Best Actor 1984: Results

5. Jeff Bridges in Star Man- Star Man is a character that never amount to much, Bridges plays him in the same dull unemotional way throughout the film.

4. Sam Waterson in The Killing Fields- Sam Waterson is excellent at being just a normal man who struggles to deal with the extreme situations facing him in Cambodia. Always realistic and always rings an honest note in this performance.

3. Albert Finney in Under the Volcano- Finney is very good as the alcoholic consul, showing his degradation from his drinking perfectly. I wish the film had served Finney better because I think that his performance could have lasted an even greater impression.

2. Tom Hulce in Amadeus- Hulce is very good as Mozart showing the lively nature of his character well but also his genius. He is particularly strong in showing Mozart's slow deterioration and loss of happiness.

1. F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus- Abraham is simply astounding form beginning to end in one of the finest pieces of acting I have ever seen. Abraham excels at every risk he tries and creates a complex and incredibly memorable character in Antonio Salieri.

Deserving Performances:
Robert De Niro in Once Upon a Time in America

Best Actor 1984: Tom Hulce in Amadeus

Tom Hulce received his only Oscar nomination for portraying famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus.

Hulce plays another real life historical figure like Abraham but Hulce plays the actually well known one, Salieri only really gained notoriety because of the notorious association with Mozart as shown in Amadeus. When playing a well known historical person there can be two ways many directors present and actors play these people there is the overly negative caricature  type or the overly positive one dimensional approach, luckily Hulce and the direct Milos Foreman take neither of these approaches.

Mozart in this film is portrayed as a musical genius there is no doubt about that, and I agree with such an approach, but he is also portrayed as an incredibly immature man, who has many child like qualities. Hulce does do this to a very loud extent. He makes Mozart very flamboyant and purposely obnoxious at times. I do actually like the way he does this. Yes he can be annoying but Mozart is suppose to be that way. He is always appropriately loud and vulgar and his performance serves as a clever contrast to the proper way of everyone else in the court scenes in particular. I feel he has the right playful approach to the character that I find works quite well. perfectly and serves the film very well.  By the way his laugh is annoying but it works I feel that Hulce does not over do and make the character single feature ever during these scenes. This is part of Mozart completely and clearly but not the only part.

He makes Mozart's talent believable despite being an immature fellow. He always does show a little more to Mozart than his normal immature way. I like how he shows that his talent is something natural, and everything he does which is considered musical genius is just something easy for him. Despite seeming odd and improbable it never is to me, and Hulce helps in that greatly by always being convincing. He has the right amount of pompousness as Mozart. Always touting himself as the best composer in Vienna and his work as the greatest. He usually stays fairly upfront and to the point but I like one scene where he cleverly tells Salieri he is terrible in the guise that he is unique, and like no other. Hulce delivers those lines particularly well. I also enjoy the scenes where he honestly tries to push his musical ideas rather than just boasting about them. He is excellent in the way he honestly puts fourth his music in two scenes to the Emperor. He has the right passion and honesty to make these scenes work.

The best part of Mozart's performance is how he slowly changes and sort of decays throughout the film. I like how is slowly and subtlety loses his joyful ways. Not all at once but perfectly changing. He stops being as eccentric or as wild and as he calms down a madness of sorts also arises. Hulce is just perfect in the way he slowly and deliberately reduces the fun the character has. It never is overt but always underplayed making it so Mozart's slow demise is completely convincing. He like Abraham excels in his final scene well writing the requiem. Both actors are perfect in this scene and both are essential in making the scene as effective as it is. He is basically dead in these scene and Hulce shows that well but he also presents his an emotionally effective last scene where he has finally completely run out of humor no longer even his laugh. Hulce is good throughout and great at the end. I do not think he is as great as Abraham but few performances are. He still stand out for me and is another contribution to making Amadeus a great film.

Best Actor 1984: F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus

F. Murray Abraham won an Oscar from his only Oscar nomination for portraying Italian composer Antonio Salieri in Amadeus.

