The best films of 1999:
1. "Being John Malkovich"

The Telluride and Toronto festivals had already started lobbing in great new films, and by the time I saw "Being John Malkovich" and "Three Kings" early in October, it was clear that Hollywood's hounds of creativity had been set loose and were running free. The last four months of 1999 were a rich and exciting time for moviegoers--there were so many wonderful films that, for the first time in a long time, it was hard to keep up.

"Being John Malkovich" was the year's best, a film so endlessly inventive that I started grinning at the way it kept devising new ways to surprise me. Most movies top-load their bright ideas in the first half hour; this first feature from music video vet Spike Jonze, with screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, is a continuing cascade. And unlike many MTV refugees, Jonze doesn't crank up the volume and the visual overkill; his film unfolds slyly, with delight, like a magician showing you the trick is far from over.

John Cusack stars as a man who gets a job on floor 7 1/2 of a very strange building (the visuals inspire sustained laughter). Behind a filing case, he finds a hole in the wall that is a portal directly into the brain of the actor John Malkovich (playing himself). First Cusack and then a series of paying customers line up to take their trip inside Malkovich, and in one dizzying scene Malkovich even enters his own brain, which is like turning your consciousness inside-out. The movie is funny and very smart, metaphysical in a way, and so bountiful you feel not just admiration but gratitude.

2. "Magnolia"

Another film that seems set free from convention. It begins with a Ricky Jay narration about strange coincidences, and we think that's a setup for coincidences in this film, but actually it's a different kind of tip-off. Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights") intercuts several stories about people in or near the L.A. entertainment industry, in a series of scenes about fathers and sons, about impending death, about people on the edge. You can feel the joy of the actors, sinking their teeth into showboat roles, and Tom Cruise takes a role that could be parody (a professional stud who teaches seminars on picking up women) and U-turns it into a surprising examination of the stud's painful past.

3. "Three Kings"

Another dazzling display of directorial virtuosity, by David O. Russell. On one level, it's an adventure tale about soldiers in the Gulf War who capture a map to Saddam Hussein's horde of stolen gold. On another level, it's a Catch-22 examination of the insanity of war, where every morning you find out who you are, or aren't, shooting at today. The world seems to shrink while we're watching, as a prisoner places a cellular call to his wife and a cable news reporter stands in the middle of the action. The violence and arbitrary nature of war are captured in startling photography (wounds have never seemed so real), and the movie is somehow cocky, satiric and moving, all at once. Remarkable that this war action comedy could also be praised by President Clinton for its politics.

4. "Boys Don't Cry"

Two of the year's best performances, by Hilary Swank and Chloe Sevigny, in the story of a girl named Teena Brandon who declared herself a boy named Brandon Teena. Not a hip excursion along the gender divide, but a small-town story of a girl (Swank) who acted according to a nature she only murkily understood, and another girl (Sevigny) who may have suspected there was something strange about Brandon, but found "he" was infinitely preferable to the town's violent and brain-blinkered louts. Kimberly Peirce's movie helps us understand the motives behind gay-bashing and murder, crimes that feed on ignorance and low self-esteem, often fueled by drugs and booze.

5. "Bringing Out the Dead"

A harrowing, exhilarating ride on the wild side from Martin Scorsese, who stars Nicolas Cage as a paramedic in an emergency response vehicle in New York's Hell's Kitchen. Scorsese's kinetic camera and Paul Schrader's passionate script give the movie a headlong energy; the Cage character ventures out every night into a sea of suffering, with little hope he can really make much of a difference: "I came to realize that my work was less about saving lives than about bearing witness." In an age of irony, Scorsese and Schrader refuse to stand back from their existential themes, but plunge in without compromise.

6. "Princess Mononoke"

Hayao Miyazaki is the greatest living animator, and this is his best work, set at the dawn of the Iron Age, when some men still lived in harmony with nature and others were trying to tame and defeat it. It is not a simplistic tale of good and evil, but the story of how humans, forest animals and nature gods all fight for their share of the new emerging order. One of the most visually inventive films I have ever seen, it's proof that animation is not suited only for family films, but provides the freedom to tell stories that would otherwise be impossible to visualize.

7. "The War Zone"

Tim Roth, a great actor, here proves he is a great director as well. A seemingly happy family from London has relocated to a bleak landscape in Devon, in winter. The mother is having another baby; a boy realizes his sister is being abused by their father. The film is not simply about incest (it is not simply about anything), but about how families can be built on lies and maintained by emotional blackmail. As subtle, complex and harrowing as a film by Ingmar Bergman. ("The War Zone" opens Jan. 14 at the Music Box.)

8. "American Beauty"

The last year in the life of a man who is unloved by his wife, not respected by his daughter and not needed at work. At the end of the year his life is a shambles, but in a strange way he has found happiness. Kevin Spacey's performance is one of
the year's best, with Annette Bening and Thora Birch making family dinner time a species of hell; the family next door has problems of its own, in a suburbia that seems to hum with hate, fear, resentment and lust. Sam Mendes' direction shows a world glossy on the surface, disturbing just beneath.

9. "Topsy-Turvy"

One of the best films ever made about life in the theater. Mike Leigh's story is about a crisis in the most famous of London theatrical partnerships, when Sullivan tells Gilbert he doesn't want to write any more silly operettas. Then Gilbert concocts the plot of "The Mikado," and they're off in a frenzy of contracts, theater leases, salaries, personnel problems, casting, rehearsals, costumes and backstage romance. A sustained rehearsal scene, with Jim Broadbent as Gilbert, shows how performances are built bit by bit and detail by detail. Lots of great music, too.

