Best Actress Rewind: 1997

Oscar Nominees:

Helena Bonham Carter … The Wings of the Dove

Julie Christie … Afterglow

Judi Dench … Mrs. Brown

Helen Hunt … As Good as It Gets

Kate Winslet … Titanic

Mazur Nominees:

Joan Allen … The Ice Storm

Judi Dench … Mrs. Brown

Pam Grier … Jackie Brown

Jessica Lange … A Thousand Acres

Michelle Pfeiffer … A Thousand Acres

Oscar Winner: Helen Hunt’s win is largely blamed on Oscar xenophobia, as she trounced the all-British contingent of nominees, most would say unfairly.

Mazur Winner: One of the most egregious snubs in Oscar history, Pam Grier’s comeback work in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown didn’t even sneak in for a nomination. This is an inexplicable head-scratcher, as Grier’s performance is strong, nuanced, all-time high for the actress, best known for her work in the 1970s actioners Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974). Cool, low-key turns like Grier’s might rarely win Oscars, but they are the most memorable and indelible precisely because of their lack of histrionics. If time machines could allow voters to go back and undo one mistake in the last 20 years, I think they’d all choose to vote for Grier in hindsight.