Category: Oscar Winner

Posted on 2022-06-14 | No Comments |

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

Plagued by bad luck, desperate farmer James Craig makes a deal with a devilish Walter Huston to trade his soul for seven years of prosperity. When Huston comes back to collect, Daniel Webster, in the form of Edward Arnold, lends his oratory skills to try to win the soul back. It’s a Faustian tale set firmly on American soil, especially with the role of Webster, placing the famed orator’s inability to succeed in presidential elections firmly on his own unwillingness to make a similar deal. Along with Arnold’s robust portrayal, it’s obvious Huston is having a fabulous time in his role, but that’s about all there is to recommend the film. The farmer’s goody two shoes family members become so sanctimonious that the devil’s deal seems worth it to get away from them.

Oscar Win: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role

Posted on 2022-06-09 | No Comments |

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

In 1933, retired schoolteacher Robert Donat falls asleep reminiscing about the last fifty plus years he served at an all-boys British public school. I generally don’t get a lot out of inspirational educator stories, but pleasantly this focuses more on Mr. Chips’s life and how he is affected by events more than being a motivational teacher. The aspects of aging Donat’s character through so many years with makeup and Donat’s own acting is quite well done. Donat’s relationship with Greer Garson is sweet and would have made a cute romance story on its own. It is clever how the same young actors were used to play generations and generations of each family, representing the constants and the changes a teacher experiences being at the same institution for years on end.

Oscar Win: Best Actor in a Leading Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Director; Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing

Posted on 2022-05-29 | No Comments |

Grand Prix (1966)

There are almost two distinct films here: one an almost documentary-level film of Formula One racing footage, the other a melodrama involving racers and their love interests. Together they make for one exceptionally long movie. I find as a spectator that car racing as a sport to be quite tedious and Formula One as depicted here is even more difficult to follow with little sense of who is leading and who is far behind. The footage is still absolutely incredible and creative in its editing. The soap opera level writing is decent quality for the style, giving the sense that the women on the sidelines are almost on par with war widows, never knowing if their loved one will survive the next race.

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

Posted on 2022-05-28 | No Comments |

Mr Hublot (2013)/The Magic Pear Tree (1968)

In a steampunk designed world, Mr Hublot’s orderly existence is disrupted by the sudden appearance of a homeless dog into his life. The animation style is similar to other Oscar nominated ones from this era, computer animation in muted tones. Luckily the turns in the short story and the characters have a real sweetness to them, especially, I imagine, for animal lovers, which make it stand out.

Similar to the peculiar 1971 animated short winner The Crunch Bird, the entire premise for The Magic Pear Tree is just a set-up for a singular not very funny joke. A handsome guest travels to his friend’s castle and goes through an elaborate ruse in order to get with his friend’s wife. Late 1960s-early 1970s film is already one of my least favorite eras of films and these shorts don’t go far to improve that impression.

Oscar Winner: Best Short Film, Animated (Mr Hublot)

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Subject, Cartoons (The Magic Pear Tree)

Posted on 2022-05-27 | No Comments |

Moulin Rouge (1952)

Unexpectedly this isn’t about the famous Parisian cabaret, but instead focuses on the life of one of its more famous early patrons, the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, told mainly through his relationships with women. The result is a fairly standard biopic, with its typical stretches of the truth, that is greatly improved during the few glorious scenes set in the titular club. Jose Ferrer plays the tortured artist, and his father, quite impressively, especially when noting the efforts required to portray someone of a much shorter stature. The transition montages of Toulouse’s art does at least give the viewer exposure to the prolific artist’s work.

Oscar Win: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color; Best Costume Design, Color; Best Costume Design, Color

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Director; Best Film Editing

Posted on 2022-05-24 | No Comments |

Back to the Future (1985) – Rewatch

Trying to escape Libyan terrorists, Michael J. Fox accidentally triggers a time machine which sends him to the days of his parents’ youth where he must make sure they still hook up or risk erasing himself from existence all while trying to get himself back to 1985. This is possibly the ultimate classic in the time travel genre for good reason. The camaraderie between Fox and Christopher Lloyd as his eccentric scientist best friend, the duel roles of Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. Wilson playing themselves at two different ages, and writing that manages its multiple timelines while being endlessly quotable and keeping a steady tone throughout are all perfection. It’s not surprising that I’ve seen it approximately thirty times in my lifetime.

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing

Oscar Nominations: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen; Best Sound; Best Music, Original Song

Posted on 2022-05-15 | No Comments |

Peter & the Wolf (2006)

Similar to the well-known 1946 Disney version, this is an animated rendition of Prokofiev’s similarly titled musical composition. Young Peter disobeys his Grandfather’s directive to stay out of the forest and plays with his animal friends only for the party to come face to face with a large wolf. The story is told completely through the music without any narration. While I appreciate some of the clever changes made to the story, I was less enamored with the stop motion animation style.

Oscar Win: Best Short Film, Animated

Posted on 2022-05-15 | No Comments |

The Cove (2009)

Every year in Taiji, Japan, dolphins and other cetaceans are driven into a small bay where the attractive ones are culled to be sent to marine parks all of the world and the rest are then indiscriminately slaughtered. A group of activists used hidden cameras and microphones to record the otherwise secretive practice. The practice is undoubtedly barbaric (the film does not hold back in graphically showing the event), especially as the dolphin meat that is recovered from the murdered animals has an inordinately high amount of mercury, cadmium, DDT, and other poisons and shouldn’t be eaten, but the way it is presented does feel a bit like Westerners preaching to another culture. There is throwaway moment in the film that touches on the fact that without places like Sea World paying big money for the culled mammals, the hunt probably wouldn’t happen. While ending the hunt is a noble goal, it seems focusing closer to home to end the inhumane treatment of more intelligent creatures works better in the theory of cleaning up your own backyard before preaching to others on how to clean theirs.

Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Features

Posted on 2022-04-21 | No Comments |

Sons and Lovers (1960)

Young aspiring artist Dean Stockwell’s ambitions and relationships with women are hindered by his ties to his supportive but domineering mother. The performances here are all exceptionally strong, especially Stockwell in the lead and Wendy Hiller and Trevor Howard as his parents. The story meanders a bit with the narrative not cleanly flowing between scenes, but there are surprisingly frank in its discussions and expressions of sexuality for a period piece made at the time.

Oscar Win: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Director; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

Posted on 2022-04-20 | No Comments |

The Good Earth (1937)

In early 1900s China, young farmer Paul Muni marries Luise Rainer, a slave in the village’s Great House. The couple experiences extremes of highs and lows together, wearing down every ounce of strength from the wife. If one can get beyond the very blatant yellowface, it’s an epic family drama that celebrates hard work and ingenuity to improve and maintain one’s station, though a bit too simplistically. The lead performances are a uneven when held in comparison; Muni is almost comically cheerful, while Rainer’s face is filled with sorrow often in the same scenes.

Oscar Wins: Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Cinematography

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Film Editing