Oscars form guide: Who will win best director?
The Oscar for Best Director is one coveted gong and with a strong field this year, including Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, it’s a tight race for the biggest achievement behind the camera.
Leigh Paatsch
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BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips,Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
FORGET THAT SPEECH YOU MEMORISED
History shows the Academy have always loved Tarantino’s screenplays, but not his retro-renegade direction style.
Perhaps his next movie (which QT says will be his last) may change that.
Phillips has come a long way for a filmmaker once stuck down a dead end road of doing The Hangoverseries.
No chance here – too unfashionable for the in-crowd – but no knock on his work.
DESERVES TO WIN, BUT WON’T
This is one of the few major categories where there is a chance of an upset.
The pure perfection of South Korean master Bong Joon Ho’s handling of Parasite is something to behold. Not a frame is out of place throughout.
The same could be said of Scorsese’s work on The Irishman, staying in complete control for a mammoth 210 minutes.
Both directors have been campaigning well outside their comfort zones for a win here.
AND THE WINNER IS …
Sam Mendes. Wins on the strength of a complete realisation of a unique vision.
It all started with a story that had been handed down from generation to generation of Mendes’ own family: the tale of two soldiers setting off on foot to deliver a message that will save the lives of 1600 others.
The director then explored this riveting scenario with exacting focus, great feeling and dazzling craft.
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