Winning an Oscar for best actor/actress
in a leading role is the greatest achievement an actor can attain. To
win an Oscar two years in a row is a very rare occurrence, and it
illustrates the superiority of an actor at that time in his or her
career. In the Oscars 84 year history only 3 actors have won Academy
Awards two years in a row. Spencer Tracy did it in '37 and '38,
Katherine Hepburn did it in '67 and '68, and most recently Tom Hanks
did it in '93 and '94 for the films Forrest Gump and
Philadelphia. Hanks'
performance in Philadelphia is
astounding. He demonstrates, the sadness and lust for life of his
character Andrew Beckett, a lawyer dying of AIDS, but he also
maintains the characters human qualities like his humor that keeps
Beckett from being a melancholy one note character. Philadelphia
is Hollywood's first big budget
take on the weighty subject of HIV/AIDS. It's a powerful movie, but
because it was such a groundbreaking film it plays things very safe
in order to not to alienate audiences who might be uncomfortable with
such a controversial subject.
