Best Films – 1993

Jane Campion’s hauntingly beautiful The Piano is one of the rare successful attempts to bring the Gothic sensitivity of the Brontë sisters to the screen. Holly Hunter is superb as the Scottish widow Ada, a (self-imposed) mute and mother of a strange little girl, who finds herself stranded both physically and emotionally in the wilds of 19th-century New Zealand. Ada’s piano is her means to communicate with herself and with her world. Anna Paquin is a revelation as the quirky daughter, and Sam Neill offers good support as Ada’s husband, a local man who resents the fact that he is less than he would like to be. Stuart Dryburgh’s magnificent cinematography and Michael Nyman’s powerful (mostly piano) score help turn The Piano into a feast for the senses and for the spirit.

FILM
The Piano
Ba wang bie ji / Farewell, My Concubine
Hedd Wyn
Hsi yen / The Wedding Banquet
Johnny Cien Pesos
The Joy Luck Club
Il Lungo silenzio / The Long Silence
L’Odeur de la papaye verte / The Scent of Green Papaya
The Remains of the Day

NON-FICTION
Baraka (d: Ron Fricke)

DIRECTOR
Jane Campion (The Piano)
Brian Gibson (What’s Love Got to Do with It)
Lasse Hallström (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape)
Tran Anh Hung (L’Odeur de la papaye verte / The Scent of Green Papaya)
James Ivory (The Remains of the Day)
Ivan Reitman (Dave)
Ricky Tognazzi (La Scorta / The Escorts)
Paul Turner (Hedd Wyn)
Margarethe von Trotta (Il Lungo silenzio / The Long Silence)
Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club)

ACTOR
Anthony Hopkins (The Remains of the Day)
Jeff Bridges (Fearless)
Laurence Fishburne (What’s Love Got to Do with It)
Huw Garmon (Hedd Wyn)
Anthony Hopkins (Shadowlands)
Tommy Lee Jones (The Fugitive)
Kevin Kline (Dave)
Colm Meaney (The Snapper)
Sam Neill (The Piano)
David Thewliss (Naked)

ACTRESS
Carla Gravina (Il Lungo silenzio / The Long Silence)
Angela Bassett (What’s Love Got to Do with It)
Juliette Binoche (Trois couleurs: Bleu / Three Colors: Blue)
Amy Chin (Hsi yen / The Wedding Banquet)
Holly Hunter (The Piano)
Gong Li (Ba wang bie ji / Farewell, My Concubine)
Michelle Pfeiffer (The Age of Innocence)
Emma Thompson (The Remains of the Day)

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sihung Lung (Hsi yen / The Wedding Banquet)
Ewin Bremner (Naked)
Carlo Cecchi (La Scorta / The Escorts)
Leonardo DiCaprio (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape)
James Fox (The Remains of the Day)
Charles Grodin (Dave)
Ben Kingsley (Schindler’s List)
Frank Langella (Dave)
Willy Semler (Johnny Cien Pesos)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anna Paquin (The Piano)
Joan Allen (Searching for Bobby Fischer)
Vanessa Bell Calloway (What’s Love Got to Do with It)
Katrin Cartlidge (Naked)
Tsao Chin (The Joy Luck Club)
Ah-Leh Gua (Hsi yen / The Wedding Banquet)
Jenifer Lewis (What’s Love Got to Do with It)
Senta Moira (Schwarzfahrer / Fare Dodger / Black Rider [short film])
Emma Thompson (In the Name of the Father)
Alida Valli (Il Lungo silenzio / The Long Silence)

SCREENPLAY
Jane Campion (The Piano)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (The Remains of the Day)
Felice Laudadio (Il Lungo silenzio / The Long Silence)
Alan Llwyd (Hedd Wyn)
Gustavo Graef Marino & Gerardo Cáceres (Johnny Cien Pesos)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Stuart Dryburgh (The Piano)
Michael Ballhaus (The Age of Innocence)
Peter Biziou (In the Name of the Father)
Benoît Delhomme (L’Odeur de la papaye verte / The Scent of Green Papaya)
Ron Fricke (Baraka)
Slawomir Idziak (Trois couleurs: Bleu / Three Colors: Blue)
Peter Mokrosinski (Mannen på balkongen / The Man on the Balcony)
Ray Orton (Hedd Wyn)
Tony Pierce-Roberts (The Remains of the Day)
Roger Pratt (Shadowlands)

ORIGINAL SCORE
Michael Nyman (The Piano)
Andrew Dickson (Naked)
Zakir Hussain & Ustad Sultan Khan (In Custody)
Maurice Jarre (Fearless)
Ennio Morricone (Il Lungo silenzio / The Long Silence)
Ennio Morricone (La Scorta / The Escorts)
Alan Parker & Björn Isfält (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape)
Richard Robbins (The Remains of the Day)
Michel Seigner (Schwarzfahrer / Fare Dodger / Black Rider [short film])
Michael Stearns (Baraka)