The Academy Awards Year 1973 was held at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, L.A. County Music Center, Los Angeles, California, USA on 27 March 1973.

BEST PICTURE 1973 WINNER

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THE GODFATHER (1972)

Director : Francis Ford Coppola
Writer : Mario Puzo (novel), Mario Puzo (screenplay)
Genre : Crime, Drama, Thriller
Main Cast : Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano, Robert Duvall

Plot : Based on the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo (who co-wrote the screenplay with director Francis Ford Coppola), THE GODFATHER tells an epic tale of Mafia life in America during the 1940s and ’50s. Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is the family patriarch balancing a love of his family with an ambitious criminal instinct. At the wedding of the Don’s daughter, Connie (Talia Shire), youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) is reunited with his family. A subsequent assassination attempt leaves the Don too ill to run the family business, forcing Michael and Sonny (James Caan), with the help of consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), to lead the Corleones into a vendetta-filled war with other mob families. Violent revenge ensues as the family tries to change from its old criminal ways into legitimacy. Coppola’s certified masterpiece, which won three Oscars (including Best Picture) and spawned an Oscar-winning sequel (THE GODFATHER PART II), set a new screen standard for merging blood-soaked violence with intimate family drama. In the process, Coppola single-handedly established the Mafia as an industry in film and television (GOODFELLAS, THE SOPRANOS). Featuring truly unforgettable performances, including the Best Actor-winning Brando, the riveting Pacino, and an unexpectedly dramatic Diane Keaton, THE GODFATHER is the pinnacle of Hollywood cinema in the 1970s.

 

 

 

OTHER NOMINEES

CABARET (1972)

Director : Bob Fosse
Writer : Joe Masteroff (book), John Van Druten (play)
Genre : Drama | Music | Musical | Romance
Main Cast : Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey, Fritz Wepper

Plot : The final shot of the hit film CABARET is a Nazi meeting reflected in a mirror, providing the chilling historical subtext for this groundbreaking musical movie, set in prewar Berlin. Not since GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) had Hollywood produced a more successful film. CABARET was a convention-shattering story that dealt with themes like bisexuality that were still under the radar in the US. Additionally, CABARET made the enormously talented Liza Minnelli an American icon. Minnelli plays Sally Bowles, an aspiring singer and dancer. The main plot revolves around her relationship with two different men and her life as a singer at the Kit Kat Klub. The film utilizes the traditional conventions of American musical theater while adding in the fiendishly painted Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey) who comments on the proceedings through song and dance. Director Bob Fosse showcases the range of his vision as a director of stage and screen, serving as both choreographer and musical director. Based on the Kander-Ebb musical from John van Druten’s play I AM A CAMERA (which, in turn, was derived from Christopher Isherwood’s novel GOODBYE TO BERLIN), CABARET was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won eight, making it one of the most acclaimed films in movie history.

 

 

DELIVERANCE (1972)

Director : John Boorman
Writer : James Dickey (screenplay), James Dickey (novel)
Genre : Adventure | Drama | Thriller
Main Cast : Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox, Ed Ramey

Plot : Director John Boorman’s harrowing adaptation of James Dickey’s best-selling novel is a nightmarish descent into backwoods Americana. When four unsuspecting urbanites head into the mountains of northern Georgia for a weekend canoe trip, they have no idea what’s in store for them. The group’s macho leader, Lewis Medlock (Burt Reynolds), is driven by Hemingway-esque notions of man’s ability to conquer nature, while his three friends–Bobby Trippe (Ned Beatty), Drew Ballinger (Ronny Cox), and Ed Gentry (Jon Voight)–aren’t so sure. As the men begin to navigate their way down the precarious rapids, they discover that nature isn’t the only one out to get them. The eventual appearance of two menacing hillbillies turns the vacation into an all-out nightmare. Photographed by the great Vilmos Zsigmond (MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, THE DEER HUNTER), DELIVERANCE is a compelling meditation on the dangers of masculine ritual. Reynolds dives headlong into the role that would make him a superstar, as does Beatty, whose legendary big-screen debut will never be forgotten. Boorman’s thriller made two other lasting contributions to the pop-culture lexicon: the dueling-banjos sequence and the infamous line, “Squeal like a pig!”

 

 

SOUNDER (1972)

Director : Martin Ritt
Writer : William H. Armstrong (book), Lonne Elder III (writer)
Genre : Drama
Main Cast : Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks, Carmen Mathews, Taj Mahal

Plot : The Morgans, a loving and strong family of Black sharecroppers in Louisiana in 1933, face a serious family crisis when the husband and father, Nathan Lee Morgan, is convicted of a petty crime and sent to a prison camp. After some weeks or months, the wife and mother, Rebecca Morgan, sends the oldest son, who is about 11 years old, to visit his father at the camp. The trip becomes something of an odyssey for the boy. During the journey he stays a little while with a dedicated Black schoolteacher.

 

 

 

UTVANDRARNA (1971)

Director : Jan Troell
Writer : Bengt Forslund (writer), Vilhelm Moberg (novels)
Genre : Adventure | Drama
Main Cast : Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Sven-Olof Bern, Aina Alfredsson

Plot : In the middle of the 19th century, Kristina and Karl-Oskar live in a small rural village in Smaaland (southern Sweden). They get married and try to make a living on a small spot of land. However, the small size of their land, the infertile soil, and some bad harvests makes it tough. One of their children even starve to death. Thus, they decide to emigrate to the U.S. They meet a group of farmers with their families planing the emigration under the leadership of a banned priest. They sell everything and embark for the U.S. The journey on the sailing ship is long and tedious. Some of the emigrants will never reach the New World.

