Category: Oscar Nominee

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The Virgin Spring (1960)

After the brutal rape and murder of his teenaged daughter, the devout Christian Max von Syndow stumbles on an opportunity to enact a furious revenge on the perpetrators. For a film with such a simple plot and short runtime, in it lies a deep exploration of religion and classic views on vengeance and innocence. Even beyond the medieval setting, the film presents the tale as a bit of age-old folklore. Unsurprisingly, Ingmar Bergman’s inspiration for the film was taken from a ballad describing the origins of a 12th century Swedish church.

Oscar Win: Best Foreign Language Film

Oscar Nomination: Best Costume Design, Black-and-White

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Adam Clayton Powell (1989)

The rise and fall of the charismatic minister, Congressman, and civil rights leader Adam Clayton Powell is outlined in this short documentary. For such a complex and intriguing figure in politics, less than an hour is obviously not enough to do his history justice. The result is a blink and you miss it, CliffsNotes version of his life. There’s a more than twenty year old television movie based on his life that I’d like to find a copy of, but even better would be for someone to put out a modern theatrical take on his story.

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features

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Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976)/Tulips Shall Grow (1942)

Adapted from a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Shelley Duvall’s Bernice visits her more sophisticated relatives and is shunned for not being as socially adept as her beautiful cousin Veronica Cartwright. Duvall is delightful as Bernice going from an awkward city mouse to surpassing the lessons given by her snobby cousin. Reading a synopsis of the actual story, the script ignores Bernice’s mixed-race heritage which would give more poignancy to the ending, but the whole production is so entertaining that I’m wanting to check out more of these American Short Story collection films.

Equally delightful are the Puppetoons featured in Tulips Shall Grow. Obviously referencing the Nazis’ aggressive occupation campaign, a Dutch boy and girl fall in love in their idyllic tulip-filled countryside only to have their happiness destroyed by an invasion by the mechanical Screwballs. The aesthetics of George Pal’s Puppetoons are so my bag that I could watch this film repeatedly for days despite its depressing subject matter. It’s impressive that it’s able to distill the horrors of war in such a cute six and a half minutes.   War

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, Cartoons (Tulips Shall Grow)

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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.   Action

Oscar Win: Best Music, Original Song

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

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For Your Eyes Only (1981)

In Roger Moore’s fifth outing as the MI6 agent, Bond must recover a missile targeting system before the Soviets get their hands on it. I should have known based on the uninspiring way they dispose of super villain Ernst Blofeld before the opening credits that this wouldn’t be one of my favorite Bond flicks. I’m never a fan when they parade through a disorienting series of locations during these. Even if good thrills are found in snow chases and skating rinks fights in Italy, there’s plenty of excitement to be had just sticking with the variety of scenery offered in Greece. None of it is helped by Carole Bouquet, who despite having a strong background story plays a forgettable female lead, upstaged by young ice skater Lynn-Holly Johnson’s brattiness and incomprehensible horniness for Bond.  Action

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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Moonraker (1979)

Roger Moore’s Bond is tasked with investigating the midair disappearance of a space shuttle. Even before I had began my journey into Bond films, I’d long been amusedly curious about this outing. Who wouldn’t be with excited to see Bond in Space! Even with some uninspired rehashes of former Bond films (the plot from The Spy Who Loved Me, the battle scene from Thunderball , etc.) and an unexpectedly strange character development for favorite baddie Richard Kiel’s Jaws, it still manages to be an entertaining watch. There’s plenty of fun to be found with the ridiculously named Holly Goodhead, one of the most visually obvious villains in Michael Lonsdale’s Dr. Drax, and the ugliest space uniforms this side of the United States Space Force.   Action

Oscar Nominations: Best Effects, Visual Effects

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The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Roger Moore’s James Bond is forced to join forces with Russian spy Barbara Bach after submarines from each of their nations disappear suddenly. For me, the plot is forgettable and I find Moore and Bach so bland together and separately that the best parts of the film have nothing to do with them. The beginning Alpine ski chase is fantastically choreographed with an epic finish. There’s nothing in the rest of the film that meets its awesomeness. Supervillain Curd Jürgens’s underwater lair is impressive in scope and distractingly large in scale. Richard Kiel’s iconic henchman Jaws is so iconic and indestructible that he amazingly gets to come back for another go.  Action

Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; Best Music, Original Song; Best Music, Original Score

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Europa Europa (1990)

Based on the autobiography of Solomon Perel, Marco Hofschneider portrays Perel when he was a Polish Jewish teenager who is separated from his family during the early days of World War II, winds up in a Soviet orphanage, and later finds himself hiding his identity as a Hitler youth. It’s an incredible story that would be hard to believe if Perel weren’t still alive to tell it. Hofschneider’s portrayal goes a long way to presenting the cleverness and adaptability of Perel while the film itself serves as a reminder that those who managed to survive did so only by a combination of luck and sheer determination.  War

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

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The Time Machine (1960)

At the dawn of a new century, scientist Rod Taylor sets out to prove to his friends that he has figured out a way to travel through time. There is so many to delight in during this film: the design of the iconic time machine, the passage of time using incredible stop motion effects, and Taylor’s heartfelt relationship with botanist Alan Young that spans the decades. It’s a shame that he makes his main stop with the bland Aryan nation of the Eloi. I really didn’t care what the underground Morlocks were subjecting them to because the Morlocks were really the more interesting of the two. It is more wondrous than I remember the 2002 version being though still managing to delve into effects of war on the future. I will continue to ponder the best three books to take on such a voyage.  SciFi  Adventure

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Special Effects

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Live and Let Die (1973)

This is Roger Moore’s first outing as the not so secret agent and while he isn’t bad, he’s definitely no Sean Connery. After three MI6 agents are quickly killed in succession, Bond is sent to investigate the dealings of Caribbean dictator Dr. Kananga, brilliantly portrayed by Yaphet Kotto. It’s Bond meets Blaxploitation and I wasn’t prepared for it. The action jumps from Harlem to New Orleans to the fictional island of San Monique, each with its share of delightful characters: the fabulous Geoffrey Holder as a voodoo priest, Julius W. Harris as a laughing henchman with a claw for an hand, and Earl Jolly Brown as a ridiculous sidekick named Whisper. It’s fantastic that the minions who work in the fabulous underground lair wear red polos and denim, no matching polyester for them. Sadly the women are again just around as arm candy with Gloria Hendry as a supposed agent who is almost as useless as Jill St. John in the last installment and Jane Seymour who although beautiful is inexplicably the only other white person in the joint. Of course the theme song rocks and is probably too good for the film, but I also totally wish Fillet of Soul actually existed and that Kotto wasn’t only here for a one off.   Action

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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