10. "The Insider"

The story of a tobacco industry scientist (Russell Crowe) who is gingerly coaxed into telling his secrets by a patient producer for "60 Minutes" (Al Pacino). Two backstage stories, one about big tobacco's cover-up of damaging facts, the other about the problems that reporter Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer) and executive producer Don Hewitt (Philip Baker Hall) have getting CBS to air the segment. A brilliant story of journalism fueled by anger, as it becomes clear the tobacco industry knew its product was deadly, and lied about it.

Special jury prize

At major film festivals around the world, something called the Special Jury Prize is awarded to a film the jurors love, but which didn't quite win first place. In recent years I've chosen five titles, named alphabetically, for such an award. Call it a tie for 11th place.

Eric Rohmer's "An Autumn Tale" was a sunny story of a 45ish French woman who owns a vineyard but (her friend thinks) needs a husband. Her daughter's girlfriend thinks the same thing, and their intersecting schemes lead to high and warm humor at someone else's wedding.

Robert Altman's "Cookie's Fortune" takes place in a Mississippi town where a death is mistaken for a murder, leading to strange alliances and the discovery of old family skeletons. Rich comic performances by Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Charles S. Dutton and a colorful supporting cast.

Norman Jewison's "The Hurricane" stars Denzel Washington in a performance of astonishing power as Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer framed for murder and given three life sentences. The film's emotional wallop develops after a boy buys his first book, a used one, for a quarter. It is Carter's autobiography, and it inspires the boy and his foster family to mount a seemingly doomed appeal for the boxer's freedom. It opens Jan. 7.

Patricia Rozema's "Mansfield Park" was an uncommonly intelligent story made from Jane Austen's novel and journals, showing a young woman (Frances O'Connor) whose matrimonial future seems to offer limited choices--until she boldly takes her life into her own hands.

Anthony Minghella's "The Talented Mr. Ripley" stars Matt Damon as a poor man who wants to steal, not a rich man's wealth, but his identity. Sent under false pretenses to bring a playboy (Jude Law) back from Europe, he weaves a tissue of lies and impersonations, improvising brilliantly when on the edge of being exposed. Gwyneth Paltrow plays the rich kid's girlfriend, who isn't as suspicious as she should be, because he's so unreliable anyway.

The Chuck Jones Award

Named for the beloved author of so many of the finest moments of Bugs and Daffy, this category honors the best work in animation. In addition to "Princess Mononoke," which is in my top 10, the award goes alphabetically to:

"Fantasia 2000," a new demonstration of Walt Disney's 1940 brainstorm: Why not set classical music to animated fantasies, both realistic and abstract? Seen on the big IMAX screen, it's a wondrous sound and light trip.

"The Iron Giant" tells an enchanting story about a boy who makes friends with a robot from outer space, at the height of the Sputnik era. The Giant was designed as a weapon but, with echoes of "E.T.," becomes the boy's friend and learns he is not doomed to kill because "you are what you choose to be."

"South Park." On this one I was, and still am, conflicted. It is incredibly raunchy, testing the limits of R and the possibilities of nausea, yet at the same time bold in its social satire and fearless in the way it exposes hypocrisy. One balances between admiration and disbelief. I guess that's a compliment.

"Tarzan" was inspired not so much by the countless B movies as by the original Edgar Rice Burroughs book, transformed here into a story that embodies notions of animal rights. The Disney animation is liberating, especially in sequences where Tarzan carries Jane on a dizzying flight through the treetops.

"Toy Story 2." There's a crisis when a battered Woody, left behind by his owner, seems destined to be shipped forever to a toy museum in Japan. What's better? Immortality as an exhibit, or a short life as a child's most beloved toy? Comedy, action, brilliant computer animation--and philosophy.

Documents from life

A good documentary can create a fascination beyond any fiction because what we see really counts for the people it is happening to. This year was especially rich in documentaries; these are my favorites, alphabetically.

"American Movie," by Chris Smith, charts the long, strange trip of Mark Borchardt, a Wisconsin man who MUST make movies--and makes his disordered life a mission to that end, enlisting aged uncles, unwilling friends and a long-suffering mother. He's convinced that a short horror film will finance his long-dreamed-of major work, and we watch with laughter and sometimes disbelief as he marches heedlessly toward his dream.

"Genghis Blues" is another strange odyssey. A blind San Francisco bluesman named Paul Pena hears haunting music on his shortwave radio, learns it is "throat singing" from the Soviet republic of Tuva, learns how to do it himself and journeys to Tuva for the annual competition. One of those films where every scene seems as unlikely as it is persuasive.

Julia Sweeney's "God Said, Ha!" is a monologue about a year in her life when her brother's cancer led to the brother--and both of her parents--moving in with her, with results both sad and comic. ("Julia," says her mom, "I found a bulb--but I didn't know if there was some special way to screw it in.") The film has a special meaning, and offers comic catharsis, for families touched by cancer.

Doug Block's "Home Page" was a film for the century's end: Filmed with a hand-held digital camera, it told the story of Justin Hall, whose all-revealing journal helped set the tone for the early months of the emerging Web. After a Sundance premiere, it was marketed in an appropriate way, with free screenings on the Web (www.ifilm.com) to promote a New York theatrical opening and a simultaneous video release.

