#nom film editing
Fame(1981). A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
I enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting to. Yeah, it’s pretty disjointed and frenetic and grittier than it has any right to be, but it really captures both the headrush and the grind of what these kids experience. It’s messy, sure, but it also surprisingly really works. 7.5/10.
Coal Miner’s Daughter (1981). The fictionalized life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/70s.
This is just such a solid, straight forward bio pic made all the more memorable for Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones’ tremendous performances. Both of them lend real charisma and chemistry to an already good script, that it really has these moments of genuine greatness. It stumbles occasionally, particularly in the way it skirts around some of the darker themes, but there’s so much that’s good here it’s easy to forgive. 8/10.
The Competition (1981). Paul Dietrich, at almost 30 years old, is a fading piano prodigy. Heidi Schoonover is a talented young pianist with a promising future. When Paul hears of an upcoming competition that could make his career, he dedicates himself to winning.
Oof, this one really misses the mark for me. Clunky, overstuffed, and peppered with wildly unlikeable characters, especially in Richard Dreyfuss’ narcissistic and sexist protagonist, there’s not much to redeem this one. One and a half stars for Lee Remick and Amy Irving though, who do their best with not a lot. 3/10.
All That Jazz (1979). Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
God, the 52nd Academy Awards had a stacked Best Picture category - Kramer vs Kramer, Apocalypse Now, Norma Rae, Breaking Away and this. All that Jazz ultimately lost out to Kramer v Kramer, which is probably understandable, but to me, this really deserved to take it home. It’s rare after all that a movie can feel both this spectacular and this intimate, this personal and yet this accessible.
It just works on every level and I really loved it a lot. 9/10.
The Rose (1978). The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
There are far worse ways to spend two hours than watching Bette Midler chew scenery, and it’s really in that space that this movie - excuse the pun - sings. As a behind the scenes rock musical, it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect, but Midler really grounds it with her charismatic performance, and she pulls up every actor who works alongside her. 7/10.
