Category: Best Sound

Posted on 2022-08-30 | No Comments |

Top Gun (1986) – Rewatch

Accepted into an elite fighter pilot training school with his best friend Anthony Edwards, cocksure Tom Cruise must battle with his own personal demons regarding his father’s heroism during the Vietnam War to succeed. I wanted to watch this again before delving into the new sequel and it did not disappoint. Certainly an artifact of its times as a Cold War relic, it makes the best use of Cruise’s talents. Further bolstered by a hard-working supporting cast (Val Kilmer, Tom Skerritt, Kelly McGillis), a soundtrack that hits all the right notes, and dizzying action sequences, it’s easy to forget it’s all in support of the military industrial complex.

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

Posted on 2022-08-26 | No Comments |

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Sean Connery returned to the James Bond role one last time. Bond finds himself in Las Vegas pursuing a diamond smuggling ring with connections to Ernst Blofeld, portrayed by Charles Gray in this installment. While I enjoy the classic Las Vegas strip setting and there are a couple of neat stunts, this is the laziest Bond film I’ve seen thus far. The constant changes in objective gave me whiplash and the humor is of the most juvenile variety. Most egregiously, where I had appreciated the competence of the women in earlier films, this one has little of that. The woman with the best name is quickly disposed of. A pair of female bodyguards are really tougher than Bond, but somehow he gets the upper hand on them at the last minute. Worst of all, Jill St. John as the main sex interest is a ditz of the worst type; even when she is working with him, she actively sabotages Bond’s plans because of stupidity.

Posted on 2022-08-18 | No Comments |

Goldfinger (1964)

In his third outing as James Bond, Sean Connery encounters Gert Fröbe’s titular character, a bullion dealer whose obsession with gold eventually leads him to the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. I’ve never watched a James Bond film before but decided recently to try to catch at least the ones which have received Oscar nominations. Seeing that Prime was going to remove them at the beginning of September sped my watching up to a mini-marathon. I was really surprised at how entertaining this outing was. The villain is great, the theme song and intro are incredible, and the locations are scenic. Even with names like Honor Blackman’s infamous Pussy Galore, the women are extremely capable outside the bedroom though they are disposable, as are a number of the male characters. I have seen all of the Austin Powers films, but I was not ready for how little those films felt like parody in comparison with direct interpretations, such as Harold Sakata’s Oddjob. I fear that this may be a highlight of the series but I’ll continue on with much more anticipation now.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Sound Effects

Posted on 2022-08-16 | No Comments |

Knights of the Round Table (1953)

In this telling of the legend of King Arthur, Mel Ferrer stars as Arthur while Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner fill in the roles of Lancelot and Guinevere respectively. As mentioned when reviewing Camelot, I don’t have any affinity for Arthurian tales. This film follows essentially the same points in the story as the previous film, but there are no songs and the performances aren’t as entertaining. I’d actually watched this a month or so ago, but thought I had missed too much and should check it out again. Turns out I was wrong, I hadn’t missed much of anything. The film does at least have colorful costumes and sets which are overserved by the beauty of Cinemascope.

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Sound, Recording

Posted on 2022-08-12 | No Comments |

Camelot (1967)

Preparing for battle with his old friend Sir Lancelot (portrayed by Franco Nero), Richard Harris’s King Arthur reflects on the circumstances that led him to the destruction of his Camelotian ideal. I generally care less about the Arthurian legend, but it’s somehow a little more palatable in musical form. The costumes and sets are gorgeously bright and creative. I particularly fell for the early winter scene where Harris first meets Vanessa Redgrave’s Guinevere. Redgrave is beautiful and strong willed, believably carrying on romances with both of the men who aren’t bad in their roles either. I love that many years after becoming romantically involved on this set, Redgrave and Nero later married, adding an extra dash of romanticism to a continued story.

Oscar Wins: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Costume Design; Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment

Oscar Nomination: Best Cinematography; Best Sound

Posted on 2022-07-24 | No Comments |

The War of the Worlds (1953)

When a large object falls from space, the hopeful reception by the naïve Californians is quickly dashed by the brutal destruction of the visiting Martians. Some brilliant set designs are unfortunately paired with an incredibly hokey story and under developed heroes. While I love a lot of 1950s SciFi films, this one takes itself a bit too seriously while not putting in enough effort for the audience to do so as well. The well-established ending comes along suddenly in a ‘we didn’t know quite where to go with this’ sort of way.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing

Posted on 2022-07-23 | No Comments |

Black Rain (1989)

Corrupt New York cop Michael Douglas and his partner Andy Garcia are chosen to accompany extradited murderer Yusaku Matsuda back to Osaka. After accidentally turning Matsuda over to imposter law enforcement, the Americans arrange to have themselves included in a Japanese investigation into counterfeit money with a Yakuza connection. With an overly cliched story that doesn’t really try to extend itself, the film is further bogged down with Douglas as a lead. Pushy and brash in an overtly American way, he could have maybe pulled off a fish out of water, mutual exchange of ideas if he had any bit of charisma or guile. Instead, he’s paired with the much more appealing Garcia that just makes one really question the casting choice more than anything.

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound; Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

Posted on 2022-07-19 | No Comments |

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)

Another film based on the legendary Tombstone shootout, this stars Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp and Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday. There’s a lot of meandering around the Old West from Texas to Kansas before it settles down for the final battle. A pair of love stories weigh down the action though maybe it’s the only way writers and studios could think to get women into the story. The leads work well enough in their respective roles, but it doesn’t stand out in the field of classic Hollywood Westerns nor hold up to the later Tombstone in its rendition of events.

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing

Posted on 2022-07-07 | No Comments |

Doctor Dolittle (1967)

Based on three of the Hugh Lofting books, Rex Harrison is the titular doctor whose great love for animals brought him to learn how to speak various animal languages from his parrot friend. For reasons, this leads him on an expedition to find the Great Pink Sea Snail. I do love a film that respects animals as unique individuals and personalities, even when they are as fictitious as the well-crafted Pushmi-Pullyu, and Geoffrey Holder is delightful as the leader of a village of well-read island natives, but this film is way too damn long. Cut out most of the beginning and one or two of the extraneous episodes and it wouldn’t be much of a loss. The songs are mostly unmemorable with Harrison sing songing his way through the majority, even when accompanied by the film’s delightful visuals.

Posted on 2022-07-06 | No Comments |

Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)

Scottish geology professor James Mason leads a group of explorers through an Icelandic volcano to the center of the planet. It’s a brightly colored adventure that has zero basis in reality that is drawn out past 2 hours when 90 minutes would have sufficed. Unfortunately once again, the only female on the expedition, Arlene Dahl, is told she’s too ‘weak’ for such work and relegated to an unnecessary romance in the end, but I do enjoy the peeks into artificial Icelandic culture and the creativity of the inner planetary setting.

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Sound; Best Effects, Special Effects