Please welcome back Doug Strassler for another edition of The Best Picture Expansion Project, where we imagine that the newly reinstated Oscar rule of nominating ten films for Best Picture applied from 1943 to 2008.

Today Doug tackles 1972, which has the distinction of being remembered as one of American cinema’s best years. Why? Read on!

(To visit the rest of the Project, please go here.)

The Best Picture Expansion Project: 1972

By Doug Strassler

I’m again much obliged to Mark for giving me some real estate here for another edition of the Best Picture Expansion Project. Last time I was here, I wrote about the movie year that was 1971. This edition finds me doing a quantum leap all the way into…1972. (The full list of movies released that year can be found here)

Actual Best Picture Nominees

Cabaret

Deliverance

The Emigrants

The Godfather (winner)

Sounder

In Retrospect: What’s to say? The Godfather is a masterpiece, that rare movie adored by film lovers and laypeople alike. And what’s not to love? From Brando’s iconic performance to the discovery of a new generation of talent like Duvall and Pacino, from Coppola’s epic opening wedding sequence to the cross-cutting between the baptism of Michael’s niece and the hits he’s ordered on the other families, this was a classic from the day of its release.

But what may come as a surprise is that Godfather was in no way a sure thing at the 1972 Oscars. It tied Cabaret for 10 nominations, and though it won Best Picture, Actor and Screenplay, Cabaret took Best Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, and five other statuettes. Truth to tell, I’m probably as big a fan of Bob Fosse’s movie musical as I am of the mob saga. Both are riveting examples of the medium at its best, and though Cabaret fell victim for a long time to the nation’s up-and-down taste for the musical genre, it remains a towering achievement.

Something that struck me is that while there were several foreign films of note released in 1972, Godfather wasn’t the only Best Picture nominee to chronicle the American experience in some way. Deliverance may best be know for “Dueling Banjos” (fun fact: this won the Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance) and as the movie that launched a thousand Ned Beatty jokes, but at its heart, John Boorman’s thriller shows what “civilized” man can be reduced to when deprived of material possessions. In Sounder, on the other hand, director Martin Ritt quietly and touchingly evokes the life of the sharecropper.

Emigrants, though made in Sweden with a Swedish cast, also takes place on American soil. Jan Troell directed this tale of the trials faced by a group of Swedes on their way to Minnesota in the 19th century. Stars Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman are perfect. What the movie captures best is the portrayal of Native Americans, who we see in equal parts as predator and prey.

The Expansion Pack

6. Solaris

It really takes several viewings to even try to fully grasp what Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky achieves in this psychological drama. Scientist Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) travels to a remote planet, but soon sees his wife, who had committed suicide. Is she real? Is he hallucinating? Have they entered an alternate dimension? Tarkovsky’s version may be difficult, but it’s also deeply rich and evocative. To see how the same story can be done to much clunkier effect, check out Steven Soderbergh’s 2002 version starring George Clooney.

7. The Candidate

This is the first of two Robert Redford movies in the Expansion pack. Peter Boyle plays an election consultant who looks for a Democratic candidate to run against the incumbent California senator Crocker Jarmon(Don Porter). He turns to die-hard liberal Bill McKay (Redford, at his giddiest), the son of a former governor with no political aspirations of his own. Kind of a precursor to Bulworth, Candidate satirizes the state of politics and media at the time. (Fun fact: apparently after viewing the movie, former veep Dan Quayle came to the conclusion that he was not only better looking than Redford, but that he had what it took to enter the White House.)

8. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie

This is another example of the strong showings made by foreign movies this year. Charm is an absurdist look at a group of friends. Director Luis Buñuel depicts them over a series of gatherings and through several elaborate dream sequences, all of which revolve around some type of communal meal. The movie is short on plot but heavy on atmosphere. Like Solaris, it may never make total sense, but the end result is unforgettable.

9. Fat City

I’ve mentioned in the past what a shame it is that Jeff Bridges remains un-Oscared, and here’s another reason why. Fat largely revolves around the great Stacy Keach as an alcoholic boxer long past his prime, and how he botches the few relationships he does have, particularly with an up-and-coming fighter played by Bridges. John Huston peppers what could have been extremely dark material with enough of the humor of daily life to make it tolerable. The Academy has been very generous with other movies geared around the sweet science (Million Dollar Baby, Raging Bull, Rocky); they should have shown more love to Fat than Susan Tyrell’s supporting actress nomination.

10. Jeremiah Johnson

Here is the second Redford entry in the list, and it’s a marked departure from Candidate. Here, Redford is a reclusive mountain man who fought in the Mexican-American War. All he wants to do is live from day to day, but his quest to survive finds him acquiring a family he never knew he even wanted. This is some of Redford’s quietest acting. Redford’s next year would provide two even bigger hits: The Sting and The Way We Were.

The Snubs

According to Wikipedia, two other contenders, Cries and Whispers and Last Tango in Paris were 1972 releases. But they received their Oscar recognition in 1973, so that knocks them off this list. Other films considered included Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Avanti!; The King of Marvin Gardens; Lady Sings the Blues; and Pete ‘n’ Tillie.

And while it’s not on the list, a personal favorite is The Poseidon Adventure.

What do you guys think?