The Oscar-winning Songs Countdown: 1977

This week our Oscar songs countdown takes us to 1977: it was the year that Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg were recognized as genuine directors/auteurs; the year that everybody was dancing to Saturday Night Fever; but, more importantly, it was the year that the modern-day blockbuster movie first appeared; it was the year of Star Wars.

Also, three of the most Oscar awarded films of the year were called Anhedonia, Watch The Skies, and Bogart Slept Here... originally. I'll let you guess which ones they were.

In the 50s the blockbusters were the religious epics; The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, The Robe and other pompous spectacles in Cinemascope or Cinerama monopolized the box-office and received their share of Oscars. In the 60s, the musicals turned out to be the studios' salvation. Especially family-friendly fare like The Sound Of Music and Mary Poppins brought in the big bucks and received plenty of Oscars. Two more profitable genres were the spy movie (led by the James Bond films) and the Spaghetti Western. For a short time in the late 60s, movies that dared to go against the political, social or cultural establishment were favored, spearheaded by massive hits like Easy Rider, along with films as diverse as Strawberry Statement, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Woodstock, and Five Easy Pieces. The tide also helped serious European films with "touchy" political content, like Z and The Battle Of Algiers, gain traction and get major Oscar nominations.

Then in the 70s, it was disaster movies that ruled the roost. Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, Towering Inferno and Jaws, along with their less worthy sequels and copycats were box-office kings... Until Star Wars and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind came along. Followed by Superman, Alien, and the Star Wars sequels, they set the path for the domination of the sci-fi, comics-based movie, be it a comic adventure, a horror thriller or a space opera, that still dominate the box-office to this day.

Star Wars almost didn't get made. 20th Century Fox had given George Lucas $15,000 to write the screenplay for the film - and it took him 3 years to do so. When Lucas finally presented the script to Fox, the top brass had serious doubts about giving him $8.5 million for a sci-fi project. It was production chief Alan Ladd, Jr., who convinced them to hand over the money.

The film earned good reviews, but it was the audience response that was beyond imagination; the film became the most profitable film of all-time. That was in part due to repeat viewings; most audience members saw the film more than once, with some seeing it as many as 26 times.

Not only was the film such a phenomenon, but it was also a merchandizing golden goose; there appeared Star Wars bubble gums, towels, watches, T-shirts, etc. The theme from the film, written and conducted by John Williams, was a #10 US hit, while the Disco version by Meko went all the way to #1.

Here's John Williams' version:

Here's Meco's Disco version:

Spielberg's follow-up to hugely profitable Jaws was cloaked in secrecy; cast and crew were forbidden to discuss the film, and security guards watched the sets around the clock. When a journalist from "New York" bribed his way into the film's initial sneak preview in Dallas, Texas, and reported that "the picture will be a colossal flop", Columbia's stock dropped precipitously.

But they needn't have worried; Close Encounters Of The Third Kind got great reviews. Rona Barrett wrote: "Steven Spielberg proves himself to be a consummate movie-maker and an artist of rare insight." The public followed suit; the movie became Columbia's most profitable film to date.

The film's music, also by John Williams, was a hit:

Woody Allen's new movie was loosely autobiographical; it chronicled his relationship with Diane Keaton. Quite naturally, he and Keaton were starring in it. Most of the critics raved; "Woody Allen has almost singlehandedly kept alive the idea of heterosexual romance in American films", wrote Variety. "Miss Keaton emerges as Woody Allen's Liv Ullmann", wrote The New York Times. More tellingly, the "Annie Hall look" became a fashion trendsetter. "Not since The Godfather has Hollywood had such an impact on fashion", said a 7th Ave. fashion co-ordinator.