"The Last Days," part of Steven Spielberg's Holocaust project, preserved testimony from survivors of the death camps in Hungary. Stories both heartbreaking and horrifying lead up to an ending that has a theme (and power) similar to "Schindler's List": U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos and his wife, who lost all of their family members, are surrounded by a lawn full of grandchildren.

"Mr. Death" is the latest from Errol Morris, the gifted artist whose films become meditations on man's struggle against death and nature. His subject this time: a man whose limited expertise (designing killing machines for Death Rows) leads him into an ill-advised alliance with Holocaust deniers. Why does he cherish their embrace? The hangman always needs friends.

"On the Ropes" is as powerful, in its way, as "Hoop Dreams," telling the stories of three boxers who hope to use the sport to escape from poverty. Most heartbreaking is the experience of Tyrene Manson, a Golden Gloves candidate who is railroaded on an unlikely drug charge by an uncaring court and inattentive attorneys (both prosecuting and defense). The film makes you so angry you want to shout at the screen.

Honorable mention Hirokazu Kore-eda's "After Life," the Japanese fable of a heavenly way station; "The Blair Witch Project," by Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, which won huge audiences with its story of low-rent filmmakers lost in the woods; Goran Paskaljevic's powerful "Cabaret Balkan," with its cynical view of endless rounds of ethnic hate and terror; Majid Majidi's wonderful film from Iran, "Children of Heaven," which told the story of a poor boy's desperation to replace his sister's lost shoes; Erick Zonca's "The Dreamlife of Angels," the shaky friendship of two working-class girls in France; Milos Forman's "Man on the Moon," with its uncanny performance by Jim Carrey as the tunnel-visioned comic Andy Kaufman; Lawrence Kasdan's gentle "Mumford," about people curing themselves by learning to listen a little better; Francois Girard's "The Red Violin," many stories, much romance and intrigue, one violin; Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow," one of the best-looking, most atmospheric films of the year; David Lynch's "The Straight Story," with its luminous performance by Richard Farnsworth, and Michael Polish's "Twin Falls Idaho," written by and starring Polish and his brother Mark, as conjoined twins--lonely, yet never alone.

And I also valued: "All About My Mother," "Bowfinger," "Civil Action," "Dick," "Dogma," "Election," "Eyes Wide Shut," "Felicia's Journey," "The General," "The Green Mile," "Guinevere," "Last Night," "Liberty Heights," "Limbo," "The Loss of Sexual Innocence," "My Name Is Joe," "My Son the Fanatic," "October Sky," "Star Wars: Episode One--The Phantom Menace," "Private Confessions," "Summer of Sam," "Sweet and Lowdown," "Tango," "The Winslow Boy" and "The World Is Not Enough."  Copyright © Chicago-Sun-Times Inc.

HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - The Broadcast Film Critics Assn., which bills itself as the nation's largest film critics group, will announce the winners of its fifth annual Critics Choice Awards on Jan. 24.

The nominees for best picture are (in alphabetical order): ''American Beauty,'' ``Being John Malkovich,''
``The Cider House Rules'' ``The Green Mile'' ``The Insider'' ``Magnolia,'' ''Man on the Moon,'' ``The Sixth
Sense'' ``The Talented Mr. Ripley'' and ``Three Kings.''

Acting awards, already announced, went to: actor, Russell Crowe for ``The Insider''; actress, Hilary Swank
for ``Boys Don't Cry''; supporting actor, Michael Clarke Duncan for ``The Green Mile''; and supporting
actress, Angelina Jolie for ``Girl, Interrupted.''

Other awards went to: director Sam Mendes and writer Alan Ball (original screenplay) for ``American
Beauty''; screenplay adaptation, Frank Darabont for ``The Green Mile''; breakthrough performer, Spike
Jonze, for directing ``Being John Malkovich'' and co-starring in ``Three Kings''; child performer, Haley Joel
Osment (''The Sixth Sense''); animated feature, ``Toy Story 2''; family film, (live action) ``October Sky'';
picture made for TV, ''RKO 281'' and ``Tuesdays with Morrie''; foreign language film, ''All About My
Mother''; feature documentary, ``Buena Vista Social Club''; song, ``Music of My Heart''; and score, Gabriel Yared, ``The Talented Mr. Ripley.''

The best picture will be announced at an event at the Hotel Sofitel.

After stretching his acting legs on several indie flicks, Verve Pipe frontman Brian Vander Ark has just been cast in his first big-budget motion picture, and will appear with Mark Wahlberg in "Metal God."

Vander Ark previously had small roles in two Matthew Leutwyler movies, "Road Kill" and "The Space Between Us," and even dyed his hair black for another film, Matthew Bard's "Mergers & Acquisitions."

"Metal God" will recount the real life story of Ripper Owens, who went from singing in a Judas Priest cover band to replacing vocalist Rob Halford in the actual band. Wahlberg will portray Ripper in the movie, which is being directed by Stephen Herek and will start shooting in January 2000 for release in November.

As for the Verve Pipe, the band has spent much of the last few months touring in support of its newest, self-titled record, and will head to Indianapolis on December 31 for a New Year's Eve gig at Monument Circle.

Given that trailers are supposed to whet your appetite for a movie, it's surprising how many of them fail to achieve that goal. But this week a trailer has gone online which has had the Empire Online office crying out for more.

The Perfect Storm stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and is adapted from the best-selling novel by Sebastian Junger. Based on a real story about a fishing boat that went blissfully unaware into one of the worst storms of the century, the special effects were always going to have be good to make this movie work. One look at the trailer suggests that they're not only good, but groundbreaking. Check it out and you'll see what we mean.

