave it 4), The Killers (same as Country Girl), and Ball of Fire (I guessed 3.5, gave it 4.5).
Biggest difference in the negative: The Quiet Man, which I guessed I would give 4 stars. I gave it .25 star. I still really hate that movie. Even remembering it makes me angry.
I was more likely to guess low than high. Of the movies in which my guesses were inaccurate, I gave 26 a higher rating than I guessed. That means I gave only 20 a lower rating than I guessed.
I feel that I was more accurate than not. I think guessing within half a star is pretty good. 34 of my guesses were either spot on, or within a half star. Only 16 were wrong by more than half a star.
I enjoyed this project and felt that it was very successful. In fact, out of 50 movies, I gave 27 a rating of 4 stars or higher. That means I felt that 54% of the movies were excellent. That’s far better than any other movie project I’ve undertaken. The Oscars project is a distant second, with a current percentage of 43% of films rated 4 stars or higher.
I attribute this huge jump in enjoyment to the fact that I got to choose which films I watched, and I gave myself a lot of flexibility in those choices. While I tried to watch Oscar-winning performances, if there was a film I simply didn’t feel like watching, I chose something else. I do feel that there were some actresses who didn’t belong on the list (ex: Barbra Streisand, Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts). Since it was a publicly generated list, it was, to some extent, a popularity contest.
However, in a general sense, I thought it was a pretty solid list. I liked the aspect of watching the films in order to focus on a specific performance. In the end, I felt like I got to see a lot of great films & become acquainted with some performers with whom I was previously unfamiliar.
I’m looking forward to doing the same for the Top 50 Actors, which will be my next project.
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Top 50 Actresses: Master List of Reviews and Scores
Here it is, my full list of scores and reviews. The list goes from my favorite to my least favorite. In cases where films share the same score, I’ve listed them based on personal preference. Special weight was given to how I viewed each actress’s performance in her respective film, so these rankings have more to do with that than with how much I enjoyed the film as a whole. For example, the first 4.5 star review you see is my favorite of the 4.5 star performances.
Note: As I was compiling the list, there were some movies/performances that I could no longer recall very well, which led to me placing them lower on the list, even though I may have really liked them when I originally wrote the review. I figure, if I don't remember it, it couldn't have been that great of a performance.
1. Marlene Dietrich - Witness for the Prosecution, 4.5
2. Judi Dench - Philomena, 4.5
3. Halle Berry - Monster’s Ball, 4.5
4. Judy Garland - A Star Is Born, 4.5
5. Barbara Stanwyck - Ball of Fire, 4.5
6. Vivien Leigh - Waterloo Bridge, 4.5
7. Mary Pickford - Stella Maris, 4.25
8. Susan Hayward - I Want to Live!, 4.25
9. Olivia de Havilland - The Heiress, 4.25
10. Shirley MacLaine - What a Way to Go!, 4.25
11. Angelina Jolie - Changeling, 4.25
12. Meryl Streep - Sophie’s Choice, 4.25
13. Joan Fontaine - Suspicion, 4.25
14. Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side, 4.25
15. Julia Roberts - Erin Brockovich, 4.25
16. Elizabeth Taylor - Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 4
17. Kate Winslet - The Reader, 4
18. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine, 4
19. Bette Davis - Jezebel, 4
20. Reese Witherspoon - Legally Blonde, 4
21. Grace Kelly - The Country Girl, 4
22. Ingrid Bergman - Gaslight, 4
23. Natalie Wood - Splendor in the Grass, 4
24. Myrna Loy - The Thin Man, 4
25. Joan Crawford - Mildred Pierce, 4
26. Carole Lombard - To Be or Not to Be, 4
27. Ava Gardner - The Killers, 4
28. Audrey Hepburn - Wait Until Dark, 3.75
29. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka, 3.75
30. Claudette Colbert - Since You Went Away, 3.75
31. Jean Arthur - The Devil and Miss Jones, 3.75
32. Rita Hayworth - Gilda, 3.75
33. Nicole Kidman - The Hours, 3.5
34. Jane Fonda - Klute, 3.5
35. Katharine Hepburn - The Lion in Winter, 3.5
36. Deborah Kerr - The King and I, 3.5
37. Lauren Bacall - To Have and Have Not, 3.5
38. Doris Day - Pillow Talk, 3.25
39. Mae West - My Little Chickadee, 3.25
40. Ginger Rogers - Kitty Foyle, 3.25
41. Sally Field - Norma Rae, 3
42. Natalie Portman - Black Swan, 3
43. Sophia Loren - Two Women, 3
44. Marilyn Monroe - The Misfits, 3
45. Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl, 3
46. Jodie Foster - Inside Man, 2.75
47. Diane Keaton - Reds, 2.75
48. Julie Andrews - Thoroughly Modern Millie, 2.75
49. Jean Harlow - The Public Enemy, 2.25
50. Maureen O’Hara - The Quiet Man, .25
Note: As I was compiling the list, there were some movies/performances that I could no longer recall very well, which led to me placing them lower on the list, even though I may have really liked them when I originally wrote the review. I figure, if I don't remember it, it couldn't have been that great of a performance.
