One Of Kurt Russell’s Biggest Flops Of The ’80s Ended Up Being An Oscar Nominee
For a long time there has been a gap between what is popular with the general public and what is popular with Oscar voters. Popular and beloved directors like Alfred Hitchcock famous has never won an OscarFor example, just like actor Samuel L. Jackson Never won a Despite the star in apparently all the great films of all time. A particularly fun example of this phenomenon came with Kurt Russell’s film in 1984 “Swing Shift”, a box office bomb which brought in $ 6.6 million with a budget of $ 15 million.
Why was he bombed? The general consensus was that the film did not correspond to its promising premise. The film focused on the shortage of labor during the Second World War, where women found an unexpected power on the labor market before being pushed back in traditional roles when war was over. The film has captured the feeling of the time period and presented some impactful moments, but it did not nailed it in the way “A league for their own”. “The subject of” Swing Shift “is so potentially rich, you hate seeing it wasted in this way”, ” wrote Sheila Benson of La Times.
Critics have underlined the behind -the -scenes conflict affecting history; Not only was the script repeatedly rewritten, but Warner Bros. Forced 30 minutes of recovery on the film against the wishes of director Jonathon Demme. The contradictory visions behind the film entered the film itself, as noted by multiple critics. “It is a bankruptcy of a film, with waves aspirations to touch, and I had the impression that there had never been a very strong script”, ” wrote Pauline Kael for the New Yorker. “There are no high points, no exciting moments. The photo just goes from a recessive scene and not developed to the next.”
Whatever the problems that people had with “swing shift”, Christine Lahti was not part of it
Despite mixed criticism and disappointment at the box office, “Swing Shift” still managed to win an Oscar thanks to Christine Lahti. Goldie Hawn may have played the main character, Kay Walsh, but it was Lahti as a new friend, Hazel who stole the show. Even in the criticisms that ransacked the film, Lahti attracted many praise. As Kael wrote about him:
“Goldie Hawn and her film creation team also made a basic error in the strategy: they gave the hazelnut of Christine Lahti the Wisecracks. Christine Lahti, who has black hair, high cheekbones and a long neck with large rods in it, like the shooter Vanessa Redgrave, she is heroically female.
The Academy also resumed this buzz, which is why they nominated Lahti alongside Glenn Close, Peggy Ashcroft, Lindsay Crouse and Geraldine for the best actress in a support role. Unfortunately, Lahti did not win – the price was awarded to Ashcroft for “Passing to India” – and Lahti was still left while waiting for the role of breeze that she hoped “Swing Shift” would be for her.
“I still don’t think I had a real revolutionary role”, it said in an interview from 1985. “Whenever I think it’s this one, but that is not the case.” Speaking of the reception to “Swing Shift”, she admitted “, I was very surprised and extremely discouraged. The film seemed to have everything for him.”
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