Born on the Fourth of July was the most eagerly anticipated film of 1989.  Oliver Stone’s previous Vietnam War movie, Platoon, had cleaned up at the Oscars just three years earlier and this film about war hero turned anti-war activist Ron Kovic, was expected to follow suit.  The film was supposed to have been made ten years earlier with Al Pacino playing the paraplegic hero.  Tom Cruise, coming off the enormous success of Rain Man, re-energized his career in the role and was the leading contender for the year’s Best Actor Oscar.  As often does, another similarly themed film came out of nowhere to clip July’s wings.

Irish director Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot about paralyzed Irish poet Christy Brown, who learned to write with his only working limb, his left foot, was the film that instantly made Cruise’s portrayal the “second best” such characterization after Daniel Day-Lewis’ stirring portrayal of Brown.

The year’s leading Best Actress contender was 80 year-old Jessica Tandy who beat such luminaries as Bette Davis, who promptly died, and Katharine Hepburn to the lead in Bruce Beresford’s film of Driving Miss Daisy.  For those who found Morgan Freeman’s character, Daisy’s accommodating chauffeur, a bit too “Uncle Tom-ish” there was Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing about race riots in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant from a group of people who didn’t do the right thing.

The year came to an end and as usual the National Board of Review was first to announce its winners.  The older skewing organization surprised by giving their Best Picture and Actor (Morgan Freeman) awards to Driving Miss Daisy while overlooking Ms. Tandy as Best Actress in favor of hot newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.  They named Kenneth Branagh Best Director for Henry V.

The L.A. Film Critics did the right thing for many and named Do the Right Thing as Best Picture and Spike Lee as Best Director.  They were the first organization to single out Daniel Day-Lewis as Best Actor while splitting the Best Actress award between Andie MacDowell in sex, lies, and videotape and the aforementioned Ms. Pfeiffer.

The New York Film Critics named My Left Foot as Best Picture and gave their top acting prizes to Day-Lewis and Pfeiffer.  They named Paul Mazursky as Best Director for Enemies, a Love Story and gave their newly minted Best New Director award to Branagh.

The National Society of Film Critics went in a different direction, naming Drugstore Cowboy and its director, Gus Van Sant as the year’s best while bestowing top acting honors on Day-Lewis and Pfeiffer.

The Golden Globes split their Best Picture awards between Born on the Fourth of July (Drama) and Driving Miss Daisy (Musical or Comedy) while honoring Oliver Stone as Best Director for July.  They were also the first to name Tom Cruise as Best Actor-Drama while honoring Pfeiffer, Freeman and Tandy with their other top acting awards.

Oscar nominations went as expected to Born on the Fourth of July; Driving Miss Daisy and My Left Foot, but the remaining slots went to surprise nominees, Dead Poets Society, Peter Weir’s prep school drama and Phil Alden Robinson’s Field of Dreams, a nostalgic baseball drama.  Stone, Branagh, Sheridan and Weir were all nominated for Best Director along with Woody Allen for Crimes and Misdemeanors.  Beresford’s failure to be nominated for Driving Miss Daisy was thought to doom that film’s chances at a Best Picture win but it pulled off a surprise win anyway.  Stone won as Best Director and Day-Lewis and Tandy triumphed in the acting categories.

Edward Zwick’s Civil War drama, Glory, which was nominated for five Oscars and won three, would certainly have been among the ten nominees had Oscar had that many this year.  The remaining four slots would have gone to some of those already mentioned, most likely Do the Right Thing; Henry V; Crimes and Misdemeanors and Enemies, a Love Story with sex, lies, and videotape and The Fabulous Baker Boys narrowly missing the cut.