1. Marlene Dietrich - Witness for the Prosecution, 4.5
2. Judi Dench - Philomena, 4.5
3. Halle Berry - Monster’s Ball, 4.5
4. Judy Garland - A Star Is Born, 4.5
5. Barbara Stanwyck - Ball of Fire, 4.5
6. Vivien Leigh - Waterloo Bridge, 4.5
7. Mary Pickford - Stella Maris, 4.25
8. Susan Hayward - I Want to Live!, 4.25
9. Olivia de Havilland - The Heiress, 4.25
10. Shirley MacLaine - What a Way to Go!, 4.25
11. Angelina Jolie - Changeling, 4.25
12. Meryl Streep - Sophie’s Choice, 4.25
13. Joan Fontaine - Suspicion, 4.25
14. Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side, 4.25
15. Julia Roberts - Erin Brockovich, 4.25
16. Elizabeth Taylor - Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, 4
17. Kate Winslet - The Reader, 4
18. Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine, 4
19. Bette Davis - Jezebel, 4
20. Reese Witherspoon - Legally Blonde, 4
21. Grace Kelly - The Country Girl, 4
22. Ingrid Bergman - Gaslight, 4
23. Natalie Wood - Splendor in the Grass, 4
24. Myrna Loy - The Thin Man, 4
25. Joan Crawford - Mildred Pierce, 4
26. Carole Lombard - To Be or Not to Be, 4
27. Ava Gardner - The Killers, 4
28. Audrey Hepburn - Wait Until Dark, 3.75
29. Greta Garbo - Ninotchka, 3.75
30. Claudette Colbert - Since You Went Away, 3.75
31. Jean Arthur - The Devil and Miss Jones, 3.75
32. Rita Hayworth - Gilda, 3.75
33. Nicole Kidman - The Hours, 3.5
34. Jane Fonda - Klute, 3.5
35. Katharine Hepburn - The Lion in Winter, 3.5
36. Deborah Kerr - The King and I, 3.5
37. Lauren Bacall - To Have and Have Not, 3.5
38. Doris Day - Pillow Talk, 3.25
39. Mae West - My Little Chickadee, 3.25
40. Ginger Rogers - Kitty Foyle, 3.25
41. Sally Field - Norma Rae, 3
42. Natalie Portman - Black Swan, 3
43. Sophia Loren - Two Women, 3
44. Marilyn Monroe - The Misfits, 3
45. Barbra Streisand - Funny Girl, 3
46. Jodie Foster - Inside Man, 2.75
47. Diane Keaton - Reds, 2.75
48. Julie Andrews - Thoroughly Modern Millie, 2.75
49. Jean Harlow - The Public Enemy, 2.25
50. Maureen O’Hara - The Quiet Man, .25
Monday, September 10, 2018
Top 50 Actresses, #1 - Bette Davis: "Jezebel" (1938)
Movie Stats:
Released 1938 (USA)
American, in English (minor, non-translated French)
Director - William Wyler
Stars - Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent
Plot Summary:
In 1850s New Orleans, headstrong Julie Marsden (Davis) likes to play games with her suitors, resulting in both personal disappointment & shared tragedy. Fonda co-stars as Julie’s suitor, Preston “Pres” Dillard & Brent as another suitor, Buck Cantrell.