Third round of recent awards throws next year's Oscars wide open.

The Boston Society of Film Critics has thrown the doors to next year's Oscars wide open in awarding George Clooney's Gulf War adventure, 'Three Kings' its best pic of 1999. The society also awarded directing honours to 'Kings' helmer David O Russell.

In the movie, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze star alongside Clooney as a group of guys who set out in the aftermath of the Gulf War to reclaim relics that Sadam Hussein has stolen from Kuwait.

The society named Jim Carrey as best actor for his portrayal in 'Man On The Moon' of the late, eccentric 'Taxi' star, Andy Kaufman. Only time will tell whether Carrey, who won a 1998 Golden Globe for his role in 'The Truman Show' only to be snubbed by the Academy, will again be overlooked for a coveted Oscar statuette.

Meanwhile, 'Boys Don't Cry,' the transgender tale from first-time director Kimberly Peirce won three awards in Boston: best actress for Hilary Swank, best supporting actress for Chloe Sevigny and best newcomer for Peirce. Swank plays real-life murder victim Brandon Teena who was killed  when her true identity as a woman was revealed.

Best supporting actor went to Christopher Plummer for his role in 'The Insider'.

Just days ago it seemed that either Sam Mendes' 'American Beauty', or 'The Insider', a controversial look at the US tobacco industry starring Russell Crow could be Oscar favourites. But the new awards show there's little consensus so far among critics' groups for the best films of the year.

The best news of all is that most of these movies open here early next year.

Boston sure likes George Clooney. Last year the Boston Society of Film Critics chose "Out of Sight" as its film of the year; this year the group named Clooney's Gulf War adventure "Three Kings" as the best of 1999.  The society also awarded directing honors to "Kings" helmer David O. Russell.

Jim Carrey was named best actor by the Boston group for his portrayal of the late, eccentric comedian Andy Kaufman in "Man on the Moon". Time will tell whether Carrey, who won a 1998 Golden Globe for his serious turn in last year's "The Truman Show" but was snubbed by the Academy and the Screen Actors Guild, will again be overlooked for other acting awards.

Hilary Swank, the only nominee to win in a single round of balloting, was named best actress for "Boys Don't Cry". Swank portrays real-life murder victim Brandon Teena, a woman who passed herself off as a man and was killed when her identity was revealed. Sevigny, who plays her girlfriend in the film, was named best supporting actress. (Swank and Sevigny also won their respective categories from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.) "Boys" director Kimberly Peirce was named best new filmmaker of the year.

Christopher Plummer, who portrays "60 Minutes" anchor Mike Wallace in "The Insider", was named best supporting actor, adding to his L.A. Film Critics nod.

The other Boston-L.A. winners were Charlie Kaufman for his "Being John Malkovich" screenplay and "All About My Mother" director Pedro Almodovar in the best foreign film category.

The Boston critics gave the cinematography award to Emmanuel Lubezki for his stunning work on "Sleepy Hollow" and the documentary prize to the little-seen "Hands on a Hard Body", about a contest to win a pickup truck.

There's little consensus so far among critics' groups for the top film of the year. L.A. Critics chose "The Insider" and the National Board of Review recognized "American Beauty", while deeming "The Insider" its No. 4 film and "Three Kings" 10th best of 1999.

Since Clooney is currently shooting "The Perfect Storm"; a film which will be eligible for year 2000 awards — near Boston, in Gloucester, Mass., we'll see if the actor's Beantown trend continues for another year.
Reuters contributed to this story.

"Three Kings," David O. Russell's Gulf War actioner, was named Best Picture by the Boston Film Critics Association today.

The film, which also won Russell a Best Director award, follows American soldiers who find a map in the desert leading to an arsenal of stolen gold bullion. As they hunt for the treasure, the trio encounter atrocities of war and face moral dilemmas.

Starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube, "Three Kings" grossed about $58 million at the box office and was earlier named one of the National Board of Review's top 10 of the year. It's the second year in a row Clooney has starred in the association's top picture; the 1998 Best Picture was Steven Soderbergh's "Out of Sight," co-starring Jennifer Lopez.

Hilary Swank picked up her third critics' award of 1999, named Best Actress for "Boys Don't Cry." She plays Brandon Teena, a Nebraska woman who masquerades as a man before her brutal murder. Swank was earlier named Best Actress by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and Best Breakthrough Performance by the National Board of Review. The 25-year-old actress, whose biggest roles to date were "The Next Karate Kid" and a part on "Beverly Hills, 90210," is now a likely strong Oscar contender.

The film also won a second Best Supporting Actress award for Chloe Sevigny and a second Best New Filmmaker award for director Kimberly Peirce.

Jim Carrey, who picked up a Golden Globe last year for his dramatic showing in "The Truman Show," was named Best Actor for his portrayal of late comedian Andy Kaufman, who died of cancer at age 35. The Best Supporting Actor award went to "The Insider's" Christopher Plummer, for his role as "60 Minutes" correspondent Mike Wallace. It is Plummer's second award for the film, which was voted Best Picture by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

Other awards went to Charlie Kaufman for his screenplay for "Being John Malkovich" and Emmanuel Lubezski for "Sleepy Hollow's" cinematography. Pedro Almodovar's "All About My Mother" continued  its sweep of Best Foreign Film awards, and "Hands on a Hardbody," about contestants competing for a free truck in Texas, was named Best Documentary.

