Category: Best Cinematography

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The Sand Pebbles (1966)

War films are generally not my thing, often overly long and filled with misguided notions. This film, about US naval patrols on the Yangtse River, was both of those things, but still held my interest through most of its three hour runtime. Steve McQueen and Candace Bergen brought their typical flair to their roles, though their romance felt forced. Richard Attenborough was incredibly sympathetic though a bit simple-minded as Frenchy, have a hard time getting used to him looking much younger than Dr. Hammond. I had a hard time figuring out the actual attitudes the film was conveying with regards to the Asian cast. Maybe it was trying to be accurate of the time frame of the setting, but at times, the film portrayed them as hard-working, moral, and quick learning while the white cast treated them and interacted with them in appallingly racist ways.  Best Picture Nomination  War

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Music Score

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Broken Arrow (1950)

The number of Westerns I subject myself to as an Oscar completionist and a James Stewart fan is numerous. Luckily this one is covered by both of those umbrellas. Despite the grievances of many a child of the 1950s who would prefer a simplistic good guys-bad guys narrative, I have a soft spot for those Westerns that make some attempts toward nuance in their portrayals of Native Americans. Aside from that, this film following Stewart’s attempts at brokering a peace deal between Cochise and the Army, after saving an Apache boy and finding sympathy for the ways of the Apache, is mostly forgettable.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Cinematography, Color

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Samson and Delilah (1949)

Not knowing anything but the bare details of the story of Samson, I’m not entirely sure I came away with much more after watching this film. A thoroughly lavish production, it follows Samson using his otherworldly strength in vengeance against the Philistines who stole away his bride. The cast is filled with an array of stars from Victor Mature’s Samson and Hedy Lamarr’s beautiful Delilah to supporting roles by George Sanders and Angela Lansbury. It’s visually stunning with plenty of action of Samson displaying his strength in battles and collapsing of temples. The story isn’t incredibly compelling beyond that action.

Oscar Wins: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Effects, Special Effects; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

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The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

Everyone hates film producer Kirk Douglas, but they also all want to make movies with him. Creatively told almost completely in flashbacks, Lana Turner, Dick Powell, and Barry Sullivan are gathered together by Walter Pidgeon to explain the very good reasons why they all hate Douglas. The story is an intriguing examination of how movies are made and the people who make them.

Oscar Wins: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Costume Design, Black-and-White

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role

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The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

As a light, but exceptionally long, rendering of the well-known story of the Frank family and their companions hiding from the Nazis, this film is adequate. It gives a good view of the crampedness of the quarters they shared and some of the harrowing events that occurred while they were there. But it is told in a relatively breezy way. Aside from going through the motions to keep from being found, there’s not as much of a sense of both the danger and tedium that had to exist for such a long period of time together. Millie Perkins is not particularly believable as a young teenager, a bit too cute and precious. On the other hand, Joseph Schildkraut as Otto Frank and Shelley Winters as Petronella Van Dam bring real emotion to their roles, the former as a father trying to keep everyone safe and the latter trying to hold on to life as she once knew it.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Wins: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Director; Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

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Auntie Mame (1958)

It’s hard to talk about Auntie Mame without comparing it to the musical Mame, particularly the Lucille Ball 1974 movie version. Both stories follow the adventures of Mame Dennis, a single middle aged woman who is suddenly granted the guardianship of her orphaned nephew. After seeing the musical, I expect the character to possess a lot more zaniness than Rosalind Russell brings to the role. The supporting cast also didn’t bring as much to the plate. What does bring a beautiful wackiness to the production is the constant changes over the years in Mame’s apartment and costuming.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White or Color; Best Film Editing

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The Americanization of Emily (1964)

James Garner is an extremely charming American dog robber working for a mentally unstable admiral, played by Melvyn Douglas, in World War II London. Julie Andrews is a semi-hardened driver for the military’s motor pool, who has seen too much death in the war already, but is still fascinated by Garner. It is an entertaining oddity to see a World War II film whose main character is an antiwar soldier and whose cowardice is what most attracts the woman who falls in love with him. There is a lot that is told with laughs and absurdity, but it never forgets the seriousness of war.

Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

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