Category: Oscar Winner

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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.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best Assistant Director

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

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Harry and Tonto (1974)

When they are evicted from their NYC apartment, Harry and his cat Tonto are given opportunities to live with various friends and relatives. Instead, what they end up doing is journeying across the US that the circumstances of life had discouraged them from undertaking earlier in life. Turning away from the cranky old man trope, Art Carney’s Harry takes the various events and obstacles that come his way in a good-natured, straight-forward way, only displaying any anger when someone tries to separate him from his cat. Tonto on the other hand looks displeased at his lot in life during almost all moments save when he’s eating.

Oscar Win: Best Actor in a Leading Role

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Original Screenplay

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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.  Scifi  Horror

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

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The Razor’s Edge (1946)

This story of a man searching for the meaning of life after his experiences during World War I is much stronger when his transcendence is told through the mirror of his various acquaintances rather than when it’s explicitly showing Tyrone Power’s journey. It’s a little peculiar that W. Somerset Maugham himself, played by Herbert Marshall, is a supporting character who seems to know more about the ways of the world than any of the other characters. That seems to be faithful to the source material Gene Tierney is very beautiful as usual, but her soul is very dark and conniving in this one. Clifton Webb is entertaining as a snobbish older member of Power’s circle. Anne Baxter is given more to do with a role that has her at the top of society falling to the very bottom. I’m very curious to compare the 1984 Bill Murray version to this one, despite the former’s reputation.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White

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Alien (1979)

Not being a fan of either, I generally avoid sci-fi and horror films. This film is why I can’t avoid them completely. With its feet planted much more firmly in the sci-fi half of the equation, it has incredibly visual design in both the ship and the alternate lifeform. I’m overwhelmed with how perfect the design of the Xenomorph is. Seeing a picture of one, it has the look of a typical Giger design. On the ship, slithering through the shadows of the ship’s mechanics, it is perfectly camouflaged until the moment it decides to show its menacing self. They found an entire crew of extraordinary actors to man the craft, most impressively Sigourney Weaver of whom the entire movie could be summed up with the words ‘you really should listen to her.’  Scifi  Horror

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Visual Effects

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

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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

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Born Into Brothels (2004)

I spent my time watching this being extremely torn. There’s the strong pull to want to ‘save’ these kids from the future that is most likely to look just like their parents’ present. But is it really the job of an outsider to swoop in and ‘fix’ someone else’s system? Helping even a handful of individuals, while worthwhile, won’t necessarily solve the problems in the brothels. At the conclusion of the film, I ended up hoping that it had just concentrated on the lessons and experiences with photography that the kids delighted in, even if it was just illustrating a short chapter in their lives. An epilogue could have been tacked on to give insight into whatever long term benefits those experiences had given them.

Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Features

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Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

This certainly could be incredibly faithful to the Cyrano story, but man is the majority of it boring. Cyrano, while obviously articulate and a capable wordsmith, is too conceited and hot-headed to be a hero worth rooting for. Through all the sword fighting, I was just hoping it would get to what I see as the whole point of the plot, the love story and mixing of identities. Jose Ferrar is adequate as Cyrano, doing a fairly good job portraying his heartbreak, but I couldn’t help thinking the whole production would have been smoother with thirty less minutes of runtime. Not helping its case any was another poor coloration version provided by Amazon.

Oscar Win: Best Actor in a Leading Role

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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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Nomadland (2020)

I only have one Best Picture nominee left to watch from this year (Minari is sitting next to my TV, waiting to be watched) so I can’t give a definitive answer whether this deserves to be Best Picture. Thus far I’m not mad at the pick. It doesn’t scream that it is entirely a new story, but it does feel like a now story: people driven from their homes and finding an alternative way to being when capitalism fails them. It is also provides beautiful views of Middle America. I don’t know what kind of life Frances McDormand would have had if she weren’t an award winning actress, but she is truly believable as a rugged, hard-working woman able to do whatever she needs to to get by. On the other hand, as much as I love David Strathairn, in a ‘normal’ Hollywood movie he could pass off as a fade into the background everyman, but in this one, he looked too clean and pretty.   Best Picture Winner

Oscar Wins: Best Motion Picture of the Year; Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Achievement in Directing

Oscar Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Achievement in Film Editing; Best Achievement in Cinematography

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