 

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM WINNER

LE CHARME DISCRET DE LA BOURGEOISIE (1972)

Also Known As : The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Country : France | Italy | Spain
Director : Luis Buñuel
Writer : Luis Buñuel (written by), Jean-Claude Carrière (written by)
Genre : Comedy | Drama | Fantasy
Main Cast : Fernando Rey, Paul Frankeur, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier, Stéphane Audran

Plot : THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE is Luis Buñuel’s scathing and surrealistic political comedy masterpiece about a wealthy group of friends repeatedly prevented from beginning their elaborate dinner by increasingly strange events. No matter how hard they try to enjoy the meal and the privileges money affords, everything from closed restaurants to terrorists conspire to thwart their pleasures…and soon it seems that the violence is even pervading their dreams. Academy Award Nominations: 2, including Best (Original) Story and Screenplay. Academy Award: Best Foreign Language Film.

 

 

OTHER NOMINEES

A ZORI ZDES TIKHIE (1972)

Also Known As : The Dawns Here Are Quiet
Country : Soviet Union
Director : Stanislav Rostotsky
Writer : Stanislav Rostotsky (writer), Boris Vasilyev (writer)
Genre : Drama | History | War
Main Cast : Yelena Drapeko, Yekaterina Markova, Olga Ostroumova, Irina Shevchuk, Irina Dolganova

Plot : Based on the eponymous book by Boris Vasilyev, the film is set in Karelia (North-West of Russia, near Finland) in 1941 during WWII. In a beautiful and quiet wilderness far from the front-line there is an anti-aircraft artillery point, where corporal Vaskov is stationed with a group of many young women in training. One of the women while sneaking from camp to visit her young son sees two German paratroopers. Vaskov takes five of the women to stop the two paratroopers, but finds sixteen paratroopers instead, leaving the small group of patriots to engage the enemy in an unequal fight.

 

 

MI QUERIDA SEÑORITA (1970)

Also Known As : My Dearest Senorita
Country : Spain
Director : Jaime de Armiñán
Writer : Jaime de Armiñán (screenplay), Jaime de Armiñán (story)
Genre : Romance | Drama
Main Cast : José Luis López Vázquez, Julieta Serrano, Antonio Ferrandis, Enrique Ávila, Lola Gaos

Plot : This strange film takes the story of a Spanish country matron into new ground. Adela (Jose Luis Lopes Vasquez) lives a conservative life in her village with her maid. When she scolds her maid for having an affair, the indignant maid runs off to Madrid. Adela receives the courtship of a local businessman, but, after accepting his engagement ring, she is disgusted by his further advances. Disturbed by this, she follows her priest’s advice to seek psychiatric help. The psychiatrist, a doctor, tells her that she is, in fact, a man. Adela, horrified, cannot bear to return to her village and takes up life in Madrid as Juan. Her identification papers list her as a woman, and she must improvise in order to survive. There is a lot more to this odd story, made odder still because it is not a comedy, but a romantic drama.

 

 

ANI OHEV OTACH ROSA (1972)

Also Known As : I Love You Rosa
Country : Israel
Director : Moshé Mizrahi
Writer : Moshé Mizrahi (writer)
Genre : Drama
Main Cast : Zivi Avramson, Naomi Bachar, Michal Bat-Adam, Yehuda Efroni, Levana Finkelstein

Plot : This Israeli romantic drama chronicles the love of Nissim for Rosa (Michel Bat-Adam), Nissim’s widowed sister-in-law. Under (very old) Jewish religious law, Nissim has the duty and obligation to marry his brother’s spouse on the death of his brother. Nissim (Gabi Oterman) is very fond of Rosa, and grows to love her. However, he is only eleven, and newly single Rosa is not interested in either child-rearing or remarriage, so she shoos him away. Quite a few years later, Nissim (Moshe Tal) comes back with marriage in mind. Their conflicts and growing love resolve in a satisfying conclusion.

 

 

NYBYGGARNA (1972)

Also Known As : The Settlers
Country : Sweden
Director : Jan Troell
Writer : Bengt Forslund (writer), Vilhelm Moberg (novels)
Genre : Drama | Western
Main Cast : Max von Sydow, Liv Ullmann, Eddie Axberg, Pierre Lindstedt, Allan Edwall

Plot : This is the second installment of the Swedish epic which began with The Emigrants. Nybyggarna is a chronicle of the life and times of the Swedish immigrants in Minnesota, covering the time period up to and beyond the Civil War. Even though they did not come to America to become Americans, they are gradually drawn into the culture of their new country. Father Karl-Oskar Nilsson (Max Von Sydow) and his wife Kristina (Liv Ullman) battle the elements and political changes in order to survive. The family members have little contact with their neighbors, and because they know so little English, they have difficulty buying things from the nearby general store. Robert (Eddie Axberg), Karl’s younger brother, wants to find gold and travels westward with Arvid (Pierre Lindstedt), the Nilsson’s strange and skittish farmhand. The two lavish epics, The Emigrants and The New Land were the two most expensive films made in Sweden up to that time.

 

 

Previous Ceremony : Oscar 1972





Next Ceremony : Oscar 1974