Amadeus is a favorite film of mine, I just find that everything comes together just about perfectly from the direction, the story, the acting and possibly most importantly the brilliant use of Mozart's music. It is one of my favorite films of all time and my favorite Best Picture winner.A note I must make is I am only talking about the original and far superior edit of the film. The Director cuts adds only time and takes away some of the strength of the original film.

This is a fascinating film and F. Murray Abraham's performance is essential to this. His performance has to key sides to it which demonstrate the incredible strength of his performance. He plays his character as both a younger man well he is a popular composer in Vienna and also as an old man living in an asylum whose music has been almost all forgotten. Both parts of his performance are important to the film and exceptionally difficult to pull of correctly.

For the younger half of his performance Abraham is given actually less focus in terms of the film. A greater focus is put upon the other nominee Tom Hulce who plays Mozart. He in these scenes can be regulated to the background with actually very little dialogue. The amazing thing here is that I never felt I ever forgot about Abraham even when he was in the background.When ever you see him among others in the background, he always holds incredible attention because he always shows so much more Salieri in his, which he changes throughout these scenes so perfectly, but with incredibly subtlety since usually the scene is not even really focused on him. He shows that Salieri always carries on a fake facade for his internal feelings. He shows a fake respect and kindness to others and Mozart even though he hates Mozart at the same time. I really like how he shows that when he loses the facade briefly at times because it is when he can barely hide his hatred for Mozart.

He is just perfect in everyone of his scenes where he so slyly convinces others to do what he wants by acting is a perfect underhanded way. He always has Salieri look like he is trying to help everyone even though he is always in only his own self interest. He is just perfect at accomplishing this with making every single thing Salieri does convincing and fully believable. Another aspect of his younger performance that I truly enjoy though are when he shows a he has a certain spinelessness to him when challenged to disagree with the emperor (Jeffrey Jones). Every time the emperor says something challenging Mozart or perhaps someone else Abraham says Salieri's perfectly written lines that show his lack of a spine are made even better by his delivery that makes the lines as enjoyable as possible.

Abraham never actually has that many scenes where he directly interacts with Hulce's Mozart. He does mostly react to him but again these reactions are perfect. His hateful reaction to seeing Mozart make fun of and change a piece of music he wrote is brilliant and his surprised reaction to finding out that Mozart is an immature "creature" is just astounding.  He shares three scenes where they interact directly in which every time Mozart requires help from Salieri. The first two are great in the way Salieri perfectly speaks to him  in a completely sincere way even though we as the audience know he is always hiding his hatred toward him. These scenes are great because of the way the two interact and the perfect way Abraham shows Salieri always must stay underhanded so well. These two scenes where great but there final scene together is incredible. Salieri takes an almost dead Mozart home and the two of them slowly work on Mozart's last piece his Requiem.  Salieri still stays underhanded in this scene since he convinces Mozart to compose for completely false reasons, but Abraham shows more of Salieri's real self in this scene without fault. This scene is just perfect both actors excel, and the use of music is brilliant. Abraham is excellent in taking dictation as Salieri. I love how he can barely keep up with Mozart but also shows Salieri's fervent admiration for Mozart's music, and finally allows Mozart to know. After Mozart says he was sorry to Salieri for thinking Salieri did not care for him, Abraham's reaction is simply outstanding. He sums his whole relationship with Mozart in that scene incredibly with just this small reaction.

Now if you had not noticed I was rather impressed by his scenes as the younger Salieri well that leaves his even more impressive scenes as the elderly Salieri. Salieri as an old man is a sad and lonely man confined to a asylum because he attempted suicide. Abraham is masterful in all of his scenes as the elderly Salieri. He is the old man, he does not let his make up distract or take over the part yet he only lets the age add to the power of his performance. This part of his performance shows the true pathos and mental state of Salieri. He never hides a single thing in this part of the performance allowing Abraham to strive for raw emotional power at its fullest. His entire performance is astounding throughout these scenes and he shows Saleri in and out, his performance allows you to fully know this man who is more complex than most.

