3. ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS (196
This movie was originally called The Madness of King George III, but U.S. distributors were worried that average American audiences wouldn't go, thinking that they already missed Part I and Part II. Audiences still mostly passed, but they shouldn't have.
This movie has everything an Anglophile could want: fantastic costumes, funny comedy, gripping drama, impressive sets-all adding to the fact that it is based on a true story. This story dramatizes the insanity of King George III during his reign, and his cure. However, the real gems are in the supporting performances from such latter-day stars as Rupert Everett, Helen Mirren, and Rupert Graves. Watching the viscous inanity of these family members, it doesn't take much to imagine why poor George lost it. The only real surprise is that he was able to get well again in a world without Prozac.
To write this film off as a cheap laugh is to completely misunderstand our point. The movie is funny, but in the same way that life is funny; in a wry and bittersweet fashion. Nigel Hawthorne (as the king) and Ian Holm (as his physician) are struggle to retain dignity in brutal circumstances, but there's not much they can do.
Notes:
- Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Hawthorne) and Best Supporting Actress (Mirren)
- Won 1 Academy Award: Best Art Direction
- Nominated for 14 BAFTA awards and won three: Best Film, Makeup, and Actor