Missing from the awards list is "American Beauty," which was named Best Picture by the National Board of Review, and other critics' award winners "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Magnolia" and "Tumbleweeds."

The group also cited five film series: a John Ford retrospective (Harvard Film Archive); "Scandalous Cinema: The Films of Catherine Breillat" (Museum of Fine Arts); "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of: Marcello Mastroianni" (MFA); "Shoot the Director: The Films of Francois Truffaut" (MFA); and the Boston Jewish Film Festival. In addition, the association cited five discoveries and rediscoveries: ''The Man Who Laughed,'' ''Mighty Peking Man,'' ''The Third Man,'' ''Grand Illusion'' and ''The Three Stooges & Co.'' 

"Boys Don't Cry," "Three Kings" and Jim Carrey have much reason to celebrate in Beantown. "Boys Don't Cry" won three Boston Society of Film Critics awards, while "Three Kings" took home a pair from the reviewing group, including best picture. Carrey won best actor in Boston for his turn as late comedian Andy Kaufman in "Man on the Moon."

The Boston Society of Film Critics continued its love affair with George Clooney yesterday, voting its best film award to ''Three Kings.'' Clooney stars as the larcenous mastermind in the envelope-pushing caper comedy about outlaw GIs stealing gold and bonding with anti-Saddam rebels behind Iraqi lines at the close of the Gulf War. ''Out of Sight,'' in which Clooney played another thief, won the organization's top prize last year. ''Three Kings'' also took the best director award for David O. Russell, who wrote the film that breaks new ground in a war movie in its questioning of US foreign policy motives.

''Boys Don't Cry'' emerged as the other big winner in the BSFC meeting yesterday at the Lenox Hotel. It claimed the best actress award for Hilary Swank and the best suporting actress citation for Chloe Sevigny in the film based on the actual murder of a transsexual, Brandon Teena, in Nebraska. Swank plays Teena, a woman living the life of a man. Sevigny plays a woman who responded to Teena's sensitivity, igniting the wrath of two threatened locals who raped and subsequently killed Teena. The film's writer-director, Kimberly Peirce, also was named best new filmmaker by the group.

Jim Carrey was named best actor for his portrayal of the late comedian Andy Kaufman in the imminent ''Man on the Moon.'' Christopher Plummer got the best supporting actor award for his performance as TV commentator Mike Wallace, forced to squelch an interview with a tobacco industry whistle-blower in ''The Insider.'' Charlie Kaufman took the best screenplay award for ''Being John Malkovich,'' his contemporary Alice-in-Wonderland riff on our celebrity culture. Emmanuel Lubezski got the best cinematography award for ''Sleepy Hollow.'' S. R. Binder's ''Hands on a Hardbody,'' about contestants competing for a free truck in Texas, was named best documentary. The best foreign film citation went to Pedro Almodovar's soon-to-be-released ''All About My Mother.''

The voting provided little insight into an awards season when all the top prizes are widely regarded as being up for grabs. The only first-ballot choices were Carrey and Swank. Otherwise, voting was close, with multiple favorites, most notably the black comedy of American family dysfunction, ''American Beauty,'' and the slickly malignant remake of Patricia Highsmith's story of rich Americans chasing evil in Europe in the late '50s, ''The Talented Mr. Ripley.''

The group also cited five film series: a John Ford retrospective (Harvard Film Archive); ''Scandalous Cinema: The Films of Catherine Breillat'' (Museum of Fine Arts); ''The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of: Marcello Mastroianni'' (MFA); ''Shoot the Director: The Films of Francois Truffaut'' (MFA); and the Boston Jewish Film Festival. In addition, the BSFC got behind film preservation by citing five discoveries and rediscoveries: ''The Man Who Laughed,'' ''Mighty Peking Man,'' ''The Third Man,'' ''Grand Illusion,'' and ''The Three Stooges & Co.''

Voting were six Boston Phoenix critics: Peter Keogh, Tom Meek, Gerald Peary, Alicia Potter, Gary Susman, and Steve Vineberg; also Stephen Brophy (Bay Windows, South End News); David Brudnoy (Community Newspapers); Daniel Kimmel (Worcester Telegram & Gazette); Joyce Kulhawik (WBZ-TV); Paul Sherman and James Verniere (Boston Herald); Betsy Sherman and Jay Carr (Boston Globe).

This story ran on page E01 of the Boston Globe on 12/13/99.© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company. 

Writer-director David O. Russell's Gulf War drama-comedy ``Three Kings'' captured the 1999 Best Film and Best Director awards yesterday in voting by the Boston Society of Film Critics.

The genre-busting ``Kings'' was one of only two movies to take home awards in more than one category. It also marked the second consecutive year the 14-member Boston Society of Film Critics has given its top prize to a movie that starred George Clooney than went unnoticed at the box office, following last year's ``Out of Sight,'' which then went on to win several other awards by critics societies.

The moving docudrama ``Boys Don't Cry'' - about the 1995 murder of Teena Brandon, a young woman who lived as a man - was the other multiple winner. It received awards for New Filmmaker (Kimberley Peirce), Best Actress (Hilary Swank) and Best Supporting Actress (Chloe Sevigny).

Like Swank's breakthrough performance, in which the young actress convincingly portrayed the physical and emotional dilemmas of gender-crossing Brandon, and Sevigny's, as Brandon's real-life girlfriend, all of this year's acting nods went to performers playing real people.

The Best Actor award went to Jim Carrey, for his hilarious and perceptive performance as late comic Andy Kaufman in ``Man on the Moon'' (it opens Christmas week).