One half of his performance is the scenes of describing his love for Mozart's music and his lust to have achieved the same greatness in music. His describing of the song are key to the film and Abraham adds an incredible amount of power to these scenes. His love and passion for this music is absolutely brilliantly shown by Abraham. He and the music together, as the music plays and he describes the beauty of it, are true cinematic magic at its finest.  Abraham is essential to these scenes and these scenes are essential to the strength of the film. His power in these scenes as to the greater power of the film. Without him could have wrong falsely but with him these scenes I find are utterly unforgettable.

As the old Salieri he also shows the strange mental condition of the character. A man who fervently believes that God is against him, created Mozart almost to spite him, and purposely gave him the desire to compose but not the talent to. Again every scene again is completely amazing partially due to the directing and the music, but also most definitely to Abraham's outstanding performance. He exceptional in showing the odd nature of the character who consistently talks directly to God who he believes is always mocking him. He makes his character's odd view of himself and his relationship with God.  Again his scenes where he calls out to God are magnificent. Two scenes in particular are fantastic. One scene where he says he will have his laugh at God before he dies, Abraham is brilliantly chilling, and the other scene where he tells of his plan to use Mozart's Requiem against him. He is excellent never seeming false at all despite what he is doing and making his proclamation simply something amazing to view. His performance though is not only this emotional powerful scenes but he also adds a surprising amount of humor along with these scenes. I particularly find his delivery hilarious when after his Requiem speech he mentions that killing Mozart was not as easy as it sound. Also his final scene proclaiming himself the patron Saint of Mediocrity is an exit like none other.

F. Murray Abraham is an actor who seems he will only have this single performance and film of any real note. Besides Amadeus he is either in terrible films, unknown films, or if it is a good film he usually has a incredibly small part. But it seems a shame that he never received good parts after this film because this completely proves that he can give a great performance. Not only great but incredible one that I will never forget and shall always be amazed by. He only seems like he will give one memorable performance but to me you could not have a more memorable performance that this piece of art.

Best Actor 1984: Sam Waterston in The Killing Fields

Sam Waterston received his first Oscar nomination for portraying American Journalist Sydney Schanberg in The Killing Fields.

The Killing Fields is a very strong film that depicts its story with almost as much effectiveness as possible. My only real problem with the film is the synthesizer based soundtrack can be slightly distracting at times.

Sam Waterston plays a role here that never gets that into the depth of Schanberg but that is not the actual point of the film, and it never really diminishes his performance. Sam Watertson really does something incredibly key in this performance and that is merely plays as realistically as possible. Schanberg goes through many things in this film from fighting for the truth of the story of the U.S. in Cambodia, to surviving close brushes with both sides of the Cambodian forces, and to dealing with leaving his Cambodian friend Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) behind. Schanberg throughout the film is always just on the mark.

 Waterston can always be followed throughout this film, as just a real person in the events. This is not a performance of mannerisms or of any sort of showy acting. He always just keeps to the real facts of the character and never does anything wrong. He does slight accent that is fine but he never does anything distracting or to drawn any extra attention to himself. Since the film's intent is realism Waterston is always right to be part of that realism rather than trying to separate himself through overacting. He is always fully believable as Schanberg as does always seems to be a real man in these situations rather than an actor playing a character.

Now his performance might seem that it could be underwhelming but it is not. He handles every scene he has with the same conviction in his performance. A conviction that is necessary to the film. he has his scenes of yelling at the various officials but Waterston always puts the right amount of realistic passion into all of these scenes. He also takes the same approach in showing the strong friendship between Schanberg and Dith Pran. Neither actor forces the friendship between them, rather making it a quiet friendship that is all the more effective in the end. They show their friendship without saying it, always giving the right respect and admiration for each other without ever losing the all important realism of the film. Waterston never has any big acting scenes but with this performance he does not need them. He always remains a strong presence who can always be identified with throughout the film.

Best Actor 1984: Albert Finney in Under the Volcano

Albert Finney received his fourth Oscar nomination for portraying Geoffrey Firmin an alcoholic British consul in Mexico in Under the Volcano.

Under the Volcano is a rather poor film, not an outright terrible film, but one that really annoys me because it looks like it might go somewhere but it never does. He has many problem most of all the far too heavy use of symbolism especially at the end.