Hollywood's famous left-wing actress (at the time), Jane Fonda, was cast to star in Julia, a film based on Lillian Hellman's memoirs, that was to be directed by veteran director Fred Zinnemann. Fonda would portray Hellman, and she pressed prducer Richard Roth to sign her friend, even more dedicated left-wing actress, British Vanessa Redgrave, for the role of Julia. Roth said, "Why Not? It was perfect symmetry. The two most famous left-wing women of the 70s playing two left-wing women of the 30s."

Most reviewers were reverential towards Julia. Rex Reed called it "the quiet masterpiece we've all been waiting for". But the film wasn't without its share of trouble; Vanessa Redgrave's main concern at the time was establishing a homeland for the Palestinian people, and to this end she produced a film called the Palestinians. That, plus the fact that she had been seen in public with PLO leader Yasser Arafat, was enough for the Jewish Defense League to target the actress. They threatened to boycott Julia and they ended up letting mice loose in theaters showing the picture. The rodents failed to stem attendance, and the film was a hit.

Herbert Ross was on a roll in 1977; the capable director had not one, but two hits, both with the critics as well as with the audience. The Turning Point was a women's film set in the world of ballet. It was originally to have Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn as the leads, but when Prince Rainier told Kelly he didn't want her to go back to work, Hepburn left the project too. They were replaced by Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft. In the roles of the young couple, they cast real ballet dancers Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne, who happened to be Ross' godchild. The film was well-reviewed and a commercial hit.

The other film that Herbert Ross made that year was based on a screenplay by comedy heavyweight Neil Simon. It orginally started filming with Mike Nichols as a director and Robert De Niro as the lead, but after two weeks of filming De Niro was out of the picture and Nichols soon followed. They were replaced by Ross and Richard Dreyfuss respectively. Dreyfuss was also the star of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, so it was really a great year for him. The female lead went to Neil Simon's then wife, comedienne Marsha Mason. The film received great reviews and did well at the box-office.

Dreyfuss wasn't alone in having two celebrated roles in the same year; Diane Keaton garnered critical praise for her portrayal of the main character in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, a grim morality tale that looked completely out of place in the midst of sexual revolution, about the dangers of anonymous sex. Tuesday Weld, who hadn't been in a hit movie for years, was also praised. Also noteworthy was the appearance of some young actors who were on the process of making a name for themselves: Tom Berenger, William Atherton, LeVar Burton, and mainly a certain someone named Richard Gere.

Star Wars wasn't the only film that caused a cultural landslide; Saturday Night Fever also did; John Travolta wanted to go from TV star to movie star, and this movie did it for him. The Robert Stigwood produced sociological musical was the ultimate celebration of Disco music, as well as a precise analysis of its function of channeling the dreams of working-class youth. Travolta oozed cocky sex appeal and the songs, mainly by the Bee Gees, were perfectly crafted Pop gems. The film made a killing at the box-office and its soundtrack album sold in the millions. Here are some of the most successful songs from the movie. All of these (with the possible exception of How Deep Is Your Love) were Oscar eligible.

The Bee Gees with How Deep Is Your Love:

The Bee Gees with Stayin' Alive:

The Bee Gees with Night Fever:

Yvonne Elliman with If I Can't Have You (a Bee Gees song):

Tavares with More Than a Woman (a Bee Gees song):

The Nominations

One of the special F/X branches (as was usual at the time) eschewed nominations altogether, handing out two Special Achievement Awards: to Star Wars for sound effects and to Close Encounters Of The Third Kind for sound effects editing.

Otherwise, The Turning Point had 11 nominations, including all four leads (MacLaine, Bancroft, Baryshnikov, and Browne). Julia also had 11, including nominations for Fonda and Redgrave, as well as for Jason Robards and Maximilian Schell, both in the Suporting Actor category. Star Wars had 10 nominations, as well as the Special Achievement Award. The only acting nomination it received was for Supporting Actor, going to veteran thespian Sir Alec Guinness. All of the above also had Best Picture and Best Director Nominations.