Best Supporting Actor honors went to Christopher Plummer, as CBS newsman (and Brookline native) Mike Wallace in ``The Insider.''

Another Christmas-week opening, Spaniard Pedro Almodovar's ``All About My Mother,'' nabbed Best Foreign Language Film.

S.R. Bindler's little-seen ``Hands on a Hard Body,'' which revealed the unexpected human drama of a Texas truck dealer's giveaway contest, took home Best Documentary.

Other awards included Charlie Kaufman's inventive ``Being John Malkovich'' script (Screenplay) and Emmanuel Lubezski's haunting light-and-shadow work in Tim Burton's ``Sleepy Hollow'' (Cinematography).

Film series saluting John Ford, Marcello Mastroianni and Francois Truffaut at, respectively, Harvard Film Archive, The Museum of Fine Arts and The Brattle Theater were also cited. The eclectic Boston Jewish Film Festival also received recognition. 

New Line's soiree got under way around 10:30 p.m., but by 10:55 the marshal decided the penthouse, which looks like an office that's been stripped to its industrial skivvies, had "exceeded its occupant load.''

That left only 499 guests wandering through an artfully dolled-up space that appeared capable of holding twice the number. It also left scores in the lobby, which one guest referred to as "party purgatory,'' though it did have food and drinks. They waited for someone to exit so they could enter. Eventually all did.

Those taking the elevators skyward had lots to say about the film that got an unusually strong round of applause as it ended. Comments ranged from "amazing'' to "a poor man's Altman.'' And "I like bleak, but I need a ray of light at the end'' to "stunning -- and I'm not easily impressed.''

Among those riding the elevators were New Line's Bob Shaye, Michael Lynne, Michael De Luca and Lynn Harris; director Paul Thomas Anderson with Fiona Apple; stars Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Ricky Jay, Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman; plus guests Ed Burns with Heather Graham, Pete Sampras, Brooke Shields, Robert Towne and Mark Wahlberg.

Get out the foul weather gear because ``The Perfect Storm'' is brewing today!

Trailers for the made-in-Gloucester thriller starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg will begin running prior to the new Tom Hanks flick, ``The Green Mile,'' in theaters nationwide.

The flick, based on Sebastian Junger's best-seller about the 1991 storm that sank the Gloucester fishing boat Andrea Gail, will be Warner Bros.' big summer offering. It opens in June.

``It's awesome, it'll be next year's blockbuster; that's all I'm going to say,'' said ex-Gloucester fisherman Mick Verga, who just got back from Hollywood where he spent three weeks working on the ``Storm'' set as an extra for the bar scenes.

``The Chamber of Commerce will be very excited. This movie is going to draw a lot of people to Gloucester,'' he said.

Verga said he and the rest of the cast and crew were shown a rough cut of the flick just after Thanksgiving.

The movie will feature some of the most expensive special effects ever filmed and, word is, director Wolfgang Petersen is rather pleased with the results.

"They are going to shoot a couple of days this week just to get a few shots on the boat wrapped up,'' Verga said.

After that, it's off to the editing booth for a few months until the film is just right. Then it's time to throw on the tux, rent the limo and head out to the premiere!

Hooray for Hollywood!

Which is a kind of mantra for Mick and four buddies who paid their own expenses out to Tinseltown to warm barstools on the ``Storm'' set and provide authentic background scenery for the flick.

"I have no complaints or regrets, they treated us wonderfully,'' said Verga, who drives a truck for a seafood firm and has appeared with the Gloucester Stage Company.

"And if I survive the editing process, I got some good camera angles.''

File under: Picture Perfect.

NEW YORK (Variety) - DreamWorks' ``American Beauty'' was named best film of the year by National Board of Review, whose annual announcement traditionally marks the launch of the awards season.

The group spread the major honors across several films, naming Russell Crowe best actor for Disney's ``The Insider,'' Janet McTeer best actress for Fine Line's ``Tumbleweeds,'' and Anthony Minghella best director for Paramount-Miramax's ``The Talented Mr'' which opens Christmas Day.

``Ripley,'' which was shown to the board in an unfinished print, was ranked the second best film of the year, followed by New Line's ``Magnolia,'' which opens Dec. 17.

``Magnolia'' was given an award for best ensemble. Supporting actor nods also went to its costars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore. Hoffman's roll as a wealthy American expat in ``Ripley,'' and Moore's turns in First Look's ''A Map of the World,'' Miramax's ``An Ideal Husband'' and USA Films' ``Cookie's Fortune,'' were also cited.

``The Insider'' was named the fourth best film, followed by ``The Straight Story'' and ``Cradle Will Rock,'' both from Disney. In addition, Tim Robbins will be given a special filmmaking achievement nod for his writing and directing of ``Cradle,'' which opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday.

Fox Searchlight's ``Boys Don't Cry'' nabbed the seventh spot, with director Kimberly Peirce named best debut director and actress Hilary Swank given the breakthrough performance award. ``American Beauty's'' Wes Bentley will share the breakthrough honor with Swank.

USA Films' ``Being John Malkovich,'' Fine Line's ``Tumbleweeds'' and Warner Bros.' ``Three Kings'' round out the top 10. In what was the sole nod for Miramax's Friday release ``The Cider House Rules,'' John Irving was awarded best screenplay for his adaptation of his own novel.

