Category: Best Music

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Rocky III (1982)

I am incredulous that Eye of the Tiger didn’t win the Oscar for Best Song. The song is so evocative of the entire Rocky series that I’m betting there are people who think it came from the original rather than a second sequel. The movie itself could be used as a stand-in for any individual Rocky story: hero loses the first battle only to use that humiliation to come back stronger and more ready for the final battle, insert montages throughout. Mr. T’s Clubber Lang might be one of the best villains of the series. III firmly moves the series from the gritty realism of the original’s 1970s setting to the upcoming brash Cold War propaganda of Rocky IV.  Sports

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Angry, unhinged Bette Davis is an aspiration. Here she is Charlotte, an eccentric who defiantly haunts her ancestral mansion, the site where her married lover was graphically hacked to pieces many years ago, a crime many locals believe she committed. Olivia de Havilland deliciously plays her cousin whom Charlotte hopes will help her in fighting the local highway commission. Olivia is perfection, using her sweet reputation as a façade on some darkness that is evidently hiding underneath. Agnes Moorehead wickedly adds to the cast as Charlotte’s only real ally. Young Bruce Dern is also great as the murdered lover. Rather surprised to see that the creepy song Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte became a hit and that it was composed by The Brady Bunch theme writer Frank de Vol.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White; Best Costume Design, Black-and-White; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Substantially Original Score

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Bagdad Cafe (1987)

Bagdad Cafe is a quirky bit of indie storytelling set at a remote café/hotel in the desolate American Southwest. A German woman, abandoned by her husband, soon becomes the catalyst toward changing the lives and attitudes of the various colorful characters who live and work at the café. CCH Pounder and Marianne Sägebrecht develop a sweet chemistry between them as the cantankerous owner of the establishment and the German visitor respectively.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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Up Close and Personal (1996)

Robert Redford really knows how to pull off newsperson roles. That said, this is a relatively boring take on A Star is Born. This was supposed to be based on the true life of Jessica Savitch and I’ve already taken note to check out John Gregory Dunne’s book on how that situation progressed. Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer don’t have a lot of romantic chemistry, making much of the film rather unbelievable. It would have been a lot more interesting if theirs had remained a platonic relationship. This movie, like many, could have been percentages better with more Stockard Channing.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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Minari (2020)

I have little patience or sympathy for father characters who are willing to lead their families on a path of destruction all because of their own hubris, leaving the mothers to sacrifice all they can just to keep the family together. Steven Yeun and Han Ye-ri play this tropes to perfection. Thankfully that’s not the entire story here and we have the wonderful Youn Yuh-jung as grandma, coming in to provide support and humor while also helping her grandson to find his strength. Middle America has never looked so good visually. I viscerally felt like as I was in the setting, one that is similar to others I have known intimately. Alan Kim is adorable as young David and manages the rarity of a cute child character who feels real instead of stilted.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role; Best Achievement in Directing; Best Original Screenplay; Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)

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Cry Freedom (1987)

Having been born on the day of the Soweto student uprising (a fact I learned at an embarrassingly old age), I am attracted to anti-apartheid stories of the 1970s. For the runtime of the movie, I really had hoped they would spend at least as much time focused on Biko’s story as they do on Donald Woods and his family. It doesn’t even reach white savior levels as much as it seems a story of a white guy in South Africa who learns to hate apartheid. Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington do fine jobs though Denzel doesn’t really transcend much beyond being his charismatic self. I did get to go down a small internet rabbit hole in learning about Denzel’s front gap.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Original Score

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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 New Kind of Love (1963)

Paul Newman is a womanizing journalist; Joanne Woodward works in the fashion industry while sporting a masculine look (she repeatedly gets mistaken for a man). It’s probably not a spoiler to say that the story progresses pretty much how you’d expect from such a setup, including Joanne undergoing a makeover to be more feminine and ol’ Paul not even recognizing her as a woman he had met previously. Alas, the cuteness of Newman and Woodward together plus a semi-crush on Paul Newman means I couldn’t pass it up. Bonus points because for including Thelma Ritter who elevates movies even in the smallest of roles.

Oscar Nominations: Best Costume Design, Color; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment

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The Goldwyn Follies (1938)

This mess tries to be similar to any one of the Busby Berkeley choreographed musicals of the 30s such as 42nd Street or the Gold Diggers series. Those films try to string together weak stories with musical spectacles. This one tries to string together an even weaker story (including Adolphe Menjou as a movie producer creeping on a much younger Andrea Leeds whom he has hired to review all his film decisions) with random dancing or comedy acts in between. The stylings of the Ritz Brothers is baffling enough, but I can’t fathom the world that found Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy entertaining. This is also presented in glorious Technicolor which can only be imagined in the aforementioned Berkeley productions.  Musical

Oscar nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Scoring

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The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

Essentially an earlier version of Aladdin, any Disney fan wouldn’t be surprised with the general storyline here. Filmed in Technicolor emphasizes the glorious sets and costumes, but also shines a spotlight on the loads of unfortunate brownfacing exhibited in the movie. Highlights are Sabu as the scamp thief Abu and Rex Ingram as the Djinn, plus special effects that are rather impressive for their time.

Oscar Wins: Best Cinematography, Color; Best Art Direction, Color; Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Music, Original Score

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