Best Actress Playlist

A couple of weeks ago, I randomly noticed that in my iTunes I had three songs whose titles corresponded to the titles of three of Bette Davis' Oscar nominations. I thought this was a funny coincidence so I tried to see if I could come up with any others. I didn't--you try finding a song called Mr. Skeffington!--but it got me thinking about what other Best Actress-titled songs I could find in my iTunes. Here's what I came up with, in order of the Oscar nomination:

Ann Harding, Holiday

'Holiday' by Green Day
'Holiday' by Madonna

Bette Davis, Dangerous

'Dangerous' by Monrose

Norma Shearer, Romeo & Juliet

'Romeo and Juliet' by The Killers

Bette Davis, Jezebel

'Jezebel' by Chely Wright

Irene Dunne, Love Affair

'Was it Just Another Love Affair?' by The Eurythmics

Bette Davis, The Letter

'The Letter' by Michael Johns and Carly Smithson

Susan Hayward, My Foolish Heart

'My Foolish Heart' by Paula Abdul

Katharine Hepburn, Summertime

'Summertime' by Fantasia Barrino

Faye Dunaway, Bonnie and Clyde

'03 Bonnie & Clyde' by Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Ali MacGraw, Love Story

'Love Story' by Taylor Swift

Liza Minnelli, Cabaret

'Cabaret' by Liza Minnelli

Barbra Streisand, The Way We Were

'The Way We Were' by Barbra Streisand

Bette Midler, The Rose

'The Rose' by Bette Midler

Gena Rowlands, Gloria

'Gloria' by Laura Branigan

Sissy Spacek, Missing

'Missing' by Everything But the Girl

Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams

'Sweet Dreams' by Beyoncé
'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' by The Eurythmics

Jessica Lange, The Music Box

'Music Box Dancer' by Frank Mills

Kathy Bates, Misery

'Misery' by P!nk and Steven Tyler

Angela Bassett, What's Love Got to Do With It?

'What's Love Got to Do With It' by Tina Turner

Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas

'Leaving Las Vegas' by Sheryl Crow

Juliette Binoche, Chocolat

'Chocolate' by Kylie Minogue

Judi Dench, Iris

'Iris' by The Goo Goo Dolls

Diane Lane, Unfaithful

'Unfaithful' by Rihanna

Charlize Theron, Monster

'Monster' by Lady GaGa

Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

'I Walk the Line' by Johnny Cash

And, in case you're missing any and want to complete this amazing playlist, click on this link and you can download them.

I know this playlist is hardly exhaustive, so does anyone have any suggestions? There's a song from the 80's called 'Suddenly, Last Summer' but I wasn't able to find it online. And there has to be songs called 'Queen,' 'Blue Sky' and 'A Man and a Woman,' but I haven't come across them. I'm hoping some of my more music savvy peeps can help out in that regard. Bonus points to anyone who can find a song called 'The Story of Adèle H.'

My Best Actress Winners

Recently, I realized that I've never really shared something very important with you: who I would pick as my Diva Cup Award winners for Best Actress. I've shared with you my recent winners (and I've already changed from Streep to Dench in 2006) but nothing before 2004 or so. In case you're ever curious who I would pick in 1946 or any other random year, here it is for you in beautiful pictorial form starting with 1927/28.

By the way, a note on the 70's, 80's and 90's: I'm a child of TCM. My cinematic awakening coincided with my discovery of films from the 30's and 40's so I watched (and still watch) TCM obsessively. The only problem with that is they usually don't show many films from the 70's, 80's and into the 90's, so that's why I'm noticeably weak there with some of my choices. I hope to someday fill in huge gaps in these years, but my choices for now will have to do.