As evidence of Gotham-based Sony Pictures Classics' growing reputation as the premiere distrib for foreign language films, four of the National Board of Review's five best foreign films were SPC releases -- ``All About My Mother,'' ``Run Lola Run,'' ``East-West'' and ``The Emperor and the Assassin.'' Paramount Classics' ``Cabaret Balkan'' rounded out the list.

A career achievement award will be given to Clint Eastwood, and the Billy Wilder award will be given to director John Frankenheimer. Freedom of expression awards will be given to Michael Mann for ``The Insider'' and Joan Chen for ``Xiu: The Sent Down Girl.''

This year, the organization gave a special mention for outstanding indie films. Listing them alphabetically, they were: ``A Map of the World,'' ``A Walk on the Moon'' ``Election,'' ``Go,'' ``Limbo'' ``Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,'' ``Man of the Century,'' ``Stir of Echoes,'' ``This is My Father'' and ``Twin Falls Idaho.''

The National Board of Review awards will be presented Jan. 18 at Gotham's Tavern on the Green.

Reuters/Variety

NEW YORK (Reuters) - ``American Beauty,'' a critically acclaimed tale of suburban life run amok, was named the best film of 1999 on Wednesday by the group that traditionally kicks off the annual film Awards season.

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, a 90-year-old group that includes film teachers, film students and critics, named Russell Crowe for his performance in ``The Insider'' as its choice for Best Actor.

In the film about a CBS News ``60 Minutes'' program on the tobacco industry, Crowe plays former tobacco company executive and whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand.

British actress Janet McTeer star was named Best Actress for her performance in ``Tumbleweeds'' by the New York-based board. The Best Director award went to Anthony Minghella for ``The Talented Mr'' and ``Buena Vista Social Club'' was named Best Documentary.

The board, which will present the awards in New York Jan. 18, put ``American Beauty'' starring Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey at the top of its Ten Best Films list, followed by ``The Talented Mr. Ripley.''

The other eight films in the top 10 list were ``Magnolia,'' ''The Insider,'' ``The Straight Story,'' ``Cradle Will Rock,'' ''Boys Don't Cry,'' ``Being John Malkovich,'' ``Tumbleweeds'' and ``Three Kings.''

``It was a very tight race this year, it was a difficult decision,'' said National Board director Lois Ballon. ``And total excitement about Janet McTeer, we think she's quite amazing.''

``American Beauty,'' released in September, marked the feature film directorial debut of theater director Sam Mendes.

The December awards by film critics' groups, including the National Board, the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics, have grown increasingly influential in deciding Hollywood's own Academy Awards. The other two groups were scheduled to announce their awards later this month.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was named Best Supporting Actor by the National Board Wednesday for performances in two films: ''Magnolia'' and ``The Talented Mr. Ripley.'' Julianne Moore was named Best Supporting Actress for her roles in ``An Ideal Husband,'' ``A Map of The World,'' "Cookie's Fortune'' and ''Magnolia.''

Director and actor Clint Eastwood won the group's Career Achievement Award and Special Achievement for Filmmaking in 1999 went to Tim Robbins for ``Cradle Will Rock.''

``This is the same award that we have given for four or five years now and every one of those awards have gone straight to the Academy,'' Ballon said. ``So Tim Robbins should be very blessed.''

Ballon, who described the group as ``great defenders of freedom of expression in film and for filmmakers'' awarded director/producer Michael Mann its Freedom of Expression Award for ``The Insider.''

The Five Best Foreign Films of 1999 were named as ``All About My Mother,'' ``Run Lola Run,'' ``East-West,'' ``Cabaret Balkan'' and ``The Emperor and the Assassin.'' 

CBS now owns the “World.”

The Eye has nabbed first network broadcast rights to MGM’s “The World Is Not Enough” for an estimated $20 million. Pierce Brosnan’s third go-round as the international agent has already raked in $91 million at the box office.

CBS had the inside track on the latest Bond pic. As part of its deal a few years back for the rights to the last Bond movie, “Tomorrow Never Dies,” the net won a first-look option for at least one future Brosnan-toplined Bond feature.

“World” isn’t the only pic on the move. TNT is planning to give a new lease on life to the animated movie “The Iron Giant” by showcasing it in primetime before the picture winds up on the Cartoon Channel.

Warner Bros., which produced and distributed “Iron Giant,” and is a sister company of TNT, has engineered the following theatrical-movie deals with NBC and Turner Broadcasting’s TBS and TNT.

NBC, mindful of the fact that George Clooney became a star on the network’s “ER” series, has bought two runs of the Clooney picture “Three Kings” in an exclusive two-year broadcast window that will kick off in the fall of 2002. In addition, “Kings” scribe John Ridley is a writer and producer on the Peacock’s frosh drama “Third Watch.”

As part of the “Kings” deal, NBC also bought the second runs of two Warners’ movies that will premiere on TBS: “Deep Blue Sea” and “The Chill Factor.”

An NBC spokeswoman declined comment. One source said NBC’s license fee will come to about $9 million for the three pictures.

TBS and TNT have picked up an exclusive four-year network window of “House on Haunted Hill” for a license fee of about $6 million. And Turner has bought “The Bachelor” from another sister company, New Line Cinema, for about $3.5 million.

“The Iron Giant,” which movie critics and children’s advocates praised when it opened this summer, failed at the box office, winding up with a domestic gross of about $23 million.

Warner Bros. sold it to the Cartoon Network, but the license fee of $3 million or so proved too rich for Cartoon’s blood. So TNT came in on a six-month pre-Cartoon Network window. TNT will get six runs of “Iron Giant” within that window, shouldering a big portion of the license fee.

