I’m too lazy to research it, so instead I’ll make an audacious unfounded proclamation: there has never been a one-two punch comeback like Steven Spielberg had in 1993.
After the misfire of “Always” and the colossal misfire of “Hook,” he returned to the director’s chair for “Jurassic Park” and “Schindler’s List,” two vastly different movies that demonstrate the different ways that a movie can inspire awe.
Even aside from Spielberg’s contributions, 1993 was a pretty solid year.
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“The Fugitive” – Easily the benchmark for big-screen adaptations of TV shows, featuring an Oscar winning supporting turn from Tommy Lee Jones.
“Schindler’s List” – This was not the sure-fire home-run it seems to be in retrospect. Spielberg turns artsy, but wisely remains high concept in doing so.
“The Piano” – As contrived a movie as you’re ever likely to see. Feel free to tell me where I’m wrong. I can’t be swayed.
“Remains of the Day” – Anthony Hopkins. A shotgun. Awesomeness ensues. Not really, but don’t tell me you wouldn’t go see that movie. Merchant-Ivory. Like Simpson-Bruckheimer. Only…boring.
“In the Name of the Father” – I feel like I should remember this movie more than I do. It’s about…jail, or something. Right?
What should have been nominated:
“Schindler’s List” – I’ll never forget the sheer silence of the packed theatre when I saw this movie…
“Jurassic Park” – …just as I’ll never forget the kids in the theatre going “aaaaah!” when the dinosaurs make their first appearance in this movie.
“Groundhog Day” – Make this same movie about a butler, with none of the laughs, set it in Victorian England…Oscar gold!
“True Romance” – You two sorta roommates? Exactly roommates.
“Dazed and Confused” – One of my favorite opening shots ever. And the movie only got better from there.
What shoulda won:
“Dazed and Confused” – I wonder if this movie would be as good and as enduring, if it had actually been a hit. I personally never wanted to see the movie but my girlfriend and I had gone from Athens to Atlanta for the day and had some time to kill, and we had seen everything else showing at the theatre. So we saw “Dazed and Confused,” and couldn’t wait to tell our friends about it.
While it was never a hit, it gained cult status pretty quickly. I remember it playing over and over again at The Georgia Theatre when there were no bands playing. Essentially a 1970s version of “American Graffiti,” with wall to wall music, fast cars, and teenagers killing time, Richard Linklater’s masterpiece is the quintessential sleeper. Part of the joy of the movie is discovering it.
Me and my friends saw it so many times that one buddy noticed Ben Affleck stumbling in one scene when he’s way off in the background.
The characters that drive the movie are timeless. We all knew bullies like Clint and O’Bannion, fun-loving jocks like Benny, mean chicks like Darla, anointed cool kids like Mitch, introspective jocks like Pink, and we all knew a Wooderson.
Matthew McConaughey was obviously a star in the making. He’s been good in movies since, but he has never been this good. His performance is emblematic of the movie itself. We loved it because we discovered it. Now, we feel like McConaughey is over-exposed, jammed down our throats. But when we were allowed to find him, it was special.
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