Retro Muriels: 1998

Note: I will be posting one retrospective ballot per day leading up to the beginning of the Muriels announcements on Sunday, February 16. Also, these are not my original ballots from these years, but rather were formulated over the last few weeks based on my more-or-less current feelings about the movies in question. In the case of the years in which the Muriels were taking place, these new ballots in no way negate my original ballots. These are strictly for fun and curiousity’s sake.


Best Picture:
Buffalo ‘66
The Celebration
Rushmore
Love and Death on Long Island
Dark City
The Thin Red Line
Babe: Pig in the City
Mother and Son
Taste of Cherry
Bulworth

Best Director:
Vincent Gallo, Buffalo ‘66
Thomas Vinterberg, The Celebration
Terrence Malick, The Thin Red Line
Wes Anderson, Rushmore
Alex Proyas, Dark City

Best Lead Performance, Female:
Samantha Morton, Under the Skin
Kathy Burke, Nil by Mouth
Jennifer Lopez, Out of Sight
Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth

Note: In making these ballots, I did my damnedest to concentrate solely on the individual achievements themselves, rather than what has happened in the intervening years. It wasn’t easy at times, but I think I pulled it off. To wit: my #3 in the above category. In the last decade or so, I have more or less given up on Ms. Lopez, a once-promising actress whose voracious desire for superstardom has torpedoed any talent she once displayed. Yet the awesomeness of her OUT OF SIGHT performance is, even today, pretty undeniable.

Best Lead Performance, Male:
John Hurt, Love and Death on Long Island
Nick Nolte, Affliction
Jeff Bridges, The Big Lebowski
Jason Schwartzman, Rushmore
Warren Beatty, Bulworth

Best Supporting Performance, Male:
Bill Murray, Rushmore
James Coburn, Affliction
Oliver Platt, Bulworth
Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan
Benicio Del Toro, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Best Supporting Performance, Female:
Olivia Williams, Rushmore
Patricia Clarkson, High Art
Toni Collette, Velvet Goldmine
Kimberly Elise, Beloved
Kathy Bates, Primary Colors

Best Screenplay:
Love and Death on Long Island
Rushmore
The Spanish Prisoner
Henry Fool
The Celebration

Best Ensemble Performance:
The Celebration
Rushmore
Out of Sight
The Big Lebowski
Happiness

Best Cinematography:
The Thin Red Line (John Toll)
Great Expectations (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Bulworth (Vittorio Storaro)
The Big Lebowski (Roger Deakins)
Dark City (Dariusz Wolski)

Best Music:
Velvet Goldmine (Carter Burwell et al)
Gods and Monsters (Carter Burwell)
Rushmore (Mark Mothersbaugh et al)
Dark City (Trevor Jones)
The Thin Red Line (Hans Zimmer)

Best Cinematic Breakthrough:
Vincent Gallo (director- Buffalo ’66)
Samantha Morton (actor- Under the Skin)
Thomas Vinterberg (director- The Celebration)
Jason Schwartzman (actor- Rushmore)
Cate Blanchett (actor- Elizabeth)

Best Body of Work:
Carter Burwell (composer- Gods and Monsters, The Big Lebowski, The Spanish Prisoner, Velvet Goldmine)
Nick Nolte (actor- Affliction, The Thin Red Line)
Ben Gazzara (actor- Buffalo ’66, The Spanish Prisoner, The Big Lebowski, Happiness)
Oliver Platt (actor- Bulworth, The Imposters)
Edward Norton (actor- Rounders, American History X)

Best Cinematic Moment:
Funny Games – Be unkind, rewind
Buffalo ’66 – face to face with Scott Woods
Babe: Pig in the City – Flealick in paradise
Saving Private Ryan – death of Mellish
Rushmore – “A Quick One While He’s Away”
A Simple Plan – Lou’s confession
Velvet Goldmine – “Ballad of Maxwell Demon”
The Big Lebowski – “Gutterballs”
The Eel – bloody Yamashita turns himself in
Out of Sight – White Boy Bob on the stairs