Annie Hall also had Best Picture and Best Director Nominations, as well a two acting ones for its leads and Best Original Screenplay, a total of 5, making Woody Allen the first to be nominated for Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay since Orson Welles was for Citizen Kane.

Herbert Ross couldn't compete against himself for Best Director, so The Goodbye Girl, only got Best Picture; it also got Best Screenplay and 3 acting nominations, for Dreyfuss, Mason and child actress Quinn Cummings in Supporting.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind had 8 nominations, as well as the Special Achievement Award. Spielberg got one for Best Director, but the movie failed to get a Best Picture nomination. The only acting nomination it received was for Melinda Dillon in Supporting Actress. Also getting in the Supporting Actress category was Tuesday Weld for Looking for Mr. Goodbar.

Saturday Night Fever managed to give Travolta a Best Actor nomination, but shockingly none of the songs were even considered. This caused a huge uproar. The music branch of the Academy was accused of being made up "of retired violinists who probably still play 78s on their Victrolas."

Other notable songs that were eligible to be nominated were:

The Greatest Love of All, sung by George Benson in the film The Greatest:

New York, New York, from the film of the same name, sung by Liza Minnelli:

So, which were the songs that were actually nominated? Well, the best of the five was Nobody Does It Better, from the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, sung by Carly Simon. Music: Marvin Hamlisch • Lyrics: Carole Bayer Sager

The other, unremarkable songs, were:

The song that scandalously occupied the US #1 for 10 weeks. (A lot of weeks at #1 is NOT an indication of greatness. After all, Macarena spent 14 weeks at #1). Found in a terribly reviewed film called You Light Up My Life, the song of the same name, music & lyrics by Joseph Brooks, was originally sung by Kasey Cisyk, who sung in place of lip-synching actress Didi Conn. this is the version you're getting. (I bet you expected me to play Debby Booone. Ha!)

Candle on the Water from Pete's Dragon (the original). Music & Lyrics: Joel Hirschhorn & Al Kasha. Sung by Helen Reddy.

He/She Danced With Me from The Slipper and the Rose (Cinderella as a musical.) Music & Lyrics: Sherman Brothers. Sung by Richard Chamberlain & Gemma Craven:

Someone’s Waiting for You, from The Rescuers. Music: Sammy Fain • Lyrics: Carol Connors & Ayn Robbins. Sung by Shelby Flint.

Other notable films to be nominated included Equus, with Richard Burton and Peter Firth going for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively and also a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Also A Little Night Music, the adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical of the same name, starring Liz Taylor and Diana RIgg, received two nominations: Best Costumes and Best Song Score. We will listen to this, of course:

The Foreign Film category was of particular interest. Those competing were:

For Italy, Una Giorna Particolare (A Special Day), by Ettore Scola. Marcello Mastroianni was also nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of a sensitive gay intellectual. Sophia Loren was his co-star.

For Greece, Ιφιγένεια (Iphigenia), by Michael Cacoyannis, starring Irene Papas.

For France, La Vie Devant Soi (Madame Rosa) by Moshe Mizrahi, starring Simone Signoret.

For Spain, Cet Obscur Objet Du Désir (That Obscure Object Of Desire) by Luis Buñuel, starring Fernando Rey and Carole Bouquet.

For Israel, Mivtsa Yonatan (Operation Thunderbolt), by Menahem Golan, with Klaus Kinski.

The Oscars

Being the 50th anniversary of the awards, the producers of the show wanted to use as many past winners as they could find. They managed to secure almost four dozens of them. Elizabeth Taylor refused to appear, because, as she said, "She doesn't want to infringe on what should be Richard's big night." Joan Fontaine and Olivia De Havilland accepted on the condition that their appearances would be spread far apart, so that they wouldn't have to see each other. The feud between them still existed.

Outside the theater, 75 members of the Jewish Defense League protested Redgrave's nomination, while nearby 200 PLO members and sympathizers demontrated in support of the nominee. Neither group saw Vanessa, who was deposited at the stage door by an ambulance. Clever!