Both TNT and Cartoon plan to heavily promote the movie, treating it as a special picture that got lost in the shuffle when it hit the U.S. multiplexes.

In one of the year's strongest and deepest categories, the 1999 Academy Awards competition for supporting actor is shaping up as a doozy, with newcomers like young Haley Joel Osment of "The Sixth Sense" vying for a nomination against such screen veterans as Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, John Malkovich and even a superstar, Tom Cruise.

A glance at this year's wide-open field reveals at least two dozen contenders who could reasonably hear their names called when Oscar nominations are announced Feb. 15 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

They range from Max von Sydow as a compassionate attorney battling to save a Japanese American on trial for murder in "Snow Falling on Cedars," to Ving Rhames as a Bible-thumping paramedic in "Bringing Out the Dead," to movies with multiple supporting-actor contenders: Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube as Gulf War soldiers in "Three Kings," Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Robards, William H. Macy and Cruise as part of the ensemble cast of "Magnolia," Jude Law and Hoffman again as Americans abroad in the '50s in the upcoming "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and Chris Cooper and Wes Bentley as a tormented father and son in "American Beauty."

The abundance of supporting-actor contenders contrasts sharply with other key Oscar categories, particularly best actress, which some Hollywood observers say appears puzzlingly weak this year. Even in the best film category, no film is expected to dominate the way "Titanic," "Schindler's List" or "Forrest Gump" did in recent years.

Meanwhile, the supporting-actor category is not only filled with possibilities, but seasoned with tantalizing subplots. Consider:

* Will the academy take notice of Osment, who seemingly came out of nowhere to grab the attention of critics and fans alike as the frightened 11-year-old boy who sees ghosts in the surprise blockbuster "The Sixth Sense"?

* Will Cruise, who received lackluster reviews for his work on Stanley Kubrick's final film, "Eyes Wide Shut," resurface phoenix-like and ignite the academy's interest with his fiery performance as a sexist self-help lecturer in "Magnolia"?

* Will Caine, who won a Golden Globe for best actor in a comedy last year for "Little Voice" only to be snubbed by the academy, make a comeback this year as a caring yet stubborn abortion doctor in "The Cider House Rules"?

* Will Plummer's heralded portrayal of television newsman Mike Wallace, a performance imbued with wry humor that touched a nerve at the CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes," be nominated for "The Insider" even though the film is having problems finding an audience?

* Or will Malkovich, who poked fun at himself in the bizarre and often hilarious comedy "Being John Malkovich," be rewarded for his risk taking? If he is, he would become the first actor ever to win an Oscar for playing himself.

David Thomson, a film columnist for the Independent on Sunday in London and a well-known film writer, said the breadth of this year's supporting-actor hopefuls proves a point he has long held.

"I think what it indicates is the old, old truth that actors have a lot more freedom and independence in supporting roles," Thomson said. "They don't carry the movie, so they don't get over-directed because of it and often they can come in and deliver gems."

Thomson noted that the whole task of defining supporting actor has become difficult, particularly in movies that feature ensemble casts like "Magnolia," "Cookie's Fortune" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

"We have been in an age of the group film," he observed. "Sometimes it is very tricky to distinguish the lead actor from the supporting actor, which I like, because I feel that in life everyone is supporting everyone else. I like the idea that every part is of the same weight. I feel that directors like Robert Altman have encouraged us that way."

Consider Law. If one were to judge his performance in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" solely on the first half of the film, Law would have to be considered a viable candidate for lead actor alongside Matt Damon. But Law's character disappears by the second half, thus relegating him to a supporting role.

Some supporting actors this year have also turned in memorable performances in more than one film. Examples include Cooper, who portrays a stern father in both "American Beauty" and "October Sky," and Hoffman, who portrays a dying man's caregiver in "Magnolia" and a sarcastic,   jazz-loving American living in Italy in "The Talented Mr. Ripley."

This year's contenders also range from seasoned screen veterans to virtual unknowns.

Michael Clarke Duncan, for example, isn't a household name yet, but audiences soon will be seeing the African American actor alongside Tom Hanks in the prison drama "The Green Mile." Duncan plays a massive prison inmate whose unusual powers starkly contrast with his appearance. Similarly, the name Peter Skarsgard may not be familiar, but he delivers a searing   performance as the volatile ex-convict who commits a chilling double murder in "Boys Don't Cry." And little-known Henry J. Lennix is getting strong word-of-mouth for his role as a conniving Roman in the upcoming "Titus."

And moviegoers might have trouble recognizing the name Rhys Ifans, but he stole scenes as the disheveled, goofy but good-hearted roommate Spike in the Julia Roberts / Hugh Grant romantic comedy "Notting Hill."

As for the more familiar names, these actors and their supporting performances are also likely to receive serious consideration by the academy: Charles S. Dutton as an innocent murder suspect in "Cookie's Fortune," Peter Fonda as a sleazy record producer in "The Limey," Jeremy Northam as an English lawyer in "The Winslow Boy," Harold Pinter as a rich landowner in "Mansfield Park" and Jeffrey Wright as a freed American slave fighting for the Confederacy in "Ride With the Devil."

The field only will get more crowded in the next few weeks as some heavyweight films open, including the aforementioned "Magnolia," "The Cider House Rules" and "Snow Falling on Cedars," as well as "Angela's Ashes" and "Any Given Sunday." With such a crowded field, studios will have to make some tough decisions on which actor to push for the Oscar, particularly in films with more than one possible supporting actor nominee.