Row #1: Eleanor Boardman, Lillian Gish, Greta Garbo, Marie Dressler, Joan Crawford

Row #2: Greta Garbo, Norma Shearer, Katherine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, Irene Dunne

Row #3: Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Greer Garson

Row #4: Teresa Wright, Judy Garland, Arletty, Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford

Row #5: Olivia de Havilland, Olivia de Havilland, Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson, Vivien Leigh, Judy Holliday

Row #6: Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Susan Hayward, Giulietta Masina, Tatyana Samojlova

Row #7: Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn, Bette Davis

Row #8: Leslie Caron, Joan Crawford, Catherine Deneuve, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Bancroft

Row #9: Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Raquel Welch, Jane Fonda, Liza Minnelli

Row #10: Barbra Streisand, Ellen Burstyn, Ronee Blakley, Faye Dunaway, Diane Keaton

Row #11: Jill Clayburgh, Bette Midler, Sissy Spacek, Faye Dunaway, Meryl Streep

Row #12: Julie Walters, Lily Tomlin, Cher, Chloe Webb, Glenn Close

Row #13: Susan Sarandon, Jessica Tandy, Anjelica Huston, Mimi Rogers, Emma Thompson

Row #14: Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Toni Collette, Brenda Blethyn, Pam Grier

Row #15: Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Diane Lane

Row #16: Diane Keaton, Imelda Staunton, Joan Allen, Dame Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard

Row #17: Anne Hathaway

See if you can guess the performance at home and if you're confused, just drop me a comment.

Oprah vs. Streisand: Round 2

If you are like me and love Kathy Griffin than you know and love the above interpretation of the Oprah-Streisand interview. These two strong black women's epic fight proved to be the stuff legends are made of. I wish I had seen the episode for myself, but c'est la vie; I'll have to stick with Kathy's retelling.

The reason I bring this up is because while I was reading the news stories on IMDb this afternoon and I saw that both Oprah and Babs have announced who they are supporting in the 2008 presidential election and they have picked different candidates! Oprah is going for Barack and Babs supports Hillary. You all know I can't decide who to vote for without the right celebrity's endorsement. But now that two of My Divas have endorsed two different candidates, who am I going to support myself. I'm pretty sure I want to support Oprah and Barack because of those pesky ninja assassins who might kill me if I say anything bad about or don't support Oprah, but, on the other hand, it's freaking Babs. She is all sorts of amazing and is one of the biggest and best divas I have ever encountered.

Ugh! I'm so confused! Tell me who I should support in the comments!

William Wyler Blog-a-thon: Babs is One Funny Girl

Director William Wyler is often quietly forgotten when one discusses the great directors of the Golden Age. The genre-lovers shun him because, unlike Hitchcock and John Ford, he worked in many different genres throughout his career and the auteur theorists disregard him because, unlike Howard Hawks who also worked in different genres, he never really developed a visual style that connects his films. This isn't a bad thing because, Wyler, instead, focused on the actors and actresses in his films and on helping them deliver the greatest performances they could. His technique often involved simply telling the actor "Again" and then reshooting the scene, but it worked nonetheless: 36 of the actors and actresses in his films earned Oscar nominations and 14 of them won the award...an impressive feat unlikely to be broken anytime in the near future.

Funny Girl is one of Wyler's last films and, although it isn't on par with earlier masterpieces such as Dodsworth, The Letter and The Heiress, it's a personal favorite of mine and one hell of a good time. One reason for this love is the fabulous, star making performance Wyler coaxed out of film newcomer Barbra Streisand, who had originated the role of Fanny Brice in the Broadway production. Everyone figured she would be good, but no one expected the tour-de-force she delivers in Funny Girl. She's uses all of her "36 expressions" to good use, going from loud and boisterous to subdued and contemplative at the drop of a hat...all while toning down the stage performance she knew like the back of her hand for the cameras.

Babs' introduction to the film medium is through the often-quoted line "Hello, gorgeous"...and it was then that a gay icon was born.

One of the reasons I love Babs is because she's a diva bitch, she acknowledges it and basically tells everyone to suck it. Even if sometimes she turns into Ultra-Liberal, protector of the oppressed and the Earth, she has the talent to back all of these nutty antics up. Even on Funny Girl, she clashed with Wyler and other actors on set. When these actors complained to Wyler about her telling them what to do and how to act, he responded, tongue firmly in cheek, "You'll have to forgive Barbra; this is the first picture she's ever directed." Even if they argued all throughout the course of the film, it is in this Wyler/Streisand collaboration that leads to Funny Girl being such a fun movie...and for leading Streisand to her first (and only) acting Oscar in 1968.

