Category: Best Film Editing

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Citizen Kane (1941) – Rewatch

After watching Mank, I decided I needed to revisit this. I honestly didn’t get a whole lot out of it the first time I had watched it many years ago. With more film knowledge under my belt, I sadly still don’t connect much with the story and really can’t find reason to care about a fictionalization of William Randolph Hearst and others like him. I appreciate that the story more or less circles back on itself in a creative, though not really surprising, way. Visually it is striking and this subsequent watch gave me an opportunity to appreciate the framing, which is innovative for its time even when it feels overused. I don’t know what the Best Movie Ever actually is, but this still wouldn’t get my vote.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture

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A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Stylistically I just can’t get into later career Kubrick. I had tried watching this years ago, at that time ending during the home invasion scene, but my current commitment to watching Oscar films is relentless. I’m not turned off by the excessive violence, though I find no interest in Alex as a character, since it feels very cartoon-ish. Instead, it’s the mod-y but futuristic British vibe that runs through the film. I think I need to keep a list of films that give off that vibe; Tommy is another.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Film Editing

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The Father (2020)

As someone who is middle aged, I spend more time than I wish to admit assessing my own physical decline and fearing any level of dementia that the future may hold for me. I thought Still Alice was tough enough to experience. Told from the point of view of the person suffering the disease, this film is my nightmare. Though I would have given the Oscar to Chadwick Boseman, I could not fault Anthony Hopkins’s performance and how he deftly portrays the various emotions such a person would experience every day.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Wins: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Adapted Screenplay

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Production Design

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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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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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Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938)

With a love triangle as its backdrop, Alexander’s Ragtime Band attempts to tell the early history of jazz during the early parts of the 20th century, all through the music of Irving Berlin. The story is shallow, but the cast is fine, filled with the likes of Tyrone Power, Alice Faye, Ethel Merman, Don Ameche and Jack Haley. The music is the best part and the songs are catchy as all get out. Just reading the name of the film gets the title song stuck in my head.  Best Picture Nomination  Musical  Music

Oscar Win: Best Music, Scoring

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Writing, Original Story; Best Art Direction; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Song

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