2003 Endy Awards

These are the 2003 Endy Awards, wherein I pretend to give out maneki-neko statues to the best in that year in film. Awards for many other years can be found in the Endy Awards Index. Eligibility is determined by imdb date and by whether or not I've seen the movie in question. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order and the winners are bolded. And the Endy goes to. . .

Best Picture:

1. Goodbye, Dragon Inn
2. Last Life in the Universe
3. Los Angeles Plays Itself
4. PTU
5. Running on Karma

I've had PTU in the top spot here for years, but the more I think about Running on Karma, the more I think it may be the best of all of Johnnie To's films.

Best Director:

1. Johnnie To, PTU
2. Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, Running on Karma
3. Thom Andersen, Los Angeles Plays Itself
4. Tsai Ming-liang, Goodbye, Dragon Inn
5. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Last Life in the Universe

I suggested in a note on the 2004 Awards that Johnnie To that year, with three films in my personal Top Ten of the year, might have had the best year of any director since John Ford in 1939. Well, actually he had the best year of any director since Johnnie To in 2003. Three films co-directed with Wai Ka-fai and then a solo effort, one of his very best, thrown in on top. That makes seven films in two calendar years. Johnnie To is making a mockery of my willingness to consider multiple films when giving out this award. This is To's fifth Best Director Endy. He also won in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2012. (Update: I finally decided to change the rules to mitigate this kind of To dominance. So now he's only won in 2003, 2006 and 2008.)

Best Actor:

1. Ewan MacGregor, Down with Love
2. Tadanobu Asano, Last Life in the Universe
3. Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
4. Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean
5. Andy Lau, Running on Karma

Best Actress:

1. Renée Zellweger, Down with Love
2. Sandra Ng, Golden Chicken 2
3. Meg Ryan, In the Cut
4. Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation
5. Cecilia Cheung, Running on Karma

Supporting Actor:

1. Lau Kar-leung, Drunken Monkey
2. Gordon Liu, Drunken Monkey
3. Sonny Chiba, Kill Bill Vol. 1
4. Will Farrell, Old School
5. Lam Suet, PTU

Supporting Actress:

1. Anna Kendrick, Camp
2. Cate Blanchett, Coffee and Cigarettes
3. Lucy Liu, Kill Bill Vol. 1
4. Sinitta Boonyasak, Last Life in the Universe
5. Joan Cusack, School of Rock

A couple of awards here for two of the greatest supporting performers of the last few decades.

Original Screenplay:

1. Eve Ahlert & Dennis Drake, Down with Love
2. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang & Prabda Yoon, Last Life in the Universe 
3. Thom Andersen, Los Angeles Plays Itself
4. Wai Ka-fai, Yau Nai-hoi, Yip Tin-shing & Au Kin-yi, Running on Karma
5. Sylvain Chomet, The Triplets of Belleville

Adapted Screenplay:

1. James Yuen, Aubrey Lam & Mark Cheung, Golden Chicken 2
2. James Schamus, John Turman & Michael France, Hulk
3. Jane Campion & Susanna Moore, In the Cut
4. Wai Ka-fai, Yau Nai-hoi, Yip Tin-shing & Au Kin-yi, Turn Left, Turn Right
5. Peter Weir & John Collee, Master and Commander

Wai, Yau, Yip and Au, the heart of the Milkyway writing team, earn the rare feat of being nominated in both Original and Adapted Screenplay in the same year. The Adapted award goes to the continuing adventures of everyone's favorite prostitute/walking avatar of contemporary Hong Kong history and culture.

Non-English Language Film:

1. Café Lumière (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
2. Goodbye, Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang)
3. Last Life in the Universe (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
4. PTU (Johnnie To)
5. Running on Karma (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai)

Documentary Film:

1. A Decade Under the Influence (Ted Demme & Richard LaGravenese)
2. The Corporation (Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott)
3. The Fog of War (Errol Morris)
4. Los Angeles Plays Itself (Thom Andersen)
5. Wheel of Time (Werner Herzog)

Animated Film:

1. The Animatrix (Various)
2. Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton)
3. The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet)

Unseen Film:

1. Bad Boys 2 (Michael Bay)
2. The Best of Youth (Marco Tullio Giordana)
3. The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci)
4. Elephant (Gus Van Sant)
5. Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho)

Film Editing:

1. Kill Bill Vol. 1
2. Los Angeles Plays Itself
3. Master and Commander
4. PTU
5. Running On Karma

Cinematography:

1. Café Lumière
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1
3. Last Life in the Universe
4. Master and Commander
5. PTU

Johnnie To's signature blacks shot through with intense white spotlights have never looked better, turning the HK night into an ideal stage for his cops-in-a-chaotic-universe morality play.

Art Direction:

1. Down with Love
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1
3. Master and Commander
4. Pirates of the Caribbean
5. Return of the King

Costume Design:

1. Down with Love
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. Return of the King
5. Running on Karma

Make-up:

1. Kill Bill Vol. 1
2. Master and Commander
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. Return of the King
5. Running on Karma

Original Score:

1. Down with Love
2. Master and Commander
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. PTU
5. The Triplets of Belleville

The guitar-heavy score gives PTU an added layer of meaning, evoking the classic rock era in general and the Vietnam War in particular.

Adapted Score:

1. Down with Love
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1
3. Lost in Translation
4. Masked and Anonymous
5. School of Rock

Tough call here, I thought I'd go with Tarantino, but Dylan covers "Dixie" so yeah.

Sound:

1. Goodbye, Dragon Inn
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1
3. Master and Commander
4. Pirates of the Caribbean
5. PTU

Maybe I don't know what this category is supposed to mean, but the sounds of Tsai Ming-liang's theatre mean as much to me as anything in any film from this year.

Sound Editing:

1. Kill Bill Vol. 1
2. Master and Commander
3. Pirates of the Caribbean
4. PTU
5. Return of the King

Visual Effects:

1. Hulk
2. Looney Tunes: Back in Action
3. Master and Commander
4. Pirates of the Caribbean
5. Return of the King

Love those ships.