Short Rants

Well, I’m back from my refreshing Spring Break and am ready to get started on some new things for my blog. For now, here are some short rants about a few older movies I caught on break. Enjoy!

ALL RATINGS ARE OUT OF 5 STARS

Yentl (1983, dir. Barbra Streisand) Who said that the musical as a film genre died with Fosse’s Cabaret? Babs’ directorial debut is certainly something to behold and is truly one of the milestones in film musicals. Her uncompromising attitude all while bringing this project to this screen shows in every frame that is lovingly put together. Babs does a fantastic job in the lead as the Jewish girl Yentl who, after her father’s death, poses as a boy and goes off to study at a Hebrew school in which girls are forbidden. Yentl wisely avoids most of the comedic situations that could be exploited from now until kingdom come with only the wedding night scene coming to mind presently. While not a feel-good, escapist musical, Yentl has fantastic music and is further proof that Barbra is a much needed voice in American filmmaking. *****

The More the Merrier (1943, dir. George Stevens) This was the biggest disappointment of the movies I watched during Break. Set during World War II Washington, D.C. where a housing shortage cripples the city, Jean Arthur rents half of her apartment to Charles Coburn- who in turn rents half of his room to a swoon-worthy Joel McCrea. The first half of the film contains some of the funniest moments I’ve seen in a long time (Arthur describing the morning routine with Coburn, McCrea’s entrance) and looked to be Arthur’s paramount performance, but it comes to a screeching halt somewhere around the middle and becomes a terrible wartime melodrama. It got so bad I wanted to bitch slap Jean Arthur (whom I love dearly) for crying the last ten minutes straight. Jean Arthur received her only Oscar nomination for this film and Charles Coburn won his only Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and I can’t see why because they have both done better work. *** ½

Silkwood (1983, dir. Mike Nichols) Basically, it’s Norma Rae meets The China Syndrome with the ever-fabulous Meryl Streep transforming into Karen Silkwood, an uneducated nuclear plant worker who blows the whistle on the plant’s harmful practices with plutonium. Definitely watchable with fantastic performances from Streep and Cher as her lesbian roommate, but overly familiar *** ½

Witness For the Prosecution (1957, dir. Billy Wilder) This has got to be one of the finest courtroom dramas I have ever seen (up there with Inherit the Wind). Charles Laughton plays an English barrister recovering from a heart attack who takes on the case of Leonard Vole (a surprisingly solid Tyrone Power) who is accused of murdering his older lady friend for her money. His wife Christine (a fabulous Marlene Dietrich in one of her best later roles) proves to be the key witness in the case and could send him to the gallows. What I love most about Witness is that just when you think everything has been wrapped up nicely in a neat package, it is all shot to hell and one surprise comes after another. I also enjoyed the hilarious banter between off-screen couple Laughton and Elsa Lanchester (aka the Bride of Frankenstein) as his meddling nurse trying to get him to rest. **** ½

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001, dir. John Cameron Mitchell) After recently viewing Mitchell’s Shortbus, I quickly went and watched Hedwig. Although not as great or transfixing as Shortbus, Hedwig certainly has many things to admire. John Cameron Mitchell’s lead performance as the East German transsexual is one of the best pieces of acting I have encountered in quite awhile. He is totally transfixing and makes the film that much better. The music was also quite amazing and fit in interestingly with what was going on in the story. The only drawback was the ending which I felt was a little too ambiguous and alienating. ****

Murder On the Orient Express (1974, dir. Sidney Lumet) I had to see this movie based solely on its A-list cast: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Wendy Hiller and Rachel Roberts- how could you not want to see this? Unfortunately, the film is not the Altman-esque ensemble piece that I expected. Most of the actors and actresses are wasted in the tiny ass roles they are given and the only standout is Anthony Perkins’ twitchy, Norman Bates-lite performance as the dead man’s secretary. The whole thing is a contrived piece of crap that is only worth watching for the cameos (however little they satisfy). And how the hell did the fabulous Ingrid Bergman win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her insipid and just plain annoying Bible-spouting nanny who helps all the “black babies” in Africa? **