Category: Best Sound

Posted on 2021-10-10 | No Comments |

Now, Voyager (1942)

While just as melodramatic as Dark Victory, Now Voyager entails the much more compelling story of Bette Davis as a woman who has been completely trampled by her mother to the point where she’s close to a nervous breakdown. With the intervention of a psychiatrist, she manages to find herself and a real purpose to her life. Gladys Cooper is truly a piece of work in role of the controlling mother. Bette does a magnificent job transforming from the bitter, closed-off young woman to a warm and open guardian and her acting is ultimately what makes the story a success.

Oscar Win: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Leading Role

Posted on 2021-09-26 | No Comments |

Crimson Tide (1995)

When a Russian ultra-nationalist takes control of nuclear missiles, Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington are called to duty aboard a US submarine. After they receive potentially conflicting orders, they end up instead fighting against each other for control of the vessel. The crew, including the likes of Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, and Steve Zahn, all are forced to pick sides. The fun bit of the film is that the viewer gets to play along. Who is actually doing the mutinying is a debate all households can engage in. I can imagine the ending could be enraging for people wanting a clear-cut answer, but I found it satisfying.

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

Posted on 2021-09-09 | No Comments |

You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

I love Fred Astaire. I love Rita Hayworth. Their dancing together is uniquely breezy compared to all of Astaire’s other partnerships. This story on the other hand is a feeble rehash of The Taming of the Shrew, set in Argentina. For reasons, Hayworth’s younger sisters aren’t allowed to get married until she does, so her father played by Adolphe Menjou invents a secret admirer to warm her ‘ice princess’ demeanor. The costuming choices are questionable, including oddly placed doily-like details on dresses and hats. Though I did discover that ‘fancy dress’ meant costumes. Apologies to Jerome Kern, but many of the songs felt rather shoehorned in, though I did enjoy the role of Xavier Cugat. It’s all generally harmless, but I really hope the other Astaire-Hayworth pairing is better than this one.

Oscar Nominations: Best Sound, Recording; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture

Posted on 2021-08-29 | No Comments |

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935)

Ugh, this film took me forever and more than one watching to get through. My lack of interest in the subject was not helped by a poor quality print and the fact that Franchot Tone and Richard Cromwell look a lot alike. Those two men are newcomers to a regiment of British soldiers during the days of the British Raj. One is a cocky, seasoned soldier and the other is a newly commissioned officer and son of the Colonel. Gary Cooper’s job is to guide these new recruits. The story of the three soldiers is familiar and was done much better in other films of the era, Gunga Din, The Four Feathers, and Beau Geste to name a few.

Oscar Win: Best Assistant Director

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Art Direction; Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing

Posted on 2021-08-24 | No Comments |

Aliens (1986)

I believe there are some who feel that Aliens is superior to Alien. For me, the two don’t compare. They illustrate the stark contrast between films of the 1970s and what was made in the mid-1980s. Where Alien was more shadowy and dark in portraying the same location, Aliens is all bombastic, large, and in your face. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, dragged along on a mission to supposedly annihilate the xenomorphs for good, is completely shoehorned into a mother role, though it does create a nice parallel for the big ending. Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein are both massively over the top as part of the Marine crew. Paul Reiser is spectacularly oleaginous portraying the ultimate in capitalistic greed. Again the moral of the story is you should really listen to Ripley.

Oscar Wins: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing; Best Effects, Visual Effects

Oscar Nominations: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Sound; Best Film Editing; Best Music, Original Score

Posted on 2021-08-21 | No Comments |

The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)

Africa isn’t a country. Granted this is set in Kenya, filmed in South Africa, but I’m not sure a single character mentions a country name in the entire film. The story of the Tsavo man-eaters is competently told here. The big problem is the stars. Val Kilmer with his blonde tipped hair looks and acts like a stoned Iceman crash landed into the savannah. Michael Douglas on the other hand seems to think he was cast in a second Romancing the Stone sequel. I prefer to think that Douglas’s character didn’t actually exist and that Val was just hallucinating a long haired, supposed southern Civil War survivor as a spirit guide in his quest. The lions themselves are poorly animated and best served when they are only shown in shadows. Their glowing green eyes and the potato chip crunching sound they make as they are eating human legs is laughable.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

Posted on 2021-08-14 | No Comments |

Not as a Stranger (1955)

Following the medical career of a Dr. Robert Mitchum from medical school to early days as a member of another doctor’s practice, this two-plus hour movie is dull. Bob is too old and too reticent as a doctor. Olivia de Havilland as his nurse and wife is also too fake-Swedish and too blonde for her role. Frank Sinatra, Gloria Grahame, and the rest of the cast are under-utilized. There are a few moments that have heart, mostly dealing with Mitchum’s relationships with his father and father-figure mentors, but they’re easily drowned in everything else.

Oscar Nomination: Best Sound, Recording

Posted on 2021-08-09 | No Comments |

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.

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

Posted on 2021-07-21 | No Comments |

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.

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