You know what? Redgrave won! The speech she gave was as following:

"My dear colleagues, I thank you very much for this tribute to my work. I think that Jane Fonda and I have done the best work of our lives and I think this is in part due to our director, Fred Zinnemann. [Audience applauds.]

And I also think it's in part because we believed and we believe in what we were expressing - two out of millions who gave their lives and were prepared to sacrifice everything in the fight against fascist and racist Nazi Germany.

And I salute you and I pay tribute to you and I think you should be very proud that in the last few weeks you've stood firm and you have refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums [gasps from the audience followed by a smattering of boos and clapping] whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression.

And I salute that record and I salute all of you for having stood firm and dealt a final blow against that period when Nixon and McCarthy launched a worldwide witch-hunt against those who tried to express in their lives and their work the truth that they believe in [some boos and hissing]. I salute you and I thank you and I pledge to you that I will continue to fight against anti-Semitism and fascism."

Redgrave and presenter Travolta embraced and left the stage together to loud applause. Not present for the diatribe were the "Zionist hoodlums." They were just outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion burning an effigy of the Best Supporting Actress and shouting "Vanessa is a murderer!".

Paddy Chayefsky had had enough of these political speeches at the Academy Awards. So when it came his turn to announce an award winner (for Best Writing), he gave a political speech of his own:

"Before I get on to the writing awards, there's a little matter I'd like to tidy up - at least if I expect to live with myself tomorrow morning. I would like to say, personal opinion, of course, that I'm sick and tired of people exploiting the Academy Awards [loud applause] for the propagation of their own personal propaganda.

I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation and a simple "Thank you" would have sufficed. [Loud applause.]

Chayefsky - so full of himself after this invective - forgot to read the nominations and was screamed at from backstage when he opened the envelope to read the winner. Adapted Screenplay winner Alvin Sargent, who ironically won for his work on Julia, remarked in his speech, "I like to think this Oscar represents those things and the free expression of all our good thoughts and feelings, no matter who we are or what we have to say."

After the show, Jack Nicholson deadpanned (we hope) the following when asked about the speech, "I'm not a well-read person, you can see that. What are these Zionists? Are they reds? There've been threats? I've been skiing." Best Foreign Film winner (for Madame Rosa) and Israeli director Moshe Mizrahi added "basically, she's right."

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner writer Denis Hamill was more distressed with Chayefsky: "Paddy Chayefsky is a hypocrite when he stood up to criticize Vanessa Redgrave for using her speaking time... to make a political statement. Anyone who castigates another person for exercising her right to free speech is making a political statement... He was pontificating."

Except for the two awards mentioned above, Julia also won for Best Supporting Actor (Jason Robards). Richard Dreyfuss, propelled by the fact that he had two strong movies in the mix, won Best Actor for The Goodbye Girl. Diane Keaton was also propelled by the fact that she had two strong movies in the mix; she won Best Actress for Annie Hall. The film also received 3 more Oscars: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and most importantly, Best Picture. Woody Allen wasn't around to receive his Oscars; he was in New York playing clarinet with his band at Michael's Pub.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind settled for Best Cinematography. The Turning Point, with 11 nominations, became the movie with the most nominations that failed to win anything. A few years later, it would be joined by Spielberg's The Color Purple.

Star Wars received 6 Oscars (Art Direction, Costume Design, Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual F/X, as well as Best Original Score for John Williams.) A Little Night Music was awarded for Best Song Score.

What about the songs? Debby Boone, who told reporters she dedicated the ballad to God every time she sang it, was present to sing You Light Up My Life. She was joined on this rendition, she said, by "eleven young ladies affiliated with the John Tracy Clinic for the Deaf", who interpreted the lyrics through sign language. Newspapers revealed later that these little girls were actually students from Torrance, California, and their signing mere mumbo-jumbo. You Light Up My Life won the Best Song award.