Warnings:
Minor violence.
Bad Stuff:
I could’ve done without the racist slave caricatures.
The story is a bit inaccessible. There’s a lot going on. There’s southern social dynamics, the north/south divide (already contentious in the 1850s), and a yellow fever epidemic. Little of that is relatable to a modern audience.
The constant insinuations that all Julie needs is a good beating raised every one of my hackles.
Good Stuff:
Julie is a complex heroine. On the one hand, she’s mean & genuinely awful to everyone around her. On the other, you kind of get why. I mean, [SPOILER] her fiancé breaks up with her because she wears a red dress (instead of virginal white) to a party, which is pretty stupid. [SPOILER] She’s a woman ahead of her time, and that frustrates her, which makes her lash out.
Henry Fonda is very good.
Loved the costuming. Gorgeous!
About the Performance:
Davis is great, of course. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a performance of hers that I haven’t liked. She’s so expressive. Even when Julie is behaving her worst, Davis plays her in such a way that you can feel the inner pain & frustration that cause her to act like that. It’s very masterfully done.
Other performances of Davis’s I’ve reviewed: About About Eve
The Verdict:
I didn’t particularly care for the subject matter, but I thought it was well done. Most of the acting was excellent. I particularly enjoyed how Fonda played it — you could practically feel him seething with rage, rage that he never expresses because it’s not the gentlemanly thing to do. Also, shout out to Spring Byington, as Davis’s aunt, who alternately amused and annoyed me with her fussing and nitpicking. Although I didn’t find the ending believable, I liked it. It felt very poetic, and as open endings go, it seemed right. I liked that I could decide how it inevitably played out. [SPOILER] I’m a realist, so I think they both died of yellow fever. [SPOILER] There’s a lot of nuance to this film, in the dialogue, the subject matter, and the performances. The more I think about it, the more I liked it.
I give it 4 stars.
Released 1938 (USA)
American, in English (minor, non-translated French)
Director - William Wyler
Stars - Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent
Plot Summary:
In 1850s New Orleans, headstrong Julie Marsden (Davis) likes to play games with her suitors, resulting in both personal disappointment & shared tragedy. Fonda co-stars as Julie’s suitor, Preston “Pres” Dillard & Brent as another suitor, Buck Cantrell.
Warnings:
Minor violence.
Bad Stuff:
I could’ve done without the racist slave caricatures.
The story is a bit inaccessible. There’s a lot going on. There’s southern social dynamics, the north/south divide (already contentious in the 1850s), and a yellow fever epidemic. Little of that is relatable to a modern audience.
The constant insinuations that all Julie needs is a good beating raised every one of my hackles.
Good Stuff:
Julie is a complex heroine. On the one hand, she’s mean & genuinely awful to everyone around her. On the other, you kind of get why. I mean, [SPOILER] her fiancé breaks up with her because she wears a red dress (instead of virginal white) to a party, which is pretty stupid. [SPOILER] She’s a woman ahead of her time, and that frustrates her, which makes her lash out.
Henry Fonda is very good.
Loved the costuming. Gorgeous!
About the Performance:
Davis is great, of course. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a performance of hers that I haven’t liked. She’s so expressive. Even when Julie is behaving her worst, Davis plays her in such a way that you can feel the inner pain & frustration that cause her to act like that. It’s very masterfully done.
Other performances of Davis’s I’ve reviewed: About About Eve
The Verdict:
I didn’t particularly care for the subject matter, but I thought it was well done. Most of the acting was excellent. I particularly enjoyed how Fonda played it — you could practically feel him seething with rage, rage that he never expresses because it’s not the gentlemanly thing to do. Also, shout out to Spring Byington, as Davis’s aunt, who alternately amused and annoyed me with her fussing and nitpicking. Although I didn’t find the ending believable, I liked it. It felt very poetic, and as open endings go, it seemed right. I liked that I could decide how it inevitably played out. [SPOILER] I’m a realist, so I think they both died of yellow fever. [SPOILER] There’s a lot of nuance to this film, in the dialogue, the subject matter, and the performances. The more I think about it, the more I liked it.
I give it 4 stars.