Albert Finney plays an extreme alcoholic here one who is always constantly drinking, and the film basically follows him as his drinking gets worse and worse along with his mental state. Albert Finney first off does not get into the negative things that can come from an Alcoholic behavior. Finney does not do overacting with strangely trying to go for laughs, and does try to internalize the pain of Firmin in this film. He does his best to show that his alcoholism is something that merely is something he cannot stop, and it is a disease for him. He never forces alcoholism of him it is just clearly has been part of him for a very long time. He internalizes the pain showing it very carefully making it work far more effectively. This part of his performance is very well handled since it is able to stay properly consistent throughout the film.

There is a fascinating part of his perfromance is that Albert Finney's Firmin is suppose to be seeing also sort of hallucinations but the film never shows them to the viewer therefore it is up to Finney to show them through his performance. He actually is able to accomplish this partially which is interesting. He does suggest that Firmin sees things that we the viewer or the other characters never see. He does this through small very well done indications which show his character's mental troubles perfectly. He is not perfectly consistent with this because the film does not always have his character properly consistent. He does not make us see what he sees, if he did that his performance would be amazing rather than just very good.

Finney I find is always strong in his performance and if the film was better I think he could have given a truly perfect performance, but it is not. Problems with the film result in some problems involving his performance. The problem is I did not feel the film really fully fleshed out his character making it so Finney was unable to do the same. It never fully developed his character's history well enough, I felt, leaving Finney to try and do everything which he is able to do.

His performance is sort of interesting though because even when the film requires him to do things that are strange or make little sense Finnney does try his best with them. Such as one scene about his own hell where Finney is incredibly strong in his speech even if this part of the story does not really come together with other parts of the film. Another great scene of his is when he is found face down in dirt by a fellow British man and they have a very British like conversation despite him being in the middle of the road because of his drinking. I liked how he should that Firmin kept his British ways even at a time like that, but again this character trait is only really in this scene and it fails to be consistent because of the film.  This really is a performance weakened by the film it is in, it is the best part of the film, but Finney is unable to fully overcome the problems the film makes for him, causing him to have scenes of great acting even they do not perfectly add up into one character.

Best Actor 1984: Jeff Bridges in Starman

Jeff Bridges received his third Oscar nomination for portraying Starman in the body Scott Hayden in Starman.

Starman is a profoundly boring film, one in which I could barely stand watching the first time I was it and had an even harder time this time. It is not interesting and it never entertaining.

Here is an oddity of an nomination, because this is such an oddity of a performance. People are not really ever nominated for non-human roles, Bridges may be the only one in the lead actor category. Bridges in this performance plays the alien Starman in a way that seems alien enough, I really am sure it is the way the director wanted it but it creates nothing in terms of cinematic magic. Bridges plays an outstandingly one dimensional character as the alien. There is nothing to him really, he is an alien but an alien who I guess only wishes to observe mankind.

Bridges does one thing and only one thing in this performance and that is speak it this almost monotone voice throughout. It is suppose to be an alien voice and it sound like it is, but it is also an incredibly dull voice. This is basically his whole performance, oh wait, he also makes the same emotionless face over and over again too, I almost forget. He does both consistently throughout the film never changing, even though his character is suppose to gain more humanity throughout, but this is not really shown is more of just said. He does not have chemistry with Karen Allen because he always stays with that dull unemotional behavior.

Now Bridges should merely have not been nominated for this role. It is too simple and uninteresting. He technically does plays the part as you would aspect some would should play the part but that is not a challenge. Bridges never shows a hint of his actual talent in this performance, and this simply is one of his dullest and most uninteresting performances. Maybe John Carpenter the director would have forced anyone to play the part this way, I do not know, but either way the performance just comes off as dull and completely uninspired.

Best Actor 1984

And the Nominees Were

Jeff Bridges in Starman

Albert Finney in Under The Volcano

F. Murray Abraham in Amadeus

Sam Waterston in The Killing Fields

Tom Hulce in Amadeus

Who do you Pick? What do you predict my ranking will be?